Dear Reader,
Corporate drama at Tata Sons has intensified over the past few months. Now, Venu Srinivasan, a member of two Tata Trusts and also of Tata Sons, has asked the Maharashtra Charity Commissioner to inquire into the governance structure of the Trust, according to a media report.
Srinivasan had alleged serious governance lapses in the Trusts and also its involvement in Tata Sons, which is a commercial enterprise. He has also written a letter in this regard to the Charity Commissioner of Maharashtra.
Moving on to the world of mobility, electric two-wheeler maker Simple Energy has raised Rs 1,750 crore in its Series C funding round, marking the third-largest funding round in a growing E2W space.
The fresh funding round was led by the Dr Arokiaswamy Velumani Family Office, alongside Simple Energy’s Founder and CEO Suhas Rajkumar and Co-founder and CFO Ankit Gupta, with participation from Bengaluru-based HNI Amit Mishra and the Haran Family Office.
Meanwhile, renewable energy company Inox Clean Energy has filed draft papers with the market regulator SEBI to raise up to Rs 10,000 crore through an initial public offering.
According to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus filed on Tuesday, the company is launching India's largest private-sector renewable energy IPO to date. The Rs 10,000 crore offering includes a fresh issue of equity shares worth up to Rs 8,000 crore and an Offer-for-Sale (OFS) of Rs 2,000 crore by promoter Devansh Jain.
Elsewhere, US-based local commerce platform DoorDash on Wednesday opened its talent hub in Hyderabad, its first India office. The company is starting with 500 professionals and plans to scale its headcount to more than 3,000 within the next two years, PTI reported citing a press release.
Lastly, Vithya Ramraj has displayed a stellar performance at the 2026 Asian Games, winning gold in the women’s 4x400m relay, silver in the mixed 4x400m relay and bronze in the 400m hurdles. She clocked 54.75 seconds to win bronze in 400m and break the Indian national record held by athletics legend PT Usha for 42 years.
In today’s newsletter, we will talk about
- Apple Pay launches in India
- DBS Foundation’s Karen Ngui on uplifting communities
Here’s your trivia for today: Which Japanese multimedia giant gets its name from the shortened combination of its original corporate title, Nippon Kogaku? (Scroll down for answer)
Fintech
Apple has launched its mobile payments service, Apple Pay, in India after years of waiting. The rollout gives iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users a new way to make contactless payments at stores and online.
The launch kicks off with exclusive support for Axis Bank credit cards on the Visa and Mastercard networks. Users can add their cards to Apple Wallet and use Apple Pay at participating merchants and websites that support the service.
Key takeaways:
- Apple Pay does not currently support UPI, India’s dominant digital payments system, or RuPay cards, the country’s domestic card network.
- Payments provider PayU has integrated Apple Pay across its merchant network as well, making it instantly available at thousands of digital storefronts and physical retail outlets.
- According to Apple, security remains its key focus. Actual card numbers are never stored directly on the user's device or on Apple servers, nor are they shared with merchants during a transaction.
Startup: Simple Energy
Amount: Rs 1,750 Cr
Round: Series C
Startup: Gravity
Amount: $15M
Round: Undisclosed
Startup: Linux Laboratories
Amount: $70M
Round: Undisclosed
Interview
Karen Ngui, Head of DBS Foundation, outlines the foundation's decade-long evolution in an interview with SocialStory. Set up in 2014, the foundation expanded its initial focus from supporting social enterprises to directly empowering vulnerable communities through social and financial resilience initiatives.
DBS Bank has committed SGD 1 billion over 10 years (approx. SGD 100 million annually) alongside 1.5 million employee volunteer hours across its key markets. In India, DBS Foundation collaborates with local ground partners and social enterprises to address education, skill development, financial literacy, and demographic shifts around ageing.
Key takeaways:
- Ngui says the foundation’s focus is on uplifting the lives and livelihoods of vulnerable communities in Asia, predominantly across six key markets: Singapore, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan.
- Beyond standard grant-giving, DBS Foundation uses seed/early-stage capital to de-risk innovative social business models (like Life Circle Health Services).
- Rather than imposing top-down solutions, DBS Foundation co-creates programs directly with on-the-ground Indian partners.
News & updates
- Edtech: AI-powered learning platform for school students, Arivihan, has raised $10 million in a Series A round, co-led by existing investors Accel and Prosus Ventures, with another $200,000 from existing GSF angel investors.
- Deeptech innovation: Pinnacle Industries Chairman Sudhir Mehta says he is optimistic about India's future after reviewing recent founder proposals. As part of the TDB’s Investment Committee for the Rs 1 lakh crore RDI Fund, Mehta revealed that the initial cohort features 22 projects valued at Rs 4,744 crore in R&D, backed by Rs 2,192 crore from the RDI Fund.
Which Japanese multimedia giant gets its name from the shortened combination of its original corporate title, Nippon Kogaku? (Scroll down for answer)
Answer: Nikon
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