Business briefs

Samuday, the CSR project of HCL Foundation, Tuesday said it has invested Rs 30 crore in the past one year to set up 14 solar mini-grids in 15 villages in Uttar Pradesh's Hardoi district. This has helped supply uninterrupted power to 900 underserved rural households, a statement said.

The organisation has also committed to spending Rs 3 crore every year over the next five years to maintain these grids, it added. HCL Samuday is working in collaboration with the UP government on a solar electrification programme in three blocks of Hardoi district, namely Kachhauna, Behendar and Kothawan, HCL Samuday Associate Project Director Alok Verma said.

"We believe our solar power projects in 15 villages have the potential to transform the lives of thousands of beneficiaries from poor socio-economic background. Our efforts in solar energy are in line with the Government of India's vision that 40 per cent of the country's needs should be supplied through renewable sources," he added. * * * *

* Udemy appoints Irwin Anand as India managing director Online learning platform Udemy Tuesday said it has appointed Irwin Anand as its India managing director, effective immediately.

The global platform has over 30 million students and 42,000 instructors on board. Anand's responsibilities will include opening Udemy's first India office, growing the local team, and deepening the company's investment in the region, a statement said.

"As India is one of the company's fastest-growing markets, with revenue and students doubling year-on-year, Anand will be also focused on further localising the Udemy student and instructor experience in India," it added. Before joining Udemy, Anand was the chief operating officer at OLX India. He has also worked with Yahoo! India.

* * * * * DoubtNut raises fresh round of Funding

Edtech start-up DoubtNut Tuesday said it has raised an undisclosed amount in funding, led by Surge (an initiative by Sequoia India). The funding round also saw participation from existing investors WaterBridge Ventures and Omidyar Network India, as well as new investor - AET, Japan, a statement said.

DoubtNut, which offers an artificial intelligence-driven multi-lingual online learning platform for mathematics queries, said it will use the proceeds to "deepen and widen its product offerings in terms of subjects, languages and classes and expand its team". The platform was launched in October 2017 by Tanushree Nagori and Aditya Shankar. Over 90 per cent of its users -- students of classes 6-12 and IIT-JEE -- study in tier-II and III cities.