Harsh Kumar, Ajinkya Kawale

Stories by Harsh Kumar, Ajinkya Kawale

IRCTC Bets Big on Payments Play

IRCTC Bets Big on Payments Play

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2026

IRCTC is expanding its payments arm, IRCTC Payments, to handle transactions across its ticketing platform and tap government clients, aiming to scale its annual payment processing to approximately 1 trillion.

RBI UPI Delay Plan Gets Banker Backing

RBI UPI Delay Plan Gets Banker Backing

Rediff.com   21 Apr 2026

'It is a tradeoff between convenience and fraud prevention.'

Dream Sports pivots to fintech, AI, and sports entertainment after gaming ban

Dream Sports pivots to fintech, AI, and sports entertainment after gaming ban

Rediff.com   26 Mar 2026

Following a ban on real-money gaming, Dream Sports, the parent company of Dream11, is strategically expanding its portfolio across 11 companies, including a new venture into wealth management and stockbroking, with a focus on serving a mass user base through AI-first solutions, cofounder Harsh Jain confirmed.

Privatisation push loses steam as IDBI Bank stake sale scrapped

Privatisation push loses steam as IDBI Bank stake sale scrapped

Rediff.com   23 Mar 2026

India's privatisation push, once projected as a cornerstone of economic reform, has suffered another setback, with the Centre set to call off the IDBI Bank stake sale, highlighting the political and structural constraints shaping the country's disinvestment policy, experts say.

Buying Online May Soon Be As Simple As Looking At Your Phone

Buying Online May Soon Be As Simple As Looking At Your Phone

Rediff.com   25 Feb 2026

Mastercard and Visa are introducing passkeys that will allow users to authenticate card payments with face scans or fingerprints, eliminating the need for one-time passwords (OTPs).

UPI Growth Slowdown Rings Alarm

UPI Growth Slowdown Rings Alarm

Rediff.com   11 Feb 2026

This would imply a 29 per cent year-on-year rise, significantly lower than growth rates seen in recent years.

Govt receives financial bids for IDBI Bank stake sale, says Dipam

Govt receives financial bids for IDBI Bank stake sale, says Dipam

Rediff.com   7 Feb 2026

The government on Friday received financial bids for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) said in an official statement on X.

'Global Uncertainties Are Of A Magnitude We've Never Seen Before'

'Global Uncertainties Are Of A Magnitude We've Never Seen Before'

Rediff.com   2 Feb 2026

'Global uncertainty is something which definitely occupies the minds of officials when we are preparing for the Budget.'

Budget 2026: The Industry Wishlist...

Budget 2026: The Industry Wishlist...

Rediff.com   29 Jan 2026

Investors and startup executives are calling for extending the period for an entity to be recognised as a startup from 10 to 15 years for deep-tech companies.

UPI payments app PhonePe's $1.5 billion IPO to see Walmart cut stake

UPI payments app PhonePe's $1.5 billion IPO to see Walmart cut stake

Rediff.com   23 Jan 2026

As India's biggest Unified Payments Interface (UPI) app PhonePe prepares to list, the updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) shows the impact of regulations on the business, and concentration of payments-linked revenue even as UPI lacks MDR (merchant discount rate).

Debt Recovery Overhaul Likely In Budget

Debt Recovery Overhaul Likely In Budget

Rediff.com   19 Jan 2026

The Centre is considering amendments to the Recovery of Debt and Bankruptcy Act in the Budget to allow some Debt Recovery Tribunals to focus only on high-value cases.

NPCI sets up unit to scale up digital infra beyond payments

NPCI sets up unit to scale up digital infra beyond payments

Rediff.com   5 Jan 2026

Moving beyond digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the operator of Unified Payments Interface, is planning to add more muscle to the country's digital infrastructure by setting up a fourth subsidiary, NPCI Tech Solutions Ltd (NTSL).

Govt notifies rules to enable 100% FDI in insurance sector

Govt notifies rules to enable 100% FDI in insurance sector

Rediff.com   1 Jan 2026

Following the notification allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the insurance sector, the Finance Ministry has revised norms to remove the requirement that a majority of directors and key management personnel in an insurance company with foreign investment be Indian residents.

Housing top reason for partial withdrawals under NPS in FY25

Housing top reason for partial withdrawals under NPS in FY25

Rediff.com   31 Dec 2025

The highest number of requests was reported for the purchase or construction of residential houses, which stood at 172,625, of which 155,236 were settled, involving an amount of Rs 1,327.91 crore partial withdrawals under the National Pension System (NPS) in FY 2024-25, according to data from the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) annual report released this month.

Stricter safeguards on cards for life funds

Stricter safeguards on cards for life funds

Rediff.com   16 Dec 2025

The government has circulated among members ofParliament a new draft of the Amendment of Insurance laws Bill, 2025, proposing stricter safeguards on the utilisation of life insurance funds and other specified insurance business funds, particularly for dividend payouts, bonuses, and servicing of debentures.

Fino 1st payments bank to get RBI nod to turn SFB

Fino 1st payments bank to get RBI nod to turn SFB

Rediff.com   6 Dec 2025

Fino Payments Bank (Fino) has become the first such entity to get an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to transition into a small finance bank (SFB).

WazirX Reboots Operations After Mega Hack

WazirX Reboots Operations After Mega Hack

Rediff.com   1 Dec 2025

'We've not seen a crypto exchange come back after about 45 per cent of the value on the platform was impacted.'

BHIM's New Feature To Target Reluctant Users

BHIM's New Feature To Target Reluctant Users

Rediff.com   26 Nov 2025

'This will bring in a lot of net new users to UPI.'

'For FY26, We Expect Corporate Loan Book Upto Rs 4 Tn'

'For FY26, We Expect Corporate Loan Book Upto Rs 4 Tn'

Rediff.com   15 Nov 2025

'We currently have new proposals worth Rs 1.48 trillion in the pipeline.'

FATF lauds India's ED as model asset recovery agency

FATF lauds India's ED as model asset recovery agency

Rediff.com   11 Nov 2025

In its report, 'Asset Recovery Guidance and Best Practices', the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, shared multiple examples from cases investigated by the ED, citing them as models of effective asset recovery practice and inter-agency coordination.