Platform Financial News

Mumbai: India’s lightly regulated market for pre-IPO shares is back in focus after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a probe into the alleged sale of unlisted National Stock Exchange shares, a case that is renewing calls for tighter oversight of the fast-growing segment.Last week, ED conducted searches at eight locations in Mumbai and Chennai as part of a money laundering investigation linked to the sale of shares of NSE, which is set to hit the public markets soon. The action targeted entities, including Atum Capital Pvt.

Mint spoke to said the same—inquiries have thinned, with no explanation about what has changed. IndiaMART has been their entire digital existence. But somewhere between a buyer’s question and an AI agent’s answer, their phones have begun to ring less often.IndiaMART, India’s largest business-to-business (B2B) marketplace, was built on a single premise: helping buyers find sellers.

The Karnataka government’s action against Bengaluru-based digital gold savings app Jar has become a test case for India’s wider digital gold industry. Acting on inputs from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and a public caution from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the state has booked Jar Gold Retail Pvt Ltd and its directors under the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes (BUDS) Act.Because similar products are sold across the market, the case could shape how digital gold platforms are scrutinized in India.

India’s courts are keeping up with the times in their efforts to curb online piracy of films and television shows by issuing dynamic plus injunctions that are effective even for content that hasn’t been released yet.“We are witnessing a pivotal transition toward the dynamic plus injunction, where the Indian judiciary is providing ex-ante protection for content that hasn't even been expressed yet,” said Yash Vardhan Singh, counsel at Sarvaank Associates. “By moving away from static, URL-based orders, the courts are addressing the intractable reality of digital piracy, ensuring marquee properties like Stranger Things and Friends are protected from the moment of creation.”Experts said recent anti-piracy orders, particularly the dynamic plus injunction, expand the scope of dealing with emerging cyberspace issues.

Zerodha and Upstox hold mutual fund units in demat form. Groww, one of India’s largest investing apps, made demat the default for all new mutual fund purchases from June 2025, unless users opt out.

Fintech Moneyview is hunkering down on a lending model just as digital lending peers such as Paytm and KreditBee are either moving away from it or focusing on growth in other models.In its draft IPO prospectus, the Bengaluru-based startup revealed plans to substantially expand default loss guarantee (DLG) arrangements with lending partners as part of its credit distribution strategy. A default loss guarantee allows a partner, such as a fintech, to compensate a regulated entity, such as a bank or NBFC, for loan defaults.The move comes even as financial institutions have been reassessing such guarantees after the Reserve Bank of India introduced guidelines in mid-2023 that capped DLG exposure at 5% of a loan portfolio and required board approval.Paytm, a listed fintech platform that began DLG-backed loans in 2024, began retreating from the arrangement due to high costs by mid-2025.

Ather unveiled its new EL platform last year in August on which its future scooters will be built.The EL platform allows the company to a suite of products, ranging from family oriented scooters to sporty performance models, over five years.Ola Electric, dealing with losses and slowing sales, is shrinking its network from about 4,000 stores to around 700, it informed investors in February after the release of its December quarter earnings.Ather is set to double store count to 700 this financial year from 350 in fiscal 2025. A target of at least 1,100 by the end of March 2027 suggests that it would have added 750 stores or more in two years.The latest move by Tarun Mehta-led Ather comes after the Bengaluru company overtook crosstown rival Ola Electric in quarterly revenue, volume sales, and market valuation in the last six months.For two consecutive quarters, Q2 and Q3 FY26, Ather’s total revenue of ₹941 crore and ₹996 crore surpassed Ola Electric’s ₹756 crore and ₹504 crore.Since Ather’s listing in May 2025, the company’s shares have surged by 118% while Ola Electric’ shares have fallen by 51%.

PhonePe, the fintech giant backed byWalmart, is preparing for a major initial public offering, aiming for a valuation of up to $10.5 billion (around ₹97,000 crore). This would be lower than the $12 billion valuation at which PhonePe last raised $100 million from private equity investors in 2023.The IPO will be entirely an offer for sale (OFS), with existing investors including WM Digital, Microsoft Global Finance, and Tiger Global planning to sell shares.

A regulatory overhaul of how commissions are paid will shake up the segment estimated to account for about half of India’s ₹81 trillion in mutual fund assets: small distributors. Industry experts say they will be forced to partner with larger peers to survive, driving consolidation.The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in December approved a revised framework for total expense ratio (TER) limits.

IPO-bound Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries Ltd’s Indian renewable energy business and Hexa Climate Solutions are vying to acquire the entire India renewable business of Italy’s Enel Group in a deal having an equity and enterprise value of around $100 million and $300 million, respectively, according to two people aware of the development. Sembcorp is present in India throughSembcorp India Private Limited and Sembcorp Green Infra Ltd (SGIL) along with other subsidiaries., while Hexa is backed by I Squared Capital.The HSBC-run sale process follows a deal signed last year—which later fell through—under which Waaree Energies Ltd had agreed to buy 100% of Enel Green Power India Pvt Ltd (EGP India) from its parent Enel Green Power Development S.R.L.

Arnya Real Estates Fund Advisors and developer Supreme Universal have raised ₹1,030 crore for Arnya Real Estate Fund—Equity, from domestic and offshore investors, including family offices and ultra-rich individuals, marking the first close for the equity platform.The capital raised also includes around ₹220 crore of equity committed by the two sponsors. Arnya Real Estates will manage the fund, while Mumbai-based Supreme Universal will develop the projects.Arnya Real Estates has raised the capital for the platform via a Sebi-registered category II alternative investment fund (AIF)—Arnya Real Estate Fund-Equity.The two partners had announced the launch of a residential real estate platform in November that will develop housing projects in Mumbai and Pune.

Mint.The proposal follows recommendations by the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) at a meeting held in February. The board also called for a strict ban on sales to minors and closer monitoring of online platforms to prevent easy access.In India, NRT products including nicotine gums and lozenges are regulated as drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act as they are used to reduce tobacco dependence.

Mint. Price was not a factor but the presentation on the screen definitely was. Like a moth to a light, the bright yellow colour drew her in and she tapped on it.That instinctive and irrational add-to-cart moment is exactly what Swiggy is betting Noice can engineer on a large scale.When the company rolled out the food and beverage (F&B) brand in the middle of last year, it did not resemble a routine back-end grocery experiment.

Hotel chains are increasingly rolling out AI tools across various operations as rising costs and tighter margins push them to find efficiencies in existing systems. Global operators in India are scaling similar capabilities.

Mint.For the early growth-stage corporate venture fund, there is a distinction between what venture capital like to call Bharat and rural India. While the term is all-encompassing, it doesn’t account for the fundamental issues facing rural India.

New Delhi: Industry stakeholders and policy experts have reacted with scepticism over Karnataka’s proposal to ban social media use for youngsters under 16 years of age, questioning both the legality and the practicality of enforcing such a restriction in one state of India.Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah unveiled the proposal along with the state’s budget for FY27 on Friday, but did not share details.Lawyers and policymakers Mint spoke with said such a state-level demographic-specific ban could require intrusive age-verification systems and may be impractical, since many children access social media through adults’ devices and accounts.Further, such a ban may also clash with the Centre’s data-privacy framework, and go against the principles of minimal data sharing put forth in the Digital Personal Data Privacy (DPDP) Act that was notified last year.“Governments considering bans should be careful not to push teens toward less safe, unregulated sites, or logged-out experiences that bypass important protections—like the default safeguards we offer in Instagram’s ‘teen accounts’,” a spokesperson for Meta Platforms Inc said in response to Mint’s queries.“We’ll comply with social media bans where they are enforced, but with teens using nearly 40 apps every week, targeting a handful of companies won’t keep them safe.

Mint's queries.The launch of Mounjaro by Eli Lilly in March 2025, followed by Wegovy and Ozempic from Novo Nordisk, has pushed India’s GLP-1 drug market past ₹1,000 crore within a year, according to pharma intelligence platform Pharmarack. Yet, awareness among the broader population remains limited.

For investors keen to move from commission-based mutual fund advisory to fee-only advice, a common question is: How can I shift my portfolio from a mutual fund distributor (MFD) to a registered investment adviser (RIA) without disrupting investments or triggering avoidable taxes?The shift essentially involves moving from a regular plan, where commissions are built into the expense ratio, to a direct plan, which excludes distributor commissions and typically has lower costs. In the latter, you pay a fixed fee to the RIA.Investors broadly have two options.

In today’s ‘digital-first’ times, is it possible the last handwritten note you received was from a grateful small business thanking you for your purchase? These little touches—a personalized feedback request on WhatsApp or a delighted repost of your review on social media—can turn one-off transactions into sustained customer relationships. In these simple yet meaningful ways, small businesses across India are leaning on direct channels and tech infrastructure to connect with buyers.

YouTube and Instagram Reels content increasingly frame celebrities as difficult or unethical. The risks are compounded by AI-generated deepfakes that create false scenarios involving public figures.“Podcasts and YouTube commentary have increasingly become flashpoints for defamation disputes because of their informal tone and rapid virality.

Information technology services has been among the most talked-about sectors in the Indian market over the past few days, driven by sharp swings in sentiment and price action.On Tuesday the Nifty IT Index slipped nearly 4% to its lowest in about 10 months, highlighting the extent of the pressure on technology stocks. However, the trend seemed to reverse on 25 February, when Indian IT stocks staged a strong rebound.