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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Bengaluru: India’s listed office real estate investment trusts (Reits) are building artificial intelligence-resilient, GCC-driven tenant portfolios as they focus on expansion through acquiring premium assets and increasing occupancy in FY27.Reits have emerged from a strong year with good leasing and increased demand from global capability centres (GCCs). The publicly listed office Reits in the country—Embassy Office Parks REIT, Mindspace Business Parks REIT, Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (Biret) and Knowledge Realty Trust (KRT)—have seen their net operating income, occupancy levels and distribution grow in FY26.Bagmane Prime Office REIT was the fifth and latest to list in May.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Most of us grew up seeing conservation at home—saving water, switching off what we did not need, repairing rather than discarding things and treating resources with quiet respect. We never called it ‘sustainability.’ It was common sense, passed down by elders, absorbed without effort and practised without announcement.In today’s global environment, that common sense is not just a virtue but a practical national strength. That is why I read the Prime Minister’s recent seven-point appeal as a timely reminder and not as a signal of panic.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Travel fintech startup Scapia has raised $63 million in a fresh funding round led by General Catalyst, with continued participation from existing investors Peak XV Partners and Z47."We're still very young and very small in terms of the largeness of India. There's a large opportunity to scale the business into a larger customer base," said Anil Goteti, founder and chief executive of Scapia in a conversation with Mint.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.K Hospitality Corp, which operates restaurant brands such as Copper Chimney and Bombay Brasserie, has launched Kliff Ventures — a strategic investment platform with a corpus of ₹200 crore to invest in early-stage consumer retail brands, a top executive at the company said.“Over the last five decades, we have seen the evolution of consumers, their eating habits and the multiple shifts that have taken place. The timing of this fund is closely linked to how the market has evolved and the enormous opportunity that the consumer sector in India presents,” said executive director Karan Kapur in an interview with Mint.The fund, which aims to selectively deploy capital across 5-6 investments, will focus on partnering with and scaling companies in food & beverage, retail, consumer services and allied sectors.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: India is looking to accelerate its government fleet electrification programme via its clean energy agency to central ministries, state governments, public sector banks, and autonomous bodies—widening a drive that has so far hardly made a dent in a vehicle fleet of over 800,000 units.Led by the Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), a central clean energy agency, the expansion plan will offer state governments and public sector undertakings (PSUs) a leasing-based 'EV as a Service' model that eliminates purchase costs and provides charging infrastructure and maintenance. The model, launched in 2024, will help circumvent the two big barriers to fleet electrification: high capital outlay and logistical complexity.“CESL is also reaching out to public sector banks, central/state governments, PSUs, autonomous bodies, etc., to align with the government’s larger vision of reducing fossil fuel dependence, lowering operational fuel costs and accelerating clean mobility adoption across public institutions,” a CESL spokesperson told Mint.The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for increased use of electric vehicles (EVs), and as the finance ministry directed all public sector banks, insurance companies and financial institutions to switch to EVs as part of an austerity programme.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.American hospitality chain Marriott International is betting on a surge in outbound Indian travellers despite temporary disruptions from the West Asia war and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for austerity, with this growth likely to reshape customer loyalty programmes that reward customers with points and perks for repeat stays.The company said loyalty-conscious Indian travellers are increasingly driving demand across Southeast and East Asia, and now expect far more from hotel loyalty programmes than simple earn-and-burn on room nights, including upgrades and experiences beyond stays.“We’re seeing Indian travellers explode into Southeast Asia -- not just Thailand -- but in every destination, from Bali to Japan to South Korea, this summer,” said John Toomey, chief commercial officer for Asia Pacific (excluding Greater China) for Marriott International. He attributed part of the growth to rising air connectivity, led by IndiGo and Air India.The hospitality chain expects travel demand to remain strong through the summer months, with a significant jump in June and July compared to the same time last year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Shareholders at Berkshire Hathaway’s early-May annual general meeting, often described as a pilgrimage for many who idolize Warren Buffett, might have been puzzled by some aspects of CEO Greg Abel’s presentation. Abel, a long-time lieutenant to Buffett who took over as CEO at the beginning of this year, underlined that he planned to continue with the Buffett tradition of buying undervalued businesses.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The Union health ministry has initiated strict precautionary public health measures amid the spreading Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, according to two officials familiar with the matter.The outbreak, driven by the Bundibugyo virus strain, has rapidly intensified across the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda.The move follows the World Health Organization’s declaration of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.The epidemic, according to the latest WHO situation reports, has already resulted in at least 246 suspected cases and 80 suspected deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province alone. Cross-border transmission has also been confirmed, with imported cases reported in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, signalling a high risk of regional spread due to intense population mobility and trade links.Key components of India’s preparedness strategy include a comprehensive review of standard operating procedures governing passenger screening, surveillance, quarantine measures and clinical case management.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The finance ministry, on Monday, has directed all public sector banks, insurance companies, and financial institutions to implement austerity measures, including switching to electric vehicles (EVs), curtailing foreign travel, and shifting to video conferencing for meetings, as the government moves to reduce expenditure and protect the country's financial system from economic instability due to the West Asia war.“All organisations may aim at replacing the petrol and diesel cars hired by them in their head offices and branch offices with electric cars as far as possible,” according to an official circular of the department of financial services (DFS) reviewed by Mint.Earlier this month Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made seven big appeals, austerity measures so to speak, to cushion India from the economic uncertainties arising from the prolonged West Asia war. These included conserving petrol and diesel by using public transport and metro; avoiding purchasing gold for a year, and restricting foreign travel to conserve forex."It is time for us to use petrol, diesel and gas with great care,” Modi said on Sunday while inaugurating projects in Hyderabad, Telangana.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Art has always been Neha Gupta’s quiet escape. She would spend hours sketching and painting, exploring her creativity as a little girl. Over time, she gained interest in a deeper understanding of spaces and buildings.“Architecture felt like art that people could actually live in and interiors were what made those spaces warm, inviting and personal,” says New Delhi-based Gupta, co-founder, principal designer and restaurateur at Beyond Designs.As a student of architecture and design, she first realised that functionality was as crucial as aesthetics.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In India, we treat leadership the way we treat wedding guests: the more people hanging around to feed your ego, the more important you must be.The Ego Equation is simple: Power + Applause – Answerability = Inflated Human Balloon.In theory, leadership is about service. In practice, it often resembles a group project where one person signs the report and everyone else does the work. The moment someone acquires a title, their WhatsApp typing speed slows by 40%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The polar regions fascinated Daniel Liss ever since he was a child.He would study maps and globes, picturing the people and animals who call the coldest reaches of the Earth home. As an adult, he crisscrossed the Alaskan frontier, lived in Sweden, and visited the Norwegian island town of Longyearbyen, one of the world’s northernmost settlements.In December, he crossed a big item off his bucket list, sailing on an Antarctic cruise with Oceanwide Expeditions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Real estate developer Sattva Group plans to expand its hospitality business amid rising travel demand and higher consumer spending on premium experiences.The Bengaluru-based company, which has co-developed JW Marriott Hotel Kolkata and Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences, is building a wider hospitality pipeline spanning Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Darjeeling.“We will invest 10-20% of our turnover into the hotel business going forward," Adrija Agarwal, president of Sattva Group told Mint. “We see hospitality as a serious asset class for us now.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.How do you become a vessel for the exiled? In an effort to take displaced bodies (back) to a land from which they have been banned, multimedia Palestinian artist Emily Jacir travelled to West Bank and Gaza between 2001 and 2003. Her American passport allowed her access to cities like Jerusalem, Haifa, Nazareth, Jericho, Ramallah, Bayt Lahia, the villages of Dayr Rafat and Dhinebeh, among other places.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: The government plans to convert remote forest villages into tourist destinations by building 500 tribal-run homestays in the financial year starting April 2026, as India seeks to spread the economic benefits of the travel market, two government officials said.The initiative, part of the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan scheme under the Swadesh Darshan programme, which has a ₹1,905 crore outlay for 2026-27, will offer tribal households financial assistance of up to ₹5 lakh each for constructing new rooms and up to ₹3 lakh for renovation of existing rooms, the two officials said on the condition of anonymity. Six projects are expected to be sanctioned under the scheme during the fiscal year, the first person mentioned above said.The plan was outlined by the expenditure department to the tourism ministry in a communication reviewed by Mint.The plan targets the 104 million tribal citizens, about 8.6% of the country’s population, concentrated in states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Jharkhand, as well as in the Northeast.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.K Raheja Corp-backed hotel ownership company Chalet Hotels Limited is expanding its focus to deeper leisure markets such as Jaipur, Jodhpur and Pune, while evaluating opportunities in Hyderabad’s financial district as it builds a broader national pipeline.Speaking to Mint, managing director and CEO Shwetank Singh said the company is scaling steadily across city hotels, airport properties and leisure resorts as demand continues to outpace supply despite short-term disruptions.“We are going to go into deep leisure markets like Jaipur, Jodhpur, Pune and also evaluating Hyderabad financial district,” Singh said.“The underlying demand supply story is strong— demand is growing faster than supply. We sustained a strong pricing-led growth, driving healthy RevPAR (revenue per available room) expansion growth across key markets.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.There are rarely any surprises these days in the world of laptops. But in 2026, that might change, thanks to Asus. It has been at the forefront of Oled panel adoption in laptops for quite some time now, and this year the brand has put two Oled panels in a single laptop, with the battery backup to justify it.Is this the laptop you’ve always dreamed of travelling with? That’s the question I put to the test, as I traversed different cafes of Delhi for this review.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Now that everyone has said their piece about the absence of galouti kebab, Awadhi biryani and nihari from the Uttar Pradesh government’s new One District One Cuisine (ODOC) list, let me tell you what is truly missing: purpose and context.Any cuisine is defined by a region’s geographical and cultural makeup, its terroir, local produce, cooking methods and consumption patterns, and not a quick list of street foods. And for a state as diverse as Uttar Pradesh, spanning Himalayan foothills, rich Terai forest, the Gangetic plain and the Vindhya hills and plateau, the range of cuisines is wide.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Roche Pharma India has launched Tecentriq SC (atezolizumab), the country’s first subcutaneous, or under-the-skin, immunotherapy for lung cancer, the company said on Thursday. This breakthrough formulation marks a significant shift in oncology care, reducing treatment administration time from several hours of conventional intravenous (IV) infusion to just seven minutes.Approved by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) around two months ago for adjuvant and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), Tecentriq SC is now available across India with more than 100 patients already on immunotherapy.The launch comes at a time when India grapples with a rising cancer burden.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for Indians to help conserve foreign exchange in various ways, such as by holding off on foreign travel and using less fuel, made waves as news partly because it has been more than a decade since India’s external sector was last under pressure. With crude trading above $100 per barrel globally, our oil imports are soaking up dollars even as exports face protectionist headwinds. Ever since war erupted in West Asia, it has been clear that its adverse effect on our balance of payments (BoP) would need to be kept under watch.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Ventive Hospitality is positioning itself at the centre of India's luxury travel boom with a ₹2,000 crore expansion pipeline spread over five years, which includes a new Soho House in Delhi’s Qutub area and the potential addition of The Ritz-Carlton Bangalore to its portfolio.Backed by American investment management company Blackstone and Pune-based Panchshil Realty, the hospitality platform is betting that demand for luxury travel will continue to outpace supply across India and foreign leisure markets such as the Maldives and Sri Lanka.The company, which also owns global membership platform Soho House, plans to develop 2,000 rooms, both through greenfield expansion and acquisitions, over five years. “We have made 2,000 rooms in the last five years.