In a remarkable achievement of the country’s fintech ecosystem, the Account Aggregator (AA) framework is now being used to facilitate loan disbursement worth about Rs 4,000 crore a month, a report showed on Monday.

The lending firms have used the AA framework to facilitate loans worth Rs 42,300 crore since September 2021 till March 2024, with cumulative average loan ticket size at Rs 1,00,237 for the same period, according to Sahamati, an industry alliance for the AA ecosystem in the country.

The growth surge is indicated by total loans disbursed at 21.2 lakh with Rs 22,100 crore in disbursements facilitated by AAs in the second half of this fiscal (FY25).

Average loan ticket size in this period stood at Rs 1,04,245 and is expected to reduce “as we expect more cash- flow based lending to MSMEs and unsecured loans to new to credit customers,” the report mentioned.

The Adani Group on Monday vehemently denied fraudulent press releases being circulated, which are related to the conglomerate’s presence in Kenya, adding that it will take legal action against anyone involved in spreading false narratives.

A spokesperson from the Group said in a statement that certain “vested interests with malicious intent” are circulating multiple fraudulent press releases, including one titled “Adani Group Denounces Baseless Accusations and Threats”, related to the company’s presence in Kenya.

“We categorically state that neither the Adani Group nor any of its companies or subsidiaries have issued any Press Releases related to Kenya,” the Group spokesperson emphasised.

Accel Atoms 4.0, the fourth cohort of the pre-seed scaling programme by Accel, is now open for applications till November 17, the global VC firm announced on Monday.

The current edition of the sector-themed programme focuses on two categories of pre-seed startups -- those building for ‘Bharat’, and those building in or with Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Accel defines ‘Bharat’ as the middle-income households spread across Tier 2, Tier 3, and rural India which presently is estimated to offer a $500 billion consumer market. Interestingly, the top 20 per cent of the rural population has a higher MPCE (monthly per capita expenditure) than 50 per cent of the urban population. Accel believes multiple Indian unicorns will emerge from this Bharat opportunity.

IT services major Infosys on Monday announced a collaboration with the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India to further enhance its digital transformation.

As part of the collaboration, Infosys will spearhead LIC’s digital transformation initiative called DIVE (Digital Innovation and Value Enhancement), enabling the creation of the ‘NextGen Digital Platform’, which will focus on delivering seamless omni-channel engagement and data-driven hyper-personalised experiences to LIC’s customers, agents and employees.

"It will not only enhance our operational capabilities, but also enable us to cater to our vast customer, agent and employee base with newer, more personalised experiences. We are committed to leveraging the latest technologies that Infosys has to offer,” said Siddhartha Mohanty, CEO and MD, LIC.

At least 24 domestic startups secured more than $229 million in funding this week, which included six growth-stage deals worth $182.65 million.

The week saw 13 early-stage deals worth $46.14 million. Overall, Bengaluru-based startups led with eight deals, followed by Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, as per industry data.

The funding momentum was led by mobile advertising network software InMobi which raised $100 million in a debt funding round, followed by MSME-focused fintech lender FlexiLoans which secured $35 million.

Continuing an upward trajectory, 22.53 lakh new workers were enrolled under the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) scheme in the month of July, up from 21.67 lakh enrolled in June, thus ensuring social security to more workers.

The year-on-year (YoY) analysis showed a growth of 13.32 per cent in net registrations compared to July 2023.

The provisional payroll data of ESIC revealed that 10.84 lakh young employees upto the age group of 25 (around 48 per cent of the total registrations) constituted new registrations in July.

While 4.65 lakh female employees enrolled in the ESI Scheme in July, 56,467 new establishments were registered under the ESI scheme, according to data from the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

India has ushered into a new era of energy transition driven by a shared commitment to advancing the ‘Hydrogen Agenda’, Minister of State for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Shripad Naik, has said.

The Green Hydrogen commitment is a historic opportunity to redefine energy systems, create jobs and secure a cleaner planet for future generations.

Addressing the International Conference on Green Hydrogen (ICGH-2024), Naik emphasised the government's unwavering commitment to advance clean and green energy.

US automaker Ford Motor is making a comeback in India and will restart its manufacturing plant in Chennai to boost exports, along with hiring another 2,500-3,000 employees, it was announced on Friday.

According to Kay Hart, President, Ford International Markets Group, the step aims to “underscore our ongoing commitment to India as we intend to leverage the manufacturing expertise available in Tamil Nadu to serve new global markets.”

In a post on LinkedIn, she said the company has submitted a letter of intent (LOI) to the “government of Tamil Nadu in India, outlining Ford’s intention to utilise our Chennai plant for manufacturing for export”.

SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, along with her husband Dhaval Buch, on Friday refuted recent allegations made against her, saying she has never dealt with any file involving Agora Advisory, Agora Partners, the Mahindra Group, Pidilite, Dr Reddy’s, Alvarez and Marsal, Sembcorp, Visu Leasing or ICICI Bank at any stage after joining the markets regulator.

The statement, issued in a personal capacity, said the allegations are "completely false, malicious and defamatory".

"All the allegations made are false, incorrect, malicious and motivated. The allegations themselves are based on our Income Tax Returns. In other words, all these matters are a part of our Income Tax returns in which all these matters have been fully disclosed and taxes have been duly paid," the couple said.

They claimed that their Income Tax Returns have been obtained by adopting fraudulent means and illegally.

One in two (51 per cent) GenZ professionals in India have a fear of job loss and 40 per cent worry about securing positions in their preferred fields upon entering the workplace, a report showed on Friday.

Despite the worries, GenZ demonstrates a clear set of priorities when it comes to their careers.

About 77 per cent of the surveyed said they prioritise the role or brand over commercials, with 43 per cent specifically seeking hands-on experience and growth opportunities.

This focus on professional development is further emphasised by the fact that 72 per cent of GenZ professionals consider job satisfaction more important than salary, according to the report by talent engagement and hiring platform Unstop.