In Brief: Carlyle Group to bet on RIL’s retail arm; BEST buses go cashless with PhonePe

Washington DC headquartered private equity firm Carlyle Group may invest $1.5-2 billion in Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), according to a report by Mint. If the deal goes through, it will mark Carlyle’s first investment in the retail sector in India. The firm is considering investing in both online and offline retail firms, including Reliance Retail, the report said. Reliance Retail, a unit of RRVL, currently operates nearly 12,000 stores across India.

PhonePe inks deal with BEST 

Digital payments platform PhonePe on Monday said that it has joined hands with Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST), to provide contactless payment options to commuters across Mumbai. Passengers will now be able to pay fare via a unified payments interface (UPI) based interoperable quick response (QR) code. The company claims to have enabled over 35 lakh commuters to pay via UPI based interoperable QR code. Additionally, over 10,000 conductors have been assigned a unique QR code, under this initiative, according to a press statement.