Byju Raveendran, co-founder and chief executive officer of Byju’s, has become the world’s second-richest entrepreneur from the education sector, according to Hurun Global Rich List 2023.
Byju Raveendran and his family are ranked 994th on the global list of Indian billionaires, having risen 1,005 positions in the past three years and amassing a fortune of $3.3 billion, according to the report.
Byju’s valuation has more than tripled in the last three years, from around $8 billion in February 2022 to $22 billion as of October last year, making the startup the world’s most-valued privately held edtech company.
However, the company has recently been plagued by controversies, including accounting irregularities, alleged mis-selling of courses, and mass layoffs. In October of last year, Byju’s raised its first-ever flat round at a $22 billion valuation.
Founded in 2011 by teacher-turned-entrepreneur Raveendran, Byju’s has raised more than $5 billion in equity and debt funding to date from 121 institutional and individual investors, according to data available on Tracxn. In March last year, it raised a $800 million round taking the company to a $22 billion valuation, making it India’s most-valued startup and the most-valued edtech in the world. Raveendran holds a little under 20 percent stake in the company.
Stadium named after hockey star Rani Rampal, first woman to get this honour
Rani Rampal, a prominent player on the Indian hockey team, has achieved a significant milestone as the first woman in the sport to have a stadium named after her. The MCF Rae Bareli has renamed the hockey stadium to ‘Rani’s Girls Hockey Turf’ in her honour.
“Words seem too less to express my happiness and gratitude as I share that the MCF Raebareli has renamed the hockey stadium to “Rani’s Girls Hockey Turf to honour my contribution to hockey,” Rani wrote on her Twitter handle.
She said: “It is a proud and emotional moment for me as I become the first woman hockey player to have a stadium to my name. I dedicate this to the Indian women’s hockey team and I hope this inspires the next generation of women hockey players!”
Rani made a comeback to the Indian team during the tour of South Africa earlier this year, when she was included in a 22-member squad. Rani was returning to the squad after last playing against Belgium in the FIH Women’s Hockey Pro League 2021-22, where she won her 250th cap for India.
Pyre by Perumal Murgan longlisted for International Booker prize
Celebrated author Perumal Murugan’s critically acclaimed novel Pyre, translated from the Tamil by Aniruddhan Vasudevan, has been nominated for this year’s International Booker prize. This is the second year in-a-row that a book from India has been nominated for the prestigious award, after Geetanjali Shree’s Tomb of Sand, which was translated from the Hindi by Daisy Rockwell, won the prize, making history by becoming the first South Asian novel to win it.
Pyre is a powerful and devastating tale of innocent young inter-caste love colliding with intolerant savagery. Murugan takes readers through the trials and tribulations of this couple who face horrifying repercussions. Murugan’s spare, yet evocative prose brings to life the terrifying consequences of intolerance and the fragility of love in the face of hatred.
Perumal Murugan is the award-winning star of contemporary Tamil literature. He has garnered critical acclaim and commercial success for his vast array of work. His novels have been translated into English to immense acclaim, including Resolve, Rising Heat, Current Show, Pyre, Seasons of the Palm, which was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize, One Part Woman, which was shortlisted for the Crossword Award, longlisted for the National Book Award for Translation and won the prestigious ILF Samanvay Bhasha Samman, and A Lonely Harvest and Trial by Silence, which were shortlisted for the JCB Prize for Fiction.
RBI chief Shaktikanta Das named Governor of the Year at Central Banking Awards 2023
Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das has received the Governor of the Year 2023 Award by the international publication Central Banking. Das is at the helm of the central bank since December 2018. He has been given the award for steering the financial markets through multiple crises including the pandemic and the inflation due to the war in Ukraine.
Das has been praised by the publication for his leadership role at the Central bank during his tenure, which began in December 2018, and has been marked by a series of grave challenges, starting with the collapse of a major non-bank firm, moving through the first and second waves of the coronavirus, and then, in 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its inflationary impact.
Sampanna Ramesh becomes the fastest Indian to swim the Palk Strait
Pune based swimmer Sampanna Ramesh Shelar has become the fastest Indian in the under-21 group to swim across the Palk Strait from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanuskodi in Tamil Nadu in 5 hours and 30 minutes. The previous record was 8 hours and 26 minutes.
His swim commenced at 6 am from Talaimannar and he reached Dhanushkodiat 11.26 am completing the distance of 29 km. He is a Bachelor of Physical Education student and trains under the guidance of Jitendra Khasnis. With this achievement, Shelar is planning to do solo swims across the English and Catalina Channels soon, to eventually complete swimming across the seven oceans popularly known as the Oceans Seven Challenge.
