SAMACHAR - FEBRUARY, 2025  
 
 

IEC Delegation Meets Shri Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh


India Edtech Consortium delegation meeting with (Right) Shri Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh. (Left, 1st row L to R) Mr. Ashish Munjal, Co-Founder & CEO, Sunstone and Co-Chairman, IEC; Mr. Ankit Aggarwal, Founder & CEO, Unstop; Mr. Prateek Maheshwari, Co-Founder, Physics Wallah and Chairman, IEC; Mr. Gaurav Chopra, Senior VP, IAMAI (2nd row L to R) Mr. Rahul Attuluri, Cofounder, CEO – NxtWave; Mr. Ujjwal Singh, Founding CEO, Infinity Learn; Mr. Subhajit Dasgupta, Asst VP, IAMAI; Mr. Nilotpal Chakravarti, Associate VP, IAMAI

Members of the Internet and Mobile Association of India’s (IAMAI) India Edtech Consortium (IEC) met Shri Yogi Adityanath, Chief minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), at his office on February 16, 2025.  The delegation was led by Mr. Prateek Maheshwari, Co-Founder, Physics Wallah, and Chairman, IEC and Mr. Ashish Munjal, Co-Founder & CEO, Sunstone and Co-Chairman, IEC. The agenda of the meeting was to understand the areas of cooperation between the IEC and the Government of UP, on digital infrastructure, skilling, and making students employment ready.  The Chief Minister was upbeat about the possibility of cooperation with IEC and advised IEC members to meet with the concerned officials for the way forward.
 
 
IEC Delegation Meets Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Karnataka
Members of the India Edtech Consortium (IEC) met Shri Srikar MS, Principal Secretary, Dept of Higher Education, Government of Karnataka, on February 11, 2025.  The agenda of the meeting was to explore areas of cooperation between the IEC and the Govt of Karnataka, on the areas of skilling, employability and internship. Shri Srikar expressed his department’s eagerness to collaborate with the IEC and suggested that the IEC should share a concept note on the areas of collaboration such as skilling, internship and employability for government college students. Subsequently the IEC shared the concept note with Shri Srikar.
 
 
MIB Advisory for OTT Platforms
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) issued an advisory February 19, 2025, for OTT platforms to adhere to various provisions of applicable laws wherein specific attention was also invited to the provisions of Indecent Representation of Women Act, 1986, Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSQ) Act, and Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The OTT platforms were advised to ensure compliance with applicable laws while publishing content on their platforms, including stricter adherence of the age-based classification of content prescribed under the Code of Ethics. Further, the advisory requested the Self-regulatory Bodies of OTTs to take appropriate proactive action against the violation of Code of Ethics by the platforms. The advisory was shared with the members of IAMAI’s Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council (DPCGC), requesting them to ensure compliance.
 
 
Non-Member BNPP Initiative Launched by DAC
In February 2025 the Digital Advertising Council (DAC) of IAMAI launched the non-member BNPP initiative. The DAC requested that all publisher members submit their non-member reconciliation data, which was subsequently reviewed during the monthly meeting. The discussion led to the formulation of clear action points, including the decision to notify agencies with overdue payments.
 
 
PCI Forms Personal Remittance Working Group
The Payment Council of India’s (PCI) International Remittance and Trade Committee has formed a dedicated working group for the personal remittances sector for entities in payments flows related to MTSS, RDAs, AD IIs, as well as entities supporting transactions related to maintenance purposes and anything related to LRS or personal purposes. The first meeting of the Personal Remittance Working Group was held on Feb 12, 2025, where it was decided that the group will begin working on key concerns such as aspects related to LRS, MTSS and AD IIs.
 
 
PCI’s Token Portability Working Group Discussion
The PCI’s Card Networks Committee hosted a working group meeting on February 21, 2025, to discuss the necessity of token portability in the payment industry, focusing on the challenges that merchants encounter with Token Requestors or PSPs. In addition to technical considerations, the implementation challenges were also discussed, highlighting the importance of merchant feedback.
 
 
PCI’s PPI Committee Forms Four New Working Groups
The PCI organised a PPI Committee meeting on February 14, 2025, for PPI players and discussed key challenges related to MDR on PPI on UPI use case and other aspects related to PPI players business flows. Post discussion, four working groups under the PPI committee were formed on a) KYC and DMT related aspects, b) Rupay OTG, c) PwD guidelines and d) PPI use cases.
 
 
Bharat Connect CEO Meeting with Bharat Bill Payments Operating Units Members
The PCI facilitated a closed-door discussion on February 18, 2025, between Ms. Noopur Chaturvedi, CEO, Bharat Connect, and PCI’s BBPOU Committee members. The deliberation was focused on major operation and regulatory clarifications with potential solutions to make the ecosystem more efficient.
 
 
Payments Bank Committee Meeting
The PCI hosted a Payments Bank Committee meeting on February 18, 2025. The meeting had deliberations around Payments Bank framework and how the ecosystem could be further strengthened. Additionally, the issue of fraudulence was also discussed, aiming to make the ecosystem safe and more secure for the end users. The meeting concluded with an advocacy agenda for the coming year identifying key focus areas for the committee.
 
 
PCI, FCC Knowledge Session on Union Budget 2025-26
The Payments Council of India (PCI) and the Fintech Convergence Council (FCC), in collaboration with PW & Co. LLP conducted a webinar on, February 5, 2025, on the Union Budget 2025-26. The session covered the impact and implications of the Union Budget on the payments and fintech sectors. It was addressed by Mr. Amit Rana- Partner at PW & Co. LLP. More than 80 senior industry executives participated in the webinar.
 
 
FCC Knowledge Session on the Impact of DPDP Act and Rules on SEBI Registered Intermediaries
The Fintech Convergence Council’s (FCC) Investment Committee in collaboration with Khaitan and Co. hosted a knowledge session on February 26, 2025, on the ‘Impact of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act and Rules on SEBI Registered Intermediaries’. The session gave an overview of the DPDP Act and Draft DPDP Rules, key compliance requirements for investor-facing SEBI-registered intermediaries and the implications for wealth-tech platforms and the securities market business. It was addressed by Ms. Smita Jha and Mr. Prashant Ramdas, Partners at Khaitan & Co. Over 50 industry professionals participated in the session.
 
 
FCC Knowledge Session on Budget 2025 and Insurance Amendment Bill
The Fintech Convergence Council (FCC), in collaboration with Price Waterhouse & Co LLP, hosted a knowledge Session on the Budget 2025 and the Insurance Amendment Bill on February 20, 2025. It gave an overview of both the documents and discussed FDIs and new opportunities that they brought in for the insurance ecosystem. The session was addressed by Mr. Vandit Shah, Director (Gift City SME), and Ms. Vandana Sagar, Director (Regulatory SME),
Price Waterhouse & Co LLP. Over 60 industry professionals took part in it.
 
 
Knowledge Session on Impact of DPDP rules, 2025 on RBI-regulated entities.
The Fintech Convergence Council (FCC) in collaboration with Ikigai Law hosted a knowledge session on February 5, 2025, on the impact of DPDP rules, 2025 particularly on the RBI-regulated entities.
The session provided an overview of the DPDP rules, the impact of the key provisions of DPDP rules on fintech entities and the necessary compliance steps. It also covered a comparison and discussion on the overlap between DPDP Rules and RBI regulations. The session was addressed by Ms. Aparajita Srivastava and Ms. Sreenidhi Srinivasan, both Partners at Ikigai Law. It saw participation of over 70 industry professionals.
 
 
FCC Members Attend Townhall Event Celebrating RBI@90
As part of RBI’s 90th-year celebrations, RBI’s Panaji Regional Office hosted a Townhall Event on February 28, 2025, at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Panaji, Goa, focusing on the transformative potential of the Unified Lending Interface (ULI) and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). The event brought together key stakeholders to discuss the impact of ULI and CBDC on India’s financial ecosystem. Many FCC Members attended the Townhall Event.
 
 
FCC and NSE Creative Awareness Campaign
The FCC in collaboration with the NSE has been campaigning to spread awareness to small retail investors enabling them to make informed investment decisions. This campaign went live on 15th April 2024. Several member participants including Paytm Money, ICICI Securities, Fintoo, Experian, LXME and Stockgrowth participated in this.
The campaign is in its eleventh round of creative initiatives. The message for February was: “Think before you trade - unregistered platforms can put your investments at risk! Invest only through registered stockbrokers."
 
 
Marketing and Growth Leaders Share Insights at Beyond India Meet
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in collaboration with Integral Ad Science organised an influencers’ roundtable titled ‘Beyond India’ on February 13, in Baglami, Mumbai. The meet brought together more than 50 marketing leaders, and growth leaders shaping the future with bold ideas and transformative strategies. Key issues discussed at the meet included how AI was transforming creativity, targeting, and campaign optimization for scalable success, safeguarding trust with tools and strategies to combat misinformation and protect brand reputation, and redefining success with actionable insights to maximize ROI and elevate campaign impact.


(L-R) Mr. Saurabh Khattar, Country Head, India, IAS; Mr. Rajiv Dubey, Vice President Marketing, Dabur, and Mr. Anand Chakravarthy, Chief Growth Officer, Omnicom Media Group India, addressing a session at Beyond India

The main speakers at Beyond India were Mr. Abhishek Pujar, Senior Account Executive, IAS; Mr. Chester Scott, VP, Strategic Partnerships and Success, Lunio; Ms. Laura Kusuma, Managing Director, APAC, IAS; Mr. Lindsay Cella, Senior Director, Product Marketing, IAS; Mr. Saurabh Khattar, Country Head, India, IAS; Ms. Sinead Canny, APAC Marketing Directo, IAS; Ms. Vanessa Turner, Research and Insights Directo, IAS; Mr. Rajiv Dubey, Vice President Marketing, Dabur, and Mr. Anand Chakravarthy, Chief Growth Officer, Omnicom Media Group India.