Startups in focus; The women who defined 2024

Hello,

Stock markets go red as 2024 comes to an end.

Elevated US Treasury yields and the prospect of fewer US rate cuts in 2025 dampened investor mood globally. In Europe, on the last trading day of the year, the markets traded in negative territory. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was around 0.5% lower, with most sectors in negative territory. 

Closer home, the Nifty 50 fell 0.71% to close at 23,644.9, while the BSE Sensex lost 0.57% to settle at 78,248.13.

Nonetheless, Indian companies' fundraising through corporate bonds hit a record high this year, aided by declining yields and a stronger appetite for long-term notes, and investors expect issuances to remain robust in 2025. 

According to Reuters, Indian firms raised $124.81 billion through bonds till December 27, a 9% jump over 2023. 

ICYMI: Find out how much gold Indian women hold. 

Here’s a hint: The number even surpasses the gold reserves of the top five countries together!

Awestruck, right? Here’s some more—how science solved these historical mysteries in 2024!

We have come to the end of 2024, and what a ride that was for all of us.

As we move into a new year and plan our holidays, don’t miss out on these air travel changes that will come into effect in 2025. 

From all of us here at YourStory, we wish you a very Happy New Year 2025! 

Stay healthy and awesome!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Startups in focus in 2024
• The women who defined 2024

Here’s your trivia for today: In what year was January 1 officially declared the first day of the new year?

Startup

Startups in focus in 2024

Artificial intelligence (AI) ruled all sectors as companies sought ways to integrate the technology into their business operations. Lowering electricity bills, providing better air indoors, or blocking spam calls—AI is doing it all and much more! 

We also saw edtech giants like BYJU’S losing its “behemoth” status, fintech major Paytm faltering on the RBI-Paytm Payments Bank fiasco, and Zomato getting even bigger with the largest market capitalisation for a startup. Before we wrap up 2024, we revisit our top startup stories from this year:

Changemakers:

• Nagpur-headquartered wellness startup Habuild—founded in March 2020 by IIT alumni Saurabh Bothra, Trishala Bothra, and Anshul Agrawal—aims to promote physical and mental well-being and help people adopt a healthy lifestyle by cultivating lifelong habits such as yoga, meditation and Zumba. 
• Founded in 2021 by husband-wife duo Karan Bansal and Tanya Goyal, Jaipur-based KARBAN Envirotech introduced a bladeless ceiling fan that combines air purification, lighting, and IoT-enabled climate control to redefine indoor air quality management.
• In 2019, Bharath Rankawat founded Enlog to offer AI-powered energy management and IoT solutions. Its product Smi-Fi is an AI-powered energy management system designed to enhance home and business electricity consumption. 

Women Entrepreneurs

The women who defined 2024

2024 has been a transformative one, with trailblazing women entrepreneurs rewriting the rules of business; a year where gender-focussed narratives challenged societal norms, and women strived to create an equitable world, where innovation and inclusivity thrive hand in hand.

Here is a compilation of the stories we loved writing and our readers loved reading.

Trailblazers:

• Priyanka Mohan is one of the few women who perform and teach Yakshagana and is passionate about taking the art forward with her father’s organisation, Yakshadegula. She is also building Tvarita, a collective of artists, to make diverse art forms relevant to the current generation.
• Geetha Kannan grew up with polio and an intense fear of water. Today, at 43, Chennai-based Kannan is a Paralympic swimming champion and won gold at the Tamil Nadu state-level Paralympic swimming championship held in March this year. 
• Feminist Approach to Technology was founded in 2007 by Gayatri Buragohain, a passionate advocate of gender equality who recognised technology’s role in shaping women's lives. She believes that if women are equipped with technological skills, they can break societal barriers, gain independence, and assert their voices in a rapidly evolving world.

News & updates

• Bad loans: Indian banks' gross bad loan ratio may rise from a 12-year low if risks emanating from credit quality, interest rates and geopolitics play out, RBI’s Financial Stability Report showed. This key measure could rise to 3% by the end of March 2026 from a 12-year low of 2.6% in September 2024 for 46 banks under the so-called baseline scenario.
• Exit: Adani Group will exit the consumer goods joint venture with Singapore's Wilmar International in a deal valued at $2 billion as the Indian conglomerate focuses on core infrastructure business. Adani Enterprises will sell a 13% stake in Adani Wilmar in an offer for sale.
• Fall: Boeing is back in the news. The aircraft manufacturer’s shares were down over 3% in premarket trading on Monday, after South Korea ordered an inspection of all B737-800 planes, following the deadly Jeju Air crash.

In what year was January 1 officially declared the first day of the new year?

Answer: 46 BC.

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