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🚨Inc42 Exclusive 🚨 Growth stage investment firm Spring Marketing Capital has launched its second fund with a target corpus of INR 500 Cr (about $54Mn), sources told Inc42. 👇 The new fund is receiving strong support from the firm’s existing limited partners (LPs) and it expects to mark the first close of the fund by March this year at INR 150 Cr, the sources added. Spring Marketing Capital’s founding partner Raja Ganapathy confirmed the launch of the second fund with Inc42 but declined to comment on its size. The firm, cofounded by former Sequoia Capital chief marketing officer Ganapathy, along with advertising veterans Arun Iyer, former chairman of Lowe Lintas, and Vineet Gupta, former group chief executive of DDB Mudra, has fully deployed its first fund, which was launched in 2019 with a corpus of INR 150 Cr. “We had raised our first fund on a Zoom call during the pandemic which is fully deployed now and comprises a very strong portfolio of 11 companies, including Purplle, Mosaic Wellness, Jar, GIVA, Agilitas, and the most recent investment – Shree Anandhaas,”, Ganapathy told Inc42. Read the full article here- https://4-2.co/4t7ktEZ #news #Inc42 #Exclusive #funding #VC #growthstage #startups #Indianstartups #businessnews #startupnews #tech

For years, Pine Labs was seen as a premium POS and payments company. Ahead of its IPO, it’s now pushing a clear shift toward becoming a full-stack fintech. Q3 FY26 shows early traction — revenue grew 23% YoY to ₹744 Cr and the company turned profitable, with value-added services growing much faster than core payments. The key question going forward isn’t about adding more terminals, but about monetising the existing ones. With only ~28% of POS devices generating value-added revenue, can Pine Labs truly unlock its “2.0” phase before the IPO?

In a push to develop India as a global biopharma manufacturing hub, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a new scheme “Biopharma SHAKTI (Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge, Technology and Innovation” with an outlay of INR 10,000 Cr for five years to boost research, manufacturing, and innovation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector. In her Budget speech, the FM said that the aim of the mission is to build an ecosystem for domestic production of biologics and biosimilars. Under the scheme, the government will build a biopharma-focused network with three new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) and upgrade seven existing institutions. “It will also create a network of 1,000 accredited India clinical trial sites,” she noted. Read more- https://lnkd.in/gv5mMcgn #Inc42 #UnionBudget

In her Budget 2026 speech earlier today, finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a multilingual AI tool to offer customised advisory to farmers.👇 The minister said that the tool, Bharat VISTAAR, will enhance farm productivity, enable better decisions for farmers and reduce risk by providing customised advisory. She added that the proposed platform will also deploy AI tools on India’s Agri Stack portals. “I propose to launch Bharat VISTAAR, a multilingual AI tool that shall integrate the Agri Stack portals and the ICAR package on agricultural practices with AI systems. This will enhance farm productivity, enable better decisions for farmers and reduce risk by providing customised advisory,” said FM Sitharaman. Read the full article here- https://4-2.co/4qSoBqE #news #Inc42 #UnionBudget #Budget2026 #Agriculture #India #AI #tech #AItool #farming

🚨#UnionBudget 2026🚨 Tax Holiday Till 2047 For Foreign Cloud Providers 🌐 FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies providing cloud services globally using Indian data centers. Condition: Must serve Indian customers through local reseller. Also introduced 15% safe harbor provision for related entity data center services. #Inc42 #Data #AI #tech #India #UnionBudget2026 #NirmalaSitharaman #budget4all #Indiandata

During her Budget speech on Sunday, FM Nirmala Sitharaman proposes a tax holiday to foreign companies which are providing cloud services globally using data centre services from India until 2047. This will be on the condition that services are routed through an Indian reseller entity. The initiative aims to strengthen India’s digital infra, with a focus on entities serving Indian customers through local reseller partners. Addtionally, a 15% cost-based Safe Harbour will apply for related-party data centre entities. Read the full article here- https://4-2.co/3NSgifY #news #Inc42 #UnionBudget #taxholiday #tech #cloudcompany #India #PMModi #NirmalaSitharaman

The Union Budget 2026-27, presented today by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, marks a decisive shift toward strengthening India’s domestic resilience and manufacturing depth!👇 🔹With a record capital expenditure target of ₹12.2 lakh crore, the government is doubling down on infrastructure while specifically "tariff-proofing" the MSME and startup sectors against global headwinds. 🔹The introduction of the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund and the expansion of the Self-Reliant India Fund are central to this strategy, aimed at transforming small businesses into global champions. 🔹By simplifying the Income Tax Act and reducing the MAT rate to 14%, the budget provides much-needed regulatory certainty, ensuring that the Indian ecosystem remains a preferred destination for long-term global capital and innovation. Honourable PM Narendra Modi | Indian Ministry of Finance | V Anantha Nageswaran | Startup India | #UnionBudget2026 #NirmalaSitharaman #StartupIndia #MSMEGrowth #ViksitBharat #Inc42 #IndianStartups

🚨#UnionBudget 2026🚨 Budget 2026: India Bets Big On Animation, Gaming & Design 🎮🎨 The AVGC sector needs 2 million professionals by 2030. FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced labs in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges to bridge the gap. Also launching a new National Institute of Design in Eastern India to tackle the designer shortage and boost creative education nationwide. #Inc42 #Budget4all #Budget2026 #UnionBudget #NirmalaSitharaman #SME #tech #fund #MSME

Shares of Groww plunged during the intraday trading today after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced raising the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures and options (F&O) in her ninth Budget speech. 👇 The FM proposed hiking the STT on futures to 0.05% from the current 0.02%. Besides, STT on options premium and exercise of options are set to be raised to 0.15% from the present rate of 0.1% and 0.125% respectively. Following the announcement, shares of Groww plunged as much as 14% to hit an intraday low of INR 152.9. With this the company’s market cap fell below the INR 1 Lakh Cr mark. Its competitor, Angel One, also witnessed selling pressure. The stock crashed as much as 13% during the intraday trade. Read the full article here- https://4-2.co/4bv1xJW #news #Inc42 #STT #Groww #trading #UnionBudget #Budget2026 #FinanceMinister #fintech #tech

🚨#UnionBudget 2026🚨 FM Announces ₹10,000 Cr SME Growth Fund 🏭 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a dedicated ₹10,000 Cr SME Growth Fund to create future champions, recognising MSMEs as vital engines of growth. The three-pronged approach includes equity support and incentives based on select criteria for enterprise growth.🔥 #Inc42 #Budget4all #Budget2026 #UnionBudget #NirmalaSitharaman #SME #tech #fund #MSME