Career News & Insights

Pecuniary loss to company by employee can be recovered from gratuity

Before retiring as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of MSTC, an employee faced a disciplinary case against him. The company accused him of causing financial loss of Rs 10 lakhs due to negligence. As a result, the company withheld his gratuity and later ordered that the pecuniary loss should be recovered from his gratuity [...] The post Pecuniary loss to company by employee can be recovered from gratuity appeared first on HR Katha .

GDP growth likely to moderate with inflation nearing 4%: RBI panel member

Policy interest rate consistent with macroeconomic stability, says RBI MPC member Saugata Bhattacharya

‘Chai with AI’: Bengaluru tea shop ‘ChatGPTea’ goes viral as AI influence hits the streets

A small tea shop in Bengaluru has gone viral after social media users spotted its name, “ChatGPTea”, a playful nod to the OpenAI-developed AI chatbot ChatGPT , highlighting how AI buzz is seeping into everyday street culture. Photos of the shop’s signboard, written in Kannada and English, were widely shared on Reddit, sparking amused reactions and wordplay among users. The post, shared on the r/Bengaluru subreddit, drew hundreds of upvotes and comments, with users calling it a “peak Bengaluru moment” and jokingly comparing it to rival AI tools. AI growth getting out of hand by u/not_intoreddit in Bengaluru Many people in the comment section noted the shop’s location in south Bengaluru, with several identifying it as being near areas such as Marathahalli, Electronic City and SG Palya. "I always prefer PerplexiTea over Chatgptea," a user joked. "Chai GPT would have been a better name imo," another noted. "NGL that is clever," a third said.

Startup investor Anicut Capital closes Rs 1,275 crore GAF-IV, its third private credit fund

Anicut Capital has announced the final close of its third private credit vehicle, Grand Anicut Fund IV (GAF-IV), at Rs 1,275 crore, exceeding its initial target of Rs 1,000 crore. The Chennai-headquartered investment firm said the fund will back companies across consumer, engineering services, SaaS, manufacturing, hospitality, and shipbuilding sectors. According to the firm, GAF-IV includes a GIFT City-based dollar feeder structure that allows global investors to participate in India’s private credit opportunity. Through this feeder, Anicut raised around $11 million, or nearly Rs 92 crore, in dollar-denominated commitments last year. The firm plans to deploy capital with an average cheque size of about Rs 80 crore per transaction. With the close of GAF-IV, Anicut Capital’s total assets under management stand at around Rs 4,500 crore across six funds, split evenly between debt and equity strategies. Founded in 2016 by Ashvin Chadha and IAS Balamurugan, the firm provides both debt and...

PlasmaGen Biosciences raises Rs 150 crore in funding from ViNS Bioproducts, others

PlasmaGen Biosciences has raised Rs 150 crore in a funding round led by ViNS Bioproducts, with participation from high-net-worth individuals, family offices, pharma entrepreneurs, and existing investors. The Bengaluru-based biopharma startup secured the capital at a valuation of over Rs 1,500 crore. The company, which is backed by Eight Roads Ventures, has now raised more than Rs 600 crore to date. Its investor base includes Eight Road Ventures, F-Prime Capital, Fidelity’s FIL Capital Investments, UK-based Artian Investments, and several prominent HNIs. In 2023, PlasmaGen raised Rs 225 crore, while an earlier round in 2017 had brought in about Rs 160 crore from Eight Roads and F-Prime Capital. Founded in 2010, PlasmaGen develops, manufactures, and markets blood plasma-derived therapies, including albumin, immunoglobulins, anti-D products, and clotting factors. These therapies are used across neurology, hematology, and critical care, and are supplied to private hospitals as well as s...

Mutual fund advisory platform PowerUp Money raises over Rs 100 crore to scale its business

PowerUp Money, a mutual fund advisory wealthtech platform, has raised $12 million (about Rs 107.4 crore) in a Series A funding round led by Peak XV, with participation from existing investors Accel, Blume Ventures and Kae Capital. The round also saw continued backing from 8i Ventures and DevC, and comes just six months after the startup raised $7.1 million in seed funding. Founded in 2024 by Prateek Jindal, the Bengaluru-based startup is building a research-led, zero-commission mutual fund advisory platform focused on providing unbiased investment advice at significantly lower costs than traditional models. PowerUp Money operates as a SEBI-registered Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), a structure it says ensures advisory recommendations remain aligned with long-term investor outcomes rather than product commissions. The startup wil use the raised capital to strengthen its research and advisory capabilities, scale its flagship subscription product PowerUp Elite, launch a new fully ...

Aerospace and defence electronics company CoreEL Technologies raises $30 million in funding

CoreEL Technologies, a Bengaluru-headquartered aerospace and defence electronics company, has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by ValueQuest Scale Fund with participation from existing investor 360 ONE Asset. The round saw a majority inflow from ValueQuest Scale Fund, while 360 ONE Asset, which led CoreEL’s Series A round, increased its stake in the company. Founded in 1999, CoreEL Technologies designs, manufactures and supplies advanced electronic systems and sub-systems for the Indian aerospace and defence sector. Its products are deployed across next-generation avionics, radars, missiles, electronic warfare systems, military communications (MILCOM) and sonars. The company’s customers include the Ministry of Defence, defence public sector undertakings and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The fresh capital will be used to scale manufacturing capacity, strengthen research and development and product engineering, and support participation in...

Insurtech firm Go Digit General Insurance grants 25.05 lakh stock options to employees

Go Digit General Insurance has approved the grant of 25.05 lakh employee stock options under its Employee Stock Option Plan 2018, according to a stock exchange filing. General Insurance has approved the grant of 25.05 lakh employee stock options under its Employee Stock Option Plan 2018, according to a stock exchange filing. The Nomination and Remuneration Committee of Go Digit General Insurance cleared the grant through a resolution passed by circulation on December 23, 2025. The options have been granted to eligible employees of the company and its holding company, excluding key managerial personnel, in line with the ESOP 2018 framework and the SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefits and Sweat Equity) Regulations, 2021. Each option is convertible into one fully paid-up equity share with a face value of Rs 10. In total, the grant covers 25,05,074 equity shares. The options have been issued at a price above the face value, as determined under the applicable SEBI regulations and the ESOP...

ISN Exclusive: Cars24 to exit Bengaluru as it concentrates focus on Gurugram

As several startups make Bengaluru their home, moving away from cities such as Mumbai and Gurugram, there is an outlier. Cars24 has informed employees it will be shuttering its Bengaluru office and has asked people to relocate to Gurugram if they wish to continue working with the startup. Those unwilling to move are being allowed to quit the company, according to sources with confidential information who spoke to ISN on the condition of anonymity. The relocation work has already begun and will be concluded in the coming weeks. The teams here were largely engineering and product focused and Cars24 wants to have all operations consolidated under one roof. Cars24 chose not to reply to Indian Startup News. Founded in 2015, CARS24 positions itself as an automotive “super app,” offering services from buying used cars and selling to loans, insurance and scrappage, covering the full stack. It is based in Delhi NCR and competes with Spinny which is on a massive fundraising spree. There is a ...

Zerodha's Rainmatter, founders, angel investors invests $3 million in EV startup Naxatra Labs

Electric vehicle and industrial motor startup Naxatra Labs has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Rainmatter , the venture investment arm of Zerodha, as the startuo looks to scale manufacturing and deepen its product portfolio in a fast-growing electric motor market. The round also saw participation from a group of founders, operators and angel investors, including Mohit Tandon of Delhivery, Himanshu Aggarwal of Aspiring Minds, Vijay Shekhar Sharma of Paytm, Aloke Bajpai of Ixigo, Anupam Jalote of iCEM, Narayan of Ather Energy, Soumitra Sharma of Operators Studio, and Hemant Daga of Neo Assets, among others. Founded by Piyush Verma, Abhilash Maurya and Arnav Biswas, Naxatra Labs designs and manufactures high-efficiency electric motors for electric vehicle and industrial applications. The startup develops motors end to end, spanning electromagnetic design, validation and manufacturing. Over the past four years, it has built a proprietary R&D stack and moved mult...

New Balance onboards Bollywood actor Janhvi Kapoor as its first Indian brand ambassador

New Balance, the global sportswear brand, has onboarded Bollywood actor Janhvi Kapoor as its first Indian brand ambassador as it continues to expand in the Indian market. "Janhvi Kapoor’s rise in the film and fashion world exemplifies individuality, resilience, and a fearless commitment to personal expression. Beyond her fearless independence, Janhvi’s versatility as an actor, her influence among youth, and her advocacy for self-confidence and authenticity perfectly align with New Balance’s mission of empowering people to own their unique journeys on and off the field," the company said in a statement. Speaking about the relationship Janhvi Kapoor said, “I’ve always admired New Balance for its dedication to innovation and celebrating individuality. It’s a brand that encourages you to own your story, and that’s something I deeply connect with. For me, fashion and fitness have always been about staying true to yourself — New Balance allows me to express that confidence and authenticit...