Byju’s, an online learning application was originally started by Byju Raveendran. Byju’s app gained extreme popularity and was evolved into a massive organization through Think and Learn Pvt Ltd in 2011. It is a platform where the lecturers educate students to learn and develop exceptional academic ideas via the app and apprehend them much better when compared to traditional school learning.
The app specializes in mathematics and science thus helping kids all over the country to fall in love with learning and master all the subjects and topics it has to offer. Byju’s Business and Revenue model runs on a subscription based method and helps students at large in acomplishing their academic goals.
The organization is a hit as it has precisely catered to the appropriate audience and has done an amazing job at helping students prepare for their entrance or school-college level examinations. The app provides graphically enriched lectures making the topics quite easy for students of all ages to comprehend thus having a better grip on their academic topics. Due to Byju’s recorded lecture features students can enjoy learning at their own convenience.
Byju Raveendran is an Indian and belongs from Azhikode, a small coastal village in Kerala. Before Byju’s he initially worked as an engineer in a UK-based shipping company. Raveendran was respected among his pals as he helped them crack their entrance exams though his simple and easy to understand tricks, though he accomplished 100 percentile in his own entrance examinations, he rejected the IIM. Challenging the traditional educational system Byju’s is evolving into an educational giant helping students at large to enjoy learning.
Byju’s is a premium educational model wherein a number of the primary academic content is made available to students for free. However, to gain access to much more easy and amazing content the users have to opt for a paid subscription. According to a Dec 2019 report published by Economic Times, Byju’s had accumulated more than 40 million registered customers and 2.8 million paid subscribers.
In the monetary year of 2019, Byju’s Business multiplied to Rs. 1341 crore from Rs. 490 crore in the preceding monetary year, and stated a net profit of Rs. 20 crores. Furthermore, the credit for Byju’s success goes to a deeper understanding of the Indian academic industry and providing its users with the best- satisfactory content possible.
By March 31, 2020, Byju’s planned to multiply its revenue to Rs. 3000 Crores considering the profitable fiscal year of 2019. Byju’s planned to launch new products like Byju’s Online Tutoring in order to attain this mark. Millions have been raised by Byju’s and it has been successful in acquiring companies like Math Adventures, TutorVista, Edurite, Vidyartha, and U.S.-based Osmo. Byju’s did not fail to grab Facebook-Whatsapp owner Mark Zukerberg’s attention and his own Chan Zuckerberg Initiative landed up investing $50 million in the company.
In 2019, Byju’s valuation crossed the $5 billion mark with an investment of $25 million from General Atlantic. Before that, Byju’s had raised budget from Naspers Ventures and the Canadian pension fund CPPIB, which had raised its valuation to $3.6 billion from the $1 billion valuation withinside the early economic year of 2018.
Impact of Covid19 on Byju’s Application
Personalized training online was conducted by Byju’s during the lockdown. These online classes are intended for students to continue their academics even during the pandemic and get personalized guidance for the same. History, civics, and geography are a few subjects that Byju’s began teaching and now is planning to record lessons in vernacular languages. Learning material in Hindi and English is already available in the app.
Divya Gokulnath, the Co-founder of Byju’s believes that White Hat Jr, an app that claims to teach kids online coding for $300 million is perfect for the plan. She believes that coding is a necessary future skill which will help our kids accelerate with international expansion. India having the largest school-going population can benefit a lot from this merger wherein a team of experts makes high quality, learning made easy educational content and it reaches every nook and corner of the country benefitting whoever it comes across.
She also believes that technology is a cost-efficient way to solve many of our inefficiencies. It will surely democratize education, and bring high-quality learning to all.School education cannot be replaced simply by online education however, it can help students to learn hard skills and core subjects in a nation that lacks quality school infrastructure and content. There is a chance that a student’s educational perspective might completely change due to the big changes such as online learning which will in turn inculcate the habit of self-learning in students.
Byju’s Expenses For The Fiscal Year 18-19
Byju’s Revenue Model
Learning modules for school and college-going students as well as students preparing for their entrance and competitive exams is a facility that Byju’s app offers. The videos are created by featuring an instructor who makes tough concepts easier using audiovisual tools. To access the desired course students have to pay the necessary course subscription fees which vary from course to course.The lectures are usually pre-recorded thus enabling the students to download and access them offline at their own convenience.
Sometimes, Byju’s offers its course content online through live sessions. Byju operates on a subscription-based revenue model. Byju earns its revenue by charging students the subscription fees for the courses that the company offers. Byju’s employs teachers, coaches, and trainers to develop such quality content and create an Intellectual Property (IPR) base that it owns. Since Byju’s functions online, it allows its content to reach many students in need thus adding to its popularity and revenue.
By making more sales, Byju’s earns tremendous profit. It is one of the largest Indian web organizations that has a capital productive action plan. The organization secured $540 million in grants powered by South Africa’s Naspers in December 2018 with a giant valuation of $3.6 billion. Byju’s disclosed that it had made a considerable profit in the last quarter of 2017.
Recently in march 2021, BYJU’s has raised $1.5 billion in series F funding round. The capital raised will be used for inorganic growth through acquisitions.
The latest fundraising values the company at $15 billion.
Byju’s plans to keep moving forward with its disconnected mentoring and wishes to grow in the US, Australia, the UK, and a few other countries.
BYJU’S has purchased Aakash Educational Services Ltd (AESL) for about $1 billion. It is considered to be one of the most expensive acquisition in the Indian edtech space.
FAQs
What is the revenue of BYJU’s?
BYJU’s revenue is US$460 million in the year 2021.
What is the business model of BYJU’s?
Byju’s follows a Freemium Business Model. It earns through the subscription amount paid by students. BYJU’s also earns by selling products. BYJU’s also provide a number of premium academic content for free.
Indian Premier League is considered and seen more like a festival in India than just a cricket tournament. This sporting event creates a lot of joy and enthusiasm in the country. It is a cricket tournament which is conducted every year in the country between certain cricket clubs.
With the 14Th edition of IPL is just around the corner, Let’s look at the sponsors of IPL 2021.
List of All the Brands that are Sponsoring IPL 2021
Title Sponsor of IPL 2021
Vivo
Vivo is the title sponsor of the tournament. Last year due to the Indo-China issues the Title sponsor was removed from the list. This year the smartphone company is back as the title sponsor of IPL 2021 and it will be called as Vivo IPL 2021.
Vivo is the Title sponsor of IPL 2021
Tata Safari
Tata Motors is one of the biggest car manufacturing company of India. Tata has sponsored their new car Tata Safari for the top players to win this season of Vivo IPL 2021.
Media Rights of Vivo IPL 2021
Star Sports
Star Sports have the media rights for the tournament. This means that you can view the match only through the channels of the star media company. This year Star Sports have signed 14 sponsors for Vivo IPL 2021.
Dream 11 is an Indian-based fantasy sports platform. Dream 11 is the first Indian gaming company to enter into the Unicorn Club. The company was founded in the year 2008. The platform lets you play fantasy football, cricket, hockey, basketball, and many other games. Dream 11 is one of the co-presenting sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Byju’s
Byju’s is an Indian-based Multinational ed-tech company. The company is located in Bangalore. It was founded in the year 2011. Byju’s is the world’s most valuable ed-tech company. Byju’s was a sponsor of IPL 2020 as well. They are also the co-presenting sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
PhonePe
PhonePe is an Indian financial technology and payments company. PhonePe is also headquartered in Bangalore India. The company was acquired by the e-commerce firm Flipkart. The company was founded in the year 2015. PhonePe is one of the co-presenting sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Justdial
Justdial is a company that helps you to search for different services in India. The company was founded in the year 1996 and is located in Mumbai. Justdial is also one of the co-presenting sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Co-powered Sponsors of IPL 2021
Upstox
Upstox is one of the largest stockbrokers in the country. They are a discount stockbroker which is backed by Ratan Tata. Upstox is one of the co-powered sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Vimal Elaichi
Vimal Elaichi is considered to be a product used as a mouth freshener. They are also signed up as one of the co-powered sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Bingo is a brand of ITC limited. ITC is an Indian MNC which is headquartered in Kolkata. ITC has a wide range of products and brands under them. Bingo is one of the brands under ITC which provides packaged chips. Bingo is one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Cred
Cred is aa Indian-based mobile application which lets you pay your credit card bills. It was started in the year 2018 and is located in Bangalore. Cred is one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Havells Fans
Havells is an Indian-based electronic equipment manufacturing company. Havells fans is a brand under Havells that manufactures and sells fans. Havells fans is also one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Garnier Men
Garnier is a cosmetic brand of L’Oréal. It is a French based cosmetic company. Garnier Men is a brand which manufactures products for men which include facewash, shaving creams, etc. Garnier Men is also one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Kamla Pasand
Kamla Pasand is a brand that sells pan masala. They are famous for their tagline which is Anokha Swaad. They are also one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI)
Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) is an organization in India which maintains the industry standards in the Mutual Funds sector of the country. AMFI was established in the year 1995. AMFI is one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Frooti
Frooti is a mango flavored drink that is sold in India. It is manufactured under the company Parle Agro. Frooti was launched in the year 1985. It is one of the successful products manufactured by Parle Agro. Frooti is one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Pharmeasy
Pharmeasy is an Indian company which involves in the delivery of pharmaceutical products such as medicines. They have signed up as one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Livspace
Livspace is an Indian company that involves in interior designing and renovation. The company was founded in the year 2014. They have also signed up to be one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Swiggy
Swiggy is an online food ordering and delivery app. It is India’s largest food delivery app. The company was founded in the year 2014 and is located in Bangalore. Swiggy is one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Parle Agro
Parle Agro is an Indian MNC. They own the brands such as Frooti, Appy, Hippo, Bailey, and many more. They have signed up to be one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Unacademy
Unacademy is an Indian online educational technology company. It was started as a YouTube channel and later launched as a company in the year 2015. Unacademy is one of the associate sponsors of Vivo IPL 2021.
Asian paints is an Indian MNC. They are involved in the manufacturing, selling, distribution of paints. They are also involved in coating, home décor, etc. The company was founded in the year 1942. Asian paints is one of the new sponsors joining the list this year.
Thumps Up
Thums Up is a soft drink company that was launched in India under the brand Cola. It was first introduced in the year 1977, later the company was re-launched by Coco-Cola to compete with Pepsi. Thums Up is also a sponsor for Vivo IPL 2021.
Vodafone-idea
Vodafone Idea is a telecommunication company which is located in Mumbai. Both the company runs the business together under one brand Vi. They are also a sponsor of the 2021 Vivo IPL.
Mondelez
Mondelez is an American MNC which is located in Chicago. The company deals with food, confectionery, beverage, snacks, etc. They are also a new sponsor of the 2021 Vivo IPL.
Amazon Prime
Amazon prime is an OTT platform that is run under the e-commerce giant Amazon. It is one of the most common OTT platforms used by Indians and other people across the globe. Amazon Prime is also one of the sponsors of the 2021 Vivo IPL.
Groww
Groww is an Indian-based platform. The company provides a platform for online investments. The platform has more than 10 million registered users. It is one of the growing mobile platforms in the Finance and Insurance Industry of the country. They are also a sponsor of Vivo IPL 2021.
Disney + Hotstar
Disney + Hotstar is an OTT platform in India. They also have the media rights which will let you watch the live matches on their platforms if you have a VIP or premium subscription.
The platform has signed 10 sponsors for IPL 2021. They have signed up some common sponsors such as PhonePe, AMFI, and Dream 11. The other companies which have signed up have been mentioned below.
Mumbai Indians Sponsors
DHL Express
DHL express is an international courier packaging and express delivery service company. DHL express will be one of the principal sponsors of Mumbai Indians and they will also be backing the team this season.
Samsung
Samsung is the famous smartphone manufacturing company. It is one of the companies which has a major share in the smartphone market of India. Samsung is also one of the principal sponsors of Mumbai Indians
Jio
Jio is a telecommunication company which operates under Reliance Industries. Jio is one of the largest and top most telecom company in India. Jio is the principal sponsor of Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Kings Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The company is also one of the associate sponsors of Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore,
Astral Pipes
Astral Pipes is an Indian based pipe manufacturing company. It is one of the best pipe manufacturing company in the country. Astral Pipes is also one of the associate sponsors of Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore,
Marriot Bonvoy
Marriot Bonvoy is a chain of hotels. It has a presence globally and it is one of the largest hotel chain company in the world. Even Marriot Bonvoy will be one of the associate sponsors of Mumbai Indians.
Official Partners of Mumbai Indians
USHA, Dairy Milk, Kingfisher Calenders, Mai Dubai, Colgate, William Lawson’s Music CDs, Dream 11, MakeMyTrip, Kotak, Performax, ESA, Radio City 91.1 FM, Fever 104 FM, Boat and DNA Networks are the official sponsors of Mumbai Indians for Vivo IPL 2021.
BKT tyres
BKT tyres is one of the tyre manufacturing company which is located in Mumbai, India. They will be one of the companies backing the Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, team this season. They are also the associate sponsors of Chennai Super Kings
PhonePe
PhonePe will be one of the companies backing the Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore this season.
Royal Challengers Bangalore Sponsors
Muthoot Fincorp
Muthoot Fincorp is a subsidiary company of Muthoot Blue. Muthoot fincorp provides financial services. They are the title sponsors of RCB for the 2021 IPL season
Puma
Puma is a MNC which manufacturers sports apparels, casual and sports shoes. They are one of the principal sponsors of RCB for the 2021 IPL season.
Myntra
Myntra is an Indian-based e-commerce platform. Myntra was acquired by Flipkart an Indian-based e-commerce giant. Myntra is also one of the principal sponsors of RCB for the 2021 IPL season.
Exide
Exide is an Indian-based battery storage manufacturing company. They also provide life insurance services. Exide is also one of the principal sponsors of RCB for the 2021 IPL season.
Nuvoco DP World
Nuvoco DP world is a logistics company. The company is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Nuvoco DP World is one of the principal sponsors of RCB for the 2021 IPL season.
MPL
Mobile Premier League (MPL) is a mobile application. It is one of the e-sports platform of India. MPL is one of the associate sponsors of RCB. MPL is also a principal sponsor of Kolkata Knight Riders.
MAX Life Insurance
Max Life Insurance is an Indian-based company that provides insurance services. It is one the largest insurance company in India. Max Life Insurance is one of the associate sponsors of RCB.
Lifebuoy
Lifebuoy is a brand which manufactures soap under the company Hindustan Uniliver Limited. Lifebuoy is also one of the associate sponsors of RCB.
Official Partners of Royal Challengers Bangalore
MakeMyTrip, Kingfisher Calenders, MediBuddy, DNA Networks, Mai Dubai, MILO, ON – Optimum Nutrition, Swiggy Instamart, EUME, boat, NVY, Royal Challengers Sports Drink, iB Cricket, Dark Fantasy, Dava India, and Rainbow Milk are the official sponsors of Royal Challengers Bangalore for Vivo IPL 2021.
Chennai Super Kings Sponsors
India Cements
Indian Cements is an Indian-based cement manufacturing company. The company is headed by N. Srinivasan who is the former Chairman of International Cricket Council. Indian Cements is the principal sponsor of CSK.
The Muthoot Group
The Muthoot Group is an Indian-based multinational Conglomerate. It is located in Kochi, Kerala. The Muthoot group is the principal sponsor of CSK.
Clear Shampoo
Clear is a brand under the company Uniliver which manufactures anti-dandruff shampoo. Clear is also one of the principal sponsors of CSK.
Nippon Paint
Nippon Paint is an Indian-based paint manufacturing company. The company was founded in the year 1881. Nippon Paint is one of the principal sponsors of CSK.
Dream11
Dream 11 is an associate sponsor of CSK for Vivo IPL 2021. They are also principal sponsor of Kings Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
EUME
EUME is a lifestyle company under Avon Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd. EUME is also an associate sponsor of CSK for Vivo IPL 2021.
Equitas
Equitas small finance bank is a bank which is located in Chennai. Equitas Small Finance bank is also an associate sponsor of CSK for Vivo IPL 2021.
Boost
Boost is an energy drink company which was established in the year 2001. Boost is one of the associate sponsors of CSK for Vivo IPL 2021.
Mai Dubai.
Mai Dubai is a bottled water plant which is located in Dubai. Mai Dubai is one of the associate sponsors of CSK for Vivo IPL 2021.
Official Partners
Muthoot Precious Metals Corporation, Nasher Miles, Cover It Up, Levista, The Souled Store, Sonata, FanPlay IoT, iB Cricket, Lupisafe, Hello FM, NAC Jewellers, Lilliputian Hub, boat, ASAP, SEVEN, Fast&Up, NOVA, Fever FM, Kaadoo are the official sponsors of Chennai Super Kings for Vivo IPL 2021.
Delhi Capitals Sponsors
EbixCash
EbixCash is one of the leading financial exchanges in India. EbixCash is one of the principal sponsors of Delhi Capitals. They are also the title sponsor of Kings Punjab.
JSW Group,
JSW cement is a subsidiary company of JSW group which is located in Mumbai. JSW cement is involved in the manufacturing and distribution of cement. JSW is also one of the principal sponsors of Delhi Capitals.
APL Apollo Steel Pipes.
Apollo Steel pipes is a brand under Apollo which is involved in the manufacturing of pipes. Apollo pipes is also one of the principal sponsors of Delhi Capitals.
Official Partners
Colgate, Bodycare, Nissan, Dream11, Kotak, BKT, boat, Coca Cola, Jio, acko, OkCredit, BondTite (Astral Adhesives), Livinguard, and FanCode Shop are the official sponsors of Delhi Capitals for Vivo IPL 2021.
Rajasthan Royals Sponsors
Expo 2020 Dubai
Expo 2020 is a world expo that is hosted in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Expo 2020 Dubai is the Principal sponsors of Rajasthan Royals.
Nine Sanitary Napkins
Nine Sanitary Napkins is a leading brand for female menstrual products. They are one of the principal sponsors of Rajasthan Royals.
TV9 Bharatvarsh
TV9 Bharatvarsh is a channel which comes under the company TV9. They are also one of the principal sponsors of Rajasthan Royals.
KEI Wires & Cables
KEI Wires and Cables is an Indian-based wires and cable manufacturing company. KEI Wires and Cables are also the KEI Wires & Cables
Colgate
Colgate is a toothpaste brand of India. Colgate is the associate sponsor of Rajasthan Royals.
BigBasket
BigBasket is an Indian-based online grocery delivery service. BigBasket is also one of the associate sponsors of Rajasthan Royals.
Official Partners
Kingfisher, Dream11, BKT, Yellow Panther, Sportz Interactive, ia (Interactive Avenues), epiphany, UAE City 1016, Big FM 92.7, Fandom, FanCode Shop, The Souled Store, Gully and PLUS are the official sponsors of Rajasthan Royals for Vivo IPL 2021.
Kings Punjab Sponsors
Royal Stag Music CDs
Royal Stag is an Indian-based Whisky brand which was launched in 1995. Royal Stag Music CDs comes under the company Royal Stag. They are one of the principal sponsors of Kings Punjab.
Fena Detergent
Fena detergent is a brand which comes under the company Fena. Fena detergent is involved in the manufacturing of detergent products. They are also one of the principal sponsors of Kings Punjab.
Boat
Boat is an Indian-based consumer audio and lifestyle brand. Boat is a principal sponsor of Kings Punjab.
Official Partners
Stylam, BKT, Colgate, CocaCola, FanCode Shop, T10 Sports, and Kingfisher Premium are the official sponsors of Kings Punjab for Vivo IPL 2021.
Kolkata Knight Riders Sponsors
Official Partners
Mai Dubai, Kingfisher Calander, BKT, iB Cricket, Lux Cozi, TV9 Bharatvarsh, Astral Pipes, JIO, Royal Stag Music Cds, Greenply, Colgate, Suniti Industries Ltd, Boat, Cricfig, Fanhood, The Souled Store, Gully and Medimix are the official sponsors of Kolkata Knight Riders for Vivo IPL 2021.
Sunrisers Hyderabad Sponsors
JK Lakshmi Cement
JK Lakshmi Cement is a brand under JK organization which involves in the manufacturing and marketing of cement. JK Lakshmi Cement is the title sponsor of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
TCL
TCL is a Chinese-based electronics company. It is one of fastest growing electronics company. TCL is one of the principal sponsors of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Ralco Tyres
Ralco Tyres is one of the best tyre manufacturing company in India. They produce a wide range quality tyre. Ralco tyres are one of the principal sponsors of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Valvoline
Valvoline is an Indian-based company which provides engine oils that is fully synthetic and the best diesel fuel additive. Valvoline is also one of principal sponsors of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Nerolac paints
Nerolac paints in an Indian-based paint manufacturing company. It is the largest paint manufacturing company and the third largest decorative paint company in India. Nerolac Paints is also one of the principal sponsors of Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Official Partners
Jai Raj Steel, Colgate, Kotak Bank, Spektacom, FanCode Shop, Tyka, iB Cricket, Tenali Double Horse and Mai Dubai are the official sponsors of Sunrisers Hyderabad for Vivo IPL 2021.
FAQ
Who sponsored first IPL?
DLF sponsored first IPL 500 million Indian rupees between 2008 and 2012.
Who is the title sponsor of IPL 2021?
The title sponsor of IPL 2021 is Vivo.
Is IPL 2021 Cancelled?
No, IPL 2021 will be played at six venues in India, which is scheduled between April 9 and May 30.
Conclusion
These are the companies and brands which have signed up to be the sponsors of this year’s IPL. Sanjog Gupta, Head – Sports, Star India, had said that “Vivo IPL 2021 is returning to Indian soil with a lot of anticipation across the country” while launching the IPL campaign on 15 March 2021.
Indian startups may become the new eye candy for foreign investors as RBI and SEBI come together allowing them to enlist themselves in foreign jurisdiction. The tech ecosystem is flourishing at a steady pace in India. This pace might get some acceleration if Indian startups decide to approach funding by enlisting themselves outside India.
However, until recently, SEBI, the stock market watchdog, had certain compliances which made listing on foreign exchanges a troublesome task.
Under the current rules, Indian companies are allowed to issue only specific currencies such as depository receipts on foreign stock exchanges- that too only if you are a company enlisted in India. This is about to change as the government along with SEBI and RBI has now allowed Indian conglomerates to enlist themselves abroad.
In the Companies (Amendment) bill 2020 passed by Rajya Sabha in September last year, it seeks to amend Sec 23 of Companies Act 2013, which prescribes the manner in which private and public companies may issue securities.
Earlier, the companies who preferred enlisting themselves on foreign stock exchanges were compelled to do so with several restrictions laid out by SEBI. With the amendment coming into force, not only existing Indian companies but newbies too can enlist themselves under foreign stock exchanges. The center along with SEBI and RBI are working on a framework to bring this into practice.
Companies that are Seeking Foreign Stock Exchanges
Infosys, the Indian tech giant became the first company to get listed on a foreign stock exchange when it enlisted itself on NASDAQ (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) on March 11, 1999. Post Infosys, a number of Indian companies decided to join the league including ICICI, HDFC Bank, Wipro and travel tech company MakeMyTrip.com.
Along with NASDAQ, there are other exchanges overseas that are trying to grab the attention of Indian companies. Amongst the top ones are NYSE, Tokyo Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange who are trying to meet Indian firms and lure them into enlisting themselves on these platforms.
India has more than 30 unicorns such as OLA, Byju’s, Swiggy and Paytm who could be beneficiaries of this government initiative. While this is being applauded and celebrated, UK based Bay Capital announces Pre IPO investment in India’s largest insurance aggregator, PolicyBazar.com.
Siddharth Mehta, founder and chief information officer of Bay Capital, said, “We are excited to partner with the excellent management team of PB Fintech, which is transforming the way insurance is bought in India. Customer centricity has been the heart of their proposition and has helped them become the platform of choice for customers.”
Indian startup ecosystem has now been exposed to a vast capital market which was in oblivion before the announcement. Of course, there are companies who have taken the road to foreign stock exchanges but notably it took Indian companies 30 long years to finally go abroad.
SEBI has been a tenacious watchdog and companies have struggled to move out of their regional boundaries. With the changes prompted by the center, Indian companies, especially startups are doing the happy dance since a vast capital market has been exposed to them.
Key benefits of listing Overseas
Wider Investor base
Listing overseas will expose Indian companies to a larger pool of investors broadening their investor base.
Soared Valuations
More investors along with an understanding of global influence, raised cap for funding.
Overseas listing has put companies like Wipro, HDFC Bank, ICICI on the global map and will do the same for companies that are considering this move. No pros for any decision exist without their cons. Economic experts fear that Indian companies may face tax complications in a market regulated by foreign law makers. Dual listing may bring concerns over co-existing in foreign waters and on the home ground.
Native Concerns
Internet entrepreneur Sanjeev Bikhchandani says an estimated Rs 17 trillion of market cap has been transferred abroad after young Indian Startups were forced to shift their company domicile overseas by foreign investors promising the funds they need for growth.
Shades of the East India Company type of situation here – Indian market, Indian customers, Indian developers, Indian workforce. However 100% foreign ownership, foreign investors. IP and data transferred overseas. Transfer pricing issues foggy. https://t.co/gANDVZOceS
There is a fear shared by many economic well wishers that listing overseas would be giving up a part of the ecosystem which is full of potential and may drive the aspiring Indian entrepreneur away from his/her roots.
FAQ
Which country has the most number of Startups?
United states is the country which has the most number of Startups.
Can Indian companies list overseas?
Ministry of Finance, Government of India announced that Indian companies would now be allowed to list their shares directly in foreign stock exchanges.
Is dual listing allowed in India?
The Indian government has decided not to mandate secondary listing for domestic firms which choose to list on overseas stock exchanges.
Conclusion
Indian ecosystem is a hidden treasure which is about to get explored by the global market. Several startups have been meaning to raise funds through ICOs (Initial Coin Offering) which is through crypto funding.
Apparently, we are running out of investors in India and foreign involvement is seeking an approval at large. While this may be a great opportunity for upcoming companies, there will always be dismay of profits flowing out of the country.
Listing overseas calls upon a bundle of opportunities for Indian companies to have a global footprint. It not only will enable India to aspire for a spot in the global marketplace but also will take Indian ecosystem towards becoming a global superpower.
The Delhi High court has granted interim relief in the form of an injunction to WhiteHat Jr founder Karan Bajaj in a defamation case involving his vocal critic Pradeep Poonia.
Karan Bajaj, founder of Byju’s owned coding platform WhiteHat Jr had filed a defamation case against Pradeep Poonia, an engineer who has publicly criticized the startup for the controversial marketing tactics, the quality of the courses on the platform, and aggressive takedowns of such feedback.
According to reports, the court order will restrain Poonia, a software engineer, from accessing the company’s curriculum and internal communication channels. The court order remains valid until the next hearing which is scheduled to be held on January 6, 2021. Poonia will also be restrained from telecasting or transmitting information from company sources in public.
WhiteHat Jr Logo
The court further restrained Poonia from commenting on the quality of the personnel who teach coding to school students through WhiteHat Jr– the educational technology startup-platform and to take down a few tweets that had referred to the startup as a “pyramid scheme”.
During the hearing, Poonia said that he had not downloaded any curriculum from Whitehat Jr or hacked into its system.
Poonia had been accused of infringing trademarks and copyright of properties owned by WhiteHat Jr Karan Bajaj, defaming and spreading misleading information about the startup and its founder, and accessing the company’s private communications app.
Meanwhile, WhiteHat Jr has filed another defamation lawsuit against another critic, angel investor Aniruddha Malpani, seeking damages worth $1.9 million.
The education startup has been making headlines after few critics from within the organisation claimed that the company was peddling baseless claims regarding children, after learning to code, earned more than 20 crores, and were part of TEDx talks.
Last month, advertising regulatory body ASCI had asked WhiteHat Jr to withdraw five of its ads which claimed that knowledge of coding enabled children as young as six and seven to develop apps that will have investors lining up.
Critics of WhiteHat Jr platform, like Poonia and Malpani, have said that such campaigns are made to sell tall dreams to parents and that they eventually affect the mental health and psychology of children.
It is to be noted that in August, ed-tech leader Byju’s had acquired WhiteHat Jr for a whopping $300 million all-cash deal.
The online education is getting a great response. Since, all the schools and colleges are temporarily closed due to the global lockdown, there is a significant rise in the demand of online courses and platforms. Even the schools and colleges are also trying to shift their classes on their online platform in order to continue the process of learning and not to hamper the studies of the students. Let us see the whole case study of rise of e-learning sector during COVID-19.
Statistics of different countries on the status of e-learning
In India, any online learning platforms are offering free access to their services which includes platforms like BYJU’S, which is now the world’s most highly valued Edtech Company and India’s unicorn platform providing services in the e-learning category. While giving the interview, the COO of the company shared the information that; From the day of announcing the free live classes on its Think and Learn app, BYJU’s has seen a 200% increase in the number of new students using its product which lead to rise of e-learning business in the e-learning sector.
In China, after looking to the pandemic, the Chinese govt. gave the instruction for the full-time students to resume their studies through online platforms. So, taking the initiative, the Tencent classroom started working in this field. As a result, China is able to see the largest “online movement” in the history of education with approximately and so, about 730000 or 81% of students, attending classes via the Tencent K-12 Online School in Wuhan.
All this gives a great information about the rise in the e-learning solution in the situation of global pandemic. This rise in the e-learning will also help in the upcoming post pandemic where schools and colleges will able to shift themselves on the online platform so that, they should not get any problem if such situation comes in the upcoming future time period.
The online education or the e-learning system has now become a new point for debate. There are two groups in the society having a different opinion for the online education. They are:-
Opinion 1) The first set of group believes that the unplanned and rapid move to online learning – with no training, and little preparation – will result in a poor user experience and will lead to the poor growth in their respective field.
Opinion 2) The second set of group believe that a new hybrid model of education will emerge as a best source of gaining the knowledge in their respective field. This is because of the fact that today, we are leading to an era of digital world. So, this initiative will be giving a significant benefits in the future itself.
There is always a demerit of every merit source and this online education also has its own challenges which is to overcome. In this case, the upcoming challenge is the internet. Some students without good connection of internet access and without the good internet connection, the technology struggles to work perfectly with digital learning. Example for this case is:-
According to a survey 95% of students in Switzerland, Norway, and Austria have a computer which can be used for their school or college work but on the other hand only 34% of students in Indonesia have an access of computer for their work.
According to a survey students retain 25-60% more material when learning online as compared to classroom study which helps them in retaining about 8-10% only. This can have many reasons like students can learn at their own pace or reading 2-3 times repetitively by going back and re-reading or choosing their own topics which they like to read or study. These reasons are the main reason behind the faster learning of the students. A fact tells that e-learning requires 40-60% less time to learn than in a traditional classroom setting.
Since Coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, the coronavirus has spread in many countries all over the world. As the number of infections and deaths from the coronavirus i.e. COVID-19 rise drastically, many governments, schools, and companies around the world are taking more drastic measures to restrain the virus’s spread. At this time, coronavirus has more than 118,000 cases and 4,290 deaths worldwide.
As the number of infections and deaths from the novel coronavirus are still increasing day by day, people are advised to avoid public presence, social gatherings, etc. At present, India has over 60 confirmed cases of coronavirus with employees in IT companies affected and 9.41 Lakh people have been screened at airports. Similarly, there are at least 1,267 cases of the coronavirus with more than 29 deaths in the United States.
Many major companies like Google, Microsoft, Apple & so on are also making sure that their employees do not get affected and stay safe during this outbreak. Google has advised all its employees in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to work from home starting March 12th, expanding a recommendation sent on March 10 to North America-based employees to work from home until at least April 10th.
On Sunday, Apple CEO Tim Cook encouraged employees at several of its global offices to work remotely “if your job allows” from March 9th to 13th. And by the end of last week, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and many other tech companies asked their employees in the Bay Area and Seattle to work from home. Moreover, Google also confirmed that it would give its hourly workers their regular pay if they had to miss work due to coronavirus. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention is urging Americans to ask their schools and workplaces about contingency plans, like working from home, in case they have to shut down over coronavirus. Companies from Wuhan to Silicon Valley have changed how and where they do business as the virus spreads on.
Due to drastic spread of coronavirus lately, many Indian corporations & startups are asking their employees to work from home. This includes Flipkart, Snapdeal, Swiggy, Paytm, Uber & Wipro and so on. Nithin Kamath, founder of stock broking startup Zerodha, stated that the entire team of 1,200 has been asked to work from home. Similarly, other Bengaluru-based startups like fintech startup Instamojo, edtech platform Unacademy, Byju’s, Bounce and Meesho have asked their employees to strictly work from home to avoid any risk. E-commerce companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm & also Swiggy are encouraging their employees to work from home by using technologies like videoconferencing to interact with their clients and colleagues. Also ride-hailing companies like Ola & Uber are asking their employees to work remotely especially if one is feeling unwell. Moreover, IT industries like Wipro & Tech Mahindra are taking necessary precautions by keeping employees,who travel overseas for their projects, in quarantine. Telecom major Reliance Jio Infocomm & Coal India have given their employees choice to work from home without any biometric attendance.
Companies adopting work from home due to Corona
Many companies are looking for solutions to enable their employees work from home without compromising the efficiency of work. For this, they are adopting various technologies & software. The Chennai-based office suite provider Zoho also made the announcement that it also implemented a work from home policy for its own employees. The company states that over 8000 employees across more than 10 countries will be working from safety of their homes until the virus is brought under control. Zoho uses Remotely toolkit to run their remote operations. Zoho Corp CEO Sridhar Vembu has been running the company from a remote farm near Tenkasi, a town in southern Tamil Nadu with the help of Remotely — the company’s virtual collaboration and productivity platform. Now, Zoho is also offering the same tools to its business partners and clients for free temporarily. Zoho Remotely includes a selection of apps in advanced software suite which will enable communication and collaboration between colleagues and customers.
Similarly, the networking giant Cisco is offering its remote collaboration tool Webex for free under 90-day licences to businesses who are not its customers. Cisco’s SVP and GM, Sri Srinivasan said that they would also be helping existing customers meet their rapidly changing needs as they enable a much larger number of remote workers by expanding their usage at no additional cost. He further revealed that that after the Covid-19 virus, traffic on the Webex backbone connecting China-based Webex users to their global workplaces has increased as much as 22 times.
At the same time, other companies are relying upon video conferencing and chat software. During this outbreak, the demand for Microsoft, Google, and Zoom’s Video Conferencing Software has increased significantly all over the world. This demand is expected to increase even more as the number of cases rises. As the number of school closures and quarantines increases, video conferencing will become ever more & more important. According to reports, Microsoft’s Teams collaboration platform has seen a 500% increase in usage in China since end of January. This usage is increasing in the U.S. as well, with more employees working from home. While, Zoom CFO, Kelly Steckelberg has said publicly that its usage is up significantly from its 100 billion minutes run rate at the end of January. During the same time period, the company also saw four-five times as many users in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
Considering the risk and intensity of COVID-19, these companies are offering many services free of cost. All that demand has made the tech companies to make it easier and in some cases free to use their software. Microsoft announced that Teams is now free to anyone with an email address. Google said last week it’s offering access to its Hangouts Meet video conferencing service and all its G-Suite as well as to G Suite for Education collaboration platforms for free of cost. Even, Zoom has also lifted the 40-minute limit on meetings for its users in China. Now, it is being extended to schools and universities in the U.S. upon request. Slack, a messaging platform, already offers a free tier but the company is offering live Q&A and webinars free.
In the middle of worldwide health and safety worries, the company and its team once again shows its agility and tenacity by offering free services. This is really good gesture in tech market.
Rishita Jain
