India’s ED Seizes $900K in Assets from Iceland‑Registered Bitcoin Fraud, Exposing $24M Crypto Laundering Trail

India's law enforcement and economic intelligence agency, Enforcement Directorate (ED), in Dehradun has provisionally attached assets worth ₹8.54 crore (Nearly US$ 900,000) belonging to Hemant Ishwar Sharma, accused of running a fraudulent Bitcoin investment scheme through his Iceland-registered website BTCFUND.IS. The scam defrauded investors of nearly ₹200 crore between 2014–2018.

BTCFUND.IS was an Iceland‑registered website operated by Hemant Ishwar Sharma between 2014–2018, used to lure Indian investors into a fraudulent Bitcoin investment scheme that defrauded them of nearly ₹200 crore (~856 BTC). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has since attached assets worth ₹13.10 crore and arrested Sharma.

ED’s action under PMLA signals growing scrutiny of crypto fraud in India.

ED Attaches Assets in Bitcoin Scam

Key Details of the Case

• Scam Operator: Hemant Ishwar Sharma
• Fraudulent Platform: BTCFUND.IS (registered in Iceland)
• Period of Operation: 2014–2018
• Amount Defrauded: ~₹200 crore (856.23 BTC identified as proceeds of crime)
• Assets Attached (Latest Order): ₹8.54 crore (real estate, vehicles, luxury properties)
• Total Assets Attached So Far: ~₹13.10 crore
• Lifestyle Funded by Scam: Two BMW cars, a bungalow on Rajpur Road (Dehradun), multiple immovable properties
• Current Status: Sharma is under arrest and lodged in Siddhowala Prison, Dehradun. Prosecution complaint filed in May 2026, cognizance taken in July 2026

How the Scam Worked

• False Promises: Investors were lured with promises of high returns on Bitcoin investments
• Credibility Tactics: Sharma falsely claimed foreign nationals were associated with BTCFUND.IS to project legitimacy
• Abrupt Exit: After collecting substantial funds, the website was shut down, leaving investors helpless
• Money Laundering: Proceeds were laundered via crypto exchanges into real estate, vehicles, and luxury renovations

Broader Context

• Crypto Fraud Risks in India: This case highlights the growing danger of unregistered crypto platforms promising unrealistic returns
• Legal Action: ED’s use of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 shows increasing regulatory scrutiny on crypto-linked fraud
• Investor Warning: Authorities urge caution against schemes that lack regulatory oversight or promise guaranteed profits

Visual Overview

Scam Operator	Fraudulent Website	Assets Attached	Crypto Laundering
Hemant Ishwar Sharma	BTCFUND.IS (Iceland-registered)	₹8.54 crore (latest), ₹13.10 crore total	856.23 BTC (~₹200 crore)

Why Every Developer Testing Telegram Bots Needs a Separate Phone Number

If you have ever tried to test a Telegram bot with your personal account, you already know how quickly things get messy. Your main account starts receiving test messages, notifications pile up, and at some point you are not sure whether a message came from a real contact or from your own bot running in a loop. Dropping https://hottelecom.biz/virtual-number-for-telegram.html into your testing workflow solves this before it becomes a problem, because a virtual number gives you a completely separate Telegram account that exists purely for development purposes and has zero connection to your personal identity or your production setup.

This is not an advanced DevOps concept. It is the same logic that applies to using a separate email address for test accounts, or a sandbox environment instead of a live database. You keep things separate so that testing activity does not bleed into real activity. With Telegram, that separation starts at the phone number level, because the phone number is how Telegram identifies every account.

The good news is that you do not need to be a senior engineer to set this up. If you know what a Telegram bot is, you can manage this. And if you are building anything that involves Telegram, whether that is a bot, an automation script, or a tool that interacts with channels, having a dedicated development account is one of those decisions you will thank yourself for later.

Think of it the same way youthink about having a dedicated test environment for anything elseyou build. You would not run test queries against a production database. You would not send test emails from a real customer-facing address. The same logic applies to Telegram accounts, and the barrier to setting it up is genuinely low.

The virtual number itself is nottechnically complex. It is just a phone number that exists insoftware rather than on a SIM card. It receives SMS messages, whichyou read through a web dashboard or API instead of on a physical device. For Telegram's purposes, it behaves identically to anyother phone number. The whole point is that it is separate from anything you care about personally or professionally outside ofthis specific development context.

What Actually Happens WhenYou Test Without a Separate Account

The most common starting point for someone building their first Telegram bot is using theirpersonal account as the test user. It feels like the easiest option because the account already exists and you are already logged in.What follows is a predictable series of small annoyances that addup over time.

This pattern is so common thatmost people who have been building with Telegram for a while can describe it from memory. You start testing, things get noisy, youtry to work around the noise, the work arounds add complexity, andeventually you set up a separate account and wonder why you did notdo it from the start. Skipping to the end of that sequence is straight forward once you know the setup takes less time than the first round of annoyances it prevents.

First, your notification feed becomes noise. Every test message your bot sends to you appears alongside real messages from real people. After a while, you startmissing things because you have trained yourself to ignore the flood of test notifications. Second, if your bot has a bug that causes it to loop or spam, your personal account is on the receiving end of that. Third, if you ever need to test how your bothandles a fresh user who has never interacted with it before, you cannot do that with your personal account because you have already interacted with it.

The deeper issue is that Telegram accounts carry state. Your personal account has a history,settings, and a relationship with every bot you have ever messaged. A test account starts clean every time, which is exactly what youneed when you are trying to reproduce a specific scenario or verify that a new user flow works correctly.

A separate Telegram account for development also protects your personal account from accidental mistakes during testing. If you are building something thatmodifies account settings, sends messages on behalf of a user, ormanages group memberships, running that against your personalaccount is a risk that a separate test account eliminates entirely.

There is also the question ofwhat happens when your bot or script triggers Telegram's ratelimiting or anti-spam mechanisms. Telegram monitors accounts forbehaviour that looks automated or abusive, and accounts thattrigger these systems can face temporary or permanent restrictions.If that happens to your personal account because you were testingsomething aggressive, the consequences go beyond your developmentwork. A dedicated test account absorbs that risk and leaves your personal account untouched.

The Three Scenarios Where aVirtual Number Actually Saves You Time

Understanding when a virtual number 
genuinely helps versus when it is optional makes it easierto decide when to invest the small effort of setting one up. Thereare three scenarios where it consistently makes a meaningful difference.

The first is bot development and testing. If you are building a Telegram bot, you need at least twoaccounts: one to be the bot's owner and one to be a test userinteracting with the bot. Your personal account can cover one of these roles, but having a dedicated test account means you can run through user flows exactly as a new user would experience them,without any of the history or context that your personal account carries.

The second scenario is automation scripts. Tools that automate Telegram actions, whether for monitoring channels, forwarding messages, or aggregating content, typically need a user account rather than a bot account because they interact with Telegram in ways that the Bot API does notsupport. Running automation from your personal account means thatif the script triggers Telegram's rate limiting or spam detection, your personal account takes the hit. A dedicated account for automation keeps that risk contained.

The third scenario is multi-account testing. If you are building something that involves interactions between multiple Telegram users, such as a group management tool or a feature that behaves differently based on user roles, you need multiple accounts to test those interactions properly. Virtual numbers make it practical to spin up as many test accounts as your scenario requires without needing multiple physical SIM cards.

Here is a quick breakdown of which scenario applies to most common Telegram projects:

• Building a bot that responds touser messages: you need at least one test user account separatefrom your personal account
• Running a script that reads fromTelegram channels: you need a dedicated account so your personalaccount is not at risk
• Testing admin versus regular userbehaviour in a group: you need at least two accounts with differentroles
• Building a multi-step onboardingflow for a new bot: you need a fresh account that has neverinteracted with the bot before
• Testing notification deliverytiming: you need an account where you can actually observe thenotifications without them getting lost in your personalfeed

These scenarios cover most of what developers building Telegram projects actually need. The common thread is that you want test activity isolated from realactivity, and you want to be able to reproduce specific conditions reliably without your personal account's history getting in theway.

Getting a Virtual Numberand Setting Up Your Test Account

The process of getting a virtual number for a Telegram test account is genuinely simple. It does not require any technical knowledge beyond what you already have if youare building Telegram bots.

You choose a provider, pick acountry and number, complete the payment, and the number appears in your provider dashboard. You open Telegram, enter the number whereit asks for a phone number during registration, and then retrieve the verification code from the dashboard. The whole process takes afew minutes the first time and less than that once you know what you are doing.

A few things are worth knowing before you start. Telegram rate-limits verification attempts, so ifyou request a code and it expires before you enter it, you willneed to wait before requesting another one. This means having your provider dashboard open and ready before you trigger the code request is a good habit. Some virtual number providers have slow SMS delivery, which turns this into a frustrating race against the expiry timer. Choosing a provider with fast delivery is less aboutpremium features and more about avoiding a basic operational annoyance.

Once the account is registered,treat it like any other development resource. Give it are cognizable name so you know immediately that it is a test accountwhen you see it in your Telegram client. Keep a note of whichvirtual number is associated with it, because if you ever need toverify the account again from a new device or after a sessionexpires, you will need access to that number.

One thing that catches people offguard the first time: Telegram sessions can expire or be terminated if you log in from a new location or device without completing theverification step. When that happens, Telegram sends a code to theregistered number. If you are using a virtual number and theprovider account is accessible, retrieving that code is straight forward. If the number has expired or you cannot access theprovider account, you are stuck. This is why keeping the number active for the duration of a project, not just for the initial registration, matters more than it might seem upfront.

For short-lived test scenarios, a temporary number that expires after the test is fine. For adevelopment account you will use throughout a project that runs forweeks or months, maintaining ongoing access to the number is partof maintaining access to the account.

1. Open your virtual number providerdashboard and select a number
2. Start Telegram registration onthe device or client you want to use for testing
3. Enter the virtual number whenprompted for your phone number
4. Trigger the verification coderequest in Telegram
5. Retrieve the code from yourprovider dashboard before it expires
6. Complete the registration andgive the account a name that identifies it as a testaccount
7. Note which virtual number islinked to this account for future reference

Managing Multiple TestAccounts and Choosing a Provider

One test account covers mostbasic development scenarios. But as your Telegram project grows incomplexity, you will likely find yourself needing more than one. Abot with admin functionality needs to be tested from both an adminaccount and a regular user account. A group feature needs multiplemembers. A forwarding or aggregation tool needs source accounts topull from.

The online Telegram number markethas matured enough that there are clear differences betweenproviders in terms of inventory quality and delivery reliability.Numbers from pools that have been heavily cycled through Telegramregistrations are more likely to fail at the verification step.This is not about the number being blocked in the traditionalsense. It is about Telegram recognising number ranges that havebeen used for mass registrations and applying additional scrutiny.Choosing a provider that actively manages their inventory reducesthe chance of hitting this.

What trips people up most oftenwhen managing multiple test accounts is losing access to thenumbers. Telegram uses the registered number as the recovery methodfor account access. If a session expires or you need to log in froma new device, Telegram will send a verification code to the number.If that number has expired or you have lost access to the provideraccount where it lives, you are locked out. Keeping the numbersactive for the duration of a project and maintaining access to theprovider account where they are managed prevents this from becominga problem.

HotBiz provides the kind of account management that makes this practical: multiple numbersvisible in one dashboard, with renewal management and clear expiryinformation so you are not caught off guard by a number lapsing at the wrongmoment.

Managing multiple test accounts efficiently comes down to keeping clear records. A simple notethat maps each virtual number to its corresponding Telegram account, along with what that account is used for, isenough to stay organised. Something like: number ending in 4821, test account for admin role testing, registered on a specific date. Simple, but it saves time when you need toretrieve a verification code six weeks later and cannot remember which Number goes with which account.

The cheap Telegram number options available from virtual number providers make maintaining multiple test accounts practical.You are not paying for carrier plans or monthly SIM fees. You pay for the number and keep it active for as long as theproject needs it.

Using a virtual number for Telegram development is one specific application of a broader principle: keep your development environment separate from your personal accounts and your production environment. For Telegram specifically, the separation matters because Telegram accounts accumulate state in waysthat are not always visible. A personal account used fortesting a bot that accidentally triggers. Telegram's spam detectioncarries that history. A dedicated testaccount absorbs the experimentand canbe replaced ifneeded without any consequence to accounts thatmatter.

The buy virtual number for Telegram decision is a small one in the context of any development project, but it setsup acleaner workflow from the start. It costs less than most developertools, takes minutes to set up, and removes a category offriction that would otherwise accumulate quietly overthe lifetime of the project.

The numbers for Telegram you use in development do not need to befrom anyspecific country. Unlike production numberswhere geographic context mightmatter for your users, test account numbers just need to work. This means you can often choose cheaper options from countries with lower demand and still get reliable verification.

DIDVN provides virtual numbers across a widerange of countries with fast SMSdelivery, which matters specifically inthe Telegram context where OTP codeshave short expiry windows.Fordevelopers who needmultiple numbers for different test scenarios, theability to manage them all from oneaccount dashboard rather than juggling multiple providers keeps the overhead low.

The Telegram virtual number buy decision is also one that compounds over time if you are working onmultiple projects. Once you have areliable provider and a workflow for setting up test accounts, spinning up anew one for a new project takes minutes. Fresh project, fresh test account, fresh number. For teams working on Telegram projects collaboratively, virtual numbers also solve a coordination problem: the number lives in a shared provider account that anyone with access can use to retrieve verification codes, rather than depending on one team member's personal phone.

The temp number Telegram use case and the long-term development number use case both startwith thesame step:picking a number and registering an account. The difference is what you do with theaccount afterward and how longyoukeep the numberactive. For a quickone-off test, let the numberexpire when you are done. Foranongoing project withadevelopment account youwill return torepeatedly,keeping thenumber activefor the project'slifetimeis the cleanerapproach.This is fundamentally about treating Telegram accounts as proper development infrastructure rather than something youset up informallyandmanage by memory.

IIT Hyderabad, Crimson Energy Launch ANUGYAN: India’s First Nuclear Tech Industry–Academia Programme

Highlights

• Three-month residential programme to prepare deployment-ready engineers for India's expanding nuclear energy sector.
• The curriculum integrates reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), nuclear safety, regulatory compliance and simulator-based training.
• The programme supports India's vision of expanding nuclear power capacity to 100 GWe by 2047 through the development of an indigenous workforce.

The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IITH), in collaboration with Crimson Energy Experts Pvt. Ltd. (CEEPL), today inaugurated ANUGYAN – Nuclear Technology Orientation Programme (NTOP), India's first industry–academia programme dedicated to preparing engineers and industry professionals for the country's rapidly expanding civil nuclear energy sector.

The programme was formally launched during a ceremony held at the IIT Hyderabad campus in the presence of senior leaders from academia and industry, marking a significant milestone in strengthening India's indigenous capabilities in nuclear engineering education, workforce development and clean energy technologies.

Designed as a three-month fully residential programme, ANUGYAN bridges the gap between academic learning and real-world industrial execution by combining IIT Hyderabad's academic excellence with the extensive expertise of senior nuclear professionals from Crimson Energy Experts. The programme aims to create highly skilled professionals capable of supporting India's growing nuclear energy ecosystem through advanced technical education and practical industry exposure.

With India opening civil nuclear energy to greater private participation and targeting an expansion of its nuclear power generation capacity from approximately 8.8 GWe to 100 GWe by 2047, ANUGYAN has been conceptualized to address the growing demand for specialized engineering talent. The curriculum covers reactor physics, thermal hydraulics, radiation shielding, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), nuclear safety, quality assurance, engineering design, AERB regulatory compliance, and generic simulator-based training, providing participants with comprehensive exposure to modern nuclear engineering practices.

The programme also creates opportunities for engineering graduates, working professionals, PSU executives, EPC contractors and industrial equipment manufacturers to develop specialized capabilities for contributing to India's emerging nuclear supply chain. Participants who successfully complete the programme will receive a joint certification from IIT Hyderabad and Crimson Energy Experts Pvt. Ltd.

The launch of ANUGYAN also builds upon the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between IIT Hyderabad, Dassault Systèmes and Crimson Energy Experts during Bharat Innovate 2026 in Nice, France, to establish the Centre of Design Excellence in Nuclear Engineering (CODENE). The proposed Centre will create a state-of-the-art ecosystem for advanced nuclear engineering design, digital simulation and collaborative research, further strengthening India's indigenous capabilities in nuclear technologies.

Prof. B. S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said: "The launch of ANUGYAN reflects IIT Hyderabad's commitment to developing future-ready talent aligned with India's strategic priorities. As the nation accelerates its clean energy transition and expands its civil nuclear programme, building a highly skilled workforce becomes increasingly important. Through this unique industry–academia partnership, we are combining academic excellence with decades of industrial expertise to prepare engineers capable of driving innovation, ensuring safety, and contributing meaningfully to India's long-term energy security and the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. We believe this initiative will play a vital role in creating the next generation of nuclear engineering professionals for the country."

Cmde R. D. Mane (Retd.), President – Nuclear Division, Crimson Energy Experts Pvt. Ltd., said: "Nuclear technology execution demands strict compliance, quality assurance and specialized engineering design. Through ANUGYAN, our aim is to train engineers who can navigate AERB regulations, optimize equipment design and deliver high-reliability execution for next-generation nuclear deployments, including Small Modular Reactors and floating nuclear power plants. The programme combines rigorous coursework with practical case studies delivered by veterans with decades of experience at premier Department of Atomic Energy institutions such as BARC and NPCIL. We are delighted to partner with IIT Hyderabad in developing world-class nuclear engineering talent for India's future."

The inaugural batch of ANUGYAN commenced on August 3, 2026, with participants drawn from engineering institutions, public sector organizations and industries across the country. The programme is expected to play a significant role in strengthening India's nuclear engineering ecosystem by preparing deployment-ready professionals equipped to contribute across research institutions, public sector enterprises, engineering procurement and construction (EPC) companies, advanced manufacturing industries and emerging nuclear technology enterprises.

By integrating academic rigour with industry experience, ANUGYAN represents a major step towards building the skilled workforce required for India's next generation of clean energy infrastructure while advancing the national vision of energy security, technological self-reliance and sustainable development.

About Crimson Energy:

Crimson Energy Experts Pvt Ltd is a leading technical firm specializing in nuclear engineering, SMR/ Micro Reactor design, technology localisation with comprehensive design and technical services for setting up Nuclear Power Plants and workforce development through its "Anugyan" education framework. For more details -: https://anugyan.com/

About IITH:

IITH, established in 2008, has reached a respectable position in academics, research, technology development, and Start-ups in a short span of 17+ years. In the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2025), IITH is ranked 7th among Engineering institutes (crossing a first-generation IIT this year), and is ranked 6th in Innovation, while it has maintained its rank within the top 10 Engineering Institutes ever since NIRF was launched. IITH is ranked 588th in the QS World University Rankings 2027 and 270th in the QS Asian University Rankings 2026 (123rd globally in citations per faculty). IITH has recorded a major leap in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026, entering the global Top 400 in Engineering & Technology with a rank of 395, marking a sharp improvement from the 501–550 band in 2025. IITH secured 46 positions by 31 faculties in the Stanford /Elsevier Global Top 2% Scientists list 2025 across two categories. IITH has been striving for excellence with its vision of "Inventing & Innovating in Technology for Humanity," guided by its newly adopted Sanskrit Motto, "नवोन्मेषेण देशनिर्माणम्" (Nation Building through Innovation).

• 345+ full-time Faculty
• 350+ non-teaching Staff
• 6140+ Students (PG+PhD students accounting for about 60%)
• 5730+ R&D Projects worth Rs. 1820+ Cr (Rs. 245+ Cr funding in 2025-26)
• 14,040+ Publications
• 2,85,210+ Citations
• 165 h-index
• 775+ Patents (250 Patents in 2025, i.e., 0.75 patents per faculty in 2025)
• About 300 Start-ups (generated 1100+ jobs with revenue of Rs. 1500+ Cr)

The thrust areas of research at IITH are: Next-Generation Telecommunications, Autonomous Navigation, Robotics & Intelligent systems, Semiconductors & Devices, Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Materials & Critical Minerals, Materials characterisation, Catalysis, Healthcare, Energy, Sustainability, Climate Change, Smart Mobility, EV technology, Quantum technologies, Nuclear Energy, Computational Engineering, Design, AR/VR, Waste management, and Rural development.


Follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube for the latest updates. To know more, please visit https://www.iith.ac.in/ || You can view all press releases/notes from IIT Hyderabad at: https://pr.iith.ac.in/press-release || Cell: 8331036099 | Email: pro@iith.ac.in

ICICI Lombard Marks 25 Years with 25 Breakthrough Insurance Innovations

• Marks 25 Years of Keeping Promises with 25 customer-first innovative solutions
• New offerings across health, motor, home, travel and commercial insurance

ICICI Lombard General Insurance, India’s largest private general insurance company, today unveiled 25 Innovative solutions across multiple lines of business as part of its Silver Jubilee celebrations. The company has surpassed its earlier record of 14 new launches on one single day and is now launching 25 innovations on one day, with 5 industry-firsts. These solutions exemplify our customer first approach, uniting a customer centric mindset with the power of new age technologies like AI, across the insurance lifecycle.

Over the last 25 years, ICICI Lombard has evolved alongside the changing needs of customers, continually expanding the role of insurance beyond financial protection. Having served over 500 million customers* and settled more than 60 million claims*, the company is now shaping the next phase of protection through innovations that help customers not only recover from risks but increasingly anticipate and manage them.

Sanjeev Mantri, Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Lombard, said - For 25 years, the ethos of ICICI Lombard has been simple - to stand by our customers for promises we have made and innovate for every promise of tomorrow.

On the momentous occasion of our Silver Jubilee, I would like to express our gratitude to our entire ecosystem of stakeholders – customers, partners, employees, shareholders and Regulators for their trust and support. On this landmark day, we decided to renew our promises to our customers and as part of our celebrations, have launched 25 innovative solutions. These offerings will enable us to service diverse needs of our customers and help in making insurance more personalised, meaningful and future-ready.

Key highlights from the 25 innovations are as follows:

Next Gen Products

• Elevate Her: A life-stage-based modular Women Care product that integrates OPD, wellness, maternity, preventive care and women-cancer related financial protection into a single solution. For the first time in the industry, it offers four customised plans to support women across different life stages with a seamless transition as their needs evolve.
• Paw Care: A comprehensive pet insurance plan covering veterinary expenses, emergencies, illnesses, accidents, surgeries and routine care for pets. Features include long term coverage and RFID tag based discounts.
• Complete Home Protect: A modular lifestyle protection solution for homeowners, covering interiors, jewellery, art, collectibles, and furnishings. Offers cashless home assistance services, policy tenure options up to 30 years, fixed capital appreciation annually, and additional living expenses if the home becomes inhabitable.

Elevating Service Experience

• Digital Branch @Sidddhivinayak (Industry First): India’s first digital insurance branch in a metro transit environment, enabling policy purchase, renewals, claims registration, online KYC, document submission and digital servicing.
• Motor Service Assure (Industry First): A time-assured roadside assistance service with a 30-minute service commitment, 24x7, across 15 cities in India.
• Motor Sahayak: Premium service offering immediate assistance during vehicle emergencies, including legal facilitation and reimbursement of defence-related expenses.
• Specialised Service Desk: Personalised service desks for senior citizens and preferred customer groups with priority access and faster assistance.

AI-led Innovations

• Voice AI (Industry First): Conversational platform supporting natural voice interactions in Hindi & English, available 24x7, completing policy purchase and payment journeys.
• Personalised Travel Planner (Industry First): AI-powered trip planner in the IL TakeCare app, generating curated itineraries with embedded insurance offerings.
• Smart Health Underwriting (Industry First): AI-powered underwriting delivering faster, seamless, self-guided digital journeys with real-time evaluations.

As ICICI Lombard enters its next chapter, these innovations reaffirm a promise that has remained constant for 25 years, to be there for customers, wherever they are and protect everything they value.

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited

ICICI Lombard is the leading private general insurance company in the country. The Company offers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products through multiple distribution channels, including motor, health, crop, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering, and liability insurance. With a legacy of over 25 years, ICICI Lombard is committed to customer centricity with its brand philosophy of ‘Nibhaye Vaade’. The company has issued over 39.2 million policies, over 3.4 million claims processed and has a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of ₹ 306.18 billion for the year ended March 31, 2026. ICICI Lombard has 341 branches and 15,008 employees, as on March 31, 2026.
ICICI Lombard has been a pioneer in the industry, being the first large-scale insurance company in India to migrate its entire core systems to the cloud. With a strong focus on being digitally-led and agile, the company has introduced multiple AI-powered insurance solutions. The company’s flagship insurance and wellness app, IL TakeCare, which has received over 22 million downloads, also offers the industry’s first Face Scan feature. The company has won several prestigious awards including Insurance Asia, ICC Emerging Asia Insurance, ET BFSI Exceller, ET Corporate Excellence, Golden Peacock, FICCI Insurance, Assocham, Stevie Asia Pacific, and National CSR.
For more details log on to https://www.icicilombard.com/.
For details, contact:

ICICI Lombard GIC Ltd. Rima Mane rima.mane@icicilombard.com Tel: +91 99877 87103

Adfactors PR Nilisha Gandhat nilisha.gandhat@adfactorspr.com Tel: +91 70211 12940

*Consolidated data till March 31, 2026, basis Annual Reports of the Company
``````html
Press Release:
ICICI Lombard launches 25 Innovations on its 25th Anniversary!

• Marks 25 Years of Keeping Promises with 25 customer-first innovative solutions
• New offerings across health, motor, home, travel and commercial insurance

Mumbai, 03 August 2026: ICICI Lombard General Insurance, India’s largest private general insurance company, today unveiled 25 Innovative solutions across multiple lines of business as part of its Silver Jubilee celebrations. The company has surpassed its earlier record of 14 new launches on one single day and is now launching 25 innovations on one day, with 5 industry-firsts. These solutions exemplify our customer first approach, uniting a customer centric mindset with the power of new age technologies like AI, across the insurance lifecycle.
Over the last 25 years, ICICI Lombard has evolved alongside the changing needs of customers, continually expanding the role of insurance beyond financial protection. Having served over 500 million customers* and settled more than 60 million claims*, the company is now shaping the next phase of protection through innovations that help customers not only recover from risks but increasingly anticipate and manage them.
Speaking on the occasion, Sanjeev Mantri, Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Lombard, said:
"For 25 years, the ethos of ICICI Lombard has been simple - to stand by our customers for promises we have made and innovate for every promise of tomorrow.
On the momentous occasion of our Silver Jubilee, I would like to express our gratitude to our entire ecosystem of stakeholders – customers, partners, employees, shareholders and Regulators for their trust and support. On this landmark day, we decided to renew our promises to our customers and as part of our celebrations, have launched 25 innovative solutions. These offerings will enable us to service diverse needs of our customers and help in making insurance more personalised, meaningful and future-ready.”
Key highlights from the 25 innovations are as follows:
Next Gen Products

• Elevate Her: A life-stage-based modular Women Care product that integrates OPD, wellness, maternity, preventive care and women-cancer related financial protection into a single solution. For the first time in the industry, it offers four customised plans to support women across different life stages with a seamless transition as their needs evolve.
• Paw Care: A comprehensive pet insurance plan covering veterinary expenses, emergencies, illnesses, accidents, surgeries and routine care for pets. Features include long term coverage and RFID tag based discounts.
• Complete Home Protect: A modular lifestyle protection solution for homeowners, covering interiors, jewellery, art, collectibles, and furnishings. Offers cashless home assistance services, policy tenure options up to 30 years, fixed capital appreciation annually, and additional living expenses if the home becomes inhabitable.

Elevating Service Experience

• Digital Branch @Sidddhivinayak (Industry First): India’s first digital insurance branch in a metro transit environment, enabling policy purchase, renewals, claims registration, online KYC, document submission and digital servicing.
• Motor Service Assure (Industry First): A time-assured roadside assistance service with a 30-minute service commitment, 24x7, across 15 cities in India.
• Motor Sahayak: Premium service offering immediate assistance during vehicle emergencies, including legal facilitation and reimbursement of defence-related expenses.
• Specialised Service Desk: Personalised service desks for senior citizens and preferred customer groups with priority access and faster assistance.

AI-led Innovations

• Voice AI (Industry First): Conversational platform supporting natural voice interactions in Hindi & English, available 24x7, completing policy purchase and payment journeys.
• Personalised Travel Planner (Industry First): AI-powered trip planner in the IL TakeCare app, generating curated itineraries with embedded insurance offerings.
• Smart Health Underwriting (Industry First): AI-powered underwriting delivering faster, seamless, self-guided digital journeys with real-time evaluations.

As ICICI Lombard enters its next chapter, these innovations reaffirm a promise that has remained constant for 25 years, to be there for customers, wherever they are and protect everything they value.
The complete list of launches is provided in the attached product briefing document.
#ICICILombard #Technology #IndustryFirst #SanjeevMantri #Innovation
About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Limited
ICICI Lombard is the leading private general insurance company in the country. The Company offers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products through multiple distribution channels, including motor, health, crop, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering, and liability insurance. With a legacy of over 25 years, ICICI Lombard is committed to customer centricity with its brand philosophy of ‘Nibhaye Vaade’. The company has issued over 39.2 million policies, over 3.4 million claims processed and has a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of ₹ 306.18 billion for the year ended March 31, 2026. ICICI Lombard has 341 branches and 15,008 employees, as on March 31, 2026.
ICICI Lombard has been a pioneer in the industry, being the first large-scale insurance company in India to migrate its entire core systems to the cloud. With a strong focus on being digitally-led and agile, the company has introduced multiple AI-powered insurance solutions. The company’s flagship insurance and wellness app, IL TakeCare, which has received over 22 million downloads, also offers the industry’s first Face Scan feature. The company has won several prestigious awards including Insurance Asia, ICC Emerging Asia Insurance, ET BFSI Exceller, ET Corporate Excellence, Golden Peacock, FICCI Insurance, Assocham, Stevie Asia Pacific, and National CSR.
For more details log on to https://www.icicilombard.com/.
*Consolidated data till March 31, 2026, basis Annual Reports of the Company

Franklin Templeton Announces Launch of Franklin India Short Term Fund

Franklin Templeton (India) today announced  the launch of its open-ended short term debt scheme - Franklin India Short Term Fund (FISTF).

The fund aims to invest across high-quality corporate debt securities, State Development Loans (SDLs), government securities, and money market instruments, while maintaining a portfolio Macaulay duration between 1 and 3 years.

The portfolio may predominantly comprise AAA and AA+ rated corporate bonds and sovereign securities.

FISTF will be managed by Rahul Goswami, Chief Investment Officer & Managing Director, India Fixed Income, together with Anuj Tagra and Rohan Maru, Vice Presidents and Portfolio Managers, India Fixed Income at Franklin Templeton.

The NFO for Franklin India Short Term Fund will be open for subscription from August 5, 2026, to August 11, 2026.

Speaking on the launch of the fund, Avinash Satwalekar, President, Franklin Templeton–India, said, “At Franklin Templeton India, we are committed to expanding our fixed income offerings to meet the evolving needs of our investors. The launch of Franklin India Short Term Fund underscores our focus on providing investors with a fixed income solution focused on high quality debt that balances income potential with prudent risk management. Backed by our experienced fixed income team and robust risk management framework, we believe Franklin India Short Term Fund is well positioned to help investors navigate evolving market conditions and achieve their short to medium term investment goals."

Commenting on the fund’s investment strategy, Rahul Goswami, Chief Investment Officer & Managing Director, India Fixed Income, Franklin Templeton, said, “Amid evolving macroeconomic conditions, the fixed income market continues to present selective opportunities, particularly at the shorter end of the yield curve where elevated yields, adequate liquidity, and supportive demand-supply dynamics remain favourable. Franklin India Short Term Fund is well-positioned to capitalize on these opportunities through a disciplined focus on high-quality corporate credit and active duration management. By dynamically navigating opportunities across the short- to medium-term segment of the curve, the fund aims to generate accrual-led returns while prudently managing interest-rate and credit risks, which could help deliver better risk-adjusted outcomes across market cycles.”

NFO Features

Fund Description	Franklin India Short Term Fund
Type Of Scheme	The fund is an open-ended short-term debt scheme investing in instruments such that the Macaulay duration of the portfolio is between 1 year to 3 years
Investment Objective:	The objective of the Scheme is to achieve optimal returns over the short term by investing in a diversified set of debt and money market securities. However, there is no assurance that the investment objective of the scheme will be achieved.
NFO Dates	August 5, 2026 to August 11, 2026
Scheme Re-opens For continuous Sale And Repurchase On	August 13, 2026
Managed By	Rahul Goswami, Anuj Tagra and Rohan Maru
Minimum Amount	Rs 5000 and in multiples of Rs 1 thereafter
Benchmark	NIFTY Short Duration Debt Index A-II
Exit Load	Nil

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton is a trusted investment partner, delivering tailored solutions that align with clients’ strategic goals. With deep portfolio management expertise across public and private markets, we combine investment excellence with cutting edge technology.

Since our founding in 1947, we have empowered clients through strategic partnership, forward-looking insights, and continuous innovation – providing the tools and resources to navigate change and capture opportunity.

With $1.79 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2026, Franklin Templeton operates globally in more than 35 countries.
Franklin Templeton (India) is one of the largest foreign fund houses** in the country. It offers ranges of mutual fund schemes designed to cater to varied investor requirements and offering different investment styles to choose from.

It has offices in 41 cities and Collection Centers in over 100 locations across the country.
** Source: AMFI Website (based on AAUM as on June 30, 2026)

*Visit website http://www.franklintempletonindia.com for further details including details of AUM by geography.

Potential Risk Class

Risk-o-meter and Product Labeling
Scheme Type: An open ended short term debt scheme investing in instruments such that the Macaulay duration of the portfolio is between 1 year to 3 years. 

The above product labelling assigned during the New Fund Offer (NFO) is based on internal assessment of the scheme characteristics or model portfolio and the same may vary post NFO when the actual investments are made.
Please refer to our website (https://www.franklintempletonindia.com/downloadsServlet/pdf/product-labels-jg9o5k7l) or latest Risk-o-meters of scheme and primary benchmark (Tier I) calculated in accordance with Para 6.16 and 6.17 of SEBI Master Circular on Mutual Funds dated March 20, 2026.

*Investors should consult their financial advisers if in doubt about whether the product is suitable for them

Disclaimers

The information contained in this communication is not a complete representation of every material fact and is for informational purposes only.
Statements/ opinions/recommendations in this communication which contain words or phrases such as “will”, “expect”, “could”, “believe” and similar expressions or variations of such expressions are “forward – looking statements”.

Actual results may differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements due to risk or uncertainties associated with our expectations with respect to, but not limited to, exposure to market risk, general economic and political conditions in India and other countries globally, which have an impact on the service and / or investments.

There may have been changes in matters which affect the security subsequent to the date of this communication.

The AMC, Trustee, their associates, officers or employees or holding companies do not assure or guarantee any return of principle or assurance of income on investments in these schemes.

Please read the Scheme Information Document carefully in its entirety prior to making an investment decision and visit our website http://www.franklintempletonindia.com for further details.

The information contained in this document is for general purposes only and not a complete disclosure of every material fact.
The Stocks, sectors and instruments mentioned herein are for explaining the concept and shall not be construed as an investment advice to any party.

The information / data herein alone is not sufficient and shouldn’t be used for the development or implementation of an investment strategy.

It should not be construed as investment advice to any party.

The article does not warrant the completeness or accuracy of the information and disclaims all liabilities, losses and damages arising out of the use of this information. The statements contained herein may include statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements that are based on our current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. Readers shall be fully responsible/liable for any decision taken on the basis of this article. The Sectors and instruments mentioned above are used to explain the concept and is for illustration purpose only and should not be used for development or implementation of any investment strategy. It should not be construed as investment advice to any party.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully.