• Bajaj Finance’s market capitalization exceeds that of HDFC, one of the largest real estate finance companies.
• With this, Bajaj Finance is now the eighth largest company on the exchanges by market capitalization.
• The market capitalization of NBFC became ₹4.18 lakh crore higher than that of HDFC at ₹4.17 lakh crore.

Pune-based financial services company, Bajaj Finance, has now become the eighth largest company in the Indian market by market capitalization, surpassing even the major housing finance company, Housing Development Finance Corporation.

Bajaj Finance is making every effort to develop a digital community for its lending and credit activities. It has now consolidated all of its offers into one app and has also removed more physical credit cards. The app allows customers to get loans, repay, get EMI cards, track their FDs, home insurance, investments, and more.

For its future growth, the company expects investments from global giants for capital and technology partnerships. Bajaj Finance is also considering a banking license with its huge loan portfolio.

“We expect digital transformation to start paying off in terms of better cross-selling starting in the second half of FY23,” said a report from Bernstein Research.

In fact, analysts believe that the depth of offerings on the BAF app is on par with or even better than the apps of major private sector banks. This provides Bajaj Finance with new leverage for customer acquisition, engagement and cross-selling.

Bajaj Finance’s market capitalization became ₹4.18 lakh crore higher than that of HDFC at ₹4.17 lakh crore.

Shares of Bajaj Finance jumped more than 2% today as market momentum picked up slightly after a stressful day on February 14.

India’s Ten Largest Listed Companies

Later, Bajaj Finance shares fell slightly and are at the same level as HDFC.

On the other hand, the real estate finance company HDFC is also doing well with strong demand but with low mortgage rates over several years. Moreover, the shares of other listed companies in the group have been underperforming the market for a long time.

Shares of the company will rise further as the core business of home lending has potential and is on track to transform into an adaptable new-era fin-tech, analysts said. from ICICI direct. The brokerage firm expects the price to rise by 37% to ₹9,500 per share.

High yield ratios, superior asset quality, high growth rates, which rebounded very quickly from shutdowns and digital initiatives will keep Bajaj Finance’s multiples well above best-in-class banks (like HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra) and will be on par with companies like SBI Cards, Axis Capital analysts said.

SEE ALSO: These are discounts and benefits for LIC policyholders that will get when applying for IPO
RBI hires 950 assistants with a salary of ₹36,000 per month

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–February 10, 2022–

Cepton Technologies, Inc. (“Cepton”), a Silicon Valley innovator and leader in high-performance MMT® lidar solutions, and Growth Capital Acquisition Corp. (“GCAC”) (Nasdaq: GCAC), today announced the completion of their business combination. The combined company has been renamed Cepton, Inc. and its common stock and warrants are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the new symbols “CPTN” and “CPTNW”, respectively, on Friday, February 11, 2022. business combination was approved at a special meeting of shareholders of GCAC on Wednesday, February 9, 2022.

“Today is an important milestone for Cepton,” said Dr. Jun Pei, Co-Founder and CEO of Cepton. “We founded Cepton with the goal of enabling safe, autonomous transportation for all, and today’s announcement is another step in making that vision a reality. As a public company, we remain focused on the goals of mass market adoption of lidar in consumer vehicles and expanding our market leadership position, while creating value for all Cepton’s stakeholders.

George Syllantavos, Co-CEO of GCAC, added: “We are delighted with the success of this business combination. Cepton is a company at the forefront of technological advancements with the largest ADAS lidar series production award known in the industry and ongoing engagements with all of the world’s top 10 OEMs. We are excited about the future and continue to support the company in its public phase.

“I am impressed with the elegant technical solutions Cepton brings to the lidar industry to meet automotive ADAS needs. I am certain that Cepton’s solutions will achieve further commercial success in automotive and other markets. Time is on Cepton’s side now that his public life has begun and his vision is on the way to fruition,” said Akis Tsirigakis, co-CEO of GCAC.

The combined company will continue to be led by Dr. Jun Pei alongside the rest of Cepton’s current management team. George Syllantavos, co-CEO of GCAC, will serve as a director of Cepton.

About Cepton Technologies, Inc.

Cepton is a Silicon Valley innovator of lidar-based solutions for automotive (ADAS/AV), smart cities, smart spaces, and smart industrial applications. With its patented Micro Motion (MMT®) technology, Cepton aims to make lidar mainstream and achieve a balanced approach to performance, cost and reliability, while enabling scalable and intelligent 3D perception solutions across industries.

Cepton has received the highest known ADAS lidar series production award to date in the industry, based on the number of vehicle models awarded, to support General Motors’ Ultra Cruise program. Cepton is also engaged with all other Top 10 global OEMs.

Founded in 2016 and led by industry veterans with decades of collective experience in a wide range of advanced lidar and imaging technologies, Cepton is focused on mass-marketing high-performance, high-quality lidar solutions. Cepton is headquartered in San Jose, CA with a Center of Excellence in Troy, Michigan to provide local support to the OEM and Tier 1-strewn Detroit metro area. Cepton is also present in Germany, Canada, Japan, India and China to serve a rapidly growing global customer base. For more information, visit www.cepton.com and follow Cepton on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Growth Capital Acquisition Corp.

GCAC was established as a Delaware Blank Check Company, also commonly referred to as a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (or SPAC), formed for the purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, a stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination. with one or more companies or entities in any industry or geographic region. Prior to the business combination, GCAC was led by its co-CEOs, Akis Tsirigakis and George Syllantavos.

Advisors

JP Morgan Securities LLC (“JP Morgan”) acted as financial advisor to Cepton and O’Melveny & Myers LLP acted as legal advisor to Cepton. Maxim Group LLC (“Maxim”) served as financial advisor to Growth Capital and Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP served as legal advisor to Growth Capital.

JP Morgan acted as lead placement agent for Growth Capital. Maxim also served as joint placement agent. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as legal counsel to the Placement Agents.

Maxim and Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC acted as capital markets advisors to Growth Capital. RBC Capital Markets acted as financial markets advisor to Cepton.

Source: Cepton Technologies, Inc.

See the source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220210005982/en/

CONTACT: Cepton Technologies, Inc. Contacts

Investors: [email protected]

Media: Faithy Li, [email protected]

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA CALIFORNIA

KEYWORD INDUSTRY: SOFTWARE DATA MANAGEMENT VEHICLES/ALTERNATIVE FUELS GENERAL AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY AUTOMOTIVE AND REAL ESTATE CONSTRUCTION SEMICONDUCTOR NANOTECHNOLOGY URBAN PLANNING AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING OTHER AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING

SOURCE: Cepton Technologies, Inc.

Copyright BusinessWire 2022.

PUBLISHED: 2/10/2022 6:30 PM/DISC: 2/10/2022 6:32 PM

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220210005982/en

Copyright BusinessWire 2022.

New Delhi: Indian stock markets have been very volatile over the past two weeks. On Tuesday, the benchmark, Sensex, showed strong swings. It opened at 57,621 and moved to 57,925. Later, Sensex fell to 57,058, later repeating the cycle of highs and lows throughout the day. As of 3 p.m., the index was trading at 57,523, about 100 points lower than the opening high.Read also – Share Market Today: 20 stocks for a profitable trade on February 8

Nifty50 has also been very volatile. After peaking at 17,536 on Tuesday, it fell to 17,119. As of 3 p.m., the index was trading at 17,220, about 300 points below the opening level. Real estate and banking stocks were weak performers. Read also – Adani Wilmar IPO today. Direct link to check the stock price here

But what explains the volatility of India’s stock markets. Let’s take a look. Read also – Monday Blues: Sensex closes more than 1,000 points lower, Nifty just over 17,200

Sale by foreign investors

Foreign investors are an important part of Indian markets. On Monday, the United States published its employment report. The report was quite positive. After the report, according to Economic Times, there is a good chance that the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, will raise interest rates to control inflation.

This rise in rates will cause bond yields to rise and investors prefer bonds to markets from a safety perspective. This played a major role in Indian stock markets acting more volatile than usual.

Monetary Policy Committee meeting

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is holding its monetary policy meeting between February 8 and 10. The outcome of the meeting will be announced on Thursday 10 February. Investors fear that the RBI will raise policy rates, which will send money out of the stock markets into the banks.

Rate hikes are likely to control the rate of inflation. In addition, central banks around the world plan to adopt tighter monetary policy to limit the soaring budget deficit due to pandemic support programs.

This too has played a major role in weakening the minds of investors.

Rise in oil prices

In just a few weeks, crude oil prices have gone from $65 a barrel to $93 a barrel. According to the media, this is due to rising geopolitical tensions across the world.

Russia, which is the world’s second largest oil supplier, is very close to an armed conflict with its neighbor Ukraine. On the other hand, in the Middle East, Houthi rebels in Yemen and the United Arab Emirates are constantly exchanging fire.

With supply sources so stressed, oil prices are rising. This put additional pressure on central banks to adopt a hawkish stance, leading to volatility in the markets.

If reports are to be believed, market volatility will continue for a few more days.

Indian equity benchmarks are likely to start the week on a bearish note, following mixed signals from Asian peers. SGX Nifty futures trends also indicated a lower open for domestic exchanges, with Nifty futures trading 34 points, or 0.19%, down to 17,456 on the Singapore Stock Exchange as of 8:00 a.m. .

Some of the key triggers that will set the tone for the market this week include the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy, global equity market trends, crude prices, IIP data and quarterly earnings. Investors will keep a close eye on the RBI policy results and its comments on inflation.

National benchmarks gained nearly 2.5% last week as investors applauded the pro-growth budget that aims to get the economy back on track. The 30-stock BSE Sensex index has gained 1,445 points over the past five trading sessions, while the NSE Nifty index has jumped 414 points. On Friday, the stock market ended lower for the second straight session, led by rate-sensitive stocks of real estate, autos and PSU banks. The BSE Sensex ended 143 points, or 0.24%, down at 58,644, and the NSE Nifty fell 44 points, 0.25%, to 17,516. On the sector front, real estate, auto and PSU were among the worst performers, while Metal and Electric gained the most. Of the first 30 stocks in the BSE Sensex pack, 11 heavyweights closed higher, while the rest ended in negative territory. State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Wipro were among the top five losers in the BSE Sensex.

Stock to watch

Trusted Industries: Jio, the telecom arm of RIL, has announced a $15 million investment in US technology company Two Platforms Inc. for a 25% stake on a fully diluted basis.

SBI: The country’s largest lender reported a 62.3% year-on-year (YoY) growth in net profit to ₹8,432 million for the third quarter ended December 31, 2021, buoyed by a gain strong in the personal retail segment, driven by home loans, Xpress credit and other loans. The bank’s total revenue increased by 3.1% to ₹78,351 crore in the third quarter of FY22 from ₹75,981 crore in the same period last year.

Zee Entertainment: Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has filed for bankruptcy against the indebted company with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The case concerns the alleged default of a ₹83.08 crore term loan facility granted to Siti Networks, a cable television operator promoted by the Essel Group headed by Subhash Chandra.

Bank of Baroda: The PSU lender reported a 107% year-on-year growth in net profit to ₹2,197,000,000 for the December quarter, driven by higher net interest income and lower provisions. Net interest income rose 14.38% year-on-year (YoY) to ₹8,552.03 crore, while provisions and contingencies fell 27.33% from it a year ago to reach ₹2,507.04 crore.

One97 Communications (Paytm): The country’s leading digital payments and financial services company reported 89% year-on-year revenue growth to ₹1,456 crore for the quarter ending December 2021. EBITDA losses fell to ₹393 crore from ₹488 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Recorder: The cinema chain operator has signed an agreement with M3M India to establish an 8-screen multiplex at M3M 65th Avenue, located in Gurugram, Haryana. “M3M 65thAvenue impressed us greatly in terms of architecture and design, as well as location. It has huge potential and is expected to serve around half a million residents in the surrounding area,” said Sanjeev Bijli, co – managing director of PVR.

Tata Steel: The steelmaker reported sharply higher net profit to Rs 9,572.67 crore in the December 2021 quarter from Rs 3,697.22 crore a year ago. Revenue soared to Rs 60,783.11 crore from Rs 41,935.21 crore in Q3FY21.

Easy Trip Planners: The travel agency signed a pact with Yolo Traveltech to acquire its brand name, technology, business expertise, data and team.

Here are the key things investors should know before the market opens today:

US stocks end mixed on strong jobs data

On Wall Street, major US indices closed on a mixed note as strong earnings from e-commerce giant Amazon boosted market sentiment. However, strong U.S. jobs data released on Friday and expectations that inflation will hit a 40-year high this week have raised concerns about a rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended down 0.06%, the S&P 500 rose 0.52% and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.58%.

Asian stocks generally trade lower

Stocks in the Asia-Pacific region were trading mostly lower, following mixed indices from Wall Street. Investors are pricing in strong U.S. jobs data that has eased concerns about the global economy but raised the risk of Federal Reserve policy tightening.

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 fell 0.8%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.7% and South Korea’s KOSPI fell 0.9%. Australia’s ASX 200 index also traded down 0.3%.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Straits Times rose 0.1%, while China’s Shanghai Composite jumped 1.8% in early trades.

business profits

Major players to release their December quarter earnings reports today include TVS Motor Company, Union Bank of India, Texmaco Rail, NALCO, Borosil, Glaxosmithkline Pharmaceuticals, Castrol India, Fortis Malar Hospitals.

Among others, Camlin Fine Sciences, Camlin Fine Sciences, Castrol India, Chemcon Specialty Chemicals, Clean Science and Technology, Future Supply Chain Solutions, Gabriel India, Indo Count Industries, Indian Bank, JM Financial, Jindal Stainless, Lasa Supergenerics, Likhitha Infrastructure, Nucleus Software Exports, Paisalo Digital, Peninsula Land, The Phoenix Mills, PB Fintech, Punjab & Sind Bank, Sansera Engineering, SH Kelkar and Company, Talbros Engineering, Tarsons Products, Texmaco Infrastructure, Tube Investments of India and Zodiac Energy, will also participate publish their earnings report on February 7.

FII withdraws Rs 6,834 crore from Indian markets

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) withdrew ₹3,627 crore from equities, ₹3,173 crore from debt and ₹34 crore from hybrid instruments, in the first week of February. On Friday, FIIs sold shares worth ₹2,267.86 crore while Domestic Institutional Investors (DII) bought shares worth ₹621.98 crore in the Indian stock market , according to data available on the NSE.

“The only rule I have is that there are no rules. So we’re looking at business by business, situation by situation. We don’t reserve our minds that this is a business public or a private company”, says Rakesh JhunjhunwalaOwner, Rare Companies.

There is chatter among many global brokerages that Indian markets are trading at a premium to other emerging markets…

So they sold Rs 1,37,000 crore and that was absorbed. They are not God. They sold and what happened?

You have always told me that domestic investors will come back and they have come back. Are they here to stay? Is this asset allocation changing?
People said eight crore demat accounts were open. What about 80 crore? In the coming times, India will have $2-2.5 trillion in savings. Where will he go?

Is this just the start of what you might call a shift in asset allocation for Indian investors, in your opinion?
There are four ways to save: real estate, jewelry, our own business or our financial assets. The percentage of investments invested in financial assets will increase significantly, savings will increase significantly, and the share of financial assets coming to stock markets will increase significantly. So it will be a big blow.

The Indian market is trading at a premium to other markets. Is it justified?
But we were still trading at a premium. Japan at the bottom also had a higher PE than America. We therefore always trade at a premium.

Also Read: Besides IT, I’m Bullish on Metals, Infrastructure and Hospitality

Is there any reason to believe it will only stay that way because of profits, corporate governance, government policy?
The day we reach corporate profits of, say, 8% of GDP, they will contract.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala at the onset of Covid said, “I am a very, very, very happy investor in the Tata Group of Companies.” Some of these companies have seen a remarkable turnaround, be it Tata Motors, Tata Consumer and even Tata Communication. Is this once a depressed revaluation for the Tata group of companies?
I can’t answer this question if it’s behind us or ahead of us, I’m very bullish on the fair price. I still think the journey is long.

Tatas is trying something very interesting; they are becoming very important in the chain of electric vehicles via Tata Motors, Tata Power and Tata Chemicals. Are you excited about this?
I am very enthusiastic about the space of the vehicle. They will become the biggest player in India and also in the developing world on electric vehicles. Where in the world can you get an electric car for $10,000?

When we last met, you said Tata Motors – with a revelation that you’ve invested in it – are on the verge of transformational change. What is the next Tata company on the brink of transformation?
I look for. When I find one, I’ll call you.

The thesis of why you like Tata Group shares is that you said Chandra is cash flow driven, understands technology, understands skills and is about size.
And he’s a sensible risk taker, an aggressive but sensible risk taker.

So your thesis and your belief in the Tata group and what Chandra is doing remains intact?
Absoutely.

You mentioned the PSU banks, but over the last year the private banks haven’t participated. HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank have.
This is exactly my call. Public sector banks will far outperform private sector banks in price performance over the next three years.

But if the credit cycle starts, private banks will also lend to businesses.
No, they will lend to businesses, but they already did and their cost/income ratios are low. Their debts, their postcodes were low. We’ve seen the best of the private sector and what the difference in valuation is. After doubling, the market capitalization of Canara Bank is Rs 45,000 crore and it has a book as big as ICICI Bank. I am not saying that banks or other banks will not outperform. I think PSU banks will outperform.

Three of your private companies have gone public in the last two years – Nazara, Metro and Star. Where do you see more value as an investor – private space or public space?
The only rule I have is that there are no rules. So we’re looking at business by business, situation by situation. We don’t reserve our mind ki hai public, hai private.

Right now, you say you have enough opportunities in the market?
Yes, if I have money, I can see a lot of opportunities.

I can assume you are fully invested?
Yes, in debt.

There is one of your quotes that you have always expressed on various forums that I made my money trading but an average investor should not trade. Why not trade?
Simply because there is empirical evidence that if 100 comes to trade 99 loses money, but trading is very exciting and so people want to do it.

If you need to split the market into two or three parts, you always do. India has a market capitalization of $3 trillion. How much of the market do you think is overpriced? How much of your market is undervalued?
I look at my stocks. Titan was too expensive for life. I would have sold Titan at a value of Rs 2,500 and today it is at Rs 50,000.

Why does this happen? Why do stocks maintain such high PE multiples?
Because there is corporate governance, growth prospects, transparency and cash flow and there is market leadership.

There are two types of expensive actions. One consists of companies that were made on imagination and valuations and the second are companies like Titan or Asian Paints or Pidilite which are big but expensive companies. What is the future of good companies but where PE multiples are out of whack?
In the case of PE multiples, you may have discounted earnings for the next two years. I sold 5 million shares of Titan and each time I sold the price went down.

In 2010 we were in Oberoi at an event and you said if Titan didn’t become a billion dollar investment for me. I will take this investment to my grave. Would you now like to expand this list with more names?
I have two investments that individually amount to a billion dollars. For Titan, it’s $1.75 billion and there’s Star Health.

Is the worst lagging behind in the health insurance industry?
With a bit of luck. With a bit of luck.

It’s an amazing industry isn’t it because the need for health insurance has increased and the numbers are not there?
But at the end of the day, if loss ratios don’t come down, we’re going to have to raise premiums. There are two points of view for which we may have to do this. One is of course Covid. The second is an aggressive increase in hospital costs. There has been 40-50% inflation in hospitals over the past two years and it is not going away.

But you own hospital stocks and healthcare stocks like Star Health. Can they coexist because one has to lose for the other to win?
No, no, not necessarily, both can win.

Are you disappointed as a pharma investor?
I am not disappointed. I chose the wrong companies. I am disappointed with my judgement. Why should I blame anyone?

But something keeps going wrong periodically for the pharmaceutical industry. Sometimes it’s the pricing power, sometimes it’s the USFDA, the challenges are many. A few years ago, we all thought that the pharmaceutical industry would opt for IT. The turn of the curve was very different?
Yes, it was different. The US generics market hasn’t been very healthy partly because of Covid.

Everyone is talking about the associated risk in the event of a crypto crash. Could this have an impact on other asset classes in a risk-free environment?
Yes, it could, but see that the class of investors investing in stocks and crypto are totally different. I think crypto will crash one day. Where will they invest then?

You are a very quick decision maker, some of our mutual friends tell me that you make the decision to invest millions in 10 minutes. You don’t take hours, you take minutes. How it works?
You have to grasp the vital points and the second thing is that I don’t want analysis paralysis. You are investing in an uncertain future. You can’t predict it beyond a point.

Some of our mutual friends tell me that you have decided to take it easy on trading. Are the rumors true?
I’ve felt that for the past 25 years, but not yet.

Once a trader, always a trader. Since you have technology investments, I’m sure you’re aware of the meta avatars that everyone is talking about, the meta world.
I do not know what it is.

For a SIP investor, in the next two or three years, is there a probability and possibility of a double digit return?
It’s always hard to predict. The return will be more than that I think.

The view on the street is that we had a good double-digit return in 2021 for the indices, more than 40-50% for the small and mid cap indices. It could be a flat year with low returns, do you agree?
No, I don’t think it will be a flat year. I think it will be a positive year.

What do you think is in store for this year?
I can predict direction, I can’t predict depth.

The Covid-19 pandemic in India has given a new lease of life to budding startups to maximize the potential of a global shift from an on-site and in-person reality to a digital one. At times like these, a major challenge has been to reach the most distant regions of a country that is still in its early years of technological advancement, especially at the local level.

While major cities are well-rounded and knowledgeable enough to get to grips with the online space, the pandemic has made it difficult for those in remote and rural areas.

“The pandemic was a watershed moment for the global economy. Due to the shutdowns, the digital divide has further widened to highlight the lack of connectivity, mobility and insufficient awareness in rural areas,” says Jani Pasha, CEO and co-founder of Lokal, a hyperlocal social platform which aims to reach the non-English speaking population of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

As India’s first “super app” for cities, Lokal strives to empower local businesses and entrepreneurs by helping them reach the right target audience and helping the vernacular populace get their regional updates on jobs, matrimonial, real estate and classified ads.

Ultimately, Lokal aims to become a “one-stop multi-function application” for cities and towns that enables its users to harness the true potential of the Internet beyond mere entertainment.

Speaking about the barriers to extending content to less sophisticated audiences, Pasha, who was on the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2020 list, said it was important to close the connectivity gap and opportunities between India and ‘Bharat’ so that non-metropolitan cities could also reap the benefits of digitalization.

“For a very long time, WhatsApp has been the equivalent of the Internet for most of these users. The biggest hurdle has been diverting consumer use from entertainment and networking purposes to exploring meaningful users were inherently inclined to consume content for leisure,” he said.

It all starts at the foundation

The digital divide in India starts at the fundamental level and one pandemic has been enough to bring it to light. With schools closed, the education sector faced an immediate need to transform and nurture a symbiotic relationship with technology.

“Edtech for India will be a real game-changer,” says Gaurav Goel, founder of Samagra, a mission-driven governance consultancy that works with central and state governments in all spheres to create impact in the country.

Even before the world knew about the coronavirus, Samagra began bridging the digital divide by working with bureaucratic state leaders to solve complex, large-scale governance issues in areas such as education and employment, among others.

Under an initiative called ‘Saksham Haryana’, the company has collaborated with the government of Haryana to give free five lakh tablets to students in grades 11 and 12 and another three lakh tablets to students in grades 9 and 10 in the next academic session to facilitate distance learning.

In Uttar Pradesh, the company has taught basic literacy and numeracy skills to 1.2 crore public primary school children in an initiative called “Mission Prerna”. “It is the cornerstone of the nationally launched NIPUN Bharat Mission, many of whose guidelines are inspired by Mission Prerna,” says Goel, who quit his well-paying job at McKinsey to follow his passion.

Samagra has also developed the “Prerna Lakshya” app, in collaboration with Google, to be used by parents and teachers to assess students and also help them practice weaker skills.

In addition, the company has also worked in the agriculture, healthcare, public service delivery and skills sectors. She introduced the KALIA scheme in Odisha which provides life insurance coverage of ₹2 lakh at a nominal premium for cultivators and landless laborers in the age group 18-50 with a savings bank account.

“We have been instrumental in changing this narrative by working with the Government of Odisha on conceptualizing and facilitating the implementation of its flagship KALIA program. KALIA was also the forerunner of the central government’s PM-KISAN,” adds Goel.

However, none of this was easy as they had to make a “mindset shift” from custom, service-based, proprietary technology solutions to product-based, open-source technology solutions, in terms of is about how governments currently approach technology.

The road ahead

As Budget Day approaches, Indian startups have now raised hopes of reduced tax burden and increased funding and incentives to embrace digital practices for banking and beyond.

“Over the past few years, government and investor sentiment has been observed to be very supportive of the burgeoning startup ecosystem. The growing industry is already projected as the backbone of the economy; several policies and initiatives have also been introduced to drive progress,” says Pasha.

“Compared to the past few years, now seems like the perfect time to strike iron,” he told entrepreneurs looking to work in India.

“The journey from India at 75 (years of independence) to India at 100 is going to be transformative. This is a time to come back and help make the next 25 years count,” said said Goel, founder of Samagra, which sets the vision for those aspiring to join the ecosystem.

Credit and finance for MSMEs: Year-on-year (year-on-year) growth in gross bank credit extended to micro and small enterprises continued to be negative for the third consecutive month in November. Deployment in November 2021 was Rs 10.99 lakh crore, down minus 2.2% from Rs 11.23 lakh crore in November 2020, according to the latest Reserve Bank of India credit data. banking to the main sectors. Annual credit growth to MSEs was minus 0.5 percent in October and minus 2.6 percent in September against positive growth of 1.1 percent in August and 0.2 percent in July.

“The corporate sector has shown resilience and bank credit growth is showing signs of a gradual recovery, led by the retail segment. The stress is however visible among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and in the microfinance segment, ”said RBI in its Financial Stability Report. According to the November 2021 cycle of the Systemic Risk Survey, the majority of respondents estimated that the Indian economy will fully recover from the fallout from the pandemic within a year or two, however, MSMEs and other sectors such as tourism and hospitality, aviation, automotive, real estate, retail and entertainment could experience a slower recovery over the next year.

In contrast, growth in credit to medium-sized enterprises remained positive. Banks rolled out Rs 2.42 crore lakh in November, from Rs 1.80 crore lakh during the period of last year – recording growth of 34.2% vs. 24.8%, from Rs 1 , 79 lakh crore in October 2020 to Rs 2.23 lakh crore in October 2021. In July, August and September, the annual growth rate was 70.9%, 54.6% and 24.3% respectively.

However, the share of MSMEs in total gross bank credit also fell slightly to 12.01% in November, compared to 12.17% in October, 12.04% in September and 12.15% in August. 2021. As of November 19, 2021, gross bank credit deployed by scheduled commercial banks amounted to Rs 111.62 lakh crore. Among other priority sectors, education loans also experienced negative growth of minus 8.5%, while others, including agriculture, housing, renewable energy, social infrastructure and home credit. exports, recorded positive year-on-year growth in November. The overall economic recovery, however, remains clouded because of Omicron.

“The global recovery is clouded by the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. Inflationary pressures persist and monetary policy paths diverge among major economies. Domestically, the recovery is picking up steam after the debilitating second wave of the pandemic, ”RBI said in its report.