Brands
CNBC-Awaaz Udaan wraps debut season, gears up for bigger second run
Pan-India campus drive empowers youth with real-world career skills
MUMBAI: CNBC-Awaaz has wrapped up the first season of its campus initiative, Udaan Taiyari Kal Ki, with plans already in motion for a bigger and broader second edition.
Run in partnership with UTI Mutual Fund, the programme travelled across more than 10 cities and 18 leading institutions, including top management schools, aiming to bridge the gap between academic learning and workplace readiness.
At its core, Udaan tackled a familiar challenge. While millions graduate each year, many step into the professional world underprepared for its financial, emotional and strategic demands. The initiative sought to change that by offering practical insights into investing basics, career planning, decision-making and mental resilience.
The scale was notable. Over 3,800 final-year postgraduate students participated directly, with sessions spanning cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru. The impact extended further through television and digital platforms, turning the programme into a hybrid learning experience.
Each campus stop featured a mix of panel discussions, fireside chats and hands-on workshops, bringing newsroom-style conversations directly to students. The format struck a chord, with strong engagement reflecting a growing appetite for real-world skills beyond textbooks.
Reflecting on the journey, CNBC-Awaaz managing editor Anuj Singhal said, “UDAAN is one of our most engaging and interactive IPs, built around empowering India’s youth. It felt good to be back on college campuses, engaging directly with students. These conversations go beyond classrooms, helping students gain real-world perspective and confidence as they step into their careers.”
From the partner’s perspective, the focus remained on financial awareness. UTI Mutual Fund MD and CEO Vetri Subramaniam said, “It is important to engage with students who are on the brink of their corporate journey. We need to guide them on financial investments so they can begin early and build long-term habits.”
Highlighting the broader vision, Network18 CEO of English and Business News Smriti Mehra said, “Through Udaan, CNBC-Awaaz is taking real-world knowledge directly to campuses while shaping the next generation of leaders. The response shows a clear need for platforms that go beyond academics.”
With its first season striking a strong chord, Udaan has positioned itself as more than just a campus event. As it gears up for Season 2, the initiative looks set to expand its footprint and continue preparing young India for the leap from campus to corporate life.
Brands
Rakesh Menon joins Paytm as avp – lending
Fintech product leader takes on new role after building digital lending, payments and credit products across fintech ecosystem
MUMBAI: Rakesh Menon has joined Paytm as assistant vice president – lending, taking on a new role focused on strengthening the company’s lending and credit products.
Prior to this, Menon worked at Profectus Capital Pvt Ltd as chief manager – payments based financing and digital lending.
At Profectus, he designed and launched digital credit products for merchants with variable cash flows, including overdraft-linked and revenue-share lending models. He led end-to-end LOS–LMS API integrations with payment partners and aggregators, enabling real-time underwriting, disbursal and repayment workflows.
He also worked on funnel optimisation initiatives using journey analytics, improving onboarding, KYC and disbursal conversion by 35 per cent. He developed ecosystem partnerships for transaction-data-based credit assessment and automated settlement systems, and collaborated with credit and data science teams to strengthen risk models and early delinquency detection.
Menon standardised partner onboarding and API frameworks, reducing go-live timelines by 40 per cent and improving digital scalability.
Before Profectus Capital, he worked at PayU as senior manager – presales lead – enterprise business from August 2022 to August 2023. He set up a national presales function for fintech and digital commerce clients, aligning solutions such as EMI, BNPL, BBPS and offer engines to merchant requirements.
He also helped improve conversion rates by around 15 per cent through merchant persona mapping, demo frameworks and structured sales playbooks, working closely with product and go-to-market teams.
From April 2019 to July 2022, Menon served as business unit head – SMB – direct acquisitions at Worldline, where he built the SMB online payments vertical from scratch. The business scaled to Rs 2,500 crore in annual transaction volume, growing at 45 per cent year-on-year.
During this period, he introduced paperless onboarding processes including eKYC and eSign, developed partner dashboards and CRM automation systems, and integrated platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and Tally to expand merchant adoption.
Across roles, Menon has worked across digital lending, payments and merchant financing, with experience in product development, ecosystem partnerships, API integrations and fintech-led growth strategies.
At Paytm, he will focus on scaling lending products and strengthening digital credit infrastructure within the company’s financial services ecosystem.
His appointment comes as fintech firms continue to expand their lending and embedded finance offerings in a competitive market.
