MAM
MS Dhoni hosts Allen Online’s Rise to the Top
Series explores ambition beyond ranks and results
NATIONAL: Swapping the dressing room for the studio, MS Dhoni has stepped into a new role as host of Rise to the Top, a multi-episode student conversation series launched by Allen Online.
The series, now streaming on Allen Online’s youtube channel, seeks to move the spotlight away from rank lists and scorecards to the human stories behind academic success. Rather than interrogating study timetables, Dhoni steers conversations towards ambition, doubt, family support and the turning points that shape young lives.
The opening episode, titled Sapne Dekho, features Sekh Galib Raza from rural Odisha and Arpita Ghosh from a remote village in West Bengal. Both are now enrolled in government medical colleges, having navigated social, financial and personal hurdles along the way.
For Ghosh, the ambition to study medicine is entwined with her father’s long-held dream. Raised in a village where few girls pursue higher education, she speaks of family encouragement and a determination to return as her community’s first doctor. Raza traces his calling to childhood visits to a local hospital with his mother, where he observed doctors calming anxious families. Despite health setbacks and multiple attempts, he eventually secured admission to a government medical college.
Allen Online CEO Rakesh Ranjan, said the idea behind the series was to foreground the journeys that shape students rather than merely the outcomes that define them. Having Dhoni at the helm, he argued, adds a layer of lived experience around handling pressure and expectation.
Brands
Ekart expands IKEA partnership with EV deliveries in Chennai
3PL to handle 600 plus products with 48 hour delivery via EV fleet.
MUMBAI: Flatpacks are going electric and your sofa might now arrive with a smaller carbon footprint. Ekart has expanded its partnership with IKEA to power last-mile deliveries in Chennai, doubling down on speed, scale and sustainability in one of India’s key urban markets. Under the collaboration, Ekart will manage end-to-end large-format deliveries for IKEA across the city using a 100 per cent dedicated electric vehicle fleet. The move makes Chennai the second major market after NCR-Delhi where Ekart handles IKEA’s last-mile logistics, signalling a broader rollout of EV-led supply chains.
The mandate is no small load. Ekart will oversee deliveries for over 600 products from IKEA’s catalogue, ranging from furniture to home décor—categories that demand specialised handling and precision logistics.
Backed by its technology-driven fulfilment network, Ekart is targeting deliveries within a 48-hour window, offering real-time tracking and end-to-end visibility from warehouse to doorstep. The focus is clear: faster turnarounds without compromising on control or customer experience.
The EV-first model also aligns with both companies’ sustainability goals, as urban logistics increasingly shifts towards zero-emission solutions. For IKEA, which continues to expand its omnichannel presence in India, reliable and eco-conscious last-mile delivery is becoming central to scale.
For Ekart, the partnership reinforces its positioning as an enterprise-grade logistics player in large-format commerce. The company already supports over 1,800 retail, D2C and enterprise brands, spanning last-mile delivery, part-truckload services and warehousing.
As India’s logistics ecosystem evolves, this collaboration highlights a growing trend: delivery is no longer just about distance, it’s about efficiency, experience and increasingly, emissions.
