The financial arm of Paytm, India’s biggest digital payments platform, Paytm Payments Bank is set to launch their own debit card. Paytm founder Vijay Sekhar Sharma took to Facebook to announce the arrival of these RuPay cards.
According to reports, One97 Communications founder Vijay Sekhar Sharma and other existing investors have invested close to $ 9.3 million in the Payments Bank for launching their own ATM cards. The card will let users pay in places where there is no option to pay via Paytm. According to a statement released by Payments Bank, they can now accept customer deposits up to Rs. 1 lakh per customer in both savings and current accounts.
In the documents filed at the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Paytm Payments Bank said “…the consent of the Board is hereby accorded to issue on a right basis, 6,00,00,000 equity shares of the company of the face value of Rs. 10 to the investor….” The filings also reveal the board approved the issue of the equity shares on July 25, 2017.
In this round of investment, Vijay Sharma invested Rs. 30 crores whereas One97 Communications invested Rs. 23 crores and the remaining amount, close to Rs. 7 crores was invested by One97 Communications India. Sharma will be issued 30.6 million shares as a part of this round of funding while One976 communications has been allotted around 23.4 million shares.
The new Paytm debit card will allow users to shop from rival ecommerce sites or book a cab from aggregators other than Uber using their Paytm money. The Paytm Payments Bank operations were launched earlier this year and is a first mobile bank with zero charges on all online transactions and no minimum balance requirement. The bank received an initial investment of $ 34.2 million at the time of its launch in May. Sharma is the majority shareholder of the Nodia headquartered firm, while Alibaba backed One97 Communications holds the rest of the shares. The new debit card, as per their website, will also include a free insurance cover of up to $ 3,116, close to Rs. 2 lakhs, in the incident of death or permanent total disability.
Sundar Pichai, the visionary CEO of Alphabet Inc., has officially entered the ranks of global billionaires, accomplishing this rare feat after a decade at the helm of one of the world’s most influential tech giants. Pichai’s net worth hit $1.1 billion—according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index—fueled by Alphabet’s incredible market performance and the company’s growth of more than $1 trillion in value since early 2023. Achieving billionaire status without being a founding member sets Pichai apart, highlighting his significant impact among non-founder tech leaders.
Born in Tamil Nadu, India, Pichai’s success story is rooted in humble beginnings. He spent his childhood in a modest two-room apartment, only gaining access to a telephone at age 12. A scholarship took him to Stanford University in 1993, with his family making great sacrifices for his education. After joining Google in 2004, Pichai played a pivotal role in the development of Chrome and rose steadily, ultimately becoming CEO in 2015. His leadership through Alphabet’s restructuring and his stewardship over high-growth areas like YouTube, Google Cloud, and Google Play have been critical to the company’s success.
During his tenure, Pichai has championed aggressive investments in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure, positioning Alphabet at the forefront of technological innovation. While his annual salary sits at $2 million, the majority of his fortune stems from stock awards and financial incentives tied to performance. Pichai’s journey exemplifies the rise from modest beginnings to extraordinary success, serving as an inspiration and proving that transformative leadership and strategic vision can redefine what’s possible—even without a founder’s equity stake.
The Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation Foundation (TiHAN) at IIT Hyderabad has set a new standard in drone technology with the launch of Palyanka, a heavy payload drone designed as an autonomous air ambulance. Capable of carrying up to 200 kg, Palyanka is engineered to swiftly transport patients, medical equipment, or critical cargo across challenging terrains, bypassing traditional barriers like road congestion and remote inaccessibility. This advanced UAV operates autonomously, making it highly effective for rapid response in both urban and rural emergencies, and stands at the forefront of disaster relief operations in scenarios such as floods and fires.
Built for versatility, Palyanka doesn’t just function as an air ambulance. Its robust design enables use in rescue missions, cargo deliveries, and even as an air taxi for metropolitan connectivity. Inspired by the Sanskrit word for palanquin, the name “Palyanka” reflects the drone’s role as a safe and efficient carrier. All components, from conceptual design to IP, have been developed in-house at IIT Hyderabad, ensuring the drone meets stringent standards for durability and performance under extreme conditions.
With a development journey spanning over five years and led by Prof. P. Rajalakshmi, TiHAN’s team has transitioned from early drone prototypes to a full-scale, high-capacity solution like Palyanka. The team is now preparing pilot projects in hilly terrains and working on further enhancing the drone’s endurance with innovative heat-resistant materials. By pioneering such indigenous solutions, IIT Hyderabad’s TiHAN is transforming emergency medical services and logistics, marking a pivotal advancement in India’s urban mobility and public safety landscape.
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has announced a major reduction in its subscription prices across India, slashing fees by up to 48%. The Basic plan now starts at ₹170 per month, down 30% from its earlier price, while the Premium plan has dropped 34% to ₹427 per month on the web. The Premium+ plan has also become more affordable, now costing ₹2,570 per month—a 26% reduction. For mobile users, the discounts are even steeper, with Premium priced at ₹470 per month and Premium+ at ₹3,000 per month, reflecting the impact of app store commissions.
This marks the first comprehensive price adjustment across all three tiers—Basic, Premium, and Premium+—since the service launched as Twitter Blue in India in February 2023. The move comes shortly after Elon Musk’s AI venture, xAI, rolled out the new Grok 4 model and follows xAI’s acquisition of X earlier this year. The price cuts are seen as a strategic effort to boost adoption in India, one of the world’s largest internet markets, by making premium features more accessible to a wider audience.
Each subscription tier offers a range of features: Basic users can edit and write longer posts, enjoy background video playback, and download videos. Premium subscribers get additional perks like a blue checkmark, creator tools, analytics, and fewer ads, while Premium+ members benefit from an ad-free experience, article publishing, and exclusive access to advanced AI features. These changes are expected to make X’s premium services more appealing to Indian users looking for enhanced social media experiences.
