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Readathon by neOwn turns kids into page-turning pros
MUMBAI: This Children’s Day, books were judged by their readers as neOwn’s Readathon turned living rooms across India into joyful little libraries. The virtual celebration proved that when children read together, stories travel farther than any Wi Fi signal.
Hosted across two lively sessions, the three hour event brought young readers into a shared world of stories, conversations and quiet excitement. Screens acted as story circles, homes became reading zones and children discovered that stillness could be the most spirited fun of all.
The Readathon welcomed a delightful line up of chief guests. Authors Mallika Ravikumar, Vardhini Amin and Gulshan Randhawa Advani, storyteller Rinky Ahuja from Jammu and educator Srilakshmi R encouraged children to let their imaginations wander freely. Through readings, reflections and playful activities, they reminded participants that stories do more than entertain. They empower, comfort and inspire.
Between twenty minute silent reading sprints, families took the Million Readers Movement pledge and committed to one weekly reading action that keeps curiosity alive. Across Zoom screens, a simple rhythm emerged. Pages turning, faces glowing and children discovering worlds tucked between words.
neOwn founder Kranti Gada said, “When I was a child, books were my window to the world. They sparked my imagination, taught me empathy and gave me dreams that still guide me today. That is the spirit behind Readathon, to give today’s children what stories once gave me. We wanted to show that reading does not have to be solitary. It can be shared, celebrated and passed on.”
As the final pages closed and the screens dimmed, the energy lingered. The event may have ended, but its purpose carries on in every home that chooses to read together. For neOwn, this was more than a Children’s Day celebration. It was a gentle nudge to remind families that reading habits grow when stories become a part of everyday life.
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Rakesh Menon joins Paytm as avp – lending
Fintech product leader takes on new role after building digital lending, payments and credit products across fintech ecosystem
MUMBAI: Rakesh Menon has joined Paytm as assistant vice president – lending, taking on a new role focused on strengthening the company’s lending and credit products.
Prior to this, Menon worked at Profectus Capital Pvt Ltd as chief manager – payments based financing and digital lending.
At Profectus, he designed and launched digital credit products for merchants with variable cash flows, including overdraft-linked and revenue-share lending models. He led end-to-end LOS–LMS API integrations with payment partners and aggregators, enabling real-time underwriting, disbursal and repayment workflows.
He also worked on funnel optimisation initiatives using journey analytics, improving onboarding, KYC and disbursal conversion by 35 per cent. He developed ecosystem partnerships for transaction-data-based credit assessment and automated settlement systems, and collaborated with credit and data science teams to strengthen risk models and early delinquency detection.
Menon standardised partner onboarding and API frameworks, reducing go-live timelines by 40 per cent and improving digital scalability.
Before Profectus Capital, he worked at PayU as senior manager – presales lead – enterprise business from August 2022 to August 2023. He set up a national presales function for fintech and digital commerce clients, aligning solutions such as EMI, BNPL, BBPS and offer engines to merchant requirements.
He also helped improve conversion rates by around 15 per cent through merchant persona mapping, demo frameworks and structured sales playbooks, working closely with product and go-to-market teams.
From April 2019 to July 2022, Menon served as business unit head – SMB – direct acquisitions at Worldline, where he built the SMB online payments vertical from scratch. The business scaled to Rs 2,500 crore in annual transaction volume, growing at 45 per cent year-on-year.
During this period, he introduced paperless onboarding processes including eKYC and eSign, developed partner dashboards and CRM automation systems, and integrated platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and Tally to expand merchant adoption.
Across roles, Menon has worked across digital lending, payments and merchant financing, with experience in product development, ecosystem partnerships, API integrations and fintech-led growth strategies.
At Paytm, he will focus on scaling lending products and strengthening digital credit infrastructure within the company’s financial services ecosystem.
His appointment comes as fintech firms continue to expand their lending and embedded finance offerings in a competitive market.
