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It’s Budget day!

Over the past week, YourStory spoke to entrepreneurs and startups across sectors to understand the mood of the ecosystem ahead of the interim Budget 2024. Tax reforms and regulatory clarity continue to top the stakeholders’ wishlist. Here’s what else we found. 

Meanwhile, Dalal Street is cautiously optimistic. Yesterday, Indian benchmark indices ended in green after a volatile session ahead of the interim Budget. At the day’s close, the Sensex was up 612.21 points or 0.86% at 71,752.11, and the Nifty was up 203.60 points or 0.95% at 21,725.70.

Join us for live coverage of the Budget speech here and follow us on Twitter with the hashtag #Budget2024WithYS  to stay up to date!

In other news, the Reserve Bank of India has barred Paytm Payments Bank from accepting deposits or top-ups in any customer account, prepaid instruments, wallets, and FASTags, among others, after February 29. 

The reason: Persistent non-compliance and continued material supervisory concerns, says RBI. 

Elsewhere, ecommerce company Flipkart rolled out a same-day delivery option for multiple product categories across 20 cities including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Patna, and Vijayawada. The move will put it in competition with rival Amazon’s same-day delivery feature which is available to Prime customers.

ICYMI: Short naps are good, but microsleeping—sleep that lasts mere seconds—could be a sign of a deeper problem.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Climate-tech sector’s asks from Budget
• Inside Pidilite’s corporate VC arm
• Streamlining financial management

Here’s your trivia for today: Founded in 1920, the Australian airline Qantas is among the oldest in the world. What does the name stand for?

Union Budget

Climate-tech sector’s asks from Budget

Green growth was one of the ‘Saptarishi’ or seven guiding principles of Budget 2023. It focused on areas such as fuel, energy, mobility, equipment, and power usage, and was hopeful of providing “large-scale green job opportunities”.

This year, the climate-tech industry is hoping for government support and incentives from today’s Budget.

Green push:

• Given that green hydrogen is central to the government’s vision to reach net zero emissions by 2070, the industry is hoping for some tax breaks on importing equipment needed for production, especially solar photovoltaic modules which currently attract 40% duty.
• Budget 2024 needs to look at LPG as a necessary alternative to oil and gas, as well as electricity in the automotive industry, say experts.
• More tax breaks, especially on imported technology that help combat climate change and make processes more eco-friendly have been an industry-wide ask from the government.

<Funding Alert>

Startup: UGRO Capital

Amount: Rs 250 Cr

Round: Non-Convertible Debentures

Startup: Wiz Freight

Amount: Rs 125 Cr

Round: Series B

Startup: AquaConnect

Amount: $4M

Round: Pre-Series B

Investor

Inside Pidilite’s corporate VC arm

Adhesive manufacturer Pidilite Industries’ corporate venture capital arm, Pidilite Ventures, has been investing in startups for the last three years. To date, it has invested $35 million in 10 startups in the home segment providing products and services such as furniture, interior design, building construction, and painting.

“This is a good vehicle to access innovation in the startup ecosystem and focus on areas where we are traditionally involved,” says Sanket Parekh, Director, Pidilite Ventures.

Investment thesis:

• Pidilite Ventures has partnered with 100X.VC, which provides the investment framework while the decision-making rests with Pidilite.
• Through the early-stage VC firm, startups get exposure to the best practices of the industry while Pidilite stands to gain considerable knowledge on customer preferences and other trends.
• It has not set aside any funding amount for investment purposes and draws upon the balance sheet of the parent company to put money into any startup.

Startup

Streamlining financial management

IBSFINtech began its journey in 2006 as a retirement plan for its co-founders, most of whom are former bankers. The enterprise treasury-tech company caters to the end-to-end digitisation of cash flow, treasury, risk, trade finance and supply chain finance functions.

Bridging the gap:

• IBSFINtech says multiple corporates and banks use its core technology platform, which enables the CXOs and treasurers to improve control and visibility, mitigate operational risk, and drive automation.
• The platform also provides decision support systems to help customers manage risks and comply with statutory regulations. 
• It uses technologies like Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation, analytics, and Management Information Systems.

News & updates

• Reshuffling: H&M unexpectedly announced a change of leadership on Wednesday with company veteran Daniel Ervér taking over as CEO from Helena Helmersson as the Swedish fashion retailer’s performance lags those of bigger rival Inditex and fast-growing online player Shein.
• New support: A state-backed property project in China has received the first development loan under a so-called whitelist mechanism and two more major cities have eased home-buying curbs, state media reported, as concerns mount about the liquidation of Evergrande.
• A possible first: Norway’s giant wealth fund, the world’s largest, touted the possibility that Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk and US rival Eli Lilly could be on course to become the first healthcare members of the trillion-dollar club.

Founded in 1920, the Australian airline Qantas is among the oldest in the world. What does the name stand for?

Answer: Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd. 

The Australian airline is the oldest in the English-speaking world and originally served the Queensland and the Northern Territory. 

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