The Karnataka government is reportedly planning to introduce a differential fee on app-based aggregators to fund welfare programs for gig workers.

An ET report said that these platforms will pay the fee in the range of 1% to 5%, based on the commission paid to gig workers, with higher rates for platforms generating higher revenues. 

This initiative is part of the Karnataka Platform-Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill 2024, which aims to provide social security, occupational health, safety, and grievance redressal mechanisms for gig workers.

The report further said that the state government plans to enact the Bill through an ordinance route. 

Once approved by the Governor, these rules will be framed and placed in the public domain for stakeholder feedback before implementation.

“We will give a month’s time for stakeholders to give their suggestions. We will study and incorporate necessary suggestions,” an official was quoted as saying in the report.

Reportedly, the levy will take at least six months to be rolled out after rules are finalised, and a software system for payment verification will be developed. 

It is pertinent to note that Bengaluru alone has around 2 Lakh gig workers, making the need for such protections in this rapidly growing sector. 

Karnataka’s initiative follows Rajasthan’s landmark law passed in July 2023, which was the first in India to introduce social security measures for gig workers. 

Reportedly, Telangana has also collected a copy of Karnataka’s draft to explore a similar law in the state.

The Centre is also doubling down on initiatives around the welfare of the gig workers. For instance, in the Budget 2025, the government mandated registering gig workers on the e-Shram portal, following which at least 70,000 gig workers have reportedly been registered with the e-Shram portal.

Meanwhile, the central government is also planning to introduce a comprehensive social security scheme for platform-based gig workers. Moreover, the union government is also planning to introduce a pension scheme, requiring platform aggregators to contribute 2% of each worker’s income.

The post Karnataka Govt Planning Differential Fee On Apps To Fund Gig Workers appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Deeptech surveillance startup Optimized Electrotech has raised $6 Mn (around INR Cr) in a Series A funding round co-led by Blume Ventures and Mela Ventures. 

The round also saw participation from existing investors, including Venture Catalysts, 100Unicorns and Rajiv Dadlani Group, along with participation from the startups’ cofounder and MD himself Sandeep Shah.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to accelerate development of AI-powered imaging payloads and high-speed space surveillance systems as well as to expand into overseas markets.

“This funding will help us strengthen our R&D capabilities, build next-gen tech, and extend our reach across critical sectors in India and beyond,” Shah said.

He also told Inc42 that the company is planning to launch a dedicated subsidiary focused on the space tech segment. To support its growth, he aims to raise $5 Mn over the next six months, primarily through strategic investments from semiconductor companies.

Founded in 2017 by Shah, Anil Yekkala, Dharin Shah, Kuldeep Saxena, and Purvi Shah, Optimized Electrotech offers surveillance solutions by building electro-optic imaging systems for defence, aerospace and border security use cases. 

It claims that its indigenously designed and developed AI-driven surveillance platforms allow governments, defence services, paramilitary forces and mining corporations to respond to threats such as unauthorised drone attacks.

It competes against the likes of Bharat Electronics and Tata Advanced Systems, among others, in the multi-spectral imaging category. 

On the financial front, Shah told Inc42 that the company saw a decline in revenue for the year ending March 31, 2025 (FY25) to INR 3 Cr from 4.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year.  Adding to this, its bottomline loss also widened to INR 8 Cr in the year under consideration from INR 5.7 Cr in FY24.

This comes at the heart of deptech startups gaining significant traction from both venture capitalists and the government due to their potential for innovations and longterm growth.

In 2024, the Indian deeptech sector saw a notable increase in deal activity, with $460 Mn raised across 78 deals. Meanwhile, the only startup to have entered the coveted unicorn club this year is also a deeptech startup Netradyne. 

More recently, union minister Piyush Goyal urged the Indian startup ecosystem to move beyond low-value ventures such as food delivery and quick commerce, and instead focus on high-impact areas like semiconductors, robotics, and deep-tech. 

He emphasised that deeptech is crucial for enhancing India’s global competitiveness, while also citing China’s deeptech innovations like Deepseek, as a benchmark.

Also, policymakers are advocating giving this space a high-octane boost in the form of a fund of funds for startups. 

Additionally, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget 2025 speech, proposed setting up a new FoF for startups with a corpus of INR 10,000 Cr. 

Besides, an additional INR 10,000 Cr was allocated to the SIDBI FoF for startups, bringing the total corpus to INR 20,000 Cr.

The post Surveillance Startup Optimized Electrotech Bags $6 Mn appeared first on Inc42 Media.

IPO-bound fintech company PhonePe maintained its leadership position in the UPI market in March, processing 864.7 Cr, or 47.25% of the total UPI transactions. On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, this was a 0.28% decline in market share from 765.6 Cr transactions.

The value of transactions handled by PhonePe stood at INR 12.57 Lakh Cr during the month. In terms of transaction value, the Walmart-backed fintech player contributed 50.74% to the total UPI transaction volume in March 2025.

Following its lead was Google Pay, which notched up 36.04% of the total UPI transactions while accounting for 34.98% of the total UPI value. In absolute numbers, Google Pay handled 659.6 Cr transactions worth INR 8.66 Lakh Cr in March.  

Overall, UPI transactions in the country reached a record high of 18.30 Bn in March after falling 5% to 16.11 Bn in February. 

March’s transactions accounted for a total amount of INR 24.77 Lakh Cr, a 12.8% month-on-month (MoM) surge against transactions worth INR 21.96 Lakh Cr in February.

Listed fintech major Paytm grabbed the third spot yet again. It processed 122.1 Cr transactions in March, about 6.67% of the total volume. The value of these transactions was INR 1.32 Lakh Cr, or 5.36% of the total volume.

In March, Sachin Bansal-led Navi processed 32.4 Cr transactions with a total value of INR 18,018.65 Cr. While super.money handled 17.17 Cr transactions with a total value of INR 5,933.08 Cr.

However, Kunal Shah-led CRED continued to lose its market share in the month, with its position tumbling from 6th in February to 7th in March. It processed 14.4 Cr transactions in March, and the value of these transactions was INR 55,091.22 Cr

P2M Transactions On UPI Surpass 1,100 Cr Mark In March

Person to merchant (P2M) transactions on UPI rose nearly 14% to 1146.1 Cr in March. P2M UPI transaction volume stood at INR 6.70 Lakh Cr during the month, up 13.6% from 5.90 Lakh Cr.

Meanwhile, person to person transactions processed by UPI jumped 13.27% to 684 Cr from 604 Cr in the previous month. 

In terms of transaction volume, P2P accounted for 72.93% of the total UPI transactions in March, whereas P2M transactions accounted for the remainder 27.06%.

The data also sheds light on category-wise transactions. While groceries, supermarkets, restaurants and telecommunications services were high transacting categories, utilities, electric, gas, water and sanitary, debt collection agencies, package shops, beer, wine and liquor were tagged under medium transacting categories.

What Else Is Happening In The UPI Ecosystem?

Just a few days ago, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed the National Payments Corporation (NPCI) to revise transaction limits for person-to-merchant (P2M) payments on the UPI to accommodate higher-value transactions in select merchant categories.

Besides, there are proposals for bringing back the merchant discount rate (MDR) in the payment industry, after it was withdrawn in the FY22 Budget to promote digital payments.

Meanwhile, the Centre recently approved an ‘incentive scheme’ with an outlay of INR 1,500 Cr, aimed at promoting low-value BHIM-UPI transactions among small merchants. 

The post PhonePe, Google Pay Continue To Lead UPI In March appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Quick commerce major Zepto has appointed Akhil Gupta, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises, the parent entity of Bharti Airtel, as an independent director to its board, as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO).

Currently, Zepto’s board includes cofounders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, alongside Avra founder Anu Hariharan and Nexus Venture Partners’ cofounder and managing director Suvir Sujan.

Gupta, who has led public listings of Bharti Airtel (2002), Bharti Infratel (2012) and Airtel Africa (2019), is expected to share his expertise with Zepto.

As vice chairman, he has led the formation of various partnerships for Bharti with international operators such as British Telecom, Telecom Italia, Singapore Telecom and Vodafone. 

Additionally, he also brought onboard leading financial investors like Warburg Pincus, Temasek, KKR, Qatar Foundation Endowment, AIF and Sequoia, among many other private equity funds. 

This also comes at the heart of Zepto elevating several executives to senior roles in recent years, as part of its effort to consolidate its leadership team.

For instance, last year, the company promoted its senior vice president and head of loyalty programme Pass, Devendra Meel to the role of chief business officer. 

Prior to that, former senior vice presidents Nikhil Mittal and Divesh Sawhney were promoted as chief technology officer and chief growth officer, respectively.

Recently, cofounder Paalicha claimed that Zepto is getting close to $4 Bn in annualised gross order value (GOV) and also reduced cash burn.

“We have reduced EBITDA (excluding ESOPs) and operating cash flow (OCF) burn by 50% even as we grew meaningfully during the last three months,” he said.

He further added that the company’s newly launched dark stores are also on track to achieve breakeven in EBITDA.

Zepto has already set the IPO ball rolling with its reverse flipping in January. On the financial front, its net loss remained flat in FY24 at INR 1,248.64 Cr, a slight decrease from INR 1,271.84 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

However, the company has been making strides in terms of revenue growth as its consolidated revenue more than doubled to INR 4,454.52 Cr in FY24 from INR 2,025.70 Cr in the previous fiscal year, driven by the rising popularity of quick commerce. 

Zepto also seems to be doubling down on its efforts to strengthen its user base while also diversifying offerings. 

Just a few days ago, Zepto introduced ‘Zepto Daily’ at a nominal INR 1 entry fee for select customers. It also replaced its subscription service ‘Zepto Pass.’

Moreover, Zepto also incorporated a new entity, Zepto Marketplace Private Limited, to switch to a marketplace model from its erstwhile B2B2C structure. 

It last raised $350 Mn in a round led by Motilal Oswal’s private wealth division at the same valuation in November 2024. Meanwhile, reports also surfaced that Zepto was planning to raise a debt of $100-150 Mn to buy shares from existing investors.

The post IPO-Bound Zepto Appoints Airtel’s Akhil Gupta To Its Board appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Supermarket retailer More Retail is planning to launch its initial public offering (IPO) next year as it looks to expand its network of supermarket stores in India.

More Retail’s managing director Vinod Nambiar told Reuters that the company is planning to double its store count in five years as more shoppers in India now choose supermarkets and online platforms for groceries.

Currently, the Mumbai-based company has a total of 775 stores across India.

More Retail operates under a hybrid model, combining both online and offline formats. While its supermarkets focus on a wide selection of groceries and daily essentials, hypermarkets include non-food items like electronics and clothing.

Nambiar further said that the company’s hybrid stores, which serve both as physical outlets and fulfillment centres for Amazon Fresh, have higher margins than standalone brick-and-mortar setups.

In line with this strategy, the company is fostering its partnerships with Amazon’s grocery delivery service, Amazon Fresh, and plans to add more than 500 stores across roughly 160 cities over the next 18 months.

Reportedly, the company’s gross sales for the fiscal year 2025 were nearly INR 5,000 Cr ($580.11 Mn), an 11% rise from the previous year’s sales. 

More Retail, initially part of the Aditya Birla Group, was later sold to investors led by Samara Capital and Amazon in 2019. 

For FY24, its standalone operating revenue declined 8% to INR 4,148.6 Cr from INR 4,506.6 Cr in FY23. Its net loss also narrowed to INR 532 Cr in FY24, only a marginal improvement from INR 550 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

More Retail also offers delivery services through its app and is now exploring slotted deliveries to further drive its growth. This model, which allows customers to choose specific time slots for receiving their orders, contrasts with the quick commerce approach that has rapidly reshaped urban shopping habits.

Quick commerce players like Zepto, Swiggy’s Instamart, and Zomato’s Blinkit have seen remarkable growth, collectively reporting over $1 Bn in revenue in FY24. Industry reports suggest that India’s quick commerce sector has experienced a 280% surge in sales over the past two years. 

While Zepto is gearing up for IPO this year, Zomato and Swiggy are already listed entities.

The post Amazon-Backed More Retail Plans IPO Next Year appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amid a broader market rally, shares of CarTrade surged as much as 11.22% to reach INR 1,542 apiece during the early trading hours today.

However, the shares shed some gains to trade at INR 1,500 on the BSE at 1:18 PM today.

CarTrade’s rally aligns with the broader market surge today, with both the Sensex and the Nifty 50 up 2.25% and 2.12% at 1:30 PM.

This comes after the US paused tariff hikes for all countries, excluding China, which now faces a steep 145% tariff.

At the previous closing price, the share is at a downside of 26.45% from its 52-week high of INR 1,885 reported on March 21, the day the global investment management firm Vanguard Group bought its 7.13 Lakh shares.

CarTrade shares have given its investors a negative return of 3.4% in the last month at the current market price.

Also, the stock is down 1% on a year-to-date basis. During the same period, the benchmark index Sensex has given a return of 4.84%.

CarTrade shares took a heavy beating on Monday when the entire Indian bourses collapsed in the 5-6% range.

Of the 32 stocks under Inc42’s radar, CarTrade emerged as the biggest loser on Monday, with its shares falling 12.24% to end the day at INR 1,464.50.

Despite today’s rally, the stock is down 3.8% (at the previous closing price) from its listing price of INR 1,600 on the BSE. CarTrade was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on August 20, 2021.

On the financial front, the company posted a consolidated net profit of INR 45.53 Cr in Q3 FY25, a significant turnaround from a loss of INR 23.55 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Sequentially, net profit soared 48% from INR 30.72 Cr in Q2 FY25.

The Q3 profit comes despite the company incurring a one-time loss of INR 45.51 Cr after its subsidiary, Sobek Auto India, shut down its auto sales division (C2B business) due to unit economics challenges.

CarTrade currently has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 110.67 while its earnings per share EPS (TTM) is 13.44.

Brokerage firm Nomura maintained a buy rating on January 31 for CarTrade, raising its target price for CarTrade to INR 1,779 from INR 1,278. In the same month, brokerage B&K initiated coverage on CarTrade Tech with a buy rating and target price to INR 1878.

CarTrade Tech bought OLX India’s auto and classifieds business in August 2023.

Founded in 2009 by Vinay Sanghi and Rajan Mehra, CarTrade facilitates the sale of both new and used vehicles. It operates brands like OLX India, CarWale, BikeWale, CarTradeExchange, Shriram Automall, Adroit Auto, and Autobiz. It also provides technology solutions to OEMs and dealers.

It competes with major players like CarDekho, Droom, and CARS24 in India’s rapidly growing online automotive classifieds market. Except for CarTrade, its competitors like CarDekho, Cars24, Spinny, and Droom are still operating at a loss.

However, at least three of these unicorns are preparing for IPOs. Droom is slated to go public by June 2025, while Cars24 and CarDekho are also gearing up to hit the stock market soon.

The post CarTrade Shares Surge 11% Amid Broader Market Rally appeared first on Inc42 Media.

BYJU’S Alpha, the US-based special purpose finance vehicle of BYJU’S, has sued the edtech startup’s founder Byju Raveendran, his wife and cofounder Divya Gokulnath and advisor Anita Kishore for allegedly ‘misappropriating’ $533 Mn in funds.

The lawsuit alleged that the three orchestrated and executed a lawless scheme to conceal and steal $533 Mn of loan proceeds.

This comes after the US bankruptcy Delaware court ruled in favour of the lenders of BYJU’S for fraudulent transfer of $533 Mn out of the $1.2 Bn term loan B extended to the startup. 

“On the heels of the Delaware Bankruptcy Court’s recent judgment against his brother and companies, this action is being brought to now hold Byju Raveendran and two more of his coconspirators, cofounder and close business associate, accountable for their roles in masterminding the theft of more than half a billion dollars,” lenders of BYJU’s Alpha’s Term Loan said in a statement.

The lenders further pointed out that it is clear that Byju, Divya, and Anita deliberately hid the assets of BYJU’s Alpha and repeatedly were deceptive about the location of the money to steal funds rightfully owed to the lenders.

Meanwhile, BYJU’S founders dismissed the allegations by lenders as “baseless and untrue”. 

The founders accused lenders of conspiring to take control of BYJU’S through ‘nefarious means’, including filing lawsuits and using media narratives. It also accused lenders and EY India of collusion in sabotaging BYJU’S insolvency process in India.

On the financial transparency, BYJU’s founders said,” A signed and verified affidavit that we submitted in the court of Delaware has the details of how the entire $1.2 Bn loan was spent, to the last dollar. And yet, that affidavit was conveniently ignored, and GLAS has continued to raise the question of the so-called missing $533 Mn repeatedly to mislead.”

BYJU’s Alpha was established to manage proceeds from the Term Loan B. The company defaulted on its credit agreement in early 2022, just months after receiving the loan. 

This was followed by a series of alleged 11 fraudulent transfers totaling $533 Mn, made by BYJU’S Alpha (then under BYJU’S parent Think & Learn Pvt Ltd.), as per the lenders.

The funds were allegedly moved to the Camshaft Capital Fund, a hedge fund, and were later transferred through various entities, including Inspilearn LLC and an offshore trust.

The development comes at a time when the ongoing insolvency proceedings against BYJU’S in India have become increasingly complex. 

Earlier this month, Byju Raveendran accused EY India, lenders, and Pankaj Srivastava (the IRP) of “criminal collusion” in the insolvency process. 

He called for a government investigation into alleged conflicts of interest, particularly regarding EY India’s dual role as an advisor to lenders and involvement in the insolvency process.

After the allegation of misconduct against Srivastava, Shailendra Ajmera from EY India has been appointed as the new Resolution Professional (RP) by the NCLT.

The post BYJU’S Alpha Sues Byju Raveendran Over Alleged ‘Misappropriation’ Of $533 Mn appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Making another stride towards its reverse flipping journey, fintech major Pine Labs has now secured the final approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to merge its Indian and Singapore entities.

As a result, shares in Pine Labs will be issued to existing shareholders of the Singapore entity. 

A company spokesperson said that the alignment is aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and supports its long-term vision of delivering value to customers, partners, and stakeholders.

The development was first reported by The Head and Tale. 

This comes months after Pine Labs received the initial approval from the NCLT to shift its domicile from Singapore to India in August. 

Pine Labs’ domicile shift plans align with its potential plans for an initial public offering (IPO) worth $1 Bn. Moreover, it has already picked five bankers, including Axis Capital, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, JP Morgan and Jefferies, for its IPO. 

Despite its IPO around the corner, the company seems to be far from its path to profitability. In FY24, its net loss widened to INR 187 Cr from INR 56 Cr in the previous fiscal year. However, its operating revenue stood at INR 1,317 Cr in FY24 as against INR 1,281 Cr in the previous fiscal.

This is Pine Labs’ second bid at going public. Previously, it planned to list on the US exchanges but deferred the IPO plans due to unfavourable market conditions.

Founded in 1998 by Lokvir Kapoor, Rajul Garg, and Tarun Upadhyay, Pine Labs offers comprehensive payment solutions, including point-of-sale terminals and online payment gateways, serving over 5 Lakh merchants across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. 

The company counts the likes of Peak XV Partners, Temasek, PayPal and Mastercard among its backers. 

It competes against the likes of Paytm, PhonePe, RazorPay among others. If successful, Pine Labs’ IPO would be the largest by an Indian fintech company after Paytm’s $2.5 Bn listing in 2021.

The post Pine Labs Gets Final NCLT Nod For Reverse Flipping To India appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Content-to-commerce startup The Good Glamm Group is in the final stages of discussions to sell its media and influencer talent management network MissMalini Entertainment to marketing agency Creativefuel. 

This was first reported by Moneycontrol.

The deal is valued at INR 4 Cr and appears to be a distress sale as GGG faces financial challenges and is attempting to raise capital to sustain its operations

As a part of the deal, Creativefuel will acquire the domain name and social media pages of MissMalini Entertainment, while the influencer business will remain with GGG.

Founded in 2018 by Nikhil Sukhramani and Tushar Sukhramani, Creativefuel seems to be doubling down on its digital media assets, as it has reportedly expanded its portfolio by acquiring YouTube channels such as Hasley India and Pataakha.

Founded in 2008 by Malini Agarwal, MissMalini is one of India’s first lifestyle blogging platforms. In 2021, Good Glamm acquired MissMalini Entertainment.

Back then, the group made five acquisitions, including MissMalini Media (content and marketing platform), Girl Tribe by MissMalini (women’s community platform), Ignite Edge (celebrity and talent management arm), Agent M Creative (creative agency) and MM Studios (video production house).

Besides acquiring a host of brands in 2021 and 2022, GGG also looked to create a content-to-commerce platform through acquisitions such as Vidooly, Bulbul, ScoopWhoop, Tweak India, Ms Malini, Winkl, and popXO.

However, GGG’s financial distress became evident in FY23, with its losses surging to INR 917 Cr, up from INR 363 Cr in FY22. This is compounded by a debt burden exceeding INR 450 Cr.

Recently, its CEO, Sukhleen Aneja, also quit the Group while Accel, Prosus, and Bessemer stepped down from the Good Glamm Board. In a bid to restructure its portfolio, GGG is looking to put several brands on sale, including Organic Harvest and The Moms Co. 

It had already sold a certain stake in D2C sneaker brand 7-10 and digital media platform ScoopWhoop to marketing firm Wubba Lubba Dub Dub (WLDD). Earlier this year, Sirona was sold back to its founders for INR 150 Cr.

The operational as well as management structures are also alleged to have derailed acquired brands and left them in disarray.

Meanwhile, the company is also reportedly in discussions with multiple investors to raise INR 150 to INR 240 Cr in fresh funding valuation of just under $120 Mn. This is a stark valuation cut from over $1.2 Bn just two years ago.

The post The Good Glamm Group In Talks To Sell MissMalini appeared first on Inc42 Media.

BharatPe today said that its subsidiary Resilient Payments Private Limited has secured final approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to operate as an online payment aggregator (PA)

The company claimed that it has become the only fintech in India to have an NBFC licence via Trillion Loans, a stake in Unity Small Finance Bank and now a PA licence.

BharatPe further said that the development reflects the commitment in building a business rooted in compliance, strong governance and long-term value.

This move also strengthens BharatPe’s position as a full-service fintech company, offering digital payments, lending and investment services.

“As we move ahead, our focus remains on scaling digital payments in a way that is sustainable, responsible, and aligned with the evolving expectations of the ecosystem,”  BharatPe’s CEO Nalin Negi said. 

With this, the company joins the likes of Razorpay, Cashfree, Innoviti and Easebuzz, MSwipe, Google Pay, Zomato, CC Avenue, Innoviti Payments, Vegaah, and Concerto Software and Systems, among others that have secured a PA licence over the past two years.

In 2024, the RBI introduced several regulatory changes, making obtaining a PA licence more challenging for startups. Fearing this, dozens of startups applied for the licences in the last few years to avoid the RBI scrutiny as a result of 2024 guidelines. 

BharatPe’s Superapp Race

This move also strengthens BharatPe’s position as a full-service fintech company. The company is contending in the superapp race against the likes of PhonePe, CRED, Groww, Jio Financial Services, Google Play and Flipkart. 

Founded in 2018 by Ashneer Grover and Shashvat Nakrani, BharatPe was the first to launch UPI interoperable QR code, the zero MDR payment acceptance service and the zero MDR card acceptance terminals.

Over the years, it has forayed into segments like Buy Now Pay Later, wealthtech (Invest BharatPe) and credit lending via NBFC partners such as L&T Finance, CASHe, and True Credit . Besides, it also offers UPI payments, bill payments and credit card repayment options as well as ecommerce section on its platform.

IPO And Break-Even Point

With IPO around the corner, the company has bounced back from losses to a break-even point. To be precise, it has reached this position after the first nine months of the fiscal year from a net loss of INR 492 Cr FY24.

Not only the company faced towering losses worth INR 927 Cr in FY23 and INR 492 Cr in FY24, but over the past couple of years, it was embroiled in a legal battle with its cofounder, Ashneer Grover. This dispute was resolved in September 2024, allowing the company to make efforts to stabilise operations.

These efforts include leadership changes, with Nalin Negi appointed as the full-time CEO after Sameer’s exit. Also, other factors like obtaining an NBFC license through its 63% stake in Trillion Loans and owning a stake in Unity Small Finance Bank, played a vital role in bringing BharatPe on track.

How Is BharatPe Different From Its Peers?

Unlike its counterparts, Paytm or PhonePe, BharatPe’s revenue is mostly supplemented by its B2B play. 

A company spokesperson had previously pointed out that its B2B offerings, including merchant loans, soundboxes, and PoS terminals and cross-selling options like credit cards on UPI, bring in over 90% of revenue.

While PhonePe and Paytm are focusing on the loan distribution model and drawing commissions from lending partners, nearly 30% of BharatPe underwritten loans comes from its own NBFC. 

However, there is a stark difference in the topline between BharatPe and its peers. While BharatPe clocked revenue of INR 1534.4 Cr in FY24, PhonePe and Paytm’s operating revenues stood at INR 5,064 Cr and INR 9,978, respectively, in FY24.

The post BharatPe Gets RBI Approval For Payment Aggregator Business appeared first on Inc42 Media.

InCred Alternatives, the alternative investment arm of InCred Capital Financial Services Limited, has announced the final close of its maiden private equity fund, InCred Growth Partners Fund-I (IGPF-I), with commitments exceeding INR 575 Cr.

The fund exceeded its original target size of INR 500 Cr after exercising the greenshoe option, backed by participation from large family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNIs) and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs).

IGPF-I is focused on key investment themes, including consumption, enterprise, technology and financial services. 

The fund has already deployed capital in companies such as Manjushree Technopack, Shadowfax, Niva Bupa and Purplle. Notably, Niva Bupa has been listed since November 2024.

The fund is also in advanced discussions with two more companies and has recently issued term sheets, as per the company.

InCred Alternatives’ managing partner and CIO-private equity, Vivek Singla, said, “There has been a broad-based reset in pricing expectations and a shift in the founders’ mindset from ‘growth at any cost’ to ‘profit after all costs’. This creates exciting entry points for new funds like IGPF-I.” 

Founded in 2016 by Singh, InCred operates in the BFSI sector through three separate entities – lending vertical InCred Finance, wealth and asset management vertical InCred Capital, and retail bonds and alternative investments platform InCred Money. 

On the financial front, InCred Financial Services posted almost a 162% jump in its consolidated net profit to INR 316.3 Cr in FY24 from INR 120.9 Cr reported a year ago. Its operating revenue surged 47% YoY  to INR 1,270 Cr in FY24,.

With the waning funding winter, several new funds have been launched in the Indian startup ecosystem.

For instance, Bessemer Venture Partners closed its second India-focused fund with a corpus of $350 Mn to support early-stage startups.

Among other announcements, Prime Venture Partners announced the launch of its fifth fund, with a corpus of $100 Mn, earlier this month to back early stage Indian startups.

Before that, it was reported that Together Fund is looking to mark the final close of its $150 Mn Fund II by June this year to back a new batch of 19-20 AI startups.

The post InCred Alternatives Hits Final Close Of Maiden PE Fund appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today allowed the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to revise transaction limits for person-to-merchant (P2M) payments on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

The move aims to accommodate higher-value transactions in select merchant categories.

The announcement was made by the RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra during the first monetary policy review of FY26. 

With this change, NPCI will be able to adjust transaction limits for P2M payments, in consultation with banks and other stakeholders. However, person-to-person (P2P) transactions will continue to remain capped at INR 1 lakh.

The move is expected to facilitate higher-value digital payments in sectors like insurance, mutual funds, travel and luxury retail.

“Appropriate safeguards will be put in place to mitigate risks associated with higher limits. Banks shall continue to have the discretion to decide their own internal limits within the limits announced by NPCI,” the governor said.

Currently, UPI transactions for both P2P and P2M are generally capped at INR 1 lakh, with exceptions for specific merchant categories like education and healthcare, where the limits are higher, ranging from INR 2 Lakh to INR 5 Lakh.

“The other two announcements relate to enabling NPCI to decide, in consultation with the banks and other stakeholders, the transaction limits in UPI for person-to-merchant transactions; and making the Regulatory Sandbox theme-neutral and ‘on-tap’,” the governor said in his statement.

In the context of the RBI, a “regulatory sandbox” is a controlled environment where new financial products, services, or business models can be tested with real users under relaxed regulatory conditions

A theme-neutral approach means that the sandbox will no longer be limited to predefined areas, and it will be open to testing any innovative financial product or service within the RBI’s regulatory domain. 

The ‘on-tap’ facility means that fintech companies can apply to participate in the Regulatory Sandbox at any time, rather than during specific cohorts or windows.

On the development, Payments Council of India’s chairman Vishwas Patel said, “RBI’s move to empower NPCI to revise UPI transaction limits for merchant payments is a much needed and welcome reform. It reflects a deep understanding of the changing needs of users and businesses alike.”

UPI Policy And The MDR Debate 

This move comes at a time when the government is deliberating on bringing back the merchant discount rate (MDR) in the payment industry. 

The government withdrew MDR in the FY22 Budget to promote digital payments. Currently, no MDR is levied on UPI and RuPay debit card payments, which the payment industry feels should be reinstated for merchants with an annual turnover exceeding INR 40 Lakh.

Meanwhile, the subsidy, which was given to banks and payment institutions for doing away with the MDR, was also reduced to INR 437 Cr from INR 3,500 Cr previously. 

Despite all these, the UPI transactions recorded an all-time high in total transactions in March to 18.30 Bn from 16.11 Bn in the preceding month.

Other Announcements From MCP Meeting

The announcement comes in addition to the MPC today unanimously deciding to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points, lowering it to 6% from 6.25% earlier. The repo rate cut is expected to bring the borrowing cost lower, stimulating demand and growth. 

Besides, the RBI has also lowered its growth rate by 20 basis points relative to 6.5% for 2025-26 against the earlier assessment of 6.7% in February, flagging concerns around weakening demand and other problems arising out of the recent Trump tariff impositions. 

“The recent trade tariff-related measures have exacerbated uncertainties clouding the economic outlook across regions, posing new headwinds for global growth and inflation,” Malhotra noted in his speech. 

The market collapsed on Monday with both the Sensex and Nifty 50 plunging over 5% intraday. Following this, the bear took a breather as yesterday, the Sensex and Nifty 50 closed 1.48% and 1.68% higher, respectively. 

Sensex ended today’s market session 0.5% below at 73,847.15 while Nifty 50 was down 0.6% at 22,399.15 at the market closing. 

The post RBI Allows NPCI To Revise UPI Limits For P2M Transactions appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Agritech startup AgroStar has raised INR 57.6 Cr (around $6.7 Mn) in a fresh funding round led by existing investor Accel India.

The round also saw participation from Aavishkaar India, Bertelsmann, Evolvence India, Chiratae Ventures and Hero Enterprises. 

As per the regulatory filing accessed by Inc42, AgroStar’s board approved the issuance of 1,45,385 compulsory convertible non-cumulative preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of INR 3,965 per share.

In a separate filing, the startup also disclosed that it issued an additional 21,940 CCPS to Bertelsmann Nederland B.V. at the same issue price, raising INR 8.6 Cr.

Founded in 2013 by Sitanshu Sheth and Shardul Sheth, AgroStar leverages data and technology to solve farmers’ problems of access to good-quality agri-inputs by bridging the knowledge gap. 

AgroStar acquired INI Farms in 2022, enabling its network of farmers to access global markets across more than 25 countries.

The company currently operates in about 11 Indian states, including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh. As per its website, AgroStar’s digital farmer network and agri-input platform serve over 9 million farmers.

In 2021, AgroStar raised $70 Mn in Series D funding from Evolvence, global asset manager Schroders Capital, Hero Enterprise, and the United Kingdom’s development finance institution, CDC. 

It competes with other agritech players such as DeHaat, WayCool and Ninjacart.

In FY22, the company reported an operating revenue of INR 260 Cr, a 1.9X increase from INR 138.2 Cr in the previous year. However, its losses widened to INR 142 Cr from INR 74 Cr in FY21. AgroStar is yet to file financials for FY23 and beyond.

The funding comes at a time when investor interest in agritech is gradually picking up.

Last month, Grow Indigo secured $10 Mn from British International Investment (BII), while homegrown agritech platform Fasal’s fresh food distribution business was acquired by Swiss-Indian agritech platform Innoterra.

As technology continues to reach deeper into India’s vast agriculture sector, agritech startups are tapping into the large potential of this sector.

This potential has resulted in agritech startups in the country raising over $2.4 Bn in funding and 285 deals between 2014 and February 2024, according to Inc42’s analysis.

The post AgroStar Bags INR 58 Cr From Accel India, Others appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Jio Finance Limited (JFL), the NBFC arm of Jio Financial Services Limited, has diversified its loan offerings by introducing loans against securities. 

In a statement, the company said that the new offering will allow customers to leverage their investments, such as shares and mutual funds, to avail loans of up to INR 1 Cr with interest rates starting at 9.99%.

The company claimed that the entire process will be digital and the loan will be disbursed within 10 minutes. 

Jio Financial Services said that the loan can be availed via the JioFinance app and will have a maximum tenure of up to 3 years, with no foreclosure charges.

Currently, fintechs like Groww, Zerodha, PhonePe, Paisabazaar, Dhanlap, 50Fin, Volt Money, among others, offer loans against securities in India. 

Besides, banks like IDBI Bank, Federal Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and SBI also offer loans against shares and mutual funds.

The new offering comes a few days after Jio Financial Services (JFS) infused INR 1,000.24 Cr (about $117 Mn) in Jio Finance Limited to further expand its offerings. 

Incorporated by Reliance in 2000, Jio Finance was rechristened from its erstwhile name Reliance Retail Ventures Limited back in August 2023. 

The NBFC provides home loans, home loan balance transfer, loans against mutual funds, loans against property and corporate financing via the JioFinance app. As per its financial disclosure in Q3 FY25 investor presentation, Jio Financial Services’ assets under management stood at INR 4,199 Cr.

JFS’ Expanding Fintech Play 

JFS is actively strengthening its presence in the fintech sector through a series of investments, acquisitions, new offerings and partnerships. 

JFS MD and CEO Hitesh Sethia, during the Q3 analyst call, suggested that the NBFC plans to drive its loan book growth through both internal and external partnerships. 

Last month, the company acquired a 100% stake in its subsidiary Jio Payments Bank by buying the entire stake of SBI for INR 104.54 Cr. 

The company has also partnered with BlackRock to enter the mutual funds space under Jio BlackRock Asset Management. In January this year, the companies announced a cumulative investment of  INR 117 Cr in the venture. 

Besides, the company has also partnered BlackRock to foray into the wealth management and brokerage space. 

Recently, it was also reported that JFS was in talks with German insurer Allianz SE to explore a partnership in the insurance business, after the latter severed its ties with the Bajaj Group. 

JFS operates through multiple entities like Jio Finance, Jio Insurance Broking, Jio Payment Solutions, Jio Finance Platform and Service. 

In Q3 FY25, the company’s consolidated net profit remained flat at INR 294.78 Cr as against INR 293.82 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Revenue from operations rose 5.7% to INR 438.35 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 414.33 Cr in Q3 FY24. 

Shares of Jio Financial Services ended today’s trading session 5.2% higher at INR 224.80 on the BSE. 

The post Jio Financial Services To Now Offer Digital Loans Against Securities appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech Neo Group’s asset management arm, Neo Asset Management, has marked the first close of its second flagship private credit fund at INR 2,000 Cr. 

Launched three months ago, the Neo Special Credit Opportunities Fund-II (NSCOF II) is targeting a total corpus of INR 5,000 Cr from high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) and multiple family offices.

The fund is a SEBI-registered Category II AIF aimed at providing credit solutions to EBITDA-positive companies. 

Meanwhile, the company claims that all the investments made under the fund are fully covered with at least 2-3 times hard asset collateral and bear regular coupons.

Neo Asset Management, cofounder and CIO Puneet Jain, said that with NSCOF II, the company aims to create a diversified portfolio with 25-30 investments, each ranging between INR 150-300 Cr. 

Neo’s first private credit, Neo Special Credit Opportunities Fund-I, was closed at INR 2,575 Cr in June 2024. It backed 23 investments while making seven exits over the past 18 months. 

“NSCOF-II builds on the foundation of Neo’s first fund, with a continued focus on high-quality credit opportunities and disciplined capital deployment,” said Neo Asset Management’s MD Rubin Chheda. 

Founded by Nitin Jain and Hemant Daga in 2021, Neo Group is a wealth and asset management company. Its India-focused Alternative Asset Management arm, Neo Asset Management, claims to have managed more than INR 10,000 Cr of AUM.

Neo Group counts Peak XV Partners, MUFG Bank and Euclidean Capital among its backers.

This comes at a time when the public listing market is slowing due to a slump in the stock market, creating opportunities for private credit investments.

Other notable players in the asset management segment include Zerodha, Groww, Bajaj Finserv Asset Management, NJ Mutual Fund, WhiteOak Capital Mutual Fund, and Edelweiss Asset Management, among others.

In 2023, Neo announced a $35 Mn (INR 300 Cr) round led by Peak XV Partners. It started off with a $40 Mn seed fund from some external investors and the founding team.

Opportunities In Private Credit Investments

This comes at a time when the public listing market is slowing due to a slump in the stock market, creating opportunities for private credit investments.

As a result, there has been an increase in private credit funds lately. For instance, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd was reportedly planning to raise $2 Bn for a new private credit fund earlier this month.

While National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) in February was reportedly eyeing to raise a $2 Bn private credit fund.

Last year, the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, was also reportedly discussing with Jio Financial Services (JFS) for creating a private credit venture.  

As per a PwC report, the Indian private credit market was in the range of $10 Bn in deal size in 2024, while the private credit AUM in India is estimated to be in the range of $ 25 Bn.

The post Neo Asset Marks First Close Of Second Private Credit Fund At INR 2,000 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Centre is reportedly considering local storage of AI models to minimise risks associated with them and prevent flow of sensitive data outside India.

This aligns with the government’s broader efforts to strengthen cybersecurity infrastructure and safeguard data of citizens.

With the Centre reportedly planning to finalise the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act rules by April, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) secretary S Krishnan said that once implemented it will play an effective role in preventing the personal data leaks.

Notably, the act empowers the government to restrict cross-border data transfers and mandates robust security measures for handling personal data.

As per news agency PTI, Krishnan also pointed out that the government is closely monitoring Chinese LLM models due to potential risks related to data misuse.

“The true problem lies when data gets shared on a portal or on a mobile app because then the data may go out of the country and may sort of feed the way that a particular model is trained and a lot of the data may go out. On the private side, if the model itself is hosted in India, then the risks of data going out are far more mitigated considerably,” he said.

The MeitY secretary also highlighted the rise of cybersecurity incidents in India, signaling improved public awareness and enhanced surveillance capabilities.

This comes a few days after Krishnan reiterated the need to develop more foundation models in India, focused on issues relevant to the country and languages spoken here.

It is pertinent to note that India’s focus on localising AI models and enforcing stringent data protection laws is intended towards establishing itself as a global leader in AI, but with national security. 

In line with this, India has also introduced initiatives like the IndiaAI Mission, aiming to foster AI development through public-private partnerships, GPU procurement and support for startups. 

Moreover, the data localisation under the DPDP Act also aligns with global trends where nations are imposing stricter controls over cross-border data flows.

Driven by this data localisation requirement, global AI companies like OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are either looking to set up or expand their local data storage in India. 

India’s homegrown AI industry has made significant progress in the past few years, led by the support from the government as well as investors. As a result, more than 200 GenAI startups have raised more than $1.2 Bn since 2020.

While the likes of SarvamAI and Krutrim are building Indic LLMs, others like ObserveAI are leveraging AI to offer customised offerings to businesses.

Besides, we are also witnessing across sectors AI usage to streamline user experience and operations, projecting the homegrown GenAI market to cross the $17 Bn mark by 2030.

The post Centre Considering Local Storage Of AI Models To Prevent Data Outflow appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Insurtech startup Turtlemint, which counts Jungle Ventures, Nexus Venture Partners, Vitruvian Partners and Peak XV Partners among its investors, is reportedly in talks with bankers to launch its $200-250 Mn IPO this year.

As per Mint, the startup is expected to hit the Dalal Street by October this year and would file its draft papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) within two months.

Turtlemint is in discussions with four bankers – Motilal Oswal, JM Financials, ICICI Securities and Jefferies – to help manage the IPO, the report added.

Inc42 has reached out to Motilal Oswal and Turtlemint for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on their responses. 

Founded in 2015 by Dhirendra Mahyavanshi and Anand Prabhudesai, Turtlemint is a platform that helps financial advisors understand and distribute insurance to their community of customers.

The platform supports various insurance types, including car, bike, health, and term life insurance, and claims to have empowered over 300,000 advisors while serving millions of customers. 

The company was reportedly looking to diversify its offerings with additional financial services like mutual fund distribution and personal loans, among others. 

It competes against InsuranceDekho, PB Fintech and other insurance technology segments. It last raised $120 Mn in 2022 at a post-money valuation of $900 Mn.

As per Tofler, Turtlemint’s total income increased 3X to INR 507 Cr from INR 157 Cr it posted in FY23, while its net profit remained flat at INR 6 Cr in FY24 from 6 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The development comes at the heart of insurance tech segment witnessing a rapid growth propelled by advancements in underwriting models. 

This growth, in turn, is expected to attract more investors and potentially lead to further IPOs in the sector. For instance, Go Digit’s INR 1124 Cr IPO was one of the significant listings in 2024. 

Meanwhile, companies like InsuranceDekho,  SBI General, Bajaj Allianz Life, Bajaj Allianz General and Tata AIG General Insurance, among others, in the insurance sector are slated to go public in recent times. 

The post Turtlemint In Talks With Bankers For $200-250 Mn IPO: Report appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Apple nearly doubled its iPhone exports from India in March as part of its efforts to stock up inventory ahead of the tariffs announced by the Donald Trump administration from April 2.

iPhone shipments from India for the month surged to INR 20,000 Cr from INR 11,000 Cr a year earlier. 

The sharp increase in March exports, particularly to the US, comes as Trump announced the long-anticipated reciprocal tariffs on April 2. These tariffs include a baseline 10% duty on all imports into the US, with an additional 26% country-specific tariff on Indian goods, starting April 9.

According to preliminary export data seen by ET, Apple’s vendors exported iPhones worth nearly INR 1.5 lakh Cr in FY25, up from INR 85,000 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

This puts Apple ahead of India’s total smartphone exports in FY24, which stood at INR 1.3 Lakh Cr.

The March quarter alone saw iPhone exports worth INR 48,000 Cr, compared to INR 28,500 Cr during the same period last year. 

While the January to March quarter is typically Apple’s most substantial export window, the report, citing industry executives, noted that this year’s spike was more pronounced due to early warnings about the impending tariffs.

This comes at a time when Apple is consolidating its local value addition in the country. Reportedly, its local value edition is estimated at 15–20% (depending on the model), up from just 5–8% when the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme was first introduced.

This reflects Apple’s growing commitment to building a strong manufacturing base in India, now its second-largest iPhone production hub after China.

It is worth noting that Apple is looking to further expand its presence in India, both in manufacturing and retail. Recently, Apple was said to have started exporting electronic components of its products from the country to China and Vietnam for the first time.

On the market share front, India is on track to become Apple’s third-largest market by 2026, after China and the US.

With India growing disposable income and propensity to buy Iphones, the company has begun manufacturing its entire iPhone 16 lineup in India while also planning to open four more retail stores across major cities by 2025. 

Further bolstering the manufacturing efforts, Apple recently set up a new subsidiary called Apple Operations India, aimed at research, design, testing and providing support to third party manufacturers.

However, the company has been alleged of violating the competition law in the country. Recently, CCI also decided to continue its investigation into Apple, rejecting the company’s request to halt a probe report accusing the tech giant in violation of competition laws.

The post Apple Doubles iPhone Exports From India In March  appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Sachin Bansal-led fintech unicorn Navi Technologies is looking to get listed on the bourses in the current fiscal year. 

Addressing a session at the ongoing Startup Mahakumbh, Bansal said that the startup is considering launching its initial public offering (IPO) in FY26.

With 20 Mn monthly active users, Bansal believes that Navi is now at a stage to deploy more proceeds.

“We are at a stage where we can use more capital and the public market is the best source of capital, I believe, if you can handle what comes with it,” he said.

This marks a renewed push for Navi’s IPO plans after its previous attempt in 2022, when it filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an INR 3,350 Cr public issue but later withdrew due to market conditions.

The startup is also reportedly in discussions with a clutch of merchant bankers for its IPO.

Founded by Bansal and Ankit Agarwal in 2018, Navi Group includes various subsidiaries such as Navi Finserv, Navi General Insurance and Navi AMC. 

In February, Bansal stepped down as the chief executive officer of Navi Technologies and Navi Finserv amid a leadership shake-up. However, he continues to play a key role in driving the company’s growth as executive chairman of the Navi Group.

Navi Finserv’s consolidated operating revenue stood at INR 1,906.2 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) as against INR 2,040.6 Cr in FY23. 

However, the numbers are not comparable as the FY23 numbers also included income from Navi Finserv’s former subsidiary Chaitanya India Fin Credit Private Limited. 

Following the sale of the subsidiary, the consolidated profit after tax (PAT) from continued operations slipped 56% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 115.6 Cr in FY24.

RBI’s Regulatory Restrictions On Navi Finserv

Navi Finserv was in the eye of the storm after facing regulatory hurdles when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) imposed restrictions on the company in October last year over non-compliance issues. The sanction barred the non-banking financial company (NBFC) from disbursing loans.

However, after multiple rounds of review, the central bank lifted the restrictions in December.

Speaking on the regulatory challenges surrounding the fintech ecosystem, Bansal noted that while most sectors require founders to primarily focus on stakeholders such as customers, competitors, investors and employees, but in fintech, the regulator becomes the most important stakeholder.

Navi’s AI Adoption To Scale Operations 

Navi has also been advancing its use of technologies like AI to automate and optimise operations. Bansal also shared that most of Navi’s customer support system is now powered by GenAI.

Earlier this year, scammers exploited a bug in Navi’s tech system to allegedly carry out a fraud worth INR 14.26 Cr.

The post Navi Aiming To Go Public In FY26, Claims Sachin Bansal appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran has warned that India’s low labour-cost advantage is under threat due to advancements in technology across developed nations.

Speaking at the ongoing Startup Mahakumbh, Nageswaran underlined the growing challenge posed by automation and AI-driven innovations. 

“We already have an extremely low labour-cost base, but this advantage is being eroded by the technological advancements made by developed countries,” he said, while addressing a session on the macroeconomic outlook and its impact on startups at the three-day event.

Underlining the need to balance technology and labour, the CEA said, “We need to define technology in such a way that it is labour-augmenting rather than labour-displacing.”

Nageswaran also pointed out that Indian startups face competition from developed countries. 

While these developed countries are investing heavily in artificial intelligence to boost their competitiveness, the advancements will benefit ageing countries like Japan and Europe more as compared to young demographic countries like India, he said, adding that there is a need to balance between AI investment and ensuring employment for Indians. 

However, he added that India has key strengths in intellectual inputs, data generation and software professionals, which can help its startups compete globally, particularly in borderless services.

In the past, the CEA had also underscored several challenges and opportunities posed by AI. Last year, he emphasised that harnessing AI will benefit India’s youth as the technology may lead to “huge dislocations” soon. 

Despite acknowledging that the long-term potential of AI is promising, he has maintained a stance that AI poses challenges in the short term, particularly in the BPO sector. Nageswaran, in past, had also pointed out that the emergence of AI might reduce annual productivity growth by approximately 0.3 percentage points in the coming years.

Startups have been increasingly using AI for automation and cost-cutting, which can lead to workforce disruptions and layoffs.

Two days back, foodtech major Zomato reportedly laid off nearly 600 employees from its customer support team.

As per Outlook Business report, the employees were laid off due to performance issues, tardiness, and an overall restructuring effort at the foodtech major. Besides, Zomato has been increasingly leveraging AI to automate its customer support functions to trim costs.

Moreover, many startups are also using AI to double down on their efficiency or replaying. Recently, Razorpay founder Harshil Mathur said almost 80% of the concerns raised by customers in the company are resolved by AI itself. 

A few years ago, Paytm too was said to be downsizing 10-15% workforce due to the adoption of AI-powered automation. 

The post India’s Low Labour-Cost Advantage Under Threat Due To Tech Advancements: CEA Nageswaran appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Almost a year-long courtroom drama between Honasa and its distributor RSM General Trading LLC finally went in favour of Honasa as Dubai’s top court, the Court of Cassation, overturned the Appeal Court’s decision, calling it “flawed, defective and lacking reasoning”. 

The Appeal Court had previously upheld another Dubai court’s order in favour of RSM, asking Honasa to pay AED 25 Mn (around INR 56 Cr) as a compensation. 

In an exchange filing today (April 3), Honasa said, “The company is now in receipt of judgment dated March 26, 2025, passed by the Cassation Court wherein the court has overturned the Appeal Court Judgement and referred the matter to the Court of Appeal for a rehearing by a new bench.”

The Cassation Court also sent the case back to the Dubai Court of Appeal for a fresh hearing by a new panel of judges and ensured Honasa that the original order to pay AED 25 Mn is paused until the rehearing concludes. 

Last year, RSM sued Honasa for the unlawful termination of its distributorship, Following which, the Dubai Court ordered the Mamaearth paarent to pay AED 25 Mn as compensation. 

The legal discourse between both parties has taken several turns, with cases being filed in India too. 

The  Delhi HC’s order in August not only asked RSM General Trading to revoke its execution proceedings in Dubai against Honasa but also to deposit INR 57.17 Cr along with added interest in the registry of the court until the withdrawal of execution proceedings in Dubai against Honasa. 

Following this, the D2C giant was also to initiate contempt proceedings against RSM in the Delhi HC for failing to comply with the court’s ruling.  

The Court of Cassation’s ruling came as a silver lining for Honasa amid a more gloomy situation both on the stock market and the financial front. 

Why Is Honasa Struggling? 

While the company’s stock slumped 3.66% on a year-to-date basis, led by the weakened broader market for most of this year and bottom-line losses. However, the company has given a positive return of 14% in the last month (at CMP). The company slipped into the red in the quarter ended September 2024 (Q2 FY25), posting a consolidated net loss of INR 18.6 Cr. The company had reported a net profit of INR 29.4 Cr in the year-ago quarter and INR 40.3 Cr in the preceding June quarter.

Until this quarter, the company remained profitable since its listing in November 2023. In the same Q2 quarter, Honasa underwent a change in distribution model under ‘Project Neev’. As a part of this project, it was to transition into a distribution model from super stockist model for the top 50 cities. 

As a result, the company’s distributor channel comprises 69% direct distributors and 31% super stockists in Q3 FY25 against 62% super stockists and 38% direct distributors in FY24. 

But this change also resulted in the unsold inventory for Honasa lying with distributors and retailers. In November, All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) also pointed out that these large insolvent inventories are causing a financial burden to the tune of INR 300 Cr for the company. But Honasa clarified in a filing that total inventory in its distribution value chain stood at INR 40.69 Cr.

Adding to this challenge is the rising competition in the online beauty and personal care market in India, with the likes of Nykaa, Plum, Pilgrim, and Minimalist giving tough competition to one another. Not to mention, besides Mamaearth, Honasa has the Derma Co., Aqualogica, BBlunt, BBLunt Salone and Dr. Sheth’s in its portfolio

In the latest quarter result of Q3 FY25, Honasa reported a flat consolidated net profit of INR 26.02 Cr from INR 25.90 Cr in the year-ago quarter, while its operating revenue grew 6% to INR 517.51 Cr during the quarter from INR 488.22 Cr in Q3 FY24.

Recent brokerage outlooks on Honasa have also been largely negative, reflecting concerns about the company’s growth trajectory and financial performance. 

For instance, Emkay Global reduced the target price by 50% to INR 300 from INR 600, citing weak Q2 FY25 results and challenges in revenue growth and margins. Citi also gave the same TP as Emkay while downgrading Honasa’s rating to “Sell”. 

Shares of Honasa were trading 1.84% above at INR 240 on the BSE at 12:45 PM today.

The post Honasa Vs Distributor: Dubai’s Top Court Rules In Favour Of Honasa appeared first on Inc42 Media.

PB Fintech lending tech arm Paisabazaar has been slapped with a demand notice of INR 9.32 Cr by Income Tax (I-T) authorities in Delhi.

In an exchange filing on Tuesday, PB Fintech said that the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax in Delhi has sent an assessment order to its subsidiary Paisabazaar under u/s 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The matter pertains to an order passed in November last year, wherein the assessment officer had disallowed expenses to the tune of INR 85.60 Cr under Section 37 of the IT Act during the assessment year 2023-24.

“During the assessment proceedings, the company had duly provided all the necessary documents/information against these expenses, however AO has taken a contrary view and disallowed the same,” PB Fintech stated. 

It further claimed that while the income tax authorities had deemed the demand payable to be “Nil” following its earlier assessment, they are now inadvertently raising a demand of INR 9.32 Cr. 

“…AO has also issued a demand notice under section 156 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 inadvertently raising a demand of INR 9.32 crores which is inconsistent with the assessment order passed by AO since the demand payable as per AO’s assessment order is NIL,” the company said. 

In light of this, PB Fintech said that it will file the necessary appeal against the assessment order and is evaluating the same. 

This is not the first time that the company has been slapped with a tax demand. Last year in November, Paisabazaar received notices from the I-T Department. In the same year, its parent entity, PB Fintech came under IT Lens For Regulatory Laxes, KYC Non-Compliance for regulatory lapses and non-compliance with KYC requirements.

The company is surrounded by allegations about its financial practices. A Trudence Capital report titled “Premium Promises and Discounted Truths” raises significant concerns about PB Fintech’s financial practices, particularly regarding revenue recognition and the operations of its subsidiaries. 

The report suggests that Policybazaar’s revenue might have been recorded under Paisabazaar, which further raises questions about compliance with regulations since Paisabazaar is not registered with IRDAI. 

The company has also undergone a top-level management reshuffle, with Paisabazaar cofounder Naveen Kukreja stepping down as CEO.

Meanwhile, Policybazaar’s CFO, Ashutosh Mishra, resigned from his role, along with another subsidiary position. 

Besides, the company also faced a tax raid in January on PB Fintech’s offices in Gurugram. Alongside this, the company is also investing INR 696 Cr (around $80 Mn) in its wholly owned subsidiary PB Healthcare Services Pvt Ltd.

The Market Performance: 

PB Fintech debuted on Dalal Street on November 15, 2021, at a listing price of INR 1150. 

The stock has fallen 25.35% on a year-to-date basis against the Sensex’s fall of 2.4% during the same period. 

While the stock has surged 8.97% in the last month, led by the broader market recovery in recent weeks. 

Despite fluctuations in share price, PB Fintech has reported a 92% jump in its consolidated profit after tax (PAT) to INR 71.54 Cr in the third quarter of the fiscal year 2024-25 (Q3 FY25) from INR 37.23 Cr in the year-ago quarter, buoyed by healthy insurance premium collection.

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, net profit climbed over 40% from INR 50.98 Cr. Notably, this was the fifth consecutive profitable quarter for PB Fintech.

The post Paisabazaar Gets INR 9 Cr Tax Demand Notice appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Months after getting their respective board’s approval, alternative credit provider BlackSoil Capital and impact investment lender Caspian Debt have now received approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for their merger.

Both Blacksoil and Caspian are now awaiting the final merger approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The combined entity will boast an AUM of over INR 2,000 Cr, leveraging the combined expertise of having financed over INR 10,000 Cr across over 450 Startups, MSMEs and companies. 

Post merger, BlackSoil will expand its geographical presence across major metros like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Bengaluru.

While Ankur Bansal’s BlackSoil offers customised alternative credit solutions to growth companies, financial institutions, NBFCs and MSMEs across diverse sectors, Caspian Debt specialises in providing financial solutions to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). 

“By integrating Caspian Debt’s expertise in impact investing with our innovative financing solutions, we will drive greater financial inclusion and extend our reach to businesses often underserved by traditional lenders,” said BlackSoil’s managing director Ankur Bansal.

In terms of credit disbursal, BlackSoil is ahead of Caspian Debt, with a corpus of INR 7,800 Cr across more than 270 companies against Caspian Debt’s deployment of over INR 4,000 Cr across more than 250 institutions. 

However, it must be noted that BlackSoil was established in 2016, three years after the launch of Caspian Debt in 2013. 

Backed by family offices of Allcargo Logistics, Navneet Education, Mahavir Agency and Mathew Cyriac-led Florintree Advisors, BlackSoil’s portfolio companies include MobiKwik, Ideaforge, Upstox, Bluestone, OYO, Udaan, Zetwerk, Spinny and Purplle. 

On the other hand, Caspian Debt counts FMO, Gray Matters Capital and Triodos Investment Management among its backers.

The development comes at the cusp of growing mergers and acquisitions by entities to expand and streamline their offerings in India. The first quarter of 2025 witnessed a 73% surge in total  M&A  deals to 26 from 15 deals in Q1 2024. This also marks a 120% rise from 12 M&As in Q4 2024. 

The notable ones in recent times include the merger of B2B digital marketplace Solv i with Bengaluru-based B2B company Jumbotail and DroneAcharya’s “strategic company merger” with agri-drone company AITMC Ventures.

One of the biggest mergers last year was the Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Viacom18 and The Walt Disney Company merger in November. 

The post RBI Greenlights BlackSoil, Caspian Debt Merger appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech startup Jar’s $50 Mn (nearly INR 425 Cr) funding deal with a clutch of investors, led by Prosus, has reportedly collapsed over valuation differences. 

Citing sources, Moneycontrol reported that the deal fell through after Jar sought a valuation of $300 Mn to $350 Mn (INR 2,500–2,900 Cr) while the potential backers pegged the company at $200 Mn to $250 Mn (INR 1,700–2,100 Cr). This led to a stalemate and the deal didn’t materialise. 

Besides Prosus, TikTok-backer Susquehanna International Group (SIG) and existing investor Arkam Ventures were looking to participate in the round. 

If the investors had prevailed, Jar would have had to contend with a down round as the Tiger Global-backed fintech platform last raised funds in 2022 at a valuation of $300 Mn. 

As per the report, another bone of contention was the startup cofounders, Nishchay Ag and Misbah Ashraf, looking to sell some of their shares through secondary transactions. The incoming investors were opposed to this. 

While Prosus declined to comment on the story, Jar didn’t respond to Inc42’s queries on the development till the time of publishing this story. 

Founded in 2021 by Nischay and Ashraf, Jar allows users to invest as low as INR 1 in digital gold loans. It also entered the D2C jewellery space with the launch of its brand Nek last year.

The startup claims to have a user base of over 1.5 Cr and counts the likes of Eximius Ventures, Force Ventures, LetsVenture, Rocketship Venture Capital and WEH Ventures among its investors.

Jar’s IPO Plans

With the funding deal failing, Jar is preparing to kick off talks with bankers for an initial public offering (IPO) “sometime in 2026”, the report said.

On the financial front, the fintech platform seems to be nearing profitability. In a post on X in January, cofounder and CEO Nishchay said that Jar became profitable. However, he didn’t provide any numbers or time period.

In FY24, the startup reported a 15% decline in its loss to INR 103.97 C from INR 123 Cr in 2024. Revenue from operations stood at INR 49.03 Cr in FY24, up 461% from INR 8.73 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

Last year, Nischay claimed that Jar’s annualised revenue run rate (ARR) jumped to INR 270 Cr in December 2024 compared to INR 23 Cr in December 2023. 

The post Jar’s $50 Mn Funding Deal Falls Through Over Valuation Differences appeared first on Inc42 Media.