Update | April 2  3:55 PM

About a month after investment tech major Groww initiated its stakeholder rejig bid, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed transactions. 

On April 1, the competition watchdog passed an order approving the following transactions: 

• Issuance of compulsorily convertible preference shares (Bonus CCPS) to investors Peak XV Partners, Ribbit and Y-Combinator.
• Collapse of the differential voting rights (DVRs) held by the startup’s cofounders – Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh and Ishan Bansal.

“The Proposed Transaction is being notified to the Hon’ble Commission as an acquisition under Section 5(a)(i)(A) of the Competition Act, 2002.The notification is a technical filing for regulatory compliance,” the CCI order read. 

In the case of Groww, the filing with the CCI was a technical one, as the investors and the startup founders already exercise “joint control” over the startup’s operations. 

Original | March 5, 9:37 AM

For context, DVRs give their grant holders either more or fewer voting rights compared to ordinary shareholders, typically granting shareholders more votes per share than ordinary shares, enhancing their control over company decisions

About a month after investment tech major Groww initiated its stakeholder rejig bid, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed transactions. 

On April 1, the competition watchdog passed an order approving the following transactions: 

• Issuance of compulsorily convertible preference shares (Bonus CCPS) to investors Peak XV Partners, Ribbit and Y-Combinator.
• Collapse of the differential voting rights (DVRs) held by the startup’s cofounders – Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh and Ishan Bansal.

“The Proposed Transaction is being notified to the Hon’ble Commission as an acquisition under Section 5(a)(i)(A) of the Competition Act, 2002.The notification is a technical filing for regulatory compliance,” the CCI order read. 

In the case of Groww, the filing with the CCI was a technical one, as the investors and the startup founders already exercise “joint control” over the startup’s operations. 

Original

IPO-bound fintech platform Groww’s parent Billionbrains Garage Ventures Private Ltd has issued bonus compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to existing investors Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital and Y Combinator. 

The development came to fore in a notice issued by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on March 3. As per CCI’s notice, the transaction will also result in collapse of the differential voting rights (DVR) held by Groww cofounders Harsh Jain, Lalit Keshre, Neeraj Singh and Ishan Bansal.

There was no clarity on the quantum of bonus CCPs allotted to the Groww’s investors, which were issued to existing backers at no extra cost. 

“The proposed transaction comprises of: (i) the proposed collapse of the differential voting rights (“DVRs”) held by the founders of Groww (proposed DVR collapse”); and (ii) the bonus compulsorily convertible preference shares (bonus CCPS) proposed to be issued to all existing equity shareholders of Groww (proposed bonus CCPS issuance”),” read the CCI notice.

For context, DVRs give shareholders lower or higher voting rights compared to ordinary shares. With this, the cofounders will now have the same voting rights as other shareholders. 

It is pertinent to note that companies may issue bonus shares before going for an IPO to increase the number of shares available in the market, with an eye on attracting greater participation in the public listing by lowering the entry barrier with a lower share price. 

Explaining this, founding partner at 3one4 Capital, Siddarth Pai, told Livemint, “By capitalising reserves, particularly the securities premium, the company can reduce the final IPO issue price. This is a standard bonus issue that almost every startup does before they IPO. Most recently-listed companies followed the same approach”.

Pai also reportedly said that issuing bonus shares as CCPS, instead of equity shares, also acts as a safeguard, helping ensure that the company can reinstate all investor rights if the IPO does not go through for any reason.

Meanwhile, a source close to the company told the publication that the bonus issue of shares does not include a new investment in the company and will not have “major implications” on the shareholding structure.

The CCI notice added, “The competitive dynamics remain unchanged prior to and post the proposed transaction as the major investors and founders already exercise joint control in Groww which remains unchanged prior to and post the proposed transaction”.

This comes at a time when the invest tech platform is pulling all stops to list on the Indian bourses. Just last month, reports surfaced that the company was looking to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with market regulator SEBI by April-May for a $1 Bn IPO. Groww is said to be eyeing a listing by the end of the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26).

Previous reports claimed that the fintech unicorn was targeting a valuation of $7 Bn to $8 Bn for its upcoming markets debut. In preparation for this, the company also recently reportedly finalised four bankers, namely Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Axis Capital, Citi and Motilal Oswal, to helm the public issue. 

Groww also shifted its domicile back to India in March last year as part of its plans to list on domestic exchanges. 

Founded in 2017 by Keshre, Jain, Singh, and Bansal, Groww is an online discount broking platform that allows users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and IPOs.

On the financial front, Groww Invest Tech, which operates online stock broking giant Groww, saw its revenue surge 119% to INR 3,145 Cr in FY24, up from 1,435 Cr in FY23. Meanwhile, profits jumped to INR 535 Cr during the fiscal under review from INR 458 Cr in FY23. 

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Quick commerce major Swiggy Instamart has introduced a ‘festive handling charge’ for orders placed during the Holi week. 

The extra fee, similar to other handling and surge charges used by quick commerce platforms, marks Swiggy’s debut in implementing a surge fee equal to its platform fee. 

However, the charge varies by location, ranging from INR 8.5 to INR 20.

Inc42 has reached out to Swiggy for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on its response. 

While ‘handling’ fees stay the same, surge fees are usually applied during peak hours.

Notably, last year during Diwali season, Swiggy introduced “festive season platform fees”– which was then made a permanent feature on the platform. 

This comes close on the heels of the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) filing a petition with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against quick commerce players like Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart alleging unfair pricing and monopolising the market.

According to the petition, these practices negatively impact more than 10 Mn offline mom-and-pop stores across the country.

Last year, the authority also wrote to union commerce minister Piyush Goyal, requesting to closely scan the rapid growth of these quick commerce giants. It further requested the minister to regulate the quick commerce space to protect small traders.

Later, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) also referred the complaint filed by AICPDF to the CCI regarding the matter.

It is pertinent to note that Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto cumulatively reported over $1 Bn in revenue in FY24. 

Notably, the festive fee comes at a time when quick commerce apps are bleeding as the competition is intensifying in the sector. According to Bernstein, rising competition has set Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart off the adjusted EBITDA margin breakeven course by at least 12 months.

Notably, in Q3 FY25, Instamart raked in a loss of INR 527.68 Cr, up 70% YoY from INR 310.36 Cr. Meanwhile, its revenue jumped 114% YoY and 17% QoQ to INR 576.50 Cr in the quarter. 

The vertical’s gross order value (GOV) grew 88% YoY to INR 3,907 Cr. Besides, its average order value (AOV) also increased 14% YoY and 7% QoQ to INR 534 Cr. 

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The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with cosmetics giant Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) to incubate Indian beauty and personal care startups.

As part of the pact, DPIIT’s Startup India platform will be integrated with ELC’s accelerator initiative, BEAUTY&YOU India, to help emerging brands access funding, mentorship, industry insights and avail global networking opportunities.

“India’s beauty industry is undergoing a major transformation, and collaborations like this play a pivotal role in fostering innovation and entrepreneurship,” said DPIIT  joint secretary Sanjiv Singh.

Meanwhile, ELC also announced the expansion of its BEAUTY&YOU India programme, with the addition of a new category specifically focused on supporting women-founded startups in the beauty space.

“Through BEAUTY&YOU India, ELC has established a record of supporting founders and innovations that are shaping the future of beauty in India. We are proud to add a dedicated category for female-founded startups, which reflects our longstanding mission to promote women’s advancement and leadership in our business, industry, and communities in India,” said Rohan Vaziralli, general manager at the Estée Lauder Companies India.

Launched in 2022, BEAUTY&YOU India is ELC’s flagship initiative designed to discover and back Indian beauty entrepreneurs through grants, mentorship and industry access to help startups scale and innovate.

The latest collaboration is part of DPIIT’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the Indian startup ecosystem across various sectors. In the past three months alone, it has extended strategic partnerships with several organisations, including Walmart, Stride Ventures, Apna, and Bhaane Group to support startups in manufacturing, employment, and supply chain development.

In January, DPIIT partnered professional networking platform Apna to offer DPIIT-registered startups access to talent resources. In the same month, the department also signed an MoU with Walmart to provide support, mentorship and training to manufacturing startups, particularly those from Tier II and III cities.

The partnership comes at a time when India’s beauty and personal care market is witnessing rapid growth, with several homegrown D2C beauty brands gaining significant market share in recent years.

As of January 31, 2025, India was home to over 1.61 Lakh (1,61,150) DPIIT-recognised startups, according to commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal’s statement in Parliament on March 11. 

Maharashtra led with 28,511 startups, followed by Karnataka with 16,954 and Delhi with 16,356 registered startups. The minister noted that nearly 48% of these startups now emerge from tier-II and tier-III cities.

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Online travel aggregator Yatra’s group chief financial officer (CFO) and key managerial personnel Rohan Mittal has stepped down from his position to pursue new opportunities.

In an exchange filing, the company said that its board discussed and considered Mittal’s resignation at its meeting held today.

“Mr. Mittal vide his resignation letter dated March 10, 2025, has resigned from the office of group chief financial officer and key managerial personnel of the company to look for new opportunities,” it added.

His last working day will be decided mutually to ensure a smooth handover, Yatra said.

Mittal, who did his MBA from IIM Lucknow, joined Yatra in 2022. Prior to that, he served as the CFO of Mahindra-owned logistics services provider Rivigo and supply chain management company AllcargoGATI. He also worked with companies like PwC India and ICICI Bank in the past.

Founded by Dhruv Shringi, Manish Amin, and Sabina Chopra in 2006, Yatra is a travel tech company which lets users book flight tickets, hotels, holiday packages, buses, trains, among others. The Nasdaq-listed startup went public in India in September 2023. 

Last year, it acquired Globe All India Services (Globe Travels) in INR 128 Cr deal. Back then, the company said that the acquisition would strengthen its position in the corporate travel sector.

On the financial front, Yatra’s profit after tax (PAT) rose to INR 10 Cr in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 from INR 1.05 Cr in the year-ago period. Operating revenue surged 113% to INR 235.25 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 110.34 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

However, the company’s shares have been on a downward trend amid the ongoing correction in the Indian equities market and have slipped below the IPO price. The stock ended today’s trading session 2.3% lower at INR 65.95 apiece on the BSE.

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Is the Paytm jigsaw falling into place? Perhaps, at least going by the words of Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of the embattled startup. 

Once the poster boy of India’s startup ecosystem and the most outspoken founder, Sharma went largely silent since the Reserve Bank cracked the whip on his the Paytm Payments Bank over regulatory discrepancies last year. One of the pioneers in India’s digital payments space, Paytm has since been quietly trying to put back the pieces of the puzzle.

“We are committed to working on profitability. We have not made any profit in the last few years. I can tell you very happily that with the team and the effort in the business that we have done, we are clearly committed to delivering profit in the next quarter,” Sharma said at an event last month.

As the fintech startup goes full throttle to turn profitable, it has stepped up focus on the merchants’ side of the business, lender partnerships and regaining the UPI market share.

Over the last one month, Paytm made several announcements including partnership with RBL Bank to offer its sound box, card machines to its merchant partners, UPI-enabled trading facilities for retail investors, UPI statement downloads, deployment of QR scan machines during the Mahakumbh for merchants and traders, and integration of Perplexity-enabled AI engine for Paytm users. 

Detailed queries sent to Paytm over the course of profitability remained unanswered at the time of publishing this story. 

Sharma’s fintech venture One97 Communications Ltd, which runs Paytm, came under stress since the central bank almost quashed its dream of making profits in 2024 after a sombre public listing in 2021. The RBI blew the lid off compliance gaps in operations that effectively led to the suspension of the Paytm Payments Bank. The year also saw the company shutting down a few business verticals, selling out some others, and laying off employees. 

The management commentary in the December 2024 quarter earnings call seemed to be focussed on profitability more than ever. The company narrowed its consolidated net loss by 6% to INR 208.5 Cr in the third quarter of FY25 from INR 221.7 Cr a year back, although its revenue suffered a steep 36% decline to INR 1,827 Cr in this period. 

Reading between the lines, however, shows that even though Paytm managed to reduce its indirect expenses by roughly 7.5% to INR 1,000 Cr in Q3, its direct costs grew 13% sequentially, as against a slower topline growth of 10% from INR 1,659 Cr over the previous quarter. This indicates that the revenue growth is a result of higher spending on payments processing charges, cashback and incentive costs and other direct expenses. Much of this spending has gone towards reclaiming the market share.

In fact, the 2024 RBI action on Paytm Payments Bank has set Paytm back by more than a year in terms of revenue while competition kept heating up.

The market, however, reacted to the way VSS, as the Paytm founder is referred to, painted the picture of a revival. The company’s shares traded in the black till the end of last year, though the stock took a beating after the markets turned bearish this year. 

The regulatory headwinds for Paytm didn’t stop with the RBI whip. The company came under the glare of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in quick succession over regulatory lapses. This, too, weighed on the battered stock this year. 

While laying out the blueprint for profitability, Sharma reiterated that Paytm will focus on payments, credit, and wealth management through the next two years. “Very clearly, payments are our foundation and we believe that payments can make profits on a standalone basis,” he was quoted as saying in various media reports. He added that Paytm was also aiming to be a compliance-first organisation that would ensure that adhering to regulations would not be limited to just one officer. 

He said the company aims to serve 200-250 Mn people and is recalibrating its strategy around credit distribution. But, in the meantime, the competition has intensified with the cohort of super apps – from PhonePe to CRED to Flipkart-backed Super.Money, Navi and others – looking to capture Paytm’s lost market share.

It’s hard for the fintech startup to face the challenge with a looming topline. The cost-cutting option, too, seems bleak as market analysts feel that it is overstretched and cannot afford to further reduce the costs considering the scale it operates at. Global investment firm UBS, for instance, maintained its ‘neutral’ rating on Paytm but said that to crack the profitability code, Paytm cannot rely on cost-cutting anymore and needs to scale its revenue to reach breakeven. 

Sharma has set the deadline for attaining profitability for the first quarter of fiscal 2025-26. The Paytm management, as per its earnings call, is also planning to bring down the ESOP costs in the next few quarters to narrow the gaps between EBITDA before ESOP costs and PAT. 

Does this appear too ambitious a target or is it within the reach of the fintech giant? Inc42 looked into the strategy for its road to profitability and spoke to some industry leaders and analysts to see how far is Paytm from its target. 

Payments: The Primary Revenue Lever 

Payments continue to be the main revenue driver for Paytm. It cushioned the fintech giant from the repeated regulatory setbacks in FY24 and FY25.

Despite the shakeup in the payments business after the RBI revoked the licence of the Paytm Payments Bank and revenues from the business plunged 40% to INR, 1,1003 Cr in Q3 of FY25, payments continued to make up 45% of the overall revenue pie with the gross merchandise value (GMV) in this vertical crossing INR 5.01 Lakh Cr, surpassing the year-ago figure. 

Paytm makes money by charging commissions from merchants or service providers for value-added services like bill payments, ticket booking, and food ordering. 

Its sound boxes and other monthly subscriptions from its merchant base have also been major revenue drivers in the payments business, even as the number of subscription-paying merchants increased marginally to 10.17 Mn in Q3 of FY25 from 10 Mn a year back. 

Paytm’s Q3 disclosures, however, reveal that the payments business suffered in terms of consumer payments, which stayed flat, if not dipped, last year. This has possibly led to a sharper loss in the shrinking UPI market share from 10% in early 2024 to 6.8% in January 2025.

“In December 2024, we had 1,000 Cr merchant transactions and we had 1,232 Cr total transactions. I think it’s fair to say that if you take a year-on-year view, then the merchant side of the business has grown, whereas the consumer side of the business, even adjusted for discontinued businesses, has been flat or slightly de-grown,” CFO Madhur Deora said in the Q3 earnings call.

In such circumstances, Paytm may offer incentives and cashback to onboard new users, but this will also mean pressure on margins due to increased operational expenses.

“In such a case, Sharma is going to try to hold on to his loyal consumer base by offering them reduced take rates, waiving off subscriptions in some cases, and staying focussed on adding good products to the platform. UPI will, anyway, not give Paytm an immediate revenue boost due to the Zero MDR rule,” a senior vice-president at a rival fintech firm said, requesting anonymity. In Zero MDR (merchant discount rate), the merchant doesn’t pay any fee for accepting payments. 

“If Paytm is to scale its topline, it needs new strategies to attract consumers and merchants and, at the same time, reduce marketing costs since the focus is on profitability,” the fintech executive quoted above added.

Paytm has lined up a three-pronged strategy to move the needle in the payments business. First, the incoming UPI incentives from the government in Q4 of FY25 will boost the margins. Second, the company will sign up more merchants for its devices. And, third, it will take back the inactive devices from the market, refurbish, and redeploy them to reduce the expenses in the next two quarters.

According to Sachin Dixit of JM Financial, Paytm is likely to turn profitable in Q4 FY25 and sustain that profitability for the full year in FY26.”There could be one-off quarter where seasonality and wage rises might result in minor losses if the company ramps up consumer onboarding. But despite this, we foresee a good revenue jump on the back of being able to onboard UPI users while containing costs simultaneously.” Dixit added.

The UPI-linked Rupay credit cards are expected to open another monetisation avenue for the payments business. “We are witnessing a growing trend of customers linking RuPay credit cards to payment apps and using them for UPI transactions. This allows merchants to accept credit card payments via UPI QR codes,” Paytm said in an earlier statement. 

Lending Products: The Margin Drivers  

Paytm had briefly paused its collection services for lending business and only banked on a loan distribution model after the RBI crackdown and exit from postpaid loans in May 2024. There were general industry concerns on unsecured lending and deterioration in asset quality that drove its lending partners to rethink their ties with Paytm.

The management commentary and the subsequent statement from Sharma have, however, stated that the lending business, especially merchant lending, gained strong momentum, with the average ticket size doubling to Rs 2 lakh in 2024-25.

Paytm gradually returned to loan distribution and collection services for its lending partners, invoking the first loss default guarantee (FLDG) in some cases. It charges the lending partners sourcing fees as well as collection fees for the disbursals.

Under the FLDG agreement, Paytm is expected to cover a certain amount of loss in case the borrower defaults on repayments. This is expected to boost the lender’s confidence in a tie-up and will likely drive larger loan disbursals and higher volumes for the fintech firm.

Sharma said that the company is banking on its lending business to improve profits and is not fixated on one model. “This entirely depends on the lending partners and their preferences,” he said. Compliance with strict underwriting and improved collection practices continues to be the priority for the company to satisfy its lending partners.

Following the exit from some loan business verticals, Paytm’s loan product consumers have dropped significantly to 5.9 Lakh in Q3 of FY25 from 8.1 Lakh a year ago. The hit is likely more on personal loans than merchant loans.

The revenue from financial services, primarily lending products, had declined by 17% on-year in Q3 of FY25 to INR 502 Cr from INR 607 Cr. But, on a quarterly basis, it surged 34%. In terms of disbursals, personal loan categories continue to see a decline from INR 1,977 Cr in Q2 of FY25 to INR 1,7146 Cr in Q3 of FY25. Merchant loans remained the bright spot, growing to INR 3,831 Cr from INR 3,303 Cr, with a significant portion under the DLG model.

The company has stepped up its focus on large-ticket loans and added thrust on merchant loans to secure profits in the next few quarters.

“There are concerns in invoking the FLDG model for loan collections where Paytm may have to bear the costs for loan defaults, however, if the company manages to push the disbursals substantially in the next few quarters, the FLDG costs may be covered. This remains a risk for the company. The FLDG costs may majorly dent the revenue and the margin if there are more loan defaults,” a senior fintech executive quoted above said.

Paytm said that in order to hedge FLDG costs and associated risks, it is evaluating the creditworthiness of merchants for loans based on their cash flows and with added options like daily repayments. 

Wealthtech, Marketing: The Next Growth Zone

Paytm has been steadily growing its marketing wing for brands and merchants to advertise on the platform or provide value-added services that fetched INR 267 Cr in revenues in Q3 of FY25, as against INR 268 Cr in the previous quarter.

The company exited the events and movie ticket booking business last year by selling it to Zomato for INR 2,048 Cr, which had jacked up both the bottomline and the topline for the September quarter. Paytm is not focussing on business segments that include entertainment or travel booking or insurance and will continue to provide third-party application services for the service providers. 

“Paytm was into too many things at one point. However, what we learned from the experience was that we first need to set our core payments business and financial services vertical right and check the compliance requirements. So, we shut down some verticals and sold a few,” Sharma said.

He also mentioned that the company was bullish on the wealth management business, which runs on a separate app, Paytm Money. “Paytm Money and Insurance are still work-in-progress businesses. There is an increased attention on mutual fund distribution because I think that we are able to sign up a big number of customers from there,” the Paytm CEO said in the Q3 earnings call. 

The focus on wealthtech business will also add to the funnel of mutual fund and SIP customers, he said. 

The challenge for Paytm Money will be to rope in new users since a majority of the wealthtech businesses have seen erosion in active user base with retail investors cashing out of the public markets during a prolonged bear run. Both SIP accounts and MF investments have reportedly continued to decline from the end of 2024 amid equity market correction and investors re-evaluating their portfolios.

Again, without promotional incentives, it might be challenging for Sharma and his team to compete with strong vertical players like Groww, Zerodha and Angel One, which have an existent loyal customer base and will try to retain a majority of their user base at least when markets remain subdued. 

But, since Paytm clarified that these businesses are still a work in progress, they would not want to invest major capital there immediately and wait for the market to revive. 

A majority of the brokerages and investment firms have revived their outlook on Paytm’s business and upped the target price for the stock with expectations of profitability as soon as Q4 of FY25 or Q1 of FY26, pretty much in line with what Sharma said. 

The target may be achievable in this quarter or the next after receiving the UPI incentive. It, however, must be noted that Paytm will have to massively beef up its merchant subscription services and disburse more loans while keeping bad loans at bay in this period.

“Sharma has been overseeing it all, building this company from the ground up to $10 Bn more. But from here on, as he builds more scale, he needs to hire more quality leaders for these crucial business verticals which are almost the lifeline for Paytm and keep the governance and compliance in check,” a seasoned fintech investor said, refusing to be identified. 

The path to profitability will be non-linear for Paytm in FY26, but at least Sharma and his team have a chance to make an apt response to some of the harshest critics who had given up on one of the country’s largest fintech companies last year.

[Edited By Kumar Chatterjee]

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Foodtech major Zomato’s former chief operating officer (COO) Surobhi Das has reportedly founded an aerospace startup LAT Aerospace, and roped in Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal as a non-executive cofounder and investor for the venture. 

Goyal has invested $20 Mn (around INR 174 Cr) in the startup, Economic Times reported, citing sources. 

“Both Das and Goyal are founders of the startup, but Goyal’s involvement will be one of making investments and mentoring the startup in a non-executive role,” a source was quoted as saying. 

Inc42 has reached out to Das and Goyal for comments on the development. The story will be updated on receiving their responses.

Currently, the startup is operating in stealth mode and plans to build low-cost short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft focussed on regional air connectivity. The startup is looking to make aircraft with a range of up to 1,500 km and up to 24 seats.

LAT Aerospace is looking to raise $50 Mn (around INR 436 Cr) in seed funding, the report added. 

The startup’s LinkedIn page says, “Imagine a world where flying is as easy as taking a bus. A world where air travel isn’t just for the major cities, but for everyone, everywhere. No more congested hubs, no more wasted hours in security lines—just seamless, affordable, on-demand flights connecting thousands of destinations that the world has ignored for too long.”

LAT Aerospace’s aircraft will take off and land in compact “air-stops” no bigger than a parking lot, aiming to eliminate extensive airport infrastructure. The startup is also looking to hire engineers to boost its operations. 

Meanwhile, as per Das’ LinkedIn profile, she completed her MBA from IIM Ahmedabad and left Zomato in November 2023 after an over 12-year stint.

This comes months after it was reported in October last year that Goyal has incubated a personal venture ‘Continue’, which is focused on longevity through health tracking and mental wellness. However, Goyal clarified that Continue, as of then, was his personal health and wellness team which tracks and researches how to keep him running at his peak performance. 

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Listed insurtech company PB Fintech has received approval from its board to invest INR 696 Cr (around $80 Mn) in its wholly owned subsidiary PB Healthcare Services Pvt Ltd.

This follows PB Fintech group chairman and CEO Yashish Dahiya’s statement last year that the company would make a one-time investment of $100 Mn to acquire a 30% stake in a new healthcare company. PB Fintech incorporated its healthcare arm in January.

The Policybazaar parent will infuse the capital by way of subscribing or purchasing PB Healthcare Services’ equity shares of INR 10 each or compulsorily convertible preference shares of INR 100 each in the next fiscal year (FY26), as per the company’s stock exchange filing.

However, the investment is subject to approval by shareholders of the company.

Following the capital infusion, PB Fintech would hold a 33.63% stake in PB Healthcare Services.

The funding will help PB Fintech’s healthcare subsidiary meet its general operating expenses, raise brand awareness, establish office presence, among others.

Besides the proposed investment of INR 696 Cr, PB Fintech cofounders Yashish Dahiya and Alok Bansal, along with three key managerial personnel, will additionally invest INR 132.75 Cr in the healthcare subsidiary for a combined 6.61% stake.

This takes the total proposed investment in PB Healthcare Services to INR 828.75 Cr (about $95 Mn).

Brokerage firm Bernstein expressed caution over the company’s healthcare plans earlier, arguing that it would mark a departure from an asset-light business model to an asset-heavy one.

The proposed investment in the healthcare subsidiary comes as PB Fintech looks to diversify beyond its bread-and-butter financial services business. 

The company has also been doubling down on its financial services segment. Last year, it incorporated a subsidiary PB Pay as part of its plan to venture into the payment aggregator business.

Another of its subsidiaries, PB Financial Account Aggregator Private Limited (PBAA) received the account aggregator licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October 2024.

PB Fintech reported a 92% jump in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to INR 71.54 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 37.23 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue zoomed 48% to INR 1,291.62 Cr during the quarter from INR 870.89 Cr in Q3 FY24.

At 1:53 PM, shares of PB Fintech were trading 3.98% lower at INR 1,411 apiece on the BSE. 

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Foodtech major Swiggy today (March 11) said that it plans to transition to an all-electric delivery fleet by 2030. 

“At the Swiggy Sustainability Summit held in Delhi, Swiggy announced a goal of transitioning to a 100% electric vehicle (EV) delivery fleet by 2030,” the company said in an exchange filing. 

The foodtech giant also announced the goal of facilitating its restaurant partners to move to “responsible packaging alternatives” by the same timeline. In addition, the company also plans to skill and reskill 10 Lakh individuals, including delivery partners and employees, across its value chain by 2030.

The company made the announcement on the sidelines of the maiden edition of the Swiggy Sustainability Summit 2025. 

It is pertinent to note that Swiggy has been working on building an electric delivery fleet for quite some time now. In 2020, the foodtech major reportedly explored switching to an electric delivery fleet with electric bikes and scooters from aggregators like Zypp and eBikeGo. 

A year later in 2021, Swiggy took the first major step and announced a partnership with Reliance BP Mobility, a joint venture of Reliance Industries and UK energy major British Petroleum (BP), to pilot electric vehicles in its delivery fleet. 

At the time, Hero Motors’ electric bikes division Hero Lectro and UK-based last-mile logistics service provider Fast Despatch Logistics also partnered with Swiggy to roll out electric cycles for the foodtech major. 

Subsequently, last year, the listed foodtech juggernaut launched a bulk order service called ‘Swiggy XL EV’ in Gurugram, powered by an electric three-wheeler fleet. 

The push for EVs within Swiggy comes at a time when the Indian government has set an ambitious target of 30% electric vehicle adoption by 2030, which is expected to be largely led by online aggregators switching to EVs and consumers transitioning to electric alternatives. 

Besides the environmental aspect, electric vehicles also make sense for Swiggy as such vehicles help companies reduce the cost of delivery per kilometre and increase last-mile efficiency. 

Additionally, the Centre has been offering subsidies and incentives to spur the adoption of EVs in the country

That said, Swiggy’s move to transition to EVs comes at a time when the foodtech major has been marred by rising losses, largely on the back of its aggressive quick commerce expansion. The listed company saw its consolidated net loss surge 39% to INR 799 Cr in the third quarter (Q3) of the financial year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 574.4 Cr in the year-ago quarter. 

Meanwhile, revenue from operations rose nearly 31% to INR 3,993.1 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 3,048.6 Cr in Q3 FY24. 

Shares of Swiggy ended Tuesday’s (March 11) trading session 1.95% lower at INR 352.75 on the BSE. 

The post Swiggy Targets 100% EV Delivery Fleet By 2030 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid the ongoing correction in the Indian equities market, investment tech unicorn Zerodha’s active user base declined to 79.57 Lakh at the end of February from 80.82 Lakh as of January 31. 

This comes days after Zerodha cofounder and CEO Nithin Kamath said that the company is seeing degrowth in its business for the first time in 15 years. He estimated that there was a 30% decrease in activity across brokers.

“Combined with the true-to-market circular, we are seeing degrowth in the business for the first time since we started 15 years ago,” Kamath said in a post on X. 

Market leader Groww’s active user base also plunged by about 2 Lakh to 1.30 Cr in February from 1.32 Cr at the end of January 2025, NSE data showed. 

Almost all brokerages were hit by the negative sentiment last month, with the cumulative active users of all platforms combined falling to 4.89 Cr from 5.02 Cr in January.

While third largest brokerage Angel One saw its user base contracted to 76.49 Lakh, Upstox’s active user base declined to 27.89 Lakh.

Paytm Money’s active user base stood at 6.63 Lakh by the end of February from 6.91 Lakh in the previous month. 

The decrease in the number of active users comes at a time when the broader market has been on a downward trajectory for the last few months. While Sensex has slumped nearly 6% since January, Nifty 50 has fallen by a little over 5%. 

The uncertainty around US president Donald Trump’s tariff decisions, weak Q3 earnings of Indian companies, a recovery in the Chinese market, and a selling spree of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are among the reasons for the fall in the market.

As a result, about half of the 32 new-age tech stocks under Inc42’s coverage have plunged to fresh all-time lows in recent times. For instance, Ola Electric, MobiKwik, RateGain and Tracxn touched new lows during intraday trading today.

Editor’s Note: The story has been edited to correct some numbers. 

The post [Update] Zerodha, Groww See Erosion In User Base Amid Bloodbath On D-Street appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Update | March 11, 4:30 PM 

Shares of MobiKwik ended the day’s trading 0.7% higher at INR 274.50 on the BSE.

Original | March 11, 2:55 PM

Shares of MobiKwik slumped as much as 4.18% to INR 261.2 apiece during the intraday trading on the BSE on Tuesday (March 11) to touch a fresh all-time low.

This was the third consecutive session of decline for the stock. However, it pared some of the losses to trade 1.47% lower at INR 268.60 at 2:06 PM. Its market capitalisation stood at INR 2,086.65 Cr, with as many as 19.5 Lakh shares being traded by then. 

MobiKwik made its Dalal Street debut in December last year. Its shares got listed at INR 442.25 on the BSE, a premium of 59% to its issue price of INR 279.

However, amid the decline in the Indian equities market over the past few months, shares of MobiKwik have slipped below their IPO price.

The stock has declined over 5% in the last 5 sessions and nearly 23% over the last month. On a year-to-date basis, MobiKwik shares have slumped 55%.

The fintech company slipped into the red in Q3 FY25, impacted by lower financial services revenue and higher lending-related costs. It posted a consolidated net loss of INR 55.28 Cr against a net profit of INR 5.27 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Sequentially, net loss surged multifold from INR 3.59 Cr.

However, operating revenue grew 18% year-on-year to INR 269.47 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 228.93 Cr in the same period last year. However, it declined 7% from INR 290.64 Cr in the preceding quarter.

Going ahead, the company is looking to foray into new fintech verticals in this calendar year. The company’s most immediate focus will be on expanding MobiKwik’s spending analytics platform Lens and entering the insurance aggregator space. It has also secured the necessary licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) which is requisite to segue into insurance distribution.

Recently, the fintech company also acquired a stake in B2B banking infrastructure company Blostem Fintech Private Limited for INR 1.5 Cr. 

The post MobiKwik Shares Fall 4% To Reach All-Time Low At INR 261.2 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid the ongoing legal battle between Indian media outlets and tech giant OpenAI over alleged copyright infringement, news agency ANI reportedly told the Delhi High Court (HC) that the usage of its content by the ChatGPT maker causes dilution of its market, thus leading to unfair competition.

The Delhi HC was hearing a petition filed by ANI last year, accusing OpenAI of using its news content without authorisation.

This comes amid growing concerns of news publishers in multiple jurisdictions, including India and the US, over the use of their copyrighted material by AI companies like OpenAI to train their foundational models, without licence, or permission or payment.

During a court hearing on Monday (March 11), advocate Siddhant Kumar, who is representing ANI in its suit against OpenAI, submitted that ChatGPT first used its content to train a language model, stored that data and then made it publicly accessible, Business Standard reported.

Amicus curiae Adarsh Ramanujan said that while ANI’s data was not used directly and its content was published behind a paywall, subscribers with varying levels of subscription restrictions could republish the content.

In court parlance, an amicus curiae is someone who is not a party to the case but can give information or offer advice to courts.

He further said that mere availability of content in the public domain does not nullify copyright protections and added that the Indian law does not explicitly recognise exceptions outside the fair use doctrine, the report said. 

The Delhi HC has scheduled the next hearing in the case on March 20.

It must be noted that several Indian digital news publishers, including the likes of NDTV, Network18, The Indian Express and Hindustan Times, have joined ANI’s legal battle against OpenAI, seeking to prevent the company from accessing their proprietary content.

The Sam Altman-led AI giant, however, has argued that it is not obligated to enter into partnerships with these media outlets to use their content and urged the HC to dismiss infringement claims filed against it.

Major music labels such as T-Series, Saregarama and Sony have also expressed their willingness to join the ongoing copyright lawsuit against the ChatGPT developer in the Delhi HC.

Consequently, the HC asked OpenAI to file a response regarding the application filed by the Indian Music Industry (IMI) seeking to intervene in the suit.

The post Usage Of Content By OpenAI May Cause Unfair Competition: ANI To Delhi HC appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Shares of foodtech giant Zomato slumped 5.4% to INR 199.75 during the intraday trading session on the BSE on Tuesday (March 11). 

However, the stock made a slight recovery from there and was trading 4.8% lower at 12:30 PM from its previous close of INR 211.20 on the BSE. The company’s market capitalisation stood at INR 1.94 Lakh Cr and more than 6.6 Cr shares changed hands by then.

Amid the downturn in the broader market, shares of Zomato have been under pressure for the last few months. While the stock has given a return of 30.31% in the past one year, it has declined over 6% in the last month. 

Further, if the stock maintains its losses until the close, it will mark the fifth consecutive session of decline. 

On Monday, Zomato said that it has received approval from its shareholders to change its name to Eternal Limited. The shareholders passed a special resolution to approve the proposal to change the name of the company and consequent alteration in the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of the company. 

In its rationale to change its corporate entity’s name, its cofounder and CEO Deepinder Goyal last month said Zomato started using ‘Eternal’ internally after acquiring Blinkit to distinguish between its corporate identity and the food delivery app.

“We also thought that we would publicly rename the company to Eternal, the day something beyond Zomato became a significant driver of our future. Today, with Blinkit, I feel we are there. We would like to rename Zomato Ltd., the company (not the brand/app), to Eternal Ltd,” Goyal added. 

Amid the rising popularity of quick commerce platforms, Blinkit has seen exponential growth over the last year or so. However, the competition in the segment, dominated by Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart, has been intensifying with the entry of newer players like Amazon, Flipkart Minutes, among others, over the last few months.

This has weighed on shares of Zomato, as Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA loss zoomed 13X to INR 103 Cr in Q3 FY25 from INR 8 Cr in the preceding September quarter.

Despite this, brokerage ICICI Securities, in a recent note, said it is bullish on Zomato and its rival Swiggy. It added that concerns about cash burn of the quick commerce verticals of the companies are exaggerated. 

Meanwhile, shares of rival Swiggy were also trading 2.14% lower at INR 352.05 at 12:40 PM on the BSE. 

Zomato closed the trading session on Tuesday (March 11) 1.52% lower at INR 208 on the BSE

The post Zomato Shares Tumble Over 5% To Drop Below INR 200 Mark appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech giant Paytm has expanded its employee stock options pool with the grant of 1.09 Lakh stock options. 

In an exchange filing on Tuesday (March 11), Paytm said, “… the nomination and remuneration committee of the board of the company… has approved the grant of 1,09,995  stock options to the eligible employees under One 97 Employees Stock Option Scheme 2019.”

Further, the committee took note of 4.1 Lakh stock options that have lapsed. 

The newly allotted stock options will be converted into one fully paid equity share with the face value of INR 1 each after vesting. The company has set the exercise price at INR 9 per stock option.

This comes a couple of days after Paytm approved the allotment of 84,793 equity shares under its ESOP schemes.

The company has approved allotment of shares under ESOP schemes and grant of new options multiple times in the recent past. Last month, the Vijay Shekhar Sharma-led company expanded its ESOP pool by granting 2.03 Lakh (2,03,137) stock options under ESOP 2019. In January, the company allotted 1.48 Lakh equity shares to its eligible employees under ESOP 2019 and ESOP 2008.

On the business front, the company continues to grapple with regulatory issues. Earlier this month, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a show cause notice to Paytm for allegedly violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). 

The ED said that One97 Communications failed to report its foreign investment in two companies to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Last month, the GST department slapped a fine of INR 59.94 Lakh on its founder and CEO Sharma and an additional penalty of INR 1.19 Cr on its parent One97 Communications for violating tax norms.

Meanwhile, Paytm’s consolidated net loss narrowed 6% to INR 208.5 Cr in the third quarter of FY25 from INR 221.7 Cr in the same quarter last year on the back of recovery in its digital payments business. However, operating revenue crashed 36% to INR 1,827.8 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 2,850.5 Cr in the year-ago quarter.

Shares of Paytm were trading 4.7% higher at INR 696.30 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday (March 11) at 11:17 AM.

The post Paytm Expands ESOP Pool With Grant Of 1.09 Lakh Stock Options appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Investment tech unicorn Groww is reportedly eyeing entering the wealth management segment under a new brand, W.

W will provide portfolio management services (PMS) and alternative investment funds (AIF), among others, to its 15 Mn affluent users, ET reported, citing sources.

Besides, the Tiger Global-backed company is also planning an acquisition for the wealth management business, as it looks to build an omnichannel presence for high-net-worth individual (HNI) clients, the report said citing sources.

“These are high-value transactions, and people would want to understand more and have a physical presence to reach out to before investing. The omnichannel play is also to build W’s own branding,” a source was quoted as saying.

Groww declined to comment on Inc42’s queries on the development.

This comes at a time when the company is gearing up for its initial public offering (IPO). It was said to be looking to file its draft papers by May this year for an over $1 Bn IPO.

Groww was said to have finalised four investment bankers – Kotak Mahindra Capital, JP Morgan, Axis Capital, Citi and Motilal Oswal – for its public listing.

Ahead of the IPO, the investment tech platform’s parent Billionbrains Garage Ventures Private Ltd issued bonus compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) to existing investors Peak XV Partners, Ribbit Capital and Y Combinator recently.

Founded in 2017 by Lalit Keshre, Harsh Jain, Neeraj Singh, and Ishan Bansal, Groww provides an online discount broking platform enabling its users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and IPOs. It also operates asset management company Groww Mutual Fund.

Further, the fintech unicorn’s bill payments platform Groww Pay Services received the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) approval to operate as a payment aggregator (PA) in April last year.

On the financial front, Groww Invest Tech, which operates Groww, reported a 119% growth in its revenue to INR 3,145 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,435 Cr in the previous year. The company claimed that it maintained operational profitability at INR 535 Cr in FY24 as against INR 458 Cr in FY23.

The post Groww Looking To Enter Wealth Management Space Under A New Brand appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Continuing its acquisition spree, fintech SaaS unicorn Perfios has now acquired AI-powered debt collection startup CreditNirvana, over a month after buying CustomerXPs, the parent entity of banking fraud management startup Clari5.

However, the company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal.

With this acquisition, Perfios aims to enhance its debt management capabilities. Additionally, it also aims to help financial institutions with streamlined recoveries, reduce frauds and maximise portfolio performance in the BFSI (banking, financial services, insurance) segment.

“By integrating CreditNirvana’s AI-driven capabilities with our existing solutions, we aim to unlock new efficiencies. This addition reinforces our dedication to innovation and market leadership, further solidifying Perfios as a full-stack, tech-first financial technology provider,” said Perfios chief executive officer Sabyasachi Goswami.

Founded by Raj MKK in 2018, CreditNirvana is a B2B debt collection startup which leverages its machine learning platform to automate the debt collection process. The company leverages AI for financial institutions to generate debt collection strategies. Additionally, it offers financial solutions including omnichannel and multilingual digital collection, call centre automation, customer allocation, GPS enabled field app, legal process automation and more. 

The company claims to manage a collection portfolio of more than $9 Bn and over 42 Mn loan accounts.

Meanwhile, Perfios, founded by VR Govindarajan and Debasish Chakraborty in 2008, specialises in real-time credit decisioning, analytics, onboarding automation, due diligence, monitoring and more. It operates in the B2B segment, serving more than 1000 financial institutions.

Last year, the fintech giant entered the unicorn club after raising $80 Mn (INR 663 Cr) from Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG). The funding round propelled Perfios’ valuation to more than $ 1 Bn mark.

Also, last week, the company launched a new employee stock option plan (ESOP) ‘Perfios ESOP 2025-A’ for its employees ahead of its much anticipated $500 Mn IPO this year. It is pertinent to note that the company was aiming to hit the bourses in 2024. However, the plans couldn’t materialise.

In August 2024, Perfios also roped in former Infosys executive Rajesh Kini as the new CFO. On the financial front, the company posted a 819.2% surge in its consolidated net profit to INR 71.7 Cr in FY24, against a net profit of INR 7.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

As per Inc42 report, the Indian fintech market is expected to cross the $2.1 Tn mark by 2030, with 26 unicorns and 37 soonicorns in the segment currently.

The post Perfios Buys CreditNirvana To Bolster Its Debt Collection Process appeared first on Inc42 Media.

IPO-bound used car marketplace CARS24 has ventured into the new cars market. With this move, the company aims to simplify the car-buying process by bringing everything under one platform, making it more transparent and efficient, it said in a statement.

Notably, the CARS24 will have an AI-powered video buying experience that provides detailed walkthroughs of a car’s interiors, exteriors, features, and real-world performance. The platform will also offer real-time, city-wise on-road prices that include all taxes, insurance, and additional costs. 

Customers can compare different models, check safety ratings, explore financing options, and book test drives at home through CARS24’s dealer partners. Additionally, the platform allows buyers to trade in their old cars and apply for financing in one place.

Notably, the company said that with 50% of CARS24’s users also considering new cars, the company sees this expansion as a natural move, tapping into an existing customer base already exploring their next purchase.

“We live in a world where groceries arrive in 10 minutes, loans get approved instantly, and AI suggests what to watch next. But buying a new car? Still a slow, outdated process of showroom visits, price haggling, and long waiting periods. If you’re spending lakhs on a new car, the experience of buying it should match the excitement of driving it. That’s what we’re changing—bringing speed, transparency, and control to new car buying, the way it should be.” said Gajendra Jangid, cofounder, CARS24

Founded in 2015 by Jangid, Vikram Chopra, Ruchit Agarwal and Mehul Agrawal, CARS24 runs an online marketplace for buying and selling used cars in India, Australia, and the UAE. It also provides services like car financing.

The update comes weeks after CARS24’s financial arm launched a credit platform, LOANS24, to cater to a wide audience, including car buyers and car owners among others.

CARS24 recently launched the Driving School, a platform that helps users find nearby driving schools.

Over the past year, the company has introduced several car-related services, including hiring drivers, scrapping cars, a car management system, and a dashboard to track pollution certificates, fines, insurance, and service records. It has also launched a digital vault for storing vehicle documents, among other features.

Notably, CARS24 reported a 7% increase in net loss for FY24, reaching INR 498.4 Cr, up from INR 467.7 Cr the previous year. Despite this, operating revenue rose 25% to INR 6,917.1 Cr in FY24, compared to INR 5,529.6 Cr the previous year.

The post CARS24 Ventures Into ‘New Cars’ Market With Aggregator Platform appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Nazara-backed mobile-first digital entertainment startup Rusk Media is looking to raise INR 74.1 Cr (around $8.5 Mn) in its Series B funding round led by Woori Venture Partners.

The startup’s board passed a resolution on March 3 to issue up 11,663 Series B compulsorily convertible preference shares (Series B CCPS) having a face value of INR 10 each and a premium of 63,483 each to raise the sum, its regulatory filings showed. 

Woori Venture Partners will infuse INR 26 Cr in Rusk Media, IDBI Capital Markets & Securities Ltd will invest INR 16.5 Cr, and LC Nueva Investment Partners will invest INR 15 Cr.

The remaining capital will come from Yashaa Global Capital and existing investors Info Edge Ventures, Nazara’s subsidiary Nodwin Gaming, among others.

The Delhi NCR-based startup said it would use the funds to fuel its business growth and meet its working capital requirements.

The development was first reported by Entrackr.

Founded in 2019 by Mayank Yadav, Rusk Media makes digital content targeted at GenZ audiences under brands such as Alright! (fictional channel), Playground (gaming entertainment intellectual property), and LIT (food, fashion and travel). 

The startup claims that it has over 20 Mn subscribers and delivers more than 1 Bn monthly views across its intellectual properties on social media and OTT platforms such as Amazon miniTV, JioCinema and JioHostar.

In 2022, Rusk Media bagged $9.5 Mn in its extended Series A funding round led by Seoul-based DAOL Investment and Audacity Ventures. The startup primarily competes against new-age content platforms such as ScoopWhoop, TVF, FilterCopy, among others.

It must be noted that The Good Glamm Group sold its digital media unit ScoopWhoop to marketing firm Wubba Lubba Dub Dub (WLDD) for INR 20 Cr last month.

Rusk Media is not the only digital content platform that has charmed investors. In October 2023, Pep raised $2.5 Mn in a funding round led by India Quotient to build Amazon of content and digital services.

According to a report by Statista, the Indian media and entertainment industry is projected to reach a market size of $44.2 Bn by 2028 from $27.9 Bn in 2023, driven by digital media, online gaming and esports sector, OTT platforms and GenAI.

The post Nazara-Backed Rusk Media To Raise INR 74 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Microlending fintech startup ftcash has received a final authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator (PA), joining the list of companies like Razorpay, Cashfree, Innoviti and Easebuzz among others.

Confirming the development to Inc42, a company executive said that the final nod from the RBI was received on March 4.

Cofounder and chief business officer Vaibhav Lodha said that ftcash received an in-principle approval from the central bank last year and the final nod will further add to the credibility of the company.

“This development will further build confidence and credibility among our partners and end users in offering secure digital payment solutions,” Lodha said.

He added that the current development will help the startup to integrate its credit and digital payment solutions.

Founded in 2015 by Lodha, Sandeep Chandak and Deepak Kothari, ftcash provides small businesses (SMEs) and merchants with secured and unsecured loans to help their business grow. It claims to give secured loans up to INR 50 Lakh and unsecured credit up to INR 25 Lakh without any collateral.

Partnering with banking major ICICI, the company launched its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in 2016 for merchants.

The Mumbai-based startup received its non-banking financial company (NBFC) licence from the central bank back in 2022.

The IvyCap Ventures-backed startup joins a growing list of digital payment solutions provider who have received a licence from the RBI to operate as PAs.

Latest to join the list was Easebuzz that received a final authorisation from the Central bank as an online aggregator last month.While Chennai-based Paysharp, payment solution startup SabPaisa and global digital payment company Stripe were among others who received the license last year.

In March 2020, the RBI released ‘Guidelines on Regulation of Payment Aggregators and Payment Gateways’ urging existing online payment aggregators to apply for seeking authorisation under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (PSS Act).

The framework further mentioned that it mandates all payment aggregators to have a licence in order to acquire merchants and deploy digital payments solutions.

In 2023, the RBI gave in-principle approval to 32 entities and advised people and stakeholders to conduct online payments through platforms who have either received in-principle authorisation or whose applications are under review.

The post ftcash Gets Final RBI Nod To Operate As Online Payment Aggregator appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Foodtech major Zomato has received the approval from its shareholders to change its name to Eternal Limited.

In an exchange filing, Zomato said that its shareholders passed a special resolution to approve the proposal to change the name of the company and consequent alteration in the Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association of the company. 

Over 99% of votes were cast in favour of the resolution, while 0.25% were against it.

The move signals a strategic shift as Zomato’s quick commerce arm Blinkit has become a significant driver of growth.

In a shareholders’ letter last month, Zomato cofounder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said Zomato started using ‘Eternal’ internally after acquiring Blinkit to distinguish between its corporate identity and the food delivery app. 

“We also thought that we would publicly rename the company to Eternal, the day something beyond Zomato became a significant driver of our future. Today, with Blinkit, I feel we are there. We would like to rename Zomato Ltd., the company (not the brand/app), to Eternal Ltd,” Goyal then said.

According to Goyal, the name change would better reflect the company’s expanding business portfolio, which includes food delivery under Zomato, Blinkit, business-to-business venture Hyperpure, and events app District.

Zomato acquired quick commerce startup Blinkit in 2022 in an all-stock deal worth $568 Mn.

The consumer tech giant, which has a market cap of $23.6 Bn, also plans to change its stock ticker to Eternal from Zomato. Meanwhile, the brand app and the Zomato app will remain unchanged.

Notably, Blinkit has seen strong growth over the last year or so amid rising popularity of quick commerce. Zomato reported an operating revenue of INR 5,405 Cr in the December quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 (Q3 FY25), of which Blinkit accounted for INR 1,399 Cr.

While Zomato’s food delivery business’ gross order value rose 17% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 9,913 Cr in Q3 FY25, Blinkit’s GOV skyrocketed 120% YoY to INR 7,798 Cr during the quarter under review. Analysts at Bernstein estimate that Blinkit will have greater revenue than Zomato’s food delivery business by FY30.

Bernstein expects Blinkit to achieve EBITDA breakeven by Q3 FY26 and its rival Swiggy Instamart to achieve adjusted EBITDA breakeven by Q1 FY28. 

This comes amid reports that Blinkit is revamping its commission model to improve its take rate. While the quick commerce platform currently charges sellers and brands selling on the platform a fixed commission fee of 3-18%, it will charge them a variable commission based on the selling price of items, effective March 13.

The name change comes at a time when Zomato is facing a slowdown in its food delivery business. At 2:47 PM, shares of the company were trading 2.21% lower at INR 212 apiece on the BSE.

The post Zomato Is Now Eternal: Foodtech Giant Gets Shareholders’ Nod To Change Name appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Paytm’s parent One97 Communications’ board has approved an allotment of 84,793 equity shares under its employee stock option schemes.

In an exchange filing on Sunday (March 9), Paytm said that its board approved the allotment of the equity shares at a face value of INR 1 each to eligible employees upon exercise of vested options under the Employee Stock Option Scheme 2019 and Employee Stock Option Scheme 2008.

While 84,377 shares were allotted under ESOP 2019, 416 shares were allotted under ESOP 2008. The exercise price for the allotted shares is INR 9 per share.

With the fresh allotment, the issued, subscribed and paid-up equity share capital of the company has increased to INR 63,77,52,264 (63.77 Cr) from INR 63,76,67,471 (63.76 Cr) earlier.

As per the stock’s closing price on Friday (March 7), the newly allotted equity shares are worth INR 5.8 Cr.

In the recent past, the company has made multiple announcements related to ESOPs. Last month, it allotted 1.36 Lakh equity shares under ESOP 2019. Prior to that, it allotted 2.03 Lakh stock options under the same plan in January as well.

On the financial front, Paytm narrowed its consolidated net loss by 6% to INR 208.5 Cr in the December quarter of the financial year 2024-25 (Q3 FY25) from INR 221.7 Cr a year ago. Revenue from operations declined 36% to INR 1,827.8 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 2,850.5 Cr in FY24.

Meanwhile, the company has been bogged down by regulatory challenges. Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a show cause notice to Paytm and two of its subsidiaries for “contravention” of multiple provisions of FEMA involving transactions worth about INR 611 Cr.

Shares of Paytm ended the day’s trade 2.8% lower at INR 665.51 per share on the BSE on Monday (March 10).

The post Paytm Allots Equity Shares Worth INR 5.8 Cr Under ESOP Schemes appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Update | March 7, 05:50 PM

International ecommerce giant Amazon is revamping the business model of its refurbished products platform Renewed to improve service quality.

Rejecting reports of shutdown of Renewed, Amazon India said that it will discontinue sales of externally refurbished products on the platform.

“We are committed to providing the best customer experience and continuously evaluating our business to better serve our customers. As part of our efforts to continuously improve on our selection of refurbished products, we’ve decided to discontinue selling externally refurbished products,” a spokesperson of Amazon said.

However, the spokesperson added that customers can continue to shop for “high-quality refurbished products” from top brands on Amazon Renewed that are tested and certified by professionals authorised by Amazon.in.

Meanwhile, any product that is returned by a customer on Amazon will be refurbished and tested by its professionals to be listed on Renewed.

Original Story | March 7, 12:23 PM

Ecommerce giant Amazon is looking to shut down its refurbished platform Renewed across all product lines in India on the back of rising challenges in the business.

“Amazon India is considering shutting down its refurbished product category across all product lines in India, effective end of March 2025. Given our presence on the Amazon marketplace, this development, if implemented, is expected to have an impact on our business in the short term,” NewJaisa Technologies, which sells on Amazon Renewed, said in an exchange filing.

Entrackr reported the development first.

Renewed was introduced by Amazon in 2017, as a program to buy quality refurbished electronic products such as hard disks, laptops, personal computers (PCs), smartphones, joystick and such, that have been tested and certified to work by a qualified technician or a specialized third-party supplier.

“We have made the decision to discontinue selling external refurbished products on Renewed due to high returns/rejects and the Contacts per unit impacting customer experience. Please stop inbounding any inventory to FCs and scheduling pickups from your SF location starting 7th March 2025,” a report by Entrackr said, citing Amazon’s mail to the sellers on Renewed.

This comes at a time when the ecommerce sector in India is getting increasingly competitive as players are striving to reduce the delivery time to same day or even 2-4 hours, driven by the influence of quick commerce firms.

On that note, Amazon has started rolling out its 10-minute delivery service, Amazon Now, in some select pincodes of Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, in January, it was reported that the company was set to acquire digital lending startup axio (formerly known as Capital Float), which would help the latter to reach more under-served customers, diversify its offerings, and continue to strike the right balance of customer experience, risk management, and affordability.

The post [Update] Amazon Renewed To Discontinue Sales Of Externally Refurbished Products appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Over a year after partnering with Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) for the supply and delivery of pre-ordered meals, foodtech major Swiggy said that it has expanded its delivery service to 100 railway stations across India.

The service has been expanded in partnership with IRCTC which will be active across 20 railway stations in the country, the company said in a post on LinkedIn.

In a post on LinkedIn, the company claimed that its ‘Food on Train’ features over 60K brands, offering more than 7 Mn items across over 35 cuisines. Besides, its report said that about 54K travellers ordered multiple meals in a single trip.

In the coming months, the food and grocery delivery platform will continue to expand its reach to more stations across the length and breadth of the country, a report by PTI said. 

The development comes at a time when the company has been taking leaps on expanding its various offerings over the past few months. Earlier this year, Swiggy announced that its quick commerce wing Swiggy Instamart will be expanded to 76 cities across India.

Further, the foodtech major announced the expansion of its 10-minute delivery service ‘Bolt’ to 400 cities across India in December last year, and Bolt is one of its infant stage verticals rolled out in select cities initially in October.

To note, the company initially partnered with IRCTC to deliver food in the first phase at four railway stations — Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

Meanwhile, its listed rival Zomato expanded its partnership with the IRCTC for similar food delivery in more than 100 railway stations across the country, last September. Zomato initially partnered with IRCTC in 2023 to launch a pilot for online food delivery across 5 stations on the Indian Railways network – New Delhi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Lucknow and Varanasi.

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Furniture rental startup Furlenco has raised INR 60 Cr (about $7 Mn) in debt funding from Northern Arc Capital and CredAvenue.

Furlenco raised the debt through two series of non-convertible debentures — INR 50 Cr by allotting 500 NCDs at an issue price of INR 10 Lakh each to Northern Arc and INR 10 Cr by allotting 40 NCDS at an issue price of INR 25 Lakh each to CredAvenue, as per its regulatory filings accessed by Inc42.

The startup last raised $140 Mn in its Series D funding round in 2021. The funding round, led by Zinnia Global Fund, CE-Ventures and Lightbox Ventures, comprised $120 Mn of venture debt and the remaining portion was equity funding. Overall, it has raised a total funding of over $269 Mn till date.

Founded in 2012 by Ajith Mohan Karimpana, Furlenco operates an online subscription-based furniture rental platform in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Chennai and Kolkata among others. Besides renting furniture, it also operates a furniture marketplace.

In 2021, Furlenco rejigged its business model and created House of Kieraya as an umbrella brand, which houses Furlenco, remanufactured furniture marketplace Furbicle, and annual subscription vertical UNLMTD. 

Furlenco competes against the likes of Rentomojo, Cityfurnish Rentickle and Pepperfry in the rental furniture market.

The debt funding for Furlenco highlights that startups with rental as their core business are grappling with scarcity of equity capital. The growing popularity of affordable EMIs has further dented the prospects of such companies.

While furniture rental companies are growing, they have remained small. Take the case of Wakefit Innovations, which started in 2016 as a mattress startup but later diversified into selling furniture online. The furniture seller posted a 21% year-on-year growth in its operating revenue at INR 986.4 Cr in the fiscal year 2023-24.

Rentomojo, which was founded only two years earlier in 2014, generated an operating revenue of only INR 193 Cr in FY24. Pepperfry was founded in 2011. The company saw its operating revenue decline 31% year-on-year to INR 180.9 Cr in FY24. Reports surfaced last September that the Bengaluru-based startup is eyeing a public listing in the next 18 months.

Furlenco, which started around the same time, reported an operating revenue of INR 139.6 Cr in FY24, down over 10% from INR 155.8 Cr a year ago. Sheela Foam signed an agreement to acquire a 35% stake in the company for INR 300 Cr in July 2023.

It must be noted that Furlenco sacked nearly 180 employees to cut costs in March 2022. Inc42 then reported that with the job cuts, the startup was looking at achieving profitability ahead of its potential public listing.

The post Exclusive: Furlenco Raises $7 Mn Debt From Northern Arc, CredAvenue appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Much happened at listed fintech major Infibeam Avenues’ meeting of board directors on Thursday (March 6). 

In a filing with the exchanges, Infibeam Avenues said that its board approved divestment of 49% stake in Pirimid Technologies Limited to its subsidiary Rediff.com India for a consideration of up to INR 27 Cr. 

Noting that the transaction will be completed within 60 days, Infibeam said that Pirimid will cease to be an associate (on a standalone basis) of the company post the transfer of shares. 

Infibeam also said that its UAE-based wholly owned subsidiary Vavian International Ltd has approved the acquisition of 80% stake in a newly incorporated Abu Dhabi-based company Infibeam Avenues ME SPV Limited for a sum of $80 Mn. 

Once the deal materialises, Infibeam Avenues ME SPV Limited will become a subsidiary of Vavian and a step-down subsidiary of Infibeam Avenues Limited.

“Further, we wish to inform you that Vavian International Limited has also approved the transfer of its 80% stake in its Subsidiary, Avenues World FZ‐LLC (CCAvenue.ae), to Infibeam Avenues ME SPV Limited for a total consideration of $80 Mn. As a result, Avenues World FZ-LLC will become a subsidiary of Infibeam Avenues ME SPV Limited and a step-down subsidiary of Vavian International Limited… ,” the filing said.

The listed company added that the two deals, involving Vavian, will be completed within 90 days, subject to regulatory approvals and compliance mandates. 

Meanwhile, Infibeam’s board also approved the appointment of Girija Krishan Varma as a non-executive and independent director for a period of five years. Her appointment will be subject to shareholder approval.

An alumni of Delhi University, Cornell University and Stanford University, Varma is an arbitrator and fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (FCIArb). In her previous stints, she worked with the likes of Microsoft, Standard Chartered Bank, Hewlett Packard Limited, among others. 

The developments come a month after Gujarat Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities issued a demand and penalty notice worth INR 32 Cr against Infibeam after tax officials disallowed certain GST exemptions claimed by the company on debit/credit card transactions, up to INR 2,000, between July 2017 and March 2024. 

Founded in 2007 by Vishal Mehta, Infibeam provides omnichannel and full-stack B2B digital payments solutions through CCAvenue, bill payment solutions through BillAvenue and digital financial services through Go Payments to large enterprises, MSMEs and governments.

On the financial front, the payments infrastructure company reported a nearly 50% jump in its consolidated net profit to INR 64.4 Cr in the third quarter (Q3) of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25) from INR 43.1 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Operating revenue rose 18% to INR 1,070.3 Cr in the December quarter of FY25 from INR 907.1 Cr in Q3 FY24. 

Shares of Infibeam ended Thursday’s (March 6) trading session 0.69% higher at INR 19.07 on the BSE.

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