India’s fintech ecosystem is entering a transformative phase driven by artificial intelligence (AI), with the potential to redefine financial inclusion, trust, and efficiency, a senior official from the Ministry of Finance said.Addressing the AI-in-Fintech Bharat Conclave in Bengaluru on Friday, Nagaraju M, Secretary, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Union Ministry of Finance, said AI is no longer a marginal technological upgrade but a “horizontal, foundational capability” cutting across payments, lending, risk management, compliance and customer engagement.“When applied responsibly, AI can become a force multiplier for fintech, enhancing scale while deepening inclusion,” he said at the summit, organised by India Fintech Foundation (IFF) and the Unified Fintech Forum (UFF).The official highlighted that India’s strong digital public infrastructure, including Aadhaar, UPI, Account Aggregator, DigiLocker, and the Unified Lending Enterprise, provides a solid foundation for the responsible and scalable adoption of AI.According to Nagaraju, the government views AI as a key catalyst for inclusive growth, fully aligned with national priorities of financial inclusion and digital empowerment.Emphasising trust-centric innovation, he said AI deployment in financial services must be guided by ethics, fairness, transparency, and accountability. “Technological advancement must enhance financial services without compromising consumer safety or systemic stability.” He added that AI should actively…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Days after disclosing its third VC fund, deeptech focussed VC firm Unicorn India Ventures has announced a partnership with IIT Madras’s university-based research park, IIT Madras Research Park, to launch a ₹600 Cr deeptech-focussed fund. Via the fund, the duo would look to back at least 25 deeptech startups operating in segments like robotics, spacetech, defensetech, semiconductors, medtech, among others. Unicorn India Ventures would act as a manager for the fund. The average cheque size per investment will range from ₹8-10 Cr. While 60% of the fund will be used for portfolio building, the remaining 40% will be reserved for follow-on rounds. The idea for the fund was first announced in June last year, when the target corpus was set at ₹200 Cr. It will follow a dual investment strategy, prioritising early-stage deeptech startups that have reached Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3-4 to identify high-potential innovations and aid them through initial commercialisation hurdles. For context, TRL is a way to measure the estimated maturity levels of a particular technology, with 9 being the most mature and already being used in real-life conditions. “To ensure that portfolio companies are not capital starved as deep tech is a long gestation investment business,…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

Tech giant Google’s India subsidiary reported a 11% increase in its net profit to INR 1,436.9 Cr in the fiscal year FY25 from INR 1,294.4 Cr in the previous fiscal. However, its operating revenue dropped by 3.2% to INR 5,340.1 Cr from INR 5,518.1 Cr in the previous year.  To note, the company’s revenue largely comes from rendering IT and enabled services, sale of advertising space net, sale of enterprise products net as well as contract balances. While sales within India contributed INR 2,880.9 Cr to the operating income, the remaining INR 2,459.2 Cr came from sales outside India. Apart from this, other income constituted 12.7% of the total income in FY25, where interest on income tax refunds contributed INR 423.1 Cr, along with bank deposits and loans offered to other parties. Including other income of INR 775.8 Cr, overall income rose 3.3% YoY to INR 6,115.9 Cr during the year under review. The Sundar Pichai-led company has been betting big on its growth in India, with its numerous investments lined up to boost its AI capabilities and setting up data centres, as well as backing AI startups in India.  About two months ago, Google committed $8 Mn to support…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

Fintech major PB Fintech said that the management has dropped its plans, announced earlier this week, to raise funds via a qualified institutional placement (QIP). The company was responding to a report published earlier in the day which said PB Fintech plans to raise $1 Bn via the QIP. Notably, the company’s plans to consider a fundraise for inorganic acquisitions triggered a heavy sell-off in its shares. Following this, the company canceled its board meeting yesterday to deliberate on the fundraise.  However, a report by Bloomberg said today that the company would look to raise $1 Bn from the QIP post an investor outreach. “In this regard, we would like to clarify that the news is factually untrue. The management or the board are not considering the QIP,” the company informed the bourses. The intimation around the QIP was made alongside PB Fintech’s financial disclosures for Q3 FY26.  In a note on Tuesday, brokerage JM Financial said that a QIP aimed at funding international expansion at a time when management bandwidth is already focused on healthcare could introduce some volatility in its operations. “With the company already sitting on an ₹5,000 Cr+ cash pile, the requirement of a QIP suggests…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media

Bindi-making in Ballia rarely looks like an industry from the outside. It happens in homes and small workspaces, where sheets are cut into tiny shapes, pasted carefully onto cards, and finished with stones, beads, pins, or thread. The result is a product that moves through weddings, temple visits, local markets, and exhibition stalls, while quietly supporting a chain of livelihoods driven largely by rural women and steady handwork.One of the people organising this work is Geeta Verma, a resident of Gadwar in Ballia. Since 2017, she has been linked to bindi production through a women’s self-help group, helping turn what was once scattered home-based activity into a coordinated source of income. Ballia’s bindi work has also gained visibility through the state’s One District One Product (ODOP) programme, which has created clearer pathways for local producers to reach wider markets.From entry to enterpriseVerma did not come from a business background. She recalls a period when she was not engaged in steady work and spent most days around home. A visit to the district industry office changed that direction. Encouraged to explore a product-based livelihood, she studied bindi-making and felt it was a skill she could learn and grow alongside other women.After a short training…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

In Khurja, located in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahar district, pottery is more than a decorative product. Ceramic wares made here find place in homes, hotels, galleries, and export showrooms, supporting a long chain of livelihoods—from clay preparation and moulding to painting, glazing, and firing.Recognising this deep-rooted ecosystem, ceramic products have been identified as Bulandshahar’s district product under the One District One Product (ODOP) initiative, with Khurja’s pottery cluster at its core.At the heart of this cluster is Guljeet Singh Minhas, an ODOP beneficiary who runs Minhas Pottery with his family and a team of local artisans. The workshop traces its origins to 1960, when his father moved from Kanpur to Khurja and started the unit with technical training in ceramics and limited resources. Over time, the enterprise grew steadily, shaped by Khurja’s strong craft culture.Today, Minhas Pottery focuses on artistic ceramics for galleries, exports, and established Indian brands, consciously avoiding mass-market production. According to Minhas, this approach helps retain skilled artisans within the district and ensures stable local employment.Raised within the workshop environment, Minhas later studied ceramic engineering, enabling him to modernise operations while preserving handmade quality. In 2012, he replaced coal and diesel-based kilns with gas-fired kilns, improving product consistency,…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

India’s gaming boom has largely unfolded on mobile screens and livestream platforms. Now, gaming major Nazara Technologies is betting that the next phase of growth will happen offline. Through its Funky Monkey centres, the gaming major is building a network of indoor play arenas, a strategy that promises faster cash flows, stronger brand touchpoints, and insulation from platform volatility. While Nazara is widely recognised for its mobile games, esports platforms and global IP portfolio, its offline gaming business is now scaling up as the company is opening one to two new centres every month. What began as an experimental vertical is increasingly being positioned as a core pillar of Nazara’s long-term strategy, at least the company has indicated so in its Q3 earnings call. In Q3 FY26, Nazara reported a revenue of ₹30.4 Cr in its offline gaming segment which includes Smaash and Funky Monkey. In the quarter, Smaaash contributed the larger share of offline revenues with ₹24.3 Cr in revenue and ₹7.1 Cr in EBITDA, compared to Funky Monkeys’ ₹6.1 Cr in revenue and ₹3.7 Cr in EBITDA. While Smaaash currently drives a higher topline, Nazara is increasingly sharpening its focus on Funky Monkeys, given its faster scalability, quicker…  ​Read MoreInc42 Media