Fintech Brief — March 29, 2026

Today’s Top Stories

1. RBI Caps Rupee Positions to $100 Million, Forcing Arbitrage Trade Unwind

The Reserve Bank of India’s latest restriction on rupee positions is set to compel banks to unwind arbitrage trades between the non-deliverable forward (NDF) and onshore markets, exposing them to potential losses.Effective Friday (after market hours), banks must now ensure their net open rupee positions in the onshore deliverable market do not exceed $100 million at the end of each business day, with full compliance required by April 10.

Previously, banks could run large arbitrage books without breaching limits because net open position caps were calculated after netting exposures across onshore, NDF, and currency futures markets. Now, any onshore exposure exceeding the prescribed limit will have to be pared back, effectively forcing banks to close positions between the two markets. Six traders cited by Reuters indicated this marks a significant shift in RBI’s approach to managing currency position risks.

This move comes as India navigates elevated energy costs stemming from the Middle East conflict, with the government warning of downside risks to its growth forecast of 7.0%-7.4% for the next fiscal year starting April 1. The conflict has disrupted a key shipping route through which 20% of the world’s oil passes, pushing up energy and freight costs.

2. Revolut to Base 40% of Global Workforce in India by 2026

European fintech major Revolut plans to have around 40% of its global workforce based in India by the end of 2026 as it expands its India global capability centre in Bengaluru.

The company, which in 2025 committed £500 million (~$670 million) to its India business and GCC over five years, will fill 1,600 roles through 2026, taking its India headcount to 5,500 by year-end. Revolut’s global workforce stands at approximately 12,000.

India CEO Paroma Chatterjee told Reuters that about a third of Revolut’s processes are now run from India, including routine transaction monitoring and AI-based fraud alerts. Innovations developed in India, such as video-based KYC systems, are being deployed across global markets to improve onboarding efficiency.

Jonathan Beaney, head of talent acquisition, described India as “one of the deepest and most dynamic talent pools in the world,” noting the technical caliber and ambition make India a “natural long-term home for Revolut.”

3. Deccan AI Raises $25 Million for AI Post-Training Services

Deccan AI, a startup founded in October 2024, has raised $25 million in an all-equity Series A round led by A91 Partners, with participation from Susquehanna International Group and Prosus Ventures.

Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with a large Hyderabad operations team and over one million contributors, Deccan provides post-training services—data generation, evaluation, and reinforcement learning—to AI labs and enterprises including Google DeepMind and Snowflake.

While frontier AI labs build core models in-house, much of the post-training work is increasingly being outsourced as companies push to make systems reliable in real-world use. The market for AI training services has expanded rapidly alongside the rise of large language models.

Even as Deccan’s customers are largely US-based AI labs, most of the company’s contributors are based in India, reflecting the country’s growing role in AI data annotation and evaluation services.

4. Bellatrix Aerospace Nets $20 Million in Pre-Series B

Bengaluru-based Bellatrix Aerospace has raised $20 million in a pre-Series B funding round led by Cactus Partners, as it looks to scale up manufacturing and delivery of its satellite propulsion systems.

The funds will be used to expand manufacturing capacity to meet rising demand from satellite constellations in India and abroad. Founded in 2015, Bellatrix manufactures satellite propulsion systems and has operations in the US.

The round drew new investors including Hero Investment Office, 35 North Ventures, Indusbridge Ventures, and Monarch Holdings, along with existing backers Inflexor, Pavestone, GrowX, and Survam Partners.

India has opened its space sector beyond ISRO to private players and created a 10 billion rupee ($105.5 million) fund to support startups in the sector.

Sources: Reuters¹, TechCrunch², The Hindu Business Line³