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Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Paytm is an application that is now ubiquitous on almost everyone's smartphone. It stands as one of India's largest companies, yet many are unaware of the true struggle and effort invested by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, the founder of Paytm.
He started with just Rs. 10 in his pocket, and today his net worth stands at $1.2 billion.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma was born into a middle-class family in Aligarh. He was a very bright student, largely due to the influence of his father, who was a schoolteacher and instilled high values regarding education.
Completing his schooling at the age of 14 from a Hindi medium school, Vijay faced challenges in reading and writing English, requiring significant effort to overcome. Soon, he recognized the importance of proficiency in Basic English for securing admission to a good college.
He didn't perceive this as a weakness but rather as a challenge, and he embarked on learning English by poring over old magazines and borrowing books from friends. His approach involved tackling two books simultaneously: one focused on English sentences, and the other dedicated to their translations.
Upon securing admission to an engineering college in Delhi, this once bright student began to struggle, and his grades started to decline, turning him into an average student.
After a few months of enrollment, he ceased attending college altogether, finding his interest in engineering waning while his passion for entrepreneurship began to blossom.
Yahoo greatly inspired him, leading him to aspire to study at Stanford University, where it was founded. However, due to financial constraints and his proficiency in English, he was unable to gain admission.
While most college students dreamed of securing placements, Vijay and his friends took a different path. They established a CMS (content management company) called XS Communications. Their CMS was adopted by prominent publications such as The Indian Express.
In his quest to secure funding for his company, he borrowed Rs. 8 lakhs from the bank at an interest rate of 24 percent. However, this decision plunged him into a vicious cycle of debt that became increasingly unmanageable. Consequently, he resorted to taking odd jobs in order to repay his debts.
His success was made possible due to his hard work, patience, and determination to succeed. Things became complicated when he launched One97, Paytm's parent company, but later on, matters began to settle. When it came to Paytm, he didn't seek external funding; instead, he single-handedly raised $2 million.
A company's success is derived from providing internet wallets and round-the-clock customer care services. These elements foster trust among customers. The concept behind Paytm relied on gaining the trust of its customers, and Vijay achieved this through exceptional customer support.
Best Serial Entrepreneur Award at the Rural and Urban Development Summit and Awards 2022, presented by the Minister of State for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.
Recognized as the Youngest Indian Billionaire by Forbes magazine.
Entrepreneur of the Year by AIMA in 2018.
Named one of Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in 2017.
ET Entrepreneur of the Year by The Economic Times in 2016.
Ranked among GQ's 50 most influential young Indians of 2017.
Dataquest IT Man of the Year in 2017.
Received an Honorary Doctorate from Amity University, Gurgaon, in 2016.
Honored with the Yash Bharati, the highest state civilian award of the Government of Uttar Pradesh in 2016.
Businessman of the Year at GQ Men of the Year Awards 2016.
Conferred with the NDTV Indian of the Year in 2016.
Received the Impact Person of the Year Award in 2016.
Named India's Hottest Business Leader under 40 by The Economic Times in 2015.
CEO of the Year by SABRE Award in September 2015.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma is married to Mridula Parashar Sharma, and together they have a child. He comes from a family where his father worked as a school teacher, instilling in him strong values from a young age.
Sharma draws inspiration from notable figures in the tech industry, particularly Alibaba's founder, Jack Ma, and Masayoshi Son of Softbank. Their innovative approaches and entrepreneurial journeys serve as guiding lights for him.
The year 2024 saw the downfall of a leader. Vijay Shekhar Sharma, had to resign from his role as part-time non-executive chairman of Paytm Payments Bank Limited (PPBL) amidst regulatory scrutiny by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regarding compliance issues.
Due to persistent non-compliance and ongoing material supervisory concerns, PPBL has been prohibited by the RBI from accepting deposits and credits from any customer after March 15 2024.
The decision for Vijay Shekhar Sharma to step down comes as One 97 Communications Ltd (OCL), the parent company of Paytm, announced a restructuring of the Board of Directors of Paytm Payments Bank Limited.
The newly appointed Board of Directors includes Srinivasan Sridhar, former Chairman of Central Bank of India; Debendranath Sarangi, retired IAS officer; Ashok Kumar Garg, former Executive Director of Bank of Baroda; and Rajni Sekhri Sibal, former IAS officer.
This move follows the significant business restrictions imposed by the RBI on PPBL on January 31, which included a ban on accepting fresh deposits and conducting credit transactions after February 29. This deadline was subsequently extended to March 15 on February 16.
Paytm Payments Bank (PPBL), established in 2017 and headquartered in Noida, is an Indian payments bank. It obtained its license from the Reserve Bank of India in 2017 and commenced operations in November of the same year. In 2021, it attained the status of a scheduled bank as per the RBI.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma holds a majority stake of 51 percent in PPBL, while One97 Communications holds the remaining 49 percent. Despite being the promoter of Paytm Payments Bank, One97 Communications Limited is not classified as one of its promoters. Vijay Shekhar Sharma resigned from his position as part-time non-executive chairman and board member of PPBL, citing regulatory challenges with the Reserve Bank of India.
On January 31, 2024, Paytm Payments Bank was prohibited from onboarding new customers due to persistent non-compliance and supervisory concerns. The RBI instructed the bank not to accept deposits or conduct credit transactions after March 15, 2024. This action was taken under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, to address irregularities in the bank's services and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma's story exemplifies how determination and passion can pave the way to achieving anything. Life presents opportunities, and seizing them demands following your passion and embracing risks.
