Latest news with #Mahaveer
Hans India
12 hours ago
- Automotive
- Hans India
Mahaveer Raghunathan holds P2 in Italian GT Championship after Mugello round
Italy: As the Italian GT Championship reaches its halfway mark, Mahaveer Raghunathan continues to make a strong impression in his debut season with AF Corse, currently holding P2 in the overall Sprint Championship standings, just two points off the leader, and P3 in the Endurance Championship. Mahaveer shares driving duties in the Endurance Cup with Italian racers Lorenzo Ferrari and Riccardo Ponzio, forming a strong and well-balanced trio for AF Corse. Mahaveer and his co-drivers began the season with a strong showing at Misano, finishing P4 despite an early-race contact that cost them valuable time. The team recovered well with solid pace and strategy but missed the podium by just 1 second. In race 1, Mahaveer finished P2 with competitive pace and a smart strategy. In race 2, he delivered a stellar drive, jumping to P1 after the pitstop and maintaining the lead under pressure. He dominated the restart and crossed the finish line with a commanding race win, moving to the top of the championship standings. A strong qualifying effort saw the team start P3. Mahaveer and his teammates maintained front-running pace throughout the race and brought the car home in P2. Despite carrying a 15-second success handicap from the previous win, the team finished P4, narrowly missing the podium by just one-tenth of a second. Finished P5 after an unfortunate sequence of events. A poorly timed safety car right after the pitstop neutralized their strategy, preventing tyre warm-up and leaving Mahaveer vulnerable at the restart. A subsequent contact led to further position losses. Mahaveer shared, 'Overall, the first half of the season has been solid. Four podiums and a win are encouraging, but I know we can push for more. I've learnt a lot, not just about raw speed but about race craft, restarts and managing races under pressure. I'm looking forward to applying those lessons and coming back stronger at Imola on August 3rd.' From the Pit Wall: Amato Ferrari, Team Principal – AF Corse said, 'I've been working with Mahaveer since the WEC rookie test in Bahrain last November. He's a very focused driver, always immersed in driving and racing. Since joining the team, Mahaveer has adapted well to the Ferrari 296 GT3. The engineers are pleased with his progress. He is working well alongside Lorenzo Ferrari in the sprint and in the endurance championship with Lorenzo and Riccardo Ponzio. The goal for all of us is the same, to win the championship, so we keep pushing.' With two more rounds each in the Endurance and Sprint formats still to come, Mahaveer Raghunathan and the AF Corse team are in strong contention, fully focused on turning early-season promise into a championship-winning campaign.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Time of India
Clashes erupt in Bihar's Gopalganj, Katihar during Muharram processions; stones hurled, vehicles vandalised - police to take action
This is a representative image (Pic credit: PTI) NEW DELHI: Tensions flared during Muharram processions in Bihar 's Gopalganj and Katihar districts on Sunday, leading to clashes between groups in two separate incidents, officials confirmed. In Gopalganj's Manjha area, a dispute between two akharas occurred over the performance of stunts during the religious procession. One individual sustained minor injuries in the scuffle. "People of two akharas, part of a procession, clashed with each other over performing stunts. One person sustained minor injuries. He was taken to the nearest hospital, where his condition is reported to be out of danger," Gopalganj district magistrate Pawan Kumar Sinha told PTI. Stone-pelting , vandalism in Katihar Meanwhile, in Katihar's Naya Tola area, members of two communities clashed near the Mahaveer temple while a Muharram procession was underway. Stone-pelting and vandalism of vehicles during the brief episode of violence were reported. "The situation was immediately brought under control," said Katihar district magistrate Manesh Kumar Meena. "No one sustained any injury in this incident. Those who indulged in violence have been identified and strict action will be taken against them."
New Indian Express
28-06-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Five years on, Tiruchy museum renovation still in limbo
TIRUCHY: The State Archaeology Department started renovation of Rani Mangammal's Darbar Hall, which acts as the government museum, started five years ago, but very little progress has been made so far. The museum was relocated from Cantonment to the Darbar Hall in 1998. Historians expressed concerns that hundreds of invaluable artefacts – ranging from stone sculptures and coins to palm-leaf manuscripts – that are cramped up in a single room to facilitate the renovation work could get irrevocably damaged without adequate protective measures. The State Archaeology Department approached the Union government with a proposal to restore the building, built in the 16th century by King Chokkanatha Nayak, after frescoes and decorative elements began to fade and in some places disappeared entirely. In response, the union government sanctioned Rs 3.75 crore under the Museum Grants Scheme in 2019 to renovate the hall. The first phase included cementing and interior painting, which were completed. However, due to the COVID-19 lock downs, the work came to a halt, and has not resumed. Open-air exhibits are particularly at risk. Several rare sculptures and historical objects, including a four-foot-tall Buddha statue, a 10th-century Mahaveer sculpture, 14th-century Pallava artefacts, an East India Company cannon, and idols of Hindu gods and goddesses, are exposed to the elements. Dr R Kalaikovan, director of the Dr Rajamanickanar Historical Research Centre, said his team had handed over 16 granite sculptures, including those of Buddha, Mahaveer, and Chola-period artefacts, to the museum. 'All the sculptures and artefacts must be preserved properly so this historical legacy can be passed on to future generations. If timely action is not taken, we risk losing our history,' he warned. Kalaikovan stressed that there is ample space around the hall for expansion and urged the district administration to allocate land within the premises for protective storage and display. He also opposed the proposal to shift the museum to Panjapur. 'The current location is ideal, surrounded by schools and colleges. Since the land is already government-owned, there's no need to relocate. Even the Madras Museum was expanded at its original site,' he added. Speaking to P Manimuthu, Curator of the Government Museum, told TNIE, 'We are waiting for funds to be released by the government. Once the funds are sanctioned, the work will be completed. We have already submitted the request.'
Hindustan Times
20-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Delhiwale: Purple prose
Plop! That's the sound these berries make after they fall from the tree, their purple juice sometimes squirting out in all directions on hitting the hard earth. The stains explain that why Walled City hawker Kishore is no longer hawking bananas. He is, instead, carrying a basket of these berries on his head, walking all day from gali to gali, hoarsely crying, 'jamun walla, jamun le lo.' Say hello to Delhi's jamun season. This evening, at a central Delhi roundabout, scores of men have gathered around a jamun tree, violently shaking its branches, causing the berries to fall, one after another. These jamuns will later be gathered for an impromptu feast. Some metres away, street vendor Mahaveer's cart is left with only a tiny pile of neatly arranged jamuns. He gets them every morning from Azadpur Subzi Mandi, where they arrive from Punjab, he says. But our own city-state is full of jamun trees. Crisscrossed with leafy avenues, the beautiful Lutyens' Delhi is rich with eight so-called avenue trees, one of them being jamun. (Others are neem, arjun, imli, sausage tree, baheda, peepal and pilkhan). Each year, the authorities auction the rights to collect the jamuns from these trees. In fact, scores of hawkers are currently conducting business along Ashoka Road, the avenue rich in jamun trees. These men and women line the roadside with baskets and buckets filled with the day's harvest, plucked freshly from the very jamun trees under which they sit, awaiting customers. Other jamun-dense margs in the vicinity are Rajaji, Ferozeshah, Tughlak, Tyagraj, and Motilal Nehru. An exceptionally luxuriant jamun stands in Connaught Place's N-Block. The tree is huge, its shade much appreciated during the hostile sun-drenched summer afternoons. Waiters from a nearby restaurant sit under this tree during their smoking breaks. The nearby Central Park used to have scores of similarly huge jamun trees. They were sacrificed for the greater common good, after the park was taken over by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in early 2000s. All the park trees were uprooted, the grounds dug up to make way for an underground rail terminus (Rajiv Chowk!). Whatever, as soon as the jamun season will end next month, aforementioned vendor Mahaveer says he will switch to selling coconut slices. In winter, he will switch to shakarkandi, which he hawks around the India Gate circle. Meanwhile, miles away in Ghaziabad, two men are repeatedly striking a tree branch with a lathi. Finally, something falls on the ground with a thud. It is mango, which, too, is in season.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Automotive
- Time of India
Mahaveer Finance raises Rs 200 crore led by Elevation Capital
L- R Deepak Dugar Mahaveerchand Dugar Praveen Dugar (TOI) BENGALURU: Mahaveer Finance, a Chennai-based NBFC focused on used commercial and passenger vehicle lending, has raised Rs 200 crore in a Series C round led by Elevation Capital, with participation from existing investors BanyanTree Finance and First Bridge Capital. The capital will be used to expand the company's branch footprint in South India, strengthen its proprietary credit infrastructure, and deepen lending to underbanked customer segments. Mahaveer currently manages over Rs 1,000 crore in assets and aims to grow its AUM fivefold by FY28. Founded in 1981, Mahaveer entered the used vehicle financing segment in 2001 and has built what it calls a valuation-led underwriting model that assesses vehicle price, usage history, and configuration down to 'ownership changes and body type,' according to CEO Deepak Dugar. 'A major challenge in used vehicle lending is price discovery. We tackled this by backward integrating into the resale business early on. That helped us build a deep grid-based model that powers our credit decisions,' Dugar told TOI. Since 2016, under the second-generation leadership of Dugar and CFO Praveen Dugar, Mahaveer has expanded its operations to 80 branches across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, and Puducherry. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Switch to UnionBank Rewards Card UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo The company says about 70% of its borrowers are first-time vehicle owners or new-to-credit customers, typically aged between 30 and 45. Elevation's investment is seen as a validation of Mahaveer's growth strategy in a segment still heavily dependent on informal lending. 'Around 35% of the market is unorganised. Our value lies in helping customers buy right by guiding them on vehicle pricing and keeping defaults low,' said Praveen Dugar. Mahaveer's in-house credit engine, Surety, combines customer inputs, asset data, and API-led KYC authentication to deliver near-instant loan offers at the branch level. The company claims field executive productivity has improved from three to four loan files per month, driven by reduced cash collections and tech-led assessments. Cash collections have declined from 60% pre-Covid to about 10-15% currently, allowing executives to spend more time on sourcing, Dugar said. Mahaveer is also evaluating secured MSME loans and potential entry into EV financing, although it expects the used EV market to mature only over the next few years. With over 40 lenders, including SBI and HDFC, on its books and a historically profitable track record, the company said it has sufficient capital for the next 12-18 months. While valuation and promoter stake details were not disclosed, the company has added new independent board members, including a former RBI CGM, as part of its governance expansion. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
