AHF, Ventureast invest Rs 40cr in Ben Franklin

Asian Healthcare Fund (AHF) along with Ventureast today announced an investment of Rs 40 crore in Eye Gear Optics India Pvt Ltd, which operates optical retain chain under the brand 'Ben Franklin' in the country.
While, AHF is a healthcare focused, private-equity fund, Ventureast is an India-centric early-stage focused fund.
Ventureast's Life Fund has previously made investments in drug discovery, medical devices, diagnostics, biotechnology and healthcare delivery.
Ben Franklin has more than 180 plus stores across cities in India.
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Idea launches sharing plans for pre-paid subscribers * Idea Cellular today said its pre-paid subscribers will now be able to share data, voice and SMS benefits with other users under a single plan.

Idea has extended the easy share post-paid plan, launched last year across many circles, to pre-paid users also.

The company said users of easy-share plan can share the data, voice minutes and SMS between multiple devices and with other Idea users.
"This unique product is the first such initiative for prepaid users in India, and caters to the need of both individual customers with multiple devices, as well as members of a family using multiple connections," Idea said in a statement.
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SABIC inks pact with CIPET to train unemployed youth * Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), a petrochemical company based in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, has signed an agreement with Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET) centre, Chennai, to offer training to unemployed youth in plastic processing.

As part of the pact, six-month residential programme for 50 unemployed youth would be offered in hands-on training at the CIPET centre, established under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
The programme covers course fee, boarding and lodging costs, a company statement said.
The first batch was launched in January, it said adding upon successful completion, the students would be certified by CIPET and SABIC.