Vijay Shekhar Sharma

CASHLESS BILLIONAIRE The incredible rags-to-riches story of Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, India’s youngest billionaire, is the stuff legends are made of

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Paytm is synonymous with the idea of push-button e-commerce for many, having revolutionised financial transactions in India. Its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s backstory, however, is a far cry from the present scenario. The son of a school teacher from Aligarh, a small city in Uttar Pradesh, Sharma founded the fast-rising mobile wallet Paytm back in 2011. There were days when he didn’t have money for dinner and two cups of tea were part of life’s perks, and days when he wasn’t able to afford a bus ride and walked to save ₹10. Not being a native English speaker made Sharma lag behind at school, but he soon taught himself the language. This year, Sharma has been