iWorld
ChanaJor OTT taps UPI AutoPay to scale subscriptions across India
DELHI: India’s subscription economy is learning to move at thumb speed. As UPI cements itself as the country’s default way to pay, ChanaJor OTT is leaning into AutoPay to lock in millions of mobile-first users, especially beyond the metros.
The short- and mid-format Indian-language platform has made UPI AutoPay central to its growth playbook, using recurring mandates to smooth renewals and cut drop-offs in price-sensitive markets. For users, it means fewer reminders and no monthly payment grind. For the platform, it means stickier subscriptions and fewer failed renewals.
Pratap Jain, founder and ceo of ChanaJor OTT, says the logic is simple. Match payments to behaviour. UPI is how most Indians already transact, particularly in smaller towns and semi-urban areas. AutoPay lets users opt in once and forget about it, while retaining the ability to cancel anytime.
The upside is clear. Subscriptions run uninterrupted, access stays seamless and affordability improves. The familiarity of UPI, Jain argues, lowers psychological barriers to paying for content, helping digital services reach audiences that cards never quite managed to capture.
Yet friction persists. AutoPay is still a new habit. Many users balk at the idea of recurring debits, spooked by fears of endless deductions and unclear exit routes. Mandate creation does not help. Too many steps, PIN prompts, vague bank messages, app timeouts and uneven experiences across UPI apps all chip away at completion rates. Add the occasional bank-side glitch and approvals suffer.
Even so, the numbers leave little room for doubt. On ChanaJor OTT, payment volumes skew roughly 15:85 between cards and UPI. Cards may deliver higher success rates, but they come with baggage. Card numbers, expiry dates, CVVs and OTPs slow things down. UPI, by contrast, is a single-PIN affair. With intent-based flows gaining ground, it is getting faster and slicker still.
For merchants, economics seals the deal. Cards work for higher ticket sizes. But for small, frequent payments, the lifeblood of OTT, gaming and music, UPI wins on convenience and cost. Lower MDRs mean platforms keep more of what they earn, a critical edge when subscription prices are deliberately modest.
Jain sees UPI AutoPay as more than plumbing. It is an access layer, bringing digital content within reach for millions while giving platforms a sustainable path to scale. As India’s next wave of users comes online from Bharat’s heartland, the message is blunt. If you want reach, you ride UPI.
And if you want renewals to stick, you make them automatic.
Gaming
Bluestone FY26 revenue rises to Rs 2,436 crore, turns profitable
Q4 profit at Rs 31 crore, full-year profit at Rs 13 crore vs loss last year.
MUMBAI: From sparkle to numbers, Bluestone seems to be polishing more than just jewellery this year. Bluestone Jewellery and Lifestyle Limited reported a sharp turnaround in FY26, with revenue from operations rising to Rs 2,436 crore (Rs 24,364 million), up from Rs 1,770 crore (Rs 17,700 million) in FY25. The company posted a full-year profit of Rs 13 crore (Rs 131.79 million), a significant recovery from a loss of Rs 222 crore (Rs 2,218 million) a year ago.
Total income for the year stood at Rs 2,486 crore (Rs 24,860 million), compared to Rs 1,830 crore (Rs 18,300 million) in the previous year, reflecting both topline growth and improved operational momentum.
The March quarter, however, told a more nuanced story. Revenue from operations came in at Rs 681 crore (Rs 6,814 million), down from Rs 748 crore (Rs 7,486 million) in the year-ago period, though higher than Rs 461 crore (Rs 4,613 million) in the preceding December quarter. Net profit for Q4 stood at Rs 31 crore (Rs 311.81 million), compared to Rs 68 crore (Rs 688 million) a year earlier, but a clear reversal from a loss of Rs 51 crore (Rs 512 million) in Q3.
Margins were shaped by higher input costs, with raw material consumption rising to Rs 2,204 crore (Rs 22,043 million) for the full year, alongside employee benefit expenses of Rs 282 crore (Rs 2,824 million) and finance costs of Rs 210 crore (Rs 2,104 million). Other expenses came in at Rs 371 crore (Rs 3,715 million), slightly lower than Rs 393 crore (Rs 3,938 million) in FY25.
On the balance sheet front, total assets expanded to Rs 4,961 crore (Rs 49,610 million) as of March 31, 2026, from Rs 3,532 crore (Rs 35,322 million) a year earlier, driven largely by a surge in inventories to Rs 2,672 crore (Rs 26,718 million). Equity also strengthened to Rs 1,803 crore (Rs 18,030 million), nearly doubling from Rs 911 crore (Rs 9,107 million).
Cash flows reflected the cost of growth. Net cash used in operating activities stood at Rs 199 crore (Rs 1,990 million), while investing activities saw an outflow of Rs 239 crore (Rs 2,392 million). Financing activities, however, generated Rs 497 crore (Rs 4,971 million), helping the company end the year with cash and cash equivalents of Rs 108 crore (Rs 1,075 million), up from Rs 49 crore (Rs 487 million).
Earnings per share for FY26 came in at Rs 1.10, a sharp improvement from a negative Rs 79.74 in FY25, underlining the shift from losses to profitability.
With revenue scaling up, costs still glittering on the higher side, and profitability finally back in the black, BlueStone’s FY26 performance suggests a business mid-transition less about shine alone, and more about sustaining it.
