
Assam CM, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari review key infra projects
During the meeting held at the Union Minister's official residence, Chief Minister Sarma sought the support and cooperation of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) to ensure the timely completion of ongoing infrastructure projects.
The Union Minister assured the Chief Minister of MoRTH's support for time-bound implementation of the ongoing flagship NH projects in Assam, as 'these projects will significantly boost regional connectivity, enhance trade routes, and accelerate the pace of economic growth in the Northeast part of the country.'
Later, taking to X, the Chief Minister wrote, 'In New Delhi today, I had a fruitful meeting with Hon'ble Union Minister Shri @nitin_gadkari. We reviewed the progress of Assam's flagship infra projects and sought @MORTHIndia's cooperation in their time bound completion. Minister has assured us of the Ministry's undivided focus on this matter.'
Union Minister Gadkari also took to X and said, 'Reviewed the ongoing National Highway projects in Assam, with Assam Chief Minister @himantabiswa Ji and senior officials in Delhi today. These projects will significantly boost regional connectivity, enhance trade routes, and accelerate economic growth across the northeastern region of the country.'
The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, KK Dwivedi and senior officials of MoRTH.
Earlier, the Chief Minister met a team from ICICI Foundation and ICICI Bank at his official residence here and discussed ongoing CSR initiatives in Assam.
The meeting focused on strengthening, expanding, and diversifying CSR efforts in collaboration with the Government of Assam, as well as expanding credit access for microborrowers.
Moreover, Chairman of LifeCare Ltd., Jayesh Saini, called upon the Chief Minister at the latter's official residence and spoke at length about the company's foray into the booming health sector in Assam and its eagerness to bring the projects to fruition soon.
It may be noted that LifeCare, a Kenya-based company, had inked an MoU during the Advantage Assam 2.0 Investment and Infrastructure Summit in Guwahati in February this year in the health sector. (ANI)
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)

Business Standard
25 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Lenskart invests in AI startup Ajna Lens ahead of smart glasses push
Eyewear unicorn Lenskart has invested in AI startup Ajna Lens as it races to develop smart glasses ahead of its planned $1 billion IPO, marking the company's latest move into wearable technology. The investment, whose value was not disclosed by the firms, gives Lenskart access to Ajna Lens's artificial intelligence-powered extended reality (XR) technology, as the Mumbai-based startup specialises in developing advanced wearable tech products. Ajna Lens, recognised with a CES Innovation Award in 2023 for its mixed reality headset AjnaXR, is known for developing some of the most advanced wearable technology in the sector. The partnership comes as the global smart glasses market—valued at over $6 billion and expected to reach $15.08 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 10.3 per cent—faces increasing competition from tech giants such as Meta, Apple, and Google. Lenskart said it plans to combine its capabilities in frame design and optical engineering with Ajna's technology to create smart glasses that are more accessible and aligned with everyday consumer use. The company emphasised that its approach to smart eyewear will prioritise the fundamentals of vision correction and wearability, framing them as 'glasses first' in both form and function. 'This investment marks the next chapter in our smart glass journey, which began with the launch of Phonic, our audio glasses, in December 2024,' said Peyush Bansal, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lenskart. 'As the smart glasses category scales rapidly, our partnership with Ajna Lens strategically positions us to accelerate product innovation in this space.' Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Thane, Mumbai, Ajna Lens is a deep-tech startup developing immersive technologies powered by spatial computing, AI vision, and an XR stack. The Ajna investment is part of Lenskart's broader acquisition strategy to gain access to new technologies and scale operations. The company has previously acquired firms such as Tango Eye, an artificial intelligence-based computer vision startup. In 2022, Japanese brand Owndays became part of the Lenskart group in a deal estimated at $400 million. In 2023, Neso Brands, a subsidiary of Lenskart, acquired a stake in the Paris-based eyewear brand Le Petit Lunetier for $4 million. Lenskart's aggressive expansion comes as the company prepares for its public market debut. US financial services major Fidelity recently increased its estimated valuation of Lenskart to $6.1 billion, according to its latest monthly portfolio disclosure, up from $5.6 billion in November. The company plans to raise up to $1 billion at a targeted valuation of $10 billion and recently converted its parent entity from a private limited to a public limited company. The company has demonstrated strong financial performance ahead of its IPO. Lenskart's revenue from operations rose by 43 per cent to Rs 5,427.7 crore in FY24 from Rs 3,788 crore in FY23. The firm generates revenue by selling eyewear frames, lenses, goggles, and offering additional services such as eye check-ups. Due to cost-effective management, Lenskart reduced its losses by 84 per cent to Rs 10 crore in FY24 from Rs 63 crore in FY23. Lenskart continues to deepen its penetration in India while rapidly scaling its international presence, including in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. With a unique click-and-mortar business model, it is disrupting the eyewear industry by offering an omni-channel customer experience across online platforms, mobile applications, and stores. The company now has over 2,500 stores, of which 2,000 are in India. Globally and in India, Gurugram-based Lenskart competes with players such as Titan Eyeplus, Specsmakers, Vision Express, Warby Parker, and Italian eyewear conglomerate Luxottica Group. The company is also investing in manufacturing capabilities. It is planning to set up its largest eyewear manufacturing facility in Telangana with an investment of about Rs 1,500 crore. For this, it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government to establish the facility at Fab City. The smart glasses push positions Lenskart to compete in the emerging wearable technology market, as traditional eyewear companies face pressure to innovate beyond basic vision correction, analysts say.

Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Jane Street Banned in India LIVE Updates: BSE, other capital market stocks take a hit; all you need to know
Jane Street Banned in India LIVE updates: SEBI, in its order on July 3, announced banning Jane Street, a US-based trading firm, from accessing the Indian stock market for allegedly manipulating the stock market through positions in India's booming derivatives trade. As per a PTI report, this could be the highest disgorgement amount ever directed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). What is Jane Street? Jane Street Group was established in 2000 as a global proprietary trading firm in the financial services industry. According to the company's website, it has more than 3000 employees across five global offices. We trade a broad range of asset classes on more than 200 venues in 45 countries. What did SEBI order say? In its interim order, the regulator has debarred JSI Investments, JSI2 Investments Pvt Ltd, Jane Street Singapore Pte Ltd, and Jane Street Asia Trading, entities collectively referred to as the Jane Street Group, from trading until further notice, while continuing its investigation. The Jane Street Group has come under Sebi's scrutiny for allegedly manipulating index levels in the stock market to earn illegal profits, primarily through the highly liquid Bank Nifty and Nifty index options segments. Follow updates here: 04 Jul 2025, 02:48 PM IST The capital market stocks fell today after SEBI barred US trading firm Jane Street from the Indian stock market over alleged manipulation in derivatives trading. Angel One slumped 6%. BSE share price was down 6.4% and Central Depository Services (India) fell 3.5%. Nuvama Wealth Management, which is Jane Street's India trading partner, fell more than 9%. 04 Jul 2025, 02:40 PM IST SEBI, in its 105-page order, accused Jane Street of manipulating the Bank Nifty index—an index made up of 12 top financial stocks and popular in derivatives trading. According to SEBI, Jane Street followed two key trading strategies over more than two years that were designed to unfairly move the index. Here's how it worked: In the morning, Jane Street would buy large amounts of Bank Nifty stocks and futures to artificially push up the index. At the same time, they were placing big bets against the index using options. Later in the day, they would reverse their trades—selling what they bought earlier—to drive the index back down and profit from the drop. SEBI said this created a false sense of market activity, tricking other traders into buying or selling at misleading price levels. On days when Bank Nifty options expired, Jane Street also made large, focused trades near market close, which SEBI says was an attempt to influence the final price of the index in their favour. 04 Jul 2025, 02:21 PM IST Market regulator banned US-based trading firm Jane Street from operating in the Indian stock market, accusing it of manipulating stock indices through its trades in the derivatives segment. In what is SEBI's toughest action yet against a foreign firm, the regulator said in an order on July 3 that Jane Street and its related companies are no longer allowed to trade in India. SEBI also seized ₹ 4,843 crore from the firm, calling it illegal profits made through the alleged manipulation.


The Hindu
28 minutes ago
- The Hindu
PM Modi, Amit Shah falsely claim more allocation of funds to Tamil Nadu, alleges DMK
Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Friday (July 4, 2025) alleged that the BJP-led Centre is "lying" that funds provided to the State is more under its regime than during the Congress party's dispensation. The Dravidian party's official organ Murasoli in its editorial on the DMK's "Oraniyil Tamil Nadu" (Tamil Nadu as a single team) membership enrolment campaign said the party had always been reinventing itself and that is the reason for it being still young, though it has crossed the milestone of 75 years. On July 1, Mr. Stalin launched the Oraniyil Tamil Nadu (OTN) campaign and on July 3, the door-to-door visit to reach out to the people commenced. According to DMK President Stalin, the OTN encompasses election campaign, membership enrolment, the DMK government's achievements and the Centre's betrayal of Tamil Nadu as well and broadly, it is to bring together the people to protect the state's language and honour. Assembly election is due in Tamil Nadu during April 2026. The DMK's Tamil daily said people of Tamil Nadu know 'pretty well that the BJP-led Union government betrayed Tamil Nadu'. 'Betrayal alone is BJP's practice and they do not know doing good to the people. However, they divert through lies,' the Dravidian newspaper alleged. Right from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, everybody in the Centre have been "lying" again and again that funds to Tamil Nadu is more under the BJP regime than during the Congress rule. "Union Home Minister Amit Shah is often saying this. They did not specify the schemes through which they are providing the funds and they cannot say that." Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has said that the Tamil Nadu government is pitching in with its funds even for the implementation of Central government schemes. 'What is the Centre's special scheme for Tamil Nadu during the past 10 years? This is the CM's question to the Union government,' the daily said. The Madurai AIIMS initiative, though announced by the Centre in the year 2015, is yet to become functional. In 2019, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the hospital. Citing a video clip recently released by authorities on the progress of the Madurai hospital project, the DMK mouthpiece said, "It has taken them six years to produce the video and this is the respect the BJP gives to the Tamil Nadu people." The DMK has commenced its OTN campaign to bring people together against such injustices to Tamil Nadu, Murasoli asserted. On July 3, the ruling DMK kickstarted its 45-day door-to-door campaign across the state to enroll as party members, 30% voters in every polling station under the "Oraniyil Tamil Nadu" membership drive.