ETF Junction unveils platform to tap INR 5 lakh crore ETF market in India

02 March 2023, National: Industry veterans Sandeep Mishra, Saket Kumar and Abhishek Swaroop along with their technology partner Abhishek Swarup launched ETF Junction, India’s first Fintech platform dedicated to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). ETF Junction aims to create a complete ecosystem involving Mutual Funds, Investors, Advisors & Influencers/experts and help retail investors to expand their investment horizon to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).

Through the platform, investors can now access 9500+ Indian & International ETFs, more than 660 Global ETF Issuers, 165 Global Stock Exchanges and a 10 trillion USD Global AUM using industry-first tools. AI powers ETF Junction’s intelligent algorithm to bring new investors to the ETF ecosystem with relevant news, articles, and research; exclusive to requirements & preferences. The platform has signed up with Asset Management Companies to create awareness campaigns for educating investors on the benefits of ETFs. It addresses the underlying challenge of lack of infrastructure and awareness about Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) beyond traditional Mutual Funds.

The platform intends to create an ETF-exclusive investment community where investors can share their investment thoughts and concerns, engage with peers and learn all about ETFs from experts and verified influencers. The ETF with its vast diversified offerings stands as a great investment avenue for both new -age as well as traditional investors.

Sandeep Mishra, Co-Founder of ETF Junction, said, “The ETF market in India is worth 5 lakh crores at the moment, compared to the approximately 40-42 lakh crore Mutual fund market. ETF Junction aims to educate the general public about how an ETF can offer lower operating costs than traditional open-end funds, flexible trading, and greater transparency.”

He adds, “ETFs have demonstrated an annual growth of 22% in the last 10 years in the international markets. Currently the global ETF market size is approx. 10 trillion USD and is expected to touch 20 trillion dollars by 2026. We foresee a similar trend in India within the next 3-5 years. ETF Junction aims to become a one-stop solution for everything ETF and gradually help approx. 3.5 crore MF retail investors and 10.8 cr demat account holders to expand their investment horizon to Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Currently, 30 lakh investors are investing in ETFs, our aim is to tap the first timer ETF investors, get in more folios from the mutual fund investors and gradually try for a pie from the stock investors. We are targeting to achieve at least 10% market share within 2 years.”

SEBI has introduced new guidelines to make the ecosystem viable for investors and foster more ETF transactions on exchanges. The regulation changes effectively addressed improving the liquidity, tracking error limits and limiting disclosures for exchange traded funds (ETFs) and index funds. Since the implementation of these regulations in May 2022, exchanges have witnessed a substantial increase in trading from retail investors. The primary bottleneck to the growth of the ETF industry in India remains the need for proper infrastructure and the absence of awareness amongst investors.

Chintan Haria, Head- Investment Strategy, ICICI Prudential Asset Management, said “India’s evaluation as a non-financial saving country to becoming a financial saving showcases the growth in investment avenues from insurance, fixed income sources. ETFs are the extension of opportunities for investors. New age solutions like ETF Junction are further helping for higher penetration and inching towards financial inclusion by educating and providing experts access to retail investors. With 20+ ETFs products launched in the last 2 years and increase in distribution along with regulators’ move enabling mutual funds to incentivise market makers has created a strong foundation for the equity market to grow at a greater height.”

During the last 5 years, passive funds AUM in India has increased from ₹52,368 crores on 31 March 2017 to Rs. 4,99,319 crores on 31 March 2022 (annualized growth rate of 57%). During this period, the number of passive funds available in India has also grown from 84 in March 2017 to 228 in March 2022.

Woman fintech entrepreneur Adelia Castelino’s journey in setting up In Solutions Global (ISG)

In 2004, she along with her husband Ivan Castelino, set up In-Solutions Global (ISG) providing PaaS (Payments-as-a-Service) under the brand ‘Genius’ and has not looked back ever since. ISG is now an established fintech and regulatory solution provider in India, CEMEA and Africa, serving some of the largest issuers, acquirers, TPPs, card schemes and merchants under the supervision of a professionally managed Board of Directors.

Adelia has used her domain expertise and leadership skills to grow ISG into an enterprise-wide digital payments solution provider. Today, ISG is an RBI-approved/ licensed payment aggregator and provides mission-critical payment services to public, private, and cooperative banks, as well as, governments and education providers. She has created a global footprint, strategically partnering with world-leading networks and payment operators, with a competent focus on innovation and customer experience.

Adelia is an empowering mother of two fintech enthusiasts. An active member of her local community where she resides, she continues to inspire people both inside and outside the industry to think differently about payments.

South West Pinnacle Exploration Limited wins Contract from Odisha Mining Corp. Diamond Core Drilling Contract worth Rs. 13.57 cr.

Mumbai, 2nd March 2023: South West Pinnacle Exploration Limited (SWPEL), an Integrated Service Provider providing end-to-end Drilling & exploration of Natural resources announced that it has won a new contract from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC), a Gold category state PSU.

The Company bagged a contract from OMC for diamond core drilling work at chromite ore leases in the state of Odisha. The contract, worth Rs. 13.57 cr, is expected to be completed by FY 2024 – 25.

This new contract further expands SWPE’s geographical reach across India, and expands the portfolio of minerals exploration.

Commenting on this development, Mr. Vikas Jain, Chairman & Managing Director said,

“I am glad to announce that we have recently won a new contract from Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). We shall be conducting diamond core drilling work at chromite ore leases in the state of Odisha.

The contract is worth Rs. 13.57 cr and we expect to complete it by FY2024 -25. This further expands our geographical footprint across the country and our association with various State corporations in this industry.

Our diversified exploration and drilling capabilities allow us to provide such services for a wide range of minerals and ores.

I would like to thank the entire team of SWPE for their dedication and hard work, as well as our stakeholders, whose support helps us push the Company forward.”

Tata Motors and State Bank of India sign MoU to offer attractive financing solutions for the Ace EV

Bengaluru 2nd March 2023: Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with State Bank of India (SBI), country’s leading public sector bank to offer unique financing solutions for the purchase of the all-new Tata Ace EV – India’s most advanced, zero-emission, four-wheel commercial vehicle. Through this partnership, Tata Motors will leverage SBI’s strong network to make these solutions accessible to customers.

On the occasion, Mr Pravin Raghavendra– Deputy Managing Director (Retail – Agri, SME & FI), State Bank of India, said, “We are proud to partner with Tata Motors in an endeavour to offer attractive financing options for the Ace EV. We are confident that the new financing scheme will help individuals and MSMEs in purchasing the state-of-the-art, eco-friendly electric mini-truck.”

Commenting on this partnership, Mr. Rajesh Kaul, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Commercial Vehicle Business, Tata Motors, said, “We are delighted to join hands with the largest bank in the country, the State Bank of India, to offer unique, seamless financing schemes for the Tata Ace EV customers. The MoU has further strengthened our aim to make Tata Ace EV more accessible to customers. We are confident that our collaboration will fast-track our efforts towards sustainable mobility and support the nation’s net-zero aspirations.”

The new Ace EV is co-developed with rich collaboration with its stakeholders, and has successfully completed stringent real-world market trials with its customers. Supported by a diligently curated ecosystem, the Ace EV comes with a holistic solution for hassle free e-cargo mobility and 5-year comprehensive maintenance package. The Ace EV’s supporting ecosystem includes development and deployment of charging infrastructure, setting up of dedicated Electric Vehicle Support Centres for maximum fleet uptime, deployment of Tata Fleet Edge – the next-gen optimal fleet management solution, support of Tata UniEVerse, the proven enabling eco-system of relevant Tata Group companies, and partnerships with the country’s leading financiers for availing funding.

CyberArk Expands Global Cybersecurity Research and Development Capabilities with New Site in India

Hyderabad, 2nd March 2023 CyberArk (NASDAQ: CYBR), the global leader in Identity Security, today announced further expansion of its worldwide research and development (R&D) resources with the opening of a new facility in Hyderabad. This location is CyberArk’s largest concentration of R&D resources outside of Israel and will be a key contributor to further accelerating the development and delivery of solutions focused on protecting organizations from cyberattacks that target identities and their access to high-value resources. Identity Security has emerged as a foundational component of Zero Trust strategies and is critical to supporting cyber-resilient enterprises.

“The opening of the R&D centre in India aligns with CyberArk’s vision to deliver the world’s most advanced Identity Security platform,” said Peretz Regev, chief product officer at CyberArk. “With attackers adopting more sophisticated methods, securing identities has become a crucial component of cybersecurity. Our new facility in Hyderabad supports our commitment to providing innovative identity-centric cybersecurity solutions for organizations globally.”

Shri KT Rama Rao, Hon’ble Minister, MAUD, I&C and IT; Government of Telangana; said, “I keep talking wherever I go about large American companies having their Center outside of USA in Hyderabad, for the first time we have an Israeli company, come out of Israel and set up a large center in Hyderabad. All of us in this room are heavily reliant on Technology and Communication, where the devices keep talking to each other, the day is not far, in your phones where your refrigerator is going to talk to your washing machine, which will talk to the Doctor in between and music player, will direct your wearable device, which will direct your car and you will be getting into your car, the car will drive itself and take you, might sound like a science fiction movie, but it’s not far, the reality is very close than what you would like to believe. So, when you are completely reliant on technology, data, machines, basically regarding your life, what happens is data becomes that much more valuable, security becomes that much more important, that’s where I think Cybersecurity’s importance needs to be thought of by the governments, institutions, private entities. It becomes that much more relevant and contextual. Cyber threats as was pointed out by experts, this mindless and meaningless war by Russia on Ukraine is one thing, the age where physical wars continuing to happen is passe. I think the real wars will actually happen in Cyber worlds, where your country’s infrastructure will be attacked and where nations will try and score over each other, institutions will try and score over each other in the cyberworld. A few years ago, I met with Ajay Banga, who has now been anointed as President of World Bank, but he was CEO of the Mastercard, he was telling me, on a good day Mastercard severs get attacked by hackers at least a fifty thousand times, on a bad day it can be ten or twenty times of that. So, you can imagine the kind of threat, the insecure world that we live in when it comes to ensuring digital safety. Therefore, as a Government in Telangana, we understood the importance of this subject of Cybersecurity, and we were the first state in the country to have come out with an exclusive cybersecurity policy. We also take immense pride in saying that Telangana now has more than two hundred and thirty plus technology companies across wide spectrum of domains, who all have their cybersecurity teams running from Hyderabad. Telangana government believes in partnerships and is associated with the Cyber security council of India and set up a Cyber security center of excellence in Hyderabad in 2018 to create a safe, secure and a trusted cyber space and to catalyze innovation, entrepreneurship and capability building in cyber security. We have been working with them on national and international collaborations to boost cybersecurity ecosystem. The Cyber security center of excellence conducts several programs including research, hackathons, capability developments and policy on cyber security and privacy. I request both Ruth and Peretz to connect us to the best minds in Israel to ensure Cyberabad becomes the cyber security capital of India. In fact, that would be our ambition to solve all the challenges faced by India and by extension solve the world’s problem and our youngsters here are very smart, most of them can provide solutions that can scale for the world. I request you to work with the Telangana Academy for Skill and Knowledge, TASK, to ensure we can provide a program. Today I am delighted that CyberArk new office has been inaugurated, I am thrilled also to see the growth of cyber security industry in the state and establishment of companies like CyberArk, I welcome them. I also would urge them to start looking at more Indianized solutions. I think each country has its own set of challenges, while Cybersecurity globally is a universal sort of phenomenon, each country, each region will have its own local set of challenges, so we need to also start understanding that state of the art solutions to protect against advanced cyber threats, prevent data breaches, they also vary from state to state, country to country, region to region, where we start looking for localized solutions. CyberArk expertise in protecting privileged accounts in data is critical in today’s data landscape and I believe that their solutions will play a significant role in ensuring the safety and security of businesses across the state of Telangana and across India as well. I would also like to commend CyberArk for their contribution to the local economy, their expansion of course will create new jobs and opportunities for the local community and their presence in Hyderabad will help us to establish the city as the hub for cyber security expertise.

In addition to product management and R&D teams, the facility also houses the company’s Centre of Excellence for Marketing, as well as functions such as professional services and technical support. There are currently about 200 employees at the facility, with plans to gradually increase headcount.

“The decision to locate our new facility in Hyderabad was strategic,” said Rohan Vaidya, regional sales director, India at CyberArk. “India is a growing market for CyberArk and, on a macro level, one of the fastest-developing economies in the world, with a vast pool of skilled resources. Our new facility in Hyderabad will allow us to further improve our response to and support for our customers and partners in India. It’s an investment for our global customer base and also part of our increased commitment to the market in India.”

Premium EV motorcycle Startup Raptee appoints Jayapradeep V as Chief Business Officer

Chennai /Mumbai, March 02, 2023: Premium EV motorcycle Startup Raptee has announced the appointment of Mr Jayapradeep V as the Chief Business Officer. JP, who comes with over 25 years of experience, has worked with Royal Enfield for 15 years as their Business Head for India and Saarc region. JP has been credited with leading Royal Enfield’s premium distribution and commanding a market share of over 25% in the 150+ CC segment in India.

At Raptee, JP’s focus would be on establishing the brand as a premium motorcycle across the 2W category. JP will also be focusing on designing and delivering the customer experience for an effortless ownership, strategize and execute pan India and international network. He will also be providing strategic support to the overall organisational development.

Commenting on JP’s appointment, Dinesh Arjun, Founder, CEO, Raptee, says, “JP joins Raptee just as we reach a critical inflection point. We are transitioning from being a small technology outfit to an OEM. We intend to build a brand that does justice to the state-of-the-art tech that the team at Raptee has built over the last three years. I believe JP brings the experience of building an excellent motorcycle brand and the understanding of how crucial it is to accomplish so while being frugal and lean. Moreover, with senior leadership, cultural fit is extremely important, and his MO of being very hands-on and working at ground zero is very much in line with how we work at Raptee. We’re super thrilled to have him on board, and I’m personally looking forward to building Raptee alongside him.”

The Company aims to offer its customers a premium experience with their cutting-edge technology products and passionate people to make mobility effortless, smart and safe. JP, a well-respected and domain expert in the automotive industry is the right fit to empower Raptee to build themselves as a premium brand in the emerging EV market. JP has led several strategic initiatives at Royal Enfield and he was instrumental in developing the Network expansion strategy. He led a sizable portion of RE’s dealer expansion drive, including the Studio format expansion. This first-of-its-kind industry project was regarded as a successful RE initiative for boosting market share in India’s remote rural areas. During the time of RE’s significant transition, he was in charge of the Brand Retail Identity implementation and customer experience automation projects. JP played a crucial role in developing the structured Retail finance tie-ups and offerings for consumers partnering with all the major banks and NBFCs. Under his leadership, RE achieved the highest-ever monthly sales in October 2022 and a growth of 63% till November 2022 and improved the market share to 6.7% from 4.9%.

Commenting on his appointment, Jayapradeep, Chief Business Officer, Raptee, says, “India being the major player in the Global auto industry, the Indian 2-wheeler segment has to lead the transformation to the EV segment to create a global impact. While the EV penetration in the scooter segment has crossed 10% and is growing, the EV penetration in the Motorcycle segment, which is almost 2 times of the scooter segment, is yet to see any traction, with not many players in the segment. This brings Raptee an opportunity to be the leader in the EV transformation by offering technologically advanced motorcycles with first-of-its-kind features in E2W and helping consumers upgrade from their ICE to EV effortlessly. I am really happy to be working with a very young team at Raptee, designing and developing motorcycles for the young generation consumers.”

Raptee is slated to unveil its range of revolutionary electric motorcycles by the end of this year. The company plans to set up its first plant near Chennai. The team has designed a state of the art motorcycle that comes with no fuss, no part replacement, and low maintenance. An independently designed vehicle meant to stay in shape for times to come so you can sit back, unwind and let the motorcycle take care of itself. The premium bikes will be built to be intuitive and intelligent, with features like throttle mapping, blind-spot detection, and Bluetooth connectivity to keep you safe and sound at all times.

Internshala launches The Greatest Stargazing Internship with Astro Nomad Life

2nd March 2023, New Delhi: The career-tech platform, Internshala has launched The Greatest Stargazing Internship. The initiative brings an off-beat internship opportunity for the students of India. All college students, school students, and graduates who are interested in gaining a unique experience and doing an offbeat internship, are eligible to apply for the opportunity. Interested students may apply for the opportunity by 18th March 2023.

This Greatest Internship Ever will be a unique and immersive experience around stargazing. It will be a 2-day expedition that will take place in a remote area with minimal light pollution. The goal of this internship is to provide participants with an opportunity to learn about the night sky and get an in-depth understanding of the field of astronomy while observing the vastness of the universe.

The selected students will be getting the opportunity to bring one friend to share the unique stargazing experience with them. They will also earn a stargazing internship certificate.

On the launch of The Greatest Stargazing Internship, the founder and CEO of Internshala, Sarvesh Agrawal said, “In our yet another attempt to bring the most exciting and unique internship experiences for students who wish to stand out among their peers by pursuing something out of the box, we have rolled out The Greatest Stargazing Internship. Under this initiative, 4 selected students will join us for a fully-sponsored journey to an off-beat location away from the city. Throughout the internship, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and receive guidance from experienced stargazers and instructors who will play a major role in making this an amazing learning experience.”

Vastu Dairy launches Vastu Premium Gold Ghee

Surat:- Shree Radhe Dairy Farm and Foods Ltd (Vastu Dairy), the leading producer of milk and milk products from Surat launched its new product Vastu Premium Gold Ghee on February 19.

The Vastu Premium Gold Ghee, which comes in two varieties (Gold Premium Cow Ghee and Gold Desi Ghee), is made from the finest quality butter and is a result of the company’s belief that we are what we eat.

Speaking at the launch, Mr. Bhupat Sukhadia, founder and chairman of Vastu Dairy said the company is committed to serving quality, health, and trust through its new premium products. “The quality of ghee is dependent on the quality and health of the cattle from which the milk is sourced. Vastu Gold Premium Ghee is made from the milk of cattle that have been lovingly reared and fed natural nutritious fodder. It has been scientifically proven that well-reared, happy cattle produce nutritious milk and this makes Vastu Gold Premium Ghee different from others,” he said. Vastu Dairy’s Premium Ghee comes from the milk of cattle that are provided with a variety of fodder including natural grass, groundnut, chickpea, Binola and others to ensure that the nutrition needs of the cattle including calcium are taken care of. Mr Sukhadia said the product’s USP is not just its source of quality raw material (milk) but the unique pain-staking process involved in manufacturing the ghee.

“Our Premium Ghee manufacturing process involves at least 3.5 hours of slow cooking where the temperature is gradually increased to ensure that the final product has a granular texture and sweet aroma similar to home-made ghee,” said Mr Sukhadia. The company’s entire manufacturing and packaging process of its premium ghee is
handled by a team of experts using state-of-the-art technology. This has ensured Vastu Gold Premium Ghee is free of artificial enhancers and is unadulterated. Vastu Gold Premium Ghee is sealed with a 100% promise of purity, trust & hygiene right from the fodder stage to milking to ghee making and delivery.

Talking about the health benefits of ghee, Mr Sukhadia said the product has multiple health benefits including anti-inflammatory properties and is an excellent source of healthy fats. It also boosts the immune system and nourishes the skin and hair. Vastu Gold Premium Ghee beautifully packages all these qualities to deliver our customers a healthy and quality product. With Vastu Premium Ghee, Vastu Dairy is also working towards its aim of being India’s topmost dairy company in the next five years.