One quick thing: Tiger Global VC fund closes 63% below target with $2.2 billion 

In today’s newsletter: 

• Sachin Bansal on banking, regulation, UPI and more
• Byju's lays off staff via phone calls
• Paytm is lending again! 

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Sachin Bansal, the mastermind behind Flipkart's e-commerce success, is now navigating the complexities of India's fintech landscape with his company Navi. 

• In an exclusive interview with us, Bansal offered refreshing insights about his experiences, regulatory challenges, and future plans

While Navi initially aimed for a universal banking licence through Chaitanya India Fin Credit (since sold), the application was rejected in 2022. 

• Bansal acknowledges that he underestimated the regulatory environment

• He's now concentrating on Navi's core lending business, waiting for the right time to apply for a licence again 

He also recognises a growing firmness from the regulator in overseeing digital financial services.

Also read: Premium for good governance will be very high, says Sachin Bansal

Despite the dominance of PhonePe and Google Pay in the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) market, Bansal remains optimistic about Navi's potential.

"We believe we can bring a new angle to UPI, which we will try. Give us a few months, we have some things we're doing and we are hoping it will work," Bansal said.

Read the full interview

Imagine the shock - you open your work email and discover you've been laid off, effective the very next day. 

• This harsh reality is what Byju's employees are facing as the edtech company struggles with financial woes and legal battles

Byju's, once a leader in the edtech space, is facing a fresh wave of layoffs. This time, employees are being let go via phone calls with little to no explanation.

• No performance improvement plans or notice periods are being offered

The fresh round of layoffs could impact anywhere between 100 and 500 employees, primarily within the sales department, sources told us.

Stories from affected employees (names changed) paint a grim picture. 

• One employee, Rahul, recorded his termination call with HR, only to be met with the call being abruptly ended and his number blocked

• Deepak encountered a similar situation. Upon starting to record the call, HR objects, offers no explanation for the termination, and disconnects

• Others, like Aditya, discovered their termination emails sitting in their inbox without any prior warning

These abrupt layoffs are just the latest blow for Byju's staff. 

• Over 10,000 employees have been let go in the past two years, and salaries for March have been delayed - marking the second consecutive month of late payments

Go deeper

Paytm has some good news to celebrate at the start of the new financial year.

After a two-month pause, Paytm's merchant lending business – a major source of income – has resumed operations.

• Out of their nine lending partners, SMFG India Credit and Shriram Finance have stepped up to re-launch merchant loans
  
  
• Together, they've already disbursed over Rs 500 crore in loans since the March 21 relaunch

Negotiations are also underway to onboard a new lending partner, Muthoot Finance, for both personal and merchant loans.

Merchant loans have been a major driver of Paytm's profitability due to their high margins. 

• A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directive on Paytm's banking partner, Paytm Payments Bank Limited, had forced the temporary pause 

However, with over 85% of merchants migrated to other banks, Paytm is nearing a complete transition, paving the way for loan services to resume.

With lending back in action, analysts believe Paytm can recover lost ground and resume its growth trajectory.

• However, some of Paytm's old banking and NBFC partners are adopting a "wait and watch" approach

Find out more

Influencers in India are raking in big bucks. Creating Instagram Reels or YouTube videos seems to be a lucrative path, with incomes ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per month, eclipsing the pay of many traditional jobs. 

Interestingly, influencer earnings are poised to climb even higher due to the growing focus on influencer marketing by brands.  

• Many influencers anticipate a 10% income increase within the next two years.

Find out more 

• Despite government pledges to reduce fossil fuels, producers predict a boom due to the surging energy demands of data centers and artificial intelligence.

• The US and Britain are teaming up to develop tests for advanced AI models in response to concerns about next-generation AI safety.

Did you ever think your "private browsing" was, well, actually private? Think again! 

A lawsuit just forced Google to delete BILLIONS of records they collected on people while they were supposedly browsing incognito.

• Plus, Google has to come clean about how it collects data and make it easier to block tracking cookies in the future

Find out more

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