The Maharashtra state cabinet has approved a major financial decision to raise a ₹6,000 crore loan to fund the development of the Purandar Greenfield Airport near Pune. The move marks a significant step forward in the state’s aviation infrastructure push and reinforces Purandar’s position as a key future air connectivity hub. The loan will support land acquisition, runway construction, terminal facilities and other essential infrastructure for what is projected to be one of western India’s largest airports once completed. Why the Purandar Airport Project Matters The Purandar Greenfield Airport is envisioned as a next-generation aviation centre to support rising passenger and cargo demand in and around Pune, one of India’s fastest-growing economic and industrial regions. Current capacity constraints at the existing Pune International Airport have prompted authorities to accelerate plans for a larger, modern facility that can handle future traffic projections. Once operational, the Purandar airport is expected to: Reduce pressure on Pune’s current airport Enhance regional and international connectivity Attract investment and boost economic activity Create jobs in aviation, logistics, tourism and allied sectors The project is also seen as vital for supporting the state’s strategic development goals in the Maharashtra Aviation and Aerospace Policy. Loan Structure and Funding…  ​Read MoreBusiness Archives – Trak.in – Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups

Lenskart Rolls In Profit Lenskart delivered explosive profit growth and robust revenue expansion in Q3. The surge came on the back of AI-driven leverage, record store additions, and a rapidly growing international footprint. Adding to the optimism was the domestic premiumisation push and high customer retention. Here are the key takeaways from Lenskart’s Q3 performance: Profits soared 70X YoY to ₹132.7 Cr  Operating revenue zoomed 38% YoY to ₹2,307.7 Cr  EBITDA improved 91% YoY to ₹462.4 Cr Total expenses rose 28% YoY to ₹2,162.6 Cr  The Compounding Engine: The eyewear major’s profits soared on margins doubling YoY in Q3, buoyed by improving unit economics and same-store sales. AI-first efficiencies turned every incremental sale into “disproportionate” bottom-line gains as the company’s management hailed the profitability as structural, not cyclical. The Premium Pivot: On the home turf, Lenskart continued to move up the value chain. The D2C brand’s “Gold” membership programme and progressive lenses lifted average selling prices and increased customer retention. Simultaneously, growing eye-test volumes and same-pincode growth reflected deeper penetration, with repeat buyers now accounting for over a third of its sales. Global Bets Mature: Another major takeaway from Lenskart’s Q3 results was the rapid maturation of its international business.…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

Hello,India’s IPO season remains as robust as ever, with two companies in the spotlight this time: Aye Finance and Fractal Analytics. Aye Finance Ltd.’s Rs 1,010 crore IPO attracted bids exceeding the issue size in value terms, even as the share sale was subscribed 97% based on total shares bid on the final day on Wednesday. Qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) led the demand, whose portion was subscribed 1.5 times.Meanwhile, Fractal Analytics also closed the final day of bidding for its $314 million offering fully subscribed. QIBs led the subscriptions here too, bidding for 2 times the number of shares offered, while the portions allotted for retail and non-institutional investors were subscribed 77% and 45%, respectively.Meanwhile, the rift between Bitcoin and stocks grows, with the cryptocurrency declining while US equities rallied after a stronger-than-anticipated US jobs report.In fact, Coinbase Global CEO Brian Armstrong, whose fortune has dropped by more than half since July, is no longer among the world’s 500 richest people amid tumbling crypto prices, according to a Bloomberg report.Moving on, is fibre the new protein? From TikTok “fibermaxxing” tutorials to fibre-enriched bars and sodas, industry experts have predicted high-fibre foods will be a major trend this year.  In today’s newsletter, we will talk…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Deeptech startups in India are now coming into global prominence. The sector’s success largely owes itself to science & engineering talent, and the 117-year-old academic institute that has imbibed these elements to build an ecosystem that nurtures these kinds of founders.Within the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the Foundation for Science Innovation and Development (FSID), which was formally incorporated in 2020, has been engaged with deeptech startups in the country, enlarging the scope of its activity each year. The core philosophy driving FSID aligns with that of IISc.“It is always about taking the know-how developed on the campus (IISc) to the outside world. The second part is that it should somehow be relevant to the immediate world around us,” says Prof Balan Gurumoorthy, Director – FSID, in an interview with YourStory.Given the depth and breadth of IISc in the varied disciplines of science and engineering, deeptech startups would easily fit into its groove. Gurumoothy highlights the path of a deeptech startup —science, technology, engineering, and finally, the product.“Our definition is very simple, you know, which is that anything where the offering is based on unique or new science. Then we say, that is our game where we would like to…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Healthtech-focussed VC firm W Health Ventures has marked the first close of its second fund at ₹550 Cr ($60.6 Mn), with ambition to launch and scale businesses in the healthcare sector. The firm launched the fund in July 2025 with a target corpus of ₹600 Cr. It is targeting to back eight to ten early stage healthtech startups over the next four years, with an average cheque size of ₹30 Cr to ₹50 Cr each.  Speaking with Inc42, W Health Ventures managing partner Pankaj Jethwani mentioned that the Fund II is “a company creation fund.”  “We identify key problem statements, design solutions around them, and build companies to address those gaps. Many of these are platform businesses that already exist in the market but require varying levels of support,” he further explained. W Health Ventures launched cancer care platform Everhope Oncology via its venture studio 2070 Health in partnership with Narayana Health, in March 2025. The firm infused $10 Mn (about INR 86 Cr) in seed funding via its Fund II, along with the partner healthcare company to open new facilities in Delhi NCR and Mumbai. In the healthcare space, W Health’s second fund is focussed on exploring opportunities in…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) yesterday exited Ather Energy by selling its entire 1.92% stake in the EV company for ₹520.7 Cr via open market transactions. As per BSE and NSE data, the state-backed fund offloaded 73.3 Lakh shares at ₹710 each to rake in the gains.  The shares that flooded the market were lapped up by Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, Invesco, Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund, Societe Generale, Tata AIG Life Insurance, Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, Morgan Stanley Asia and Goldman Sachs. It is pertinent to note that the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund II had held 1.92% in the company at the end of the December 2025 quarter. This comes barely three months after state-backed NIIF sold 87 Lakh Ather shares worth ₹541.6 Cr in a bulk deal in November last year. In the same month, another early backer Tiger Global also sold its entire 5.09% shareholding in the EV company for ₹1,204 Cr.  This series of stake sales come as investors look to book profits amid an upward movement in the EV maker’s stock. Shares of the company have surged more than 13% in the past one month, but are still…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

Nodal space body Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) yesterday said that it has selected three homegrown startups to build indigenous small satellite bus platforms.  In an official announcement, IN-SPACe said that Astrome Technologies, Azista Industries and Dhruva Space were selected from a pool of 15 applicants after a rigorous and multi-stage evaluation process. The body signed a contract agreement with all three selected companies on February 11.  The startups will now receive a grant of ₹5 Cr each to develop and demonstrate a robust, modular and scalable small satellite bus.  “…. By enabling indigenous satellite bus platforms and integrating them with India’s emerging small satellite launch capabilities, we are laying the foundation for India to become a preferred global destination for end-to-end small satellite manufacturing, launch, and hosted payload services,” said IN-SPACe chairman Pawan Goenka.  Chiming in, IN-SPACe’s technical director Rajeev Jyoti said that the proposed satellite bus platforms will reduce entry barriers for payload developers and strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities.  Part of the IN-SPACe’s Satellite Bus as a Service (SBaaS) initiative, the project aims to build a cost-effective platform to accommodate multiple hosted payloads that caters to both domestic and global requirements. A small satellite bus…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

SoftBank-backed SaaS unicorn Icertis is reportedly exploring a potential sale, which could value the company at up to $5 Bn. Sources told Bloomberg that many buyout firms have also shown preliminary interest in the sale. Deliberations are still ongoing and no final decision has been made on the matter. However, sources reportedly said that the AI-powered contract management software firm might decide against a sale.  Buyout firms typically are private equity (PE) firms that acquire controlling interests in established companies. As per the report, the AI-powered contract management software firm is working with investment banking firm Goldman Sachs on the potential deal.  Inc42 has reached out to Icertis for comments on the development. This story will be updated based on the responses.  The development comes barely two weeks after Icertis cofounder Sameer Bodas passed away at the age of 61 after a prolonged battle with cancer.  Founded in 2009 by the late Bodas and Monish Darda, Icertis provides software that helps enterprises manage and analyse business contracts using artificial intelligence (AI). Its flagship product, Icertis Contract Management (ICM), is used to manage sell-side, buy-side and corporate contracts across global operations. Headquartered in the US, the unicorn also has a research…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media