Ajinkya Kawale
 "Ajinkya Kawale")
Ajinkya Kawale
Ajinkya Kawale works as a correspondent for Business Standard, specialising in the emerging fintech industry in India. In addition to his assigned beats, he has had the opportunity to cover agrarian distress in Maharashtra and political developments during the Lok Sabha election season. He holds a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism from Christ University in Bengaluru. He is passionate about India's infotainment space on YouTube and other OTT platforms. His favourite sections in a library are non-fiction and biographies.
Ajinkya Kawale works as a correspondent for Business Standard, specialising in the emerging fintech industry in India. In addition to his assigned beats, he has had the opportunity to cover agrarian distress in Maharashtra and political developments during the Lok Sabha election season. He holds a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism from Christ University in Bengaluru. He is passionate about India's infotainment space on YouTube and other OTT platforms. His favourite sections in a library are non-fiction and biographies.
Page 15 - Ajinkya Kawale
84% lenders use both traditional, alternative data to underwrite borrowers
Alternative data includes insights such as phone usage, utility payments, e-commerce transactions, social media activity, employment history, and in some cases, email and SMS data
 "84% lenders use both traditional, alternative data to underwrite borrowers")
Diamond polishers in Surat face a rougher grind as US tariffs cut deep
The tariff trap Part-I: The first of a three-part series captures how Surat's diamond industry is coping with tariff uncertainties
 "Diamond polishers in Surat face a rougher grind as US tariffs cut deep")
Tighter norms, rising compliance failures driving scrutiny for startups
Jaggi brothers case spotlights rising governance issues in startup ecosystem
 "Tighter norms, rising compliance failures driving scrutiny for startups")
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma voluntarily forgoes 21 million Esops
The company said the move will result in a "one-time, non-cash, acceleration of ESOP expense of Rs 492 crore in the fourth quarter of financial year 2025 (Q4FY25)
 "Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma voluntarily forgoes 21 million Esops")
UPI outages: NPCI, banks working on durable solution to plug gaps
The current challenge stems from the extremely high frequency of transaction status API calls
 "UPI outages: NPCI, banks working on durable solution to plug gaps")
DLAI rebrands itself to Unified Fintech Forum as it pursues SRO bid
The body represents 120 members in regulated and unregulated firms engaged in digital financial services
 "DLAI rebrands itself to Unified Fintech Forum as it pursues SRO bid")
NPCI meets banks, UPI apps to discuss recent outages on the platform
Sources also said that NPCI informed banks that it will be sharing a detailed to-do list, outlining specific actions that need to be implemented to strengthen the UPI ecosystem
 "NPCI meets banks, UPI apps to discuss recent outages on the platform")
UPI outages lasted 282 minutes across two incidents in 2022, 2025
The longest outage, lasting 187 minutes, was in January 2022
 "UPI outages lasted 282 minutes across two incidents in 2022, 2025")
Payment pains: UPI outages traced to tech glitches, backend failures
'Root-cause analysis' done, hardware replaced, member banks briefed on fixes
 "Payment pains: UPI outages traced to tech glitches, backend failures")
Next wave of innovation in India needs to be deep tech led: Chandrasekhar
Chandrasekhar said that the new tech startups will need a different talent set from what the country generated earlier. Science and research are going to be "bedrock" of the innovation wave, he said
 "Next wave of innovation in India needs to be deep tech led: Chandrasekhar")
Decentro partners Singapore firm DigiAlly for South Asia expansion
The partnership will enable the Bengaluru-based company to enter global markets such as Singapore, Vietnam, South Korea, Australia, Philippine, Indonesia, and deepen presence in India
 "Decentro partners Singapore firm DigiAlly for South Asia expansion")
WazirX secures majority creditor nod for proposed scheme of arrangement
WazirX's parent firm Zettai said 93.1 per cent of eligible voting creditors, representing 94.6 per cent in value of claims, voted in favour of the scheme
 "WazirX secures majority creditor nod for proposed scheme of arrangement")
Payments firm Juspay raises $60 mn days after open-sourcing routing layer
The Bengaluru-based company, which operates as a technology service provider (TSP), plans to strengthen its artificial intelligence capabilities
 "Payments firm Juspay raises $60 mn days after open-sourcing routing layer")
The UPI of 2016 and today are completely different: NPCI MD & CEO Asbe
The primary focus remains on growing UPI, which has 10X growth potential. Currently, 400 to 450 million users use it monthly, it has the potential to grow to over 1 billion, said Dilip Asbe, MD, NPCI
 "The UPI of 2016 and today are completely different: NPCI MD & CEO Asbe")
Startup Mahakumbh: Fintech sector proposes new SRO India Fintech Foundation
The India Fintech Foundation (IFF) has 100 members at present
 "Startup Mahakumbh: Fintech sector proposes new SRO India Fintech Foundation")
Credit card fintech Scapia raises $40 million in Series B funding round
The company plans to enhance its product offerings, strengthen its team, and accelerate its growth plans
 "Credit card fintech Scapia raises $40 million in Series B funding round")
Razorpay POS sees surge in offline payments across merchant network
The company recorded growth across categories such as apparel, bookstores, cafes and restaurants, and jewellery, among others, between April 2024 and March 2025
 "Razorpay POS sees surge in offline payments across merchant network")
 "Afcons Infrastructure - Raghavpur Multipurpose Project in Madhya Pradesh gets environmental clearance")
Recent decline in headcount not due to AI use: SBI Deputy MD Nitin Chugh
The nature of jobs will undergo a transformation going forward, Chugh said
 "Recent decline in headcount not due to AI use: SBI Deputy MD Nitin Chugh")
Small transactions drive 7.8% drop in UPI payments' average ticket size
The ticket size for peer-to-peer UPI payments was recorded at Rs 2,666 in H2 2024
