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Hindustan Time July 22, 2020 Nilekani opens credit infrastructure to aid small businesses Speaking at the Global Fintech Festival, 2020 on Wednesday, Nilekani, co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys Ltd, described the initiative as a credit protocol infrastructure called the Open Credit Enablement Network or OCEN. Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani says the initiative will help utilise innovative credit products at scale. A major new technological innovation is in the works connecting lenders with the marketplace, Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani announced on Wednesday, as he buttressed the need for India to “democratise credit” for millions of small businesses to revive its virus-battered economy. Speaking at the Global Fintech Festival, 2020 on Wednesday, Nilekani, co-founder and non-executive chairman of Infosys Ltd, described the initiative as a credit protocol infrastructure called the Open Credit Enablement Network or OCEN, built by the Indian...

The Firstpost June 20, 2020 Posted by  Sulekha Nair   There are two extreme situations being noticed currently with regards to funding in the startup sector. While on the one hand, a handful of startups have raised millions from established and reputed names from the corporate world in the time of COVID-19, on the other hand, more than 40 percent of Indian startups and SMEs have run out of cash. For instance, Myelin Foundry, a deep tech AI startup, recently raised further funding from Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan’s family office “Pratithi”. It had raised $1 million in seed round in September 2019 led by Endiya Partners. The company was founded in January 2019 by Gopichand Katragadda, Ganesh Suryanarayanan and Aditi Olemann.  Similarly, Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra recently invested $1 million (about Rs 7.5 crore) in Gurugram-based Hapramp, a startup working on technologies like blockchain and data protection in social media. The startup was...

Hindustan Times 17 June 2020 Gopika Gopakumar The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may allow banks to restructure company loans without having to set aside funds to cover potential losses as a one-time exemption to ease the strain on businesses and lenders during the coronavirus pandemic, a senior central bank official said. Though banks are allowed to recast loans under guidelines set out in RBI’s June 7, 2019 circular, they will be required to make higher provisions, crimping their profits. A one-time restructuring of loans was one of the suggestions made by the banking industry to help firms affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.  “The option is on the table… When and in what manner, we have to see,” the official said, adding that there were representations against allowing debt restructuring on the grounds that the ongoing loan moratorium was sufficient, and that funds might get diverted in a debt recast. Even though some businesses require more help than othe...