Mahindra Chakan Crosses 3 Million Vehicles, Flags Off BE 6 as Future‑Ready Manufacturing Hub

• Accelerated Growth: Latest one million vehicles produced in just 27 months.
• Flexibility at Scale: The 657-acre integrated manufacturing hub produces 19 models and over 450 variants.
• Sustainability at the Core: A water positive, certified Zero Waste to Landfill and operating on more than 50% renewable energy.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. today announced that its State-of-the Art Chakan manufacturing facility has crossed the landmark cumulative production milestone of three million vehicles. The milestone vehicle was the BE 6, Mahindra’s most advanced flagship electric SUV, reflecting the facility’s evolution into a future-ready manufacturing hub supporting both internal-combustion and electric mobility.

Since rolling out its first vehicle in December 2009, Chakan has evolved into one of Mahindra’s most strategically important manufacturing facility. Achieving its latest one million in just 27 months, nearly four times faster than the first million.

R Velusamy, President – Automotive Business, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said, “The rollout of our three-millionth vehicle, the BE 6, from Chakan marks a proud milestone in Mahindra’s manufacturing journey. The acceleration from 107 months for our first million vehicles to just 27 months for the latest million reflects the growing trust of our customers and the unwavering commitment of our people, partners, and suppliers. Chakan combines Industry 4.0, artificial intelligence, IoT, 5G connectivity, advanced robotics, digital traceability, and flexible multi-model manufacturing, underpinned by Lean and TPM practices. Together, these capabilities enable us to deliver world-class quality, agility, and scale while advancing responsible manufacturing. As we continue to build world-class products in India for India and the world, Chakan will remain at the heart of our manufacturing excellence.”

Flexibility at Scale: One Integrated Manufacturing Hub

Spread across 657 acres, Chakan manufactures 19 models and over 450 variants across ICE passenger vehicles, electric vehicles and commercial vehicles.

Intelligent Manufacturing: A Future-Ready Ecosystem

The Chakan facility combines advanced manufacturing technology with Lean and Total Productive Maintenance methodologies to drive quality, flexibility and operational excellence.

• Smart manufacturing: Industry 4.0, AI, IoT, 5G connectivity and digital traceability across operations.
• Automation at scale: Approximately 1,500 robots, over 98% automation in body-shop, along with robotic painting and sealer application.
• Quality built-in: 3D component scanning, real-time weld-integrity monitoring and interlocked “No Fault Forward” quality gateways.
• Flexible operations: Seven multi-model assembly lines and synchronised autonomous mobile robots for material movement.
• AI-enabled safety: Real-time monitoring of personal protective equipment compliance and shop-floor safety.

Sustainability at the Core: Responsible Manufacturing at Scale

• More than 50% of the plant’s energy requirement is met through renewable energy, while electric-vehicle manufacturing at the facility operates on 100% renewable energy.
• The facility is water positive, returning the equivalent of 131% of the water it utilises back to nature, supported by annual rainwater recharge of approximately 9.91 lakh kilolitres.
• Chakan is also certified as Zero Waste to Landfill and is nearing the achievement of its EP100 commitment to double energy productivity.

Built in India, for the World: Supporting Mahindra’s Global Growth

Almost all vehicle models manufactured at Chakan support Mahindra’s international operations, with exports to global markets including South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Ex‑Ultrahuman Exec Secures $5.5M to Build Aina, AI‑Era Hardware Interface Beyond Screens and Keyboards

• Ex-Ultrahuman Exec raises $5.5M for Aina, a new hardware interface for the age of AI beyond touchscreens and keyboards. 
• Aina was operating as an HCI Lab and recently launched Dune, a popular three-key context-aware keypad.

Design-led consumer hardware startup Aina has raised $5.5M to build a general-purpose interface for the age of AI and agents. The company launched Dune, a popular three-key context-aware keypad, earlier this year while continuing to build its flagship interface in stealth, one that redefines the way we interact with our devices, from everyday tasks on our phones to our computers.

AI is changing the way people do everything. A single prompt can now generate an entire movie. Yet the everyday experience hasn't caught up. AI notetakers automate entire workflows, but joining a meeting still takes four clicks. Booking a cab still means unlocking your phone, finding the app, typing a destination, and confirming. The problem is the dated hardware layer. Software and AI have evolved rapidly, but the interfaces humans use to interact with them haven't kept pace. Keyboards were last updated in the 1980s. Touchscreens were designed for the way we operated in 2007. This gap between software capability and hardware interfaces is why people are excited to learn how AI can change their lives, but end up feeling overwhelmed and fail to adopt new tools fast enough.

An upgrade is needed in the way people interact with their daily apps and services. Aina's waitlist for the Pilot is now open.

The seed funding round was led by Redstart Labs (Infoedge, India) and 360 ONE Asset, with participation from MIXI Global Investments, Antler, Blume Founders Fund and angels including Kunal Shah (WhatsApp/Cred), Tikhon Bernstam (Scribd), Harshil and Shashank (Razorpay), Vaibhav Domkundwar (Better Capital), Avnish Anand (Caratlane), Aditya Singh (All in Capital), KRS Jamwal (Tata), Shraeyansh Thakur (previously at PeakXV), Sarthak Misra and Medha Shankr (Bollywood Actor) among others.

The funding will be used to bring Aina's flagship interface to market and to scale the team across its San Francisco and Bengaluru offices.

Aina is founded by Apoorv Shankar, former VP of Hardware at Ultrahuman, the sleep tracking ring company. Incorporated in May 2025, the company has been operating as a Human-Computer Interaction lab under the name “Project Mirage”.

The company showcased three experimental AI interfaces at CES 2026, each an iteration in its broader research into HCI across different domains, targeting common applications people use daily: online meetings, booking cabs, ordering food.

From those experiments, the company announced Dune in April, a context-aware keypad for Mac that automatically adapts its three keys to whichever application is in the foreground. The team has since shipped hundreds of Dune keypads to early adopters, working closely with power users to learn from their feedback and daily workflows, validate the company's thesis, and understand real-world AI adoption.

Apoorv Shankar, Founder and CEO of Aina

 Apoorv Shankar, Founder and CEO of Aina, said, "Phones and computers today are still primarily designed for browsing. You put in the same effort whether the task is something you do daily or once a year, and when you are doing hundreds of tasks a day, every unnecessary step adds up to real cognitive load.

As intelligence becomes ubiquitous, AI assistants will get better at understanding context and agents will execute on our behalf. All we will have to do is say yes or no. The missing piece today is a context-aware layer paired with an easier way to capture that choice. We are building a general-purpose interface for this future, designed to capture human choice, effortlessly."

Vibhore Sharma, Redstart Labs (Infoedge) commented, “We inherited the assumption that computers are tools - you instruct, they execute. AI is quietly dissolving that line. One of the key questions that matter is how the relationship changes when software starts to understand context and the interface disappears. That's where new categories like Aina are born and where part of the future is hiding. We are excited to back the team in this endeavour.”

Abhishek Nag, Head of Venture Capital, 360 ONE Asset, added, "Every leap in computing has demanded a new hardware interface, from punch cards to the GUI to the smartphone. As AI agents become the primary way for people to interact with computers, the world once again needs a new generation of interfaces built for how we'll actually compute. Apoorv and the team have shown they can design and manufacture revolutionary consumer hardware from India for the world, and we're proud to co-lead their seed round as they build it.”

Every generation of computing has produced a new interface. Each one won by asking less of the person using it. Aina believes the next one asks least of all. In a world where AI has the context of everything you're doing, the only thing left for humans is to choose. Aina is building the most effortless and natural way to capture that choice, so in the age of AI, we can spend our time on things that actually require human intelligence and effort.

About Aina

Founded in May 2025 by Apoorv Shankar, former VP of Hardware at Ultrahuman, where he led the research, development, and manufacturing of the company's sleep-tracking rings.

For its first year, Aina operated in stealth as "Project Mirage", a Human-Computer Interaction lab exploring how people interact with AI in everyday life. The team ran experiments with hundreds of early adopters to understand real-world AI adoption and validate its thesis on what the future of interaction looks like.

One of these early experiments was Dune, a context-aware keypad for Mac, launched in April 2026.

The Bengaluru team works out of an electronics manufacturing unit, part of which has been converted into a design and prototyping studio. The setting reflects the company's approach: combining industrial capability, interaction design, and rapid experimentation to create new hardware for the AI era.

The waitlist for Aina’s Pilot is now open at aina.com

ICMR’s i‑DRONE Cuts TB Diagnosis Delays and Costs in Remote India

India’s health research body ICMR has shown that drone‑enabled transport of tuberculosis (TB) sputum samples can cut diagnosis time from 15 to just 5 days and reduce patient costs by over 99%, offering a breakthrough for rural healthcare delivery.

ICMR's flagship i-DRONE initiative, has demonstrated that drone-assisted transport of tuberculosis (TB) sputum samples can significantly improve access to diagnostic services for people living in remote and underserved areas.

The results stem from a programme‑based study carried out in Yadadri‑Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana, in partnership with AIIMS Bibinagar and the District TB Office under the National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP). Researchers compared the traditional approach—where patients themselves travelled to diagnostic centres—with a drone‑enabled model in which sputum samples were collected at nearby Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and sub‑centres (SCs), then flown by drones to designated TB Units (TUs) for testing.

A total of 840 participants were enrolled. Findings showed that the median turnaround time for TB diagnosis dropped sharply, from 15 days to just 5 days, once drone‑based transport was introduced. This innovation significantly reduced diagnostic delays, allowing faster disease confirmation and enabling clinicians to make timely treatment decisions.

Background: TB Burden in India

• India carries the world’s highest TB burden, with over 2.8 million cases annually.
  
• Delays in diagnosis remain a major challenge, especially in remote and underserved regions.
  
• The National TB Elimination Programme (NTEP) aims to eliminate TB by 2025, but logistical barriers have slowed progress.
  

The i‑DRONE Initiative

• Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) launched i‑DRONE to explore drones for healthcare logistics.
  
• Study conducted in Yadadri‑Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana with AIIMS Bibinagar and the District TB Office.
  
• A hub‑and‑spoke network connected 11 PHCs, 60 sub‑centres, and 4 TB Units, enabling sputum collection closer to patients’ homes.
  

When innovation takes flight, healthcare reaches farther.

ICMR’s i-DRONE initiative is transforming TB diagnostics by using drones to transport sputum samples from remote health facilities to diagnostic laboratories.

The initiative has demonstrated:
✅ Reduction in median… pic.twitter.com/zedI9yv0T4

— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) July 16, 2026

Key Findings

Impact	Conventional System	Drone‑Enabled System
Median diagnosis turnaround time	15 days	5 days
Mean out‑of‑pocket expenditure (OOPE)	₹9,451	₹91
Median OOPE	₹1,000+	₹0
Participants enrolled	840	840 (206 pre‑drone, 634 drone phase)

Government & Expert Voices

• Dr. Rajiv Bahl, DG ICMR: “Affordable and timely access to diagnosis remains central to India’s TB elimination efforts. This study demonstrates how technology can help bridge geographical barriers and reduce the burden on patients.”
  
• Health Ministry officials confirmed that findings will inform future integration into NTEP.
  

Operational Considerations

• Weather conditions can affect drone flights.
  
• Payload limitations restrict the number of samples per trip.
  
• Training needs for healthcare workers to ensure biosafety and operational efficiency.
  
• Wider implementation requires careful planning and validation across diverse terrains.
  

Broader Implications

• Adds to global evidence of drones in healthcare logistics (e.g., HIV testing in Malawi, vaccine delivery in Ghana).
  
• Supports India’s digital health and innovation agenda, aligning with TB elimination targets.
  
• Demonstrates how technology can complement existing healthcare systems in difficult terrains.
  

India’s Biggest Crypto Scam: SC Seeks SIT Probe into GainBitcoin Fraud

The GainBitcoin scam was one of India’s largest crypto frauds, defrauding over 100,000 investors of an estimated ₹20,000 crore (around $2.1 billion) between 2015 and 2018 through a Ponzi-style scheme promising 10% monthly returns on Bitcoin investments.

On July 14, 2026, the Supreme Court of India issued notice to the Central Government seeking its response to a plea demanding a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into all FIRs related to the GainBitcoin scam, which allegedly siphoned off over two lakh Bitcoins from more than one lakh investors.

Key Details of the Supreme Court’s Action

• Bench Composition: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana
• Petitioners: Seven founding members of the Bitcoin Investors Protection Society (BIPS), led by Gautam Mahendrakumar Chordia
• Core Allegation: Investors were promised assured monthly returns through cloud-mining operations, but assets were diverted into proxy wallets, foreign accounts, and crypto exchanges
• Scale of Fraud: Over two lakh Bitcoins siphoned; more than one lakh investors affected nationwide
• FIRs Registered: More than 35 FIRs across India over the past decade

Petitioners’ Demands

• Unified SIT Probe: Headed by a retired High Court judge
• Composition: Senior officers from CBI, ED, MeitY nominee, and blockchain forensic experts
• Scope: Investigate all FIRs linked to GainBitcoin, Variable Tech, and GB Miners scams
• Mandate: Trace, freeze, and recover cryptocurrencies; investigate shell entities and proxy accounts; submit periodic reports to the Supreme Court

Context & Background

• December 2023: Supreme Court transferred GainBitcoin cases to CBI for consolidation
• CBI Action: Merged only 10 FIRs, leaving others unresolved
• Jurisdictional Vacuum: State police slowed investigations assuming CBI had full control

Challenges

• Absconding Accused: Key accused remain at large
• Fragmented Investigations: Poor coordination across states
• Blockchain Tracing: Complex proxy wallets and foreign accounts hinder recovery

At a Glance: GainBitcoin Scam SIT Plea

Aspect	Details
Date of SC Notice	July 14, 2026
Bench	CJI Surya Kant, Justices Bagchi & Mohana
Petitioners	Bitcoin Investors Protection Society (BIPS)
Victims Represented	273 identified; >1 lakh affected
Scale of Scam	>2 lakh Bitcoins siphoned
FIRs Registered	35+ across India
Proposed SIT	Retired HC judge + CBI, ED, MeitY nominee, blockchain experts
Previous SC Order	Dec 13, 2023 – CBI consolidation of FIRs

Tata Enters Shipbuilding with ₹10,000 Cr Kerala Yard

Tata Group is set to make its first-ever entry into shipbuilding with a massive ₹10,000 crore investment in Kerala, anchored around the Vizhinjam International Seaport, reported Deccan Herald and other local media outlets. The Kerala government has confirmed land allocation and expects to approve the project within a month, marking a historic expansion of Tata’s industrial portfolio.

According to the report, Kerala CM V.D. Satheesan said the state is looking at the proposal positively and aims to clear approval within a month.

The Kerala government has committed to providing land for the project, calling it a crucial investment in the state’s maritime future. Tata Group has submitted a proposal to establish a shipyard, though the exact location has not been disclosed. The company has yet to issue an official statement, while the government has asked Tata to furnish a detailed project report.

Notably, Vizhinjam International Seaport is owned and operated by Adani Vizhinjam Port Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ). The project was developed under a Public‑Private Partnership (PPP) model with the Government of Kerala.

Adani Ports’ Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala is at the center of a major controversy after announcing a proposed 49% stake sale to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for $1.4 billion, triggering political backlash and government scrutiny. The Kerala government insists that such a transfer requires its prior approval.

Key Highlights of the Tata's Kerala Shipyard Deal

• Investment Size: ₹10,000 crore (~$1 billion)
• Sector Entry: Tata’s first venture into shipbuilding, diversifying beyond steel, autos, and aviation
• Location: Likely near Vizhinjam International Seaport, though final site not disclosed
• Government Role: Kerala will provide land and act as a proactive facilitator
• Approval Timeline: Expected within one month
• Strategic Context: Boosted by Vizhinjam port’s operationalization, part of Kerala’s Mission Samudra 2026

Strategic Importance

• National Maritime Push: India aims to be among the top five shipbuilding nations by 2047
• Kerala’s Vision: Mission Samudra integrates 600 km coastline, 2 international seaports, 17 mini ports
• Global Competition: South Korea’s HD Hyundai investing ₹38,000 crore in Tamil Nadu
• Complementary Industries: Tata Steel already supplies high-strength shipbuilding steel

Risks & Challenges

• Approval Dependencies: Final clearance needed from both state and central government
• Execution Timeline: No production start date announced; delays could slow rollout
• Competitive Landscape: Adani’s Vizhinjam port and MSC’s $1.4 billion stake add pressure
• Global Market: India faces stiff competition from China, South Korea, and Japan

Comparison: Tata vs Existing Players

Company	Investment	Location	Focus	Status
Tata Group	₹10,000 cr	Kerala (Vizhinjam)	Commercial shipbuilding	Awaiting approval
Cochin Shipyard	PSU	Kochi	Defence & commercial vessels	Operational (INS Vikrant built)
Adani Vizhinjam Port	$1.4 bn (MSC stake)	Kerala	Transshipment hub	Operational, expansion ongoing
HD Hyundai	₹38,000 cr	Tamil Nadu	Global shipbuilding hub	Announced
AP Shipbuilding Hub	₹30,000 cr	Andhra Pradesh	Defence & commercial	In planning

Outlook

• If approved, Tata’s Kerala shipyard will be a game-changer for India’s maritime ambitions
• It positions Kerala as a maritime powerhouse alongside Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh
• Diversifies Tata’s portfolio into a sector critical for India’s global trade strategy