The government is said to be pushing the National Payments Corp of India (NPCI) for a new hero product. To compensate, the NPCI is in a mad rush to launch one feature after another. But attempting to match UPI’s fanfare has been a task in itself. And amid the tussle to do better, NPCI employees are being badgered.
SEBI has made nominations optional for jointmutual fund accounts, simplifying processes for survivors and reducing hassles during transmission. Existing individual mutual fund holders have until June 30, 2024, to nominate or opt out, or their accounts will be frozen.
Additionally, SEBI now allows fund houses to appoint a single fund manager to oversee commodity and foreign investments, reducing management costs. These changes follow recommendations from a working group and public consultations.
SEBI made significant changes during its April 30 board meeting, including lifting the restriction on passive funds like index funds and ETFs, allowing them to invest up to 35 percent of their corpuses in group companies of the sponsor, up from 25 percent. This aims to align passive funds’ investments with their benchmark indices more closely. SEBI will soon specify eligible indices for this relaxation. Additionally, SEBI mandated mutual fund houses to establish institutional mechanisms to detect market abuses like front-running and fraudulent transactions, along with implementing robust whistle-blower policies. This move is in response to recent instances of front-running detected in the mutual fund industry, aiming to enhance surveillance and accountability within fund houses.
Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, former COO at BharatPe, has launched a venture capital fund named ‘Eternal Capital’ with an initial corpus of Rs 120 crore, expandable to Rs 240 crore with a greenshoe option. The fund, approved by SEBI as a Category-I AIF, focuses on startups addressing real-world problems and plans to invest in 40 startups in the seed to pre-series A stages over three years.
Notable commitments come from operators and entrepreneurs like Suhail Sameer, Deep Kalra, Tarun Mathur, and others. Bahl has previously invested in over 50 startups as an angel investor. The fund will be sector-agnostic but will emphasize SaaS, platform play startups, climate and clean tech, sports tech, consumer, and D2C startups. Bahl highlights the operator-led approach, leveraging insights from his experience.