Rohit Arora

For business owners... it means more access to capital that might have been too expensive or unavailable previously.

One of the most recent innovations in small business lending is Agentic AI, autonomous software that can manage entire workflows without human intervention.

Promoting in advance can be enormously helpful in driving Small Business Saturday specials. Naturally, offering discounts for the day is one way to lure in people.

Even with higher prices, nearly half of shoppers plan to cut back elsewhere to fund gift-giving — a sign that smart small businesses can capture significant revenue.

To ensure every rupee of credit fuels productive enterprise growth, the system needs to prioritize transparent lending, which is sustainable to turn economic momentum into durable prosperity. In a world obsessed with lending volumes, irresponsible credit generates short-lived growth with long-term fragility, hence the rising NPAs, misallocated capital, and weakened financial institutions. Responsible lending, by contrast, compounds value by strengthening MSME balance sheets, building repayment discipline, and directing capital into sectors that create jobs and exports.

Background: Scabies, caused by Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis, remains difficult to confirm histologically when parasites are sparse or fragmented. Conventional microscopy is particular but limited by small sample size, tissue destruction, and observer dependence. Objective: To evaluate visible–near-infrared hyperspectral imaging (VIS–NIR HSI) as a label-free optical method for detecting S. scabiei in human skin sections and to assess its compatibility with routine HE staining. Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) skin tissue from six patients with histologically verified scabies was analysed using VIS–NIR HSI (500–1000 nm). Unstained sections mounted on CaF2 substrates and parallel HE-stained slides were imaged. Spectral datasets were processed by principal component analysis and segmentation to distinguish mite structures from epidermal and dermal compartments. Results: The chitin-rich mite exoskeleton exhibited a reproducible reflectance slope in the near-infrared range (R850/R550 > 1.5), clearly separating parasite from host tissue (R850/R550 < 1.0). PCA confirmed consistent cluster separation across all cases (ΔPC ≈ 3.7 ± 0.2). These contrasts remained detectable in HE-stained sections, validating applicability to conventional slides. Conclusions: VIS–NIR HSI enables reliable, label-free detection of S. scabiei mites in both unstained and HE-stained human skin tissue. By combining morphological and biochemical information in a single modality, HSI represents a promising adjunct to digital dermatopathology and may improve diagnostic sensitivity in challenging or atypical cases.

As 2026 unfolds, India's financial sector can now look back at the milestones achieved and design new strategies to strengthen MSME lending in the months ahead.

This article is authored by Rohit Arora, CEO and co-founder, Biz2X and Biz2Credit. Published on: Jun 12, 2026 2:01 PM IST

Digital lending's speed and accessibility are now challenged by sophisticated fraud, with loan portfolios bearing the brunt of high-value losses. AI-led fraud intelligence is crucial, enabling lenders to analyze multiple signals in real-time to distinguish genuine borrowers from fraudulent ones, ensuring safer growth.

Digital lending maturity requires intelligent automation and disciplined control for future success. Unsecured retail bad loans highlight risks of unchecked algorithmic underwriting. Responsible governance ensures AI's sustainable integration into credit decision-making processes. Lenders must prioritize explainability and human oversight for AI-assisted credit outcomes. Strong AI frameworks will define trusted lenders delivering greater capital access.