MAM
Smart class, smart move Mankind Pharma powers up classrooms
MUMBAI: When chalk meets chips, classrooms get a quiet upgrade. In Ghaziabad, learning just went digital as Mankind Pharma Limited switched on a new set of digital smart classrooms under its flagship CSR platform, Kindcare, giving government school students a front-row seat to technology-led education.
The initiative was inaugurated in partnership with SEEDS Impact by Sunil Kumar Sharma, cabinet minister for information technology and electronics, government of Uttar Pradesh, in the presence of Mankind Pharma chief executive officer Sheetal Arora. The launch marks another milestone in the company’s effort to move learning beyond blackboards and into interactive, tech-enabled spaces.
The Digital Smart Classroom Initiative targets 400 government schools across Uttar Pradesh, with 460 classrooms already operational, reaching thousands of students. Equipped with tools such as the K-Yan digital learning device, the classrooms deliver curriculum-aligned audio-visual lessons, helping simplify complex concepts and improve engagement, particularly in schools where physical infrastructure is limited.
Crucially, the programme goes beyond hardware. More than 2,400 teachers have already undergone structured training to confidently integrate digital tools into daily teaching. The support system includes hands-on workshops, classroom simulations, helplines and digital peer communities, designed to ensure the technology does not gather dust once the launch banners come down.
Speaking at the inauguration, Sharma said the initiative addresses critical gaps in access and quality at a time when digital literacy is no longer optional. Arora added that the focus is not technology for its own sake, but dignity, opportunity and ensuring children in underserved regions are not left behind in an increasingly digital world.
SEEDS Impact CEO R Purushotham noted that the collaboration has the potential to scale further, creating pathways for technology to reach even more students across the state.
The Digital Smart Classroom Initiative is a core pillar of Kindcare, Mankind Pharma’s CSR framework spanning health and hygiene, education, environment and livelihood development. With district-level execution and measurable outcomes at its core, the programme reflects a simple idea with long-term impact: when classrooms get smarter, futures follow suit.
Brands
Reserve Bank of India cancels Paytm Payments Bank licence
Central bank cites compliance failures; curbs tighten as wind-up looms
MUMBAI: India’s banking watchdog delivered its sharpest blow yet to Paytm Payments Bank, cancelling its licence and effectively ending its ability to operate as a bank under the law.
The Reserve Bank of India said the entity can no longer conduct banking business under the Banking Regulation Act, citing concerns that its affairs were not being run in the interest of depositors or the public and that it had failed to meet licence conditions.
The move escalates a crackdown that has been building for months. The bank had already been barred from onboarding new customers since March 11, 2022, and later faced restrictions on deposits, credit and wallet top-ups. In January 2024, the central bank ordered it to stop accepting fresh deposits, pointing to persistent non-compliance, including lapses in customer due diligence, use of funds and technology systems.
Operationally, the bank is now on a tight leash. It may process withdrawals of existing deposits and facilitate loan referrals through banking correspondents, but it cannot take fresh deposits.
The central bank said it would apply to the high court to wind up the bank.
Paytm sought to ringfence the fallout. In a regulatory filing, it said the licence cancellation applies to Paytm Payments Bank Limited, a separate entity, and should not be attributed to One 97 Communications. It added that there is no exposure or material business arrangement with the bank and that it operates independently, without Paytm’s board or management involvement.
“As informed earlier, Paytm (One 97 Communications Limited) and its services, which have been operating without interruption, will continue to operate uninterrupted. These include the Paytm app, Paytm UPI, Paytm Gold and all other services offered by its subsidiaries and associated companies,” the company said.
The distinction may reassure users of the app ecosystem, but the regulator’s verdict is unequivocal. After years of warnings, caps and curbs, the payments bank experiment at Paytm is being shut down—decisively, and with little room left to manoeuvre.
