4.2-km Cubbon Park Run Promotes Fitness and Education; Event Builds Awareness for PWNSAT 2026
Bengaluru, August 11, 2026: More than 1,100 students from PW Vidyapeeth centres and schools across Bengaluru participated in the ‘India Is Ready Marathon 2026’, covering a 4.2-km route through Cubbon Park.
Organised by PW Vidyapeeth, the offline coaching arm of PhysicsWallah (PW), the event combined fitness and student engagement with an academic focus, creating awareness about PWNSAT 2026, the institution’s annual scholarship examination for students preparing for JEE and NEET.
The marathon began at 7 am with registration and warm-up sessions conducted by experts. The run was subsequently flagged off following a ceremonial ribbon-cutting by Pushpinder Kaur Sidhu, Regional Head, PW, and Aman Kumar, Deputy Regional Head, PW.
The event concluded with recognition for the top performers, who were presented trophies and medals. All participants were also given certificates in appreciation of their participation.
Scholarship programme for students from Class V to XII
The marathon was organised as part of PW’s student outreach ahead of PWNSAT 2026, through which eligible students can receive up to 100% tuition fee waivers. The scholarship programme also offers a cash reward pool of up to ₹2.5 crore, while the top 500 eligible rankers can access free education and hostel support, subject to the applicable eligibility criteria.
Registrations for PWNSAT 2026 are free and open to students from Class V to XII and Class XII pass-outs.
Speaking about the initiative, Alakh Pandey, Educator, Founder and CEO, PhysicsWallah, said that financial circumstances should not prevent students from accessing quality education.
“Through PWNSAT, we aim to support learners by reducing these barriers while providing guidance that helps them continue their preparation with confidence,” he said.
PWNSAT 2026 to be held online and offline
To expand access to students across different locations, PWNSAT 2026 will be conducted in both online and offline formats.
The online examination is scheduled from October 1 to 15, 2026, while the offline examination will be conducted on October 3, 4, 10 and 11 at PW Vidyapeeth, Pathshala and Tuition centres.
The Bengaluru marathon marked another student-focused initiative by PW Vidyapeeth, bringing together academic aspirations and physical fitness while encouraging students to participate in PWNSAT and pursue their competitive examination goals.
Bengaluru: The deteriorating condition of roads across Bengaluru, particularly in Richmond Town, has once again raised serious concerns over public safety, repeated road excavation and inadequate restoration during the monsoon season.
Dr. D. Kiran Jeevan, Founder of ‘Namma Roads Matter’, has urged the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) to take immediate action to address the worsening condition of city roads and ensure accountability among civic agencies, utility providers and contractors responsible for road-cutting and restoration works.
In a representation addressed to the Commissioner of the Greater Bengaluru Authority, with a copy to Revenue and Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda, Dr. Jeevan said several roads and internal streets in Bengaluru, including those in Richmond Town, have developed potholes, uneven surfaces, damaged stretches and poorly restored road-cuttings.
He pointed out that the situation becomes particularly dangerous during the monsoon, when rainwater collects on damaged road surfaces and conceals potholes and uneven stretches, increasing the risk to pedestrians, motorists and other road users.
According to Dr. Jeevan, the problem is not confined to Richmond Town. Bengaluru has been witnessing a recurring cycle in which roads are repaired, subsequently excavated for utility or infrastructure works, and then inadequately restored. The process is often repeated within a short period, raising questions about planning, coordination, supervision and accountability.
‘Why are the same mistakes repeated every year?’
Dr. Jeevan questioned why the civic administration continues to face the same road-related problems every monsoon despite the fact that Bengaluru’s rainy season is predictable.
He said road deterioration, waterlogging, potholes and hazards arising from road-cutting are foreseeable problems and should therefore be addressed through advance planning and coordinated civic management.
“Roads that are excavated, inadequately restored and subsequently filled with rainwater can pose a serious threat to public safety,” he said.
He recalled that he had raised similar concerns last year regarding the deterioration of Bengaluru’s roads during the monsoon and the consequences of repeated excavation and poor restoration. Despite the passage of another year, he said, substantially similar problems continue to be witnessed across the city.
Questions over responsibility and accountability
The civic campaign has also raised questions about the responsibility of various agencies involved in road-cutting and restoration.
Dr. Jeevan sought clarity on who authorises repeated excavation of roads, who coordinates such works, who supervises restoration and who certifies that a road has been restored to the required standard.
He also questioned who would be held responsible when a road deteriorates soon after repair, particularly when public money has already been spent on its restoration.
He said road excavation, wherever unavoidable, must be carried out only after proper planning, obtaining necessary permissions and putting adequate safety measures in place. The agency undertaking the work should also be required to restore the road properly within a clearly defined timeframe.
Earlier legal notice remains unanswered
Dr. Jeevan further stated that he had previously issued a legal notice concerning the condition of Bengaluru’s roads and related civic issues. According to him, the Greater Bengaluru Authority, formerly the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), has not yet provided a substantive response to that notice.
He said the continued absence of a detailed response was concerning, particularly when the civic issues raised earlier continue to persist.
Demands for immediate action
Dr. Jeevan has urged the Greater Bengaluru Authority to undertake a comprehensive inspection of Bengaluru’s roads, beginning with severely damaged stretches in Richmond Town.
Among his key demands are:
Identification of roads that have been repeatedly excavated, repaired and re-excavated, along with the reasons for such recurring works.
Identification of agencies, contractors and authorities responsible for road-cutting activities.
Verification of whether prescribed permissions and restoration conditions have been followed.
Fixing responsibility for roads that have been inadequately restored and subsequently deteriorated.
Preparation of a coordinated monsoon road-management plan to restrict avoidable excavation during the rainy season.
Ensuring coordination between civic agencies and utility providers before a recently repaired road is excavated again.
Making agencies undertaking road-cutting responsible for complete and durable restoration within a stipulated period.
Mandatory barricading, warning signs, adequate lighting and safe pedestrian access at roadwork sites.
Adoption of durable and scientifically appropriate repair methods instead of temporary patchwork.
Proper monitoring of road-cutting permissions and closure of such permissions only after satisfactory restoration.
A written explanation regarding the action taken on his earlier legal notice and the reasons for the delay in providing a substantive response.
A time-bound action plan for repairing damaged roads across Bengaluru, including Richmond Town.
‘Road safety cannot become a seasonal issue’
Dr. Jeevan said Bengaluru, as one of India’s leading metropolitan cities, requires road infrastructure and maintenance systems that match its importance.
“The recurring cycle of digging, patching, deterioration and digging again cannot be treated as normal civic administration,” he said, stressing that public safety cannot be compromised because of inadequate planning or lack of coordination between government departments, civic agencies, utility providers and contractors.
He said every road excavation has consequences for motorists, pedestrians, residents, emergency services and other road users. Since many of these risks are foreseeable, civic authorities have a responsibility to anticipate them and take preventive measures.
According to him, Richmond Town represents only one example of a wider problem affecting Bengaluru. The larger issue, he said, is whether the city has an effective system to prevent the same roads from repeatedly becoming hazardous every monsoon.
Dr. Jeevan urged the Greater Bengaluru Authority to treat the representation as an urgent public-safety matter and take immediate, visible and sustainable measures to improve Bengaluru’s roads, beginning with the severely affected stretches in Richmond Town.
He also sought a written response detailing the corrective measures proposed, the agencies responsible for implementation and the timeline for completing the remedial works.
Dr. D. Kiran JeevanFounder, Namma Roads Matter – Civic CampaignBengalurudkjprofessor@gmail.com
Mantralayam: As part of the 355th Aradhana Mahotsava of Sri Guru Raghavendra Swamy, an invitation to the Aradhana celebrations organised at Jayanagar Math was formally presented to His Holiness Sri 108 Sri Subudhendra Theertha Sripadangalavaru during the ongoing Chaturmasya period at Mantralayam.
R.K. Vadindra Acharya, Senior Administrator of Jayanagar Math, personally offered the invitation to the revered pontiff and sought his blessings for the successful conduct of the Aradhana Mahotsava.
Bengaluru, August 10, 2026: Homegrown ice cream and dessert brand Polar Bear has reached a major expansion milestone by opening its 200th outlet in India. The achievement is particularly significant for Bengaluru, where the brand has now completed 100 outlets, marking the city as its largest and most important market since its inception.
Founded in 2008 by entrepreneur Kishore Rai, Polar Bear began its journey with a single outlet near Bengaluru’s ITPL. Nearly two decades later, the self-funded, 100 per cent Indian-owned company has expanded its presence to more than 35 cities across the country.
The brand has built its business around dine-in sundae parlours, offering a range of ice cream sundaes, shakes, sorbets and ice cream cakes. Its focus on creating an experience around desserts, rather than simply serving ice cream, has helped it develop a strong customer base and an extensive franchise network.
Speaking about the milestone, Kishore Rai, Founder, Polar Bear, said the brand was established with the aim of creating memorable sundae experiences for customers. He said the company identified significant potential in the sundae segment at a time when the market was largely centred on conventional ice cream scoops.
According to Rai, Polar Bear focused on developing distinctive sundae recipes using carefully selected ingredients and quality dairy products. The objective was to offer customers an indulgent and engaging dessert experience beyond traditional ice cream.
Prashant Prakash, Senior Vice President – Commercial & Operations, Polar Bear, said quality has remained central to the company’s growth. He said the brand maintains stringent standards across its outlets, from ingredient sourcing to preparation and service.
He added that Polar Bear continues to refresh its menu with new flavours, generous portions and innovative combinations in response to changing consumer preferences.
With 200 outlets now operational across India, Polar Bear said it will continue to focus on sustainable expansion while strengthening its presence in existing markets and delivering consistent quality and customer experience.
Bengaluru, August 10, 2026: Airtel Business, the enterprise arm of Bharti Airtel, and ITI Limited, India’s first post-independence Public Sector Undertaking and a leading telecom and technology manufacturer, have entered into a strategic partnership to help enterprises across the country accelerate digital transformation.
The collaboration will combine the technological capabilities, engineering expertise and market strengths of both organisations to help businesses modernise legacy systems, enhance operational efficiency, strengthen cybersecurity and scale their digital operations.
Under the partnership, Airtel Business and ITI Limited will work together to offer a range of digital and telecom solutions spanning enterprise connectivity, data centres, sovereign cloud services, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI)-powered solutions, cybersecurity and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite services.
The initiative is aimed at addressing the growing technology requirements of enterprises as businesses across sectors increasingly adopt digital platforms and infrastructure. The partnership is expected to help organisations overcome fragmented legacy systems, manage rising data requirements, strengthen digital resilience and respond more quickly to changing business needs.
The combined offering will include nationwide digital and telecom infrastructure, with enterprise connectivity solutions such as optical fibre connectivity, GPON, SD-WAN and private 4G and 5G networks. It will also provide secure data centre and sovereign cloud capabilities, particularly for highly regulated sectors such as banking and public sector undertakings.
The partnership will further integrate industrial IoT solutions for asset tracking, AI-enabled analytics and end-to-end cybersecurity services. The two organisations also intend to explore solutions supporting the defence and national security ecosystem, with a focus on innovation, Make in India and the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
Rajesh Rai, Chairman and Managing Director of ITI Limited, said the partnership would bring together the complementary strengths of both organisations to address the evolving digital requirements of customers.
He said the collaboration would enable joint identification and fulfilment of customer needs in areas including digital transformation, faster and ubiquitous connectivity, hyperscale data centres, cybersecurity and IoT, while leveraging Airtel’s business and customer reach and ITI’s manufacturing capabilities.
Sharat Sinha, CEO, Airtel Business, said India’s next phase of digital growth would require infrastructure that is resilient, secure, sovereign and compliant with regulatory requirements.
He said Airtel Business had been working with enterprises to simplify technology complexity, modernise legacy environments and enable digital transformation at scale. The partnership with ITI Limited, he added, would focus on developing future-ready solutions aimed at strengthening business continuity, driving innovation and supporting India’s digital ambitions.
Airtel Business is the enterprise business division of Bharti Airtel and provides solutions across secure connectivity, cloud and data centre services, cybersecurity, IoT and cloud-based communications.
Bharti Airtel has more than 650 million customers across 15 countries in India and Africa and provides a broad portfolio of telecom and digital services. Its enterprise business offers connectivity, cloud and data centre solutions, cybersecurity, IoT and cloud-based communications.
Through the partnership, Airtel Business and ITI Limited aim to create an integrated technology ecosystem that can support enterprises in their transition towards secure, scalable and future-ready digital operations.
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