One of the foremost digital financial services platforms in India, Paytm, declared a Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) for the financial year 2023-24. These reports are among the mandatory listing regulations under Regulation 34 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, and contain company commitment to ethical business, governance, and sustainable development. It also underscores Paytm’s conscious efforts and commitments to product innovation, environmental responsibility, and employee welfare.
Paytm has catapulted itself to the peak of India’s best-in-class digital financial services provider with a full range of offerings and services for both consumers and merchants in payments, mobile credit, insurance, mutual fund distribution, and equity broking. It has also reported a massive growth in its merchant network to more than 4.06 crore merchants as of March 2024. This can be attributed to the various financial services infrastructure that Paytm provides, including payment gateways and point-of-sale machines, up to loyalty programs that promote bulk merchant usage to regular Tricycle drivers.
Not leaving that behind, the sustainability initiatives at Paytm form quite a substantial portion of the report. The company has adopted several eco-friendly practices, such as paperless processing and moving most of its solutions into digital formats. The corporate office of Paytm, situated in Noida, is a platinum-certified building by the Indian Green Building Council, showing the ideology of the company in terms of sustainable development. The company has also developed a waste management policy by the Central Pollution Control Board, ensuring effective e-waste and plastic waste management.
Additionally, Paytm’s reports prominently feature workforce diversity and inclusion strategies. As of March 2024, it has over 28,000 people on board; it showed a fast rise in female representation at the senior leadership level. Paytm implemented policies to make places of work accessible and inclusive for differently-abled workers. The company has adopted comprehensive health and safety measures across its offices, including fire drills, disaster management exercises, and access to health insurance and maternity benefit schemes.
Governance-wise, Paytm presents its adoption of ethical business practices in front of strong corporate governance frameworks. An anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy has been framed, and strict compliance with statutes is ensured. It further communicates its ideals toward transparency and accountability through its approach toward risk management and financial inclusion by fostering easy accessibility of financial services for deprived populations. The 2023-24 Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report articulates how Paytm maintains a holistic business in the confluence of numerous parameters: ethical practices, innovation, and sustainability. With the company now set to expand its bouquet of digital financial services, Paytm continues to engage in sustainable and inclusive mechanisms for all its stakeholders. The report not only showcases the achievements of Paytm so far in this respect but also sets the platform for where the company is headed toward the goals of financial inclusion, environmental sustainability, and good corporate governance.
Source: BRSR
Credit: Paytm