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7th International Young Chef Olympiad, World’s biggest culinary competition for student chefs, to be hosted virtually from January 31 to February 6, 2021

  • India to host contestants from 50 countries at YCO 2021
  • The winner will receive the coveted YCO 2021 Champion Trophy and a cash prize of USD 10,000

NEW DELHI, Jan. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The world’s biggest Olympiad for culinary students – the IIHM International Young Chef Olympiad (YCO) – is back with a bang to celebrate the multicultural diversity of food from across the world. The seventh edition of the event will be held virtually this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic from 31th January to 6th February. YCO 2021 will witness participation of student chefs from 50 countries, including Spain, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Thailand, South Korea, Turkey, UAE, Sweden, among others. Adopting the theme of ‘Forward Together’, the competition will unite the young talents of the culinary world to champion this virtual culinary battle through their positive action.

Opening Ceremony is scheduled on Sunday Jan 31, 06:30 PM India Time OR 1 PM GMT and can be viewed at https://youtu.be/5Ym6p78NA5s

During the 5-day long intense competition, which is being organized by the International Institute of Hotel Management (IIHM) in partnership with the International Hospitality Council London, the contestants will undertake 2 rounds of culinary challenges in their quest to win the coveted YCO 2021 Champion Trophy, a cash prize of USD 10,000 and a validation of their skills by globally renowned experts from the food and hospitality industry.

Talking about YCO 2021, Dr Suborno Bose, the CEO of International Hospitality Council (IHC) and Founder YCO, said, “The COVID-19 Pandemic and an era of social distancing has not deterred our spirit to take the International Young Chef Olympiad to the next level. With 50 countries coming together virtually to celebrate the diversity of food from across the borders, YCO 2021 is not just the biggest culinary competition in the world but also a global platform fostering the spirit of youth, friendship, diversity and inclusiveness. Moreover, it brings all the young and talented future stars of the international culinary scene on a single platform where they connect with each other and share insights out of their experiences.”

YCO 2021 will commence on 31st January with a grand opening ceremony and the competition rounds will start from 1st February on Zoom video conferencing. The top 10 contestants as per the scores of the previous round will compete in the Grand Finale of YCO 2021 on 4th and 5th February split in 2 groups of 5 countries in each, across 2 days in different time zones to accommodate all. The Plate Trophy will also be held on the 4th and 5th February wherein the contestants holding positions 11 to 20 in the first round will compete. The Olympiad will conclude on 6th February with a closing ceremony, where the YCO 2021 Champion, runners-up and other awardees will be announced. This year, the participants will be competing for awards such as ‘Rising Star’, ‘Best Vegetarian Dish’, ‘Best Hygiene and Kitchen Practice’, ‘Best Chicken Saute Dish’, ‘Ambassador Award’, ‘Mentor Award’, ‘Sustainability Award’, ‘Best Use of Kitchen Cut’ and ‘Best Afternoon Tea Profiteroles’.

This year as the Olympiad is happening online, each participant will be recorded live in his or her own kitchen preparing and producing each of the 3 dishes within the prescribed time and a team of judges will be able to view the work of each participant throughout the entire competition period. Due to the time zones, competing countries will be divided into groups according to their local time’s close proximity. Separate virtual competition rooms will be created for each group of judges allowing for the judges to interact throughout the full period of the competition, to discuss each competitor and to mark accordingly.

In the competition’s first round, the contestants will be required to prepare three dishes – 4 portions of a Chicken cut for saute with a garnish and sauce, 8 chocolate eclairs suitable for a luxury afternoon tea and 4 portions of a Vegetarian dish using the mentioned ingredients in 2 and a half hours. The contestants will be judged on their basic skills, nutrition, health and safety, taste and creativity in this round.

The Grand Finale and Plate Trophy Finals of YCO 2021 will test the contestant’s creativity, innovation, cooking skills and professional good practice in a time bound environment. For the grand finale, the contestants will be given 2 and a half hours for preparing 2 litres of chicken stock into a consommé with a garnish and Gateau St Honore for 10 persons using a sweet pastry as the base and choux pastry filled with a crème chiboust. For the Plate Trophy Finals, the contestants will be required to prepare the same Gateau St Honore for 10 persons, but in 2 hours.

Padma Shri Chef Sanjeev Kapoor will be the Principal Judge and Mentor for YCO 2021 while Prof David Foskett (MBE) will be the Chairman of the Jury. The panel of judges will include internationally acclaimed judges and celebrity chefs including Chef Brian Turner, the President of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, Chef Andreas Muller from Hong Kong, Chef Chris Galvin (UK), Chef John Wood (UK), Chef Stuart Littlejohn (UK), Chef Henry Brosi (UK), Chef Andy Varma (UK), Chef Stefan Hogan (Malta), Chef Garth Stroebel (South Africa), Chef Enzo Oliveri (Italy), Chef Ranveer Brar (India), Chef Parvinder Bali (India), Chef Abhijit Saha (India) and many more. The judges will evaluate the contestants on their ability to efficiently manage a food production area keeping in mind factors like health and safety, good hygiene practice, ability to follow a recipe, culinary skills, creativity, etc.

Showcasing the multicultural culinary diversity of different countries, YCO 2021 will also bring together the student chefs and chef mentors for the ‘United World of Young Chefs’. This event will be held on 3rd February and it will provide a great opportunity for the 50 participating countries to present their national cuisine to a global culinary audience.

Launched in the year 2015, YCO aims to give young student chefs from around the world a platform to showcase their skills and compete at the global level. Through the last six editions of the Olympiad, the world has seen culinary stars being born and dreams being celebrated on the global culinary stage. The winners of the past editions of YCO were Ashwin Nicholas Oon from Malaysia (2015), Daniella Germond from Canada (2016), Tham Jiajun Mathew from Singapore (2017), Lai Jia Yi from Malaysia (2018), Cyrene Randrianasolo from France (2019) and Chen Khai Loong from Malaysia (2020).

Young Chef Olympiad website – https://ycolympiad.com/

About IIHM 

IIHM (International Institute of Hotel Management) is the largest chain of premier hospitality and hotel management schools across India that started its journey in 1994 at Kolkata. IIHM is a part of Indismart Group, the conglomerate that operates the Indismart Hotels. IIHM campuses are located across ten national and international cities with the associate institute IAM-IHM located in Kolkata, and Guwahati. Students passing out of IIHM are armed with an international degree from the University of West London and equipped with global hospitality skills that enable easy placements in any hospitality brand across the world. IIHM is dedicated to its pursuit of excellence in teaching and placements. Real time experience is the key to success in hospitality and that makes the institute popular. In recent years, IIHM has been instrumental in organizing the Young Chef Olympiad, a unique idea and initiative inviting young culinary talents across the world to participate in the biggest cookery reality shows of all times. 

The institute has bagged several prestigious awards in the past 24 years. The list includes the Best Education Brand Award from Economic Times consecutively in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. It was also featured in Forbes Magazine as Great Indian Institute and Great Place to Study consecutively in the year 2018 and 2019. IIHM was also awarded as one among the World’s Greatest Brands & Leaders 2015-16 by URS International (IMEA – Process Reviewer PriceWaterhouseCoopers PL) and also received the Best Institute in Hospitality Education 2017 Award by Assocham from Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Hon’ble Minister of State for HRD (Higher Education), Govt. of India. 

Media Contact :

Abdullah Ahmed

abdullah.ahmed@iihm.ac.in

+91-(0)1143204700,

Director, International Institute of Hotel Management

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Reliance Digital Introduces High-Performance iQOO 15R to its Nationwide Store Network

MUMBAI, India, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reliance Digital announces the offline retail availability of iQOO, the high-performance smartphone brand built for today’s youth and tech-forward consumers. Following strong traction in online channels, iQOO is now extending its presence into physical retail, allowing customers to experience and purchase its devices first-hand at Reliance Digital stores across India.

Known for pushing the boundaries of speed, and power, the iQOO 15R is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, delivering exceptional speed, responsiveness, and sustained performance throughout the day. It packs iQOO’s biggest battery yet in an ultra-slim 7.90mm design, making it India’s slimmest smartphone with a 7600 mAh battery.

The device features a 6.5K IceCore VC Cooling Chamber for stable performance and runs on OriginOS 6.0 based on Android 16 out of the box, supported by 4 years of software updates and 6 years of security updates. It is also equipped with a Sony LYT-700V OIS camera, a 1.5K 144Hz AMOLED EyeCare display, and IP68 & IP69 dust and water resistance, making it a dependable daily partner for professionals on the go.

The brand’s offline expansion marks an important step in deepening consumer engagement by offering hands-on access to its devices, enabling customers to explore iQOO’s powerful performance, advanced display technology, and flagship-grade camera capabilities in a real-world retail environment.

The availability of iQOO at Reliance Digital brings together two brands driven by innovation and consumer experience. While iQOO continues to build its reputation as a performance-led smartphone brand, Reliance Digital strengthens its portfolio by offering customers access to cutting-edge technology brands through its extensive nationwide retail network.

Through engaging in-store experiences, knowledgeable staff, and immersive product demonstrations, Reliance Digital aims to help consumers better understand iQOO’s performance-first DNA. This move further reinforces Reliance Digital’s commitment to staying ahead of evolving consumer preferences and serving as a preferred destination for discovering new-age technology.

With this expansion, Reliance Digital continues to play a key role in shaping India’s consumer electronics landscape by bringing future-ready brands closer to customers, while enabling smartphone brands like iQOO to build stronger connections with a growing, performance-driven audience.

The all new iQOO 15R is now available at Reliance Digital stores nationwide.

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Kotak Alts announces winner of the inaugural Katalyst Awards

Ms Himani Choudhary named Katalyst for the year – India’s Best Financial Content Creator; wins Rs. 25 Lakhs

MUMBAI, India, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kotak Katalyst Awards, a national initiative instituted to recognise excellence and responsibility in financial content creation has announced the winner of its first Katalyst edition. Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited (“Kotak Alts”) today announced Himani Choudhary as the winner. The winner was awarded a prize of INR 25 Lakhs, positioning Katalyst among the most meaningful recognitions for financial content creators in India.

Srini Sriniwasan, Managing Director, Kotak Alts, said, “The Kotak Alts Katalyst Awards were instituted to recognize content creators who are contributing meaningfully to financial literacy in India. As investor participation deepens, audiences are seeking clarity, context, and credibility. The response from creators was overwhelming and points to the new generation of financial educators.  As the inaugural winner Ms. Himani Chaudhary, exemplifies the standard of financial communication that Katalyst seeks to encourage.”

The first edition of the Kotak Alts Katalyst Awards received over six hundred entries from across 19 states and in 8 languages, reflecting the growing role of digital creators in shaping financial awareness. Conceived in response to increasing clutter and misinformation in the financial ecosystem, Katalyst is designed to recognize creators who place accuracy, transparency, and investor interest at the core of their work.

The winning content, ‘Personal Finance & Major Finance Updates’ by Himani Choudhary, was recognised for its clarity, originality, and credibility. The jury noted the content’s ability to explain complex financial concepts in a clear and measured manner, supported by strong research and a consistent focus on investor education over virality.

To ensure a robust and transparent evaluation process, the awards framework was designed and audited by EY. The top thirty entries were assessed by an academic jury.

The top 10 finalists were subsequently evaluated by a grand jury comprising Kunal Shah, Founder and CEO of CRED; Radhika Gupta, Managing Director and CEO of Edelweiss Mutual Fund; and Alpesh Shah, Managing Director and Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group, and chaired by Ananth Narayan, former Whole–Time Member of SEBI with extensive capital markets and regulatory experience.

The Katalyst Awards recognise financial content creators who priorities financial literacy, substance, and long–term investor interest. Through this initiative, Kotak Alts aims to encourage responsible financial communication and support the development of informed and confident investors across India.

About Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd: Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Limited (‘Kotak Alts’), a part of Kotak Mahindra Group (‘Kotak’), focuses on Alternate Asset Management and Investment Advisory businesses. Kotak Alts was set up in early 2005 and has raised, managed, and advised over USD 22 billion across different asset classes, including Private Equity, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Special Situations, Private Credit, and Investment Advisory. The asset management business and investment advisory vertical are managed by independent specialist teams. For more information, visit https://www.kotakalternateasset.com/

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Paperpal for Life Sciences Establishes HIPAA Readiness, Strengthening Enterprise Adoption of AI in Regulated Medical and Scientific Writing Workflows

MUMBAI, India, March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Paperpal for Life Sciences, an enterprise-grade Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform by Cactus Communications, purpose-built for Medical Affairs and Life Sciences organizations, announced the completion of an assessment evaluating its operational and technical safeguards to support Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements. This milestone reinforces Paperpal’s commitment to meeting the rigorous standards of security, data protection, and regulatory readiness required for regulated scientific workflows.

Growing AI use in medical affairs writing and publication workflows is intensifying scrutiny on data privacy, governance, and regulatory accountability. To support these evolving needs, Paperpal for Life Sciences has undertaken an assessment of its systems and processes to evaluate readiness to support HIPAA compliance, where applicable, and now proudly offers the option to execute a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for Protected Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII). This offering gives customers the confidence that PHI or PII, if received, is handled securely and responsibly, in line with regulatory expectations and enterprise risk management practices.

Paperpal for Life Sciences provides AI writing, literature search, source-grounded summarization with citation support, and critical publication checks, powering medical affairs content creation under stringent data privacy and governance controls. The platform accelerates research-to-publication timelines by upto 25%, supporting faster dissemination of clinical evidence and earlier commercialization of new drugs and therapies.

Nishchay Shah, Group CTO and EVP, Products and AI at Cactus Communications, said, “As AI becomes foundational to regulated scientific and medical workflows, compliance and trust are no longer optional. Paperpal for Life Sciences’ HIPAA readiness measures reflect our secure-by-design approach to AI, strong data governance framework, and alignment with real-world enterprise and regulatory requirements. This milestone enables organizations to adopt AI at scale with confidence that their data, processes, and compliance obligations are protected .”

Elvira Dsouza, President, Cactus Life Sciences, added, “Medical Affairs and Life Sciences teams operate in highly regulated environments where scientific rigor, data privacy, and compliance are non-negotiable. HIPAA readiness positions Paperpal for Life Sciences as a trusted AI partner, one that enables organizations to accelerate evidence generation and scientific communication without compromising regulatory integrity .”

With this announcement, Paperpal for Life Sciences reinforces its position as a purpose-built, enterprise-ready AI platform for medical affairs content generation that supports innovation while meeting the highest standards of privacy, ethics, and regulatory compliance.

Media Contact:

Nidhi Amin

nidhi.amin@cactusglobal.com 

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