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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of Paytm Payments Bank, culminating a series of supervisory actions that began with a halt on new customer onboarding in March 2022 and subsequent stringent business restrictions.While the action may appear rooted in regulatory non-compliance, it has reignited a broader debate over the viability of payments banks. Conceived to serve the unbanked, their relevance is now being questioned amid near-universal account ownership driven by Jan Dhan Yojana and intensifying competition from fintech platforms, most notably UPI.With a key player exiting, concerns are mounting over the sustainability of India’s differentiated banking model.Payments banks were set up to advance financial inclusion by offering small savings accounts and digital payment services to migrant workers, small businesses and low-income households in the unorganized sector.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: Ather Energy Ltd is moving closer to breakeven as rapid scale-up in volumes and an aggressive expansion of its retail network offset persistent commodity cost pressures, even as the electric two-wheeler maker continues to operate with narrow margins.The Bengaluru-based company saw its net loss narrow to ₹517 crore in fiscal year 2026 (FY26) from ₹812 crore a year earlier, aided by a 16.3 percentage point improvement in earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) margin to -6.7%.Revenue rose 66% to ₹3,823 crore, driven by a 69% jump in volumes to 263,000 units. The company said store expansion and product-led demand were key drivers of growth, with distribution emerging as a central lever in FY26.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Global investment firm Carlyle has acquired a majority stake in Knack RCM and EqualizeRCM, two US-based healthcare revenue cycle management (RCM) providers, the companies said in a statement on Monday, as it looks to build an artificial intelligence (AI)-led platform in the US healthcare RCM market.The transaction combines two complementary RCM operators to create what the companies described as an AI-native, multi-specialty platform serving physician groups, rural hospitals and durable medical equipment (DME) providers.Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.“The US healthcare revenue cycle market is growing rapidly, driven by margin compression, workforce shortages, and the shift to value-based care,” said Kapil Modi, Partner at Carlyle India Advisors. “We believe Knack and Equalize stand out as leaders with their AI-native, specialty‑focused, and outcomes‑driven approach, which aligns well with the growing needs and demand in healthcare RCM.”The combined entity is expected to expand scale and delivery footprint across the US, India and the Philippines, while deepening capabilities in automation and analytics, the company said.Carlyle said it intends to pursue additional acquisitions to build out the platform, underscoring a consolidation strategy in a sector that remains highly fragmented.“One of the core tenets of this investment is to build a scaled, strategically attractive physician and rural hospital RCM platform in a fragmented industry.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.John Pederson, 33, couldn’t work. The former Outback Steakhouse line cook was recovering from a car crash and running out of money. Kalshi, the prediction market, promised a quick way to fix that.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.On 27 April, when weather-monitoring platform AQI reported that 97 of the world’s hottest cities are in India, it felt like a ringing validation of the way I have been feeling since I set foot in my hometown a week ago to vote in the assembly elections.With temperatures crossing 30 degrees Celsius, the heat and humidity in Kolkata has been unbearable this April. If you are lucky to have the option of working from home, you could avoid the worst of the heat.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Shortly after Charles Schwab announced in April that it would soon allow investors to trade crypto directly on its platform, financial advisor Jeff Judge received a question from a 68-year-old client who had always dismissed Bitcoin: Was he “missing something?” the client asked Judge.The client ended up investing $125,000—some 5% of his $2.5 million portfolio—in a crypto exchanged-traded fund (ETF).“Institutional credibility moved the needle in a way that price performance never did,” said Judge, managing partner at Chesapeake Financial Planners in the Baltimore area. “When Fidelity, BlackRock and now Schwab put their name on it, older investors interpret that as a green light, or at least a sign they should ask the question.”Crypto has surged to a $2.6 trillion market cap, up more than 1,000% from April 2020 as retail investors and institutional ones alike have taken an interest in digital currency.Bitcoin’s price jumped from roughly $8,000 per coin in early 2020 to as high as $126,000 per coin in October of last year.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Global payments network Visa is stepping up its push for merchant acceptance in India as the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) cements its lead in everyday digital payments, a top Visa India executive told Mint. The company is betting that cheaper acceptance tools, card-based subscriptions, and a broader set of payment choices can help it win share among both small and large merchants.Ramakrishnan Gopalan, chief product officer, India and South Asia at Visa, said the company’s first pitch to merchants is built around consumer choice.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.New Delhi: Luxury retailer Burgundy Brand Collective aims to cross ₹200 crore in revenuein FY27, as the Mumbai-based company bets on rising premium consumption beyond India’s top metros.The company, which has introduced brands such as Royce’ Chocolate, Onitsuka Tiger, Jacadi Paris and Ligne Roset to India, plans to invest about ₹100 crore to scale its multi-category portfolio, cofounder Samir Gadhok told Mint.Burgundy, which reported sales of ₹120 crore in FY24, also plans to nearly double its store count over the next three years to about 65 stores.The expansion comes as India’s luxury consumption story broadens to newer cities where affluent consumers are spending more across categories from fashion and food to home and lifestyle.Burgundy’s approach has been to build across categories rather than deepen a single vertical. "We want to be everything to one customer, rather than one thing to everyone,” said Gadhok.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.A public feud that played out on social media for years is now having its day in court. Tech billionaire Elon Musk took the stand this week and described OpenAI as a “stolen charity”, escalating a legal battle that is at the heart of the global artificial intelligence (AI) race.The lawsuit, filed by Musk against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, also a billionaire, seeks damages of around $150 billion and challenges the company’s shift from a non-profit research lab to a commercial AI powerhouse.The case comes at a time when OpenAI is updating its guiding principles, reworking key partnerships, and expanding its footprint across cloud platforms.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.It has been almost two decades since the late Shinzo Abe [former prime minister of Japan] stood in India’s parliament and told the assembled legislators that “it is incumbent upon us two democracies, Japan and India, to carry out the pursuit of freedom and prosperity in the region.” Abe defined their task as protecting freedom of navigation in what he was perhaps the first to call the Indo-Pacific. That task has gotten only more urgent as America withdraws—or, more recently, imposes blockades on crucial straits—and China pushes harder against the first island chain.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Tencent-backed audio platform Pocket FM has revived plans to raise fresh capital, targeting $100 million-$120 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion-$2 billion, according to two people familiar with the matter. This marks a second attempt by Pocket FM, which had explored fundraising about nine months ago but failed to close the round amid investor concerns over backing a loss-making business.Mint had earlier reported that Goldman Sachs was advising on the previous mandate.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.IIM Ahmedabad's venture platform IIMA Ventures has averaged six to eight exits from its startup portfolio every yearsince the financial year 2012-13 (FY13)—a pace of returns that outstrips even some of India's leading venture capital funds.IIMA Ventures exited Pune-based Unbox Robotics earlier this year when the warehouse automation startup raised $28 million in its Series B round led by ICICI Venture. It was among the first institutional backers of the company, writing an $80,000 ( ₹75 lakh) cheque when it raised a $500,000 seed round back in 2020.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The insurance sector requires deregulation in some areas and stronger regulation in others. However, deregulation does not mean laissez-faire,” said Ajay Seth, chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai).In an interaction with Mint, he outlined the regulator’s approach to balancing sector liberalization with consumer protection, amid proposed reforms such as the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha Act.He discussed foreign participation, regulatory safeguards, challenges in health insurance, global risks, and new initiatives such as the Public Insurance Registry and the Bima Sugam platform.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Americans are increasingly turning to TikTok Shop to buy shampoo, jewelry and apparel. Retailers have noticed, pushing onto the platform with their own virtual stores.Ralph Lauren and Olaplex Holdings moved onto the platform late last year, while Ulta Beauty launched its store in March.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU: Urban Company Ltd plans to launch an air-conditioner-cum-air purifier ahead of Diwali this year, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter, as the quick-services platform expands beyond its home and beauty services business and deepens its presence in its consumer durables vertical.Urban Company entered the consumer durables segment in October 2023 with the launch of its Native brand, starting with water purifiers. Since then, the company has added electronic door locks and is now looking to scale up with air-conditioner-cum air purifiers.“Urban Company can only make so much profit from its services business because that depends heavily on manpower and day-to-day operations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Meta Platforms is preparing to have to unwind its acquisition of the artificial-intelligence startup Manus after China banned the transaction on national-security grounds Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.Meta bought Manus, a China-linked, Singapore-based startup that specializes in building AI agents, in December for $2.5 billion, and quickly moved to integrate the new technology into its systems. Any attempt to undo the acquisition would mean disentangling the two.In another complication, Manus’s investors, which include California-based venture-capital firm Benchmark, have already received their returns, people with knowledge of the matter said.Meta garners significant revenues from Chinese advertisers who target consumers outside China, despite Facebook and other Meta apps being blocked in the country.Several former Manus investors in Asia, including Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund, have planned to cooperate if Meta goes ahead to unwind the deal, some of the people said.Beijing has handed the two companies a preliminary deadline of several weeks to unwind the deal and fully restore Manus’s Chinese assets to their original state, some of the people said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NewSpace India Ltd (NSIL), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), has raised satellite bandwidth prices by 20%, effective 1 April, marking its first revision in a decade and signalling a reset in how scarce orbital capacity is priced amid shifting demand.The increase, communicated to customers in a letter dated 18 September, reviewed by Mint, will affect broadcasters, direct-to-home (DTH) platforms and companies leasing capacity for TV distribution, connectivity for ATMs and remote areas, maritime and defence projects, and enterprise communications.The move comes as demand dynamics shift, with traditional DTH usage weakening even as aviation, maritime and defence applications seek capacity, prompting a long-delayed pricing correction.“NSIL management has decided to revise the pricing of Ku-band capacity in three satellites—Gsat-31, Gsat-10 and Gsat-16. This is the first price revision of government satellites after 2016.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.One MobiKwik Systems Ltd expects to see margins improve after the Reserve Bank of India approved its application for a non-banking financial company (NBFC) licence, the company’s top executive told Mint.This marks a key regulatory milestone for the listed fintech as it looks to deepen its lending business. The licence will sit under wholly owned subsidiary MobiKwik Financial Services Pvt Ltd.“We have got this NBFC license to make our business more efficient and improve on margins,” said Bipin Preet Singh, chief executive officer of MobiKwik.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The creator economy is earning a rising share of consumers’ attention, but its growth is making the terrain more complicated both for brands and for creators seeking sponsors.While some major marketers say they’re moving spending from television and digital advertising to social-media creators, the money is lagging behind both consumer trends and the population boom among creators themselves. That’s spreading budgets thin, discouraging potentially more effective long-term partnerships and leaving many out in the cold, creators say.“Every creator wants to work with the brands,” said Sam Beres, who goes by Sambucha to his millions of followers on YouTube and TikTok.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Reliance Retail is scaling up its e-commerce platform JioMart’s quick-commerce business with a strategy that breaks from the industry’s fixation on 10-minute delivery.It is leveraging its extensive network of physical stores to enable two-hour deliveries, while broadening its focus to higher-value categories such as electronics and fashion.The playbook so far appears to be gaining traction. JioMart’s hyperlocal business scaled to roughly two million average daily orders in the March quarter, up 29% sequentially and over 300% year-on-year, Reliance Industries Ltd’s Q4FY26 investor presentation showed.Nearly 5.8 million new customers shopped on the platform during the fourth quarter, while the registered customer base expanded by 98% on-year.In fact, Reliance Retail logged total transactions (including JioMart, Reliance Digital, Metro, and Smart Bazaar) worth ₹193 crore in the last quarter of 2025-26, with JioMart’s high-frequency nature boosting the figure, Dinesh Taluja, group chief financial officer of Reliance Retail, told analysts on Friday.“We have the widest reach and network that any hyperlocal player has in the country today,” he added.The numbers come amid an aggressive expansion push by quick-commerce players such as Eternal Ltd-owned Blinkit, Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, and Tata group-owned BigBasket, which are investing heavily in dark stores and logistics even as profitability remains uncertain.Market leader Blinkit logged roughly 8.1 million daily orders as of the December quarter, while Swiggy Instamart’s daily order volume stood at 3.5 million in the same period.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In the attention economy, where user time is the scarcest commodity, platforms such as content sites, OTT services and social networks are competing for every second of engagement. Several studies peg Gen Z attention spans at just around eight seconds, less than that of a goldfish.