If there is one sector in India that has witnessed visible, drastic change in the 21st century, it has to be that of sports. Consider this- at the turn of the century, India was considered as a one-sport nation, namely, a cricketing nation. Even in cricket, India was for most part, an “alsoran”. If you were to read any media coverage of India’s sports sector in the 90s and the early 2000s, you would notice an oft-repeated lament that Cricket in India grabbed all the eyeballs and investments, and all other sports were in a state of poverty. While much of the lament was true then, the narrative has been changing slowly, yet progressively over the last 25 years. 

This White Paper explores how such multi-stakeholder collaboration, matching and funding can happen. In answering the “how”, we have discussed various blended finance approaches case studies derived from their deployment in other social sectors, which could be adapted and deployed for raising funding within the sporting ecosystem, be it for building sporting infrastructure or for developing community sport or for achieving Olympic/Paralympic glory. Within the Indian context, the advent of the Social Stock Exchange provides for yet another exciting social financing mechanism to be explored in the days ahead. We also provide two recent example of Social Stock Exchange listings for readers to assess this platform’s potential.

This guide aims to help Indian researchers and
inventors turn their ideas into reality. It outlines
the tough but exciting process of bringing new
ideas to market through the creation of a new
company. It is particularly tailored towards
inventors working in research institutions, such
as universities and public research laboratories,
but may also benefit a range of other
individuals who wish to build new ventures.

The document is based in part on surveys and
interviews with Indian academic entrepreneurs and
investors.

The structure follows the sequence that is
typically required for a spinout: deciding if an idea has
potential; planning the business; forming the business;
and then scaling it. However, since every spinout is
different, some parts will likely be more relevant to you
than others. Inevitably, the guide can only provide a
high-level overview, and so links to further resources
are provided in the appendix and in footnotes.

In her 2019 budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Social Stock Exchange initiative, which has since attracted considerable attention in the development sphere. Designed to foster inclusivity and adaptability within capital markets, India launched its Social Stock Exchange, the fourth functioning exchange in the world.

The Social Stock Exchange challenges the issue of inconsistent funding and transparency, by connecting Not-for-Profit Organisations (NPOs) with socially conscious investors through various financial instruments. The exchange serves as a centralised hub for channelling resources to social enterprises and fostering impactful development initiatives. This is facilitated by deploying consistent funding frameworks, diversifying funding sources, and enhancing impact measurement, disclosure, and reporting practices. Through promoting transparency, the exchange cultivates a disclosure-driven ecosystem, guiding stakeholders towards mutual progress. Registering and listing on this exchange can be an intimidating process.

This toolkit aims to equip NPOs with the essential knowledge and resources to navigate the SSE framework through a step-by-step approach. Leveraging insights from Unnati Foundation, the first NPO to get listed on the SSE platform, we segment the NPO’s journey from registration to successful listing into four phases. Each phase aids in understanding compliance requirements, forging partnerships, and embracing best practices

India has a wide but unorganised value chain for post-consumer domestic (PCD) waste. Formalised sorting hubs or Textile Recovery Facilities (TRFs) primarily dealing with PCD waste, are at a nascent stage, trying to find their feet within the market by optimising processes at both the demand and supply sides. These TRFs are sorting PCD waste through manual methods. However, despite the waste valorisation potential of these sorting hubs, their returns are limited in certain cases as they are unable to provide good quality waste feedstock and assurance of the material composition to high-grade fibre-to-fibre mechanical recyclers. This gap provides a potential area for the deployment of sorting technologies. 

About 48% of the Post-consumer Domestic Waste (PCD) has the potential to be valorised via formalised sorting hubs. Out of this, 35% of the waste can have better utilisation by adopting semiautomated & automated technologies, leading to a revenue increase of 10%. At an industry level, this translates to 1,380 kilo tonnes of waste and INR 388 Cr (going up to INR 1,348 crores in some cases) of additional revenue in one year. However, an enabling environment needs to be created to make these technologies economically viable for a sorting hub.

The business case presented in this report assesses commercial viability for both semi-automated and automated technologies and validates the hypothesis under five different scenarios. Thus, it demonstrates the infrastructure and investment requirements to valorise the post-consumer textile waste, serving as a framework to enable well-informed decision-making for sorting hubs to implement sorting technologies. 

Climate investing has grown from a niche investment vertical market to a widely recognised market that attracts billions of PE and VC capital globally and in India. In 2023, venture and growth investment into climate totalled $32 billion around the world and $804 million in India. The size of our network reflects the vast opportunity and high levels of enthusiasm. 

Given this step change in the flow of capital, one would assume that the ecosystem in India has evolved and that the continuum of capital functions smoothly, with multiple instruments and funding approaches accessible and affordable for scaling climate innovations.

We decided to unpack this hypothesis in the third India Climate Finance Report and examine what really exists in terms of a continuum, how smooth the handovers are and what’s still missing to enable climate innovation at scale. This report is a combination of survey insights and deep-dives/ guest articles from peers and partners in the ecosystem. With the focus on mapping, this time we’ve requested guest articles from stakeholders working at very specific points/ junctures of the continuum, and asked them to comment on what’s working and what isn’t. We’ve also tried to highlight the opportunity for family offices and emerging foundations with more broad-based/ flexible mandates. Also as always, we have highlighted the role of appropriate and accurate climate impact measurement, as a reflection of the value created.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are the cornerstone of the global transition towards sustainability. India's ambitious climate commitments make EVs not just an environmental imperative, but an economic opportunity. They represent our path to both decarbonization and energy independence, while providing opportunity to accelerate innovation and manufacturing.

This report comes at a crucial time when India's EV charging landscape is at an inflection point. The challenges we face are unique – from installing charging points in crowded urban areas to building networks that withstand everything from Rajasthan's heat to Kerala's monsoons. 'Charging Ahead-Part II' delves into the intricate interplay of policy, regulation, and industry trends shaping this crucial segment, providing cross-jurisdictional analysis that contextualizes India's efforts within a global framework. The insights from markets like California, Singapore, and the UK offer invaluable lessons for our path forward, from integrating renewable energy to deploying innovative business models. The collaboration between GameChanger Law Advisors and Speciale Invest in producing this report
exemplifies the interdisciplinary approach needed to build a sustainable future.