Japanese investment major SoftBank, which has not been striking any funding deals in India lately and is drawing up to offload stakes in bourse-bound Ola Electric and FirstCry, still holds shares of $1.1-1.2 Bn in its listed portfolio companies here.

As per ET’s report, Softbank has sold stakes worth $1.8-1.9 Bn during the public offerings and through post-listing sales in four Indian startups — Paytm, Zomato, PB Fintech and Delhivery — that went public in 2021 and 2022. It had invested a total of $2.3-2.4 Bn in these four new-age companies.

Among the four listed companies, Paytm is proving to be a drag on SoftBank’s investments in India. In July, SoftBank offloaded over 2% stake in Paytm’s parent entity One97 Communications worth about $300 Mn. Earlier in May, SoftBank offloaded over a 2% stake in the company.

In December, SoftBank offloaded 2.53% of its stake in Gurugram-based parent of Policybazaar PB Fintech, through multiple block deals, amounting to a cumulative INR 913.7 Cr ($109 Mn).

Following the transaction involving 1.14 Cr shares, SoftBank now holds 83.23 Lakh shares in PB Fintech.

On December 8, SoftBank offloaded 9.35 Cr ($1.1Mn) shares of foodtech giant Zomato in an INR 1,127 Cr block deal. 

On November 17, approximately 1.8 Cr shares, constituting 2.51% of equity in Gurugram-based logistics firm Delhivery, were exchanged in a deal valued at INR 747 Cr ($89.6 Mn), with each share priced at INR 403.51.

SoftBank’s approach to reduce its holdings through secondary sales, while staying away from new investments is in line with most growth and late-stage investors who have slowed down on investments over the last 15-18 months. 

Having funded nearly a fifth of India’s 100+ unicorns (startups with valuations exceeding $1 Bn), SoftBank has invested a total of $15 Bn in the country. The SoftBank Vision Fund accounts for $11 Bn of this investment, with the remaining $4 Bn allocated to sectors like renewable energy and infrastructure.

SoftBank is the largest institutional shareholder of Ola Electric and FirstCry. Both the companies have filed draft papers for their initial public offerings last month.

As per ET, while Ola Electric is looking for a $7-8 Bn valuation in its public offering, FirstCry is estimated to be valued at around $4 Bn. At these valuations, SoftBank is expected to sell stakes worth approximately $180 Mn in FirstCry and $45-50 Mn in Ola Electric.

In Ola Electric, SoftBank will be selling 23.8 Mn shares, representing a 0.65% stake, while in FirstCry, it is planning to offload 20.3 Mn shares, or a ~4.5% stake, as per their draft IPO documents. After the IPO, it would still hold stakes worth an estimated $840-850 Mn in FirstCry and $1.4-1.6 Bn in Ola Electric, at IPO valuations.

The post SoftBank Made $1.8-1.9 Bn By Offloading Shares In Four Listed Indian Startups appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Reliance Jio may receive the landing rights and market access authorisations from the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) to roll out its satellite-based gigabit fibre services in India, ET reported.

According to the report, Jio has made all the necessary submissions to IN-SPACe, and the space regulator is expected to give the authorisation soon, which is mandatory for deploying global satellite bandwidth capacity in India.

The authorisations from IN-SPACe involve approvals at different levels from different ministries. 

“We don’t comment on the status of approvals of specific companies…all I can say is that several applications for IN-SPACe authorisations are in the pipeline,” said Pawan Goenka, chairman of IN-SPACe.

In October last year, the telecom giant introduced JioSpaceFiber, India’s first satellite-based giga-fibre service. The company said that the new service is designed to provide fast and reliable internet connectivity to remote and challenging-to-reach regions.

At the India Mobile Congress, Reliance said that plans are to make the giga-fibre service accessible nationwide at cost-effective rates. The company further added that the new service has connected remote locations like Gir in Gujarat, Korba in Chhattisgarh, Nabarangpur in Odisha, and ONGC-Jorhat in Assam. 

According to the subscriber data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the telecom major added 3.4 Mn wireless subscribers in September 2023. Reporting a growth of the total wireless telecom subscribers TRAI said that there had been a net addition of 1.7 Mn subscribers against 1.39 Mn in August 2023. Overall, the number of active wireless subscribers in September hovered around the 1.04 Bn mark.

Additionally, to boost the 5G availability in India, it also launched the Jio True 5G Developer Platform and the Jio 5G Lab. The company said that the idea is to enable startups and enterprises to develop 5G use cases on Jio’s 5G network.

The post Reliance Jio Likely To Get IN-SPACe Nod To Launch Satellite-Based Gigabit Internet appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Angel investors and early institutional shareholders of ecommerce unicorn Meesho are reportedly in discussions with potential investors to divest their stake. WestBridge Capital and Norwest Venture Partners are reportedly among the investment firms engaging in discussions with Meesho’s early investors.

As per ET’s report, talks are underway for a transaction at a valuation ranging between $3-$3.5 Bn, but this figure may change. The publication further said that WestBridge has expressed interest in acquiring more shares in Meesho, while Norwest Venture Partners has also participated in the discussions.

The ongoing conversations primarily revolve around the negotiation of deal pricing, with early investors expressing their desire to exit the investment at this juncture.

It is to be noted that investment firm WestBridge Capital acquired a stake in the ecommerce unicorn in a secondary transaction from its early and long-term backer Venture Highway in October. Venture Highway sold a part of its stake in the ecommerce startup to earn over 50X return.

Venture Highway is reportedly considering the sale of its remaining 1% stake in Meesho during this round of transactions.

Founded in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, Meesho is backed by other marquee investors such as SoftBank, Peak XV, Fidelity Investments, Prosus & Naspers, and Meta.

The startup, once hailed as the poster child of social ecommerce, made a strategic pivot in 2022 to become a marketplace. This move places the company in direct competition with industry giants such as Flipkart and Amazon. The company is best poised to disrupt the duopoly of Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, as per analysts.

As we reported this week, analysts believe Meesho’s zero commission model for sellers who offer unbranded products targeted at consumers from middle-low income households has worked for the Bengaluru-based ecommerce unicorn which has captured 7% of the ecommerce market share in India.

The ecommerce major was the brightest star in Prosus’ India portfolio in the first half (H1) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). As per half-yearly financial data released by Prosus, Meesho clocked an internal return rate (IRR) of 32% for the investor.

Meesho reported an operating revenue of INR 5,735 Cr in FY23, a 77% increase over INR 3,232 Cr in the previous fiscal year, it said in a blog last week.

Fashnear Technologies, the parent entity of Meesho, reported a net loss of INR 1,675 Cr in FY23, a 48% drop from INR 3,248 Cr in the previous year.

However, Meesho is yet to file its financial statements for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

The post Meesho’s Early Investors Consider Secondary Sales At $3 Bn-$3.5 Bn Valuation appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed food delivery platform Zomato has increased the platform fee to INR 4 per order across key markets from INR 3, according to information on its app.

The new rates are effective from January 1.

According to sources cited in an ET report, New Year’s Eve saw platform fees temporarily upped to as high as INR 9 per order in certain markets.

“These are business calls which we take basis various factors from time to time,” a Zomato spokesperson was cited by ET as saying on the platform fee hike.

Incidentally, Sunday (December 31) was also when Zomato saw its order volume during New Year’s Eve shoot up to all-time high levels. Taking to X, CEO Deepinder Goyal noted that the number was bigger than the combined number of orders the food delivery platform had clocked for New Year’s Eve over the past six years.

Platform Fee Driving Revenue In Food Delivery

Zomato started charging a platform fee on orders on its platform in August last year, starting with INR 2 and increasing to INR 3 across major markets. Zomato’s closest rival Swiggy began charging an INR 2 fee as well, which was later hiked to INR 3.

The two platforms are charging a platform fee beyond the delivery charge, which is waived for customers of their respective loyalty programmes. The platform fee, however, applies to Zomato Gold and Swiggy One members as well.

Incidentally, Zomato’s quick commerce arm Blinkit also charges an INR 2 platform fee per order.

While it might not be a popular decision among users, platform fees have improved the revenues of food delivery startups. For instance, in its July-September quarterly results, Zomato attributed an improvement in the percentage of what it makes (also called a take rate) on each food delivery order to the platform fee.

According to a November research note by Jefferies, Zomato’s take rate in the September quarter of FY24 was 24.1%, improving 28 basis points (0.28 percentage points) from a year earlier and 32 basis points from the previous three-month period.

Platform fee is also being talked about as a major factor in Zomato turning its fortunes around and becoming profitable over the past two quarters. It reported a profit after tax of INR 36 Cr during the quarter ended September 30, 2023. In the April-June quarter, it had reported a net profit of INR 2 Cr.

Shares of the foodtech giant ended trading 0.7% higher at INR 124.50 on the BSE on Monday (January 1).

The post Zomato Hikes Platform Fee To INR 4 Per Order Across Major Cities appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Delhi NCR-based healthtech unicorn Pristyn Care’s operating revenue increased 45% in the financial year ended March 31, 2023. The Peak XV Partners-backed startup reported an operating revenue of INR 452.8 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), an increase of 1.4X from INR 312.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Founded by Harsimarbir Singh, Dr Vaibhav Kapoor, and Dr Garima Sawhney in 2018, Pristyn Care offers advanced secondary care surgeries through its network of more than 200 clinics, 700 hospitals, and a team of 400+ in-house super-speciality surgeons across 40 cities in India.

Including other income, the startup’s total revenue rose 45.6% to INR 493.7 Cr in FY23 from INR 338.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

Despite the increase in its top line, Pristyn Care’s net loss surged 38% to INR 382.5 Cr during the year under review from INR 277.1 Cr in FY22.

Where Did Pristyn Care Spend?

The startup’s total expenditure increased to INR 876.8 Cr in FY23, a rise of 42% from INR 616 Cr in the previous year.

Advertising Expenses: The startup’s advertising expenditure was one of the biggest expenses during the year under review. Pristyn Care spent INR 219.9 Cr under the head in FY23, an increase of 17% from INR 187.8 Cr it spent in the previous fiscal year.

Employee Benefit Expenses: Pristyn Care spent INR 198.5 Cr on employee salaries and other benefits during the year under review, up 36% from INR 146.3 Cr in FY22. 

Surgery Expenses: The startup’s expenses under the head grew 30% to INR 133.4 Cr in FY23 from INR 102.3 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

It is pertinent to note that Pristyn Care added new surgical categories, including dental procedures, knee replacement, and weight loss surgeries, in FY23. It also expanded the availability of some of its categories such as ophthalmology, gynecology and urology beyond the major metro markets.

Earlier this year, the startup also began operations in Bangladesh, establishing a presence in Dhaka and Chittagong. 

Pristyn Care has raised $177 Mn across multiple funding rounds till date. The startup entered the coveted unicorn in late 2021 after raising $96 Mn in its Series E round from Peak XV Partners (then Sequoia Capital India), Tiger Global, Winter Capital, Eriq Capital and Hummingbird Ventures at a valuation of $1.4 Bn.

The startup competes against the likes of Practo, PharmEasy, and MediBuddy.

The post Pristyn Care’s FY23 Revenue Inches Closer To INR 500 Cr Mark, Loss Jumps To INR 383 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fresh tax trouble has mounted for foodtech giant Zomato as tax authorities have now slapped a notice of INR 4.2 Cr on the startup for alleged short payment of goods and services tax (GST).

This comes close on the heels of the Gurugram-based listed foodtech giant receiving an INR 401.7 Cr show cause notice from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Pune Zonal Unit, over unpaid tax on delivery charges collected from the customers last week.

Zomato has received three orders from Sales Tax Officer, Ward 300, Delhi and Deputy Commissioner, DGSTO-4, Bengaluru, Karnataka alleging short payment of GST along with applicable interest and penalty under Section 73 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (‘CGST Act, 2017’), Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (‘DGST Act, 2017’) and Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (‘KGST Act, 2017’), with an amount totalling to INR 4.24 Cr, the company said in an exchange filing.

“The authorities in Delhi and Karnataka seem to have issued the above orders dated December 30 and 31, 2023 without giving due consideration to our response submitted earlier. We believe that we have a strong case on merit and the company will be filing appeals against the orders before the appropriate appellate authorities,” Zomato said in the filing.

The company’s shares opened at INR 124.65 apiece during Monday session, up 0.77% compared to its previous close at INR 123.7.

Earlier also, reports surfaced that the food delivery giants Zomato and Swiggy reportedly received notices for a cumulative goods and services tax (GST) worth INR 1,000 Cr, as the tax authorities now view delivery charges collected by these platforms as their revenue.

It is important to note that in January last year, the Centre added ‘restaurant services’ and cloud kitchens under the purview of Section 9(5) of the CGST Act, 2017, which led to the likes of Swiggy and Zomato paying 5% GST on ‘restaurant services’ they offer.

However, it continued to remain unclear whether delivery services and fees collected from that would also be taxed.

The delivery fees charged by both Swiggy and Zomato have consistently been a subject of debate, drawing controversy from various viewpoints.

In 2016, Swiggy started the practice of implementing food delivery fees. Subsequently, Zomato followed suit by introducing its delivery charges.

Having set a standard for delivery fees, Zomato then introduced a loyalty programme, now acknowledged as Zomato Gold. Under this programme, customers can circumvent delivery fees by subscribing to a monthly plan, which also offers additional perks.

Similarly, Swiggy introduced Swiggy One, adopting the concept of exempting delivery fees through a subscription model and accompanying it with supplementary benefits.

Zomato and Swiggy deliver 1.8 Mn to 2 Mn orders per day across the country. The introduction of a new Goods and Services Tax (GST) could potentially disrupt their cash flow.

Meanwhile, both platforms have started imposing a platform fee on orders, with charges varying between INR 2 and INR 5 per order. Notably, this fee applies universally to all customers, irrespective of whether they are subscribed to any specific loyalty programme.

Zomato reported its second consecutive profitable quarter, with profit after tax surging to INR 36 Cr during the September quarter of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). This was an 18X jump from PAT of INR 2 Cr in the preceding quarter.

The post Zomato In Hot Soup, Gets GST Demand Notice Of INR 4.2 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

IPO-bound Ola Electric has become the first Indian electric two-wheeler (e2W) company to become eligible for the government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.

The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has given its approval after a four-month-long process.

While there has been no official confirmation from either the government or Ola Electric, it is worth noting that other major players like Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor Company, and Bajaj Auto have also applied for the PLI scheme.

As per Moneycontrol’s report, citing an official close to the matter, Ola Electric has successfully met the scheme’s eligibility criteria, such as minimum 50% domestic value addition in its vehicles. 

“For e2W startups, fresh investment of Rs 1,000 crore is required to avail of the PLI scheme, while OEMs must have a minimum revenue of Rs 10,000 crore,” the source further added. 

Meanwhile, industry experts are of the view that the incentive payout under the PLI scheme will be up to 18% of the sales value.

The electric scooter maker has already filed a red herring prospectus with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an INR 7,250 Cr initial public offering (IPO). According to media reports, in total, the public issue will comprise an OFS component of up to 9.5.1 Cr shares. 

Last year, the company, along with Reliance New Energy Ltd and Rajesh Exports, signed a contract with the MHI under the PLI scheme for the manufacturing of advanced cell chemistry (ACC) battery manufacturing.

Back then, the government said that as a part of the contract, the companies would receive incentives under the INR 18,100 Cr PLI scheme. In addition, the government the expectations that three companies would set up a manufacturing capacity of around 95 GWh to be set up by these companies.

Earlier this year, the company announced that it had already started the construction of the country’s biggest gigafactory in Tamil Nadu. Ola Electric reported that during FY23, its sales were at INR 2,630.9 Cr, a 605%, an increase from INR 373 Cr in FY22. 

The post IPO-Bound Ola Electric Becomes First Indian EV Company To Get PLI Nod appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Nazara Technologies’ esports subsidiary NODWIN Gaming has invested INR 33.26 Cr in Germany-based Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH via convertible note. 

Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH is a marketing services company for gaming and esports, delivering its services across the world.

“Nodwin Gaming International Pte. Ltd. (“Nodwin Singapore”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nodwin Gaming Private Limited (“Nodwin”), material subsidiary of the company, has on December 28, 2023 signed agreements for subscribing to a Convertible Note of Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH, at a consideration of EUR 3,600,000 (equivalent to approximate INR 33.26 Cr), to be paid in cash,” Nazara said in an exchange filing. 

Nazara further said while both NODWIN Gaming and Freaks 4U Gaming are marketing services experts in gaming and esports, their strengths are respectively in mobile and PC-based games.

While NODWIN dominates in emerging markets like India, Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH leads in developed markets. With the recent investment, NODWIN aims to enhance its expertise in PC games. 

By joining forces, Freaks 4U Gaming GmbH and NODWIN aim to be more appealing to global consumer brands and game publishers, providing a seamless operation across both emerging and developed markets.

“If conversion option of the convertible note is exercised the same will be converted into 7,366 shares at a future date/conversion date. The percentage of shareholding will depend on the terms and conditions of the said convertible no,” Nazara added.

For the uninitiated, convertible notes are a type of debt instrument commonly used by startups to raise capital during their early stages. It involves investors lending money to a startup with the intention of converting it into equity at a later milestone, often the next equity financing round.

Earlier this year, NODWIN Gaming was planning to raise $28 Mn (INR 232 Cr) as part of a strategic funding round from new and existing investors. As per regulatory filings, Nazara has signed definitive and binding documentation for NODWIN to raise the capital from existing as well as new investors.

Back then Nazara said that NODWIN will utilise the fresh capital to expand and incubate new IPs as well as to venture into new territories. 

NODWIN Gaming has been on an acquisition spree this year. It acquired a 51% stake in mediatech startup Branded in an all-cash deal worth $1.3 Mn. In April last year, the esports company also picked up a 35% stake in gaming accessories brand Wings for INR 10.01 Cr. Prior to that, NODWIN acquired a 100% stake in licensed merchandising D2C brand Planet Superheroes in January 2022.

Its parent company also raised a fresh capital of INR 510 Cr from investors including Zerodha’s Nikhil Kamath and SBI Mutual Fund. Speaking to Inc42, CEO Nitish Mittersain had said that the company would invest the fresh funds in gaming studios capable of producing top-tier games tailored for both the Indian and global markets.

The post Nazara’s NODWIN Gaming Invests INR 33 Cr In German Firm Freaks 4U Gaming Via Convertible Note appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Brainbees Solutions Limited, the parent entity of kids-focused ecommerce unicorn FirstCry, has finally filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for raising INR 1,816 Cr through fresh issues of shares.

The initial public offering (IPO) also comprises an offer-for-sale (OFS) complement which will allow the startup’s investors to sell up to 5.4 Cr equity shares. SoftBank alone is shipping off around 2 Cr shares as part of the OFS, with many other major shareholders selling significant stakes as part of the OFS.

FirstCry is also looking to raise INR 363.2 Cr via a pre-IPO placement, the DRPH noted.

The 577-page draft document sheds light on how the entity, which has built three unicorns interacts with one another and delves deep into its business model. FirstCry’s draft papers also inform the company’s shareholding pattern and the people leading the ecommerce behemoth.

The Top Shareholders At FirstCry

Japanese investment giant SoftBank is the biggest shareholder in FirstCry’s parent company, owning around 12.41 Cr equity shares (on a fully diluted basis) or about 25.55% of the total equity capital, according to the DRHP. SoftBank owns the stake via the SoftBank Vision Fund’s Cayman Islands-based entity, SVF Frog (Cayman) Limited.

Mahindra & Mahindra and Premji Invest are the second and third largest stakeholders in Brainbees Solutions, owning 10.98% and 10.36% stake, respectively. While Mahindra & Mahindra invested directly in FirstCry, Premji Invest did so via its PI Opportunities I and II funds.

The company’s ESOP trust, the Brainbees ESOP Trust, is the fourth largest stakeholder in the ecommerce unicorn. Alongside the Brainbees Employee Welfare Trust, the company’s employee-focused entities own more than 11% of the total equity capital on a fully diluted basis.

Supam Maheshwari, the cofounder and CEO of FirstCry, is the fifth largest stakeholder in the parent entity he set up. Maheshwari owns a 5.95% stake, which translates to nearly 2.9 Cr fully diluted shares.

Incidentally, more than 100 different stakeholders, including the likes of Ratan Tata, cumulatively own around 9.5% stake in the FirstCry parent.

Who’s Who At FirstCry

Supam Maheshwari, who set up Brainbees Solutions in August 2010, is the company’s MD and CEO. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Delhi College of Engineering and a post-graduate diploma in management from IIM Ahmedabad. 

Before setting up the FirstCry parent, he set up business learning solutions provider Brainvisa Technologies in 2000, which he left in 2009 as its president. Maheshwari also brought along Sanket Hattimattur and Prashant Jadhav from Brainvisa, who joined as cofounders. Hattimattur is currently serving as executive director and chief of staff, while Jadhav is currently the CTO.

Working alongside Jadhav in the company’s C-suite is Gautam Sharma, the group CFO, an associate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and a fellow member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). Other key managerial personnel (KMP) include CHRO Manjula Rao and company secretary Neelam Jethani.

The DRHP also mentioned Nitin Agarwal, who is leading Globalbees as CEO, and Amitava Saha, also a cofounder and major stakeholder at FirstCry, serving as XpressBees CEO. The two subsidiaries are unicorns in their own right.

Brainbees Solutions also reported key changes to its board of directors right before filing its draft documents. On December 26, Amitava Saha, Simit Batra, Puneet Renjhen, Atul Gupta, Vikas Agnihotri and Amit Gupta resigned from their positions as non-executive directors. While Saha had been serving on the board for a while, Batra and Renjhen were appointed only months ago.

Besides this, the company reported having 3,242 full-time employees.

Following the filing of the DRHP, all eyes would now be on SEBI’s approval. FirstCry, which had deferred its IPO in 2022, citing poor market conditions, will now sit among the most-awaited public listings next year.

The post FirstCry DRHP: A Deep Dive Into The Shareholding Pattern & People At The Helm appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The minister also promised that inaction on their part may prompt amendment to the IT Rules that will be more “prescriptive”.

In an interview with PTI, Chandrasekhar, who is Minister of State for IT and Electronics, counted the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) legislation, setting up of grievances appellate panels and tighter accountability enforced on digital platforms for user safety as being among the big achievements for 2023.

“…The Digital India Act which we put a lot of effort into…spent almost a year on pre-consultations…we ran out of time…these things happen, but certainly, it’s an unfinished, incomplete agenda,” he said.

As India is awaiting general elections in 2024, the DIA is expected to be rolled out post-elections, the minister said. 

According to him, for a huge country like India, deepfake is a matter of serious concern. It is, he said, “certainly a very, very problematic issue to the conducting of safe and free and fair elections.”

This comes close on the heels when the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) rolled out a new advisory to all social media platforms to comply with existing IT rules and ensure deepfakes and the misinformation enabled by them are curbed.

The advisory stated that IT ministry directed intermediaries need to ‘clearly and precisely’ inform their respective users about what kind of content is prohibited, especially the ones specified under Rule 3(1)(b) of the IT Rules. 

The new advisory was framed after consultation with Chandrasekhar and the intermediaries during Digital India dialogues.

Also, MeitY recently rolled out yet another advisory to check the advertisement of fraudulent personal loan apps and betting apps on social media. Chandrasekhar said that such apps are not only misleading but also exploitative to people using the internet.

The post Govt Will Keep Eye On Remedial Measures Taken By Platforms: Chandrasekhar On Deepfakes & Misinformation appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With the year coming to an end, the deal momentum seems to have finally caught a break after recording three blockbuster funding weeks. Between December 25 and 30, 2023, Indian startups collectively raised $90 Mn across 10 deals, which is a 63% drop from $349 Mn funding raised across 25 deals in the previous week.

With no mega deal this week, the ecosystem embraced its second unicorn of the year with fintech startup InCred raising $60 Mn over a billion dollar valuation.

Funding Galore: Indian Startup Funding Of The Week [Dec 25 – Dec 30]

Key Startup Funding Highlights Of The Week

• Fintech startup InCred, raised $60 Mn in Series D funding round led by Ranjan Pai, making it the biggest funding deal of the week.
• Fuelled by InCred’s funding, the fintech sector not only emerged as the most funded sector this week with a total funding of $74.4 Mn funding but also recorded the most number of deal counts –  three deals.
• EvolveX by We Founder Circle emerged as the busiest investor as it participated in three deals each.
• This week, $144 K was raised in seed funding across five deals.

Other Major Developments From This Week

• Drone startup DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations acquiring 51% stakes in Pune-based PYI Technologies Pvt Ltd, a startup that offers camera drones, DIY kits and customised drones.
• DMI Finance and Aditya Birla Finance are in discussions to acquire Bengaluru-based fintech startup ZestMoney.
• Omnichannel marketplace FirstCry’s parent entity BrainBees Solutions Limited has filed a draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) and is looking to raise INR 1,816 Cr through fresh issues of shares.
• Cash-strapped edtech startup BYJU’S is looking to raise $300 Mn from investors. 

The post From InCred To Revfin— Indian Startups Raised $90 Mn This Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is set to kick off an Application Supported by Blocked Amount (ASBA)-like facility in the secondary market from January 1.

The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) for the secondary market will start its beta phase next week for the equity cash segment. It will be supported by key stakeholders, including clearing corporations, stock exchanges, depositories, stockbrokers, banks, and UPI app providers.

The facility will enable investors to block funds in their bank accounts for secondary market trading rather than transferring the funds upfront to the trading member. The offering will be rolled out by integrating the UPI mandate service of single block and multiple debits with the secondary market trading.

“ASBA-like facility of ‘trading supported by blocked amount in Secondary Market’ through block mechanism was approved by SEBI, based on the RBI approved facility of single-block-and-multiple-debit in UPI, with the implementation timeline of January 1, 2024,” said NPCI in a statement. 

NPCI added that the ‘beta phase’ of the service will initially be available for a limited set of users. 

During the beta phase, investors can block funds in their bank accounts which will only be debited upon the confirmation of the trade by the Clearing Corporations. NPCI added that these Corporations will directly process payouts to their respective clients on a T+1 basis.

“This Beta launch is facilitated by Groww as the brokerage app, alongside BHIM, Groww, and YES PAY NEXT as UPI apps. Initially, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank customers will be able to avail this facility. Further, HDFC Bank, HSBC, ICICI Bank, and Yes Bank are acting as sponsor banks for the clearing corporation and exchanges,” added NPCI. 

Meanwhile, applications of homegrown startups such as Zerodha, Paytm and PhonePe are currently in the ‘certification stage’ and, as per NPCI, will be onboarded on to beta launch soon.

This comes six months after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced this facility in June. 

It is pertinent to note that such a facility is already available in the primary market, or initial public offerings (IPOs) in the form of ASBA. 

The offering is expected to give a major fillip to the use of UPI by retail investors and will leverage UPI’s layer of security to safeguard investor assets from misuse and other capital risks. It will also help the markets regulator to curb defaults by trading and clearing members.

The post NPCI Set To Kick Off UPI For Secondary Market From Next Week appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday (December 29) extended the Payments Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) scheme by two years till December 2025.

“… the Reserve Bank has now decided to extend the PIDF Scheme by a further period of two years, i.e., up to December 31, 2025,” said the central bank in a statement. 

Operationalised first in 2021 for a period of three years, the scheme aims to encourage deployment of more digital payment infrastructure, such as point of sale (PoS) terminals and QR codes, across tier III to VI centres and special focus areas (North Eastern states and Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh). 

As part of the extension, the central bank has made a slew of enhancements to the existing PIDF scheme to widen the scope of beneficiaries and payment acceptance infrastructure. These changes include:

• Sound box devices and Aadhaar-enabled biometric devices are eligible for subsidy under the initiative
• Subsidy for NE states and UTs of J&K and Ladakh has been set at the uniform rate of 90% of the device cost
• Beneficiaries of the Centre’s flagship ‘PM Vishwakarma’ scheme have been brought under the ambit of merchants under the revamped PIDF scheme

In the statement, RBI also said that 8.27 Lakh physical devices (PoS and mPoS terminals) and 2.71 Cr digital devices (UPI QR and Bharat QR) have been deployed under the PIDF scheme as of November 2023. 

It also said that the corpus of the fund stood at INR 1,026.37 Cr as on November this year. The PIDF receives contributions from the RBI, authorised card networks and card issuing banks as part of its corpus.

This comes two months after the RBI, in its bi-monthly monetary policy statement in October, announced the extension of the scheme by another two years. 

Back then, RBI said, “This decision to expand the targeted beneficiaries under the PIDF scheme will provide (a) fillip to the Reserve Bank’s efforts towards promoting digital transactions at the grassroots level.” 

It had also attributed the extension of the initiative to the feedback from industry to further ‘accelerate and augment the deployment’ of digital payment acceptance infrastructure in the targeted areas. 

The development comes at a time when the united payments interface (UPI) has been clocking healthy numbers, deepening its penetration in the country. The UPI logged more than 11 Bn mark for the second consecutive month in November 2023 cumulatively worth more than INR 17.4 Lakh Cr. 

RBI too has left no stone unturned to push the payments network. It recently raised the limit for UPI payments to hospitals and educational institutions to INR 5 Lakh per transaction from INR 1 Lakh. 

At the Global Fintech Fest 2023 held earlier this year, UPI parent NPCI also unveiled a slew of offerings such as NFC-based offline payment options UPI LITE X, Tap & Pay, conversational payment solutions Hello! UPI, BillPay Connect, among others. 

The launches are part of NPCI’s strategy to achieve 100 Bn monthly transactions shortly. 

The post RBI Extends Payments Infrastructure Development Fund Scheme Till Dec 2025 appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Edtech major Physics Wallah (PW) on Friday (December 19) said its revenue from operations jumped 3.3X year-on-year (YoY) to INR 771.76 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23). 

The startup had clocked an operating revenue of INR 232.47 Cr in FY22 and INR 24.6 Cr in FY21. 

The edtech unicorn released select numbers ahead of filing audited financial statements with the Registrar of Companies (RoC). While it clocked a net profit of INR 97.8 Cr in FY22, it didn’t disclose its bottom line number for FY23. 

In a statement, the startup claimed its adjusted EBITDA (before ESOP costs, LER and a one-time inventory provisioning) stood at INR 127 Cr in the year ended March 2023, a decline from INR 134 Cr in FY22. 

Founded in 2020 by Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari, PW initially started as a YouTube channel but has since expanded to a full-fledged test prep platform for competitive exams. At the outset, it catered to the IIT/JEE and NEET aspirants but has lately forayed into various segments such as post-graduate programmes, UPSC prep, and upskilling courses. 

Earlier this year, the edtech unicorn said it would invest INR 100 Cr in scaling up its UPSC vertical and would pump an additional INR 120 Cr to shore up its skill development vertical.

PW last raised $100 Mn as part of a funding round from Westbridge and GSV Ventures in 2022 at a post-money valuation of $1.1 Bn, turning into a unicorn. The financial results come at a time when the edtech juggernaut is reportedly in talks to raise $250 Mn at a valuation of $3.3 Bn. 

PW currently operates a chain of 58 Vidyapeeth (offline) and Pathshala (hybrid) centres, and aims to increase the number of these centres to over 120 in 2024. PW claimed it enrolled 1.4 Lakh students for such offline and hybrid courses in the academic year 2023-24.

Overall, PW said that it ‘taught’ 23.5 Lakh students across all exam categories (barring acquisitions) in FY23, up from 9 Lakhs in the previous fiscal. 

“Our growth was significant both in the online and offline space. Our online categories grew to 2.5X in terms of students headcount from 9 Lakh in FY22 to 23.5 Lakh in FY23 while our offline student headcount grew to 5.5X touching 60,000 enrolments in FY23… We are in no hurry to compromise growth for achieving a steady-state margin profile,” said cofounder Maheshwari.

Where Did PW Spend?

As PW undertook a full-fledged offline expansion, its expenses soared 7.54X to INR 777 Cr in FY23 from INR 103 Cr in the year-ago period. 

Employee costs grew 863% to INR 406 Cr in the year ended March 2023 from INR 42 Cr in FY22. Marketing expenses also zoomed 475% to INR 204 Cr in FY23 from INR 42.9 Cr in FY22. 

The offline expansion led to rent expenses ballooning to INR 56 Cr during the period under review from INR 3.4 Cr in FY22. On similar lines, the startup’s ‘other expenses’ also rose six-fold to INR 66.7 Cr in the year ended March 2023 compared to INR 11 Cr in FY22. 

However, the unicorn’s cash reserves surged 6.23X to INR 745.9 Cr at the end of FY23 from INR 119.7 Cr a year ago. 

The startup said it acquired as many as eight entities in 2022 and 2023 and expects an inorganic revenue of INR 500 Cr to kick in the financial statement of FY24 on account of these acquisitions. The latest in the spree of M&As was PW picking up a 50% stake in Xylem Learning to foray into South India.

Notwithstanding the acquisitions and offline expansion, PW has also been reeling under the impact of funding winter. With funding taps running dry, it recently fired around 70-120 employees to reportedly extend its runway, conserve capital and streamline operations. However, the company attributed the layoffs to performance issues.

Meanwhile, the edtech sector has been among the worst hit by the ongoing funding winter. This has led to the funding numbers for the sector declining 88% to $283 Mn in 2023 from $2.4 Bn in 2022. 

The post Physics Wallah’s FY23 Revenue Rises 3.3X YoY To INR 772 Cr, Expenses Zoom 7.5X appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Ecommerce unicorn Meesho, which counts SoftBank, Peak XV, Fidelity Investments, Prosus & Naspers and Meta among its marquee investors, has reported an operating revenue of INR 5,735 Cr in FY23, a 77% increase over INR 3,232 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

In a blog on Friday (December 29), the startup announced that besides an increase in its sales, it has also managed to narrow its losses.

Fashnear Technologies, the parent entity of Meesho, reported a net loss of INR 1,675 Cr in FY23, a 48% drop from INR 3,248 Cr in the previous year. 

It is pertinent to note that Meesho is yet to file its financial statements for the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).

The startup attributed the increase in revenue to increased transaction frequency of its existing customers, widening category mix and redoubled focus on improving monetisation through various value-added seller services.

Besides, Meesho claims to have achieved profitability in the Q2 of FY24. The startup in its blog said that it has reported an operating revenue of INR 3,521 Cr in the first six months of FY24, which is 37% higher than the previous year. It further added that during the same period, its loss stood at INR 141 Cr. 

Meesho has attributed the increase in topline of FY24 to its app download numbers. The startup said it achieved 14.5 Cr app downloads in 2013, whereas it crossed the milestone of 500 Mn downloads in the first half of FY24.

The startup also launched Meesho Mall during FY23 to cater to users with the growing demand of branded products. The startup in the last six months said that Meesho Mall has processed around 2 Cr orders, with more than 75% coming from Tier II cities.

Besides increasing the revenue stream, the startup underlined that it has also reduced its burn by capping customer acquisition costs, server and infrastructure costs, among others.

“…While maintaining the high growth witnessed in FY 2022-23 and H1FY 2023-24, Meesho has been able to optimise the selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) significantly on the back of its high mindshare with consumers resulting in organic traction as well due to the significant operating leverage inherent to a marketplace business,” the blog read.

The development comes close on the heels when Prosus, one of the backers of  Meesho, said that the startup was the brightest star in its India portfolio  in the first half (H1) of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24). 

As per half-yearly financial data released by Prosus, Meesho clocked an internal return rate (IRR) of 32% for the investor.

Founded in 2015 by Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal, the startup has raised around a billion dollars in funding and is valued close to $5 Bn till date.

The startup which was the poster child of the social ecommerce startup later in 2022 pivoted to a marketplace place, thus throwing its hat in the ring in a space which is dominated by giants like Flipkart and Amazon.

The post Meesho’s FY23 Loss Halves To INR 1,675 Cr; Sales Zoom 77% To INR 5,735 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Bengaluru-based electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and OS provider Bolt.Earth has sacked around 15-20% of its workforce in a restructuring exercise, according to the startup’s cofounders.

However, multiple sources told Inc42 that the layoffs impacted as much as 35% of the startup’s workforce. Bolt.Earth had around 250 employees prior to the restructuring exercise.

The layoff exercise began last week and the impacted employees were informed about the startup’s decision to sack them in a one-on-one interaction with the higher management, the sources added.

During a call with Inc42, the cofounders, Jyotiranjan Harichandan and Mohit Yadav, said the layoffs were restricted to the startup’s operating system (OS) team. They attributed the decision to the uncertainty surrounding the Centre’s FAME II scheme. 

However, the sources said that the restructuring exercise involved all the verticals and employees from hardware, product, cloud, sales, among other teams were impacted. The startup is offering a severance pay based on the employees’ notice period.

“Our recent workforce reorganisation underscores our commitment to efficiency and profitability. We have fulfilled all severance obligations, providing active support to our team during this transitional period,” cofounder Harichandan said in a written statement while addressing Inc42’s queries. 

Founded in 2017 by Harichandan and Yadav, Bolt.Earth offers charging solutions for businesses, individuals, real estate companies, fleet operators, and the government. It caters to charging requirements ranging from slow to fast charging. The startup’s three broad product categories include operating systems for EVs, charging infrastructure, and fleet management systems.

Interestingly, the restructuring exercise was undertaken almost two months after the startup announced raising $20 Mn in a funding round from Union Square Ventures, Prime Venture Partners, ITIGO Funds, among others. However, sources told Inc42 that the funding round was closed last year.

“This funding round that the company announced in the month of October was closed a year back. Not sure why they announced it this late,” said a person aware of the matter.

Responding to a question on the delay in the announcement of the funding round, the cofounders said it was a “strategic decision”.

Meanwhile, Inc42 has also learnt that the startup is in the middle of raising a $50 Mn funding from its existing investors and has already received commitments of around $30 Mn. However, the cofounders declined to comment on this.

One of the sources said that the restructuring exercise was related to the conditions put forward by the investors for the fresh capital infusion.

It is pertinent to note that startups like Third Wave Coffee and Udaan also laid off employees recently within weeks of them raising funding. 

Bolt.Earth raised $4 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Union Square Ventures and Prime Ventures. 

Its parent entity Revos Auto Tech Pte. Ltd reported an operating revenue of 1 Mn Singapore Dollars (SGD) (about INR 6.4 Cr) in FY23, an increase of 617% from SGD 142K (about INR 89 Lakh). However, the startup’s loss surged 209.7% to SGD 12.4 Mn (about INR 78.1 Cr) from SGD 4 Mn (about INR 25.2 Cr) in FY22.

Harichandran said, “Looking ahead, our focus remains on operational streamlining to fortify our position as a market leader, ensuring sustained and profitable growth for the company. Bolt.Earth is dedicated to driving innovation and remains resolute in our commitment to a sustainable future.”

The post Exclusive: EV Charging Infra Provider Bolt.Earth Fires About 20% Of Its Workforce appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Three spacetech startups Dhruva Space, Bellatrix Aerospace and TM2Space are reportedly set to launch their payloads aboard Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) upcoming Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) – C58 XPoSat Mission next Monday.

These payloads are destined for the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM-3) on the launch vehicle, scheduled to lift off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh at 9:10 AM, as per Moneycontrol’s report.

Hyderabad-based Dhruva Space plans to launch its LEAPTD (Launching Expeditions for Aspiring Technologies Technology Demonstrator) to showcase microsatellite subsystems. Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace will deploy two payloads, which include Rudra 0.3 HPGP, a green monopropellant thruster crucial for maintaining satellite orbit throughout their lifespan of 10-15 years, and ARKA 200.

In a previous collaboration in April 2023, Bellatrix and Dhruva Space shared space in the POEM module of PSLV-C55 to launch their individual payloads. Besides, Bengaluru-based TakeMe2Space (TM2Space) will launch Radiation Shielding Experiments Module to assess the effectiveness of tantalum coating. 

India made history in 2022 with its inaugural private rocket launch by Skyroot and numerous satellite launches, garnering global attention.

In October, Skyroot Aerospace unveiled its indigenously built rocket Vikram-I at its new headquarters. 

In the spacetech sector, we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of Indian startups, rising from just one in 2014 to 189 in 2023.

According to Inc42’s Indian Spacetech Startup Landscape & Market Opportunity Report 2023, the spacetech sector is estimated to reach a market size of $77 Bn by 2030. 

Earlier this year, Skyroot secured INR 225 Cr (approximately $27.5 Mn) in a Pre-Series C funding round led by Temasek to drive the next phase of growth through increased investments in infrastructure, reinforcement of its technology leadership, attraction of top-tier talent, and the enhancement of its launch frequency and capabilities

Another spacetech startup Agnikul, which owns the first private launchpad within the ISRO campus, secured INR 200 Cr ($26.7 Mn) in October to accelerate the commercialisation of its existing technologies.

The post Shooting For The Sky: Three Spacetech Startups To Launch Payloads Aboard ISRO’s C58 XPoSat Mission appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing giant Tesla is likely to enter India with its manufacturing plant in Gujarat next year, as per multiple media reports.

The EV maker’s negotiation for the establishment of its first manufacturing unit in India is in the final stage and is likely to conclude soon.

Meanwhile, as per a report by Ahmedabad Mirror, the announcement regarding Tesla’s manufacturing unit in the state is anticipated to be made during the forthcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit scheduled for next month.

Gujarat is already home to manufacturing units of automakers like Maruti Suzuki, etc and it is anticipated that for Tesla’s manufacturing plant possible location could be Sanand, Becharaji and Dholera.

However, so far, there has been no official announcement by the EV maker or the state government on the matter. 

During a recent Cabinet briefing, Gujarat Health Minister Rushikesh Patel expressed optimism about Elon Musk’s investment in Gujarat. 

He highlighted the state’s awareness and alignment with Tesla’s overarching goals, drawing a parallel during the address.

Patel also emphasised that the government is actively in talks with the EV maker to finalise the deal on establishing the manufacturing plant in Gujarat.  

Media reports also suggest that Gujarat has become a prime choice for Tesla’s manufacturing plant, not only due to favourable state policies but also its proximity to ports, facilitating product exports. The strategic location, particularly in Sanand, offers a short distance to the Kandla-Mundra port in Gujarat, enhancing Tesla’s export capabilities from India.

The vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was conceptualised in 2003. The tenth edition of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit will celebrate “20 years of Vibrant Gujarat as the Summit of Success”. The summit is dedicated to business networking, knowledge sharing, and fostering strategic partnerships for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

In August, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, reportedly met with senior Tesla executives in a closed-door meeting to discuss the carmaker’s plans to establish a manufacturing plant in the country.

Earlier, Tesla expressed interest in building a factory in India that would produce a low-cost electric vehicle (EV) priced at around $24,000 (INR 19.87 Lakhs), around 25% cheaper than Tesla’s current entry model for both the Indian market and export.

Tesla is working overtime on its plans to enter India, with multiple meetings taking place between the government and the carmaker’s executives since mid-May. Earlier, it was also reported that the carmaker has leased office space in Pune.

Tesla has leased an office spread over a 5,850 sq ft. area on the first floor of Panchsil Business Park in Viman Nagar, Pune.

Tesla also wants to bring some of its Chinese vendors to India but has been asked by Indian officials to copy Apple’s playbook in the country and ask its Chinese suppliers to set up joint ventures with Indian partners to get clearance.

The post Elon Musk’s Tesla Likely To Set Up Its First India Manufacturing Plant In Gujarat appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Non-banking finance companies DMI Finance and Aditya Birla Finance are in discussions to acquire Bengaluru-based fintech startup ZestMoney in a potential firesale.

Although negotiations are still ongoing, a deal may be finalised soon, ET reported.

Aditya Birla Finance and DMI Finance, both partners of ZestMoney, have examined the financial records of the lendingtech startup.

The lenders are expressing interest in acquiring not only the technology platform of ZestMoney but also considering taking control of the loan book that the startup had built for its partners.

ZestMoney currently holds an outstanding loan book of approximately INR 400 Cr, which it sourced for its lending partners. The startup primarily operated as a sourcing platform, facilitating loans for its partner NBFCs, rather than independently maintaining its own loan portfolio.

Earlier this month it was reported that ZestMoney is about to shut down as the efforts of the new management to revive the company have failed to materialise.

The fintech startup will wrap up operations by the end of December and lay off its entire workforce of 150 employees, the startup’s new leadership team announced this in a town hall meeting.

The development came after the company failed to raise a follow-on round or find a buyer to save its sinking ship.

The company’s original cofounders – Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma and Ashish Anantharaman, quit the startup in May this year. Their resignations also came after the acquisition talks with fintech major PhonePe failed. At the time, the company had to trim 30% of its workforce.

Founded in 2015 by Chapman, Sharma and Anantharaman, the startup offers BNPL services to customers, enabling them to pay their shopping bills in three instalments at 0% interest rate.

Backed by names such as Prosus, Quona, Zip, Omidyar Network and Ribbit Capital, ZestMoney raised more than $130 Mn during its lifetime. At its peak, it commanded a valuation of $445 Mn – $450 Mn and was considered the poster child of the BNPL ecosystem in the country.

ZestMoney’s losses grew 3X year-on-year (YoY) to INR 398.8 Cr in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) against INR 125.8 Cr reported in FY21. However, revenues grew by 1.6X YoY to INR 145 Cr in FY22.

The post DMI Finance, Aditya Birla In Fray To Take Over Lending Startup ZestMoney appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Finance Ministry has issued notices to nine overseas crypto platforms, including Binance and Kucoin, for not complying with provisions of the anti-money laundering laws. 

The show cause notices have been issued to the platforms for not registering as reporting entities with the FIU. The unit has also written to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to block the websites of the nine entities. 

Apart from Binance and Kucoin, the platforms under the radar of the authorities include Huobi, Kraken, Gate.io, Bittrex, Bitstamp, MEXC Global, and Bitfenex.

FIU India is tasked with processing, analysing and disseminating information about questionable financial transactions to enforcement agencies and foreign FIUs.

“Director FIU India has written to (the) Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block the URLs of said entities that are operating illegally without complying with the provisions of the PML Act in India,” said an official press statement. 

Under existing rules, all onshore and offshore virtual digital asset service providers are mandated by law to register with the FIU as ‘reporting entities’ and comply with provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. 

The rules entail reporting, record keeping, and other obligations on the platforms and sure they are in line with local laws. Curiously, reporting entities are mandated to file annual statements of financial transactions with the Income Tax Department, which include details of any reportable account maintained by a company during the year.

Crypto exchanges and VDA companies also have to maintain KYC details or records of identity documents of their users and clients as well as account files and business correspondence with its clients.

However, it is pertinent to note that these obligations are ‘activity-based’ and not contingent on physical presence in India, as per the Ministry. 

This comes months after the union government brought VDA platforms under the ambit of the PMLA in March this year. Since then, 31 such platforms have registered with the central nodal agency including names such as CoinDCX, WazirX, Coinswitch, CoinswitchX, Zebpay, among others. 

The move has largely been led by considerations around curbing the usage of cryptocurrencies for money laundering and financing of terrorism. Non-compliance with norms would invite appropriate action under the PMLA, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said earlier this month.

Apart from regulatory compliances, the government has also opted for a heavy taxation regime towards cryptocurrencies which has hammered the sector. Centre’s decisions to levy 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on crypto transactions above INR 10,000 and 30% tax on profits last year have hammered the ecosystem and pumelled crypto trade.

Coupled with calls for crypto ban by senior Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officials and the collapse of giants such as FTX, the crypto has dampened the sentiment. This has dried up funding and resulted in crypto platforms such as Pillow and WeTrade shutting operations this year.

The post FIU Issues Notice To Binance, Kucoin & 7 Other Offshore Crypto Platforms, Asks MeitY To Block Websites appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday (December 28) announced the extension of incentives under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme for ecommerce exports. 

“The government will be extending RoDTEP benefits for exports through ecommerce,” said Goyal while addressing an event organised by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT).

He added that the incentives will be notified by the DGFT in the next few weeks. 

The scheme offers refunds on taxes, duties and levies incurred by exporters during the manufacturing and distribution of goods, which are largely not reimbursed under any other mechanism at the central, state, or the local level.

An official also said that the union commerce ministry would soon institute the necessary IT framework and other enablers for the extension of the scheme for the exporters.

The move is expected to boost ecommerce exports as well as offer incentives and sops to homegrown micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to facilitate the government’s target of $1 Tn worth of merchandise exports by 2030.

During the event, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed between the DGFT and logistics startup Shiprocket for ‘holding capacity building and handholding sessions’ under the DGFT’s ecommerce outreach programme. 

Speaking about the upcoming ecommerce policy, Goyal said that the proposed rules are at the final stages of discussion. He added that the government is hopeful of bringing out the policy very soon.

The RoDTEP sops come at a time when the DGFT and the Centre have taken a slew of steps to spur ecommerce exports in the country. In November, the government said the foreign trade agency was working with the Department of Revenue to develop an initiative on the lines of ‘composition levy scheme’ to waive GST for smaller MSME players.

The DGFT has also partnered with the Department of Post to strengthen and expand Dak Niryat Kendras and foreign post offices (FPOs) to shore up ecommerce exports. On the global scale, the government is also working with postal services of multiple countries to build a full stack online tracking mechanism for export consignments.

Back home, the DGFT has tied up with ecommerce platform Amazon to pilot an initiative which will train ecommerce exporters in 20 districts. The ecommerce major is also bullish on ecommerce exports out of India and is looking to ramp up the number to $20 Bn by 2025. 

The post Govt To Extend RoTDEP Sops To Ecommerce Exports: Piyush Goyal appeared first on Inc42 Media.

D2C unicorn Mamaearth on Thursday (December 28) informed the bourses that a senior executive of the company flouted insider trading norms. 

In a filing with the BSE, Honasa Consumer, Mamaearth’s parent, said that the startup’s vice-president of sales, Shuchi Garg, traded shares of the company without prior approval from the company secretary or compliance officer. 

The violations pertained to the Code of Conduct under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015.

“…We would like to inform you that one of the Designated Person (Employee) of the Company has traded into the equity shares of the Company without obtaining preclearance of the Company Secretary and Compliance Officer of the Company,” Mamamearth said. 

In the meantime, the unicorn has issued a warning letter to the erring employee and has directed her to ‘refrain’ from such actions in the future. Mamaearth also said that the matter will be placed before the company’s audit committee meeting for a ‘detailed action plan’.

As per the regulatory filing, the violations by the executive spanned two separate transactions on two different days. On December 12, Garg sold 2,000 shares of Honasa Consumer at INR 420 apiece, which translated into a total value of INR 8.4 Lakh. 

On the second occasion, on December 27, she again executed the sale of 1,500 shares of the company at a share price of INR 457.16, resulting in a cumulative value of INR 6.85 Lakh. Both the deals (INR 15.2 Lakhs in total) were undertaken without express pre-clearance from the company secretary.

Mamaearth made its stock market debut last month. The company listed at a premium of 2% (INR 330) on the NSE while it made a flat debut on the BSE at INR 324. The stock has surged more than 42% on the BSE since its listing, largely on the back of its positive Q2 FY24 financial results and an improving investor sentiment for new-age tech stocks.

Last week, brokerage firm JM Financial initiated a ‘BUY’ call on Honasa Consumer citing a better outlook and strong financial performance so far. 

Mamaearth shares closed 0.22% lower at INR 460.35 on the BSE on Thursday (December 28).

The post Mamaearth Sr Exec Flouts Insider Trading Norms, Sells Shares Worth INR 15 Lakh In Two Tranches appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Omnichannel marketplace FirstCry, which on Thursday (December 28) filed its draft papers for an initial public offering (IPO), also runs 180 preschools across 91 Indian cities under its umbrella brand – Intelli Education, which was rebranded after the former acquired Oi Playschool from Hyderabad’s People Combine Group in 2019.

At the time of acquisition, Oi Playschool operated 55 centres in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and FirstCry had then announced it would expand the playschool to more than 1,000 centres across the country.

However, understandably, the two long years of pandemic interrupted its expansion plans.

The SoftBank-backed company’s parent entity Brainbees Solutions Private Ltd has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for raising INR 1,816 Cr via fresh issues of shares. 

The IPO offer also comprises an offer-for-sale (OFS) complement which will allow the startup’s existing shareholders to sell up to 5.43 Cr equity shares.

As per the startup’s DRHP, FirstCry under Intelli Education runs preschools which offer learning aids and core education services for kids between the ages of one to six.

The preschool offers products and services ranging from preschools, books, toys and home learning kits to baby cognitive development activities.

By the end of the first quarter of FY24, Intelli Education had a total enrollment of 6,649 students.

Founded in 2010 by Supam Maheshwari and Amitava Saha, FirstCry sells baby care and mother products through online platforms, company-owned modern stores, franchisee-owned modern stores and general trade retail distribution.

“…With the aim of providing early childhood experience learning centres to parents, in November 2019, we acquired a chain of preschools that was in existence since 2010 and re-branded them with the Intellitots brand in 2020,” the DRHP added.

These preschools instill a brand awareness about FirstCry to these kids’ parents. FirstCry’s preschool competes against Euro Kids, Kidzee, among others.

In 2021, the company also launched FirstCry Intelliskills, an early learning brand that develops educator-certified books and toys which aid a child’s learning beyond school.

The post Nuggets From FirstCry DRHP: Ecommerce Unicorn Runs 180 Preschools appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Drone startup DroneAcharya on Thursday (December 28) said it has bagged a contract worth INR 15.8 Lakh from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

This comes a day after overseas investor BofA Securities Europe SA bought 1.67 Lakh shares in DroneAcharya in a bulk deal worth over INR 3 Cr.

In an exchange filing, DroneAcharya said that the agreement with TCS encompasses the supply of a 5G-enabled drone equipped with a visual (RGB) camera, alongside a ground control station designed for remote access and seamless live data relay.

Besides, the scope of work involves co-developing and co-engineering drone-based 5G solutions for telecom, warehousing, energy and other sectors where TCS has a presence, spanning India and across the globe. 

Founded by Prateek Srivastava in 2017, DroneAcharya offers drone-based enterprise solutions across sectors like oil and gas, mining, infrastructure and agriculture. The company also provides training for drone piloting, drone building, drone data processing and using industrial drone applications, among others. 

“The integration of 5G with drones will ensure faster data transmission with low latency while transmitting and receiving vast amounts of data efficiently. In essence, the integration of 5G technology into drones will significantly enhance their capabilities, enabling faster, more reliable, and data-intensive operations, which are crucial for various industries and applications”, said Srivastava.

Shares of DroneAcharya jumped 3.2% to INR 195 during the intraday trading hours on BSE. By the end of the session today, the company’s shares shed some of the gains ending marginally higher at INR 189.75.

The company has also issued a correction notice saying that the tender it had secured from the Haryana government’s Drone Imaging and Information Service of Haryana (DRIISHYA) project for the supply of surveying drones is valued at  INR 1,41,00,000 and not INR 1,41,75,000.

The startup has cracked many deals and contracts over the last few months. Last week, it also signed an agreement to acquire a 51% stake in Pune-based PYI Technologies, a startup that offers camera drones, DIY kits and customised drones.

The company’s shares have gained over 39% year to date.

The post DroneAcharya Shares Jump 3.2% After Securing Contract From TCS & BofA’s Bulk Deal appeared first on Inc42 Media.