The controversy surrounding Byju's finances has intensified, with a new filing in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court in the US claiming the missing $533 million from Byju’s Alpha, an entity now controlled by Byju’s lenders, was “in effect, round-tripped back to Byju Raveendran and his affiliates”, reports Swaraj Singh Dhanjal. Founders of Byju’s parent Think & Learn have denied the claims, calling them inaccurate in a statement issued on November 17.
Fissures inside the Tata Trusts appear to be widening. Deborshi Chaki writes that trustee Venu Srinivasan has blocked the appointment of Neville Tata, the son of Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, into the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, citing procedural concerns. The surprise pushback has shifted internal alignments just as the Tata Sons board prepares to decide on N Chandrasekaran’s reappointment as chairman of Tata Sons.
Turning to renewables, RJ Corp's Voltsun is set to invest Rs 1,700 crore in a solar cell and module manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh's Naidupeta SEZ, reports Shweta Punj and Sweta Goswami. Andhra Pradesh will allot 37 acres of land at concessional rates to ensure the project starts on time.
The “house always wins” theme is playing out globally across markets. Stock exchanges have handily beaten their benchmark indices over the past two decades, with exchanges in Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore delivering eye-popping 12-fold to 29-fold returns over the past 20 years, outperforming their domestic benchmark indices, reports Zoya Springwala.
Lalit Keshre, cofounder and CEO of investment platform Groww, has entered India’s billionaire club following the company’s strong stock market debut, reports Ravindra Sonavane. Meanwhile, mutual funds have poured in over Rs 13,500 crore across 10 IPOs in October, with Canara HSBC Life Insurance drawing the highest institutional interest.
UpGrad founder Ronnie Screwvala is betting on India’s next tech wave of tech innovation with a $50 million fund for early-stage startups in AI, deeptech, and spacetech, report Aryaman Gupta and Chandra R Srikanth. He has already made six investments, including five in just the past three months, and expects to back around 15 over the next year or so.
Big Tech's free ride in India is coming to an end, thanks to the new Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, writes Anandaday Misshra. The government has notified rules that raise the compliance bar for significant data fiduciaries, including e-commerce firms and social media intermediaries, giving individuals more control over their data, with rights such as easy consent withdrawal and grievance redressal.
And finally, Noida has just set a new luxury benchmark. Ashish Mishra reports that M3M India’s Jacob & Co-branded 5BHK residences sold out at Rs 40,000 per sq. ft, the highest rate for the city. The ultra-luxury residences, priced between Rs 14 crore and Rs 25 crore, were booked within 3-4 days of launch, reflecting soaring demand for luxury homes.
