Fintech Agenda 2023
Flipkart and digital payment unicorn PhonePe, which is preparing its IPO, are going their separate ways. The move makes PhonePe a fully domiciled company in India.
Meanwhile, API Holdings Ltd, the parent company of Pharmeasy, reported a net loss of Rs 3,992 crore for FY22 against Rs 641 crore in FY21.
The online pharmacy, which recently withdrew its IPO plans due to “market conditions and strategic considerations”, saw a wider loss for FY22 as employee benefits expenses increased more than 5X during the year.
ICYMI: This holiday season, look at the most unique Christmas tree – on a beard!
And while you’re relaxing this weekend, check out the best celebrity outfits of 2022.
Finally, from moon landings and private space travel to a visit to Jupiter’s moons – check out the range of space events for 2023.
In today’s newsletter we will talk about
- RBI’s fintech agenda for 2023
- Nagaland: For travelers, not tourists
- A promise show with faster adoption
Here’s your trivia for today: When was the first Christmas card printed?
Inbound
RBI’s fintech agenda for 2023
Fintech startups came in for a harsh realization this year – always anticipate regulatory conflict. As the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took a closer look at the sector this year and issued guidelines that changed the course of several startups, especially for digital lenders, it has become important to stay within the yet-to-be-drawn boundaries.
Your story spoke to sector experts to understand what fintechs, especially in the lending space, can expect in 2023 from a regulatory point of view.
Key takeaways:
- While startups offering “buy now, pay later” products were among the most affected, the wider impact of the RBI’s increased oversight of the fintech sector is expected to play out in the coming year.
- Digital lending will remain a focus, but industry stakeholders also expect the rollout of credit via UPI and more non-banks to be allowed to issue credit cards.
- Industry stakeholders are awaiting more clarity on the much-hyped “new umbrella entities”, which had Tata Group, Reliance’s Jio Platforms, Facebook, Google, Flipkart, Amazon, leading banks and other major companies forming consortia seeking NUE licenses.
Leisure time
Nagaland: For travelers, not tourists
Nagaland had always been a distant and remote land – a place of mystery that remained elusive to the ‘North Indian’, and a place that even novelist Easterine Kire’s writings could not unravel.
It is a land of folktales and superstitions, a collection of hills mired in decades of conflict, a place fragmented between warring tribes.
Land of the Brave:
- The Hornbill Festival is a window into Nagaland. While outsiders may find the warrior helmets, pointed spears and beautiful beads adorned by Naga women ‘exotic’, it is a show – a beautiful and well-organized show – that gives just a glimpse of the Naga way of life.
- Unlike elsewhere in the mountainous parts of India, where most villages are located in valleys or near streams, the Naga villages are located on top of the hills. In this way, the tribes have a bird’s eye view of their territory and cannot be easily conquered.
- The best way to explore Nagaland is when you visit it as a traveler – eat the food they eat, stay in their beautiful homes, live their culture and leave all preconceived notions behind.
Climate changes
A promise show with faster adoption
At the climate conference COP26 last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised that India will achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2070.
While the country has committed to lowering its climate burden, the climate technology industry is still at a nascent stage and growing rapidly.
To the rescue:
- Home to 2,260 climate technology companies, India currently has the world’s third largest ecosystem of companies tackling climate change after the US (7,561) and the UK (2,503).
- Sumeet Singh of Climate Angels says that while venture capital activity has slowed for most sectors, “climate tech startups are signing deals at a record pace.”
- This year, the government launched Mission LiFE, which establishes a regulatory carbon trading market in India. It has also taken direct measures such as converting public buses to electric cars, making street lights powered by solar cells and offering special discounts on the purchase of private electric cars.
News and updates
- Act on data: Facebook parent Meta has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that claimed the social media giant gave third parties access to user data without their consent. The class action was brought in 2018 after Facebook revealed that the information of 87 million users was wrongly shared with Cambridge Analytica.
- Out shopping: Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire businessman and media mogul, is interested in buying either Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones or The Washington Post, a source familiar with his thinking told Axios.
- Waiting Game: FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried will be released on $250 million bail, a US federal judge ruled, while he awaits trial on eight federal charges related to alleged fraud at his collapsed crypto empire. He would also be required to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, submit to mental health counseling and limit travel.
When was the first Christmas card printed?
Answers: The first mass-produced Christmas card was printed and on sale in Great Britain in 1843.
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