Vedanta Aluminium has announced that it has appointed Luca Zipponi as the CEO of Rolled Products. 

With more than 30 years of experience, Zipponi brings with him a wealth of knowledge and expertise for his new role. In this role, he will be responsible for driving growth and overseeing all operations related to the product group, which finds various applications in automotive, insulations, power projects, electrical, and packaging sectors to name a few. 

Ensuring the best use of technology to drive innovation and deliver greater value to customers, Zipponi will enhance Vedanta Aluminium's market leadership and operational excellence. Having previously served as the Group Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director UK at Reflexallen Group, his extensive background in operations and strategy is expected to be instrumental in advancing Vedanta Aluminium's rolled products business.

The company has a unit in Korba (Chhattisgarh) with state-of-the-art rolled products setup with a capacity of 0.72 lakh tonnes per annum (LTPA). The setup comprises casting stations, continuous caster, hot rolled mills, and cold rolled mills.

A part of Vedanta Limited, the company is India's largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India's aluminium – 2.37 million tonnes in FY2023-24. It is also a leading player in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. 

Returning for the 2025 season and 75th anniversary year this weekend, the Formula 1 sport has released a round-up on the progress made towards its sustainability and social commitments last year. In the form of 2024 Impact Report, which will be released later this year, the progress made towards its sustainability and social commitments with Net Zero as the goal for 2030, the Formula 1 sport has – on the environmental front – made significant investments in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as part of its ultra-efficient logistics strategy. 
It has invested significantly in SAF as it delivers an estimated 80 percent reduction in associated carbon emissions per flight compared to the use of conventional aviation fuel. The combined investment in SAF with Global Partners DHL and Qatar Airways reduced total related emissions by more than 8,000 tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent), an approximate 19 percent reduction in related emissions– compared to traditional aviation fuel – for the air freight charter programme operated by Formula 1 across the flyaway events of the 2024 season.
The delivery of innovative low-carbon energy generation systems using renewable sources such as hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), biofuel, solar panels, and battery began testing in 2023. Last year, they were used at the Red Bull Ring, the Hungarian Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix in Monza. For the 2025 season, a programme will be rolled out to reduce more than 90 percent of carbon emissions at all European Grands Prix in key areas such as the Paddock, Pit Lane, and Event Technical Centre. 
As part of the sport’s ongoing efforts to reduce carbon emissions associated with travel and logistics, improvements were made to the geographical flow of races around the world in 2024. This included agreement from the Promoter in Japan to move the Suzuka race back from September to April to fit with the Asia Pacific segment of the schedule, while Azerbaijan took its slot to align with Singapore. The organisers of the Qatar Grand Prix also approved a move to the penultimate spot in the schedule, back-to-back with Abu Dhabi. From 2026 the Canadian Grand Prix will be hosted earlier in the year and the Monaco Grand Prix will take place on the first full weekend in June, consolidating the European leg of the F1 season into one period, removing an additional transatlantic crossing and delivering significant associated carbon reductions. 
Last year, F2 and F3 cars ran on 55 percent Aramco advanced sustainable fuel and the FIA medical and safety cars operated on 40 percent of it. In 2025, the F2 and F3 cars will move to 100 percent use of it, ahead of the Formula 1 cars adopting the fuels in 2026 in the new hybrid engines that will take to the circuit next year. 
The technology has implications for the automotive industry and existing petrol cars, as the fuel developed by Formula 1 will be a ‘drop-in’ that can be used in road cars without modification and will serve as a sustainable alternative of global benefit. 
Throughout the 2024 season, the cars all operated with FSC approved Pirelli tyres, which means the natural rubber in the type complies with the FSC’s strict standards for sustainable forestry. Some 80 percent of promoters powered aspects of their events using alternative energy sources such as solar panels, green tariffs, and biofuels. Over 90 precent of promoters began offering greener ways to travel to the race.
On the social commitments front, the Formula 1 sport – in 2024 season – marked the fourth year of its F1 Engineering Scholarships programme, which would support 50 underrepresented students by the end of 2025. The Scholarship covers the entire cost of the student’s tuition, together with living expenses for the full duration of their degree, enabling them to focus on their studies. It also offers them support to set them up for their careers, including work experience with one of the ten Formula 1 teams, as well as career workshops and mentoring. 
Formula 1 also launched the global education programme ‘Learning Sectors’ in collaboration with the British Council to inspire young learners in Brazil, India, South Africa, and the UK to pursue STEM subjects. The year long programme kicks off this year with 130,000 students in 700 schools. 
F1 Academy, the sport’s female-only series, competed alongside Formula 1 at seven events last year, completing 21 races. Through F1 Academy’s partnership with the international karting series, Champions of the Future, female participation in racing increased from five percent in 2023 to 25 percent in 2024. 
The sport also continued with hosting apprenticeships and workshops, such as The Next Grand Prix challenge in association with the Social Mobility Business Partnership (SMBP) charity, which challenges students aged between 16 and 18 from a breadth of backgrounds to assume a business leadership role and deliver a fictional bid for a new Formula One World Championship location. 
Ellen Jones, Head of ESG at Formula 1, said, “Innovation and community drove Formula 1's work in 2024. We are thrilled to outline our progress and continued work in this space. Formula 1 as a sport is uniquely positioned to take action through our global reach and technological leadership.”
 
 
 

American computer technology company Sandisk has introduced what it claims is industry's first automotive grade UFS4.1 interface device – Sandisk iNAND AT EU752 UFS4.1 Embedded Flash Drive (EFD).

This not only strengthens its product portfolio but also supports the automotive industry by enabling faster and secure access to data.

The company's solution will support the requirements of Software Defined Vehicles (SDV), which use high volumes of data along with more frequent over-the-air (OTA) updates. The UFS4.1 interface enables software updates to happen faster.

The new solution is said to provide 2x the performance of Sandisk’s UFS3.1 device and double the capacity previously available in the market. The Sandisk iNAND AT EU752 UFS4.1 is available with upto 1TB of storage space.

Key features of the product include – health status reporting to prevent potential system failures while the vehicle is operating; fast boot replaces the need for a separate NOR device; the fast boot is also critical for safety systems such as rearview camera systems that need to be operational within two seconds.

The UFS4.1 has a claimed write speed of upto 3,900 MBPS and 4,200 MBPS of read speed.

Representational image courtesy: Erik Mclean/Pexels 

Uber, one of India’s leading ride-hailing platforms, is introducing pet-friendly (dogs, cats and other pets) ride options for customers in Delhi and Mumbai under ‘Uber Pet’.

The company first introduced the Uber Pet option in Bengaluru last year, which is now being extended to two more cities. This will allow customers who wish to travel with their pets to book a cab on-demand or reserve a ride in advance. Uber has also partnered with Heads Up for Tails, a pet care brand, to provide special discounts for customers booking their rides to the store.

Shweta Mantri, Head, Rider Verticals, Uber India and South Asia, said, “We’re excited to bring Uber Pet to Delhi and Mumbai, offering even more flexibility for pet owners to travel with their furry friends. After listening to the feedback from pet parents, we’re now offering the option to book Uber Pet on-demand, making travel with your pets easier than ever. Our collaboration with Heads Up for Tails ensures that pet parents have an even more enjoyable experience, with great perks at HUFT stores. Together, we’re making travel with pets not just easier, but more fun too!”

Rashi Sanon Narang, Founder, Heads Up For Tails, added, “At Heads Up For Tails, we’ve always believed that pets are family, and every pet parent deserves a seamless, joyful experience when stepping out with their furry family. We’re delighted to join forces with Uber Pet to bring pet-friendly travel to new heights in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Our partnership is all about enhancing the pet parent experience – from seamless rides with Uber Pet to exclusive in-store perks that make every journey more rewarding. Together, we're committed to making every adventure with your pets safe, fun, and effortless!”

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), one of the leading passenger vehicle manufacturers in the country, has partnered Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and Utkrisht Society for Safe Haryana (a society belonging to Haryana State Police) to implement an Integrated Traffic Management System (ITMS) in Gurugram.

This move is part of the automakers' Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, which will see Maruti Suzuki India install and maintain ITMS at 23 junctions across 4 road stretches covering 40 km in Gurugram.

The system will be supported by approximately 400 cameras and radar systems integrated with GMDA system.

Shyamal Misra, IAS, Chief Executive Officer, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, said, “With the rapid development of Gurugram, the challenges associated with traffic have increased multi-fold in the city. I am sure that Maruti Suzuki’s initiative will be helpful in effectively detecting traffic violations, improving law enforcement, and enhancing road safety.”

Vikas Arora, IPS, Police Commissioner, Gurugram, said, “The stretches identified as part of this initiative have high traffic density and proportionately high traffic violations. The advanced technology solution by Maruti Suzuki will help us digitally capture the violations and eliminate subjectivity. This will help enhance surveillance on these road stretches and improve road safety in Gurugram. In addition, it will also be useful in detection and prevention of crimes.”

Rahul Bharti, Executive Officer, Corporate Affairs, Maruti Suzuki India, added, “We thank GMDA and Gurugram police for entrusting us with this responsibility to strengthen the traffic enforcement process in Gurugram. Our initiative will support the Gurugram Police to promote road safety and create a culture of compliance and safe driving.”

“Road accident is an area of grave concern in India. Over 1.7 lakh lives were lost in road accidents in 2023 in the country. This translates to one death every three minutes. Human errors are a prominent cause of road accident fatalities. Electronic traffic surveillance and subsequent enforcement of road safety regulations will discourage dangerous driving and traffic violations. Over time, this will lead to improved compliance in the city,” added Bharti.