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REC Limited Achieves Record Annual Profit with Highest-Ever Net Income

REC Limited, a prominent non-banking financial entity in the energy sector, has achieved a significant milestone by reporting its highest-ever annual net profit. In the fourth quarter, its standalone net profit surged by 34% to ₹4,016 crore compared to the corresponding period last year. This growth was primarily fueled by a substantial 29% increase in net interest income, reaching ₹4,407 crore. For the quarter ending March 31, 2024, revenue from operations saw a notable 25% spike, amounting to ₹12,613 crore, while total income also rose by 25% to ₹12,643 crore.

For the fiscal year FY24, REC Limited witnessed a remarkable 27% surge in net profit, totaling ₹14,019 crore, compared to the previous year. Net interest income witnessed an 18% rise, reaching ₹16,167 crore. Moreover, revenue from operations escalated to ₹47,146 crore, reflecting a 20% increase, and total income followed suit, growing by 20% to ₹47,214 crore compared to the preceding year. In line with this performance, the company’s board declared a final dividend of ₹5 per equity share (on a face value of ₹10 each), resulting in a total dividend of ₹16 per equity share for FY24.

Throughout the fiscal year, REC Limited sanctioned a total of ₹3,58,816 crore, marking a 34% increase, with substantial allocations to the renewable sector amounting to ₹1,36,516 crore, reflecting an impressive 533% surge. Disbursements also soared to ₹1,61,462 crore, representing a substantial 67% increase from the previous year.

REC Limited attributed its record-breaking annual profit to improved asset quality, effective resolution of stressed assets, resetting of lending rates, and efficient management of finance costs. Consequently, the company’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) for the year ending March 31, 2024, surged by 27% to ₹53.11 per share, compared to ₹41.85 per share as of March 31, 2023.

Niqo Robotics Secures $9 Million Funding Led by Brida Innovation Ventures, Valued at $35 Million Post-Money

Agritech robotics company Niqo Robotics, formerly known as TartanSense, has secured a funding round totaling Rs 74.7 crore ($9 million), marking its return to the investment landscape after a three-year hiatus. The Bengaluru-based firm’s regulatory filing reveals a special resolution by its board to issue 8,577 preference shares priced at Rs 87,090 each.

Brida Innovation Ventures led the investment with Rs 41.5 crore, while existing investor Omnivore Partners contributed Rs 33.2 crore. TheKredible, a startup data intelligence platform, estimates Niqo Robotics’ post-money valuation at approximately Rs 290 crore ($35 million). Following this funding, Omnivore Partners emerges as the largest external stakeholder with 25.7%, followed by Brida Innovation Ventures at 18% and Blume Ventures at 10.7%.

Read more: Ex-Unacademy COO Starts Beyond Odds with $11M Seed Funding

Founder Jaisimha Rao retains over a quarter of the company. Established in 2015, Niqo Robotics specializes in developing AI-powered agricultural robots designed to cut costs and boost profitability through computer vision technology. The company rebranded as Niqo Robotics in March of the previous year. Niqo Robotics has amassed a total of $16 million in funding, including a $5 million Series.

A round in August 2021 from FMC, Omnivore, and Blume Ventures, along with a $2 million Seed round in 2019. While its financial performance for FY24 will be disclosed later, the company’s Indian entity has primarily operated in the pre-revenue stage, reporting only Rs 1.3 crore in revenue for FY23 alongside a doubling of losses to Rs 9.8 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2023.

MMFSL appoints Raul Rebello as MD & CEO

Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (MMFSL) has made a notable announcement, appointing Raul Rebello as its fresh Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, effective from April 29, 2024. Rebello, aged 45, assumes this pivotal position following the retirement of Ramesh Iyer.

Having commenced his journey at MMFSL as the Chief Operating Officer on September 1, 2021, Rebello has exhibited remarkable leadership qualities, driving the company’s growth and transformative efforts over the last 17 months. His tenure has witnessed significant advancements across various facets of the business, as highlighted in an official statement.

Prior to his tenure at MMFSL, Rebello held the role of Executive Vice President and Head of Rural Lending and Financial Inclusion at Axis Bank. With a robust background in rural banking encompassing both assets and liabilities, Rebello brings a wealth of expertise to his new position. His professional trajectory underscores a consistent track record of fostering growth in large enterprises and nurturing innovative concepts, as mentioned in the statement.

Rebello, a graduate of the Goa Institute of Management with a Post-Graduate degree in Management, actively participates in numerous industry and trade association forums, emphasizing his dedication to promoting collaboration and progress within the financial realm.

ObserveNow wraps 6th edition of Education Leaders Conclave & Awards, Achieving Milestones of Success!

ObserveNow has recently concluded its 6th Education Leaders Conclave & Awards at the LaLiT in Chandigarh. The conclave, presented by Acer and powered by Salesforce, was attended by 60+ higher education leaders, 50+ industry experts, and 300+ attendees from the higher education landscape catering to Northern India.

The largest gathering of higher education in India converged for the 2-day education extravaganza that ignites discussions around the ongoing development, challenges, and future directions for the evolving higher education landscape.

The ‘Guest of Honour’ for the two-day conclave, Dr. Dhan Singh Rawat, Hon’ble Minister of Higher Education, Department of Education, Government of Uttarakhand enlightened the audience about the current situation of higher education in India and the ongoing trends and challenges and said, “ Uttarakhand is aggressively working for the development of its education ecosystem and highlighted the importance industry-academia collaboration for educational betterment. He also highlighted that “Uttarakhand is providing free coaching to civil service aspirants and encourages the aspirants by giving 1 Lac for qualifying the pre-exam.”

Buddha Chandra Shekhar, Chief Coordinating Officer, AICTE attended the conclave as Key Speaker and expressed his thoughts “Interactive and enlightening sessions coupled with the presence of numerous edtech companies, hardware vendors, and infrastructure providers make this a valuable learning experience for all. NEP2020 stands as a revolutionary policy, driven by the central government. With education being a concurrent subject, collaboration between state and central authorities is essential. Empowering students to become skillful, employable, and fostering innovation and research makes them global citizens.”

The 400+ participants who joined the summit for the engaging discussions addressed the platform on Vision 2030 of Education, Digital evaluation in higher education, the impact of globalization on HEIs, Edtech revolution transforming the landscape, curriculum transformation, Adapting & Personalised Learning – New Mode of Learning, Technology Implementation paving new way for teaching practices & more.

The conclave also witnessed the participation of some of the biggest organizations providing solutions to the education landscape – Acer, Salesforce, Samsung, Coursera, D2L, and Masai.

Speaking to ObserveNow journalist, Ravi Kumar J, Associate Director – Commercial Business (Private), Acer who was a prestigious partner and eminent speaker for the conclave expressed his thoughts on the experience at ELCA and said, “The 6th Education Conclave & Awards was an excellent platform to meet with leaders from educational institutions in person and discuss the latest innovations, products, and solutions. Most of the leading institutions from northern India attended the conclave and shared their experiences and thoughts which established ELCA as an excellent platform for networking.”

Sudhakar Rao, Director – Branding, ICFAI attended the conclave as a prestigious partner expressed his experience, and said, “Feeling elated, this is one more opportunity for us in the field of higher education to discuss transformative measures to enhance students’ learning experiences both on and off campus. Highlighted challenge: How can students be effectively embraced by the industry? Each student warrants unique assessment and tailored placement to ensure alignment with the right roles and organizations.”

Madhu Chitkara, Pro-Chancellor, Chitkara University expressed her thoughts on witnessing the biggest gathering of higher education catering to northern India and said, “ObserveNow has successfully unified various stakeholders—regulatory bodies, skill development initiatives, and academic leaders—under one umbrella. Chitkara’s Vision 2030 advocates for technology’s societal betterment, fostering programs that nurture students into not mere job seekers, but job creators. With over 180 startups supported, we’re paving the way for innovation.”

With a major focus on “Reinventing Education: Transforming the Learning Experience”, the two days conclave was joined by the leading education solution providers will also be gracing the summit with their valuable presence including Coursera for campus, Learning Spiral, Meritto, CodeTantra, MasterSoft, Cantilever, ecophon, incubez, Talisma Jeevika, CanPR, Sri Sai University, Desh Bhagat University, Chandigarh Group of Colleges, and few others.

ObserveNow started the Education Leaders Conclave & Awards (ELCA) with a mission to transform the higher education landscape of India and with its 6 successful editions, ELCA has reached nooks & corners of the nation to create an undeniable impact and enhanced the quality of education in India. With ELCA, ObserveNow is not only providing a platform to discuss the ongoing challenges & opportunities but also recognizing the emerging talents, and innovation in the realm of education.

Prof. (Dr.) Parvinder Singh, Vice Chancellor, Rayat Bahra University who joined the conclave as a prominent university shared his experience and said, “Committed to nurturing holistic student growth, our focus lies in equipping them with skills that render them not just employable, but truly capable. Recognizing the urgency, we’re embracing Artificial Intelligence as a pivotal tool for the future.”

The recently concluded 6th edition of ELCA also witnessed a thought-provoking discussion, and engaging networking sessions for two continuous day, followed by an action-packed award ceremony on Day 2 of the conclave. Some of the leading education institutions, edtech solution providers and trailblazer leaders received the award on the prestigious stage and set a benchmark for other to work towards education excellence.

ObserveNow extends its gratitude to all the participants and attendees who joined us at the 6th edition of ELCA in Chandigarh. While we cherish this experience, we are also eagerly looking forward to our next endeavor – the 7th Education Leaders Conclave & Awards in Hyderabad. We anticipate your presence and participation with great enthusiasm in our next step toward making the education realm a better place for all.

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