Paytm operator One 97 becomes majority Indian-owned

Paytm operator One 97 Communications became majority Indian-owned by end-March 2026 as domestic investors raised their combined stake to 50.3%.

Domestic institutional investors held 23.1%, up 2.8 percentage points sequentially and 9.1 percentage points from a year earlier.

Mutual funds held 16.6%, and insurance firms held 5.1% after both groups added to their positions in the quarter.

The shift came after Paytm reported its third straight profitable quarter, with net profit at 2.3 billion rupees (US$24.1 million) and revenue up 20% year-on-year to 21.9 billion rupees (US$235 million).

🔗 Source: Press Trust of India

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The ownership shift coincided with efforts to resolve a multi-year regulatory impasse

The stake sale lined up with One 97 Communications’ need to clear a regulatory burden over its payments business 1.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s central bank, stopped Paytm’s payments services unit from adding new online merchants in November 2022 2.
The ban followed concerns about compliance with India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) rules, which review capital from countries that share a land border. Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba, came under focus through its ownership stake 2.
In August 2025, the RBI gave “in-principle” approval to One97 Communications’ unit Paytm Payments Services Ltd (PPSL) to operate as an online payment aggregator, a business that processes digital payments for merchants. This came after Ant Group sold its remaining direct stake in One97 Communications. The approval required a system, including cybersecurity, audit within six months 2.

Paytm’s in-principle approval signals tight attention to ownership and compliance

The approval lets Paytm serve online merchants and reduces dependence on bank partners. It also supports offline merchant products such as sound boxes, which announce received payments at shops 2.
Across India’s fintech sector, ownership setup and compliance with India’s FDI rules can shape access to needed permissions in regulated businesses 1.
For foreign backers, especially those from neighbouring countries, the case confirms added screening under India’s land-border FDI rules. Some structures and beneficial ownership can trigger a requirement for government approval 2.