Former ITC executive to take charge as competition heats up in India’s paints market Grasim Industries has named Sachin Sahay as the new chief executive of its paints business, Birla Opus, the company said on Friday. Sahay will assume the role from February 16. The appointment comes more than two months after the sudden exit of former CEO Rakshit Hargave, a move that had surprised analysts and raised questions around leadership continuity at a time when competition in the paints sector is intensifying. Birla Opus, which entered the Indian paints market in February 2024, has moved aggressively to scale operations.…
Author: Aman Atulya
India’s Private Space Launch Market Is Heating Up As satellite constellations scale and global demand for cost-efficient orbital access rises, launch economics have become the next battleground in the space economy. While India has strong public-sector capabilities, private launch startups are now racing to build reusable systems that can compete globally on cost, cadence, and payload flexibility. Funding Snapshot and Investor Line-up Bengaluru-based space technology startup Ethereal Exploration Guild, also known as EtherealX, has raised $20.5 million (around ₹170 crore) in a Series A funding round co-led by TDK Ventures and BIG Capital. The round saw participation from Accel, Prosus,…
Creators replace celebrities, UPI dominates payments, and video-led research reshapes consumption beyond metros India’s consumption growth is decisively shifting beyond metros, with Tier 2, Tier 3 cities and small towns emerging as the country’s next demand engine. This transformation is at the heart of Beyond Metros: The Real Story of Bharat’s Next 500 Million, a new consumer study released by Rukam Capital, which maps how non-metro Indians discover brands, build trust, and make purchase decisions. WhatsApp Becomes Bharat’s Digital Backbone One of the report’s most striking findings is the dominance of WhatsApp as Bharat’s primary digital platform. Nearly 90% of…
Initiative engages startups, investors, and incubators across six emerging startup hubs Tally Solutions has concluded the first phase of its startup ecosystem initiative, Tally Startup Collective, aimed at fostering deeper, long-term collaboration between founders, investors, incubators, and ecosystem partners across India. The initiative was launched in partnership with Sanchi Connect and ran as a three-month engagement programme between October and December 2025. Building Engagement Beyond Traditional Startup Hubs The first phase of the Tally Startup Collective was conducted across six emerging startup cities—Hyderabad, Indore, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, and Bhubaneswar—reflecting the growing momentum of entrepreneurship beyond India’s traditional metro hubs. Startups…
AI startup picks seasoned tech leader as it prepares Bengaluru launch U.S. artificial intelligence firm Anthropic has appointed former Irina Ghose most recently managing director of Microsoft India as its new Managing Director for India, the company said on Friday. Ghose’s appointment comes as Anthropic readies the opening of its first office in Bengaluru and strengthens its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing AI markets. Ghose brings over three decades of experience in scaling technology businesses and driving enterprise adoption of AI. At Microsoft India, she led large teams and helped grow enterprise cloud, AI, and education solutions across…
Raises over 60% of target corpus, focuses on early-stage consumer startups Consumer-focused venture capital firm Kairon Capital, founded by Deepankur Malhotra, has completed the first close of its inaugural fund, marking a key milestone in its launch. The debut fund is targeting a total corpus of ₹150 crore, with an additional ₹50 crore greenshoe option. According to the firm, more than 60% of the target corpus has already been secured in the first close. Backed by founders, family offices and corporates Kairon Capital’s limited partners include consumer startup founders, family offices, and strategic corporate investors. Backers feature founders from brands…
National Startup Day marks 10 years of Startup India, tracing how policy, capital, and founders quietly reshaped India’s economic landscape. When Startup India was launched on January 16, 2016, it marked a structural shift in how India viewed entrepreneurship. Startups were no longer fringe experiments or urban anomalies. They were positioned as engines of innovation, employment, and long-term economic growth. Ten years later, National Startup Day offers a data-backed lens into how deeply that shift has reshaped India’s economic and business landscape. The scale of India’s startup ecosystem As of 2026, more than 1.2 lakh startups have been officially recognised…
Third public bond offering in 30 months, includes PSU’s first zero-coupon option State-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) on Thursday launched its third public issue of secured, redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs), aiming to raise up to ₹5,000 crore. Speaking at the launch, Parminder Chopra, Chairperson and Managing Director of PFC, said the strong response to the company’s earlier bond issuances reflected sustained investor confidence in both PFC and India’s power sector. She described the sector as a critical pillar of economic growth and self-reliance, with PFC playing a central role in financing the energy transition. The issue, which opens for subscription…
Move strengthens governance as company prepares for next growth phase Flipkart has appointed Jane Duke as its new Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer (CECO) for the Flipkart Group. In her new role, Duke will lead the group’s ethics and compliance function and work closely with the senior leadership team. The appointment underscores Flipkart’s focus on strengthening governance and institutional leadership as it scales operations and prepares for its next phase of growth, including plans to file for an initial public offering (IPO), according to sources familiar with the matter. Leadership focus on transparency and integrity Commenting on the appointment, Kalyan…
Carbon Markets Are Facing a Credibility Crisis Global carbon markets are under growing scrutiny as regulators and buyers question the integrity, traceability, and real-world impact of carbon credits. Legacy systems rely heavily on periodic audits and document-based verification, creating delays, high costs, and trust gaps, particularly for technology-led projects and smaller developers in the Global South. This has intensified demand for continuous, data-backed verification infrastructure. Funding Snapshot and Capital Composition Bengaluru-based climate tech startup RenewCred has raised ₹4.25 crore (around $510,000) in a seed funding round comprising a mix of equity and grants. The round was led by Campus Angels…