Tata Digital CEO Naveen Tahilyani steps down to join Prudential Plc
Naveen Tahilyani has resigned as chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Digital after a brief one-year stint, following efforts to scale the firm's super-app model that has seen sluggish growth.
Tahilyani will join UK-based asset management firm Prudential Plc as the regional CEO for India, Africa, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar, with additional responsibility of the health vertical, the firm said in a statement on Thursday.
Tahilyani will join Prudential's business and group executive committee on 29 July, reporting to Prudential's CEO Anil Wadhwani, and will be based in India.
Tahilyani's departure raises fresh challenges for Tata Digital. Since Tata Digital was founded in 2019, parent Tata Sons, under chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, has invested over ₹ 18,000 crore in buying companies like BigBasket and 1MG to build a super-app business.
But it has remained a pipe dream.
Tata Digital's balance sheet remains far from healthy. In the year ended March 2024, its revenue almost doubled to ₹ 421 crore, while its losses narrowed from ₹ 1,370 crore in FY23 to ₹ 1,201 crore.
The CEO's departure comes at a crucial juncture for Tata Digital that has been trying to revive its super-app dreams through Neu, set up in April 2022. It is now banking on quick commerce to take on Swiggy Instamart, Zomato-owned Blinkit and Zepto. The firm has also seen a host of top-level exits in recent years, with the firm's president Mukesh Bansal stepping away from daily operations in early 2023.
Tahilyani replaced Pratik Pal as CEO of Tata Digital in February 2024 who served for over five years. Tata Group's ambitious super-app Neu was crucial for the conglomerate as it looked to beat rival firms Adani and Reliance on its digital strategy. Mint reported in 2023 that the super-app is expected to meet just half of the sales target in its debut year, which forced the sprawling Indian corporate to review its digital strategy.
Tahilyani was earlier the MD and CEO of Tata AIA for seven years across two separate stints, with a period in between leading AIA's Group Partnership Distribution business across Asia. Prior to his insurance career, he spent 17 years in McKinsey advising banks and insurance companies in Asia.
Commenting on Naveen's appointment, Prudential Plc's CEO Anil Wadhwani said, 'Continuing to build our Health pillar, and driving growth across India, Africa, the Philippines, as well as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar are strategic gamechangers for Prudential. I am confident Naveen is the right leader in the right location to deliver the impact we need.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Wire
29 minutes ago
- The Wire
Young Workforce is Rapidly Declining For Top Tech Companies: Report
New Delhi: Age is catching up for two of India's leading IT companies – Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Infosys Ltd – as they are witnessing a sharp decline in their young workforce, Mint reported. The shrinking number of employees under 30, as stated in the companies annual reports, have raised concerns over the sustainability of the traditional employee pyramid model. According to the report, at the end of FY25, just 47.7% of TCS employees in India were below 30, down from 59% in FY22, implying that the company had 44,542 fewer young employees than it had three years ago. Meanwhile, at Infosys, only 52% of its 323,578 employees were equal to or under 30 years of age at the end of FY25, down from 60% in FY22 – signalling a net drop of about 17,609 younger employees. According to the daily, one of the reasons could be that automation is eliminating a significant chunk of entry-level jobs, signalling broader shifts in the IT services market. With automation tools on offer, the need for younger employees who typically handled customer support roles has reduced. As a result, young graduates are more drawn to startups, software product makers, or tech centres of global firms like Google and Microsoft. These also allow them better pay, faster growth and more creative work, according to some analysts. Another reason is that the traditional pyramid model may now be dated causing companies to see their margins erode. According to the report, TCS's revenue in FY25 rose only 3.78% to USD 30.18 billion – slowest in four years – while Infosys's revenue growth was also sluggish at 3.85%, touching USD 19.28 billion. Economic uncertainty One of the other major reasons why the growth has noticeably slowed down now is because global clients are cutting back on tech spending due to economic uncertainty. A Mumbai-based analyst told Mint that slow hiring was a result of the sluggish demand for IT services. 'IT services providers hire junior employees, most of whom fall under 30, when there is high demand for tech services. This was the case in FY22 when plenty of freshers were added. Now, because growth has been a little sluggish, hiring has been low, and which is why we see fewer young people.' In FY22, TCS and Infosys had added over 157,000 employees combined whereas in FY25, that number dropped to 12,771. According to the report, this also shows up in campus placement data of engineering colleges as they report lesser offers from the top IT service companies. Final-year students who would typically receive early offers from these firms are now seeking opportunities at software product firms, fintech startups, or hunting for overseas universities instead. Bigger issue abroad The issue of ageing workforce becomes more pressing in key markets abroad as the firms are losing their appeal among young job seekers. In North America, which contributes over half of TCS's revenue, more than 20% of its workforce is over 50 years old, the daily stated. In Europe, nearly 28% of its employees are above 50. On the other hand, Infosys received 4.46 million job applications in FY25—a 24% drop from FY22. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
10 million tourists picked this Asian paradise over Thailand in 2025
Malaysia received 10.1 million foreign arrivals in the first quarter of this year, making it the most visited country in Southeast Asia, thanks to its visa relaxation policies. According to a report by VN Express, Thailand , which held the champion title for years, was second with 9.55 million, followed by Vietnam (six million) and Singapore (4.31 million), according to official data. Malaysia recently announced the extension of visa exemption for Indian travelers until 2026. The exemption allows Indian nationals to visit Malaysia without a visa for up to 30 days. A similar exemption has been granted to Chinese nationals. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like An engineer reveals: 1 simple trick to get all TV channels Techno Mag Learn More Undo ALSO READ: Malaysia extends visa exemption for Indian nationals (Join our ETNRI WhatsApp channel for all the latest updates) Malaysia is also becoming an increasingly popular study-abroad destination for international students, thanks to its highly ranked universities, affordable tuition fees and relatively low cost of living. Live Events Malaysia boasts eight universities ranked among the top 500 in the 2025 QS World University Rankings. Moreover, the country offers a highly affordable lifestyle compared to other leading study-abroad destinations. For example, Malaysia has been estimated to be two-thirds less expensive to live in than the US and half as expensive as Canada and Ireland. ALSO READ: This country with top universities and low tuition fees has become the new hotspot for international students In addition to this, annual tuition for an undergraduate degree is on average US$6,000, as per an ICEF Monitor report. In 2023, all of Malaysia's Top 10 markets were in Asia and Africa. India emerged as one of Malaysia's key source markets for international students, ranking fifth among the top contributors that year. Indian students submitted 1,900 applications, marking an 18% increase compared to 2022. This highlights the growing appeal of Malaysia as a study-abroad destination for Indian students. ALSO READ: Indians spoilt for choice as nations roll out easy visas As per the ICEF report, the Malaysian government has adopted a selective approach to post-study work policies for international students. In the previous year, students from 23 countries, including Australia, the US, the UK, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Switzerland, and Finland, became eligible for the 12-month Graduate Pass. These countries are not major sources of international students in Malaysia but were chosen to promote two-way internationalisation with nations hosting significant numbers of Malaysian students.
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
RBI's 'bold' 50 bps cut to reduce interest rates, improve credit access: India Inc
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The RBI's decision to slash the benchmark rate by a "bold" 50 basis points will lead to lower interest rates and improved credit access for borrowers, India Inc said on Friday, asserting that the move will support economic growth amid global they opined that by reverting its stance to neutral from accommodative, the central bank has signalled that it may now pause to assess the full transmission of these cuts, before considering further easing of interest Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday cut interest rates by 50 basis points (bps), the third consecutive reduction, to 5.5 per central bank has also unexpectedly reduced the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for banks by a steep 100 basis points, which will unlock Rs 2.5 lakh crore liquidity to the banking system for lending to productive sectors of the Vardhan Agarwal, President at FICCI, said, "FICCI welcomes RBI's bold and proactive move to slash the repo rate."This front-loaded rate cut sends a strong signal of the RBI's commitment to supporting growth, especially at a time when the Indian economy is navigating multiple headwinds -- from trade uncertainties and geopolitical tensions to financial market volatility," Agarwal Alexander Muthoot, MD of Muthoot Finance , said, "For NBFCs, this is an encouraging move as it creates a favourable environment by lowering borrowing costs and extending affordable credit to under-served communities." "The move, coupled with a lowered inflation outlook, is likely to support domestic consumption and stimulate credit demand in the coming quarters. Overall, we view this as a timely and positive intervention that can support a stronger credit cycle in FY26," Muthoot Banerjee, Partner and Leader - Economic Advisory at PwC India, said the policy rate easing, combined with the liquidity increase for banks when system liquidity is already comfortable, is likely to add a second engine to the consumption growth flight that is anticipated to be already in flight from the income tax cuts taking effect in FY26."With inflation under control, supporting growth is the main objective, especially considering the uncertainty in global trade. The RBI continues to peg FY26 growth at 6.5 per cent, but clearly sees a need to stimulate private demand and capital formation. This (liquidity) gives banks more headroom to transmit lower rates and improve credit flow - both to consumers and businesses," Vijay Kuppa, CEO of InCred Money, Goswami, CIO & MD - India Fixed Income at Franklin Templeton, said the RBI's bold move has surprised markets and underscores a clear pivot towards supporting growth amid subdued economic momentum and easing inflation."Upasna Bhardwaj, Chief Economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank , said, "The higher-than-expected repo rate cut comes along with a shift in the stance back to neutral. This clearly points towards future decisions being more data-dependent, given the significant global uncertainties."Gaura Sengupta - Chief Economist at IDFC FIRST Bank , said, "The front-loading of the rate cut action plus CRR cut indicates focus is on enhancing the transmission of monetary policy. The neutral stance indicates that the bar for further rate cut is higher but isn't completely off the table. In the next few policies, we expect the RBI to remain on pause".The RBI MPC decision will support India's growth amidst continued global volatilities, Hemant Jain, President at PHDCCI, the latest reduction, the RBI has cut interest rates by 100 basis points in 2025, starting with a quarter-point reduction in February - the first cut since May 2020 - and another similar-sized cut in rate cut comes as the Indian economy slowed to a four-year low of 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year that ended March. RBI projected the economy to grow by the same measure in the current financial year that started on April 1, as rising trade tensions following US President Donald Trump's tariff policies provide central bank lowered its inflation projection to 3.7 per cent for 2025-26 from 4 per cent earlier.
