The Great Indian Policy Conundrum

India entered COVID-19 crisis with limited fiscal space, having breached the previous budget deficit target of 3.3% and raising 0.5%. with a dwindling fiscal outlook, any further fiscal easing will put pressure on india’s sovereign rating. Governments dedicate more than $8 tn to fight COVID_19 pandemic. India’s lockdown measures seem to be at par with developed countries. But while they are firing fiscal bazookas to stimulate the economy. India’s fiscal packages seem to be more like water pistols- reaching barely 5% of its GDP.

• Private Equity:

Shriram Transport raises funding from Austrian development bank OeEB:

(Source: VC Circle 09April, 2020)

Non-banking financial company Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd, a part of the larger Shriram Group, has raised $20 million (approximately Rs 152.96 crore) in debt capital from OeEB, the development bank of Austria.

International Financial Corporation to invest in India Alternatives’ second private equity fund:

(Source: VC Circle 17April, 2020)                    

International Finance Corporation (IFC) plans to invest $10 million (around Rs 76 crore) in a new private equity fund of India.

KKR to acquire solar energy assets from Shapoorji Pallonji Infra:

(Source: VC Circle 27April, 2020)

Private equity giant KKR had announced that it has signed definitive agreements with Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital (SP Infra) to acquire five solar energy asset units for $204 million (approximately Rs 1,552.33 crore).

Tata Capital PE fund bets on SaaS firm Indusface Consulting:

(Source: VC Circle 23April, 2020)

A private equity fund managed by Tata Capital Ltd, the financial services arm of Tata Group, has invested $5 million (Rs 38 crore) in Indusface Consulting Pvt. Ltd, an application security-focussed software-as-a-service company.

Motilal Oswal finally hits fourth real estate private equity fund:

(Source: VC Circle 20April, 2020)

Motilal Oswal Real Estate (MORE), the real estate arm of private equity firm Motilal Oswal Private Equity (MOPE), announced that it has hit the final close of its fourth fund at Rs 1,150 crore ($151 million).

Navi Technologies Pvt Ltd raises funding from private equity firm, Gaja Capital:

(Source: VC Circle 14April, 2020)

Navi Technologies Pvt. Ltd, the financial services company set up by Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal, has raised funding from mid-market private equity firm Gaja Capital and a number of individual investors.Gaja Capital is investing around Rs 204 crore ($26.7 million) in Navi Technologies.

• Venture Capital:

Fintech startup Recko raises Series A funding:

(Source: VC Circle 02April, 2020)

Recko Software Pvt. Ltd, which operates a financial technology startup focussed on artificial intelligence-enabled reconciliation of digital transactions, has raised $6 million (approximately Rs 45.69 crore) in its Series A funding round.

Sequoia leads Series A funding in Agri-tech startup DeHaat:

(Source: VC Circle 07April, 2020)

Green Agrevolution Pvt. Ltd, which operates agricultural technology startup DeHaat, has raised $12 million (Rs 90.75 crore) in a Series A funding round.

Health-tech startup Akna Medical bags raised Series A funding from LGT Lightstone:

(Source: VC Circle 06 April, 2020)

Akna Medical Pvt. Ltd, which operates a healthcare supply chain, has raised $7 million (around Rs 54 crore) in its Series A funding from LGT Lightstone Aspada.

Microsoft’s corporate venture fund lead Series D funding in FarEye:

(Source: VC Circle 08April, 2020)

RoboticWares Pvt Ltd, which runs logistics management startup FarEye, is raising $24.5 million (around Rs 185 crore) in its Series D funding round led by Microsoft’s corporate venture fund, M12.

Vedantu pockets $13 mn in extended Series C round:

(Source: VC Circle 08April, 2020)

Interactive online tutoring platform Vedantu Innovations Pvt. Ltd has secured $13 million (nearly Rs 99 crore) in an extended Series C round of funding.

B2B agri-tech startup Bijak raises Series A funding:

(Source: VC Circle 20April, 2020)

Bijak, a business-to-business agricultural-technology startup, has raised Rs 90.76 crore in its Series A funding round led by Russian venture capital firm RTP Global.

Falcon Edge leads Series G funding round in Dailyhunt:

(Source: VC Circle 21April, 2020)

Versé Innovation Pvt. Ltd, which operates online news and content platform Dailyhunt, has raised nearly Rs 180 crore ($23.4 million) as part of its Series G funding round.

Startup Drink Prime raises seed round funding from snapdeal:

(Source: VC Circle 24April, 2020)

Water purifier startup Drink Prime has raised over Rs 3.6 crore as part of its seed round of funding from a clutch of investors including Snapdeal founders.

• Mergers & Acquisition:

Texmaco Rail sells 10% stake in defence subsidiary:

(Source: VC Circle 01April, 2020)

Texmaco Rail and Engineering Ltd, which is part of the Saroj Poddar-led Adventz Group, has sold a 10% stake in its subsidiary Texmaco Defence Systems Pvt. Ltd, the company said in a stock-exchange filing.

Japan’s M3 acquires Eight Roads-backed Manthan’s healthcare market research unit:

(Source: VC Circle 06 April, 2020)

Japan-based M3 Inc. has acquired the healthcare market research business of Manthan Software Systems Pvt. Ltd, which offers business intelligence and big data analytics solutions for enterprises.

Earum Pharma acquires majority stake in Cedac Medicorp:

(Source: VC Circle 18 March, 2020)

Earum Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a publicly listed firm has acquired a majority stake in the Cedac Medicorp Pvt. Ltd, which manufactures medical products.

Hindalco unit Novelis set to complete Aleris acquisition:

(Source: VC Circle 09April, 2020)

Novelis Inc., a US-based subsidiary of Hindalco Industries Ltd, said it has received the final clearance needed to complete its acquisition of Aleris Corporation after it sold a Belgium plant to clear anti-trust concerns. 

Autodesk has acquire minority stake in construction technology firm Aurigo:

(Source: VC Circle 16April, 2020)

Autodesk Inc., the US-based multinational software services company has said it will acquire a minority stake in Aurigo Software Technologies Inc., a US- and Bengaluru-based firm that develops software for infrastructure providers and owners.

Startup Buddy acquires Boudhik Ventures in cash & stock deal:

(Source: VC Circle 09April, 2020)

Buddy Services Pvt. Ltd (Gurugram based- Startup company), a one-stop solution provider for early-stage businesses, has acquired Boudhik Ventures in a cash-and-stock deal.

Facebook buy minority stake in Reliance’s Jio:

(Source: VC Circle 22April, 2020) Facebook Inc. will invest Rs 43,574 crore ($5.7 billion) in the digital business of Reliance Industries Ltd, a deal that will help the social media giant expand its India presence and allow the oil-to-retail conglomerate cut its huge debt pile.