PhonePe is restructuring its ecommerce strategy on the ONDC, with plans to exit categories like fashion, grocery, and electronics. However, it will continue offering food delivery services on the network. The company has briefed the government-backed ONDC network about these changes, which took effect on Tuesday.
PhonePe entered the ecommerce sector through its subsidiary, Pincode, after separating from the Flipkart group last year. Pincode was launched as a separate app. On the main PhonePe app, it will now only provide unreserved travel ticket booking through ONDC. Pincode has requested to remain subscribed only to food and unreserved ticket booking domains on the ONDC registry, with plans to join other domains after internal realignment.
Over the past four years until March-end, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) have attracted ₹1.3 lakh crore in investments, according to a report by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
These investment vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, especially among high net-worth individuals, as alternative investment instruments. SEBI’s progressive regulations, including reducing minimum investment size and trading lot, have facilitated greater retail participation.
The recent notification of regulations for small and medium REITs is expected to further boost investment in real estate assets. These instruments have unlocked capital in operational assets, supporting infrastructure development in India.
Kedaara has announced closure (raising) of its $1.74 Bn Fund Kedaara IV, the largest fund raised by an Indian Private Equity in 12 years. Fund closed in 4 months, indicating strong interest in India’s growth story as global attention pivots away from China. 85% raised from existing LPs including CPPIB, CDPQ and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
RBI has restricted Kotak Mahindra Bank from onboarding new customers through online and mobile channels and issuing fresh credit cards due to serious deficiencies in its IT systems and controls. The bank failed to address concerns raised in RBI’s IT examinations for 2022 and 2023, leading to significant non-compliance with regulatory requirements. These restrictions may be lifted after a comprehensive external audit and compliance with remedial actions approved by RBI.
Kotak Mahindra Bank stated it’s adopting new technologies to strengthen its IT systems and will work with RBI to resolve issues swiftly. This is the third instance of RBI imposing business restrictions on banks in 2024, with Kotak Mahindra Bank facing the most stringent measures compared to previous cases involving other banks
Motilal Oswal AMC has made significant leadership changes, appointing Prateek Agrawal as MD & CEO, replacing Navin Agarwal, who will return to the parent company. Prateek, previously an executive director, joined the company in October 2022.
Additionally, Akhil Chaturvedi, the Chief Business Officer, has been promoted to Executive Director, while Niket Shah, a Fund Manager with over 14 years of experience, has been named Chief Investment Officer. These changes are set to take effect from Friday. The company has seen substantial growth, with 90% of its schemes outperforming benchmarks and its total Assets Under Management (AUM) increasing to ₹71,810 crore in March from ₹45,712 crore in the same period last year.