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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Navi General Insurance is reeling under the weight of unstable leadership, excessive digital dependence and regulatory issues.
Editor's note: In February 2020, Sachin Bansal’s Navi Technologies completed the acquisition of DHFL General Insurance from the beleaguered Wadhawan group for around Rs 120 crore. It took the Flipkart co-founder months to arrive at a mutually agreeable price and to prove to the insurance regulator that he was a competent promoter, before he could walk away with his prized possession: A ready-to-launch general insurance company. The takeover of DHFL General Insurance, renamed Navi General Insurance, was crucial to Bansal’s vision of building India’s first digitally oriented financial services conglomerate. Set up in July 2016, DHFL General Insurance was a relatively new player in the non-life insurance market. The Mumbai-based company sold health, motor and a few other liability-based covers, but its scale of operations was minuscule. In November 2019, when talks between Bansal and the Wadhawan group kicked off, it had a mere 0.1% market share in terms of gross premiums underwritten, the lowest among peers. The acquisition was expected to boost its scale, capital and ambition. General insurance startups Digit and Acko—also founded in 2016—were rapidly gaining market share, and …
While the filing for an IPO by its telecom and digital business was the highlight, Reliance laid out plans for its new energy and retail businesses, setting them up for eventual listings.
As India’s largest stock exchange heads to the public markets, it may need to rethink its excessive reliance on transaction revenue.
The online storytelling company is betting that content will be the most sought-after commodity as scores of platforms jump on the microdrama bandwagon. But success will hinge on whether it has a good enough story to draw the audience.
