India spent Rs 1.1 lakh Cr on NYE; Knight FinTech raises $23.6M

Hello,

BYD always had a competitor in Tesla, and the competition is only getting fiercer. 

For the first time, the Chinese EV giant is set to overtake Elon Musk’s company as the world’s biggest seller of electric vehicles. Last year, the sales of BYD’s battery-powered cars rose by almost 28% to more than 2.25 million. 

While Tesla is yet to reveal its numbers, analysts—according to the BBC—suggest that it had sold around 1.65 million vehicles for the whole year. 

Back home, India's leading carmakers reported a strong rise in December sales to dealers, with tax cuts from earlier in the year fuelling demand into the final month of 2025.

This benefited market leader Maruti Suzuki's small car portfolio—its biggest segment—with sales rising 50% to 92,929 units, the highest since January 2025. Its total sales to domestic dealers jumped 37% to a record 178,646 units.

ICYMI: Astronomical expenditure; uncertain rates of return; uneven pace of adoption—almost everything Wall Street expects in 2026!

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and IT approved 22 new proposals under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme, with a projected investment of Rs 41,863 crore and production of Rs 2,58,152 crore. Here’s what it entails.

Lastly, here’s why the humble vaseline is back in the news.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• India spent Rs 1.1 lakh Cr on NYE
• Knight FinTech raises $23.6M

Here’s your trivia for today: Which is the most expensive modern artwork sold by auction house Sotheby’s?

Finance

India spent Rs 1.1 lakh Cr on NYE

India’s New Year’s Eve spending crossed Rs 1.1 lakh crore, as partygoers and last-minute shoppers leaned heavily on digital payments on the country’s biggest consumption night.

UPI transactions surged 17.02% to Rs 1.12 lakh crore on December 31, according to payments settlement data from the Reserve Bank of India, up from Rs 93,147.85 crore on New Year’s Eve last year.

Key takeaways:

• Credit card spending at physical point-of-sale terminals rose to Rs 1,879.85 crore from Rs 1,756.07 crore a year earlier, suggesting steady discretionary spending at restaurants, hotels, and brick-and-mortar outlets.
• In contrast, credit card transactions at ecommerce platforms slipped marginally to Rs 3,445.98 crore, down from Rs 3,483.90 crore in 2024, partly because of the disruption caused by the gig worker strike.
• At physical stores, debit card spending was largely flat, easing to Rs 783.31 crore compared with Rs 786.74 crore a year earlier, reinforcing the view that UPI is steadily displacing debit cards for everyday payments.

Funding

Knight FinTech raises $23.6M

Knight FinTech, an Indian banking and digital lending infrastructure provider, has raised $23.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Accel, with participation from IIFL and Rocket Capital, along with existing investors Prime Venture Partners, 3one4 Capital, Commerce VC, and Trifecta Capital. 

The startup will use the new capital to expand its AI-driven product offerings, including risk intelligence, automated credit underwriting, fraud detection, portfolio monitoring, and debt recovery systems. It also plans to expand into the Middle East and Asia-Pacific markets.

News & updates

• Agritech: Arya.ag raised Rs 725 crore through an equity funding round led by clean tech investor GEF Capital Partners. The startup will use the capital to increase its engagement with farmers and expand technology-led, climate-smart agricultural practices.
• Markets: The FTSE 100 index has climbed above 10,000 points for the first time, passing a significant stock market milestone, on the first trading day of the year. It set a new all-time record, reaching 10,046.3 points before falling back below the 10,000 mark.
• Chip: Shares of Shanghai Biren Technology Co. jumped almost 76% in its trading debut on Friday, marking the best first-day performance since early 2021 among Hong Kong listings. Strong investor demand helped the AI chip designer raise $717 million through the IPO, with its retail portion subscribed to more than 2,300 times.

Which is the most expensive modern artwork sold by auction house Sotheby’s?

Answer: Gustav Klimt's Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer is the most expensive artwork ($236.4 million) ever sold at Sotheby's, setting a record for modern art.

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