Page 10 - Funding

Incred Finance plans to raise Rs 300 crore via non-convertible debentures

The company plans to allocate 75 per cent of the net proceeds for purposes such as onward lending, financing and the repayment of existing borrowings, including interest and principal

FCRA violations case: CBI searches at residence of NewsClick founder

The CBI has registered an FIR into the alleged FCRA violations by news portal NewsClick and carried out raids at two locations on Wednesday, officials said. A team of agency officials searched the residence and office of NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha, who was recently arrested by the Delhi Police in a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, they said. It is alleged that the portal received foreign funds in violations of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) case, they said. In its probe against the portal, the Delhi Police had alleged that funds were fraudulently infused by an active member of the propaganda department of the Communist Party of China, Neville Roy Singham. The allegations have been denied by the portal.

'Govt never deprived WB of MGNREGA, discrepancies present in utilisation'

Union minister Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti on Saturday asserted that the Centre has never deprived West Bengal of its MGNREGA dues and statistics of the last nine years prove that. The Union Minister of State for Rural Development, who was addressing a press conference here, however, alleged that there have been discrepancies in the utilisation of MGNREGA funds in the districts of the eastern state. Dismissing the TMC's allegations that she refused to meet the West Bengal ruling party's team in New Delhi for talks regarding MGNREGA dues, she said, "I wanted to meet them and waited for nearly two-and-a-half hours for them. But they kept shifting goalposts on the number of members of their delegation." "They are now leveling false allegations that I ran away through the back door. The TMC is spreading lies, they did not want to meet me, they just wanted to create drama," she claimed. She expressed her willingness to engage in talks with the TMC delegation anytime but questioned the West ..

Govt approves 28th tranche of electoral bonds, sale from October 4

The government on Friday approved the issuance of the 28th tranche of electoral bonds that will open for sale for 10 days beginning October 4. The decision comes ahead of assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram. Poll dates are likely to be announced soon. Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency to political funding. "The State Bank of India (SBI), in the XXVIII Phase of sale, has been authorised to issue and encash electoral bonds through its 29 authorised branches (as per list enclosed) w.e.f. October 4-13," the finance ministry said in a statement. The sale of the first batch of electoral bonds happened in March 2018. The authorised SBI branches include those in Bengaluru, Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun, Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai. SBI is the only authorised bank

TruCap, HDFC Bank form co-lending tie-up for underserved MSME borrowers

Industry estimates indicate that the MSME sector has an overall credit demand of Rs 69.3 trn, growing at a CAGR of 11.5%

Gaming firm Nazara Technologies to raise Rs 410 cr from SBI Mutual Fund

Company will use investment for growth objectives including strategic acquisitions

Govt clears Rs 3,760 cr viability gap fund to enhance battery storage

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 3,760 crore viability gap funding for setting up battery energy storage system in the country, said Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur. The entire Rs 3,760 crore viability gap funding will be borne by the central government, the minister said while briefing media about the Cabinet decisions. The fund will be released in five tranches till 2030-31 and help in creation of 4,000 MW hours storage. The viability gap funding, Thakur said, will lead to an investment of Rs 9,500 crore. India aims to meet its 50 per cent of energy requirements through renewable energy and non-fossil energy sources.

Anicut Equity Fund secured an investment of Rs 50 crore from SIDBI

Investment firm Anicut Capital on Tuesday said it has secured an investment of Rs 50 crore from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for Anicut Equity Fund. The investment has come through the Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS). The FFS is a Rs 10,000 crore initiative launched under the Startup India Initiative of the government in January 2015. "Anicut Capital has secured an investment of Rs 50 crore from the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for the Anicut Equity Fund," the investment firm said in a statement. Anicut Equity Fund launched its Grand Anicut Fund 3 in June 2022 with a total targeted corpus of Rs 500 crore, with an additional Rs 250 crore green shoe option. The investment firm has successfully closed two-thirds of the fund and has also received a commitment of Rs 75 crore from the Self Reliant India Fund (SRI). Within the first year, the fund has invested in six startups -- Earth Rhythm, Neemans, Wheelocity, The Ayurveda Experience,

PMI Electro Mobility Solutions plans to raise around Rs 250 crore: CEO

Electric bus maker PMI Electro Mobility Solutions plans to raise around Rs 250 crore to part fund doubling of production capacity and meet working capital requirements, according to company CEO Aanchal Jain. The company, which is setting up a new manufacturing unit in Pune, could put in an estimated investment of Rs 150 crore in the expansion. PMI Electro Mobility Solutions (PMI) currently has an annual manufacturing capacity of 1,500 units, which can be increased to 2,500 to 3,000 units on multiple shifts, at its plant at Dharuhera in Haryana. "We have another construction going on at Pune, which will add another 3,000 units capacity (annually) to us," Jain told PTI. She said the Pune plant is a joint venture with BeiqiFoton Motors of China, with which PMI has a technical tie-up. When asked about the investment in the new plant, she did not share a concrete figure but said it is estimated to be around Rs 150 crore from the PMI side. The land belongs to BeiqiFoton and PMI is inve

Railway gives priority to passenger safety, invests 54% more funds on it

Prioritising the safety of train passengers, the Indian Railway has made approximately 54 per cent more fund utilisation in the last five months compared to last year's corresponding period. Besides safety, it has also made considerable fund utilisation in various infrastructure projects, such as new lines, doubling, gauge conversion and enhancing passenger amenities, between April 1 and August 31, the railway ministry said on Saturday. "Indian Railways has witnessed approximately 48 per cent capital expenditure utilisation (highest ever) in the first five months of this financial year till August 2023," according to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Railway. "Safety of the passengers is paramount in Railways. A significant sum has been invested in enhancing safety-related works. The capex utilisation is approximately 54 per cent in comparison to the last year's corresponding period," the statement added. During this period, the national transporter has earned a revenue o

Delhi BJP, AAP quarrel over funding for city's G20 Summit makeover

The BJP on Sunday said Delhi's makeover for the G20 Summit has been funded by the Centre and accused the ruling AAP dispensation in the national capital of claiming credit for it. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hit back, saying that it is shocked to see that the "BJP had to pass the developmental work done by the city government as its own". Asserting that the makeover the city is witnessing is funded by the central government, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed that even the wall painting concept was introduced by the Centre first in the Pragati Maidan tunnel and later in the NDMC area. Sachdeva said it is regrettable that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers "are shamelessly trying to steal credit for Delhi's makeover by making social media posts". "I challenge Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal to cite even one project of beautification or development done by his government in Delhi for G20 preparations," he added. The Delhi BJP will soon hold a press conference an

WHO appeals for budget of $125 mn for funding of Afghanistan's hospitals

The organisation also noticed a decrease in the size of its local health teams, which went from 513 to 453 people

80% of SMEs think govt funding key to unlocking digitalisation: Survey

A majority (80 per cent) of small and medium enterprises in the country believe the government funding is key to unlocking digitalisation in the future, according to a study by Gartner-acquired software selection platform Capterra. The 'State of Digitalisation in India survey: Major barriers and role of government' report is based on responses collected from 435 respondents, including a group of managers, senior managers, or CEOs and founders -- labelled as decision makers. Out of these, 341 work for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), while 94 work for companies having more than 250 employees. The study found that 65 per cent of surveyed companies have received government funding for digitisation at least once, while 52 per cent of respondents said digitalisation would be challenging or even impossible without government funding. At least 8 out of 10 think there should be more funding initiatives to facilitate digitalisation, the study said. Issues in cybersecurity emerged as the

Global Fintech Festival 2023 aims to aid startups bag $10 mn in funding

Global Fintech Festival (GFF) organisers on Friday said they are aiming to facilitate funding of over USD 10 million at the upcoming event in the financial capital. This funding target is for startups alone and excludes growth-stage companies which will initiate conversations with investors at the three-day GFF starting from September 5. "In the start-up category, about USD 10-20 million funding will happen at the event itself," its organizers and advisory board member Naveen Surya said. He said 50 fintech companies will be making a pitch to over 200 investors who are expected to attend the event, and the average funding in startups will be about USD 1 million. The target excludes funding in growth stage companies, and can go up to USD 50 million, where the GFF will serve as the place where the talks between a company and an investor get initiated, he said. The third edition of the GFF will have over 50,000 attendees, 5,000 exhibitors displaying their wares, and over 800 speakers

Insurtech company RenewBuy closes $40 million series D funding round

RenewBuy said it now has the opportunity to expand its tech platform into 11 countries

DynamoFL raises $15.1 mn to scale privacy-focused AI for enterprise

DynamoFL on Wednesday announced that it has closed a USD 15.1-million funding round. Nexus Venture Partners and Canapi Ventures led the latest round, which also saw participation from other investors, the company said in a release. "The round, co-led by Nexus Venture Partners and Canapi Ventures, also had participation from Formus Capital, Soma Capital, and angel investors Vojtech Jina, Apple's privacy-preserving machine learning (ML) lead, Tolga Erbay, Head of Governance, Risk and Compliance at Dropbox and Charu Jangid, product leader at Snowflake, to name a few," the release said. The release said that DynamoFL has closed a USD 15.1 million 'series A' funding round to meet demand for its privacy- and compliance-focused generative AI solutions. The funding will primarily be used to scale up DynamoFL's team of machine learning scientists and privacy experts to continue to grow DynamoFL's technology moat in privacy-preserving generative AI. The company's flagship technology, which

NRF to ensure equitable funding for research: Jitendra Singh at BRICS meet

Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on Saturday said the proposed National Research Foundation will ensure equitable funding for scientific research and greater private participation in the endeavour. Addressing the 11th BRICS STI Ministerial Meeting at Goeberha in South Africa virtually, he said the National Research Foundation will also be given the task of creating a policy framework and regulatory process to promote research and development across universities. On Friday, Singh introduced the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Bill in the Lok Sabha to set up a national agency to fund research across universities in the country. "We are planning a unique public-private partnership entity for which Rs 36,000 crore of the research funding is to come from the private sector, mostly industry, whereas the government will put Rs 14,000 crore for the same to ensure greater participation of industry," the minister told his counterparts from Brazil, Russia, China and South

$3.9 bn UN humanitarian appeal for Ukraine is only 30% funded: UN official

The USD 3.9 billion humanitarian appeal for war-torn Ukraine is less than 30 per cent funded as the country starts preparing for a second winter with more residential buildings damaged and destroyed and thousands of people homeless following the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, the country's U.N. humanitarian coordinator said Monday. Denise Brown told a virtual news conference from Kyiv that 17 million Ukrainians need aid and the U.N. is targeting between 11 million and 12 million but funding is becoming a serious issue. A report last week from the U.N. humanitarian office said lack of funding is hampering operations, adding to the challenges imposed by insecurity and other obstacles. By the end of June, it said, the U.N. and its humanitarian partners reached 7.3 million people but in some parts of Ukraine's south, east and north, more than 25% of targeted people couldn't be reached due to a combination of funding shortages and other operational challenges. Brown stressed that winter

Jhunjhunwala-backed Concord Biotech eyes to raise Rs 1,550 cr through IPO

The late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala-backed firm sets price band of Rs 705-Rs 741 a share

AIIMS-Delhi got Rs 23 cr from govt in 5 years for rare diseases: RTI reply

The AIIMS-Delhi received more than Rs 23 crore in funding from the Centre for treatment of rare diseases in the last five years, according to information received through RTI Act. Overall the Centre has released around Rs 90 crore in funds to several Centres of Excellence (CoE) for treatment of rare diseases since 2019, the information received under the Right to Information (RTI) Act showed. The Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences, or AIIMS, one of the eight CoE for treatment of rare diseases in the country, said it received Rs 1 crore in 2019, nil in 2020, Rs 4.10 crore in 2021, Rs 7.12 crore in 2023, and Rs 10.93 crore in 2023. The Department of Health and Family Welfare said as per records maintained in the Rare Disease Cell, the government released Rs 1.30 crore in 2019-20, Rs 10 crore in 2020-21, Rs 3.15 crore in 2021-21, Rs 34.99 crore in 2022-23, and Rs 40 crore in 2023-24 (till date). The RTI query was filed by Noida-based social activist Amit Gupta. According t