Brands
Tohands unveils AI-powered calculator to digitise 1.5 lakh kirana stores in Maharashtra
MUMBAI: In the bustling bylanes of India, where kirana stores are the beating heart of daily commerce, Tohands is quietly sparking a retail revolution. The Mumbai-based fintech startup has launched the Tohands Smart Calculator V5 Silver—an AI-enabled tool designed not just to crunch numbers but to change the way India’s small retailers do business.
Unveiled on 28 May 2025 in Mumbai, the device marks a pivotal moment in Tohands’ mission to bring digital equity to grassroots retail. The company plans to digitise 1.5 lakh kirana stores across Maharashtra in the coming year, targeting key regions including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, and Vasai. Nationwide, it aims to reach one million shops by year-end.
Unlike conventional billing systems or ERP software, the V5 Silver keeps things simple. Built for shopkeepers with limited digital literacy, the calculator works both offline and online. It manages inventory, tracks expenses, integrates with barcode scanners and printers, and generates remote reports. Most importantly, it delivers AI-driven insights to help owners identify sales trends, curb losses, and improve cash flow.
“In every narrow bylane of this country, there’s a kirana store operating on trust and hustle, but without the tools that modern retail enjoys”, said Tohands founder & CEO Praveen Mishra. “The Tohands Smart Calculator V5 Silver is not just about smarter transactions—it’s about enabling these shopkeepers to save time, reduce loss, and gain control over their business”.
Built on the ‘MAYA’ principle—Most Advanced Yet Acceptable—the device is affordable, user-friendly, and designed for the realities of India’s informal retail sector. It supports integration with essential peripherals and maintains a low learning curve, making it a plug-and-play option for store owners previously alienated by complex POS systems.
Tohands, which shot to prominence after a feature on Shark Tank India, has already onboarded thousands of kirana stores over four years. It raised Rs. 3.5 crore from investors Radhika Gupta and Varun Dua on the show, along with Rs. 50 lakhs from the Startup India Seed Fund and support from Turbostart.
As Maharashtra prepares for a new wave of digital kiranas, the calculator may just become the unsung hero behind India’s next chapter of retail transformation.
Brands
Godrej clarifies ‘GI’ identifier after logo similarity debate
Says GI is not a logo, will not replace Godrej signature across products.
MUMBAI: In a branding storm where shapes did the talking, Godrej is now spelling things out. Godrej Industries Group (GIG) has issued a clarification on its newly introduced ‘GI’ identifier, addressing questions around its purpose and design following a wave of online criticism. At the centre of the debate were two concerns: whether the new mark replaces the long-standing Godrej logo, and whether its geometric design mirrors other corporate identities.
The company has drawn a clear line. The Godrej signature logo, it said, remains unchanged and continues to be the sole logo across all consumer-facing products and services. The ‘GI’ mark, by contrast, is not a logo but a corporate group identifier intended for use alongside the Godrej signature or company name, and aimed at stakeholders such as investors, media and talent rather than consumers.
The need for such a distinction stems from the 2024 restructuring of the broader Godrej Group into two separate business entities. With both continuing to operate under the same Godrej name and signature, the identifier is positioned as a way to differentiate the Godrej Industries Group at a corporate level.
The rollout, however, triggered a broader conversation on design originality. Critics pointed to similarities between the GI mark’s geometric composition and logos used by companies globally, raising questions about distinctiveness.
Responding to this, GIG said its intellectual property and legal review found that such overlaps are common in minimalist, geometry-led design systems. Basic forms such as circles and rectangles appear across dozens of brand identities worldwide, the company noted.
It added that the identifier emerged from an extensive design process and was chosen for its simplicity, allowing it to sit alongside the Godrej signature without competing visually. While acknowledging that elemental shapes may appear less distinctive in isolation, the group emphasised that the mark is part of a broader identity system that includes a custom typeface, sonic branding and other proprietary elements.
Following legal and ethical assessments, the company said it found no impediment to using the identifier, reiterating that the GI mark is a corporate tool not a consumer-facing symbol.
In short, the logo isn’t changing but the conversation around it certainly has.
