HDFC board approves merger with HDFC Bank

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April 4, 2022

HDFC Limited said that its board of directors approved a composite scheme of amalgamation for the merger of into and with HDFC Limited into HDFC Bank and their respective shareholders and creditors at a meeting held today.

To merge HDFC Limited with and into HDFC Bank, the share exchange ratio will be 42 HDFC Bank equity shares (credited as fully paid up) of the face value of Re 1 for every 25 fully paid-up HDFC Limited equity shares the face value of ₹2.

When the Scheme goes into effect, public shareholders will own 100% of HDFC Bank, while existing HDFC Limited shareholders will own 41% of HDFC Bank.

“The proposed transaction, shall enable HDFC Bank to build its housing loan portfolio and enhance its existing customer base. It will also create meaningful value for various stakeholders as the combined business would benefit from increased scale, comprehensive product offering, balance sheet resiliency and the ability to drive synergies across revenue opportunities, operating efficiencies and underwriting efficiencies, amongst others,” HDFC added in the exchange filing.

The board has also approved the merger of HDFC Investments Limited and HDFC Holdings Limited.

Samunnati to expand its workforce by 20% in 2022

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April 2, 2022

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Samunnati, an agriculture value chain facilitator, announced that it plans to expand its workforce by 20% this year. The company now employs 611 people.

According to a statement, the company plans to expand its personnel by 20% in 2022, with around 100 positions across functions.

Anilkumar SG, the founder of Samunnati, reveals that “our commitment to our people is as strong as our commitment to the smallholder farmers of India. It is the collective experience and expertise of our teams that allow us to reach new frontiers of growth and impact.”

Samunnati has been quickly expanding over the last year and a half. It achieved a gross transactional value of 10,000 crores across its agri commerce and agri finance businesses. Through various technology-enabled interventions and collaborative partnerships, Samunnati’s agri commerce and agri finance solutions help affiliated farmer collectives, and the greater ecosystem become more efficient and productive.

The Chennai-based firm operates in more than 100 agri value chains across 22 states.

Stanza Living buys Singularity Automation

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April 1, 2022

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Stanza Living, a provider of shared accommodation for students and working professionals, announced the all-cash acquisition of Bengaluru-based Singularity Automation, which develops IoT-enabled solutions and products for the managed living space.

Stanza Living’s existing technology ecosystem will be strengthened, and the acquisition will aid in the development of highly customized IoT-based solutions for the managed accommodation sector. Singularity Automation’s founders and core team will join Stanza Living following the acquisition.

Singularity Automation was founded in 2017 and is backed by IvyCap Ventures and Times Internet. Its existing product range includes smart door locks, secure access controls, and smart energy metres, among other things.

“…Technology has always been at the forefront of everything we do at Stanza Living. It has played a central role in improving efficiencies, strengthening our competitive advantage, and creating a high-quality, hassle-free, and safe living experience for our consumers. We look forward to customizing their existing solutions and creating fresh, IoT-based platforms together, as we build a first-of-its-kind managed living ecosystem,” said Anindya Dutta, MD and co-founder of Stanza Living.

The proceeds will be utilized to fund existing and future projects and speed up the company’s multi-city expansion. In addition, it raised $100 million in equity funding last year.

“We are proud to roll up into India’s largest managed accommodation company and become a part of their aggressive growth journey. Given our common DNA and aligned vision to reimagine the managed accommodation space through the deployment of technology, I’m confident that our existing product suite and our team’s proven track record will further sharpen Stanza Living’s best-in-class technology ecosystem,” said Chakradhar Reddy, CTO, Singularity Automation.

Stanza Living stated it would have a 100-member strong technology team following the acquisition.

Vedantu on track to be ‘IPO-ready’ in 18-24 months

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April 1, 2022

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Vedantu, an edtech startup, said it is on track to be “IPO-ready” in 18-24 months and is optimistic about India’s market prospects, which give plenty of room for expansion. The scorching pace of growth in online learning has slowed a little as COVID-19 cases recede and offline learning modalities emerge. However, according to the report, the business is still producing impressive growth numbers.

According to the business, 90-95 per cent of the industry is still untapped, giving edtech companies plenty of room to grow.

Vedantu stated that it is now adequately funded and does not foresee any further funding requirements in the next two years. Last year, the company collected $100 million from a group of investors, putting it into the coveted unicorn club.

“Within the time frame of 18-24 months we want to be IPO-ready, which means the shape of our P&L (Profit and Loss), our systems and associated processes, we want to be robust and mature in those,” Vamsi Krishna, CEO and co-founder of Vedantu, said.

Vedantu experienced a “12 times” growth in its key metrics during the pandemic. After COVID, the company sees “hyper growth,” which will pave the way for “growth”.

“Even before COVID, our growth rates were pretty strong, not as strong as during COVID times… but 2-2.5 times is still strong growth. What COVID did was that it accelerated that growth. With cases receding, the acceleration will go back and normalcy will come, which is over 2-2.5 times,” Krishna said

At its Vtopia event on Thursday, Vedantu launched WAVE 2.0, an interactive and engaging classroom.

“The patented technology will redefine the learning experience and performance recognition at a whole new level. The 2.0 version of the WAVE (Whiteboard Audio Video Environment) learning platform envisions inspiring every child, making quality education accessible and creating an impact at scale in India,” the company said in a statement.

ServiceNow launches data centres in Mumbai and Bengaluru

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March 31, 2022

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ServiceNow, a NYSE-listed software company, launched two local data centre facilities in Mumbai and Bengaluru on Thursday to help Indian customers adopt new digital solutions and meet local data residency standards.

“India is a top growth market for ServiceNow and we are seeing larger local organizations partnering with us to benefit from the power of our platform to drive their digital transformation needs,” said Arun Balasubramanian, managing director of India & SAARC, ServiceNow. “ServiceNow is committed to manage data locally and meet India’s data protection and sovereignty standards. The new data centres enable even more financial services, technology and other regulated verticals to reap the benefits of ServiceNow’s single, unifying Platform for digital business.”

According to Mike Lents, ServiceNow senior vice president of Global Cloud Services, the new data centres are large sites for ServiceNow with a complete network and capacity to deliver performance at scale and increased sustainability.

“ServiceNow has certified Data Centre Sustainability Professionals (CDCSP) serving our customers and partners in every region we operate, including Asia Pacific,” Lents said.

ServiceNow said it has invested in new data centre locations with sustainability as a significant concern, citing estimates for the India data centre market to grow by more than 15% through 2027.

“These data centres give ServiceNow’s customers and partners a sustainable way to responsibly source cloud data hosting in India and contribute positively to their own ESG commitments,” Lents added.

ServiceNow also stated that by 2022, 18,000 people, including partners and customers, will have been trained and certified in India to fulfil the growing demand for ServiceNow product specialists.

Apple announces a $50mn fund to upskill employees

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March 30, 2022

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Apple announced a $50 million Supplier Employee Development Fund on Wednesday, which will be used to create learning opportunities and enhance skills among its manufacturing partners’ employees.

According to the company, employees in India’s manufacturing division and those in the United States, China, and Vietnam will be among the first to profit from the fund.

According to Apple, the fund would provide “new learning opportunities” to over 100,000 supplier employees. Leadership training, technical certifications, coding, robotics, and advanced manufacturing fundamentals, including green manufacturing, are featured.

The company collaborated with the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration, and global education experts for the learning programmes.

The corporation did not say whether it would collaborate with Indian educators and rights organisations for the programme. Still, it did say that the fund has “expanded partnerships” with prominent human rights advocates, universities, and non-profits worldwide.

The Supplier Employee Development Fund will also be used to expand Apple’s existing virtual education and skill-building courses for its manufacturing partners. The corporation claims that their supplier employee educational programmes have reached 5 million people.

The new fund will assist Apple in ensuring that its supply chain runs smoothly.

Investment platform Nivesh to offer digital gold as an investment option

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March 30, 2022

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To offer digital gold as an investment option, Nivesh, a digital-first financial services firm, has teamed with MMTC-PAMP, a joint venture between India’s MMTC (a government of India initiative) and Switzerland’s PAMP SA.

Digital gold is a virtual gold investment with pure gold as the underlying asset, translating to virtual gold possession. MMTC-PAMP offers 24K, 999.9 purest gold stored in insured bank-grade vaults on behalf of investors.

According to Nivesh, gold recognised by the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) is accessible as low as Re 1 on the platform, making it a safe and sound investment.

Anurag Garg, Founder and CEO of Nivesh, said, “We had started our journey with offering mutual funds as an investment option. Over the years, we have expanded our offerings and today we are glad to introduce digital gold as another investment option for our customers. Digital gold is an excellent mode of holding gold and building investment gradually in the long-term without associated costs of storage and safety.”

Sharing her views on this collaboration, Anika Agarwal, president, consumer business, MMTC-PAMP, said, “Digital Gold is a dynamic investment instrument that is completely liquid by allowing investors to buy/sell at any time, without levying any transaction or exit charges and unlike gold jewellery, digital gold doesn’t incur making charges. Whenever required, investors could liquidate their investments 24×7 with a single click going by real-time rates.”

Nivesh also offers mutual funds, term deposits, peer-to-peer lending, alternative investment funds (AIF), NPS, bonds, and other investment options.

Tech company hiring about 1,000 techies in Kerala

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March 30, 2022

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According to company officials, Acsia Technologies, a Technopark-based company that develops software for major automotive OEMs and Tier 1s, is planning to hire 1,000 people to work on upcoming projects to build software for connected, autonomous, shared, and electrified automotive technologies.

The company will hire B.Tech graduates and diploma holders who graduated in 2020, 2021, or 2022. The firm will hold an online test on April 4th, and candidates must have good C/C++ programming skills. Individuals with experience with Embedded or Linux are preferred, and candidates who have completed a C++ / Embedded Systems course are preferred. Trivandrum, Kerala, would be the work location.

Meanwhile, Acsia Technologies plans to expand its facilities at the Embassy Taurus TechZone at Technopark Phase-III in Thiruvananthapuram to 85,000 square feet.

According to the company, the new headquarters would accommodate more than 1,000 employees, which provides software solutions for major automotive carmakers.

Acsia Technologies, a global automotive Electronic Control Unit (ECU) software solution and research company, announced that it was one of the first companies to sign the deal with Embassy Taurus TechZone.

According to Jijimon Chandran, CEO of Acsia Technologies, the present office in Technopark will work in tandem with the new office.

“The automotive market trends highlight the growing need for automotive software fueled by the rapid expansion in electric and electronics adoption in automotive. Automakers and related companies are currently redefining their software make-or-buy strategy by developing a partnership ecosystem,” Chandran said.

Leading companies have expressed interest in partnering with Acsia Technologies, he said.

“The new office is being set up as part of meeting the demands of the customers which require talent in the advanced automotive software.

The new office at Embassy Taurus TechZone will help in developing software of Electrified, Autonomous, Connected and Shared technologies in future,” the company said.

Acsia began operations at Technopark in 2014 and has already signed agreements to provide products and services to Basemark, Segula Technologies, and other European vehicle firms. The Downtown Trivandrum Embassy Taurus Techzone (ETTZ) spans 12 acres and offers 2 million square feet of collaborative, sustainable, and healthy workspaces. A 2 million square feet IT/ITES Special Economic Zone (SEZ) makes up the TechZone.

Citymall bags $75mn in funding headed by Norwest Venture Partners

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March 30, 2022

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Citymall, a social commerce platform, has raised $75 million in a Series C fundraising round headed by Norwest Venture Partners to expand its community group buying concept to more small towns across the country.

According to a senior company official, the round values Citymall at around $350 million.

According to Angad Kikla, co-founder and CEO of Citymall, the funds will be used to grow across categories and geographies and develop the company’s back-end technology.

“We plan to expand to 100 cities in next 18 months,” Kikla said. “We plan to enter newer states within India and will expand into fashion and general merchandise, too.”

Over the following 12 months, Citymall anticipates its platform’s gross merchandise value (GMV) to reach $1 billion. In addition, the company has raised a total of $110 million to date.

“The company’s GMV has been growing strongly at 30% month on month and we are seeing greater traction from our tier III and II markets,” Kikla said.

“We have been impressed by the strong product-market fit and hypergrowth that Citymall has demonstrated over the last few months,” said Niren Shah, managing director and India head of Norwest Venture Partners. In addition, he praised the firm’s “efficient customer acquisition and lower supply chain costs”.

Indians adopt new normal with greater purpose; plan to spend more: 2022 Global Travel Trends Report

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March 29, 2022

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According to the American Express Travel: Global Travel Trends Report, 93% of Indians plan to spend more or the same on travel in 2022 compared to a typical pre-pandemic year, and 96% agree that they like to eat and shop at local businesses to support local economies, Indian travelers are looking to adopt the new normal with more purpose.

The survey report, which is based on data from seven countries, including the United States, Australia, India, Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the United Kingdom, also finds that 48% of Indians want to travel to learn new things, 46% to relax, and 45% to explore new destinations.

Overall, Indians believe that 2022 will be a better year for planning travel than 2021, with the majority of respondents predicting that travel will be less stressful this year than last year, and many looking forward to regaining control of their trips in 2022 after feeling overwhelmed the previous year.

According to the survey, Indians travel to see loved ones, celebrate major life milestones, go on wish list trips, attend in-person events, and pursue enhanced wellbeing and self-care, much like their counterparts. In addition, 91% of surveyed Indians think they will plan a dream vacation in 2022 that they would not have considered before the pandemic, and 87% want to book an once-in-a-lifetime vacation in 2022, which is the most of all the countries surveyed.

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