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Indian Express
29-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
This startup wants to become the Duolingo to learn coding
'Our way of learning is somewhat inefficient. It takes a lot of practice to get good, and it is really hard to stay motivated—especially when building projects without much guidance.' Paul Kuruvilla, Chief Technology Officer at Codecrafters, describes what inspired him to create a learning platform that helps software engineers become better developers even as the world is rapidly moving toward automation. At the moment, developers have to set the entire curriculum for themselves, do all the practice, and manage everything on their own. 'A lot of that could have been easier if there were a platform that provided a clear roadmap and helped you track your progress.' Started by Kuruvilla and Sarup Banskota in 2022, Codecrafters doesn't follow the traditional route of teaching coding through videos or live sessions. Instead, the platform's philosophy is to have developers take on challenging projects and master a programming language, with the goal of deepening their knowledge and gaining hands-on experience early in their careers. 'We want to create the Duolingo equivalent for software engineering—an app that offers a unified experience, keeps you motivated, and connects you with a community of learners so you can see how you stack up against others.' So the idea is to make learning more efficient by applying the same principles Duolingo uses: the best way to learn is by doing. 'Unlike platforms like Coursera, where you might watch a two-hour video and then do a short project, our approach starts with building projects right from the beginning,' Kuruvilla tells over a video call from Cupertino, California. 'As soon as you start, you are working within the context of a project. All your learning, supplemental resources, and progress happen through completing meaningful tasks. We choose fairly large, real-world projects to anchor the experience.' Kuruvilla, who is from Kerala and an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology in Ropar, spent a few years in India and worked as an Engineering Manager at Sequoia-backed Shuttl in Gurugram. Meanwhile, Banskota, who is from Assam, previously served as Head of Growth & Marketing at Vercel, a $3.25 billion devtools startup. The duo first met at an IIT prep school in Chennai, and years later went on to co-found Codecrafters. Both are self-taught coders, with Kuruvilla transitioning from mechanical engineering to computer science. A computer scientist is someone who studies how computers can be used to solve a wide range of problems, often drawing on applied mathematics. But learning to program is hard, and it's difficult to know where to start. Even more challenging to figure out what to do after you have learned the basics. As programming languages continue to evolve, what someone learned in school may already be outdated — especially for those aspiring to build a career in tech. This has led many developers, particularly those without computer science degrees, to take the path of self-teaching and learn coding on their own. In fact, the trend of self-taught programmers has been on the rise in recent years. As more of this talent enters the job market, companies have adapted their recruiting strategies. This shift has also contributed to the rise of online platforms that help developers — even those still early in their careers, such as engineering students — learn coding effectively. That's where Codecrafters comes into the picture. 'I would say the [platform] is more aligned with software engineering. There's a bit more to it than just programming — software engineering also involves things like breaking down a large task into smaller, parts, ensuring proper testing, and building high-quality software.' The basic idea behind Codecrafters is to offer 'Build Your Own X' projects — such as a BitTorrent client, Git, Redis, Docker, a shell, a text editor, and more. A developer can take courses on Codecrafters lasting from three weeks to several months. The platform offers 10 courses spread across 250 exercises. 'So from a beginner's perspective, if you don't want to program at all, this is probably not a good fit. There are many other platforms that do that better — things like FreeCodeCamp come to mind. It's not great for beginners because it throws you into the deep end right away. But if you are somewhere in the middle — someone who knows how to program, has built some projects on your own, but still has that nagging feeling that you would get lost if things got more complex — then the only way to improve is through practice, practice, and more practice. That's where we help,' Kuruvilla explains. Learning to code has been a dream for millions of people — and it still is, especially in India. However, when layoffs hit and, for the first time, the world's top tech companies laid off thousands of people a few years back, mostly software engineers, it came as a shock to many that even highly paid developers aren't always secure. But today, the landscape looks very different. Programming jobs are plummeting, tech layoffs are at their peak, and even if you are not a programmer but are creating your own software with help from artificial intelligence, coding boot camps — which once looked like the golden ticket to an economically secure future— no longer guarantee the same. Kuruvilla doesn't agree that we are heading toward a future where coders will become extinct and AI will take over programming jobs. 'AI is not complete automation; it is partial automation,' he says. 'Maybe some parts of your job will become much easier and quicker to do, and you will just end up doing more. At the level these tools are at now, and where I think they will be in the short term, it's always going to be a human-in-the-loop kind of thing.' 'We continuously test them against our courses, and we know that they don't get very far. AI may perform well in the early stages, but as soon as the complexity reaches a certain level, it starts to get stuck,' he continues. 'We build things that are inherently difficult—often the kinds of things AI doesn't handle well yet, like databases, operating systems, and similar complex systems. We break these projects down into bite-sized chunks, so each stage is approachable. If you spend maybe half an hour to an hour on a task, that time adds up, and over time, you are building theoretically complex software. I would say it's all about learning by doing—and that's our core focus,' he said. While more tech companies such as Meta and Microsoft are encouraging developers to use AI to write code, Kuruvilla believes highly valued programmers are still at the forefront of the technology's potential. He said it's an exaggeration to claim that tech companies won't need software developers in the future — they still need developers to build AI agents, for example. Despite dire warnings that AI could soon automate millions of jobs — with software developers often singled out as prime targets — millions of young Indians still aspire to become software engineers. 'I think the allure of being a software engineer remains much the same as it was five years ago — AI or not. Computer science is still in demand because it's one of the highest-paying jobs. I also think it's a more flexible kind of job — it's something you can just do on your laptop.' 'It's one of the few fields where the barrier to practice is almost zero. It's not like being a doctor, where you have to study books and then gain hands-on experience. In software engineering, there's no real cost to failure while practicing. So I think it's one of the fields where we can take the actual work you will be doing on the job and simulate it through a platform.' Codecrafters, Kuruvilla says, is a good fit for those who are early in their career — maybe a year or two into a job — but it's definitely not aimed at those who are just starting college and have no idea what coding is. It's also not suitable for people who have been in the field for a decade. Of the 300,000 user base, Kuruvilla says India is the largest country in terms of sign-ups though a majority of paying users continue to come from the US and Europe. The platform offers its courses through memberships, which can be purchased for three months, 12 months, or a lifetime. In terms of expansion, Kuruvilla is considering targeting students who are closer to their final year, especially in India. 'The reason we haven't done this yet is because ours is a paid product, and based on our pricing, it's not a great fit for students at the moment. But I think what we will do is launch a free program specifically for students,' he said. Programming is still a worthwhile skill to learn, even though it may not be as important as before. Python, JavaScript, and Java remain widely used. Some might have declared coding obsolete due to the rise of low-code platforms, AI, or no-code solutions that let anyone build software without writing a single line of code. But the statement that coding is dead may not be true. 'When we hire, we don't require people to know specific languages. We say if you know the language we use, that's a plus. But we care more about how versatile you are as an engineer. We believe that engineering skills are transferable across frameworks and domains. So if you have created iOS apps and have done a breadth of engineering work — building different kinds of software — I don't think it's too hard for you to pick up the Google stack. It shouldn't be too difficult,' Kuruvilla says when asked about how important upskilling is for software engineers. There is still no real replacement for a human coder. Even if automation is the future, as many claim, someone still has to write the underlying code that powers these platforms. AI and no-code can be great for simple applications, but when companies need custom logic, integrations, scalability, and performance tuning, they will need real coders. 'One thing we always tell people who come to our platform is that you should optimise for both breadth and depth. You need to build different kinds of software. For example, you might try making a game, a task management app, a database, or a phone app — that covers breadth. Once you pick one thing, take it as far as you can. For instance, if you are building a spreadsheet app, don't stop at just having a basic grid and entering values. Add formulas, automations, and try to make it more and more complex. That's where most people struggle — they don't have the skills to go deep, and that's where we help.' 'If you have got both breadth and depth covered, I think you are pretty future-proof. Anything new that comes along will likely be similar to something you've already seen, so it's not too hard to pick up. On the other hand, if you don't do either — if you only learn one thing without exposing yourself to others, and you don't try to build complex software but stick to simple projects — then, yes, you will struggle when you are forced to adapt,' he said. The Y Combinator-backed startup raised a $1.8 million seed round last year from prominent tech figures, including Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger, Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi, former Vercel COO Kevin Van Gundy, Supabase CEO Paul Copplestone, solo VC Alana Goyal of Basecase Capital, and PlanetScale co-founder Jitendra Vaidya. Kuruvilla and his team work in a fully remote setup, with Kuruvilla based in Cupertino, California, and Banskota living in San Francisco. The entire team at Codecrafters is spread across the world, with members in Estonia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Japan, and India. Anuj Bhatia is a personal technology writer at who has been covering smartphones, personal computers, gaming, apps, and lifestyle tech actively since 2011. He specialises in writing longer-form feature articles and explainers on trending tech topics. His unique interests encompass delving into vintage tech, retro gaming and composing in-depth narratives on the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture. He covers major international tech conferences and product launches from the world's biggest and most valuable tech brands including Apple, Google and others. At the same time, he also extensively covers indie, home-grown tech startups. Prior to joining The Indian Express in late 2016, he served as a senior tech writer at My Mobile magazine and previously held roles as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. Anuj holds a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University. You can find Anuj on Linkedin. Email: ... Read More
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
CBI charge sheets former public servants in loan fraud, bribery case
MUMBAI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday submitted its charge sheet in a Mumbai court against five persons, including the former chairperson and managing director (CMD) of public sector enterprise, BECIL (Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited), Noida, and the founder of a Mumbai firm, in a case linked to alleged irregularities in the sanction and disbursal of multi-crore loans and bribery transactions. The CBI probe found that George Kuruvilla, former CMD of BECIL, was allegedly paid undue advantages of ₹3 crore by an official of a Mumbai-based firm called Green Billions Limited, for favours. The CBI's Mumbai unit had initiated its probe on September 3 last year, based on a reference from the Union ministry of information and broadcasting, to probe alleged irregularities in the sanction and disbursal of a venture loan of ₹50 crore by the then CMD to the Mumbai firm, which remained outstanding. The CBI charge sheet was filed against the then CMD, George Kuruvilla, BECIL's then general manager (GM) WB Prasad, BECIL's then legal advisor Ashish Singh, Mumbai-based firm Green Billions Limited, and the firm's then chief executive officer (CEO) and founder, Prateek Kanakia. During investigations, the CBI arrested Kuruvilla, Prasad and Kanakia, who are in judicial custody. The investigation revealed that during 2022, Kuruvilla had allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with the other accused, with the intent to cheat BECIL of ₹50 crore, on the pretext of sanctioning and disbursing a venture loan of ₹50 crore to the Mumbai firm, according to CBI officials. The investigation further revealed that the former BECIL officials accused in the case had then obtained a short-term corporate loan of ₹80 crore from IREDA (Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited), a public sector enterprise, and of the said loan, they disbursed ₹50 crore to the Mumbai firm as a venture loan for a waste-to-energy project in the Pune Municipal Corporation. The project was awarded to another private firm, the officials said. CBI's investigation also revealed that Kanakia did not utilise the disbursed funds in the project. Instead, he diverted most of the funds for his own use and also paid undue advantage of ₹2 crore in April 2022 and ₹1 crore in April 2023 to the main accused, George Kuruvilla, a CBI official said. Investigations also revealed that to access the remaining amount of the sanctioned loan of ₹80 crore by IREDA to BECIL, the accused officers of BECIL allegedly sanctioned additional funds of ₹25 crore to the Mumbai firm on September 5, 2022. Further, the original documents relating to the project at BECIL were allegedly destroyed by the accused persons, according to CBI officials. CBI's probe found that the accused officials allegedly received a forged Performance Bank Guarantee (a financial security guaranteeing that a project or contract will be completed according to agreed terms), dated November 28, 2022, of ₹25 crore, purportedly issued by a public sector bank, and that after the disbursal of the ₹50-crore loan, they did not ensure end-use of the funds for the given purpose, CBI officials said. Kanakia did not repay the outstanding loan amount to BECIL. Further, Kuruvilla and Prasad did not obtain any collateral security from the Mumbai firm to secure the loan. A wrongful loss of ₹58.60 crore was caused to BECIL, the CBI official said.
India Today
24-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
CBI chargesheet against ex-chief of government firm and others in corruption case
The CBI on Friday filed a chargesheet against five accused, including the former chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), in connection with alleged bribery and loan disbursal amounting to Rs 50 on a reference from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the CBI registered a case on September 3 last year to probe alleged irregularities in the sanction and disbursal of a venture loan of Rs 50 crore by George Kuruvilla, BECIL's former CMD, to a private firm, The Green Billions Limited (TGBL), Mumbai, represented by Prateek Kanakia, CEO and revealed that during 2022, Kuruvilla allegedly entered a criminal conspiracy with then General Manager of BECIL, WB Prasad, then Legal Advisor of BECIL, Ashish Pratap Singh, and Kanakia, with an intent to cheat BECIL to the tune of Rs 50 crore on the pretext of sanctioning and disbursing the venture loan to the Mumbai-based company under a consortium agreement and a general venture loan deal. In furtherance of the said criminal conspiracy, the accused officers of BECIL obtained a short-term corporate loan of Rs 80 crore from IREDA, out of which they disbursed Rs 50 lakh to TGBL in three tranches of Rs 12.50 crore, Rs 17.50 crore and Rs 20 crore respectively, on April 8, 2022; June 20, 2022 and December 30, 50 crore venture loan was disbursed to the accused company for a waste-to-energy project of the Pune Municipal Corporation, the CBI also uncovered that, in furtherance of said criminal conspiracy, Kanakia did not utilise the disbursed funds in the project for which the funds were released. He, instead, diverted most of the funds to his own use and paid undue advantage of Rs 2 crore in April 2022 and Rs 1 crore in April 2023 to the main accused misuse the remaining amount of the sanctioned and disbursed loan of Rs 80 crore by IREDA to BECIL, the accused officers of BECIL sanctioned additional funds of Rs 25 crore to TGBL. The original documents related to the project at BECIL were destroyed by the accused, the CBI accused received a forged performance bank guarantee dated November 28, 2022, of Rs 25 crore purportedly issued from the Punjab National Bank, in Mumbai's Ghatkopar (East) branch, the CBI said. After the disbursal of the venture loan of Rs 50 crore, they did not ensure the end use of the fund for the given purpose, and Kanakia did not repay the outstanding loan amount to Kuruvilla and WB Prasad of BECIL did not obtain collateral security from TGBL to secure the loan as per the loan agreement and in contravention of the terms and conditions of the venture loan agreement executed between both companies. The accused caused a wrongful loss of Rs 58.60 crore to BECIL, the CBI investigation the investigation, Kuruvilla, WB Prasad and Kanakia were arrested and sent to judicial InMust Watch IN THIS STORY#Delhi
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
CBI files chargesheet against former CMD of BECIL, others in corruption case
The CBI has filed a chargesheet against George Kuruvilla , former chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of BECIL , and others in connection with alleged bribery of Rs 3 crore and fraudulent disbursal of loan to a Mumbai-based firm TGBL, officials said Friday. The agency arrested Kuruvilla in April this year after nearly seven months of probe in the FIR registered by it. Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL) is a public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In its findings submitted to a special court in Mumbai, the CBI has also named the then General Manager of BECIL WB Prasad, then Legal Advisor of the company, Ashish Pratap Singh, private company The Green Billions Limited (TGBL) and its then CEO Prateek Kanakia, they said. The CBI had registered an FIR in the case in September last year and went on to arrest Kuruvilla, Prasad and Kanakia this year in connection with the case, officials said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 Most Beautiful Female Athletes in the World Click Here According to the CBI chargesheet , the trio entered into a " criminal conspiracy " in 2022 "to cheat BECIL to the tune of Rs 50 crore on the pretext of sanctioning and disbursing a venture loan of Rs 50 crore" to TGBL under a consortium agreement dated March 10, 2022 and a General Venture Loan Agreement dated April 8, 2022. The CBI investigation showed that they obtained a short term corporate loan of Rs 80 crore from IREDA, out of which they disbursed Rs 50 crore to TGBL as venture loan for waste-to-energy project of Pune Municipal Corporation. Live Events "This amount of Rs 50 crore was disbursed in three tranches of Rs 12.50 crore, Rs 17.50 crore and Rs 20 crore respectively on April 8, 2022, June 20, 2022 and December 29 & 30, 2022," a CBI spokesperson said in a statement on Friday. The agency also found that Kanakia did not utilise the disbursed fund in the project for which the funds were released, instead, he diverted most of the funds to his own use and "paid undue advantage of Rs 2 crore in April, 2022 and Rs 1 crore April, 2023 to main accused George Kuruvilla, then CMD of BECIL," it said. It said the accused officials sanctioned and disbursed additional loan of Rs 25 crore to TGBL from the Rs 80 crore given by IREDA to BECIL, it said. "Further, the original documents related to project at BECIL were destroyed by the accused persons. Investigation uncovered that these accused persons received a forged Performance Bank Guarantee dated November 28, 2022 of Rs 25 crore purportedly issued from Punjab National Bank , Ghatkopar (East) Branch, Mumbai and after disbursal of the venture loan of Rs 50 crore, they did not ensure end use of the fund for the given purpose and accused CEO did not repay the outstanding loan amount to BECIL," the CBI statement said. The agency found that Kuruvilla and Prasad did not obtain collateral security from TGBL to secure the loan as per the loan agreement and in contravention with the terms and condition of the Venture loan agreement executed between BECIL and TGBL , it said.
Indian Express
23-04-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
ED conducts raids in Mumbai and Faridabad over BECIL money laundering case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed a case and raided seven locations in the city and one in Faridabad, as part of a money laundering probe, days after the CBI arrested the former CMD and a former GM of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited. The former CMD George Kuruvilla is allegedly accused of sanctioning and disbursing the loan of Rs 50 crore loan to The Green Billions Limited (TGBL) in exchange for a Rs 3 crore loan was sanctioned for the Pune Waste Management Project of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), for which TGBL submitted a fake Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) of Rs 25 crore. However, the firm neither utilized the loan amount for the sanctioned purpose nor repaid the loan to the funds were diverted to various entities and individuals unrelated to the PMC waste management project, and no project was implemented. According to ED officials, the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) was registered based on the offence filed by the CBI. During its investigation, the CBI found that in 2022, the accused were identified as Kuruvilla, former General Manager W.B. Prasad, then Legal Advisor Ashish Pratap Singh, former Consultant Sudhir Chauhan, CEO and Founder of M/s TGBL Prateek Kanakia, among others. 'In furtherance of this conspiracy, Kuruvilla sanctioned and facilitated the disbursement of a Rs 50 crore venture loan to M/s The Green Billions Limited (TGBL) and received an undue advantage of Rs 3 crore from co-accused Prateek Kanakia,' CBI officials stated. Officials alleged that Kanakia siphoned off the entire Rs 50 crore. In mid-2024, Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a public sector undertaking under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, filed a complaint after which a case was registered in September 2024 under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act for conspiracy, cheating, and forgery. In March, the CBI arrested Kanakia, followed by the arrests of Kuruvilla and Prasad last week. Meanwhile, the ED also launched a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) investigation and, after analyzing the money trail and the proceeds of the crime, conducted searches at seven locations in Mumbai and one in Faridabad. 'Searches were conducted to trace the proceeds of crime and gather the incriminating evidence required for the PMLA investigation,' said ED officials.
