Innholdsfortegnelse for 5 January 2025 i Business Today

GENERAL CATALYST is a prominent early-stage investment company with investments in companies like Stripe, Snap, and Airbnb. In an exclusive interview with Business Today, CEO Hemant Taneja, shares his insights on the evolving investment landscape in India. He discusses how the firm is transitioning from a venture capital focus to a broader role as a global investment and transformation company. Edited excerpts: General Catalyst (GC) has evolved into a global investment and transformation company. How do you see your company? We describe ourselves as a global investment and transformation company. At our core, we still focus on early-stage venture capital. This year, we acquired Venture Highway in India and a similar firm in Europe. We aim to create companies not just for local markets, but for global ones as well, including through…

KARMANYE VADHIKARASTE MA phaleshu kadachana,’ this Sanskrit phrase from the Bhagavad Gita (it roughly translates to “You have the right to perform your duties, but you are not necessarily entitled to the fruits of your actions”) seems to be the motto of ICICI Bank under Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sandeep Bakhshi. Focussing on efforts and responsibilities rather than obsessing over results seems to have helped Bakhshi effect a complete turnaround at the bank, not just in terms of financial numbers but also in the way it provides its services. Those efforts include the ‘One Bank, One Team’ strategy, through which ICICI Bank is making products simpler to understand, decongesting processes, and shunning hard selling. And it seems to be paying off. The bank has emerged as the Best Large…

BEST LARGE FOREIGN BANK J.P. MORGAN In 2025, J.P. Morgan India is set to complete 80 years in the country. In that time, it has not just expanded its operations here but continues to bet big on the economy and work on further deepening its engagement with Indian clients. J.P. Morgan India has once again emerged as the winner in the Best Foreign Bank category in the BT-KPMG Survey of India’s Best Banks and NBFCs for the fourth year in a row this year. It has come out on top across parameters like quality of earnings, strength of employees in terms of productivity and efficiency, and has also shown strong performance in criteria such as three-year CAGR of total deposits, absolute increase in CASA (current account savings account) market share,…

ADITYA BIRLA CAPITAL has been moulding its products according to the specific needs of their customers, in the process of keeping the customer first. “We aim to build a deep understanding of customer profiles and provide them best-in-class solutions,” says CEO Vishakha Mulye. Aditya Birla Capital adheres to a “Customer First, Compliance First” philosophy. This policy has made them win the Best NBFC (Innovation) category. Lending: A focus on prudent risk management ensures stable growth. By prioritising the right customer segments—95% of the company’s retail lending customers are either new to credit or possess a CIBIL score above 700—the NBFC maintains its asset quality. Health Insurance: The company has disrupted this space with its “Health First Model.” By incentivising healthy behaviour, customers experience reduced loss ratios. Collaborating with in-house health coaches…

Housing.com is a real estate advertising platform and PropTiger.com is a digital real estate advisory firm What was the problem you were grappling with? During the early growth phase of PropTiger.com, we faced a challenging period where every decision felt critical. I found myself hesitating—analysing and reanalysing every decision that I had to make. This hesitation started slowing things down. Whom did you approach for advice? I reached out to a friend—someone who had built and scaled a business successfully. His perspective would be highly relevant and practical because I was sure that he had been through similar high-pressure situations. What was the advice you received? The advice was clear: “Don’t delay. The risk of inaction is far greater than the risk of making a wrong decision.” How effective was…

THE FOUR-PHASE PROJECT IS BEING DEVELOPED BY ZURICH AIRPORT INTERNATIONAL AG THE NOIDA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN JEWAR, UP, SAW ITS FIRST SUCCESSFUL TEST FLIGHT ON DECEMBER 9. COMMERCIAL FLIGHTS ARE LIKELY TO OPERATE FROM APRIL 2025. THE ESTIMATED TOTAL COST OF THE PROJECT IS ₹29,561 CRORE. HERE ARE THE KEY FIGURES: 70 MILLION Total estimated traffic design capacity per annum at Jewar after completion of all four phases by FY50 350-400 Expected operational airports in India by 2047. The number has more than doubled to 157 in 2024 15 PER CENT YoY increase recorded in total air passengers handled at Indian airports, touching 376 million in FY24 SOURCE YAMUNAEXPRESSWAYAUTHORITY.COM PIB…

BEST LARGE NBFC BAJAJ FINANCE SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO, Bajaj Finance was far from being a household name in India’s financial sector. The turning point came in 2007, when Rajeev Jain took the reins as Managing Director. Under his stewardship, the company has delivered remarkable growth. In the last 17 years, their product lines grew from 4 to 26, loan disbursals from 1 million to 36 million, customer franchise from 0.8 million to 83 million, AUM from ₹2,500 crore to ₹3.3 lakh crore, and profits grew from ₹30 crore to over ₹19,000 crore in FY24. The market share has also grown from 10 bps to 200 bps. Jain is elated with the phenomenal growth. “At the FY22 AGM, when our AUM crossed ₹2 lakh crore, I presented our ambition of doubling…

STATE BANK OF India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, has transformed the way the government handles transactions with SBI DigiGOV. Through this platform, SBI in FY24 processed over 10 million transactions totalling ₹43,000 crore. The bank has onboarded more than 650 schemes, including education and welfare programmes, across 28 states. With a 39% market share in central/state nodal agency accounts, SBI has established itself as a leader in the space. SBI DigiGOV aims to streamline and digitise government financial transactions, making processes more efficient and transparent. The platform caters to government bodies, public sector firms, and other organisations, offering a solution for fund allocation, management, and monitoring. Its real-time dashboards and management information systems offer a clear view of fund positions and utilisation. SBI DigiGOV distinguishes itself by effectively tackling…

THE MUMBAI-HEAD-QUARTERED Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services’ rise has reflected India’s economic prowess. And in that, the NBFC has rarely lost sight of the well-being of its employees. Chief Human Resource Officer Manish Sinha chalks the blueprint of success. He considers professional development as a key to success for both the NBFC and its staffers. “Learning & development is where we stand out. We have many learning intervention programmes stratified for different employees,” Sinha tells BT. There are four pillars of success that Sinha considers to be sacro-sanct—growth mindset, agility and engagement of employees, diversity and inclusion, and a wider opportunity for its employees. Leveraging technology to enhance overall employee experience, and streamline HR processes are other important factors. BEST NBFC IN TALENT & WORKFORCE MAHINDRA FINANCE Mahindra Finance’s investment…

WHEN DUTCH PAINT company AkzoNo-bel said in the third week of September that it was planning to cut 2,000 jobs globally, the signs looked ominous. Just a few months before that announcement, the paint company, which is known for the Dulux brand, had closed plants in Ireland, the Netherlands, and Zambia. Soon after that there was a review of its decorative business in South Asia. Of course, that included India as well, where AkzoNobel has a 5-6% market share (it has been in India for 70 years through various rounds of ownership), with nimblefooted local players only getting stronger. Asian Paints remains the largest, followed by Berger Paints, and then there’s Birla Opus’ aggressive launch, which has only put more pressure on smaller players. The question is, what options are…

“One of the earliest lessons I learnt was how to survive and thrive within a system fraught with challenges. The solution wasn’t to withdraw or criticise, but to adapt and find ways to make things work despite the limitationsDINESH KUMAR KHARA Former Chairman, SBI Tenure: Oct 7, 2020–Aug 28, 2024 DINESH KUMAR KHARA stepped into the corner office of State Bank of India (SBI) in October 2020, just before he confronted one of the toughest challenges of his career—the devastating second wave of Covid-19. At that time, SBI faced a range of challenges, particularly concerns about how the balance sheet would appear in light of the lockdowns. “Maintaining employee morale and ensuring uninterrupted services in every corner of the country were significant priorities. The approach was collaborative, involving team members and…

BEST MID-SIZED INDIAN BANK BANK OF MAHARASHTRA THERE ARE VERY few turnaround stories in the banking sector, particularly among mid-sized banks. In the past, many such banks either merged or remained stagnant, and some are still struggling to make their way up. However, Bank of Maharashtra is an outlier. The bank, which reported a gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of 1.84% in June 2024, an improvement from 2.28% a year earlier, has emerged as the winner in the Best Mid-sized Bank category of the BT-KPMG Survey of India’s Best Banks and NBFCs. The public sector bank (PSB) was put under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework in 2017 because of a high level of bad loans. In 2019, it was removed from PCA and has since become one of the…

TAMIL NADU-HEAD-QUARTERED The Karur Vysya Bank’s (KVB) goal is to prioritise retail and MSME loans with an emphasis on yields and granular loan book diversification. It also aims to maintain robust collection and recovery mechanisms to uphold asset quality. Currently, the bank’s commercial portfolio stands at 33%, with standalone MSME at 23% and retail also at 23%. In retail, housing loans and mortgage (loan against property or LAP) loans account for the big segments of the entire retail loan book—at 45% and 21%, respectively. However, in the cut-throat retail and MSME segments, there are big players to wean away customers. It is for this reason that the bank is focussing on lowcost current account and savings account (CASA) deposits. The bank’s CASA ratio stood at 29% as of September 2024, lower…

BEST BANK IN TALENT & WORKFORCE AXIS BANK MOST CORPORATE EMPLOYERS, across industries, face a common challenge—how to find the right talent pool. The banking sector is not immune to this. But Axis Bank—one of the largest private lenders in the country—has found a way to not only secure job profiles but has also developed a new talent pool suited to the banking industry. The strategy that the bank has adopted is simple. Instead of relying on traditional channels like technical educational institutions, Axis Bank has created a network of its own. Short-duration courses in partnership with institutes like Manipal Global Education Services and NIIT to upskill graduates have been instrumental. The Axis Bank Bharating Program in partnership with BML Munjal University has been at the forefront of the bank’s new…

BEST FINTECH IN PAYMENTS MOBIKWIK MOBIKWIK, A 15-year-old Gurgram-based fintech company, is transforming digital payments with innovations like Pocket UPI, a product that enables users to make UPI (Unified Payments Interface) transactions through their MobiKwik wallet rather than directly linking a bank account. “Since its launch in early 2024, MobiKwik has experienced a fivefold growth in wallet market share, highlighting the company’s ability to drive product adoption through innovation,” says its Co-founder and CFO, Upasana Taku. It currently holds a 24% market share, making it the largest wallet provider in India. For many Indians, multiple small transactions can lead to challenges, including a cluttered statement or an increased risk of fraud. “With Pocket UPI, users can load a small amount into their MobiKwik wallet and use it for transactions without…

IN RECENT YEARS, India’s financial services industry has seen a significant shift in regulatory compliance due to increased vigilance of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This aligns with a global trend where regulatory bodies prioritise financial stability, governance, and customer protection. Prompted by crises at major banks and financial institutions, this new approach underscores the need for stronger compliance frameworks. As a result, institutions face heightened scrutiny, stringent standards, and substantial penalties. In FY24, the RBI’s monetary penalties more than doubled year-on-year—from ₹40.39 crore in FY23 to ₹86.1 crore. BRIDGING THE GAPS The compliance framework for regulated entities (REs) in India has evolved, transitioning from manual processes to automated systems. Previously dependent on labour-intensive methods prone to errors, the industry faced vulnerabilities, especially in the burgeoning digital payments ecosystem. Broad…

Ashok Vaswani is a global banker who spent most of his career overseas at institutions like Citi Group and Barclays, among others. Around a year ago, he took charge of Kotak Mahindra Bank as MD & CEO. In an exclusive interview with Business Today’s Siddharth Zarabi, the man at the helm of India’s fourth-largest private bank talks about the country’s banking sector, the challenges, and the road ahead for Kotak Mahindra Bank, among other things. Edited excerpts: How has the past year been? A: I got back to India after 35 years, and I always joke that it took all those years of training for this job, but here I am. And this one year has been quite incredible. The India I left and the India I’ve come back [to…

IN TODAY’S TECH-DRIVEN world, the India Today-Business Today AI Conference 2024 offered a fascinating glimpse into the future of the tech world, navigating through the evolving world of artificial intelligence (AI). Experts from diverse fields spoke about the effects and benefits of AI, the power of data, and importance of regulation. With sessions covering AI’s real world applications, emerging trends, and the ethical implications shaping its future, this event put forward an in-depth look at the cutting-edge developments in AI and the road map for India becoming a powerhouse in the sector. The conference also provided a glimpse into the future of entertainment, with a special focus on virtual influencers powered by artificial intelligence. Stakeholders from India Inc. spoke about the role that AI can play in taking better decisions…

ON A BRIGHT and sunny Saturday morning this winter, away from the hustle and bustle of Delhi, more than a hundred golfers converged on the verdant Jaypee Greens Golf Course to compete on the green. The weather on December 7, 2024, was nothing short of ideal—crisp yet warm enough for the players to enjoy their game without any hindrance, creating the perfect setting for an unforgettable day of golf at the season opener of the exclusive and invite-only Royal Ranthambore Business Today Golf tournament. The event kicked off with participants arriving at 11 am for registration. The tournament began at 12:30 pm. As the day progressed, the competition intensified with the whirr of the little white ball; participants displayed their golfing skills with the club and the putter, delivering some…