OMCs keep petrol, diesel prices stable today

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

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The oil marketing companies (OMCs) kept fuel prices unchanged on Tuesday. On Monday, petrol rates were hiked but diesel prices were kept stable.

Accordingly, on Tuesday, the price of petrol and diesel was static at Rs 99.86 and Rs 89.36 per litre in the national capital, as per Indian Oil Corporation, the country’s largest fuel retailer. In Mumbai, the petrol price was unchanged at Rs 105.92 per litre on Tuesday. The cost of diesel was stable at Rs 96.91 a litre.

The prices of petrol and diesel are reviewed by oil marketing companies such as state-run Indian Oil (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), and Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) on a daily basis and any revision is implemented from 6 am in the morning.

Oil companies revise rates of petrol and diesel daily based on the average price of benchmark fuel in the international market in the preceding 15-days, and foreign exchange rates.

On the global front, oil prices rose slightly after the previous day’s rally, supported by expectations of a tighter market as output talks of OPEC+ nations were called off, but concerns that members may start to increase production capped gains, according to news agency Reuters.

Brent crude was up 7 cents, or 0.1 percent, at $77.23 a barrel by 0052 GMT, after gaining 1.3 percent on Monday, Reuters 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

Stock Market Highlights: Sensex, Nifty end marginally lower dragged by auto, IT, PSU banks

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

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Stock Market Highlights: Indian equity indices, Sensex and Nifty erased day’s gains to end marginally lower Tuesday dragged by selling in auto, pharma, IT and metal stocks. Broader markets, smallcap and midcap indices also ended lower. Gains were seen in private banks and financial services indices.

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

Maharashtra Assembly clears amendment bill that assigns ‘heritage’ tag for old trees

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

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The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Monday passed an amendment bill which allows classification of 50-year-old trees as “heritage” trees with an aim to increase the forest cover.

The amendment to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act 1975 was tabled by Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray. The amendment bill seeks to conserve old trees in urban areas and also tightens the rules for felling of trees for development works.

It aims to increase the number of trees to be planted in lieu of the axed tree. With the amendment passed, it will be made mandatory to plant trees equivalent to the age of the tree in case felling of trees is allowed for development projects.

The planted trees need to be 6-8 feet in height and the survival of such trees should be ensured by geo-tagging. The permission for felling of more than 200 trees should come from the Maharashtra State Tree Authority. The amendment bill also proposed the census of trees every five years with the use of new technology such as GIS-based application.

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

DoT for Rs 10,000 fine on every call, SMS by pesky callers after 50 violations

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

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The Department of Telecom has proposed to further tighten the noose on pesky callers by imposing a Rs 10,000 penalty for every call and SMS made by telemarketers after 50 violations, according to an official source.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) has proposed to make the norms more stringent by reducing the slabs for levying penalty to Rs 1,000 per violation for 0-10 breaches, Rs 5,000 each for 10-50 violations and Rs 10,000 each for more than 50 violations.

The slabs under the present Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR), 2018 are 0-100, 100-1,000 and more than 1,000 violations. Besides, the DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) will check violations at the device-level as well.

The DIU will send a system generated message to suspected numbers for verification. “In case of non re-verification, all those numbers will be disconnected and associated IMEIs will be put under suspected list. No calls, SMS or data will be allowed for the IMEIs in suspected list for a period of 30 days,” the source said.

Any communication made by pesky callers from a new connection using the device with IMEI number recorded in the grey list will be asked for re-verification.

If the pesky caller thereafter changes the device, the IMEI number of the new device will also be put in the suspected list by the system until the re-verification gets completed.

If the pesky caller’s number is activated after re-verification and is again found to be violating norms, then usage of the new connection will be capped to 20 calls and 20 SMSes per day for six months. “In case the violation continues thereafter, then identity and address proof used for buying telecom connections will be blocked for a period of 2 years,” the source 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

Medium-intensity quake hits Jhajjar in Haryana, tremors felt in Delhi, nearby areas

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

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A medium-intensity earthquake hit Jhajjar in Haryana on Monday night, tremors of which were felt in Delhi and nearby areas, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) said.

According to the NCS, the earthquake of magnitude 3.7 occurred at a depth of 5 kilometres at 10.36 pm. On June 20, a low-intensity quake of magnitude 2.1 hit the Punjabi Bagh area in the national capital.

Since last year, the Delhi-NCR has reported a few quakes, most of them of lower intensity. The NCS has deployed additional earthquake recording instruments for close monitoring of seismic activity in and around Delhi after the NCR region witnessed a series of tremors from April to August last year.

Based on the analysis of satellite imageries, signatures of active faults have been observed at various locations like Wazirabad, Timarpur and Kamla-Nehru-Ridge in Delhi; Jhunjhunu and Alwar district of Rajasthan; Sonipat, Sohna, Gurugram, Rohtak, Rewari and Nuh districts in Haryana; and Baghpat district in Uttar Pradesh.

The National Capital Region of Delhi and its surroundings had experienced minor and small magnitude earthquakes from April to August 2020. The epicentres of these earthquakes were located in areas of northeast Delhi, Rohtak, Sonipat, Baghpat, Faridabad and Alwar.

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

STARTUP DIGEST: Zomato gets Sebi nod for IPO, NRAI approaches CCI against Swiggy and Zomato, Furlenco raises $140 mn

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

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There were several important developments in the startup space during the day on Monday, which include Zomato gets Sebi approval for IPO; Info Edge cuts offer for sale size by half to Rs 375 crore; NRAI moves CCI against Swiggy and Zomato; Paytm likely to file DRHP for IPO on July 12; Furlenco has raised $140 million from Zinnia Global Fund. Amazon; Tata say Centre’s e-commerce rules will hit businesses; Didi suspended for illegally collecting users’ data and Jeff Bezos officially steps down as Amazon CEO. Here are the top stories that made headlines in the startup universe today:

Zomato gets Sebi approval for IPO; Info Edge slashes stake sale in firm

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has given its nod for food delivery platform Zomato to raise funds via an initial public offering (IPO).

CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported that the company was seeking to raise 1.25 billion via the IPO. Zomato is eying an $8.7 billion valuation at listing. The much-anticipated IPO of the food-tech unicorn is expected to hit the market later in July.

Meanwhile, Info Edge, one of the biggest shareholders in Zomato, has reconsidered its offer to sell shares worth Rs 750 crore in the upcoming IPO of the food aggregator company.

Info Edge, in a regulatory filing, said it will now be selling only 50 per cent, or Rs 375 crore, of the initial offer as offer-for-sale (OFS) in Zomato’s IPO.

“The revised OFS by the company would comprise of a such number of equity shares held by the company in Zomato, as would aggregate up to Rs 3,750 million,” the company said in an exchange filing on Sunday.

“The terms and conditions will be specified in the red herring prospectus and the prospectus filed in relation to the offer, and in other Offer related documents and agreements,” the filing added.

NRAI moves CCI against Swiggy and Zomato

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has filed information with the CCI highlighting practices by Zomato & Swiggy which have an “appreciable adverse effect on competition”. NRAI said the information was filed on July 1.

The alleged practices highlighted by NRAI include: Bundling of services, data masking and exorbitant commission charged; Price parity agreements; Deep discounting: (NRAI cites forcing of restaurant partners to give discounts to maintain appropriate listing); Exclusivity of listed restaurants; Violation of platform neutrality, vertical integration and lack of transparency on platform.
IPO-bound Paytm to file draft prospectus

Paytm is likely to file its DRHP as early as July 12 for its upcoming IPO seeking to raise $2.3 billion: Report

The funds will be raised via sale of new Paytm stock as well as secondary offering of shares at an expected valuation of $24 billion to $25 billion with an option to raise the amount at a later stage if required.

The prospectus will be filed shortly after Paytm’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders in Delhi on July 12, possibly on the same day, the report added.

Meesho eyes $4 bn valuation: Report

Social commerce company Meesho is in talks to raise over $100 million in a new round from two new and existing investors including SoftBank and Prosus, according to Entrackr.

If the deal round goes through, it will be Meesho’s second fundraise this year. Meesho is likely to be valued at $3.5-$4 billion in this transaction, the report adds. The company turned unicorn last year when it raised $300 million.

As per the report, with this new round, Meesho will ramp up its consumer internet play and challenge Amazon and Flipkart in markets beyond top 10 and tier I cities.

Furlenco raises $140 mn from Zinnia Global Fund

Furniture subscription company, Furlenco has raised Rs 1000 crore ($140 million) in a mix of debt and equity, as part of its latest funding round led by Zinnia Global Fund.

With this, Zinnia Global Fund joins the list of the company’s investors along with CE-Ventures and Lightbox Ventures, who also participated in this round. ICBC and DPNC acted as advisors on the transaction.

The fresh funds will be used to cater to much larger audiences with more tailored solutions and brand new offerings, while continuing to focus on sustainability at the very core of the business, the company said in a statement.

Having grown at a CAGR of 120% between FY15-20, despite the pandemic, Furlenco was able to preserve 95% of its revenue in FY21. The business is now looking at scaling its annual revenue to Rs 2,200 Crore ($300 Million) in the next 5 years, generating Rs 650 Crore ($90 Million) in free cash annually, by FY26, the statement said.

Skylark Drones raises $3 mn by InfoEdge Ventures and IAN Fund

Drone platform startup Skylark Drones has secured $3 million in a pre-series A funding round co-led by investors InfoEdge Ventures and IAN Fund with participation from AdvantEdge Founders, Fowler Westrup, Redstart Labs, IKP and Vimson group.

This follows the company’s previous seed funding round, which took place in 2018. The company will use this latest round of funding to enhance its product offering and expand further into the overseas market.

Skylark Drones, which has Tata Steel, Ultratech Cement, Softbank Energy among its customers, aims to elevate worksite productivity and safety by providing geospatial intelligence to different enterprises in sectors such as mining, solar power, real estate, agriculture and inspection.

It provides its clients with the ability to use AI powered technology products such as Spectra and Drone Mission Ops, the company said in a statement.
Leegality raises undisclosed capital in pre-Series A round
Document execution platform Leegality has raised an undisclosed pre-Series A funding led by IIFL Securities Capital Enhancer Fund. Existing investors including Mumbai Angels also participated in the round.

The company said it will be using the freshly infused capital to expand its team in key departments to accelerate product development and deepen enterprise adoption of its solution.

Founded in 2016, Leegality’s e-sign, e-stamp, and document workflow platform enables businesses to sign and manage their paperwork with customers, vendors, employees, investors, and other stakeholders in a faster, easier, and more legally compliant way.

The company claims to have registered a ten-fold growth in revenue over the last two years and has been cash-flow positive since last year.

Arcatron Mobility raises growth financing through Klub

Assisted living startup Arcatron Mobility has raised an undisclosed amount in growth financing through revenue based financing platform, Klub.

The startup will use the capital raised through Klub to ramp up inventory/production, and has grown at a monthly CMGR of 100 percent, the company said.

Arcatron is a medical device startup focused on designing and selling innovative products to enhance the lives of people with limited mobility.

PhonePe and Flipkart partner to digitise cash-on-delivery payments

Digital payments platform PhonePe has partnered with Flipkart to launch contactless ‘Scan and Pay’ feature for the e-commerce major’s pay-on-delivery orders.

PhonePe’s QR code solution will enable customers who earlier opted for cash on delivery to pay digitally through any UPI app at the time of delivery.
“This would also help reduce personal contact while ensuring safety, and drive contactless payments for customers who are traditionally more comfortable with cash on delivery,” the company said in a statement.

Paytm launches ‘Postpaid Mini’

Digital financial services platform Paytm in partnership with Aditya Birla Finance, has launched ‘Postpaid Mini’, an extension of its Buy Now, Pay Later service, to drive affordability.

With the launch of Postpaid Mini, the company will offer access to small ticket loans ranging from Rs 250 to Rs 1000, in addition to Paytm Postpaid’s instant credit of upto Rs 60,000. This could help users pay for their monthly expenses, including mobile and direct to home (DTH) recharges, gas cylinder booking, electricity and water bills, shop on Paytm Mall and more.

The product is an extension of its Buy Now, Pay Later service. These small ticket instant loans will give flexibility to users and also help manage their household expenses to maintain liquidity during the ongoing pandemic.

With this service, Paytm Postpaid is offering a period of up to 30 days for repayment of loans at 0% interest. There are no annual fees or activation charges, only a minimal convenience fee.

Govt extends deadline for feedback on new e-commerce rules

Centre has extended timeline for feedback on draft e-commerce rules to July 21 from July 6.

The move comes after top companies including Amazon, Tata Group, Flipkart, Paytm and Snapdeal reached out to the government, requesting for more time to study the proposed changes in the consumer protection rules on e-commerce and extend the deadline for submitting comments by a few weeks or at least by 20 days.

The government announced the tough new e-commerce rules on June 21, limiting flash sales, barring misleading advertisements and mandating a complaints system.

Cure SMA Foundation of India partners with ImpactGuru.com to support SMA patients

To support its registered patients fighting Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) fundraise for their life-saving medicines, Cure SMA Foundation of India, a public charitable trust has collaborated with healthcare financing platform ImpactGuru.com,

Amongst the SMA cases registered with Cure SMA Foundation of India were Teera Kamat, Dhairyarajsinh Rathod and Ayaansh Gupta that successfully raised funds on ImpactGuru.com.

Trell partners with Arré

Social commerce platform Trell has partnered with entertainment media firm Arré to expand the reach and broaden the audience base via synergizing with infotainment and entertainment led original content creation platforms.

As a part of the collaboration, Trell has also introduced Arré’s verified brand page on its platform and will host popular bite-sized video content from Arré’s most popular series for its users across the country.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

Jeff Bezos steps down as Amazon CEO

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has officially stepped down as the company’s chief executive, handing that role over to Andy Jassy, in order to focus on new products and early initiatives.

With a total net worth of $203 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the 57-year-old is now expected to devote more of his time to a handful of personal projects

Among the most immediate adventures for Bezos is a launch with his private spaceflight company Blue Origin, scheduled for 20 July, on which he will be joined by his brother, Mark; a mystery customer who paid $28Mn for the seat in an auction; and 82-year-old Mary Wallace “Wally” Funk.

The Amazon founder also said he would be investing more of his time in fighting climate change.

Even though Bezos is stepping down as Amazon CEO, he is still the largest shareholder and will also be executive chairman of the company.

Amazon to grant new CEO Andy Jassy over $200 mn in stock

Amazon plans to award incoming Chief Executive Andy Jassy more than $200 million in extra stock, which will be paid out over 10 years, according to Reuters.

The award’s exact value will depend on how the shares are trading when they pay out in future years, encouraging Jassy to grow a company that’s worth $1.77 trillion today. Though Amazon did not disclose the vesting schedule, its previous stock grants did not vest right away.

Jassy’s base salary has been $175,000, according to a Reuters report. On top of that, he has $45.3 million in previously awarded stock that is vesting this year and had $41.5 million vests in 2020.

China’s crackdown on Didi; ride-hailing giant says app takedown may hit revenue

Less than a week after ride-hailing giant Didi Global debuted on the New York Stock Exchange, Chinese regulators ordered app stores to remove Didi Chuxing citing illegal use of user data.

China’s market regulator is investigating whether Didi used any competitive practices that squeezed out smaller rivals unfairly, sources told Reuters. The regulator is also examining whether the pricing mechanism used by Didi’s core ride-hailing business is transparent enough.

The ride-hailing giant said that this regulatory order could hurt revenue. Didi told Reuters on Monday that it was unaware before the IPO that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) would launch a cybersecurity investigation or order a halt in China to new user registrations and a suspension of app downloads.

The CAC’s move also comes amid a widespread regulatory squeeze on Chinese tech firms that began with the scuttling of a $37 billion listing planned by Alibaba fintech affiliate Ant Group late last year.

On Monday, the CAC also announced cybersecurity investigations into online recruiting company Zhipin.com and truck-hailing companies Huochebang and Yunmanman, which have merged to form Full Truck Alliance. Like Didi,

Zhipin.com’s owner Kanzhun and Full Truck Alliance went public in US listings last month.

SoftBank pays $1.6 bn for Yahoo Japan rights

SoftBank’s internet business Z Holdings has agreed to pay Verizon Communications $1.61 billion to secure the rights to Yahoo branding and technology in perpetuity in Japan, Reuters reported.

In contrast to the retreat of Yahoo in the United States, the brand remains a core part of SoftBank’s domestic internet business where the name adorns a web portal and services like shopping and weather.

Verizon is offloading its media businesses including Yahoo and AOL to private equity firm Apollo Global after struggling to compete with internet giants in a $5-billion deal set to close in the second half of this year.

Previously known as Yahoo Japan, SoftBank’s internet business rebranded as Z Holdings and is betting on services such as payments app PayPay and chat app Line for growth in Japan and Southeast Asia.

Hackers demand $70 mn to restore data held by companies hit in cyberattack; Biden orders probe

Hackers suspected to be behind a mass extortion attack that affected hundreds of companies worldwide late on Sunday demanded $70 million to restore the data they are holding ransom, as per Reuters.

The demand was posted on a blog typically used by the REvil cybercrime gang, a Russia-linked group that is counted among the cybercriminal world’s most prolific extortionists.

REvil’s ransomware attack, which the group executed on Friday, was among the most dramatic in a series of increasingly attention-grabbing hacks.
Meanwhile, US president Joe Biden has directed intelligence agencies to investigate who was behind a sophisticated ransomware attack.

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

New excise policy in Delhi: Walk-in experience at liquor vends, take-away service for draught beer

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

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Walk-in experience for customers at alcohol shops, promoting microbreweries and allowing bars in hotels, allowing clubs and restaurants to operate till 3:00 am are some of the reforms brought in the Delhi government’s new excise policy aimed at boosting the city’s revenue and also crackdown on the liquor mafia.

The Excise Policy 2021-22 that was made public on Monday noted that Delhi is ranked the 28th most visited city in the world and the first in India by foreign visitors. It stated that excise is an important source of revenue for the state.

The policy document, however, does not highlight home delivery of liquor which is part of Excise Rules and legal drinking age that was proposed to be reduced from 25 years to 21 years in parity with neighbouring cities.

Under the new system, the government will be out of retail liquor trade, paving the way for the closure of state-run shops and promoting private players in the national capital.

According to the 2021-22 excise policy, every liquor outlet in the city will provide a walk-in experience to its customers who will have multiple choices of brands, and the entire selection and sale process will be completed within the vend premise.

Such retail vends that will be air-conditioned will have glass doors. Customers will not be allowed to crowd outside a vend or in the pavement and buy through the counter, it stated.

Under the new excise system, Delhiites will also be able to fill their bottles or ‘growlers’ with freshly brewed beer from any microbrewery in the city. The policy allows microbreweries to supply draught beer to bars.

“Draught beer shall be allowed to be taken away in bottles or ‘growlers’. Microbrewery shall also be allowed to supply to other bars and restaurants that have license to serve liquor,” the policy document stated.

As part of the new reforms, the bars in hotels, restaurants and clubs have been allowed to operate till 3:00 am except those licensees which have been given license to operate round-the-clock service of liquor. The new policy states that such establishments can serve liquor in open spaces such terrace and balcony.

The number of retail liquor vends will be 849 in the city, including five super premium retail vends that will have a minimum carpet area of 2,500 square feet “Super Premium Vends, which will set up a tasting room within the premise, can sell products only above Rs 200 MRP for beer and above Rs 1,000 Retail price for all other spirits, including but not limited to Whiskey, Gin, Vodka, Brandy, etc.

“Super Premium Vends will need to stock at least 50 imported (B10) liquor brands including wines (BECRS) etc. brands in the store,” the policy document stated.

Special Excise Adhesive Labels, special inspection teams, a state-of-the-art lab are some of the steps planned by the Delhi government to check tax evasion, the conduct of retail vends and spurious liquor.

According to the policy, the excise department has introduced Excise Adhesive Labels (EALs) with high-end security features manufactured by Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) to avoid tax evasion and plugging leakages in the supply chain and has also signed an agreement with SPMCIL.

The government has introduced a new license L-38 for banquet halls, party places, farmhouses, motels, wedding/party/event venues with permission to serve Indian and Foreign liquor in all the parties hosted at their premises on payment of a one-time annual fee.

Until now, such establishments were required to avail temporary license in form of P-10, P-10A, P-11 & P-13 for parties and functions organised.

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