Paytm approves fresh grant of 1.24 lakh ESOPs worth Rs 16.6 crore
06 Jan 2026, 04:50 PMThis comes as employee stock options at Paytm have been under regulatory scrutiny over the past year.
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One 97 Communications, which operates fintech major Paytm, has approved a fresh grant of 1.24 lakh employee stock options through its 2019 ESOP program, as per stock market filing.
Based on Paytm's closing price of Rs 1,340 per share, these stock options are estimated at Rs 16.6 crore.
Employee stock options at Paytm have been under regulatory scrutiny over the past year. In May 2025, the company, its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, and his brother Ajay Shekhar Sharma settled a case with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) over alleged disclosure lapses concerning Sharma’s promoter status at the time of Paytm’s initial public offering (IPO).
Under the settlement, the Sharma brothers forfeited 21 million ESOPs, agreed to a three-year ban on receiving new stock options from listed companies, and paid a settlement amount of about Rs 2.79 crore.
In August 2024, the SEBI had decided that the grant of 21 million ESOPs to Sharma violated its rules governing share-based employee benefits. Indian rules do not allow large shareholders with influence to hold ESOPs.
Paytm reported a 24% jump in revenue from operations to Rs 2,061 crore in the July-September quarter of this fiscal ending on March 31, 2026, from Rs 1,659 crore in the same quarter in the previous financial year.
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