Fintech SaaS company Zaggle Prepaid Ocean Services Ltd has announced the acquisition of a 51% controlling stake in Hyderabad-based billing software provider EffiaSoft Private Ltd. This deal, valued at over Rs. 41 crore, is set to strengthen Zaggle’s position in the fintech ecosystem by enhancing its merchant services and payment processing capabilities.
The acquisition will be executed in two stages. Initially, Zaggle will acquire a 45.33% stake in EffiaSoft for Rs. 36.72 crore, purchasing shares from founders Koushik Shee and Akula Krishna Rao, as well as other existing shareholders. The board has also approved acquiring an additional 5.67% stake for Rs. 4.59 crore,
with the mode of acquisition, cash or share swap, to be decided later. The deal values EffiaSoft at an enterprise valuation of approximately Rs. 81 crore.
This acquisition comes shortly after Zaggle completed its investment in Mobileware Technologies, acquiring a 38.34% stake for nearly Rs. 23 crore.
Mumbai-based fintech and insurance professional Swaminathan S. Iyer, 57, has been appointed as a Whole-time Member (Life) of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). This historic move by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) is the first time a private sector professional has been selected for this high-profile position,
ending the long tradition of selection from the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC).
Iyer, formerly Executive Vice President – Head Legal, Company Secretary, and Regulatory Affairs & ESG of Tata AIA Life Insurance, has more than 34 years of experience working in the life insurance sector. His term will be five years or until he turns 62, whichever is earlier.
His term will be five years or until he turns 62, whichever is earlier. The position was vacant since October 2024 after the resignation of BC Patnaik.
Swaminathan’s professional path is characterized by his senior leadership positions at HDFC Standard Life Insurance, including Senior Vice President – Legal and Compliance, and his previous experience at HDFC Ltd.
Abound, a fintech platform tailored for Indians residing in the United States, has successfully raised $14 million in a seed funding round led by the NEAR Foundation. The round also saw participation from Circle Ventures, Times Internet, and other prominent investors.
This marks the company’s first external funding since its incubation at Times Internet, the digital arm of The Times of India Group.
The capital injection aims to propel Abound’s mission of creating a seamless financial bridge between non-resident Indians (NRIs) and their home country.
Nishkaam Mehta, CEO of Abound.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed two contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for supplying 156 Prachand light combat helicopters (LCHs), along with training and associated equipment, at a cost of Rs. 62,700 crore, excluding taxes.
The first contract with the Bengaluru-headquartered public-sector aerospace and defence company is for 66 LCHs for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the second for 90 for the Indian Army.
“The supply of these helicopters shall commence from the third year (2027-28) and will be spread over the next five years.
The contracts will enhance the combat capability of the armed forces at high altitudes,” an MoD release said, adding that the LCH was India’s first indigenously designed and developed combat helicopter and was capable of operating at altitudes of more than 5,000 metres.
India and Japan have signed loan agreements worth 191.736 billion Japanese yen for six projects under Japan's Official Development Assistance (ODA) to India. In a statement, the finance ministry said that India and Japan yesterday signed loan agreements worth 191.736 billion Japanese yen for six projects in forest management, water supply, urban transport, aquaculture,
The six loan agreements include one for the Tamil Nadu Investment Promotion Program (Phase 3) (TNIPP-III) (JPY 36.114 billion).
Also, one for Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project (Phase 4 Additional Corridors) (I)" (JPY 79.726 billion).
Another Project is for the Construction of Chennai Seawater Desalination Plant (II)" (JPY 52.556 billion).
Dr. Arvind Virmani, Hon'ble Member of NITI Aayog, released the second edition of the "Trade Watch Quarterly" publication for the Quarter II of the financial year 2025 (July to September) on March 28, 2025, in New Delhi.
In addition to offering a comprehensive analysis of India’s trade position for the quarter, this edition examines the textile sector,
a key contributor to economic growth through export promotion, job creation, women's empowerment, and the representation of India's rich heritage and culture.
The pace of bank credit to the services sector declined sharply to 13 per cent on a year-on-year (Y-o-Y) basis in the fortnight ended February 21, 2025, from 21.4 per cent a year ago. The slowdown was driven by a slump in loans to non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and transport operators, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data showed.
Loans to NBFCs grew by just 6.4 per cent Y-o-Y as on February 21, 2025, down from 14.7 per cent on February 23, 2024. Banks scaled down their lending to NBFCs after the RBI hiked the risk weights on such exposure, signalling its concern over elevated growth and associated risks, bankers said.
Credit to transport operators showed 13.1 per cent growth in February 2025, down from 23.6 per cent growth a year ago. Credit growth remained robust in the ‘professional services’ and ‘trade’ segments, the RBI said in a statement.
Non-food bank credit expanded by 12 per cent Y-o-Y in February 2025 as against 16.6 per cent in the corresponding fortnight in 2024.
Credit to the retail loans segment registered growth of 14.0 per cent, down from 18.0 per cent a year ago, largely due to a decline in the growth rate in ‘other personal loans’, ‘credit card outstanding’ and ‘vehicle loans’ segments.
Bank of Baroda announced that it has gone live with the new Pradhan Mantri Vidyalaxmi (PM-Vidyalaxmi) Scheme to provide financial support to meritorious students.
Singapore's top banker Piyush Gupta has stepped down as DBS Bank chief executive after 15 years of spearheading the lender's journey through various financial markets, including setting up of a wholly-owned subsidiary in India. "Piyush Gupta has driven a total transformation of DBS over these 15 years.
His achievements speak for themselves - the accolades that DBS has received over the years, including recognition by Euromoney in 2016 as the first bank to be named World's Best Digital Bank. In 2018, DBS was named the World's Best Bank and has received the award multiple times since then," said Temasek Holdings CEO Dilhan Pillay.
Tan Su Shan has succeeded Gupta. Tan, who is the first female CEO in DBS' history and was previously the bank's deputy CEO, is expected to continue DBS' focus on high return on equity businesses and global growth, reported The Straits Times.
Temasek Holdings Limited, a 51-year-old Singaporean state-owned multinational investment group, is a major shareholder of DBS.