Brands
TVS shifts gears with NTORQ 150, India’s first hyper sport scooter
MUMBAI: TVS Motor Company has blurred the lines with the launch of the NTORQ 150, billed as India’s first hyper sport scooter. Unveiled in Bengaluru at a starting price of Rs 1.19 lakh (ex-showroom, all India), the NTORQ 150 promises to give riders more than just a daily commute. It offers acceleration, attitude and Alexa.
Powered by a 149.7cc race-tuned engine, the scooter rockets from 0 to 60 km/h in just 6.3 seconds, topping out at 104 km/h. Add in ABS, traction control and a racy muffler note, and it makes a strong case as the quickest scooter in its class.
Design-wise, TVS has gone full stealth mode. Inspired by fighter jets, the NTORQ 150 comes with Multipoint projector headlamps, aerodynamic winglets, a naked handlebar and a distinctive ‘T’ tail lamp. The forward-biased stance and arrowhead front give it the look of a machine always ready for take-off.
But performance isn’t the only talking point. Riders get a hi-res TFT cluster packed with over 50 connected features, including Alexa and smartwatch integration, live vehicle tracking, turn-by-turn navigation and even social media alerts. The adaptive display, styled like a gaming console, underscores its Gen Z appeal.
Safety hasn’t been left in the rear-view either. ABS, traction control, hazard lamps, theft alerts and an emergency brake warning all feature as segment firsts. Comfort is boosted with telescopic suspension, adjustable brake levers, a patented EZ centre stand and roomy 22-litre under-seat storage.
The NTORQ 150 comes in two variants, with colourways like Stealth Silver, Racing Red, Turbo Blue and Nitro Green ensuring riders won’t go unnoticed on city streets.
Speaking at the launch, TVS Motor Company, president of India 2W business, Gaurav Gupta said the new scooter combines “race-inspired performance, advanced connectivity, and first-in-segment safety features” to delight a new generation of riders.
Brands
Google says Gemini AI cuts irrelevant ads by 40 percent
AI driven search and ad tools boost relevance and results for brands.
MUMBAI: In the never ending hunt for the right ad at the right moment, artificial intelligence may finally be sharpening the aim. Google says the integration of its multimodal AI models, Gemini, has reduced irrelevant advertisements across its platforms by 40 percent, as improved query understanding allows ads to match user intent more closely.
Speaking at a roundtable on Thursday, Google vice president of Global Ads Dan Taylor said the company has been steadily deploying Gemini powered upgrades to interpret complex search queries more accurately. “We have been making Gemini based improvements to query understanding at a rate of almost one launch per month over the last two years. As the models improve and our ability to deploy them improves, ad quality continues to get better,” Taylor said.
The improvements come as Google leans deeper into AI driven advertising tools. According to the company, 2025 saw a threefold increase in Gemini generated creative assets produced by advertisers using its AI powered ad solutions.
The company also highlighted how these tools are influencing marketing performance for brands in India.
Insurance marketplace Policybazaar recorded a 28 percent rise in health insurance sales while reducing cost per sale by 23 percent after adopting AI Max, a tool that interprets natural language search queries to improve ad targeting.
Meanwhile, hospitality platform OYO reported 50 percent higher return on ad spend (ROAS) and a 25 percent reduction in cost per acquisition after combining its existing search campaigns with Google’s Performance Max (PMax) advertising campaigns.
Taylor noted that evolving consumer behaviour is also reshaping how brands approach digital advertising. According to Google’s data, 86 percent of shoppers in India using Google Search said they were open to trying new brands or products, suggesting that AI driven discovery tools could increasingly influence purchase decisions.
Beyond advertising, Google is also investing in what it calls agentic commerce, an emerging model where AI agents autonomously assist users in discovering, comparing and purchasing products online.
“Our goal with agentic commerce is twofold, first, to remove the grunt work of shopping so consumers can focus on the fun parts; and second, to work hand in hand with the industry to build the foundations needed to make agentic commerce seamless and secure across the web,” Taylor said.
The push into AI enhanced advertising and commerce comes as Google’s core ads business continues to grow. The company recently reported $82.28 billion in advertising revenue, marking a 13.5 percent year on year increase.
For advertisers navigating an increasingly crowded digital landscape, Google is betting that smarter algorithms and sharper intent signals will make ads feel less like interruptions and more like timely suggestions.
