Author: Ritu Singh

ZestMoney says it’s finalising new funding round from existing investors after founders exit

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Fintech startup ZestMoney is looking to finalise a new funding round from its existing investors to support its business amid all three of its founders resigning from their executive positions and a new management team being appointed.

While ZestMoney did not disclose the amount it is looking to raise, it said the funding round would be led by existing shareholders, including Quona Capital, Zip, Omidyar Network India, Flourish VC and Scarlet Digital, and is expected to be closed in the next few weeks.

“This new capital will support the future growth of the business and finance the path to profitability,” ZestMoney said in a media statement on Tuesday.

In a surprising move on Monday, all three of its founders — Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma, and Ashish Anantharaman — stepped down from their day-to-day roles. In a LinkedIn post on Tuesday morning, Lizzie Chapman said the she was stepping down as CEO, Priya Sharma as CFO & COO and Ashish Anantharaman as CTO of the company.

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The new management team comprises three internal members. Mohit Chhajer, currently the vice president of finance and financial operations, Mandar Satpute, currently designated chief banking officer, and Abhishek Sharma, who is senior vice president of growth at ZestMoney will now lead the team.

ZestMoney’s media statement indicated that the founders had taken the decision to step down on their own.

“Today’s announcement follows the decision of company co-founders Lizzie Chapman, Priya Sharma, and Ashish Anantharaman to step down from day-to-day operations. They will ensure a smooth management transition over the next 3 to 4 months and continue to support the business thereafter as key shareholders,” ZestMoney said in its statement.

In a statement to employees, Chapman said, “As founders, we are proud of what we have built and achieved so far. But we believe that this is the right time to bring in new management to take the company to the next level. We are confident that the new team will drive the company in the right direction and achieve even greater success. As founders, we will provide full support to the incoming management team and do everything we can to assist them for the next four months to ensure a smooth transition.”

Also Read: Need a CEO for Bengaluru: Startup founders on traffic, flooding issues ahead of polls

The new management team stated, “We thank the founders for their immense contribution to the company over the last eight years and look forward to building on their success to make ZestMoney a major player in the Indian financial landscape for years to come.”

“ZestMoney has continued to scale effectively since the DLGs were announced in India, and we have been impressed with the company’s progress,” said Ganesh Rengaswamy, managing partner at Quona Capital.

“ZestMoney’s credit quality remains high and the company is close to breakeven. We are happy to support this next chapter for ZestMoney, which promises to be an exciting one on their path to profitability.”

“The opportunity for ZestMoney remains massive,” said Peter Gray, Global COO at ZIP. “Less than 4 percent of Indians have credit cards or access to formal credit. India’s exploding population only points to more opportunity ahead, and we are excited about ZestMoney’s long-term potential.” Point of Sale financing is the fastest-growing category of retail lending in India, growing by approximately 25 percent in the last two years.

ZestMoney’s business was hit last year after a series of regulations from RBI which affected its BNPL model. In the last few quarters, ZestMoney had exhausted nearly all its funding sources and was banking on the PhonePe deal for survival, which was called off in March on the back of due diligence concerns. Following the deal collapsing, ZestMoney laid about 20 percent of its roughly 450-strong workforce last month as part of its business continuity plan.

Also Read: Electric mobility software platform Kazam raises $3.6 million for global expansion

Amid reports of PhonePe acquiring liabilities, tech, and employees of the company in return for an $18 million line of credit they had extended to ZestMony when the deal was being evaluated, PhonePe founder Sameer Nigam took to Twitter to clarify that they did indeed absorb 130 employees, and a copy of the tech IP- but with the consent of the board, founders and investors of ZestMoney, and that no liabilities were transferred to PhonePe. Nigam even wished the company well and said he was rooting for them- indicating no bad blood.

The founders’ sudden exit has raised serious questions about the future of the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) startup.

ZestMoney fired about 100 employees last month, and with PhonePe absorbing another 130 employees, less than half of its 450-people workforce remains at the company. It remains unclear what the current strength is, with reports of more employees leaving the firm.

The startup was founded in 2015 and is focused on consumer lending, offering personalised credit limits of up to Rs 2 lakhs. Its platform uses mobile technology, digital banking & artificial intelligence to underwrite small ticket loans to first-time Internet customers.

The company has raised more than $130 million from a range of investors so far, including Goldman Sachs, Ribbit Capital, Omidyar Network, Quona, Australia’s Zip, PayU, Xiaomi, and Alteria Capital. It was valued at $445 million in its previous equity round last year.

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IMF says global growth prospects over medium term now seem dimmer than in decades

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Global growth will bottom out at 2.8 percent this year before rising modestly to 3 percent next year on the back of tightening global financial conditions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report.

Tentative signs in early 2023 that the world economy could achieve a soft landing—with inflation coming down and growth steady—have receded amid stubbornly high inflation and recent financial sector turmoil, the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook report published on Tuesday.

The baseline forecast, which assumes that the recent financial sector stresses are contained, is for growth to fall from 3.4 percent in 2022 to 2.8 percent in 2023, before rising slowly and settling at 3.0 percent five years out––the lowest medium-term forecast in decades, the report said.

Advanced economies are expected to see an especially pronounced growth slowdown, from 2.7 percent in 2022 to 1.3 percent in 2023. In a plausible alternative scenario with further financial sector stress, global growth declines to about 2.5 percent in 2023––the weakest growth since the global downturn, as per the IMF.

Also Read: World Bank warns of steep global slowdown, but there may be hope yet

IMF said the recent banking crises in the US with the Silicon Valley Bank, and in Europe’s Credit Suisse bank have roiled financial markets. “The unexpected failures of two specialised regional banks in the United States in mid-March 2023 and the collapse of confidence in Credit Suisse—a globally significant bank—have roiled financial markets, with bank depositors and investors re-evaluating the safety of their holdings and shifting away from institutions and investments perceived as vulnerable. The loss of confidence in Credit Suisse resulted in a brokered takeover. Broad equity indices across major markets have fallen below their levels prior to the turmoil, but bank equities have come under extreme pressure,” the report said.

A hard landing- particularly for advanced economies- has become a much larger risk. Policymakers may face difficult trade-offs to bring sticky inflation down and maintain growth while also preserving financial stability, the report said.

Inflation Slowly Converging to Target

“With the recent increase in financial market volatility and multiple indicators pointing in different directions, the fog around the world economic outlook has thickened. Uncertainty is high, and the balance of risks has shifted firmly to the downside so long as the financial sector remains unsettled. The major forces that affected the world in 2022—central banks’ tight monetary stances to allay inflation, limited fiscal buffers to absorb shocks amid historically high debt levels, commodity price spikes and geoeconomic fragmentation with Russia’s war in Ukraine, and China’s economic reopening—seem likely to continue into 2023,” said IMF.

IMF’s chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said, “The global economy’s gradual recovery from both the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains on track.

China’s reopened economy is rebounding strongly. Supply chain disruptions are unwinding, while dislocations to energy and food markets caused by the war are receding. Simultaneously, the massive and synchronized tightening of monetary policy by most central banks should start to bear fruit, with inflation moving back towards targets.”

Also Read: India remains ‘bright spot’, to contribute 15% of global growth in 2023, says IMF chief

He added, “Recent banking instability reminds us, however, that the situation remains fragile. Once again, downside risks dominate and the fog around the world economic outlook has thickened.”

Inflation Still High, But Falling

Global headline inflation is set to fall from 8.7 percent in 2022 to 7.0 percent in 2023 on the back of lower commodity prices, but underlying (core) inflation is likely to decline more slowly, IMF warned. Global inflation is seen at 4.9 percent in 2024, the report added.

Inflation Turning Down or Plateauing?

Inflation’s return to target is unlikely before 2025 in most cases. Once inflation rates are back to targets, deeper structural drivers will likely reduce interest rates toward their pre-pandemic levels. More worrisome are the side effects that the sharp monetary policy tightening of the last year is starting to have on the financial sector, the report found.

“Should we worry about the risk of an uncontrolled wage-price spiral? At this point, I remain unconvinced. Nominal wage gains continue to lag price increases, implying a decline in real wages. Somewhat paradoxically, this is happening while labor demand is very strong, with firms posting many vacancies, and while labor supply remains weak— many workers have not fully rejoined the labor force after the pandemic.

This suggests real wages should increase, and I expect they will. But corporate margins have surged in recent years—this is the flip side of steeply higher prices but only modestly higher wages—and should be able to absorb much of the rising labor costs, on average. Provided inflation expectations remain well-anchored, that process should not spin out of control. It may well, however, take longer than anticipated, said Gourinchas.

A Challenging Outlook

The World Economic Outlook report warned that a return of the world economy to the pace of economic growth that prevailed before the bevy of shocks in 2022 and the recent financial sector turmoil is increasingly elusive.

“More than a year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the outbreak of more contagious COVID-19 variants, many economies are still absorbing the shocks. The recent tightening in global financial conditions is also hampering the recovery. As a result, many economies are likely to experience slower growth in incomes in 2023, amid rising joblessness,” it said.

Moreover, even with central banks having driven up interest rates to reduce inflation, the road back to price stability could be long, IMF added. “Over the medium term, the prospects for growth now seem dimmer than in decades.”

Risks to Outlook

IMF noted that the risks to the outlook are heavily skewed to the downside, with the chances of a hard landing having risen sharply. Financial sector stress could amplify and contagion could take hold, weakening the real economy through a sharp deterioration in financing conditions and compelling central banks to reconsider their policy paths, it said.

Also Read: Indian economy remains resilient in hostile global environment, says RBI governor

Among other key risks, it pointed out that pockets of sovereign debt distress could, in the context of higher borrowing costs and lower growth, spread and become more systemic. The war in Ukraine could intensify and lead to more food and energy price spikes, pushing inflation up.

External Debt Vulnerabilities for Emerging Market and Developing Economies Are High

Core inflation could turn out more persistent than anticipated, requiring even more monetary tightening to tame. Fragmentation into geopolitical blocs has the scope to generate large output losses, including through its effects on foreign direct investment, it added.

India’s Growth Outlook Cut

India’s growth forecasts have also been cut sharply for both the current and next fiscal. As per IMF’s latest report, India’s real GDP growth rate for FY2024 is estimated at 5.9 percent, 20 basis points lower than IMF’s January forecast, and far lower than the Reserve Bank of India’s 6.5 percent estimate.

Thereafter, India’s GDP growth for FY25 is seen at 6.3 percent, a good 50 basis points lower than IMF’s January forecast. India’s consumer price inflation is seen at 4.9 percent in FY24 and 4.4 percent in FY25, as per the report.

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Reliance Capital: Lenders invite fresh bids on April 4

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The lenders to Reliance Capital have decided to hold a second round of auction for the company under the bankruptcy law on April 4, said two people directly in the know of the matter.

For the April 4 auction, lenders have decided to set the base bid at Rs 9,500 crore on a Net Present Value basis, with a minimum cash component of Rs 8,000 crore. The bid amount will go up by Rs 500 crore in the subsequent round, and by Rs 250 crore in the rounds after that, as per the terms of the challenger process, as per people in the know.

Compared to this, the liquidation value of the company is understood to be close to Rs 12,500 crore, as per the lenders. It would not be entirely surprising if the offers were to be below this, people involved in the matter said.

“We will invite all four suitors to participate but it is a two-horse race. Piramal-Cosmea Financial Holdings consortium and Oaktree are unlikely to participate, so it is between Hinduja and Torrent now,” said one of the lenders to the company.

Also Read: Reliance Capital vs Torrent IBC Case: Appellate tribunal allows second round of auction

However, there are challenges. Recently, Hinduja Group informally indicated that it intends to retain its old offer of Rs 8,110 crore for Reliance Capital, as offered in Round 1, and withdraw the higher offer of Rs 8950 crore it had later made, as per two people in the know.

The second challenge would be the participation of Torrent Group, which has moved the top court to question the lenders’ decision to hold a second round of auction when it was declared the highest bidder in the first round. Given that it has contested the move, it may choose not to participate in the second round, or participate with its original offer, speculated one of the people involved.

Reliance Capital has been in the limelight amid ongoing litigation on the legality of the proposed second auction, which has been challenged by one of the suitors, Torrent Investments.

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Torrent Investments had emerged as the highest bidder with a resolution plan of Rs 8,640 crores in the first round. However, post the conclusion of the round, the other suitor — Hinduja Group — via its company Indusind International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) sent lenders a revised bid of close to Rs 9,000 crores in net present value (NPV) terms, prompting the lenders to seek another round of bidding, which was challenged by Torrent in NCLT.

While NCLT ruled in favour of Torrent, lenders subsequently moved to the higher court- National Company Law Appellate Tribunal- which overturned the NCLT order and ruled in favour of lenders.

Thereafter, Torrent moved the Supreme Court in the matter on March 13 but was refused any interim relief by means of a stay on the second round of bidding on Monday. The court allowed the lenders to proceed with the second round, subject to the final orders of the court. However, the matter is only listed for hearing in August next, which lends an air of uncertainty to the process.

Reliance Capital is facing claims of Rs 25,334 crore from various creditors under IBC, and its lawyers had previously argued that about Rs 45 crore of interest was mounting each week with the delay in resolution. 

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MEITY to hold review meeting with digital lenders on ban, asks them to submit info on shareholding, data storage

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The ministry of electronics and information & technology (MeitY) has sent notices to the digital lenders facing a potential ban, giving them an opportunity to present their case before an inter-ministerial panel on Wednesday, three people aware of the matter told CNBC-TV18.

The NBFCs were asked to send list of their apps to the central bank which was then forwarded to the ministry to take the final call on the ban.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the government has taken this step after considering the said list.

The ministry sent these notices to the affected digital lenders on Tuesday evening. CNBC-TV18 has seen a copy of the notice sent to multiple digital lenders. “You are hereby (through this mail) given a notice as an opportunity of hearing to attend and submit your views before the inter-ministerial Committee (Rule-7) in its meeting scheduled to be held on 08.02.2023,” read the mail. The inter-ministerial committee is expected to have representatives from MeitY and the ministry of home affairs (MHA).

MeitY said it was in receipt of a request under section 69A of the IT Act from the ministry of home affairs to block the apps and websites of certain digital lending platforms, the notice sent to lenders read. In this request, the ministry of home affairs alleged that certain digital lending apps/websites were functioning in a “non-transparent method, collecting exorbitant interest rates, threatening, harassing using their un-authorised personal information, etc.”

Also Read: Lazypay, Kissht, other prominent digital lenders face app & website ban in India in fresh crackdown

Further, the notice from MeitY read, the allegations also included these apps “communicating to the servers located in hostile countries”. It said that the IP/domains where their app was connecting were reportedly involved in suspicious and malicious activities.

“To avoid any misuse of Indian users’ data, MeitY has issued interim blocking directions to block such applications/websites under the provisions of section 69A of IT Act 2000,” the notice read.

The ministry has also asked the digital lenders facing this potential ban to submit relevant documents pertaining to their company information ahead of the meeting scheduled on Wednesday. It has asked digital lending platforms to submit documents including the registration certificate issued by RBI/ competent authority for performing loan/financial-related activities in India. It has also asked them to submit documents with details of data storage, its location, data sharing patterns data sharing policy of the application. In addition, MeitY has sought information on details of investors, shareholding patterns, foreign investors’ details, grievance redressal mechanisms, and the latest app security audit report from lenders.

The proposed meeting comes after several digital lenders met with officials of both MeitY and MHA on Tuesday to plead their case and seek a review to remove any ban on their apps and websites which could affect loan recoveries, new customer additions, and impact businesses. CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported that LazyPay, Kissht, Kreditbee, and Indiabulls Home Loans were among those that were on this ban list.

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It is understood that as many as 94 loan apps were part of this ban list drawn up by MHA, and sent to MeITY for action. CNBC-TV18 reported that MeitYhad sent this list to Google, asking it to take down the banned loan apps from its PlayStore. However, sources indicated that Google is currently in the process of conducting a review of the list, and has yet to take down any loan apps on the ban list from its PlayStore.

A Kissht spokesperson told CNBC-TV18, “The Kissht app is currently operating smoothly for our customers across India. While we haven’t received any formal notification on the status of our app, we are aware of the development and are seeking clarity from the concerned authorities. We are hopeful that this will be resolved soon without interrupting services for our existing users.”

LazyPay earlier issued a statement as well, saying “Due to unavoidable circumstances our website and app are currently unavailable via a few Internet Service Providers. Please be assured that we are doing everything to resolve the issue.”

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RBI on right path on inflation targeting, don’t see need to change, says Governor Shaktikanta Das

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The RBI has been on the right path with respect to containing inflation and does not see any need for changing our inflation target, its Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday.

“We had done our scenario analysis and found that inflation in the worst situation would be around 5% in 2021-22. But then the war happened,” Das said at a Banking and Economy summit.

“We wanted the economy to have a safe landing, and the GDP to be above pre-pandemic levels. Law mandates RBI has to maintain inflation around 4% keeping growth in mind. Growth had to be given primacy during pandemic times, but we did not lose sight of inflation.”

“When prices went up due to the Ukraine war, we did not hesitate to take a decision by hiking rates out of turn. Looking back, I think we have been on the right course,” he said, adding that he doesn’t not see any need for changing our inflation target even though we had to tolerate slightly higher inflation because the economy required hand-holding.

Stating that earlier theories on RBI being behind the curve is over, he said our target of 4% plus/minus 2% CPI gives us sufficient flexibility in MPC decision making.

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On cryptocurrencies, Das said they are “nothing but gambling” and their perceived “value is nothing but make-believe” and called for a ban on them.

“Every asset, every financial product has to have some underlying (value) but in the case of crypto there is no underlying… not even a tulip…and the increase in the market price of cryptos, is based on make-believe. So anything without any underlying, whose value is dependent entirely on make-believe, is nothing but 100 per cent speculation or to put it very bluntly, it is gambling,” the governor said.

“Since we don’t allow gambling in our country, and if you want to allow gambling, treat it as gambling and lay down the rules for gambling. But crypto is not a financial product,” Das asserted.

Warning that legalizing cryptos will lead to more dollarisation of the economy, he said cryptos masquerading as a financial product or financial asset, is a completely misplaced argument.

Explaining it, he said the bigger macro reason for banning them is that cryptos have the potential to and the characteristics of becoming a means of exchange; an exchange of doing a transaction.

Since most cryptos are dollar-denominated, and if you allow it to grow, assume a situation where say 20 per cent of transactions in an economy are taking place through cryptos issued by private companies. Central banks will lose control over that 20 per cent of the money supply in the economy and their ability to decide on monetary policy and to decide on liquidity levels. Central banks’ authority to that extent will get undermined, it will lead to a dollarization of the economy.

“Please believe me, these are not empty alarm signals. One year ago in the Reserve Bank, we had said this whole thing is likely to collapse sooner than later. And if you see the developments over the last year, climaxing in the FTX episode, I think I don’t need to add anything more,” Das said.

To a question whether he sees any threat to the safety and security of banking from the increased digitization of payments, Das said banks have to ensure that they are not swallowed by big tech which today control most digital transactions.

“Issues of data privacy and issues of robustness of the tech infrastructure of banks have to be the focus of banks. Since many banks are actively engaged with many big tech, their challenge is to ensure that this should not lead to a situation where banks are swallowed up by the big tech. Banks should take their own decisions and not to be allowed to be dominated by big tech,” Das said.

On the CBDC being piloted now, he said central banks issued digital currencies are the future of money and its adoption can help save on logistic and printing costs.

“I think CBDC is the future of money,” the governor said, adding “since lots of central banks are doing/working on it and we cannot be left behind but at the same time we have to ensure that its technology is robust and very safe and ensure that it’s not cloned or counterfeited.”

(With agencies inputs)

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Future Retail gets interest from Reliance, Adani, 14 other suitors under IBC

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kishore Biyani’s flagship company Future Retail Ltd received as many as sixteen expressions of interest (EOI) under the bankruptcy law, two people directly aware of the matter told CNBC-TV18.

Of the 16 EOIs players who submitted these EOIs, one has already withdrawn from the race, CNBC-TV18 has learnt, leaving 15 suitors in the fray. Among the most prominent suitors are two conglomerates- Reliance Industries via its company Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, and Adani Group via April Moon Retail Private Ltd- a joint venture between Adani Airport holding Ltd and promoters of Flemingo Group, according to people in the know. Capri Global Holdings, OP Jindal Group’s Nalwa Steel and Power, Shalimar Corporation, WHSmith Travel Ltd and United Biotech Private Ltd are among others, CNBC-TV18 learnt.

Dharampal Satyapal Ltd, Dickey Alternative Investment Trust (DAIT), SNVK Hospitality and Management Private Ltd, a consortium between B-right Real estate Ltd and Ayekart Fintech Private Ltd, April Moon Retail Private Ltd (JV between Adani Airport Holding Ltd and promoters of Flemingo Group), Bommidala Enterprises Private Ltd, Gordon and Payard, UV Multiple Asset Investment Trust-UV Special Situation fund and another little known consortium between individuals Bhumireddy Gari Mohan Reddy, Rajendra Kumar Goel and Naveen, have also submitted EOIs, as per people directly involved in the matter.

Payard Investments Private Limited has submitted its expression of interest purportedly in a consortium with Gordon Brothers, further details of which are awaited from them.

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UV stressed asset management, which has submitted an EOI in a consortium with Suruchi Foods, has withdrawn from the race, it is understood.

“Not all are serious bidders. We have seen a lot of EOIs getting submitted in many companies, but fewer conversions to actual bids,” said a banker with substantial exposure to the company.

The committee of creditors is expected to hold a meeting in the next few days to discuss the offers and evaluate the next steps, this banker added.

As per the EOI documents published on the company’s website, Future Retail had a pan-India presence with 1,308 stores in 397 cities across various formats/ stores as of FY21.

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However, as of the Insolvency Commencement Date (July 20, 2022), it only has access to 302 leased retail stores across the country, which included 30 large format stores like Big Bazaar and FBB stores, and 272 small format stores. The fixed assets of the company largely comprise furniture and fixtures and Leasehold Improvements at various leased retail stores, the document showed.

Earlier in March this year, Future Retail had informed exchanges that it has received certain termination notices in respect of sub-leased properties from Reliance Group. The company said that it received notices for 342 large-format stores and 493 small-format stores.

The takeover of FRL stores by Reliance happened after Future was unable to pay dues on these leased properties amid a cash crunch.

In August 2020, the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group announced a Rs 24,713-crore deal with Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) for the sale of its retail and wholesale business, and the logistics and warehousing verticals, but the deal could not be concluded due to legal issues.

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Future Retail’s takeover by Reliance was opposed by Amazon, which dragged Future Group to arbitration at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) in October 2020.

With no clarity on the deal closure for almost two years, lenders led by Bank of India took Future Retail to the bankruptcy court in July this year.

Future Retail has received claims of Rs 21,433 crore from financial creditors, Rs 2,464 crore from operational creditors, and Rs 55 crore from workmen/ employees under IBC. Bank of India, State Bank of India, Union Bank, and Canara Bank are among the large lenders to the company.

Disclaimer: Network18, the parent company of CNBCTV18.com, is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Unacademy to layoff 10% of its workforce amid funding challenges

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Edtech startup Unacademy on Monday laid off almost 350 employees constituting about 10 percent of its total workforce amid the ongoing funding winter for startups, people aware of the development confirmed to CNBC-TV18.

With this latest round of layoffs at the company, its total strength would almost halve from the start of the year, when it had over 6,000 people on its payrolls, indicated people within the company.

The layoffs come just months after Unacademy’s CEO and co-founder had assured employees that there would be no more layoffs.

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In an internal communication sent to employees, Munjal said 10 percent of the employees across business groups would be affected, and some verticals would either be scaled or shut down completely. CNBC-TV18 has reviewed the contents of this letter. Below is a copy of this communication sent to employees:

Dear Team Members,

We are no strangers to the harsh economic conditions that everyone is witnessing these days. These are very difficult times for the technology ecosystem. And things are getting worse with each passing day.
Even though we realised this much earlier and took some stringent measures such as reducing our monthly burns, controlling our operational spends, limiting our marketing budgets and identifying other redundancies within the organisation, it was not enough. We need to keep optimising and building efficient systems for leaner and unprecedented times.

I am deeply saddened to share that we will have to say goodbye to some of our extremely talented Unacademy employees. These would be across the Unacademy Group from verticals where we have to take a difficult decision either to scale down or shut.

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Around 10% of Unacademy employees across the group will be impacted because of this, and if you are one of the impacted – you will be receiving a detailed communication within 48 hours from HR.

I want to apologise to everyone sincerely since we made a commitment of no layoffs in the organisation but the market challenges have forced us to reevaluate our decisions. Funding has significantly slowed down and a large portion of our core business has moved offline.

This decision has not been easy and I take complete responsibility. You have contributed immensely to the success of Unacademy and the team will always be indebted to you. There is no easy way to do this and this is definitely not the kind of separation I would have wanted. We will do our best to help everyone in these difficult times. The parting team members will receive the following:

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1. Severance pay equivalent of your notice period and an additional two months

2. Accelerated 1-year vesting period

3. Medical Insurance coverage for an additional one year

4. Dedicated placement and career support

The next few days will be about helping the members who are leaving Unacademy and I would like to request all functions and teams to support this transition.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Twitter lays off large part of India team — here’s what some Indian staff said

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Twitter announced massive layoffs across its India team on Friday morning, cutting jobs across all verticals, and in some cases – entire departments, employees CNBC-TV18 spoke to said.

One of the employees who lost his job at Twitter today told CNBC-TV18, “We got that “famous” letter about not coming to office which was sent to all global employees first… Then at about 11 am this morning, we got a letter informing us about our roles, and soon we lost access to our systems..”

A second employee, who did not wish to be quoted, added, “All teams are affected. What you are seeing on news and social media is true. It’s massive. We all got letters today.” CNBC-TV18 could not verify the exact number of employees who lost their jobs today.

Other employees CNBC-TV18 spoke to quoted different numbers about the job losses, with estimates ranging from 50-90 percent of the entire India office strength.

CNBC-TV18 reviewed the contents of this letter sent to employees in the India office, titled “Your Role at Twitter.”

The letter is reproduced below.

Also read: Twitter sued over Elon Musk’s mass layoff plan

Hello,

As shared earlier today, Twitter is conducting a workforce reduction to help improve the health of the company. These decisions are never easy and it is with regret that we write to inform you that your role at Twitter has been identified as potentially impacted or at risk of redundancy.

Next steps will depend on which country you live in and we will share more information with you as soon as possible.

To protect Twitter confidential information and user data, we have suspended your access to our systems. However, for the avoidance of doubt, this suspension does not mean your employment has been terminated. Please continue to comply with all company policies, including the Employee Playbook and Code of Conduct.

It is vital that we have your current personal contact information so that we are able to consult with you.

Please email peoplequestions@twitter.com with any questions or if you need to update us regarding your personal information.

Thank you.

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Soon after, employees were also sent a message on their internal messaging platform Slack, informing them about their separation formalities. CNBC-TV18 also reviewed this message.

It read, “Today is your last working day at the company, however, you will remain employed by Twitter and will receive compensation and benefits through your separation date of January 4, 2023. 

Within a week, you will receive details of your severance offer, financial resources extending beyond your Non-Working Notice period. At that time you will also receive a Separation Agreement and Release of Claims and other offboarding information, such as how to return your Twitter materials (computer, badge, etc.).”

While the employees were informed that their jobs had been cut, the official letter only mentioned the word “suspension”.

This thread on Twitter could explain why the social media giant refrained from putting the termination notice in black and white in its official communication, and chose instead to carefully word its letter saying suspension did not mean their employment was terminated.

Hey Twitter employees getting laid off tomorrow! IMPORTANT INFO from a CA employment attorney (me):

CA’s “WARN” law requires Twitter to give you 60 days notice of a massive layoff.

A layoff of 50+ employees within a 30 day period qualifies.

I know you didn’t get that notice.

— Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) November 4, 2022

While Twitter India employees have been promised a two-month severance pay, the separation terms and other claims would only be settled after this two-month period.

The move comes following a week of speculation about the future of jobs at Twitter, with global media reports initially suggesting Elon Musk planned to cut 75 percent jobs after the Twitter buyout- something Musk denied later. NYT reported that 7,500 workers are bracing for job cuts since Musk took over last week. The layoffs began on Friday.

Breaking News: Elon Musk will begin laying off Twitter employees on Friday. The 7,500 workers have been bracing for job cuts since he took over last week. https://t.co/B6q0WhNFmm

— The New York Times (@nytimes) November 4, 2022

Several employees took to Twitter to talk about their job losses at the company.

25-year-old Yash Agarwal, who worked in the public policy team at Twitter, left a rather cheerful message on the platform after he lost his job earlier in the day. It was one of the tweets about the ongoing layoffs that went viral on the platform. He said, “Just got laid off. Bird App, it was an absolute honour, the greatest privilege ever to be a part of this team, this culture.”

Just got laid off.
Bird App, it was an absolute honour, the greatest privilege ever to be a part of this team, this culture 🫡💙#LoveWhereYouWorked #LoveTwitter pic.twitter.com/bVPQxtncIg

— Yash Agarwal✨ (@yashagarwalm) November 4, 2022

Hashtags like #LoveWhereYouWorked and #LoveTwitter are being used by Twitter’s employees across the world, and trended on the platform through the day.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

NPCI International has just made mobile payments for Indian tourists in Europe a lot easier

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL), the international arm of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) — the driver of digital payments in India — has joined forces with global payment services provider Worldline in a move to expand the acceptance of Indian payment means across Europe.

The partnership will benefit Indian customers in the European markets by allowing merchants’ point-of-sale (POS) systems to accept payments from UPI as well as RuPay. This will result in a multitude of customer-related merchant benefits due to an increase in footfall and spending from Indian tourists, a press release said.

“Currently, customers from India pay through international card networks. However, UPI allows multiple bank accounts to be accessed through one single mobile application. This will enhance customer experience whilst opening up new business prospects for merchants,” the release said.

This will be powered by Worldline QR, the company’s universal product for the acceptance of all QR-based payments. The first target markets for NIPL are set to include BENELUX and Switzerland with further plans for expansion, as Worldline QR is rolled out in more European countries.

Also read: Today, even a small street vendor prefers UPI to cash: PM Modi on digital payments

India is one of the most important tourist markets for Europe with an estimated 10 million Indians travelling to the region each year prior to the pandemic, according to Schengen Visa. Now, as the impacts of COVID-19 begin to subside, that number is expected to significantly increase.

“Our partnership with NPCI International seeks to mitigate the risk of excluding or limiting Indian customers from safely using electronic payments in the EU,” Marc-Henri Desportes, Deputy CEO of Worldline, said.

In 2021, UPI recorded 38.74 billion transactions, worth $954.58 billion, making it the best performing real-time payment ecosystem in the world, the release said, adding, similarly, 714 million RuPay cards have been issued till date, clocking over 1.3 billion transactions.

“The roll-out of acceptance of UPI-powered apps and RuPay cards across Europe is important to us, as we expect increased mobility of Indians in the continent in the coming years,” NIPL CEO Ritesh Shukla said.

Also read: How is UPI Lite different from UPI 123Pay? All details here

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

NPCI cleared to acquire 10% stake in e-commerce network ONDC

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has received the nod from the Reserve Bank of India and the Union Ministry of Finance to acquire a 10 percent stage in the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), India’s open source platform for e-commerce.

According to sources, Bank of India is also in the process of investing in the ONDC and may get a 5-7 percent stake. Sources further said ONDC is also in talks with the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) to come onboard as an investor. ONDC would have raised approximately Rs 190 crore from 20 investors at the end of the exercise. 

#NPCI has received approvals from #RBI & Finance Ministry to #acquire a 10% stake in Open Network For Digital Commerce (#ONDC). Also, the Bank of India is in the process of #investing in ONDC: Sources to @_ritusingh pic.twitter.com/JAqSocySLJ

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) August 31, 2022

NPI CEO Dilip Asbe is a part of ONDC’s Advisory Council.

Sources added that  the ONDC is likely to have 20 stakeholders in total, including 17 already on board — Quality Council of India, Protean (NSDL eGov), BSE Investments, NSE Investments, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, SIDBI, State Bank of India, NABARD, Bank of Baroda, CSC, eGovernance Services India, UCO Bank, Central Depository Services (India) Ltd, Punjab National Bank, and ICICI Bank.

(This is a developing story. Keep checking back for updates)

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow