A retired director of a multinational company (MNC) residing in Mumbai lost nearly Rs 25 crore to <keyword id="20430122" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyber-fraudsters" source="keywords">cyber fraudsters</keyword>, who posed as police and CBI officers and intimidated her saying she was being probed in a money laundering case, officials said on Thursday. Police say this is one of the biggest <keyword id="6358845" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cyber-fraud" source="Orion">cyber fraud</keyword> cases targeting an individual in the city in recent times. According to them, the victim sold her and her mother's shares and mutual fund investments and even took out a gold loan to pay money to the scammers. The incident occurred during a two-month period starting February 6 this year, a police official said. "The complainant, who stays in a western suburb, received a WhatsApp call with the caller posing as an official of the telecom department, who told her that her three mobile numbers will be deactivated. When the victim, who is a senior citizen, sought to know the reason, the caller told her that he was connecting the call to a police officer," he said. After that, another man posing as a police officer started speaking and said they have received a money laundering complaint against her and her mobile numbers and Aadhaar card was found linked to the case, he said. "The caller then transferred the call to another person, who posed as a CBI officer and threatened her with the money laundering case. The caller told her that if she wanted to get out of the case, she should deposit money into the bank accounts provided by him and assured that she will get her money back," the police official said. The fraudsters also opened a current account in the victim's name and asked her to deposit money there. They told her that her money will be sent to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The caller also told her to collect the receipt of the payment from the local police station, he said. The woman transferred around Rs 25 crore to the account, but failed to get it back, following which she approached the <keyword id="19906039" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mumbai-police" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Mumbai police" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Mumbai police">Mumbai police</keyword> and filed a complaint against unidentified fraudsters, the police official said. The cyber police station of the Mumbai crime branch initiated a probe into the case and froze 31 bank accounts so far, he said. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jiocinema-introduces-new-ad-free-premium-plans-starting-at-29/articleshow/109581033.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jiocinema-introduces-new-ad-free-premium-plans-starting-at-29/articleshow/109581033.cms" target="_blank">An Ambani disruption in OTT: At just ₹1 per day, you can now enjoy ad-free content on JioCinema</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/realme-narzo-70-narzo-70x-5g-smartphones-launched-in-india-starting-at-11999/articleshow/109557895.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/realme-narzo-70-narzo-70x-5g-smartphones-launched-in-india-starting-at-11999/articleshow/109557895.cms" target="_blank">Realme Narzo 70, Narzo 70X 5G smartphones launched in India starting at ₹11,999</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-let-loose-event-scheduled-for-may-7-ipads-expected-to-be-launched/articleshow/109553148.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-let-loose-event-scheduled-for-may-7-ipads-expected-to-be-launched/articleshow/109553148.cms" target="_blank">Apple Let Loose event scheduled for May 7 – New iPad models expected to be launched</a>

Retired director of MNC loses ₹25 crore to cyber fraudsters who posed as cops, CBI officers

<ul><li>In the last six months, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/12-equity-oriented-thematic-mfs-launched-in-the-last-6-months/slidelist/98900160.cms">12 new funds have been launched </a>in thematic schemes category with multinational companies (MNC) fund, <keyword id="347032" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dividend-yield-fund" source="Orion">dividend yield fund</keyword> being and <keyword id="12557861" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="business-cycle-fund" source="Orion">business cycle fund</keyword> catching investor attention.</li><li>Such funds are popular as investors are looking for value creation across the board, beyond benchmark indices.</li><li>Such funds carry high risk and may not meet investor expectations of better returns in the long run, say experts.</li></ul><keyword id="917586" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="thematic-funds" source="Orion">Thematic funds</keyword> have created a buzz among investors given inflows into sectoral/thematic funds jumped more than three times from ₹903 crore in January, 2023 to ₹3,856 crore in February, 2023. In the last six months, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/12-equity-oriented-thematic-mfs-launched-in-the-last-6-months/slidelist/98900160.cms">12 new funds have been launched </a>in thematic schemes category with multinational companies (MNC) fund, dividend yield fund being and business cycle fund catching investors attention. Such funds are popular because investors are looking for value creation options, across the board beyond benchmark indices. The fact that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/back-to-square-one-nifty-circles-back-to-levels-last-seen-in-september-2021-markets-likely-to-end-2023-in-the-red/articleshow/98898424.cms">Indian markets have bled deeply </a>while underperforming global markets let investors look for sectors that are relevant in the current market situation. However, such funds carry high risk and may not meet investors expectations of better returns in the long run. “In recent months, performance of large and mid cap funds has not been optimal which can explain shifting investor interest towards alternate funds. We saw something similar a couple of years back when Indian investors invested heavily in international funds with an aim to get higher returns from indirectly investing in technology companies overseas. However, thematic funds are riskier in nature. So only a limited portion of portfolio allocation should be made in them,” said Pranav Haldea, MD at Prime Database Group. Thematic funds are investment funds focused on specific themes or trends. They invest in companies with specific themes like investing only in multinational companies, high paying dividend companies and so on to capitalize on growth opportunities and maximize returns. High risk thematic funds is a risky bet Meanwhile, since the sectors like PSU Banks and infrastructure have performed better in the volatile market, investors have been looking to invest in these categories. Also, the PSU Bank index emerged as the top sectoral winner in 2022, recording gains of nearly 73% – or about 16x the gains of the Nifty50 in 2022, as on December 15. “Some of the funds in categories like PSU/infrastructure/ and banking have done well, which naturally attracts more money from investors. In addition, there have been significant new launches, which creates buzz in the market and investors are enticed to invest,” said Dikshit Mittal, fund manager and senior equity research analyst at LIC MF Asset Management. Mittal also highlighted that the domestic banking sector is also in good shape as they have clean balance sheets, the growth runway is large, and valuations are reasonable. Infrastructure as a theme also seems to have a bright outlook considering government focus, budgetary allocations and resurgence of the manufacturing sector in India, says Mittal. Not to forget, thematic funds carry high risk so experts recommend investors to allocate only a part of their corpus to such funds. “In addition, thematic funds need timing to enter and exit so investors need to be agile in exiting these funds when their objective has been achieved,” said Mittal. Timing and theme of the fund is an important factor that derives the performance of the fund as if the theme goes wrong, investor returns will be hugely impacted. “The sudden popularity of thematic funds is largely driven by clients looking to invest in different pockets in the market. In this category, timings and wider themes are a challenging aspect to beat. Most of the existing funds have a narrow theme which ends up impacting their returns. We do not recommend thematic funds as it is not suitable for every investor,” said Kaustubh Belapurkar, director of fund research at Morningstar Investment Adviser India. As thematic funds revolve around a certain theme, they are much less diversified than other large cap equity funds that have a mix of large and mid cap stocks. Experts feel lack of diversification and high risk in thematic funds makes it not suitable for all kinds of investors. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-group-stocks-stage-a-rebound-led-by-adani-enterprises-group-market-capitalisation-rises-by-22011-crore/articleshow/99084630.cms">Adani group stocks stage a rebound led by Adani Enterprises: Group market capitalisation rises by ₹22,011 crore</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/tax-hit-on-debt-funds-is-just-the-latest-punch-to-reeling-mutual-fund-companies/articleshow/99081740.cms">Tax hit on debt funds is just the latest punch to reeling mutual fund companies</a>

Can Thematic Funds Beat Market Blues? Time for a reality check amidst all the noise

12 equity-oriented thematic MFs launched in the last 6 months

<ul><li>The mutual fund product will provide investors with an opportunity to diversify their portfolio with exposure to multinational companies.</li><li>The fund house said that due to a unique combination of good corporate governance, trusted brands, focus on innovation and strong balance sheets, MNCs have longevity.</li><li>The fund will follow a bottoms-up approach with a focused strategy of maximum 30 stocks.</li><li>The scheme will be benchmarked against <keyword id="16491170" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NIFTY-MNC-TRI" source="Orion">NIFTY MNC TRI</keyword> (Total Returns Index).</li></ul>HDFC Asset Management Company has launched HDFC MNC, an open ended equity scheme following multinational company (MNC) theme. The mutual fund product will provide investors with an opportunity to diversify their portfolio with exposure to multinational companies that are resilient during bouts of volatility. The fund house said that due to a unique combination of good corporate governance, trusted brands, focus on innovation and strong balance sheets, MNCs have longevity. “MNCs generally provide a unique combination of innovation and brand creation. They have access to superior products and technology due to R&amp;D focus of parent companies. This allows them to focus on brand creation,” said HDFC AMC in a fund presentation. The management said that the fund will invest in Indian companies that have a global presence of more than decade and are selling products consumed all over India. Dove, Tide, Kitkat, Vicks, Colgate etc are examples of well known brands with strong presence in everyday life that offer good investment opportunities, said the fund house. “MNCs tend to have a good track record of free cash flow generation and high dividend payout. Strong profitability and superior capital allocation track record results in consistently higher return ratios, thereby aiding wealth creation,” added the fund house. During periods of market downswings like tech bubble, global financial crisis, covid and geopolitical uncertainty, NIFTY MNC Index has managed to protect downside better than the broader market like Nifty 500, shows data shared by HDFC AMC. The fund will follow a bottoms-up approach with a focused strategy of maximum 30 stocks. The scheme will be benchmarked against NIFTY MNC TRI (Total Returns Index). The new fund offer (<keyword id="35472" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NFO" source="Orion">NFO</keyword>) will open for subscription from February 17 and will close on March 3 and the scheme will be managed by senior fund manager Rahul Baijal. The minimum subscription amount for investment in the scheme is ₹100 per application and any amount thereafter. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-enterprises-posts-820-crore-net-profit-in-q3-gautam-adani-says-current-market-volatility-temporary/articleshow/97914997.cms">Adani Enterprises posts ₹820 crore net profit in Q3: Gautam Adani says current market volatility temporary</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/top-stocks-heres-what-the-big-boys-bought-between-october-and-december/articleshow/97912443.cms">Top stocks: Here’s what the Big Boys bought between October and December</a>

HDFC MF launches MNC fund that offers portfolio diversification opportunities

<ul><li>Inflows into equity-oriented <keyword id="6357979" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mutual-funds" source="Orion">mutual funds</keyword> hit a 12-month high in March 2023 at ₹20,534 crore.</li><li>These strong flows in March were aided by constant investments into <keyword id="917586" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Thematic-funds" source="Orion">thematic funds</keyword> and dividend yield funds, at ₹3,928 crore and ₹3,715 crore respectively.</li><li>Contribution of retail investors through SIPs hit a record high of ₹14,276 crore in March as compared to ₹13,686 crore in February and ₹13,856 crore in January.</li></ul>Inflows into equity-oriented mutual funds hit a 12-month high in March 2023 at ₹20,534 crore aided by strong flows into thematic funds and record retail investor contribution through SIPs, as per Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) data released on Thursday. The inflows in March 2023 were the highest since last March, when ₹28,463 crore flowed into equity-oriented funds on the back of robust SIP (systematic investment plan) flows. In February 2023, this number was ₹15,685 crore. Strong flows into equity-oriented funds were aided by constant flows in thematic funds and dividend yield funds, at ₹3,928 crore and ₹3,715 crore, respectively, in March 2023. Thematic funds have created a buzz among investors given inflows into sectoral/thematic funds have seen a four-fold jump from January levels of ₹903 crore. They rose to ₹3,856 crore in February 2023 and hit ₹3,928 crore in March. In the last six months, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/12-equity-oriented-thematic-mfs-launched-in-the-last-6-months/slidelist/98900160.cms">12 new funds have been launched </a>in the thematic schemes category with multinational companies (MNC) fund, dividend yield fund and business cycle fund catching investors’ attention. Such funds are popular because investors are looking for value creation options beyond benchmark indices and thematic funds offer investors an opportunity to broaden their investment options. Contribution of retail investors through SIPs hit a record high of ₹14,276 crore in March as compared to ₹13,686 crore in February and ₹13,856 crore in January. “The SIP amount also has hit an all-time high of ₹14,276 crore in March. This reinforces our belief that domestic investors continue to have high levels of confidence in the Indian growth story and also in mutual funds as an effective vehicle for wealth creation,” said G Pradeepkumar, CEO at Union Asset Management. Debt funds continue to see outflows Meanwhile, debt funds continue to witness strong outflows at ₹56,884 crore in March, a four-fold jump from ₹13,815 crore outflows in February. In January the outflows were at ₹10,316 crore. The waning interest in debt funds comes as the Finance Bill proposed to do away with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/debt-schemes-of-mfs-lose-edge-over-bank-deposits-as-budget-proposes-to-scrap-ltcg-indexation-benefits/articleshow/98965932.cms">long-term capital gains tax benefits on debt investments</a>. As per the proposed changes in the Finance Bill, investors in debt funds will have to pay tax according to their income slabs. Investors had so far benefited from indexation while calculating long-term capital gains from debt funds but this will no longer be available from April 1, 2023. "Mutual Funds witnessed significant AUM (assets under management) churn in March 2023 on the back of changes in tax laws. While the cash category saw outflow of nearly ₹65,000 crore, which is typically a year-end phenomenon, the arbitrage funds and funds with maturity of less than 1 year saw outflows of about ₹12,000 crore and about ₹28,000 crore respectively,” said Ajaykumar Gupta, chief business officer at Trust Mutual Fund. Investors aggressively pulled money out of liquid funds, money market funds, ultra-short-duration funds and overnight funds in March 2023. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-bats-for-borrowers-releases-guidelines-to-lenders-from-levying-penal-interest-on-loan-defaults/articleshow/99461008.cms">RBI bats for borrowers, releases guidelines to prevent lenders from levying penal interest on loan defaults</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/indias-oldest-billionaire-started-his-business-after-returning-from-lic/articleshow/99460993.cms">India’s oldest billionaire started his business after returning from LIC</a>

Inflows into equity MFs hit 1-year high in March on robust SIP and thematic fund investments

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46781109.cms" /> For the rank-and-file of the hundreds of app developers in India, e-commerce is now the most lucrative mobile monetisation strategy. Wondering how? Well, nowadays bigger companies like <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>, etc, are hiring these talented engineers from startups. Heavily-funded e-commerce firms are battling for command over mobile technologies that are reshaping consumer-facing businesses. 

	Debasis Chakraborty, founder of NAMAKH, an online store for women, has been struggling to find app developers to build a mobile presence for his startup. The IIM graduate almost hired two app developers but they opted for lucrative offers from bigger online retailers. He told the Economic Times, "All app developers are at large companies or they are running a startup themselves. There is no middle ground."
 Preetam Salian, chief executive of <keyword id="2791104" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="HiringMonk">HiringMonk</keyword>, a recruitment firm for startups, told the financial daily that well-funded e-tailers “are offering annual salaries of up to Rs 30 lakh for product managers with experience of about five years. People who have worked at a startup and identify with the culture are the ones they go after." It is important to note that these app developers are offered a salary which is two-time of what they would get in an <keyword id="6362175" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="MNC">MNC</keyword>. Last year, Indian startups and Internet companies secured a funding of more than $5 billion. Flipkart, Snapdeal, <keyword id="6381424" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Quikr">Quikr</keyword>, Housing and Ola got more than two-thirds of the amount raised. Later, these five companies used the money to hire employees at huge cash salaries, the ET report revealed. 

	In 2014, offers from the e-commerce space have increased by 120% in the past year, with starting salaries of Rs 16-20 lakh plus stock options, the business daily added.

	(Image: www.c7creative.com)

If you’re an App developer, you have reason to be very, very happy!

<ul><li>We are bullish on gold and silver as a fund house due to 2 reasons – recession and under ownership, says Balasubramanian. </li><li>There may not be any further rate hikes as we are near the peak of the interest rate cycle, he adds. </li><li>An investor should look at passive investing as an additional investment avenue and not at the cost of large cap funds, he says. </li></ul>The start of the earnings season has been mixed, with IT services players disappointing the markets. Going forward too the trend is expected to remain mixed. While lower commodity prices will impair earnings of producers, the benefits will be reaped by consumers of energy and other commodities. In conversation with Business Insider India’s Malini Bhupta, A Balasubramanian, CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, says that even though FY24 earnings could remain volatile due to a possible recession and high interest rates across the globe, but that does not mean all companies will be impacted in the same way. Domestic-driven sectors will fare better than exporters. Edited Excerpts: Markets have gone nowhere in the last 12-18 months. Will this dry run continue much longer and what should investors do? Markets keep going through bullish, bearish and consolidation phases at various intervals of time. We have been in a consolidation phase for the last 12-18 months. However, investors should invest for the long-term and the attractiveness of India remains very high in that context compared to the rest of the world. Indian equities have been resilient despite the interest rate movements. Valuations would get adjusted as rates start coming down and as a result equities will start reflecting momentum once again. Earnings trajectory has been on the upswing, but this fiscal year has already started seeing downgrades. What will impact earnings in FY24? FY24 earnings could remain volatile due to a possible recession and high interest rate scenario across the globe. Earnings volatility will impact stock prices but that does not mean all companies will be impacted in the same way. Some companies will benefit from lower energy prices, some will gain from rural recovery while export driven industries are likely to face some headwinds. From a returns point of view, ETFs are beating most large cap actively managed funds. What does this trend portend for investors? Index based investing is on the rise and has been gaining popularity. However, it should be looked upon from an allocation perspective. An investor should look at passive investing as an additional investment avenue and not at the cost of large cap funds. What kind of returns can investors expect this year? Returns should not be measured on a one-year basis as a good year can be followed by a bad year and vice versa. One should look at the cumulative returns delivered by equities over the long-term as an asset class. Equities tend to return nominal GDP + 3% and I expect good returns to be generated over the next 3 years. A lot of thematic funds have been launched. Are these funds launched to garner AUM or are these opportunities that fund houses are seeing in the market? Thematic funds should be looked at opportunities to invest in a particular theme and from an asset allocation point of view. Themes can be structural or cyclical in nature and go through their fair share of volatility. IT, banking, manufacturing, consumption and MNC are some of the themes offered by Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund. Average age of benchmark indices have been coming down. What is the reason for that and how does it impact stock picking? New technologies are coming and acceptance of these on both the investor and consumer side has grown significantly. Companies get included or excluded from an index basis the methodology followed by the exchanges. Some of the long-lasting businesses have been part of the index for over 2 decades while some companies that have survived have still been excluded from the index. It does not mean that those that are removed are bad except that they have not grown as much as others or those that are included are good. The large groups in business will remain relevant. Given that interest rates have gone up, is this the right time to invest in fixed income? The current attractiveness of debt is higher if you compare the yield to the earnings yield of equities. A higher yield implies high cost of capital which is unfavourable for equities. However, I believe both will co-exist. Given the long-term tax benefits have been removed for debt funds, the question to be asked is whether investment is being made for tax benefit or for asset allocation purposes. Do you expect flows into debt to be impacted by the recent tax changes? It will have some impact as those who have been considering these instruments for the long-term will be impacted. However, 70-80% inflows have been coming in for 1-2 years and not just for tax benefit. Those flows will continue. Secondly, mutual funds fixed income recognition is different from others, which is short-term capital gains accrual. Therefore, it gives some leeway to adjust against short-term capital losses. Also in growth funds, you can accrue the gains and not withdraw it so that you only pay tax on withdrawal. Will the Reserve Bank of India’s pause on rates be a prolonged one? There may not be any further rate hikes as we are near the peak of the interest rate cycle. I expect the rates to hover near the current levels for the next one year and interest rate cuts may only start next year onwards. Moreover, the rate cuts may not be as aggressive as the hikes. Is the inflation battle under control? Energy prices are a true indicator of inflation and the recent correction in gas and energy prices has arrested the fear of inflation going up further. On one hand, the production cut from OPEC will prevent a further fall while on the other hand, the government of India has ensured there are no supply side disruptions which can lead to higher prices. Given the geopolitical risks and what’s happening to the dollar, what is your view on gold and silver? We are bullish on gold and silver as a fund house due to 2 reasons – recession and under ownership. We have been advocating a multi-asset allocation strategy which invests in equity, debt and gold.

Earnings to remain volatile in FY24, but some sectors will benefit from lower energy prices, says Aditya Birla Sun Life MF’s CEO A Balasubramanian

Homegrown <keyword id="6357120" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm" source="Orion">Paytm</keyword> Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) on Wednesday said it has gone live with <keyword id="13424650" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="upi-lite" source="Orion">UPI LITE</keyword>, a feature enabled by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) for multiple small-value <keyword id="4052276" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="upi-transactions" source="Orion">UPI transactions</keyword>. It will enable faster real-time transactions with a single click through Paytm. With UPI LITE, the Bank aims to drive the adoption of digital payments across the country. Once loaded, a UPI LITE wallet allows a user to do instant transactions of up to ₹200 in a seamless way. A maximum of ₹2,000 can be added twice in a day to UPI LITE, making the cumulative daily usage up to ₹4,000. Additionally, with UPI LITE, users can carry out a large number of small value UPI payments without worrying about a cap on the number of bank transactions, said the company. "As per official data from NPCI, half of the everyday UPI transactions in the country are less than ₹200 and with UPI LITE, users get superior experience with faster and safer real-time small value payments. We are focussed on driving digital inclusion and the launch of UPI LITE is a big step ahead in that direction," said Surinder Chawla, MD and CEO, Paytm Payments Bank. UPI LITE was launched by the Reserve Bank of India in September 2022. It also de-clutters the bank passbook of small value transactions, as these payments would now only show in the Paytm balance and history section, and not in the bank passbook. "This will further improve the success rate of transactions, enhancing the user experience, and taking us one more step closer to processing a billion transactions a day on the UPI platform," said Praveena Rai, COO, NPCI. Paytm Payments Bank recently announced that users can receive and send money instantly to any mobile number with a registered UPI ID across platforms using the Paytm app. PPBL remained the largest UPI beneficiary bank for 19 months in a row with over 1,726.94 million transactions in December 2022, ahead of all major banks in the country. With 386.5 million registered transactions, the Bank is one of the top 10 remitter banks for UPI transactions, according to NPCI's latest report. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/hdfc-mf-launches-mnc-fund-that-offers-portfolio-diversification-opportunities/articleshow/97920631.cms">HDFC MF launches MNC fund that offers portfolio diversification opportunities</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/bengaluru-mumbai-sunshine-locations-for-hiring-in-q4-teamlease-report/articleshow/97919259.cms">Bengaluru, Mumbai sunshine locations for hiring in Q4: Teamlease report</a>

Paytm Payments Bank goes live with UPI LITE to boost small-value UPI transactions

<ul><li>Ganesh <keyword id="79029" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="balakrishnan" source="Orion">Balakrishnan</keyword>, the co-founder of <keyword id="16008024" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flatheads-shoes" source="Orion">Flatheads Shoes</keyword> received an offer that valued his company at ₹2.25 crore from two sharks on <keyword id="11924074" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="shark-tank-india" source="Orion">Shark Tank India</keyword> S2. </li><li>Balakrishnan, who had earlier invested personal money to keep the venture afloat, rejected the offer. </li><li>The shoe business that started right before the pandemic ran into trouble as lockdowns forced people to stay indoors. </li><li>After the episode aired last Friday, the startup managed to sell off its entire inventory over the weekend, Balakrishnan said on social media. </li></ul>Last Friday, Shark Tank India S2 aired the season’s most emotional episode when Ganesh Balakrishnan made a pitch for his venture, Flatheads Shoes. The startup <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ganeshbalakrishnan/">creates </a>‘all-day casual shoes for the urban workforce’ priced between ₹1,000-₹5,000 a pair. It also <a href="https://www.flatheads.in/">offers </a>India’s first linen sneakers, and the world’s first banana fibre sneakers. At the time Balakrishnan’s episode was shot, his company was on the verge of a shutdown. He said <a href="https://www.sonyliv.com/shows/shark-tank-india-1700000741/investing-in-the-future-of-india-1000203475?watch=true">on the show </a>that he personally invested ₹35 lakh to keep the business afloat, in the last two months. His co-founder Utkarsh Biradar, who helped design the shoes, too invested the same amount. Biradar exited the startup in 2022 but still holds 30% equity. In spite of his mounting troubles, Balakrishnan rejected the only deal he received on the show. Sharks Peyush Bansal (co-founder, Lenskart) and <keyword id="246967" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vineeta-singh" source="Orion">Vineeta Singh</keyword> (co-founder, Sugar Cosmetics), offered ₹75 lakh for 33.3% equity in the company. The offer values the company at ₹2.25 crore. Balakrishnan had asked for a valuation of ₹25 crore as its company generated sales to the tune of ₹3.4 crore in FY22. The company had raised ₹5.2 crore in April 2021, at a pre-money valuation of ₹28 crore, from angel investors. Pre-money valuation refers to the value of a startup that does not include external funding – basically a startup’s value before it raises funds. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Once in a generation troubles" comment="subhead2" text="Once in a generation troubles">Once in a generation troubles</cmsannotation> Balakrishnan started Flatheads Shoes in 2019, right before the pandemic struck. In less than a year, the company had no customers - as India stayed indoors, people barely needed shoes, much less urban workwear. “It’s not that I can’t run a company. I am capable of it. Thing is, when you step into the market and for 4 months nobody is wearing shoes, because nobody is stepping out only - such situations arise once in generations. And it happened to us,” said Balakrishnan on the show. He also said that angel investors were not willing to invest further in the business. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’" comment="subhead2" text="‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’">‘Need to evaluate my priorities in life’</cmsannotation> Even as he rejected the offer, Balakrishnan admitted that he needed to change his perspective, re-evaluate his priorities, and gain more experience before entering the D2C market. “I need to evaluate my priorities in life right now. I will go out there and work with a D2C brand and understand how to do this before I come back and try again. I need a couple of years. But that perspective needs to be built. And the best way to build it is to work with somebody who’s done this before,” said Balakrishnan on the show. Balakrishnan’s emotional admission left all the judges teary-eyed, with Shaadi.com’s founder Anupam Mittal remarking, “Shark Tank is not just about getting funding, but also perspective.” <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Every tear has a silver lining" comment="subhead2" text="Every tear has a silver lining">Every tear has a silver lining</cmsannotation> When Balakrishnan pitched on the show, most of the Sharks asked him to shut down the business and instead, look to make a living through a regular job, leveraging his educational qualifications and work experience. While boAt’s founder Gupta shared his personal experience of going down the same road, Mittal even offered him a job. Shortly after the episode aired though, Flatheads Shoes trended on social media and consequently received enough orders that it almost sold out its inventory in India. “We've almost sold out our inventory in India, so pardon us if you aren't able to find your size on www.flatheads.in,” shared <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7017678455685226496?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7017678455685226496%29">Balakrishnan on his LinkedIn account</a>. The product is featured on the Shark Tank India website. The brand also has international ambitions. It launched its products in the US in October 2021 and plans to expand its international market in the US and UAE. As Balakrishnan admitted on the show, Flatheads enjoys a ‘price advantage’ in the US because people are willing to pay a premium price for a sustainable product. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The serial entrepreneur" comment="subhead2" text="The serial entrepreneur">The serial entrepreneur</cmsannotation> After graduating as a mechanical engineer from IIT Bombay in 1999, Balakrishnan worked with an industrial technologies MNC Ingersoll-Rand International (India) for five years, before pursuing an MBA degree from IIM, Bangalore. He worked with Bain &amp; Company and Honeywell, before starting his entrepreneurial journey in 2013 with Windsleeve, a retail technology product company, and Momoe, a mobile payments product company. While Windsleeve shut down in a year, Momoe ran for three years, before being acquired by Shopclues in 2016, in a cash and stock deal. In 2019, Balakrishnan entered the startup space again with Flathead Shoes, inspired by his personal experience of dealing with reeking and ill-fitting shoes. Balakrishnan is married and has a 10-year-old daughter. Currently, his household income is managed by his wife, who’s working with a German company. His daughter is an artist who also wants to be an entrepreneur and is already taking orders for calendars created with her paintings. “Did I mention that my 10-year-old daughter wants to be an entrepreneur? She says she is a fan of Peyush's no-nonsense mindset, and I know that she admires Vineeta for her cheerfulness and positivity. She is super proud that I managed to get an offer from both of them,” stated Balakrishnan <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7017678455685226496?updateEntityUrn=urn%3Ali%3Afs_feedUpdate%3A%28V2%2Curn%3Ali%3Aactivity%3A7017678455685226496%29">on his LinkedIn post</a>. His perseverance and honesty on the show left the Shark Tank India panel and the audience so impressed, that the admiration translated into sales. <div type="twitter" handle="AbstractAkarsh" handlename="Akarsh hp" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1608027655529730050/ZdAybBsg_normal.jpg" favoritecount="75" retweetcount="4" status="The #Flatheads pitch in #SharkTankIndia was one of the best I've seen across two seasons. Emotional. Real. Uplifting." createdat="1673025864000" id="1611413387547938816"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="dssagar93" handlename="Sagar Khatri 🇮🇳" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1508142401172385794/MMugvnlw_normal.jpg" favoritecount="20" retweetcount="0" status="This #Flatheads guy is so genuine and transparent with his story and failures. Saying that you couldn't make it wit… https://t.co/rjcGdmhUCo" createdat="1673026813000" id="1611417367736877056"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="banerjee_bapi" handlename="Bapi Banerjee" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/975719104953962496/N_213Fro_normal.jpg" favoritecount="7" retweetcount="0" status="Nothing but respect for you. To be honest on the national television, it takes courage. And I am sure you will boun… https://t.co/3KSiXtM62Q" createdat="1673078555000" id="1611634388642729984"></div> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/news/india-vs-sri-lanka-odis-2023-match-date-and-time-head-to-head-stats-and-more/slidelist/96849348.cms">India vs Sri Lanka ODIs 2023 – match date and time, head-to-head stats and more</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/health-edtech-platform-virohan-raises-7-million-in-funding-led-by-blume-ventures/articleshow/96849208.cms">Health edtech platform Virohan raises $7 million in funding led by Blume Ventures</a>

This IIT-IIM startup founder denies Shark Tank offer, sells his entire inventory over the weekend

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/46342060.cms" />

	 
	With India’s economy developing by leaps and bounds, the country has turned into a hub for expatriates, who come to the country, on an interim business assignment or a work transfer. Mounting foreign investments, a rapidly expanding MNC environment and the evolving job market are triggering the increasing influx and immigration of foreign professionals into the country. The phenomena of ‘Mobility Management’ and ‘Relocation’, are witnessing an upward swing owing to the rising number of expatriates in the country. 
	 It is estimated that the Indian economy will progress by a whopping 6.3% by the year 2016. The country will witness <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> growth of 5.9% in the year 2015, which is a testament to the fact that the country will see an increase in foreign investments and foreign business travelers—this would further boost the country’s economy. The figure also states that India will see various economic reforms in the form of policies, encouraging scores of foreign companies and business travelers to foray into the Indian marketplace. 
	 
	Current Scenario 
	 
	As the country undergoes economic uplift, metropolitan as well as smaller cities are growing phenomenally. With multi-national companies carving a niche place in the market, umpteen job opportunities are being created. With higher education levels leading to better standard of living, there is tremendous development that the country has attained in recent years. With the robust advancement taking place across a spectrum of various sectors like IT, retail and hospitality to name a few, India is becoming a lucrative option for global companies as well as foreigners wishing to get a job in the country. 
	 
	Future Outlook 
	 
	The recent survey by HSBC confirms India to be the second most lucrative place for expatriates, after China. India is touted as the one of the most rapidly-developing economies of Asia, which is one of the main reasons for foreign officials to get wooed by the work atmosphere of the country. In the year 2015 and also in the forthcoming years, it is predicted that the country will create a sturdy industrial base for itself and take the infrastructural development to another level. This will be possible only through an increased inflow of foreign funding. Foreign investments will lead to remarkable development and result in more and more expatriates settling in the country for a specified period of time, giving Mobility Management and Expat Relocation, a shot in the arm. 
	 
	The scenario will give a boost to the mobility management companies to enhance their operations in order to cater to the residential needs of a sizeable number of foreign officials in the country. This will also shoot up the profits of the industry and alleviate the confidence level of business travelers towards such companies; thus; giving foreign officials a satisfying and compelling experience of ‘Home away from home’. Mobility management companies provide holistic residential solutions to expatriates, from taking care of the minutest details of their domestic requirements, helping them mingle with the local community to assisting them in finding the right school for their kids among other aspects. 
	 
	Budget expectations: Simplify procedures 
	 
	Looking at the exponential growth of the Indian economy and rising influx of skilled expatriates into the country, there are high expectations from the budget of 2015. Mobility management and relocation companies are expecting the government to come up with various policies that will help foreign officials reside in the country amiably. Also, the government can further enhance the dwelling experience of foreign officials by making the immigration and residential procedure simple and hassle-free, hence saving them from the drudgery of cumbersome tasks of visiting government offices again and again. If these expectations are acted upon, the industry as well as the economy as a whole will receive a significant impetus like never before. 
	 
	(About the author: This article has been contributed by <keyword id="2738896" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Raman-Narula">Raman Narula</keyword>, managing director-Formula Group.) 
	 
	Representational Image: Indiatimes.com

Here’s what Mobility management companies are
expecting from Budget 2015

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Another year ends today. Looking back we see this year as the year of innovations. Science and Technology made real what were earlier conceived merely as sc-fi fiction- from driverless cars to making the closest match of a robot to human. India too saw the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/India-to-be-the-biggest-consumer-of-IoT-devices-in-the-planet-in-five-years-Nasscom/articleshow/47643246.cms">advent of Internet of Things</a>. We saw MI and <keyword id="6486191" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fitbit">Fitbit</keyword> pushing in a big way during the holiday seasons. Indian startups like SenseGiz, GetActive, Fin, Lechal have been early movers in the Indian wearables space, but they will now have to brace-up for stiff competition from global brands. Smart Grid has been slow to take off, with one major deployment in State of Maharashtra. But, cell phone based agriculture pumps and GPS enabled telematics for fleet management especially for cabs and school busses have seen good deployment. 
 Looking at the trends, consumer <keyword id="1967280" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IoT">IoT</keyword> grew at a faster pace than the industrial IoT. 
 
Analog Devices played a major role in the growth. Somshubhro Pal Choudhury, MD, Analog Devices India, talks about the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Here-iswhy-India-should-keep-evolving-for-IoT-era/articleshow/48694789.cms">Indian scenario</a>, trends, global scenario, some predictions of 2016 and the next big thing in IoT. 
 
1. Where is the world positioned in the IoT space? 
 
IoT is making descent <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Rise-and-rise-of-Internet-of-Things-in-India/articleshow/47643581.cms">progress across multiple verticals globally</a>, albeit at different pace for each. 
 
Below are a few examples of different market verticals and how IoT is shaping up in these verticals. 
 
• Smart Watches and Wearable – This vertical has taken off with wide range of fitness gadgets and smart watches. The volume is in consumer centric gadgets today. The market for remote healthcare and disease management and tracking with clinical grade devices is slower to emerge. 
 
• Smart Homes and Appliance - There are varied use cases. The driver for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/5-must-have-smart-home-appliances-for-an-efficient-hassle-free-life/articleshow/47528817.cms">Smart Appliances</a> is primary returns, warranty and scheduled maintenance more than anything else. The dream of Smart Homes has been on the radar for more than 2 decades now, but it will still be only for high-end homeowners who can afford it. 
 
• Smart Meters/Smart Grid - Already close to 50% of the homes in US have smart meters and Europe is deploying in a huge way. Asia is slow in adoption. In India it has happened only in the state of Maharashtra for a large scale deployment of the tune of 3M meters. 
 
• Smart Buildings- Focus is more on energy management and security. We are seeing active deployment of energy management scenarios with automated HVAC and lighting control based on occupancy worldwide. 
 
• Transportation – Mostly focused on fleet management of cars, trucks, busses via telematics. Several consumer centric gadgets and IoT solutions are available all around the world today in terms of plugging into the OBD2 port of the car and analytics to understand and schedule maintenance. 
 
• Smart City - Primary driver would be Smart lighting to reduce energy usage first and foremost followed by security/surveillance. There is a big push worldwide to move to LED street lights and connected smart lights will give additional benefits along with this LED switchover. 
 
• Industrial Automation – It would be a slow start in terms of IoT getting into the current Industrial Automation systems, but monitoring of the equipment to predict failure, asset tracking etc. are already starting to happen in a large way. 
 
2. Where is India positioned in the space? 
 India has two plays in IoT. First, the business opportunities of <keyword id="3190305" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="IoT-in-India">IoT in India</keyword> and second is talent availability and ecosystem that is being leveraged globally. 
 
IoT business opportunities in India are just starting. Consumer has been a slow start compared to the other developed countries. 
From an India context, here is a quick analysis of the potentials moving forward. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50393496.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 
From an ecosystem and talent standpoint, IoT ecosystem in India is illustrated in Figure below. The Ecosystem for IoT in India has exploded in India, comprised of large Industry MNC OEMs, the IT Services Houses/Systems Integrators and Startups supported by other entities. 
 Almost all the major MNCs with design centers in India are doing IoT development from India. Significant portion of software, cloud, embedded software and systems integration work are being done out of India owning to the readily available talent base. Few companies have taken the initiative of running the entire IoT engineering from India like Analog Devices., whereas companies like Cisco have the <keyword id="6377036" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="smart-cities">Smart Cities</keyword> initiatives being run from India. All <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/IT-and-Telecom-lead-Novembers-Job-Market/articleshow/50187803.cms">IT and systems integration</a> houses have an active ‘IoT Practice’ group now, focused on IoT enabled top-line or bottom-line growth for their customers. The opportunities Business Transformation with IoT woukd take off like it happened with IT and Business processes in the last 2 decades with India at the forefront. The IoT community has imbibed India’s rapid transformation into a startup nation and 200+ startups could be broadly classified under IoT Service, IoT Components, IoT Platforms and Design Services. The ecosystem has a strong IoT enthusiast community, the second largest after Silicon Valley. Indian Electronic Semiconductor Association (IESA), and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Bangalore are holding regular IoT Information, assistance, funding and mentorship sessions. IOT and hardware focused incubators are getting active and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeiTY) has come up with IoT vision document for IoT in India. 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50393502.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
3. When will we see an IoT boom in India? 
 
The ecosystem and talent boom is already happening as mentioned above. In terms of deployment and proliferation of IoT in a large scale, it would still take a few years. While the automation of rural pumps and telematics for fleet management and security are already happening, the Smart City security and LED Street light would probably come next along with energy management in commercial and retail spaces. We are hoping that the new factories for #MakeInIndia would be Smart Factories but it is likely that equipment and services business might go to global player’s more than Indian ones. We are also starting to see the need for Pollution monitoring, even monitoring the color of the smoke that is coming out from the chimneys. 
 
The IOT enabled business models are changing in a big way from CAPEX to OPEX, more a services business. This plays to the strength and DNA of India. We love to play in the pay as you go model with opex and that creates a lower barrier to entry. Still somebody has to pay for the Capex and currently this funding is the missing piece. 
 
4. What is holding it back? 
 
A range of opportunities now open up in terms of monitoring different situations in industries, retail etc. and the first thing that needs to be done is education about the possibilities and then a Return on Investment calculation. The next phase is usually a pilot followed by evaluation and deployment. In that case it is no different than any buying pattern for any B2B sale. I would re- iterate to the myriad of IoT companies in India that IOT as not a unique technology and solution, but in essence culmination of different technologies and solutions that have been developed over the past decade, bringing them together in the most cost effective way which will solve a business problem (increase revenue, new business models or reduce cost) at a fraction of the original cost. That is why I believe the systems integrators and the IT houses that have so successfully embarked India on the IT world map, would have a major play in IoT globally. 
 
5. What is the next big thing in IoT? 
 
We will be hearing more about successful deployments of IoT in 2016 compared to the promise of use cases and a range of pilots that are currently ongoing. We now know about the possibilities with IoT. It is now a question of running Return on Investment calculations, doing a pilot and finally deploying it in large scale, on a case by case basis, from vertical to vertical. 
 
6. What are the factors that are driving the space in the world? 
 
The concept of IoT is not a new. Smart Metering has been active for the last 10 years and Analog Devices has close to 40M meters with Radio enabled smart meters globally deployed. What we are seeing now is that all the components of IoT like sensors, edge node, connectivity, gateway, cloud infrastructure, data analytics solutions etc. readily available, have come down incredibly in cost, development tools and solutions exist and it has become fairly easy to provide a fully integrated sensor to the cloud solution at a low price point up and running in a short time frame. So the business case for an IoT enabled solution is far easier now and talent exists to bring the solutions together rapidly. 5 years back, the same solution would have cost 10X more and implementation time would be 10X more. The other most interesting driver is now with all monitoring of the data, the business models are changing from Capex to Opex with a services centric approach and this is true business innovation enabled by technology. 
 
7. How is the Indian IoT space different than global IoT space? 
 
Adoption of IoT in India will follow the same principles of ROI calculation for each case. In India it would be easier to get customers on an opex based services model, provided investors can fund the actual deployment. The ROI for IoT in India needs to be measured differently compared to the developed world. The term coined by IOPT – Internet of People and Things is more relevant here. While in developed countries, IOT to get data from the field will require a wireless sensor network and automated collection of data on a regular basis as labor is so expensive. In India, what we need is cheap sensors, connected to mobile phones and a way to manage a labor pool to regularly get data on the vital conditions. A mobile and people based approached would work best in India. 
 
(Image credits: Indiatimes, Analog Devices India)

MD of one of India’s biggest tech innovating firms says IoT R&amp;D has exploded in India, and better days are coming!

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50497262.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> “To the winners, who won because they didn't give up.”- <keyword id="198636" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vijay-Shekhar-Sharma">Vijay Shekhar Sharma</keyword>, founder of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/You-might-soon-be-able-to-shop-up-to-Rs-25K-via-mobile-wallets-Paytm-asks-RBI-to-raise-cash-limit-for-the-same/articleshow/48110055.cms">Paytm</a>. 
 
The man, who always wears a welcoming smile, stands true to every word he wrote during the most difficult times of his life. Vijay Shekhar Sharma owns a company whose current value is a little over $3 billion in the market in 2016, a dream dreamt when he was struggling to make ends meet with Rs 10 in pocket. But he tasted victory the hard way. Nothing came easy for him. The tears he hides behind the chirpy self that he puts up in front of the world could not be hidden for long while recollecting his journey. Interestingly, it was not talking about his failures that brought tears in his eyes; it was his hard earned victory. 
 
Life tested him right from the beginning of his journey to become one of the most influential people in the business world today. Though he passed his higher secondary when he was just 14 years old, a child prodigy of sorts, making it through college was the first tough challenge he faced when he left the cosy comfort of his small hometown outside Aligarh and ventured into the real world. 
 
A topper in his school, he was lost in transition in college-Delhi College of Engineering. Coming from a very humble background (his father was a highly principled, school teacher, who refused to earn the extra buck through tuitions, because he believed in what was the right thing to do), Vijay did not know how to read and write English for he completed his school education completely in Hindi, in his small town. However, he realised soon enough that to make it through college he must start learning the language first and with the help of books, second hand magazines and his friends, he mastered the language in a way which few can. His modus operandi was to read a Hindi version of the book simultaneously with the English-one, a habit that ensured that he soon learnt to read two books at the same time! But it wasn’t easy to say the least. The first-bencher in school slowly started gravitating towards the back benches, and in a short while, was so disheartened and disillusioned with his bad grades, mostly due to language constraints, that he completely stopped attending college. 
 
“When winning is about not giving up. 
 
When doing all that you can, gets a new meaning.” 
 
Struggling to learn English, survive the rigours of engineering college and the big bad city that Delhi was, this normally would be the time when many in his situation would have quit. Vijay, however, was something else. He decided to build, to use the time he had from ‘not attending college’ by turning an entrepreneur. A believer in challenging the unknown, he made the internet his playground and Sabeer Bhatia and Yahoo his inspirations. He aspired to go to Stanford, because that was where Yahoo was built, but realising his lack of financial resources and his challenges with the English language, he decided to emulate some of the genius at Stanford, by learning how to code all by himself. He started building his own content management system with some of his college mates, which went onto being used by some of the biggest news publications including The Indian Express. It was also during this time when he started his first job at an MNC. He quit after six months and built a company of his own with his friends. He finally passed his college examinations too. 
 This would also become the darkest time in his life, when having his dreams of reaching the <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> shattered, he was also left bankrupt by his partners, with whom he had just begun a business and raised the first round of funding. In 2005, he had raised a hefty amount of Rs 8 lakhs through his venture of which he was conned off 40%. He was devastated. But Vijay was not a man to give up so easily. He lived at a hostel near Kashmiri Gate in Delhi, skipped meals and walked long distances to attend work or meetings in the southern part of the State. 
 
Infact having been through such tough times, if there is a fear that the ‘Iron Man’ of the startup ecosystem of India still harbours, it is that someday ‘some unknown’ will take away all of his hardwork. 
 Things took to a better turn when he began One97, the parent company of <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword>. They started experimenting with the three basics of internet- content, advertising and commerce. But the big eureka moment came in 2011 when he first pitched the idea of entering the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/SBI-is-threatened-by-new-age-payments-banks-flies-to-Bengaluru-to-catch-up-with-tech-savvy-rivals/articleshow/48650002.cms">payment ecosystem</a> in front of his board. The board was not convinced, as he was talking about betting the company’s money on a non-existent market. 
 
“Some other entrepreneur would have sold the equity and started their own company. But I aspire to build a 100 year old company. I think that men and boys are different because the boys flip and sell. Men run and build legacies,” Vijay said. 
 
So he put 1% of his equity, which was about $2 million around 2011, on the table and said, “This is for all of you, if I waste the money that we put on the site.” He adds, “There is no fun in doing what others ask you to do, the real fun is in doing what people say you can’t do.” 
 
And it is with this belief that the first avatar of Paytm, Pay Through Mobile, was born, going rapidly onto becoming the next big thing of the startup ecosystem in India. And, since then it was never looking back. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50497229.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
 
The secret behind this steep arch is the trust he built with his customers which none other gave as much value to before. Even before Vijay began the roll-out of his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Mobile-wallet-for-government-services-will-be-a-reality-soon/articleshow/50026480.cms">internet wallet services</a>, he first built a strong 24x7 customer care service to address the worries of customers to enable them to trust the wallet enough to put their money into the hands of the unknown. “30% of the company’s campaign budget is invested in building trust with the customer. For us it was the single most important factor,” says Vijay, with a deep pride in what he has built so far. 
 
“We propagated through word of mouth once the trust was built. I have a firm belief that the truest relationship test comes when one goes through a stress case. This makes our relationship with our customers special and unique than the rest. We also launched in Twitter and Facebook so that as soon as a customer complained, we got back with an immediate response and help. Trust is the secret formula which worked for us, though there were 30 other licences already available in the market like Mobikwik.” 
 
Backed by consumer trust, Paytm’s stupendous journey to the top of the internet wallet market is now a part of startup folklore, but what is unkown is that Paytm also became one of a handful companies worldwide to secure Series A funding exceeding several $100 mn. They have done only a single round of funding till now with Alibaba, SAIF and Alipay. 
 
“I have always wanted a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Lendingkart-joins-hands-with-Paytm-for-collateral-free-business-loans-to-SMEs-sellers/articleshow/49935027.cms">business partner </a>and not a syndicated investor. Our relationship with “business partner/investor” is of a journey together. There are four people who own this company- me, SAIF, Alibaba, Alipay, says Vijay, in his usual animated way. 
 
After building a billion dollar worth company, maintaining the success is the most difficult part of the journey and it cannot be done without good teamwork, he says. For that, he ensures that the right people are taken onboard who share the same passion to build like his. He has also given 4% of his equity to the team, which in current value terms is about $120 million. 
 
“I have given more to my team than any amount of salary cumulatively taken in so many years, ” Vijay says. And why he chose to do so isn’t hard to understand. Given his personal experiences and the tough fight he put up to achieve where he has reached, he values everyone who contributes to creating his vision. People working in his company are never referred to as ‘Employees’, but as ‘Colleagues’ or ‘Teammates’. A staunch believer of God, he believes that only one amongst every 10 hardworking person succeeds to the levels he today firmly belongs in, and because of that respect he shares for every hardworking person, he doesn’t have the right to call anyone an employee or a worker. 
 
But, it’s just not the fighting spirit that has Vijay in the position that he enjoys today. Despite his engineering background and no formal education in business management, he has the business acumen of a genius. 
 
While the pride he takes in his creation and the people who help him implement his vision is obvious, he brushes this unique quality off by saying, “When something’s not working, I become the customer,” with a smile on his face, that is so true to himself. He attributes his humility to the lessons learned from his father. His father refused to take tuitions even though the extra money would have made a huge difference to their lives, as he believed that true education cannot be the privilege of those who have money. 
 
His struggles are the reason why he hates reading fiction. How can one be inspired by made up tales! 
 
Vijay stands testimony to the saying, “A man makes his own destiny.” 
 Life has been busy for this go-getter ever since he entered college. A true lover of all kinds of music, Coldplay, U2, <keyword id="74615" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jim-Morrison">Jim Morrison</keyword> being his favourites, he takes respite in music to relieve his stress. He is also the resident DJ at One97, added Vijay with a whole-hearted laugh, often forcing his colleagues and teammates to listen to the music he discovers. 
 
Inspite of all these, his attitude to life can be best defined in his own simple words. 
 
“It (his success) still seems so surreal.” 
 
(Image credits: Paytm)

Paytm Founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s incredible life story!

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/51679153.cms" /> 
 

	India has witnessed rapid growth in recent years driven by the increase in new-age industries. The increase in purchasing power has resulted in the demand for a new level of quality of service. However, there is a growing shortage of skilled manpower in the country. In the wake of the changing economic environment, it is necessary to focus on inculcating and advancing the skill sets of the young population of the country.
 
India lags far behind in imparting skill training as compared to other countries. Reports indicate that only 10% of the total workforce in the country receives some kind of skill training (2% with formal training and 8% with informal training). Further, 80% of the entrants into the workforce do not have the opportunity for skill training. But all that is changing. 
 
The other day when I was at speaking at the African Development Conference at Harvard, I was excited to share the present government’s interest in the skill building in India. Our Prime Minister has become the brand ambassador of skilling as he passionately mentions ‘Skilling India’ in each of his speeches without fail during his tours beyond the shores of the country. The new government has also been able to recognize the disparities in the extent to which young people have been able to acquire formal skills. 
 
Realizing this need the government has made provisions for upgrading skills under multiple disciplines and allocated resources across the length &amp; breadth of the country. To list a few, the centre is taking efforts to come up with a legislation to set up a <keyword id="6418027" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Skill-development">Skill Development</keyword> University. Further, a separate Ministry for Skills Development &amp; Entrepreneurship has been tasked to coordinate and streamline multiple skill development initiatives undertaken by the government to build a skilled &amp; employable India. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, recently gave its approval for the Pradhan Mantri KaushalVikasYojana (PMKVY) with an outlay of Rs1500 crore. 
 
Being the largest partner of <keyword id="6380206" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NSDC">NSDC</keyword> for the second year in a row, we harbor dreams to provide workforce to power global youth. Our youth is our biggest strength and we have to entrench ‘dignity for labor in the minds of Indians. As a country, India has a strong surplus in working population (age 15-50), which has helped the nation to maintain the momentum in the growth story. A significant portion of this demographic dividend lies in rural areas, which is Centum Learning’s primary area of focus. With presence in 383 districts in India, we are now customizing training as per the requirements of the industries and doing our bit to bridge the skills shortage. 
 
 
Have the promises made by the industry been fulfilled? 
 
There has been visible effort by the Government to meet their promises on skill development in the country for empowerment of its citizens. The Finance Minister has rightly recognized the most critical aspect, which is taking a step towards effective implementation of the Right to Education Act. Also, the allocation to National Skill Development Fund will aid in capacity building and developing skilled human resource to meet growing demand for India Inc. Another major highlight is the provision of fiscal incentives to the private sector for setting up vocational and skill development institutions. This has motivated a lot of private sector organizations to lay emphasis on the sector. 
 
An increase in budgetary allocation for primary education is a long awaited requirement that been met. National Skill Development Agency is encouraging innovation in skills development and promoting entrepreneurship in the country. The newly set up Skills Ministry is determined to encourage innovative ideas and modules in skill development landscape and at the same time assist the youth of the country in the skilling and entrepreneurial domain, to translate the vision of the Government into a concrete reality. With focus on self-employment as a key aspect to job creation, the Government has chalked out a plan to set up incubation centres at all districts across the country to train budding entrepreneurs. 
 
The Government has also decided to revamp the antiquated industrial training centres that will skill over 20 lakh youth annually and devise special courses based on industry needs. All these are positive signs to show that the government’s promise of skilling 500 million will be achieved in due course of time. 
 
Now, the Govt should incentivize industry to spend 50% of their CSR funds on skills training and Government should match the same. 
 
Ground reality of skill development industry 
 
Unemployment of youth is a ticking time bomb that is perilously close to exploding with the young population that we have. Soon, three of every four people will be 20 years of age. Despite growing as a developing country, the economy has not created youth friendly labor market where millions of young Indians descend every year, creating rising youth unemployment. 
 
The lack of jobs or a limited number of jobs, ineffectual vocational training, lack of skills development, unrealistic expectations from jobs, lack of entrepreneurship, absenteeism in school, early dropouts and a myriad of other factors have given rise to youth unemployment. Growth in economies has not led to a resultant increase in formal jobs or a youth-friendly labor market. The situation is further exacerbated with an influx of youth from rural areas to populous urban centers. 
 
As in other developing countries and countries that have recently bridged the chasm to become developed nations, the problem perhaps also lies in perception and inadequate transition from school to the workplace. Youth are keen to get employment in formal sectors to get full-time employment, which may even offer benefits such as healthcare and paid holidays, instead of pursuing jobs in the informal or traditional sectors that may be seasonal. 
 
Our leaders have recognized this crisis and the Indian Government has taken steps to initiate action to tackle this flashpoint before it explodes. But these are not enough, and the government in isolation cannot tackle such a mammoth problem. The biggest challenge in the Indian ecosystem lies in finding out how to make skilling programmes aspirational? How do you create a desire or need in the mind of people to get pursue skill development programmes vis-à-vis a pure educational course? 
 
As our skill development minister, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy recently said, “the day I find a matrimonial advertisement where the bride or groom is vocationally skilled, I would feel that our initiatives have made some impact.” A welcome step in this direction is the recent announcement where over 11,000 ITIs and other apprentice &amp; training divisions, which were earlier with Ministry of Labour, will now be integrated with the Ministry of Skill Development &amp; Entrepreneurship. 
 
Another big challenge facing the implementation and execution of any skills development-related scheme is reaching out, educating and motivating youth in the rural and remote parts of the country. With over thirty years of experience in Training &amp; Development, we have realized that the only way to increase the efficiency of the employees in the corporate sector is through innovative training methodologies which need to be upgraded from time to time. At Centum Learning we have adopted off-beat training modules which can be as simple and varied as story telling or Team building using theatre workshops. Depending on the clients, Centum Learning, which believes in the mantra of “Business of positive transformation”, has devised training modules which can enhance business results and develop skills as per industry requirements. 
 
There cannot be a more opportune time to consider how closely a nation’s growth agenda is aligned with the skill-level of its manpower. We are playing a key role in evangelizing skilling like a religion in India and making youth job-ready so that in turn they can make India a manufacturing hub in order to fulfill PM’s vision of ‘Make in India’. 
 
Manufacturing cannot become a growth driver if the lack of skilled workers continues to be the greatest constraint in this journey. A survey conducted in 2014 reveals thataround 78 per cent of the surveyed employers said they are concerned with the growing skills gap in India while 57 per cent said they currently have open positions for which they cannot find qualified candidates. So, the Government needs to pursue the two pronged approach of creating jobs in the manufacturing sector and encouraging multi-stakeholder partnerships to impart relevant, “employment worthy” skills. It is good that Skill development is garnering so much interest from both the government and the industry. The fact that this space is growing and large players with pedigree and Governance standards are entering is good for the sector. 
 
Government should make vocational education mandatory for women not pursuing full time education. Jobs and hiring in India needs to shift from being 'qualification based' to 'skill based'. With ‘BetiBachao, BetiPadhao’ and ‘Digital India’ schemes being rolled out by the Government, youth and especially women must be compulsorily taught to use computers and be skilled (in any field) in order to get acquire an id card (maybe something like a BPL card) . Government also needs to take specific steps for differently-abled people and help create job opportunities for them by building relationships with employer and industry groups. If the Government can get the major chunk of the above target groups in its umbrella, the dream of empowering and transforming lives will be achieved to a great extent. 
 
 
Challenges galore 
 
The tragedy is that less than 2% of India's workforce has formal skills and even among those who have some sort of training or qualification, only a third today, are armed withemployable skills amounting to a colossal waste of our biggest asset: people power. The perception of educated parents that everyone had to be either a doctor or an engineer -- a hangover to the mindset of the 1960s and 70s -- has tragically hamstrung efforts at skill building at its most important stage -- during school. Admittedly there has been realization that school-level skilling can lead to satisfying, lucrative careers. CBSE now offers some 50 vocational courses and the school management is now encouraging students to discover original or innovative talents in themselves. 
 
A trishul of talents need to coalesce before skills can be translated into gainful employment: technical skills, domain knowledge, and soft skills. The first two are a matter of training and application. The final, presents some rather nuanced, challenges and the needless roadblocks need to be addressed with sensitivity. 
 
Today whether you are a beautician or a tour guide or a taxi driver, a working knowledge of English is a force multiplier when it comes to employability. In Bengaluru, which is home to the largest number of MNC tech companies in India, a headhunter tells me, a licensed driver, maintenance engineer or a nursing assistant who can speak and read English, can straight away add 50 percent to his or her pay packet. This is something that Governments- both at the State and Central levels are beginning to take cognizance of. 
 
But the biggest bottleneck in the skills space is getting the students to the classrooms and retaining them there. Government and training partners need to work together to ensure that the candidate is incentivized to attend classes through industry aligned courses, relevant training methodology, deeper connect with jobs and industry so that they themselves can see their career path ahead. 
 
The larger training players also need to harness technology wherever available -- digital solutions, smart tools, Internet-driven delivery -- to achieve the required scale and maybe even for large scale mobilization. 
 
We must also recognize that at basic levels, one has to contend with low aspiration levels, coupled with lack of capacity to pay. This has to be addressed with sensitivity that can be best achieved by government-funded programmes, executed by large training partners who have the ability to scale up. For mid-level skills, both government and private enterprises can join in the funding -- but we need to recognize that corporates tend to skill as per their requirements. 
 
It is time to recognize that a placement need not necessarily be accompanied by a wage. Many skills, from electrician to care giver for the aged, lend themselves to gainful self-employment and can account for as much as 30-40% of all skill acquirers. 
 
Skilling India to empower her citizens and to equip them to compete and excel on a globalmaidan is a multi-pronged challenge. We need our engineers and doctors and business executives and we also need many times those who bring a rainbow of heterogeneous skills to drive the engine that is India. And sometimes we discover in ourselves skills and talents for which we were not necessarily trained, but which constitute a coming together of head and heart. 
 
The article is authored by Sanjeev Duggal, CEO and MD of Centum Learning, a corporate training firm.

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