Bullets

Here are the plans:

• NPCI may set a low fee (0.6%-0.7%) for wallet-based UPI payments.

• Currently, wallets charge 1.1% on payments above ₹2,000. 

• The plan aims to encourage wallets like Paytm and Amazon Pay to promote UPI payments.

• This could reduce bank exposure and make payments safer.

In December 2024:

• UPI handled ₹6.3 lakh crore in payments

• Wallets processed ₹9,239 crore

With NPCI's plan, wallets might now grow bigger in UPI.

UPI has been changing habits since its launch. Will it reshape how people handle payments again?

PharmEasy, an online pharmacy startup, is set to revisit its IPO plans in 2025, two years after its first attempt.

• The company will formally discuss IPO plans with its board in February.

• A reverse merger with its listed subsidiary, Thyrocare, is under consideration.

This move aims to leverage PharmEasy's improved cash flow and restructured business model to attract public investors. 

Moreover, companies like Boat, Ola Consumer, and Oyo, which delayed IPOs due to market conditions and other reasons, have recently revived listing plans.

Is this the year for Indian startup IPOs?

Adani Group has hired two top US law firms, Kirkland & Ellis and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP. 

They’ll defend the group against the SEC and the Eastern District of New York charges.

• Allegations include over ₹2,100 crore ($250 million) in bribes to Indian officials for solar energy contracts for Adani Green Energy Ltd. (AGEL).

In November 2024, AGEL clarified that Gautam Adani, Sagar Adani, and Vneet S. Jaain weren’t charged under the US FCPA.

If you don’t know, the OCCRP and the Hindenburg reports also raised allegations against Adani in the past.

• Brightchamps (EdTech firm) acquired Edjust, a K12 education marketplace.

• This is Brightchamps' 4th acquisition to improve sales practices and launch Math, Science, and English courses.

• The platform already offers programming, AI, and financial literacy courses for ages 6-16.

• Brightchamps operates in 30 countries, with most revenue from the US and online classes.

• Revenue grew 64% in 2024; the company has raised ~₹544.88 Cr. ($63 million) from major investors.

Will Brightchamps' aggressive acquisitions pay off, or will it lead to bankruptcy as it did for Byju's?

After Tata Group's takeover, Air India now has nearly 300 planes (up from 70) and plans to add 600 more in the next 10 years.

Rise in market share:

• Domestic: 30%

• International: 21%

Revenue has grown 70%, with: 

• 40% more earnings per seat

• Business class revenue up 2.3x

Air India's loyalty members have increased from 30 L  to 1 Cr. with active members growing significantly.

Such an improvement is surprising since aviation was Tata's loss-making segment in FY24. Find out how much!

The Indian government may waive ₹1 lakh crore in Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) dues for telecom companies.

• The relief includes a 50% waiver on interest and 100% on penalties

• Vi’s dues may be reduced by over ₹52,000 crore and Airtel’s by nearly ₹38,000 crore

The waiver aims to ease financial stress on telcos following the 2019 Supreme Court ruling that imposed ₹1.47 lakh crore in AGR dues. 

Analysts believe this would prevent the telecom market from becoming a private-sector duopoly. 

Will this waiver transform India’s telecom market?

Mutual Funds reshuffled their portfolios in December, selling over ~₹8,400 Cr. worth of stocks:

Top Sells:

• HDFC Bank (₹1,290 crore), ITC, Titan, and Swiggy
• PSUs like REC and HAL, along with TCS and Bajaj Finance

Top Buys:

• Reliance Industries (₹5,700 crore), Vishal Mega Mart (₹4,200 crore)
• PSU banks: SBI, Union Bank, and Indian Bank

As an investor, you don't need to worry, your portfolio will remain safe as long as you focus on diversification and long-term growth opportunities.

FMCG companies like Parle, HUL, ITC, and Adani Wilmar are launching exclusive product packs for online platforms.

• Parle is offering ₹50-₹100 packs online while reserving up to ₹30 packs only for kiranas and ₹120-₹150 packs for retailers.
• ITC is doing the same for its brands, including Engage perfume, Savlon handwash, etc.
• Other firms are on the same path to roll out separate packs.

This strategy protects kirana stores from competition with quick commerce platforms.

Will this bold move save the kiranas around you?

Further, explore how HUL and ITC are leading the FMCG sector!

• Early investors in Oyo, like Lightspeed and Peak XV, are selling their stake, valued at ₹33,540 Cr.
• Peak XV recently sold off a part of its remaining 3% stake and made ₹688 - ₹774 Cr. in profits.
• Since 2019, both investors have sold off stakes worth ~₹12,040 Cr. (as of today).
• Founder Ritesh Agarwal is putting ₹550 Cr. more into the company.
• Oyo’s ₹4,422 Cr. purchase of G6 Hospitality is expected to increase profits significantly by FY26.

Is Oyo losing investor confidence because of its past layoffs and financial losses, or is it finally on the road to recovery?

India's once valuable startup- Byju’s, now faces serious financial and legal troubles, including allegations of fund mismanagement and fraud.

• In 2021, the company raised ~₹9,120 crore ($1.2 billion) from US investors to expand globally.
• In 2024, a controversial ~₹4,477 crore ($533 million) transfer to a Miami-based hedge fund alarmed creditors.

US creditors now face significant losses with little hope of recovery.

Byju’s case has raised concerns about the sustainability of India's booming startup ecosystem.

How can India safeguard its startup ecosystem?

• Meta plans to reduce 5% of its 72,400 employees.

• CEO Mark Zuckerberg aims to improve efficiency by addressing low performance.

• US-based staff will receive notifications by 10 February, with global updates following.

• Affected employees will be offered substantial severance packages.

• The company is prioritising advancements in AI and immersive technology.

• Despite these layoffs, Meta intends to recruit new talent later in 2025 to support its evolving goals.

Is AI the future of work? Does Meta's AI shift signal the end of human jobs? What does it mean for corporate priorities?

PepsiCo enters the race to acquire a minority stake in Haldiram Snacks Food, competing with Temasek and Alpha Wave Global.

The Aggarwal family, founders of Haldiram, are seeking their first external investment, valuing the company at ₹85,000–₹90,000 crore.

• PepsiCo, the maker of Lay's chips, Kurkure, and Doritos nacho, faces intense competition in India's snack sector.

• It's aiming to leverage Haldiram's strong presence in the desi snacks market.

Who’ll get to snack on Haldiram's dominance?

Did you know that Haldiram was planning for its IPO in 2024?

• The INR may weaken to 87/$ by March 2025, driven by US tariff threats and the dominance of USD (the global currency). 

• RBI interventions have slowed the fall, but the rupee has dropped 1.6% since November 2024.

• Forecasts suggest the rupee could range between 86.25 and 88.00 by March.

• Economists cite global factors like US policies, China's strategies, and Fed actions as key drivers.

Will the RBI be able to manage the rupee's fall in the coming months in this game of dollar vs rupee?

Walmart-backed PhonePe enters the quick commerce market, a first for a payments company.

Its e-commerce venture, Pincode, offers 15-minute deliveries in 6 cities: 

• Bengaluru

• Mumbai

• New Delhi

• Pune

• Hyderabad

• Varanasi

Pincode uses a hybrid delivery model, combining its own fleet and partnering with local kiranas and modern retail stores instead of operating through dark stores. 

It has even onboarded logistic services of Swiggy, Shadowfax, and Loadshare to support deliveries.

Will PhonePe’s leap into quick commerce with Pincode pay off like its Indus Appstore?

Flipkart plans to lead a ~₹301 to ₹344 crore ($35 to $40 million) funding round for its fintech venture, Super.money.

The funding round may introduce external investors for the first time, with Flipkart retaining majority ownership.

• Super.money, launched by Flipkart’s Prakash Sikaria, is rapidly growing in the UPI segment.
• It surpassed Amazon Pay with over 1,000 crore UPI transactions in December 2024, as per NPCI data.

The funding aims to strengthen Super.money's position against rivals like PhonePe and Google Pay in 2025.

Will Super.money outpace the UPI giants?

• IPO filing is expected by early February after SEBI approval.
• Hero MotoCorp keeps its 37% stake; Binny Bansal to sell part of his shares.
• Ather's Rizta scooter boosted its market share to 16% in January, up from 6% in April.
• Its Gujarat market share rose from 5% in July to 25% in December.
• Ola Electric's market share, on the other hand, fell below 20% in December. 

Will Ather's IPO perform better than the OLA Electric IPO? 
 

Vodafone Idea to roll out 5G in phases from March 2025.

• Vi partners with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung for a 3-year investment plan.
• Jio targets 10 lakh new AirFiber users monthly to monetise 5G faster.
• Jio's valuation could make its IPO India's largest at ₹42,100 crore.
• Surpassing last year's Hyundai India IPO (₹27,856 crore).
• Vi's phased launch may compete with Jio's monetisation lead.

Will this help Vi surpass Jio, or will Jio stay on top?

Indian unicorns reached a valuation of ₹32.21 lakh Cr. in 2024.

• 7 startups, including Ather, and Rapido, achieved unicorn status.

• India saw 327 IPOs, including 13 in tech, boosting listed tech firms' market cap to ₹12.55 lakh Cr.

• 29 unicorns were profitable, with Zerodha and MakeMyTrip in the lead.

• Funding totalled ₹95,392 Cr. across 1,547 deals, with e-commerce on top.

• Acquisition activity surged, with 370 deals, including Zomato's purchase of Paytm Insider.

With the average time to unicorn status doubling from 5.5 in 2023 to 11 years in 2024, is investor confidence in Indian startups waning? Find out!

According to NielsenIQ, urban FMCG volume growth declines to 2.8% from 11% a year earlier. 

Now, FMCG companies in India are addressing the urban slowdown with innovative strategies.

Top players like Hindustan Unilever, Britannia, ITC, and Colgate-Palmolive are introducing "access packs", i.e. small-size packs.

For instance:

• Hindustan Unilever launched Surf Excel Liquid packs for ₹10, down from ₹110

• Colgate reduced the price of premium toothpaste variants to ₹80 from ₹170

The goal is to reignite demand in urban markets.

Will this help revive urban FMCG demand, or is it indicating shrinkflation?

Reliance Retail has written off its $200 million (₹1,650 crore) investment in Dunzo.

• CEO Kabeer Biswas has joined Flipkart to lead its quick commerce business Minutes.

• Dunzo's valuation dropped from ₹6,065.75 crore ($770 million) in 2022 to a possible ₹257.73 crore ($25–30 million) now.

• Losses soared to ₹1,800 crore in FY23 despite 4x revenue growth to ₹226 crore.

• Failed investments and acquisitions, including PhonePe and Flipkart deals, worsened its troubles.

• Dunzo faces ₹500 crore debt and ongoing NCLT cases.

Find out how competitors like Zepto outpaced it.