The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is holding a crucial meeting today, with senior government officials indicating that several major policy proposals may receive approval. If cleared, the set of reforms would represent one of the most extensive legislative moves of the government’s third term, impacting governance, energy, finance, and social welfare. One of the most significant items on the agenda is the Census 2027 proposal. The exercise delayed since 2021 is expected to be approved, paving the way for updated demographic data that will be vital for policymaking, budget allocation, welfare programmes, and long term development…
Author: Adarsh Kumar
Infibeam Avenues Ltd has announced a sweeping restructuring as it rebrands to AvenuesAI, marking its most significant strategic shift in years. The company is now fully pivoting to an AI-first payments and digital infrastructure model, consolidating its core businesses CCAvenue and Phronetic.ai under the new identity. As part of this transformation, the fintech major is set to elevate Joint Managing Director Vishwas Patel to the role of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, subject to regulatory approvals. Current Chairman and MD Vishal Mehta will continue to drive long-term vision, innovation and strategic direction. “With our transformation complete and the company…
Honasa Consumer, the parent company of Mamaearth and several digital-first beauty brands, has announced the acquisition of BTM Ventures, the owner of men’s grooming label Reginald Men, in a deal valued at ₹195 crore. Honasa will acquire a 95% stake through a secondary transaction, while the remaining 5% will be purchased after 12 months based on agreed valuation terms. Founded in August 2022, Reginald Men has rapidly built a strong position in the premium men’s personal care space. The brand focuses on high-demand categories such as sunscreens and serums, and has generated over ₹70 crore in revenue in the last…
SoftBank is gearing up for a major return to India’s startup ecosystem, with fresh investments planned for 2026, according to Sumer Juneja, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. After a nearly three-year slowdown in new India deployments, Juneja confirmed that the Japanese investment giant is preparing to re-enter the market with renewed conviction. In an interview with Moneycontrol, Juneja said SoftBank is “confident it will deploy capital” in India again and made it clear the firm has no intention of missing the next wave of startup growth. “We don’t want to be out of the game,” he said, emphasising that…
A New Vision for the Future of Search Perplexity AI has rapidly become one of the most disruptive forces in the global artificial intelligence landscape. At a time when traditional search engines overwhelm users with thousands of links and ads, Perplexity introduced a refreshingly bold idea — deliver direct, accurate, and well-cited answers instantly. Instead of making people “search,” it helps them “know.” This powerful shift in experience positioned Perplexity as the next major evolution in information access. Within months of its launch, the platform attracted millions of users who were tired of outdated search experiences and wanted clarity, speed,…
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has informed the Lok Sabha that around 12.68 lakh official email accounts across various ministries and departments have been migrated to a Zoho-based cloud email platform. Of these, 7.45 lakh accounts belong to Central government employees. This represents only a small portion of the 50.14 lakh-strong Central government workforce. According to MeitY, the migration was executed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which continues to be the authorised provider of official email services. Zoho was selected as the Master System Integrator after MeitY floated a 2023 tender to transition government email services…
Blue and grey collar recruitment platform WorkIndia is set to raise ₹114.35 crore (approximately $13 million) in a new funding round, marking its first major capital infusion in nearly three years. The investment will come from Aavishkaar Capital, existing investor BEENEXT, and the company’s co-founders Nilesh Dungarwal and Moiz Arsiwala, according to regulatory filings. WorkIndia’s board has approved the issuance of 3,067 CCPS and 100 equity shares at ₹2,27,369 per share, enabling the company to raise ₹72 crore. New investor Aavishkaar Capital will contribute ₹50 crore, while BEENEXT will invest ₹22 crore, strengthening its position as one of the largest…
British insurer Prudential plc has sold a 4.5% stake in ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company (ICICI Pru AMC) for ₹4,900 crore (approximately $545 million), just a day before the fund manager’s highly anticipated $1.2 billion IPO, which opens on Friday. ICICI Pru AMC operates as a joint venture between ICICI Bank, which holds a 51% stake, and Prudential, which owns the remaining share. The latest transaction drew interest from several marquee global and Indian investors. Buyers included the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), family offices of Azim Premji and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, along with major Indian insurers such as SBI Life,…
BYT Capital has announced the launch of its ₹180 crore deep-tech venture fund, designed to support high potential scientific and engineering led startups in India. The fund aims to accelerate frontier innovation across sectors such as space technology, life sciences, clean energy and robotics areas increasingly critical to India’s long-term technological competitiveness. The fund is helmed by Amit Chand and Hunny Kumar. Chand brings over 20 years of experience across corporate strategy, entrepreneurship and early-stage investments, while Kumar draws on a decade of venture investing expertise from his role as co-founder of FAAD Capital. With strong early commitments and over…
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Coastal Cloud for $700 million (around ₹6,286 crore) in one of the largest deals in its history. The acquisition strengthens TCS’ position as a global leader in AI-led digital transformation and significantly deepens its presence in the fast-growing Salesforce services ecosystem. Founded in 2012, Coastal Cloud is a multi-cloud Salesforce Summit Partner known for enterprise-scale transformation projects. The firm specialises in AI-driven advisory services and business consulting across Sales, Service, Marketing, Revenue, CPQ, Commerce, and Salesforce Data Cloud. Its nominations to the Salesforce Partner Advisory Board give…