CII-IGBC, University of Mysore Sign Landmark Pact to Advance Green Education

The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), formally signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Mysore to advance green education and accelerate capacity building among students and faculty across Karnataka. The agreement marked a significant step toward institutionalizing sustainability-focused learning within higher education. The signing took place at the University of Mysore campus in Mysuru, reflecting the shared commitment of both institutions to foster an environmentally responsible future built on knowledge, innovation and industry-academia collaboration.

The MoU was signed by Prof. Lokanath N. K., Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, University of Mysore, Mr. Vinod Maroli, Chairman, IGBC Mysuru Chapter, and Mr. Srihari D, Co-Chairman, IGBC Mysuru Chapter. The ceremony was attended by several distinguished dignitaries, including Smt. M. K. Savitha, K.A.S., Registrar, Prof. N. Nagaraja, Director & Registrar (Evaluation), Mr. K. Sriram, IGBC Executive Board Member & Fellow, Mr. Somashekhar, Past Chairman, IGBC, Prof. Shamsundar, Mr. Ramesh Kikkeri, and Mr. Adithya Sajjan from IGBC Secretariat. Their presence underscored the importance of this collaborative initiative in shaping a new generation of green building professionals.

Through this MoU, IGBC and the University of Mysore agreed to jointly introduce specialized courses on Green Built Environment across the University’s affiliated colleges. The collaboration aimed to equip students from civil, mechanical, electrical and architecture streams with contemporary knowledge, practical insights and industry exposure to help them become career-ready in the rapidly growing green building sector. IGBC has committed to developing high-quality course content, providing faculty training and facilitating accreditation, while the University took responsibility for integrating the course as an elective or core subject within its academic programmes. The initiative also included classroom sessions, online training modules, and expert-led engagements to strengthen students' technical understanding of green building concepts.

Mr. Vinod Maroli, Chairman, IGBC Mysuru Chapter while signing the Memorandum of Understanding, said, “The signing of this MoU marks a significant milestone in our collective effort to build a more sustainable future. By collaborating with the University of Mysore, we are integrating green building knowledge at the academic level and empowering students to become future-ready professionals in the green built environment. This partnership will not only strengthen capacity-building in the region but also inspire young minds to lead India’s sustainability movement with innovation, responsibility and purpose."

Prof. Lokanath N. K., Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, University of Mysore, said, "This collaboration with IGBC is a meaningful step toward strengthening our commitment to sustainability-driven education. By introducing specialized learning on the green built environment, we are preparing our students to meet the emerging needs of industry and society. The University of Mysore has always championed knowledge that creates impact, and this partnership will enable our faculty and students to contribute actively to India’s sustainable development journey."

In addition to curriculum development, the MoU laid strong emphasis on experiential learning. Both institutions planned to organize joint programmes on sustainability, encourage participation in IGBC’s flagship events such as the Green Building Congress, Green Education Conclave, World Green Building Week, and various webinars and conferences. Students were also to be supported in pursuing the IGBC Accredited Professional – Associate certification, giving them a competitive edge in India’s expanding green building industry. Furthermore, the partnership sought to invigorate IGBC’s local chapter activities by providing students with meaningful opportunities to volunteer, network with industry leaders and gain first-hand exposure to sustainable design practices through site visits and expert sessions.

This collaboration strengthened IGBC’s ongoing mission to create a nationwide ecosystem of sustainability champions by integrating green concepts into mainstream education. With the University of Mysore being one of India’s oldest and most respected institutions, the partnership represented a major milestone in expanding IGBC’s footprint in academia. Both organizations reaffirmed their commitment to nurturing skilled professionals who will play a critical role in driving India’s transition toward a sustainable built environment. The MoU symbolized a shared vision of enabling youth to lead with knowledge, responsibility and innovation in shaping a greener tomorrow.

India’s Mutual Fund AUM to Cross ₹300 Lakh Crore by 2035, Equity Holdings at ₹250 Lakh Crore: Bain–Groww Report

India’s mutual fund AUM is projected to surpass INR 300 lakh crore by 2035, with direct equity holdings expected to reach INR 250 lakh crore over the same period, signalling a major shift in the country’s investment landscape. These findings are part of the How India Invests 2025 report released today by Bain & Company in partnership with Groww.

The mutual fund ecosystem continues to deepen and expand, with the next wave of growth driven by increasing household adoption, strong digital enablement, supportive regulation and growing investor trust. According to the report, mutual fund penetration across Indian households is expected to double from 10% to 20% over the next decade. The next phase of industry growth will come primarily from mass and mass-affluent households beyond the top 30 cities. Increased adoption among affluent investors across the next 70 cities will further accelerate this expansion. The share of long-term holdings is also rising; over-five-year holdings in industry AUM have doubled from 7% to 16%, and over-five-year SIP holdings have increased from 12% to 21%, reflecting growing investor trust and confidence.

Saurabh Trehan, Partner & Head of Bain & Company’s Financial Services practice in India, said, “Indian households are steadily shifting from a traditional savings mindset to a more investment-oriented approach, with mutual funds and direct equities emerging as the fastest-growing asset classes in recent years. As more households, especially young and first-time investors and those beyond the top 30 cities embrace market-linked products and longer holding periods, we’re seeing the emergence of a deeper and more resilient domestic investor base. With SIP inflows and long-term holdings rising sharply, this evolution will be central to how India finances its growth in the years ahead.”

The expected growth in equity participation, on the other hand, can be attributed to the shift from speculative trading to long-term investing, in addition to continued digitally driven penetration and strong market performance. Approximately 9 crore incremental retail investors are expected from Gen Z and millennials, led by higher digital adoption and growing financial literacy.

Smaller Cities and First-Time Investors Are Shaping the Next Phase of Growth

The report highlights a broad-based democratisation of investing in India, with rising participation from younger investors, women, and households beyond the major metros.

India’s investor demographics are shifting rapidly, with new generation of participants entering the market and likely to contribute to the market growth. Mutual fund folios have grown 2.5x in the past five years, yet individual gross flows have increased by just 7%, underscoring the entry of a large cohort of new investors with smaller ticket sizes. Average monthly SIP inflows have risen at an estimated 25% CAGR over the last decade, driven largely by 18 to 34-year-olds, a demographic which is increasingly shaping the direction of domestic capital markets. Younger investors under 30 now represent 40% of NSE-registered investors, compared with 23% in FY19, underscoring the generational shift driving India’s capital markets.

Another key trend highlighted in the report is rising participation from smaller urban centers Today, 55%-60% of new SIP registrations originate from B30 cities, demonstrating that India’s investment ecosystem is broadening beyond major metros. Cities beyond the top 110 contributed 19% of mutual fund AUM in FY25, up from 10% in FY19. Women’s participation is also rising steadily with salience of women investors rising to 25% in FY24 vs 20% in FY19.

Digital Platforms Are Reshaping Investor Behaviour

Digital platforms have emerged as the fastest-growing channel for retail investing over the last five years, with approximately 80% of equity investors and 35% of mutual fund investors being onboarded through these platforms.

Gen Z now makes up approximately 45% of the investor base and continues to grow, with salaried individuals forming the dominant occupational segment. The reach of digital platforms is no longer confined to major metros with Tier-2+ city investors making up nearly half of all digital platform users further demonstrating the increasingly broad-based reach of digital investment channels across India.

"We are witnessing a definitive structural shift in Indians—moving from a savings-first to an investing-first mindset. The government’s push on digital infrastructure, combined with progressive regulatory measures, has democratized access and fostered deep trust in the ecosystem. A diverse, resilient investor base is emerging from Tier 2+ cities and younger demographics, who are strengthening India’s capital markets from within.”, said Harsh Jain, co-founder and COO, Groww.

Retail Investing as a Key Enabler of India’s Journey to a $10+ Trillion Economy

Retail investing is set to play a pivotal role in India’s journey toward a $10+ trillion economy, contributing across capital access, wealth creation, and employment.

One of the most important contributions of retail investing is improved access to capital. Higher participation provides deeper liquidity in capital markets, enabling more primary issuances particularly for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Reflecting this trend, annual SME IPO proceeds have risen sharply from around INR 1,800 crore in FY19 to nearly INR 6,000 crore in FY24, significantly expanding the availability of growth capital.

At the same time, greater financial awareness and digital access are democratizing wealth creation, helping diverse demographics shift from traditional deposits toward higher-return market-linked products. This shift is particularly important for improving financial independence among women and enabling younger investors to build long-term wealth.

Retail investing is poised to create more than 7 lakh new jobs, both within the financial ecosystem and across businesses gaining access to growth capital. The growing prominence of domestic mutual funds and rising retail inflows is also reinforcing the resilience of India’s capital markets, acting as a counterweight to foreign portfolio outflows and enabling faster recoveries during periods of volatility.

“India is entering a new era of retail investing, one that is poised to play a pivotal role in the country’s economic development. By expanding access to capital, broadening wealth creation, unlocking new job opportunities, and strengthening the resilience of India’s capital markets, retail investors are reshaping the flow of capital in meaningful ways. Just as importantly, steady domestic inflows are giving India’s capital markets a level of resilience we haven’t seen before, helping them to absorb volatility and recover faster.”, said Rakesh Pozhath, Partner and a leading member of Bain & Company’s Financial Services practice in India.

As participation deepens across demographics, generations, and geographies, India’s investment landscape is entering a more inclusive, resilient, and mature phase. These shifts from longer holding periods to a sustained SIP culture and wider adoption across the country mark a fundamental turning point in how India builds long-term wealth and capital market strength for the decade ahead.

From Pilots to Profit: NTT Data’s 2026 Global AI Report Shows How Top Performers Turn AI Vision Into Value

NTT DATA, a global leader in AI, digital business and IT services, today released the 2026 Global AI Report: A playbook for AI leaders. The playbook is based on the company’s new benchmark research and reveals how “AI leaders” are separating from competitors through strategy and execution.

The analysis is based on a survey of 2,567 senior executives across 35 countries and 15 industries. Only 15% of participating organizations qualified as “AI leaders,” defined by clear AI strategies, mature operating models and focused execution. These leaders report significantly higher revenue growth and profit margins than other organizations.

AI accountability now belongs in the boardroom and demands an enterprise-wide agenda, said Yutaka Sasaki, President and CEO, NTT DATA Group. Our research shows that a small group of AI leaders already are using AI to differentiate, grow and reinvent how humans and machines create value together.

Strategy

Leaders treat AI as a core growth engine and rewire their strategy accordingly.

• Strategic alignment and speed: AI leaders win by tightly aligning AI with business strategy and turning strategic focus and speed into outsized financial returns.
• Focused end-to-end approach: Top performers focus on high-value domains that unlock disproportionate economic value and redesign workflows end to end.
• Flywheel effect: These front-runners create a cycle where initial investments fuel early success that drives reinvestment for further growth.
• Core reinvention: Growth leaders rebuild core applications with embedded AI rather than limiting themselves to surface-level add-ons.

Execution

AI leaders differentiate through resilient foundations, empowered humans, hardwired adoption and governance, and expert partners.

• Secure at scale: AI leaders build scalable and secure stacks, localize or relocate AI infrastructure for private/sovereign AI, and invest to eliminate infrastructure bottlenecks.
• Expert-first AI: These front-runners use AI to amplify the impact of experienced, highly skilled employees rather than replace them.
• Change that sticks: Top performers treat adoption as a company-wide change program and adopt constructive change management to reduce resistance.
• Governed for scale: Leading organizations centralize AI governance, formalize enterprise-wide oversight, and empower dedicated Chief AI Officers (CAIOs) to own risk and align innovation.
• Partner-powered growth: Best-in-class players lean on strategic external collaborators and are open to outcome-based gain-sharing models that accelerate AI value.

Once AI and business strategies are aligned, the single most effective move is to pick one or two domains that deliver disproportionate value and redesign them end-to-end with AI,” said Abhijit Dubey, CEO and CAIO, NTT DATA, Inc. Supporting this focused, end-to-end approach with strong governance, modern infrastructure and trusted partners is how today’s AI leaders are turning pilots into profits and pulling ahead of the market.

About the Research

The survey was conducted between September and October 2025. Respondents include C-suite, senior executives and other senior staff from enterprises spanning technology, manufacturing, banking, financial services, healthcare, consumer and other sectors.

Visit NTT DATA’s website to download the complete 2026 Global AI Report: A playbook for AI leaders.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA is a $30+ billion business and technology services leader, serving 75% of the Fortune Global 100. We are committed to accelerating client success and positively impacting society through responsible innovation. We are one of the world’s leading AI and digital infrastructure providers, with unmatched capabilities in enterprise-scale AI, cloud, security, connectivity, data centers and application services. Our consulting and industry solutions help organizations and society move confidently and sustainably into the digital future. As a Global Top Employer, we have experts in more than 70 countries. We also offer clients access to a robust ecosystem of innovation centers as well as established and start-up partners. NTT DATA is part of NTT Group, which invests over $3 billion each year in R&D.
Visit us at nttdata.com.

Emergent Secures Strategic Investment from Google to Democratize Software Creation Globally

Co-Founders of Emergent - Mukund Jha & Madhav Jha

• Emergent reaches 2.5M users and $25M ARR in under five months, signaling rapid growth and global adoption

The world’s first agentic vibe-coding platform, Emergent, announces a strategic investment from Google’s AI Futures Fund. Launched in May 2025, the fund supports AI startups with capital, early access to cutting-edge AI models, and direct support from Google’s experts. Emergent will leverage this investment and support to further accelerate talent acquisition, product development, and global expansion of its platform.

Emergent is putting the power of software development in the hands of everyday users. It eliminates traditional barriers such as the need for capital, developers, or a technical co-founder to get started, enabling anyone to turn ideas into production-grade apps with autonomous agents- no coding skills required. The platform has already generated strong global momentum, with users building apps globally.

Emergent has built a rapidly expanding user base of more than 2.5 million people globally in less than five months, and has already exceeded a $25 million ARR run rate. The company aims to support the dreams of tens of millions of entrepreneurs, small business owners, and creatives by early next year.

On the strategic investment from Google’s AI Futures Fund, Mukund Jha, Co-Founder and CEO of Emergent, said: “Not every business founder has the technology expertise or resources to make their dream a reality. With Emergent, we’re giving small business owners, creators, and entrepreneurs the tools to bring their vision to life, no matter the complexity. We’re honored to be supported by Google’s AI Futures Fund and are excited to leverage Google’s industry-leading AI technology to further empower Emergent for our rapidly growing user base.”

Jonathan Silber, Co-Founder and Director of AI Futures Fund at Google, said: “The AI Futures Fund is all about reimagining what can be accomplished with generative AI. Emergent’s work is helping people make their ideas a reality, breaking down barriers, and democratising access to the tools businesses need to build their technology stack. We look forward to supporting them on their journey as they build with Gemini 3, and we can’t wait to see what they do next.”

Side hustlers, small business owners, and solo founders can build without coding, removing the need for an engineering team. Emergent lets anyone turn their ideas into real, production-ready applications for their users. Start building with Emergent today: https://emergent.sh/

About Emergent

Emergent is a fast-growing agentic vibe-coding platform. Its platform enables anyone to build full-stack, production-ready applications using autonomous AI agents. Launched in 2025 and backed by Lightspeed, Prosus, YC, Together, and leading angels, the company reached $25M ARR in less than 5 months. Emergent’s mission is to democratize software creation so that anyone can turn ideas into products and tools.

UP Becomes India’s Startup Powerhouse with 18,568 Ventures

Uttar Pradesh has officially emerged as India’s fastest-growing startup hub, hosting 18,568 active ventures spread across all 75 districts, with nearly 8,000 led by women entrepreneurs.

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Key highlights

• Scale of growth: The state now boasts 18,568 startups, making it one of the largest ecosystems in India.
• Women entrepreneurs: About 8,000 ventures are women-led, reflecting a significant rise in gender diversity in business leadership.
• Sectoral spread: Startups are thriving in agritech, artificial intelligence, drones, and fintech, among other domains.
• Geographic reach: The ecosystem spans all 75 districts, with hotspots in Noida, Greater Noida, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Gorakhpur.
• Policy and infrastructure: Government initiatives and improved connectivity have been pivotal in driving this surge.

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Why Uttar Pradesh is rising

• Policy push: Active promotion through Startup India programs, incubation centers, and funding support.
• Infrastructure development: Enhanced air, road, rail, and urban growth in cities like Noida and Lucknow.
• Inclusivity: District-wide spread ensures rural and semi-urban participation beyond traditional tech hubs.
• Youth engagement: A large young population fuels entrepreneurial ventures and innovation.

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Challenges and risks

• Scaling beyond borders: National and global expansion may lag without stronger venture capital inflows.
• Skill gaps: Technical and managerial expertise remains uneven across districts.
• Funding access: Women-led startups often face greater barriers to capital.
• Sustainability: Rapid growth must be matched with mentorship, R&D, and global market integration.

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Strategic implications

• National impact: UP’s rise challenges the dominance of Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, and Hyderabad.
• Global positioning: Growth could position UP as a major destination in agritech and AI-driven solutions.
• Policy model: A district-wide inclusivity approach other states may replicate.

Category	Statistic
Total Active Startups	18,568
Women-led Startups	≈ 8,000
District Coverage	All 75 districts
Major Startup Hotspots	Noida, Greater Noida, Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur
Key Sectors	Agritech, Artificial Intelligence, Drones, Fintech
Government Support	Startup India programs, incubation centers, funding support
Infrastructure Boost	Improved air, road, rail, and water connectivity