Month: December 2021

Everyone in BCCI asked Virat Kohli to stay on as T20I captain: Chief selector Chetan Sharma

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Contradicting Virat Kohli, India’s chief selector Chetan Sharma on Friday said that the batting maestro was told to carry on as T20I captain by everyone in the BCCI.

“Everyone from selectors to (BCCI) office bearers, convenor of selection meeting and all present told Kohli to wait on T20 captaincy till World Cup got over,” said Sharma.

“We were in the middle of the World Cup when Virat announced that he would give up the T20s captaincy. But all board members asked him to reconsider. That was not the time to tell him that if you leave one format you will be made to give up another,” he added.

Also Read:Can Rohit Sharma steal Virat Kohli’s brand thunder?

Days after Kohli quit T20I captaincy, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said that the Board had asked the superstar batter to reconsider his decision.

Kohli had contradicted Ganguly’s statement during his explosive press conference, saying he had no such communication with the Board’s president and that he was informed about his removal as ODI skipper one and a half hour before the selection meeting for the South Africa series.

His statement came against the backdrop of the BCCI’s announcement on December 8 that Rohit Sharma would replace Virat Kohli as captain in ODIs and T20Is going forward. Kohli said he had discussed his intention to continue as the ODI captain. “I had communicated my desire… unless office bearers, selectors don’t feel likewise. My decision to leave T20I captaincy was taken well,” he added.

Also Read: Why did Virat Kohli fail to see the writing on the wall?

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Swiggy clocks over 9,000 orders per minute, Zomato crosses 7,000 orders per minute on New Year’s Eve

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

India’s dominant food tech platforms Zomato and Swiggy slugged it out on New Year’s Eve, clocking record numbers, as many decided to party indoors and order food online amidst the Omicron scare. For the second year in a row, both platforms saw overwhelming demand online, beating their own previous records.

While Zomato touched a high of 7,100 orders per minute, Swiggy crossed the 9,000 orders per minute mark as of 8:20 pm on December 31, 2021. Both platforms typically clock over 1.5 million orders a day. While Zomato’s previous record was over 4,000 orders per minute, Swiggy clocked over 5,000 orders per minute last New Year’s Eve. Both platforms clocked over 2 million orders each, compared to the 1.3-1.5 million they usually clock in a day.

9049. not the first 4 digits of my number. the current food orders per minute. 🥳 https://t.co/Hy93tNVOnH

— Swiggy (@swiggy_in) December 31, 2021

7,100 OPM https://t.co/qj5F69ufxs

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) December 31, 2021

The frenetic pace of online orders tested the UPI digital payment infrastructure, with many users complaining of failed payments. Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said the UPI success rate was drastically down across all apps, at 40% from 70%.

UPI success rate is drastically down across all UPI apps (40% success rate right now, down from 70%+). Will affect OPM negatively. 🤯

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) December 31, 2021

Swiggy’s orders per minute number exclude its instant grocery service Instamart, which also witnessed huge traction like Zomato-backed Blinkit which saw huge demand for nachos, sodas, ice packs, lemons, popcorn, and condoms.

in the 30 minutes our team spent on brainstorming for a new tweet idea, 12,930 orders were placed on @SwiggyInstamart!

— Swiggy (@swiggy_in) December 31, 2021

On a separate note, 10,000+ COVISELF kits have been delivered by @letsblinkit today. Party safe, everyone.

Cc @albinder https://t.co/L32jJd4SMD

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) December 31, 2021

On a separate note, 10,000+ COVISELF kits have been delivered by @letsblinkit today. Party safe, everyone.

Cc @albinder https://t.co/L32jJd4SMD

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) December 31, 2021

While Zomato and Swiggy are fierce rivals, there was friendly banter on Twitter between Goyal and Swiggy founder and CEO Sriharsha Majety. The latter is less active on social media compared to the former.

Planning on getting out of my comfort zone ( my Twitter cave ) too today to share NYE tidbits on Swiggy 😀 https://t.co/iOPI2yZ5rK pic.twitter.com/1bS2wimSdC

— Sriharsha Majety (@harshamjty) December 31, 2021

You will do amazing! Come on, let’s do this.

— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) December 31, 2021

While Goyal gave high-frequency numbers on orders per minute, live orders and the kind of items seeing traction, Majety also gave context on Swiggy’s growth numbers compared to what it was in 2014, when it launched.

On Swiggy’s first NYE in 2014 as a 3-month-old food delivery platform, we did 1 order every 3 minutes. How times have changed. Love India’s hunger for more 💖 https://t.co/Isg1ORqqcO

— Sriharsha Majety (@harshamjty) December 31, 2021

Over 1.1L users on the app at the moment ordering food and groceries right now! And this was me in 2015 sharing my referral code to get some new users 😅 https://t.co/BC48jfC3OH

— Sriharsha Majety (@harshamjty) December 31, 2021

While the final data clocked by both platforms is expected closer to midnight, both platforms are likely to enter January with healthy user numbers. It has also been a significant year for both companies, with Zomato getting listed on the public markets and Swiggy doubling down on its grocery service Instamart, even as it is in talks with investors to raise funds at a valuation of $10 Billion.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Met dept could not predict surprise rainfall, says Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

A day after several parts of Chennai experienced over 20 cm of rainfall, Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Friday said the Meteorological department usually provided information on the likelihood of rainfall, but they could not forecast Thursday’s heavy showers.

After inspecting initiatives to drain rainwater from several flooded localities using heavy-duty motors, Stalin accused the previous AIADMK regime of not taking appropriate steps to strengthen infrastructure and prevent water-logging.

Expressing confidence that water logging issues would be addressed before the next rainy season, the CM said IMD usually provided information (to government) on likelihood of rainfall. They, however, could not forecast the heavy rainfall on December 30 in Chennai and it was unexpected, he told reporters.

To a question on surprise rains and whether there are any issues in providing weather forecast and if the state government would submit a representation to the Centre to change equipment at the IMD regional centre in Chennai, he said it is the job of the union government. “However, since you have raised the matter, the Tamil Nadu government will remind the Centre about this.”

On Thursday, several areas of Chennai experienced more than 20 CM rainfall, he said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

I-T Dept detects evasion worth crores after raids on ‘foreign-controlled’ mobile companies

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Income Tax Department has detected alleged unaccounted income worth over Rs 6,500 crore after it recently raided some “foreign-controlled” mobile communication and handset manufacturing companies and persons linked to them, the CBDT said on Friday.

The searches were carried out on December 21 and premises in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan and Delhi-NCR were covered.

“The search action has revealed that two major companies have made remittance in the nature of royalty, to and on behalf of its group companies located abroad, which aggregates to more than Rs 5,500 crore. “The claim of such expenses does not seem to be appropriate in light of the facts and evidence gathered during the search action,” the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the policy-making body for the I-T Department, claimed in an official statement issued here.

It did not identify the entities searched. The raids “brought out the modus operandi of purchase of the components for manufacturing of mobile handsets.

“It is gathered that both these companies had not complied with the regulatory mandate prescribed under the Income Tax Act for disclosure of transactions with associated enterprises,” the statement said. Such a lapse, it said, makes them liable for penal action under the I-T Act and the quantum could be more than Rs 1,000 crore.

A modus operandi was detected “whereby foreign funds have been introduced in the books of the Indian company but it transpires that the source from which such funds have been received are of doubtful nature, purportedly with no creditworthiness of the lender. “The quantum of such borrowings is about Rs 5,000 crore, on which interest expenses have also been claimed,” it said.

The CBDT said “evidence with regard to the inflation of expenses, payments on behalf of the associated enterprises, etc. have also been noticed which led to the reduction of taxable profits of the Indian mobile handset manufacturing company.” “Such amount could be in excess of Rs 1,400 crore,” it said. The statement claimed one of the companies raided had utilised the services of another entity located in India but did not comply with the provisions of tax deduction at source introduced from April 2020.

“The quantum of liability of TDS on this account could be around Rs 300 crore,” it said. In the case of another company covered in the search action, the statement said, it was detected that the control of the affairs of the company was “substantively” managed from a neighbouring country.

“The Indian directors of the said company admitted that they had no role in the management of the company and lent their names for directorship for namesake purposes. “Evidences have been gathered on attempt to transfer the entire reserves of the company to the tune of Rs 42 crore out of India without payment of due taxes,” it said.

The CBDT said a survey action was also undertaken against certain fintech and software service companies and it was found that a number of such companies had been created for the purposes of inflating expenses and siphoning out funds. “For this purpose, such companies have made payments for unrelated business purposes, as also utilised the bills issued by a Tamil Nadu-based non-existent business concern.

“The quantum of such outflow is found to be around Rs 50 crore,” it said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Rohit Sharma ruled out of ODI series in SA, KL Rahul named captain of 18-member squad

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma was on Friday ruled out of India’s upcoming ODI series in South Africa due to a hamstring injury. The selectors scrambled to appoint KL Rahul the skipper of an 18-member team for the limited overs part of the tour. All-rounder Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja were also not selected as they were not fit while senior pacer Mohammed Shami, who is in the team for the ongoing Test series, was rested. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named as vice-captain of the team.

“Rohit is not fit, he is in rehab. We never wanted to take a chance with him,” BCCI’s chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said. “We are looking to groom KL Rahul. He has proved his leadership qualities. KL is the best one who can handle the side.” The three ODIs will be played at Paarl and Cape Town on January 19, 21 and 23 respectively.

The Squad: KL Rahul (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Y Chahal, R Ashwin, W Sundar, J Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Siraj.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Explained: Move over lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion may be the future 

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular the world over, as consumers want vehicles with little to no emissions and governments promote such vehicles to meet their own net-zero emission goals. But the cost of EVs, when compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, has been a major resistance factor for a more distributed adoption.

One of the major factors behind the higher costs of EVs are their lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. Some estimates suggest that lithium-ion batteries, which make up the majority of all batteries across all sorts of electronic devices, contribute to 20-40 percent of EVs’ costs.

Also read: This bio-based material can boost battery charging in EVs, smartphones

What is the alternative?

While automobile manufacturers, battery makers, and various startups in the ecosystem are working on developing alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, few options already exist. One of the most promising alternatives is the use of sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries over lithium-ion batteries. Na-ion batteries have several advantages over the traditional Li-ion batteries in a variety of end-uses.

Lithium and sodium are both alkali metals, and are right next to each other on the periodic table. Sodium and Lithium consequently share a lot of similarities.

Also read: Reliance New Energy Solar to acquire Faradion Limited; deal aims to make EV batteries cheaper

How can Na-ion batteries help?

Na-ion batteries are significantly cheaper than Li-ion batteries due to the fact that sodium is much more easily harvestable than lithium and is available in much higher quantities on Earth. Sodium can easily be extracted from salt, which itself is found in extremely high quantities in ocean and seawater, and can produce clean drinking water as a result as well.

Also read: Explained: What is lithium and why its imminent shortage will slow down EVs

Additionally, unlike Li-ion batteries that need the presence of the highly expensive cobalt, Na-ion batteries use iron and manganese, which are much cheaper in comparison. The production of Na-ion also avoids the ethical implication of using cobalt, which is mostly mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is linked to various cases of human rights abuses.

Limitations of sodium batteries

While Na-ion batteries can be a viable and cheaper alternative to Li-ion batteries for EVs, there are a few hurdles that have to be overcome. One is the fact that Na-ion batteries are much less energy-dense in comparison, though as compensation they are much lighter than Li-ion batteries.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Why no rainbows in Martian skies? NASA explains

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Mars is seen by some as the ideal planet for a possible extra-terrestrial colony, once humanity can go past Earth. The red planet has many climatic phenomena that are quite similar to those found on Earth. Clouds, storms, and more can be witnessed on the Martian surface but many have asked whether a rainbow can be found on the surface of the planet.

US space agency NASA has decided to clear all doubts in a social media post, with planetary scientist Mark Lemmon explaining why there are no rainbows in Mars.

Also read: Mars missions should last for maximum of 4 years, says study; find out why

The reason is down to the nature of water present on the planet. While Mars has both sunlight and water, just the presence of these two factors is not enough. For rainbows to be created, water needs to be in its liquid state of matter. Neither hail nor snow can create a rainbow, but only rain can.

The Martian surface usually results in precipitation in forms other than rain due to freezing temperatures on the planet.

Additionally, Mars would need a much higher volume of rain, and thus water in order to create rainbows. The size of precipitation on the Martian surface is too small, and the volume too little, compared to that of Earth, to properly create a rainbow.

Also read: NASA’s Curiosity rover completes 9 years on Mars; here’s how it helped to know more about Red Planet

But what about the rainbow picture that the Perseverance rover had captured from the surface of Mars, where a picture clearly showed what looked like a rainbow across the sky? As NASA had explained in a Twitter post in reaction to the viral picture, this was a lens flare and not a rainbow.

Many have asked: Is that a rainbow on Mars? No. Rainbows aren’t possible here. Rainbows are created by light reflected off of round water droplets, but there isn’t enough water here to condense, and it’s too cold for liquid water in the atmosphere. This arc is a lens flare. pic.twitter.com/mIoSSuilJW

— NASA’s Perseverance Mars Rover (@NASAPersevere) April 6, 2021

Therefore, while Mars may one day be home to the first space colony for humankind, most certainly if tech billionaire Elon Musk has his way, the future colonists will not be witnessing any rainbows anytime soon without extreme changes to the red planet’s atmosphere.

Also read: Elon Musk may eye Mars, but for New Zealand rocket man Peter Beck it’s Mission Venus

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

CCI orders anti-trust investigation into Apple over App Store policies

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Indian competition watchdog Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday ordered a detailed anti-trust investigation into iPhone-maker Apple over its business practices regarding its App Store.

In a 20-page order, the watchdog said that Apple’s App Store is the only channel for app developers to distribute their apps to iOS consumers, and that iOS is pre-installed on every iPhone and iPad.

“Further, third-party app stores are not allowed to be listed on Apple’s App Store as the developer guidelines as well as agreement prohibits app developers from offering such services… these restrictions imposed by Apple forecloses the market for app stores for iOS for potential app distributors,” the order said.

According to the CCI, this prima facie results in denial of market access for the potential app distributors/app store developers in violation of competition norms.

Apple had faced anti-trust investigations by the European Union as well as the Federal Trade Commission in the United States. While the EU opened its investigation only recently, the US probe is in progress.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Govt keeps interest rates on small savings schemes unchanged for fourth quarter of FY’22

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Narendra Modi government on Friday kept the interest rates on small savings schemes, including NSC and PPF, unchanged for the fourth quarter of 2021-22 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public Provident Fund (PPF) and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will continue to carry an annual interest rate of 7.1 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively.

“The rates of interest on various small savings schemes for the third quarter of the financial year 2021-22 starting from January 1, 2022, and ending on March 31, 2022, shall remain unchanged from the current rates applicable for the third quarter (October 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021) for FY 2021-22,” the finance ministry said in a notification.

Also Read: From FDs to MIS, these 5 investment options can help secure regular monthly income

The decision also comes ahead of assembly elections in five states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Goa. The schedule of elections is expected to be announced early next month.

According to analysts, the government has kept rates intact in view of upcoming assembly elections in five states.

Uttar Pradesh is the second highest contributor to the small savings scheme after West Bengal. Earlier this year, during the West Bengal assembly polls, the Centre decided to reduce the interest rate. But the finance ministry swiftly revoked a steep interest rate cut of up to 1.1 percent for the first quarter on small savings schemes, citing oversight.

Also Read: Sebi to strengthen MF norms; winding up of schemes only after majority unitholders’ consent

As a result, the first quarter rates were retained at the level of the fourth quarter of the last financial year. The cut was touted as the steepest cut in many decades. Interest rates for small savings schemes are notified on a quarterly basis.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow