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Early-stage venture capital firm Arkam Ventures has announced its Fund II with a target corpus of $180 million to back technology-focused startups. The new fund will invest in a portfolio of 20 startups in existing sectors as well as new sectors, including manufacturing technology and electric vehicles. 

In other news, UAE-based Lulu Group will be investing Rs 10,000 crore in India on various ongoing projects over the next three years. The conglomerate has already invested over Rs 20,000 crore in the country.

Also, SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) wants to safeguard investors’ money from misuse and default by stock brokers. On Monday, it introduced a supplementary process for trading in the secondary market based on blocked funds in an investor’s bank account, instead of transferring them upfront to the trading member.

Meanwhile, Infosys is strengthening its position in the Nordic region. The IT giant has won a deal worth $454 million spread over a period of five years from Danske Bank, a Denmark-headquartered financial institution.

ICYMI: PwC, one of the big four consulting firms, is selling part of its business in Australia for less than $1. The fire sale follows a scandal that has marred the company’s reputation in the country. 

Oh, and Harrison Ford will bring back one of his most iconic characters next week, after a gap of 15 years, when Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny hits theatres. Here are 12 things to remember before you see the movie. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• SIDBI, India’s new ‘fintech’
• Google startup accelerator’s India focus
• ideaForge’s stellar stock market debut

Here’s your trivia for today: Which planet takes 29 Earth years to orbit the Sun?

Fintech

SIDBI, India’s new ‘fintech’

SIDBI Chairman Sivasubramanian Ramann wants to create a conducive environment for MSMEs to access credit through a digital-first model. As the umbrella body for SME lending, SIDBI has tried to bring MSME borrowing into the formal fold through initiatives like Digital Prayaas lending platform, which gives loans of Rs 1 lakh-Rs 3 lakh to low-income entrepreneurs.

“As a development financial institute, we are supposed to be taking risks, we are supposed to be going out there and doing different things,” Ramann tells Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory, in an exclusive interview.

Digital credit:

• Even for loans up to Rs 1 crore, SIDBI has now switched to automated appraisal, with a completely paperless process, all the way from application to documentation.
• Through GST Salary, an invoice-based financing app, SIDBI lets startups and NBFCs borrow based on unpaid invoices. This can benefit about 1.5 crore GST-filing MSMEs.
• SIDBI launched the e-Udyam registration to enable banks and MFIs to connect their data to its system, helping MSMEs get onto the digital system.

Interview

Google startup accelerator’s India focus

Google for Startups Accelerator has focused its lens on India and wants to offer wider investment opportunities for Indian startups enrolled in its programme. It offers early-stage startup founders comprehensive guidance on solving technical problems.

“The idea is to equip founders with the right resources and guidance to navigate entrepreneurship,” Paul Ravindranath, Program Manager at Google for Startups Accelerator India, tells YourStory.

India opportunity:

• Last month, Google announced the second edition of its Startups Accelerator focused on women entrepreneurs in India.
• It launched a virtual startup school in both metro and non-metro cities last year aimed at providing founders with institutional knowledge.
• The second edition of Startup School will start on July 11. This year’s programme will span over eight weeks, featuring over 30 Google and industry experts.

Financials

ideaForge’s stellar stock market debut

Drone maker ideaForge’s initial public offering (IPO) was oversubscribed by 3.69 times on Day 1, as per data available on the Bombay Stock Exchange. It has set the price band for the IPO at Rs 638 to Rs 672 per equity share.

Capital raise:

• The retail portion got fully subscribed in less than an hour of opening. At the end of the trading day, the retail portion was oversubscribed by 12.48 times.
• The non-institutional investors’ (NII) portion was subscribed 5.13 times, while only some bids were received from qualified institutional buyers.
• The capital raised will help in the repayment of existing debt, meeting operational capital requirements, and fuelling investments in product development and general corporate goals.

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News & updates

• Chip race: A fund backed by the Japanese government on Monday proposed a $6.3 billion acquisition of semiconductor material giant JSR, underscoring the strategic emphasis governments around the world are putting on the critical technology of chips.
• Acquisition: IBM on Monday said it will acquire technology spend-management platform Apptio from Vista Equity Partners for $4.6 billion in cash, in the latest deal to bolster its capabilities in cloud and automation.
• Greenwashing: Companies will face more pressure to disclose how climate change affects their business under a new set of G20-backed global rules aimed at helping regulators crack down on greenwashing.

What you should watch out for

• The initial public offering (IPO) of Cyient DLM, a unit of Information Technology (IT) services firm Cyient Ltd will open on June 27, Tuesday. 
• Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is expected to hold a board meeting to consider a split of equity shares.

Which planet takes 29 Earth years to orbit the Sun?

Answer: Saturn

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