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New book portrays a picture of transformational change sweeping across the remotest and least known corner of India: A Resurgent Northeast, by Ashish Kundra

Written by an IAS officer who was posted in the Northeast for nearly a decade, the book is an insider’s perspective of Northeast India’s history, politics, people and growth.

NEW DELHI, March 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — HarperCollins presents A Resurgent Northeast Narratives of Change by Ashish Kundra, a detailed and empathetic exposition of Northeast India’s history, politics, people and growth. An important book that portrays a picture of transformational change sweeping across the remotest and least known corner of India. The author is an IAS officer, who was posted in the Northeast for nearly a decade and has written from an insider’s perspective.

PB | Non-fiction | 236 pp | Rs 399

Releasing 22 March 2023 | Available wherever books are sold

Author Ashish Kundra says, “A Resurgent Northeast is a narrative of the unfolding change in a region that has remained an enigma for people in the rest of India. For decades, an imagery of violence, strife, underdevelopment, and backwardness stuck with the Northeast. The reality of the new Northeast, a remarkable story of transformation, deserves to be shared with the rest of the world. This book is based on personal insights, gained through policy work over two different spells, spread across a time span of fifteen years. Conversations with people from different states of the region bring out its unique ethos and diversity. The timing of its publication is appropriate, as the Northeast opens its doors to tourism, travel and investment. I hope that it will find resonance not only amongst the people of the region, but also readers around the world curious about life in this frontier land.”

Pema Khandu, Chief Minister, Arunachal Pradesh, in his foreword to the book: “Unlike most officers who work in these parts, Ashish Kundra demonstrated a genuine affection and empathy for our people. His understanding of the complexity, diversity and challenges of this part of India was not that of an armchair bureaucrat, but someone who travelled to the remotest corners of the state … A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change makes for a brilliant read. It is as much a personal narration by an officer, as it is a beautiful prose of the unfolding dynamics of change … It was a privilege to read this book, which embodies the rare view of an officer’s mind while serving in a challenging terrain. It is a fitting tribute to the unique genius of the people of Northeast India.”

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

“Ashish Kundra’s A Resurgent Northeast offers an intricate exposition of the region’s history, politics, people and growth brought together by an author who possesses a broad insider’s perspective. His detailed account of the efforts, achievements and gaps in the governance and development of the Northeast presents not just the story thus far, but also the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.”

—SHASHI THAROOR, author and Member of Parliament

“Ashish Kundra’s book is an affectionate and empathetic study of the past, present and possible future of the region known as the ‘Northeast’. The narrative ranges widely over the terrains of history, economics, ecology and sociology. There are incisive portraits of farmers, scientists, officials and entrepreneurs. The author offers a series of constructive suggestions on how best to assure livelihood security and cultural self-respect to the citizens of these states. Gracefully written as well as judiciously argued, the book deserves a wide readership.”

—RAMACHANDRA GUHA, author and historian

“The wealth of knowledge, awareness and experience of Northeast India that Ashish Kundra brings to his writing is unique and unparalleled. This book is a moveable feast, a mindscape to carry, wherever we go.”

—NIRUPAMA RAO, former foreign secretary and ambassador of India

“Ashish Kundra is a rare thinking bureaucrat, whose arguments about the Northeast must be seriously grappled and engaged with.”

—BASHARAT PEER, author and journalist

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change portrays a picture of transformational change sweeping across the remotest and least known corner of India. Geographically distant and ethnically distinct from the rest of the country, the people of this frontier land faced monumental neglect from the capital for nearly seven decades as a result of Nehru’s approach of minimal governmental intervention in this region. But this has changed over the last decade. Indifference has given way to active engagement. Northeast India is brimming with renewed hope. 

Drawing upon his experiences as a policymaker and administrator in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, Ashish Kundra chronicles the journey of the people of the Northeast as they emerge out of the long shadow of strife. The book strikes a personal chord through conversations that capture the pulse of a new Northeast.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ashish Kundra is an Indian Administrative Service Officer of the 1996 batch from the Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram Union Territory cadre. Over the last twenty-six years, he has served in various leadership roles in the governments of Chandigarh, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Daman, Dadra Nagar Haveli and New Delhi. He has also worked with the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry as his Private Secretary. Currently, he is working with Delhi government as Principal Secretary, Transport, and is driving the transition to electric mobility in the national capital. He served in the Northeast for eight years, which was the source of inspiration for this book. An electronics engineer by training from IIT-BHU, Ashish also writes opinion pieces in national dailies on Northeast India.

About HarperCollins India

HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India is now the recipient of five Publisher of the Year Awards – In 2021 and 2015 at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, and in 2021, 2018 and 2016 at Tata Literature Live. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.

For reviews, excerpts, interviews and more information, please contact Shivendra Singh at

shivendra.singh@harpercollins.co.in

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INFIDIGIT SECURES DUAL WINS AT BW MERIT AWARDS 2025, REINFORCING ITS LEADERSHIP IN INDIA’S SEO AND DIGITAL MARKETING LANDSCAPE

MUMBAI, India, May 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Infidigit, one of India’s foremost SEO agencies, continues its award-winning streak with two prestigious wins at the BW Merit Awards 2025. The agency secured top honours for Superbalist in the Retail & Ecommerce category and HDFC Life in the Best SEO Campaign category.

Since its inception, Infidigit has maintained a clear focus by delivering measurable results that help brands realise their full potential in an increasingly competitive digital landscape. By combining data-driven strategies with deep industry insights, Infidigit tailors every campaign to address unique client challenges and market dynamics.

The agency’s proprietary platform, Infigrowth, is a critical enabler in this process, offering brands a robust, data-backed approach to digital growth, customer acquisition, and ROI optimisation. The tool empowers clients to identify growth opportunities faster via the SEO Audit and AI overviews and rank tracking feature, optimise campaigns in real time, and stay ahead of shifting consumer behaviours.

“We believe success stems from truly understanding our clients’ challenges and crafting tailored solutions that drive real impact,” said Kaushal Thakkar, CEO, Infidigit. “Our wins at the BW Merit Awards 2025 reflect the hard work, expertise, and innovative spirit of our team. We remain dedicated to delivering sustainable growth and helping brands lead their categories through strategic digital marketing.”

Neil Berrow, Engineer Manager, Superbalist said “Working with Infidigit has been valuable for our online presence. Their strategic insights, consistent communication, and measurable results speak volumes about their expertise. Truly a partner in growth.”

By prioritising quality over quantity and leveraging proprietary tools like Infigrowth, the agency continues to redefine how brands engage with customers online. Infidigit is committed to maintaining this momentum in their growth story as they drive meaningful change and deliver innovative solutions for a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

About Infidigit

Founded in 2017, Infidigit is an AI-enabled digital growth partner that empowers top brands to achieve impactful results across SEO, Content, PPC, ASO, CRO, Website Development, and data-driven marketing strategies. As a pioneer in AI innovation within marketing, Infidigit has developed Infigrowth — a SaaS platform designed to simplify SEO for businesses of all sizes. Over the years, Infidigit has partnered with startups, MSMEs, and enterprises across diverse industries, helping them thrive in the fast-evolving digital economy. The company’s commitment to excellence is demonstrated through over 65+ award-winning campaigns, recognised by prestigious platforms including SMX, APAC Search Awards, ET BrandEquity Shark Awards, Sparkies, and E4M IDMA.

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OTM recognised as the Leading Travel Trade Show in India and Asia, for the Second Year in a Row, in a custom study commissioned by Fairfest Media and conducted by NielsenIQ

The customised study, commissioned by Fairfest Media and conducted by NielsenIQ, the leader in consumer intelligence, indicated that travel industry professionals who attended multiple trade shows in the region once again identified OTM as a leading travel trade show in India and Asia.

MUMBAI, India, May 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — OTM has once again been recognized as the leading travel trade show in both India and Asia, according to a comprehensive custom market research study commissioned by Fairfest Media and conducted by NielsenIQ, the leader in consumer intelligence. This recognition, for the second consecutive year, underscores OTM’s continued leadership in the travel exhibition landscape. The latest study, conducted among travel industry professionals who attended multiple travel shows in 2025, revealed even higher satisfaction scores and stronger performance metrics compared to the previous year, with OTM decisively outperforming other major shows across the region.

The comprehensive custom survey, commissioned by Fairfest Media, evaluated 15 international travel trade shows across Asia and 19 regional shows in India. The study found a ‘significantly higher quantum of respondents stating OTM to be the leading show at a National & Asia level’, outperforming other major shows, including ITB Asia and SATTE.

Overwhelming Industry Recognition

The extensive 2025 study revealed:

  • Among professionals who participated in or visited 2 or more shows in India, 55% recognised OTM as the leading national show
  • Among those who attended multiple shows in Asia, 52% ranked OTM as the top show across Asia

OTM has played a crucial role in major business transactions, with the majority of the attendees saying they made purchase decisions within 3 months of attending the event.

Mr. Sanjiv Agarwal, Chairman & CEO of Fairfest Media, commented: “At Fairfest Media, we’re deeply committed to delivering measurable ROI for our exhibitors and visitors, which is why we commissioned this comprehensive custom study conducted by NielsenIQ. The consecutive recognition of OTM in the study confirms that OTM continues to set the standard for the industry, in India and globally. As we prepare for OTM 2026, we remain focused on further enhancing the experience and business outcomes for all participants.”

Future Growth Opportunities

The study also identified expansion opportunities that will guide OTM’s future development:

  • Travel professionals expressed interest in seeing increased representation from the Americas (particularly USA and Brazil), Europe (with emphasis on Switzerland and the Nordic countries), and Asia (especially Singapore and Turkey).
  • Enhanced conference programming has been identified as an opportunity area for future development.

The comprehensive custom survey evaluated travel trade shows across Asia and regional shows in India. Countries covered in the customized study (conducted by NielsenIQ and commissioned by Fairfest Media) included India, Singapore, Egypt, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, Maldives, Tanzania, Greece, Philippines, Russia, Netherlands, Vietnam & Republic of Korea.

The population covered in the study includes exhibitors and visitors of travel trade shows. The total usable database of visitors shared with NielsenIQ by Fairfest Media was over 32,000, and of exhibitors was over 2,832. The sample size was overall (N=211); exhibitors (N=56), and visitors (N=155). The sampling method was online, purposive sampling.

The next edition of OTM is scheduled for 5, 6 & 7 February 2026 at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Based on current projections and the strong satisfaction metrics from the 2025 event, OTM 2026 is expected to further strengthen its lead in both the country and the region.

About OTM and Fairfest Media Limited

OTM, organised by Fairfest Media Limited, is the leading travel trade show in Asia and India. Each year, it brings together a global network of exhibitors, buyers, and travel industry professionals to connect, showcase innovations, and generate business opportunities. Fairfest Media also organises TTF-branded travel shows in 7 Indian cities, making it the largest travel trade show organiser in India. As the leading travel show organiser in the region, Fairfest continues to shape the future of travel in the world’s fastest-growing market.

About NIQ

NielsenIQ (NIQ) is a leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete understanding of consumer buying behaviour and revealing new pathways to growth. NIQ combined with GfK in 2023, bringing together two industry leaders with unparalleled global reach. Our global reach spans over 90 countries, covering approximately 85% of the world’s population and more than $7.2 trillion in global consumer spend. With a holistic retail read and the most comprehensive consumer insights—delivered with advanced analytics through state-of-the-art platforms—NIQ delivers the Full View™. For more information, please visit www.niq.com

Media Contact

Sandrine Clarac 

Director – Marketing and International Sales 

Fairfest Media Limited

Phone: +91-2245558555

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Firstsource Launches Gigsourcing Platform to Transform the Future of Work

MUMBAI, India, May 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Firstsource Solutions Limited (NSE: FSL) (BSE: 532809), a leading global provider of transformational solutions and services and an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company, has announced the launch of the Firstsource Gigsourcing Platform, a next-generation crowdsourcing solution designed to revolutionize how enterprises leverage the gig economy.

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Part of the Firstsource relAI™ suite of AI-powered solutions, the Gigsourcing Platform connects businesses with skilled, on-demand global talent. It enables cost-effective, flexible, and scalable workforce models—helping organizations streamline talent management, boost operational efficiency, and stay competitive by addressing challenges in gig worker acquisition, management, and coordination.

Ritesh Idnani, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer at Firstsource, shared, “The Firstsource Gigsourcing Platform marks a pivotal milestone in our UnBPO™ journey, reimagining how enterprises operate and scale. As work becomes more decentralized and digital, our ability to blend AI-powered virtual agents, domain expertise, and a global freelance talent pool, empowers clients to move faster and smarter. This isn’t just about workforce flexibility—it’s about creating an entirely new operating model. We’re committed to driving non-linear growth and measurable transformation for our clients, and this platform is a core enabler of that mission.”

The platform offers an intuitive experience for both, enterprises and independent professionals:

  • For businesses, the platform streamlines project creation, gig worker onboarding, and performance tracking, ensuring scalable execution and superior outcomes.
  • For gig workers, it offers seamless registration, project discovery, and automated payments, delivering a frictionless and rewarding work experience.

Hasit Trivedi, Chief Digital & AI Officer at Firstsource, added, “The Firstsource Gigsourcing Platform represents the convergence of AI, digital platforms, and workforce innovation. It goes beyond just connecting businesses with gig workers – we are building a digitally intelligent, hyper-agile ecosystem. AI-led matching, workflow orchestration, and secure integrations make it a robust sourcing engine. This platform will fundamentally reshape how work is disaggregated, how sourcing is diversified, and how scale and precision are delivered. We see gig sourcing becoming a critical pillar of enterprise transformation – redefining workforce agility in the AI era and building the future of work.”

The Firstsource Gigsourcing Platform delivers unparalleled benefits with functionalities like:

  • Compliance-first onboarding: alignment with regional regulations and standards.
  • Comprehensive Control: efficient management of user groups roles, access, and notifications.
  • Qualification Tests: qualified freelancers selected with pre-requisite tests.
  • Gig worker Onboarding: simplified freelancer integration, including from external partners.
  • Third-Party Integration: single sign-On (SSO) enabled for streamlined operations.
  • Effortless Payments: hassle-free payment processes for gig workers.

Additionally, the platform’s SaaS capabilities provide:

  • Private Instance: enabling organizations to create their own exclusive freelancer crowd.
  • Insourcing Flexibility: facilitates internal resource allocation within the organization.

This launch follows Firstsource’s recent introduction of Agentic AI Studio, reinforcing Firstsource’s commitment to transforming the future of work through innovation. Together, the Gig Sourcing Platform and Agentic AI Studio form a comprehensive foundation to reimagine how work is sourced, executed, and scaled.

About Firstsource

Firstsource Solutions Limited, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company (NSE: FSL) (BSE: 532809) (Reuters: FISO.BO) (Bloomberg: FSOL:IN), is a global leader providing transformational solutions and services spanning the customer lifecycle across Healthcare, Banking and Financial Services, Communications, Media and Technology, Retail, and other diverse industries. With a global footprint across US, UK, India, Philippines, Mexico, Romania, Turkey, Trinidad & Tobago, South Africa, and Australia, we ‘make it happen’ for our clients, solving their biggest challenges with hyper-focused, domain-centered teams and cutting-edge tech, data, and analytics. Our inch-wide, mile-deep practitioners work collaboratively, leveraging UnBPO™ – our differentiated approach to reimagining traditional outsourcing – to deliver real-world, future-focused solutions that drive speed, scale, and smarter decision, turning transformation into tangible results for our clients.

(www.firstsource.com)

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