Twenty-five years after graduating from IIT Kanpur, Rajnish Kumar, Co-founder & Group Co-CEO of ixigo and author of Made in Fire, has launched the ₹1 crore Made in Fire Fund to support students from his alma mater as they begin their entrepreneurial journeys.

The initiative was announced following Kumar's return to IIT Kanpur, where he addressed the graduating Class of 2026 as Guest of Honour. Built on the belief that every great company begins with one believer, the fund aims to support young founders who have the confidence to build new businesses and solve meaningful problems.

Starting with the Class of 2026, the fund will support 10 technology-led startups from each graduating batch. Every selected startup will receive INR 10 lakh in non-dilutive prototype funding, allowing founders to develop and test their ideas without giving up equity in return for the funding.

Beyond financial support, selected founders will receive mentorship from Rajnish Kumar, ixigo's leadership team and the ixigo Mafia, a network of entrepreneurs and companies founded by former ixigo team members. The support will include product reviews, guidance on reaching customers, hiring assistance and investor introductions where appropriate.

The initiative will also give founders an opportunity to present their progress at a Demo Day held after 6 to 12 months, helping them showcase their work and the progress made since receiving support.

Unlike programmes that place greater emphasis on pitch decks, the Made in Fire Fund will follow a founder-first approach. The selection process will focus on the founders' conviction, understanding of customer needs, originality of ideas, ability to execute, long-term thinking and willingness to learn.

The fund is open to graduating IIT Kanpur students applying individually or as founding teams. It will focus on technology-led businesses working across areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), SaaS, Consumer Internet, Deep Tech, Climate, Mobility, HealthTech, Enterprise Software and other emerging technology domains.

Announcing the initiative, Rajnish Kumar, Co-founder & Group Co-CEO, ixigo, said, "Every great company begins with one believer. Twenty-five years ago, IIT Kanpur gave me the confidence to build before I knew where that journey would lead. The Made in Fire Fund is my way of paying that belief forward. We want to back builders early, not because they have the perfect pitch deck, but because they have conviction, understand a real problem deeply and have the ability to build. My hope is that some of these founders will return years from now and become the first believers in the generation after them.”

Sharing his views on the initiative, Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director, IIT Kanpur, stated, “Entrepreneurship fuels national development by creating jobs, driving innovation, and generating economic growth. While our students possess technical capabilities, the journey from idea to impact depends on early encouragement, mentorship, and access to experienced entrepreneurs. The launch of the Made in Fire Fund by our distinguished alumnus, Rajnish Kumar, demonstrates how giving back can support and sustain an entrepreneurial mindset among our students. I hope this motivates more graduating students to pursue entrepreneurship with confidence and creates a cycle where each generation of founders helps the next build new ventures."

Applications for the Made in Fire Fund are now open to graduating students from the IIT Kanpur Class of 2026. Interested students can find more details and apply through the official fund website.

Application link: https://madeinfire.co/fund/apply/

Rajnish Kumar is the Co-founder and Group Co-CEO of ixigo (Le Travenues Technology Ltd., listed on NSE & BSE). An IIT Kanpur alumnus in Computer Science, he began his career as a software engineer at Amadeus before co-founding ixigo in 2007.

He has led the company's product, technology, growth and AI strategy as it grew from a bootstrapped travel search engine into India's leading OTA for the 'next billion users', serving over 540 million annual active users in FY25. Kumar received the 2023 Distinguished Alumnus Award from IIT Kanpur and was recognised in the 'Comeback Kid' category at the Economic Times Startup Awards 2021.

An active mentor and investor in India's startup ecosystem, Kumar is also the author of Made in Fire, a book that explores entrepreneurship, resilience and the journey of building enduring companies.

Bombay Brasserie Singapore, the Indian dining brand from Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), welcomed actor and filmmaker Aamir Khan for a special lunch, marking the 25th anniversary of his acclaimed film Lagaan with a commemorative tribute.

The visit brought together Indian cinema and culinary hospitality, with the restaurant's team preparing a menu of Indian favourites under the direction of Executive Chef Areeb Rehman. Attention was given to the selection of dishes and the overall dining experience, reflecting the restaurant's emphasis on detail and personalised hospitality.

A highlight of the afternoon was a specially designed commemorative show plate created to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Lagaan. Released in 2001, the film remains a significant milestone in Khan's career as an actor and filmmaker. During his visit, Khan signed the plate, leaving the restaurant with a personal memento of the occasion.

The tribute connected the restaurant's hospitality experience with a landmark in Indian cinema, recognising the film's enduring place in popular culture and Khan's contribution to the industry.

A Meeting Place for Indian Sporting Icons

Bombay Brasserie Singapore has also hosted prominent figures from Indian sport. In August 2026, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar and fellow members of India's 1983 Cricket World Cup-winning team gathered at the restaurant for a celebratory lunch.

These visits add to the restaurant's profile as a dining destination for Indian personalities travelling to Singapore, while reinforcing its connection with India's cultural and sporting heritage.

Bringing Bombay's Culinary Heritage to Singapore

First established in Kensington, London, in 1982, Bombay Brasserie has built its identity around India's diverse regional cuisines, presented through a contemporary dining experience. The brand has expanded internationally, with restaurants in destinations including Cape Town, Dubai, Singapore and Frankfurt.

The Singapore restaurant, located at South Beach, draws inspiration from Bombay's varied food culture, including Parsi cafés, seafood restaurants, chaat stalls and Continental influences. Its beverage programme also takes inspiration from colonial-era Bombay, with drinks reflecting the character of the city's neighbourhoods.

The interiors combine elements associated with Bombay's Parsi and Anglo-Indian communities, creating a setting that blends regional references with an international dining environment.

More than four decades after its London debut, Bombay Brasserie continues to introduce international audiences to India's culinary diversity. The Singapore restaurant's tribute to Lagaan added a cinematic dimension to this approach, bringing together food, film and a shared appreciation of Indian cultural heritage.

About Bombay Brasserie

Bombay Brasserie is a dining brand of The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), established in London in 1982. The restaurant celebrates India's regional cuisines through a contemporary interpretation of Indian dining.

Address: 26 Beach Road, #B1-23/24/25, South Beach Avenue, Singapore 189768

Before food apps and reservation waitlists, Hyderabad had a handful of rooms where the city learned to eat out. It also had the people who ran those rooms. Loca Loka has now brought many of these people together for a special evening called Loca(L) Legends.

It was an invitation-only event. Veterans who have run some of the city’s best-loved places for decades shared the floor with the restaurateurs and entrepreneurs who are writing Hyderabad’s next chapter. Together, they hold a history that lives in memories, not in books. The evening was part of Loca Season 1, a six-week, city-wide programme that marks the brand’s launch in Hyderabad under the line “Co-founded by Hyderabad”. The goal was simple: capture these stories before time takes them away.

One object, one story

Every legend came with one item from their establishment’s past. There was an early menu with unbelievable prices, a first-day bill, a faded photograph and a signboard that outlived its street. Each piece became an opening entry in the Loca(L) Legends Archive, a growing record of how Hyderabad learned to eat out and stay out.

The conversation

The evening also had a panel, moderated by Rana Daggubati. The speakers were Arjun Valluri (Founder, Xcess, Extreme Sports Bar and Heart Cup Coffee), Shravan Juvvadi (Founder, Tabula Rasa) and Hemender Reddy (Founder, The Moonshine Project). Their stories had the room nodding in one moment and laughing out loud in the next.

The three represent different chapters in the growth of Hyderabad’s hospitality and entertainment scene. They went beyond venues and balance sheets and spoke about the instincts behind their work. They talked about reading what customers want as it changes, taking risks as an entrepreneur, and building spaces that have helped make Hyderabad a destination for music, dining and experiential entertainment.

There were more fun moments too. “Then vs Now” conversations paired veterans with younger founders to argue over how the city’s evenings have changed. Anonymous confessional cards and a round of “Unwritten Rules” brought out the honesty, humour and friendly disagreement this trade is known for.

This is only the start

The archive will keep growing. Each legend will be filmed at their own establishment, and the stories will be released as a short-form series and a longer documentary edit.

What the founders said

“ Every city has a history that never made it into the books. In Hyderabad, a lot of it was lived in a handful of rooms, run by people who knew every regular by name and the story behind every table. They are the unofficial keepers of the city’s culinary history. Loca(L) Legends was about pulling up a chair, pressing record and making sure those stories outlive the rooms they happened in,” said Rana Daggubati, Co-Founder, Loca Loka.

Sree Harsha Vadlamudi, Co-Founder & CEO, Loca Loka, added, “I’ve been in this industry for over a decade, and the people in that room taught me most of what I know. They understood loyalty long before anyone called it a community strategy. Hyderabad’s hospitality is one of the city’s oldest subcultures, with its own rituals, rivalries and unwritten rules. A season about the city’s obsessions had to make room for the people who built it as we raised a toast to their strength, perseverance, and creativity.”

What’s next

Season 1 now moves from the city’s storytellers to its most permanent ones. Loca Ink takes over Aliens Tattoo, with flash tattooing on synthetic skin, a collective canvas and open conversations with Hyderabad’s tattoo artists.

Loca Season 1 events are open to guests aged 21 and above, by invitation only.

About Loca Loka

Loca Loka is a premium 100% Blue Weber agave tequila co-founded by actor Rana Daggubati, composer Anirudh Ravichander and entrepreneur Sree Harsha Vadlamudi. It was conceptualised in India and is produced in Jalisco, Mexico, under third-generation distillers. The name comes from the Spanish “loca” (crazy) and the Sanskrit “loka” (world). Loca Loka debuted in the United States and Southeast Asia in 2024 and entered India in November 2025. Its Blanco won Gold and its Reposado won Silver at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2025. It has also won medals at the New York International Spirits Competition, the Miami World Spirits Competition and the WSWA Wine & Spirits Tasting Competition in Denver