Manuraj Jain

“Why Government-Run Accreditation Models Like NAAC Are Not Sustainable” In India, we have 1.6 million educational institutions. Expecting one central authority to control and manage quality at this scale is unrealistic. Here’s why government-led accreditation doesn’t work: 1️⃣ Scale – The numbers are simply too big. 2️⃣ Bureaucracy – Slow and rigid, not built for today’s pace. 3️⃣ Corruption & Bias – Favours and influence weaken credibility. 4️⃣ Lack of Agility – For govt bodies, accreditation is just another file. 5️⃣ No Competition – Globally, independent private agencies compete—competition makes the system better. 👉 In the US, accreditation is carried out by independent private agencies, only recognized by the government. 👉 In the EU, independent agencies aligned with ENQA standards drive quality, not governments themselves. India doesn’t need more centralization. It needs independent, system-driven, tech-enabled accreditation. Luneblaze was started to empower institutions—to move beyond paperwork and shortcuts, and build systems that make accreditation credible, transparent, and sustainable. NAAC Insights National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare (NABH) National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) SQAAF Insights University Grants Commission (UGC) #Accreditation #Education #QualityLearning #NEP2020 #HigherEducation #GlobalStandards

14

This is a great step forward. GST had become to complex and too big to serve its original purpose of unifying India into a one large market rather than several fragmented markets with "Chungi" (custom duty) being charged at several intermediate points along the way between various long haul routes. It was also meant to be simple to encourage broader compliance. I guess two tiers are better than four and maximum of 18% is much better than maximum of 28% but why could it not be a single tier of 18%? Is 5% tier really necessary? It is meant to be a consumption tax. We need to impose it on everything equally beyond basic necessities consumed by poor people. In any case, it is a great step forward. No need to spend cycles to differentiate between Rotis and Parathas! https://lnkd.in/gcE7npbj

29

16 Comments

Former Kae Capital partner Natasha Malpani has launched Boundless Ventures, a Rs 200 crore early-stage fund dedicated to AI-native startups. The fund will focus on pre-seed and seed rounds, investing in consumer AI, infrastructure, agent tooling, healthcare, logistics, and Make-in-India AI hardware. Boundless Ventures has already made six investments, including SuperHealth, Armatrix, Piersight, and Knot. Beyond capital, the fund aims to provide storytelling, market access, and network support, leveraging Malpani’s experience in venture capital and media entrepreneurship. #boundlessventures #natashamalpani #venturecapital #aistartups #startupindia #fundingnews #earlystagefunding #seedfunding #preseed #aiinnovation #aifuture #healthcareai #logisticsai #robotics #spacetech #foundersupport #makeinindia #businessnews #investmentnews #growthstory

7

Eternal Capital (India), an early-stage VC fund started by former bharatpe COO Dhruv Dhanraj Bahl, has rebranded itself as Sadev Ventures. The firm said the new name aligns with its family office identity and values. With this change, Sadev Ventures will continue its India-first focus while also helping portfolio companies expand globally through support from international LPs and strategic partners. Read full article link in the commment 👇 #sadevventures #eternalcapital #vc #rebrand #startupnews

252

11 Comments

🚨 RBI’s New Co-Lending Directions, 2025 – Effective Jan 1, 2026 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued new Co-Lending Arrangements Directions, 2025, which will come into effect on January 1, 2026. These guidelines will likely broaden the scope of co-lending 1️⃣ Mandatory Skin in the Game – Each Regulated Entity (RE) must retain minimum 10% of every loan (no shadow partnerships) 2️⃣ Blended Interest Rate – Final rate to borrower = weighted average of each lender’s rate. All fees to be factored into APR & Key Facts Statement 3️⃣ 15-Day Transfer Rule – Partner RE must book its share within 15 days of disbursement. Else, loan stays with originator 4️⃣ Default Loss Guarantee Cap – Max 5% of outstanding loans allowed 5️⃣ Borrower-Level Asset Classification – If one lender marks SMA/NPA, the other must follow 6️⃣ Escrow Account Mandate – All transactions to flow through an escrow, ensuring clear fund appropriation 7️⃣ Full Disclosure – Public list of co-lending partners + detailed reporting in financials Bottom line: Clearer rules, stronger consumer protection, tighter operational discipline >> co-lending just got a lot more transparent. #RBI #CoLending #NBFC #Fintech #Credit https://lnkd.in/gKxrz_hC

72

1 Comment

Two portfolio exits have helped Arali Ventures return the principal amount of its first fund in about six years. It's a rare milestone in India's venture capital ecosystem and a reminder that good outcomes often come from patience, timing and a bit of luck. Ashish K Mishra writes: https://lnkd.in/eBK_cDcA

21

Sharing a strong piece from KKR “Thoughts from the Road - India” outlining why they remain structurally bullish on India for the next decade and beyond. The themes are clear: • Deep domestic demand • Manufacturing + supply chain realignment • Digital public infrastructure at scale • Policy continuity and reform momentum For Australian investors both institutions and family offices this is a market that deserves serious allocation. Yes, the best entry may have been 10 years ago. But structurally, we’re still early in the cycle. If India is part of your long-term allocation strategy, happy to connect and exchange notes. https://lnkd.in/gTU_DV_d

9

A deeply insightful article by Avaana Capital's founding partner Anjali Bansal in Business Today on how to build a systems-led approach to financing frontier technologies covering energy, mobility, as well as a host of other sectors in India. https://lnkd.in/e4UzXzC3

20

1 Comment

We’re excited to share our blog on Premji Invest’s recent investment in Baseten. In it, Vedant Agrawal breaks down the key questions we had to answer—why now and why Baseten—and offers insights into how we track markets, build conviction, and decide when it’s the right time to lean in. High-level takeaways: 👉 Inference optimization as a point solution quickly becomes a race to the bottom. Baseten is different: it delivers a reliable, developer-centered inference system with strong stickiness and pricing power. 1⃣ We waited for the right moment In early 2024, inference infrastructure was crowded and chaotic with dozens of startups chasing narrow optimizations. We held back until lasting market traction emerged. 2⃣ The market matured, and Baseten stood out As the field narrowed, Baseten differentiated itself with enterprise-grade, model-agnostic, cloud-agnostic reliability and deep customer integration. 3⃣ Reliability, workflow, and sticky enterprise traction With 99.99–99.999% uptime across regions, Baseten is built on trust, not just speed. Its developer-first tools embed directly into engineering workflows, creating durable attachment. 4⃣ A level beyond what hyperscalers can offer Beyond compute and storage, Baseten provides redundancy, versioning, autoscaling, and rollback features that matter even more in the wake of recent cloud outages. 5⃣ A strong team and thoughtful business model Founders Tuhin Srivastava, Amir Haghighat, and Philip Howes embody enterprise discipline and product depth. The model scales without owning hardware, and with leaders like Dannie Herzberg driving go-to-market, enterprise adoption looks compelling. Read the full post here: https://lnkd.in/gS92F_BW Premji Invest - US Premji Invest

40

1 Comment

January’s PE–VC numbers show a quieter start to the year, with investment levels lower than this time last year. The slowdown is worth noting, but it is not the whole story. Experienced global investors have continued to commit capital across multiple deals. When long-term players stay active even in a softer month, it reflects confidence in the depth and competitiveness of the Indian market, not just short-term momentum. Cycles will come and go. The more telling signal is who continues to show up, and why. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g8HDU-89 #PEVC #GlobalInvestors #IndiaGrowth #PatientCapital #MarketCycles

11

1 Comment

India’s boldest startups deserve long-term capital that stays the course. 360 ONE Asset’s ₹500 Cr early-stage VC strategy has been launched, with 4 deals closed across diverse sectors. A core part of our ‘Idea to IPO’ capital stack. Read Abhishek Nag, Senior Fund Manager & Strategy Head, Early-Stage VC, 360 ONE Asset’s interview in Mint here: https://lnkd.in/diBcy86N 360 ONE

75

2 Comments

Structuring Pre-IPO Investments in Indian SMEs: Why CCPS is the Preferred Choice Pre-IPO investments in Indian SMEs (typically companies preparing for an SME IPO on platforms like NSE Emerge or BSE SME) are a critical stage for raising growth capital while aligning interests between investors and founders. Unlike early-stage funding, pre-IPO rounds often involve more sophisticated investors (e.g., private equity, HNIs, or institutional funds) seeking protection against downside risks while positioning for upside in the upcoming listing. Key Reasons to Use Compulsorily Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS) for Pre-IPO Funding Under Indian company law (Companies Act, 2013), straight equity shares put investors and founders on equal footing immediately. This exposes investors to full downside risk without protections like liquidation preference or priority payouts. CCPS, however, is a hybrid instrument that offers: • Preferential rights on dividends, liquidation, or exit (e.g., 1x non-participating preference — investor gets their investment back first before common shareholders). • Mandatory conversion into equity shares at pre-agreed terms (often triggered by events like IPO, a qualified funding round, or a long-stop date, typically within 20 years). • No debt-like obligations — unlike convertible debentures, CCPS avoids interest payments and is treated as equity under FDI/FEMA regulations. This structure allows investors to price in risk without distorting the company’s valuation or control at entry. It’s the standard in almost every institutional pre-IPO term sheet for SMEs. Practical Example Suppose an SME raises ₹15 crore pre-IPO through CCPS from a PE fund: • Issue price: At a negotiated valuation (e.g., ₹50 crore pre-money). • Terms — 1x liquidation preference, anti-dilution protection (broad-based weighted average), and compulsory conversion upon IPO filing or within 18-24 months. • Outcome: • If the SME underperforms or exits early → Investor gets preferential payout. • If the company lists successfully → CCPS converts to equity at the agreed ratio, allowing participation in post-IPO upside (often at a discount or with anti-dilution safeguards). Straight equity would force equal treatment from day one, making downside protection harder without complex side agreements. In India’s booming SME IPO market, smart pre-IPO structuring with CCPS can make the difference between a successful listing and a missed opportunity. #PreIPO #SMEIPO #CCPS #StartupFunding #IndianMarkets #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity Equibeeipo

38

3 Comments

SEBI’s recent notifications on angel investing, will have long term negative impact on India's startup ecossytem. Based on industry estimates, the revised eligibility norms could lead to an 80–90% reduction in angel investing over the next two years, with a corresponding impact on the number of new startups being launched and funded at the seed stage. my OpEd in Economic times, on this issue https://lnkd.in/gNM7SZMm

89

20 Comments