Tier II cities fuel Lenskart’s growth

 
02 December 2025View in Browser
 
 
 

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Hello,

 

UPI recorded its second-highest month of activity in November, holding just below October’s festival-driven peak. The system processed 20.47 billion transactions worth Rs 26.32 lakh crore, making it the second-busiest month of 2025. 

 

November has also gradually become a favourite for startups looking to make their first foray into the markets. Even beyond that, Groww, Lenskart, Pine Labs and PhysicsWallah’s offerings this November are a useful peek into investors’ preferences in India’s startup ecosystem.

 

Meanwhile, the idea of a guaranteed pension was once unimaginable for millions of women. Today, they form 48% of all Atal Pension Yojana (APY) beneficiaries in India, reshaping a scheme designed for the country’s most vulnerable workers, according to a Lok Sabha reply on Monday.

 

In other news, more than 2.04 lakh private firms have shut shop in the country in the past five financial years, said Harsh Malhotra, Minister of State in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, and Minister of State in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. 

 

Answering a question on Monday, he said, the private companies formally shut down between FY21 and FY25 due to amalgamation, conversion, dissolution, or strike-off under various provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.

 

Moving on to the world of technology, the telecom ministry has privately asked smartphone makers to preload all new devices with a state-owned cybersecurity app that cannot be deleted, Reuters reported, citing a government order. 

 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

  1. Strong Tier II demand drives Lenskart
  2. Accessible mental healthcare for all
  3. Cinema as India's national language

 

Here’s your trivia for today: Which body in the solar system has satellites called Charon, Styx and Nix?

Insight

Strong Tier II demand drives Lenskart

In October, a landmark Madras High Court ruling held that crypto assets qualify as "property" under Indian law—something that could be owned and held in trust. More importantly, it questioned the logic behind WazirX's restructuring plan and its rebalancing scheme using users’ assets.

 

This single ruling strengthened crypto holders' rights in India and offered battered investors their first real legal foothold. Over the past few months, roughly 420 investors—from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and smaller towns—have gathered across more than 15 WhatsApp and Telegram groups to chart a way forward.

 

An uphill battle:

  1. One WhatsApp group for Bengaluru members revealed that more than a dozen users had lost between Rs 1-15 lakh during the rebalancing. Another survey collected each person's exact pre-hack token counts and current balances to quantify the damage. Investors believed this evidence would prove crucial later.
  2. Banking on Madras HC's ruling, investors have narrowed down two possible resolution paths. The first path is to knock on the doors of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission—India’s top consumer court.
  3. The second legal pathway involves filing cases individually in a state High Court and trying to replicate the same interim protection granted in the Madras case—a template dozens of investors are now eyeing.

Know More

 

Funding Alert

 
 
  1. Mixx Technologies: $33M | Series A
  2. Finfactor: $15M | Series A

Together with SPJIMR

WISE Tech India Pitchathon 2026After a successful WISE Tech India Pitchathon 2025 Grand Finale, we are back with a brand new season: WISE Tech India Pitchathon 2026.

 

The season opens with a dedicated Delhi Edition, hosted by SPJIMR WISE Tech in collaboration with Maruti Suzuki Innovation and FITT, IIT Delhi.


Happening on 9th December, this edition invites early-stage startups building practical, high-impact solutions, with a focus on clean air technologies. Founders with a working MVP and early traction will pitch before a curated jury. Winners receive cash prizes, direct entry to the 2026 Grand Finale, and fast-tracked evaluations into the WISE Tech accelerator.


Applications close on 30th November 2025.

 

Startup

Accessible mental healthcare for all

Even as mental health awareness grows across India, access to mental health services remains scarce. Stigma, shortage of trained professionals, and limited accessible care options continue to create barriers for those seeking support.

 

To bridge this gap, Dr Ritika Sinha and Abhineet Kumar founded Rocket Health, which aims to make mental healthcare accessible, affordable, and stigma-free. The platform brings together therapy, psychiatry, diagnosis, and a cloud pharmacy in one confidential, judgment-free space.

 

High-quality care:

  1. The platform caters to men, women, and the LGBTQIA+ community, offering support for concerns ranging from stress, anxiety, and depression to ADHD, grief, cancer care, and relationship challenges.
  2. To complement its therapy services, the company has developed an AI-powered voice journaling app called Rocket Journal, available on iOS. The app provides guided prompts, mood tracking, structured check-ins, and a free-form “Rant Mode”. 
  3. Despite being entirely bootstrapped, the company is profitable. With a team of 130 professionals across India, Rocket Health has completed 2 lakh therapy sessions since its inception.

Know More

Culture

Cinema as India's national language

As a student of history at Miranda House, Delhi, Aditi Anand hoped to tell stories of India’s history outside academia, which later led her to study films at Whistling Woods International in Mumbai. Her work spans films like Tere Bin Laden and Paan Singh Tomar that were well-received. The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir, with actor Dhanush, did well internationally but crashed in India.

 

Through Little Red Car Films, which engages in service production for international non-fiction projects, and later, Neelam Studios with Pa Ranjith, Anand has been on a mission to tell authentic, emotional stories through the medium of film.

 

Know More

 

News & Updates

 
 
  1. Cyber Monday: US shoppers are expected to spend $14.2 billion on Cyber Monday, a report from Adobe Analytics predicted, as budget-strained consumers lap up online discounts. Americans will spend 6.3% more online than a year earlier on Cyber Monday, which is traditionally seen as the country's biggest online shopping day, marking the finale of the Thanksgiving shopping weekend.
  2. Voice bot: Chinese tech giant ByteDance said on Monday it is launching an artificial intelligence voice control tool that will debut on a smartphone made by ZTE Corp, before becoming available on phones from other manufacturers in due course.
  3. AI partnership: Nvidia on Monday announced it has purchased $2 billion of Synopsys’ common stock as part of a strategic partnership to accelerate computing and artificial intelligence engineering solutions.

 

Did you know?

 
 

Which body in the solar system has satellites called Charon, Styx and Nix?

Answer: Pluto

 
 

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