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NextGenInnov8 Launches ‘Know Your Army’ National Quiz in Association with Defense Force League to Honor Indian Armed Forces

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PUNE, India, Feb. 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — In an effort to strengthen the connection between youth and the Indian Armed Forces, NextGenInnov8, in collaboration with the Defense Force League (DFL), is proud to announce the launch of the Know Your Army National Quiz competition. This nationwide initiative was officially launched at the Param Veerangana – Mission Shakti ceremony, held on February 16, 2025, at the Pimpri Chinchwad Science Park. The ceremony, which celebrated the remarkable contributions of women to India’s defense and social progress, also marked the unveiling of this national-level quiz that aims to increase awareness of the Indian Army among students.

Hon’ble Lt. Gen. Nirbhay Sharma, former Governor of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, who was the chief guest at the ceremony, launched the Know Your Army initiative in front of a distinguished audience that included dignitaries such as Dr. Arvind Natu, a senior scientist from IISER and Germany’s Order of Merit Awardee, among others. Mr. Naresh Golla (Founder, Defense Force League), Ex-Commando Raghunath Sawant, Subedar Major Yashwant Mahadik, among other esteemed participants, also took part in the launch of Know Your Army Quiz.

Lt. Gen. Sharma expressed his strong support for the quiz, emphasizing the importance of educating the youth about the sacrifices and valor of India’s armed forces. “Understanding the sacrifices made by our soldiers is crucial for fostering national pride. The Know Your Army quiz is a fantastic initiative to connect our youth with the history, values, contributions and heroism of our defense forces, and I urge students and schools to take part in this inspiring initiative,” said Lt. Gen. Sharma.

The Know Your Army quiz will be conducted across three levels on BrainPulses Quizzing platform, allowing students from across India to participate and test their knowledge of the Indian Army’s history, operations, and contributions to national security.

Know Your Army Quiz Structure and Objectives

The quiz aims to engage students from Class 8 to 10 (school-level participants), and will be held in three phases to ensure maximum participation and engagement:

Phase 1: Online Awareness & Screening Round (Round 1)
A national-level online quiz will be hosted, providing students with an interactive and engaging way to learn about the Indian Army.The online quiz will cover a broad range of topics, from the history of the Army to its current operations and contributions to national security.Phase 2: Regional Semi-Finals (Round 2)
The top students from the online round will qualify for regional semi-finals, where they will compete in defense-related knowledge challenges.Students from all four zones—North, South, East, and West India—will participate in this phase, with the top 20 students from Round 1 advancing to Round 2. From this pool, 8 finalists will be selected to compete in the grand finale.Phase 3: Offline Grand Finale (Round 3)
The final round of the quiz will take place offline in a live, interactive event with an audience of over 200 attendees. The 8 finalists will compete for the top three positions, with monetary prizes, trophies, and sponsorship gifts to be awarded to the winners.The grand finale will feature a panel of experts who will serve as jury members and evaluate the finalists’ performances.

About the Know Your Army Quiz

The Know Your Army initiative is more than just a quiz; it is an educational movement designed to inspire students to appreciate the sacrifices of India’s soldiers and understand the importance of the defense forces in national security. Through this quiz, NextGenInnov8 and its partners—Defense Force League, ASM Group of Institutes, and BrainPulses—are working together to instill a sense of patriotism and national pride in young minds.

Aditi Pachpande, Co-founder of NextGenInnov8, spoke passionately about the motivation behind the quiz during the event. “Today’s generation is more connected than ever—with the world at our fingertips. But somewhere in this digital age, we are losing touch with something crucial—the incredible work our Indian Defense Forces do for us every single day. How many of us truly understand the sacrifices, the courage, and the unwavering dedication of our soldiers?” Aditi said. She went on to explain the aim of the Know Your Army quiz: “This quiz isn’t just about answering questions; it’s about rediscovering what patriotism really means in today’s world. Through this quiz on the BrainPulses platform, students will get a chance to test their knowledge, challenge themselves, and develop a newfound respect for those who serve our country.”

Dr. Sandeep Pachpande, Chairman, ASM Group of Institutes and Founder, NextGenInnov8, also emphasized the importance of the initiative: “At NextGenInnov8, we believe that initiatives like the Know Your Army quiz are critical in shaping the future generation of leaders. By engaging students in learning about our defense forces, we not only educate them about the history and heroism of the Indian Army but also instill in them the values of courage, sacrifice, and responsibility.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred upon Smt. Pratibha Patil, the first female President of India, for her extraordinary leadership. The event was also an opportunity to honor exceptional individuals who have contributed significantly to India’s growth. Dr. Asha Pachpande, Management Trustee and Secretary of ASM Group of Institutes, was one of the awardees who received the Medal of Honor for her contributions to education and social welfare. These recognitions were part of the larger ceremony celebrating women’s contributions to India’s progress, and they added to the significance of the quiz launch.

The Road Ahead

As the Know Your Army quiz progresses through the three levels, NextGenInnov8, along with its partners, expects a high level of engagement and participation from schools, students, and educators across the country. The quiz aims to reach a wide audience, not just those with a direct interest in defense, but anyone who is passionate about learning more about India’s history and the sacrifices made by our soldiers.

The quiz is part of a larger movement to create awareness about the Indian Defense Services, and NextGenInnov8 is excited to see the positive impact it will have on students across the country. By offering a platform for learning, competition, and recognition, the Know Your Army quiz will help students engage with the history and values of their country in a way that is both informative and inspiring.

About NextGenInnov8

Founded in 2019, NextGenInnov8 is dedicated to empowering young leaders through innovation-driven education. Through initiatives like Know Your Army, the organization is dedicated to inspiring youth to become responsible, informed citizens who contribute to the growth and success of their nation. The company’s key initiatives include:

Innovation Clubs – Programs designed to develop critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills.Training Programs – Hands-on learning in entrepreneurship, design thinking, and sustainability, offered in collaboration with global institutions like Harvard Student Agencies (HSA).BrainPulses Quizzing Platform – A cutting-edge platform that makes learning engaging and interactive.

www.nextgeninnov8.com

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11:11 Systems Announces Strategic Partnership with Cato Networks to Deliver SASE Solution for Distributed Enterprises

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New Managed Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution combines SD-WAN, cloud-native networking and security capabilities with 11:11’s connectivity, cyber resilience and cloud expertise

SYDNEY, July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — 11:11 Systems, a leading managed infrastructure solutions provider, today announced the global availability of its 11:11 Managed Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution and a new strategic partnership with Cato Networks.

11:11 Managed SASE is a fully managed secure connectivity solution leveraging Cato Networks AI-native network security platform. This solution brings together intelligent SD-WAN, cloud-delivered security and global connectivity into a single offering. It enables organisations to simplify and secure access across branch offices, data centres, users and cloud environments, reducing complexity without sacrificing performance or control.

Built on the Cato Networks cloud-native SASE platform, 11:11 Managed SASE combines zero trust network access (ZTNA), firewall as a service (FWaaS), secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), advanced threat protection and centralised visibility into a unified managed experience. 11:11 also delivers 24x7x365 monitoring and support, incident management integration and operational accountability to help customers limit vendor sprawl, increase agility and free internal teams to focus on higher-value priorities.

The offering is backed by 11:11’s broader networking, cloud and cyber resilience capabilities. Through its global backbone, carrier-agnostic connectivity options and integrated portfolio spanning cloud, backup, disaster recovery and security services, 11:11 gives customers a practical path to modernise network and security architecture while strengthening resilience across the business.

“Enterprises are under pressure to support users, applications and locations that are more distributed than ever, while limiting complexity and improving security,” said Justin Giardina, CTO, 11:11 Systems. “Our Managed SASE solution provides customers with a unified approach to modernising networking and security, along with the visibility, support and flexibility they need to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.”

According to Karl Soderlund, global channel chief, Cato Networks, “As enterprises move beyond fragmented legacy networking and security stacks, they need a simpler way to gain visibility, context and control across hybrid work environments and reduce the operational burden on IT. Through our partnership, we can address these challenges head on and deliver end-to-end visibility and protection in a single service built for the reality of modern work.”

The joint offering is well suited for distributed enterprises, multi-site organisations, hybrid workforce initiatives, SD-WAN refreshes, security modernisation efforts and businesses with limited IT resources. 11:11 meets customers where they are by supporting existing environments, simplifying multi-vendor operations and serving as a single provider accountable for network, security, cloud and data integration.

This partnership expands 11:11’s Network as a Service portfolio and follows Forrester’s inclusion of 11:11 Systems in its report, “The Secure Access Service Edge Services Landscape, Q1 2026.”

About 11:11 Systems

11:11 Systems is a managed infrastructure solutions provider that empowers customers to modernise, protect and manage mission-critical applications and data, leveraging 11:11’s resilient cloud platform. Learn more at www.1111Systems.com and follow 11:11 on LinkedIn.

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Crowell & Moring Expands Financial Services Group with Former UBS Bank USA General Counsel Cristina Diaz

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NEW YORK, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Crowell & Moring has added Cristina Diaz, former executive director and general counsel of UBS Bank USA, and most recently head of legal for UBS’s U.S. Remediation Management Office, to the firm’s Financial Services Group as senior counsel in New York. Diaz brings more than two decades of in-house counsel and law firm experience in bank regulation, compliance, and risk management.

At Crowell, Diaz will counsel banks, fintechs, and digital assets companies on a broad range of bank regulatory matters, including charters and licensing, permissible activities, capital requirements, regulatory enforcement, M&A, and corporate governance. She will also counsel clients navigating the intersection of traditional banking and emerging financial services, including digital assets companies seeking to acquire or establish national banks, and banks exploring partnerships with fintechs and digital assets firms.

At UBS, Diaz advised on the firm’s most pressing regulatory matters, including most recently UBS Bank USA’s charter conversion from a Utah industrial bank to an OCC national bank and key compliance remediations. This work gave Diaz extensive experience navigating relationships with state and federal financial regulators. Earlier in her career, Diaz spent eight years at Davis Polk & Wardwell advising U.S. and foreign banks on bank regulatory matters, M&A, and capital markets transactions.

“Cristina is a highly experienced, solution-oriented attorney who brings deep knowledge in the bank regulatory space. She will be an enormous asset to the firm’s growing regulatory and transactional offerings to banks, digital assets businesses, and fintechs,” said Carlton Greene, Co-Chair of Crowell’s Financial Services Group.

“I am delighted to join Crowell & Moring and integrate my bank regulatory experience with the firm’s nationally-recognized digital assets practice. As traditional banking and emerging financial technologies continue to evolve, clients need actionable and sophisticated legal counsel. Crowell offers the collaborative platform to help institutions successfully execute their growth and compliance strategies,” said Diaz.

Diaz received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a member of the New York University Law Review, and received her B.A., summa cum laude, from New York University. She is fluent in Spanish.

About Crowell & Moring LLP
Crowell & Moring is an international law firm with operations in the United States, Europe, and MENA. Drawing on significant government, business, industry, and legal experience, the firm helps clients capitalize on opportunities and provides creative solutions to complex regulatory and policy, litigation, transactional, and intellectual property issues. The firm is consistently recognized for its commitment to pro bono service, as well as its comprehensive programs and initiatives to advance the professional and personal development of all members of the Crowell community.

Media Contact:
Email: prteam@crowell.com

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Quantinuum and SoftBank Corp. Publish Joint White Paper on Scaling Practical Quantum Computing Use Cases Toward the Fault-Tolerant Era

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The companies have published a joint white paper mapping commercially relevant quantum computing use cases in quantum chemistry and graph analytics to Quantinuum’s hardware roadmap.The paper provides a framework for assessing how advances in quantum hardware and algorithms, could affect when practical industrial applications become feasible.SoftBank Corp. and Quantinuum will use the roadmap to inform their exploration of future quantum AI data center services and related business models.

TOKYO and BROOMFIELD, Colo., July 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Quantinuum (NASDAQ: QNT) and SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) today announced the publication of “Quantum Computing Frontiers,” a joint white paper that maps two commercially-relevant quantum computing application areas against Quantinuum’s hardware roadmap. The analysis examines how advances in quantum hardware and algorithms could affect when these applications become practical for industrial use.

The paper focuses on two representative application domains that SoftBank is actively using Quantinuum’s systems to research: quantum chemistry for new materials discovery and energy research, and topological data analysis for large-scale graph analytics, including for telecommunications fraud detection. The authors anchor their assessment of the scalability of these two application areas against Quantinuum’s published hardware roadmap, examining how projected advances in hardware capabilities and algorithms may enable the commercial readiness of future industrial applications.

Building on this use-case roadmap, the paper also examines how quantum computing, AI, and high-performance computing could be integrated into future computing infrastructure. It considers how progress across successive hardware generations could inform future quantum AI data center services and related business models, a key focus of the Quantinuum and SoftBank partnership announced last year.

“The key takeaway of this study is that organizations do not need to wait for large-scale, fault-tolerant systems to explore where quantum computing can begin creating value,” said Duncan Jones, General Manager, Applications Group at Quantinuum. “By using today’s systems to develop, benchmark and refine applications in areas such as quantum chemistry and graph analytics, enterprises can build the technical and operational readiness needed for the next era of quantum-enabled computing.”

“The question is no longer whether quantum computing may deliver value, but rather which problem classes become executable at which stage of hardware maturity,” said Ryuji Wakikawa, Senior Vice President & CTO at SoftBank Corp. “However, we believe progress in hardware must be complemented by equally strong developments in quantum algorithms and the integration of quantum systems with AI and high-performance computing.”

The white paper discusses illustrative scenarios describing how representative applications, technology maturity, and potential market opportunities may evolve over time under stated assumptions. The analysis provided in the paper is intended to provide a conceptual framework for understanding potential market evolution and does not represent financial guidance or forecasts. These analyses are intended to support discussion of future technology development and should not be interpreted as commitments regarding commercialization, infrastructure investment, products, services, or financial performance.

The full white paper is available to download on the SoftBank and Quantinuum websites.

About SoftBank Corp.

Guided by the SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy, “Information Revolution – Happiness for everyone,” SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434) operates telecommunications and IT businesses in Japan and globally. Building on its strong business foundation, SoftBank Corp. is aiming to activate the potential of AI across its businesses and drive implementation in line with its “Activate AI for Society” growth strategy. While further growing its telecom business, SoftBank is expanding its AI computing infrastructure and AI and Cloud service businesses with the aim of becoming a provider of Next-generation Social Infrastructure. To learn more, please visit https://www.softbank.jp/en/corp/

About Quantinuum

Quantinuum (NASDAQ: QNT) is a leading quantum computing company offering a full-stack platform designed to make quantum computing deployable in real-world environments. The company has commercially deployed multiple generations of quantum systems built on the well-established QCCD architecture, which it has implemented with novel designs and capabilities to achieve the industry’s highest accuracy levels based on average two-qubit gate fidelity.[1] Quantinuum has active engagements with market leaders across pharmaceuticals, material science, financial services, and government and industrial markets. The company has a global workforce of approximately 700 employees, including top scientists and researchers. Over 70% of its technology team holds PhDs or Master’s degrees. Quantinuum’s headquarters is in Broomfield, Colorado, with additional facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Qatar, and Singapore.

For more information, please visit www.quantinuum.com.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. The words “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “future,” “will,” “seek,” “foreseeable,” the negative version of these words, or similar terms and phrases are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on certain assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical trends, current economic and industry conditions, expected future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. The forward-looking statements included in this release are also subject to a number of material risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive, governmental, and technological factors affecting our operations, markets, products, services and prices. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for Quantinuum to predict all such factors. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and, except as required by law, Quantinuum does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

[1] As of December 31, 2025.

SOURCE Quantinuum

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