Month: August 2021

Trai asks govt to address AGR issue for cable ops, give incentives to boost broadband services

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

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Telecom regulator Trai on Tuesday recommended a slew of measures, including up to Rs 200 cashback on charges to a user and fixing minimum broadband speed at 2 megabit per second, to promote internet connectivity and increase connection speed.

The regulator also recommended the adoption of adjusted gross revenue as defined by it earlier to bring cable TV operators into the plan.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended the implementation of direct benefit transfer for accelerating the growth of fixed-line broadband services in rural areas by reimbursing up to Rs 200 per month per subscriber for their broadband connection charges.

Also read: Bharti Airtel shares rise 2% after telco’s board approves Rs 21,000-crore rights issue

In order to encourage Cable Operators, registered under Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, to provide broadband services, issues relating to computation of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) for Cable Operators need to be addressed on priority. To address this issue, the Authority has already given its recommendations to the government,” Trai recommended.

Trai had recommended excluding revenue from operations other than telecom activities and operations as well as revenue from activities under a licence/permission issued by the information and broadcasting ministry, receipts from the USO Fund etc for computation of applicable gross revenue.

The regulator in its recommendation to the Department of Telecom asked for expediting spectrum auction of frequencies that are considered fit for 5G services.

Also read: Digital companies may enter Nifty soon: UBS

“With increasing data consumption, in order to sustain the pace of investment in the cellular networks and in-turn support enhancement of mobile broadband speed, the government should expedite auction of available mid-band spectrum i.e. 3300 MHz to 3600 MHz. For further enhancement of mobile broadband speed, allocation of spectrum in mm-wave range for IMT-2020 purpose should be expedited,” Trai recommended.

Trai recommended DoT to make available spectrum used for backend connectivity on-demand and in time-bound manner to the telecom operators for enhancing broadband speed.

The regulator has suggested three categories of broadband service- basic with a minimum download speed of 2 mbps and less than 50 mbps, fast broadband between 50-300 mbps download speed and super fast capability of delivering greater than 300 mbps speed.

Also read: DoT engages with banks to find solution to stress in telecom sector

Trai recommended that the central government should come out first with the National Right of Way (RoW) Policy in coordination with the state governments to clear bottlenecks that come in the way of telecom networks across the country.

“In order to streamline RoW permission processes, and to facilitate the establishment of a single-window electronic process (online) for RoW permission applications, the central government should develop a web-based national portal with role-based workflow,” Trai recommended. The regulator said that the portal should have clearly defined roles for the central, state, and local Body authorities.

“This portal should be developed within one year,” Trai said. The regulator has proposed an incentive scheme for telecom and internet service providers in the form of licence fees exemption to encourage growth in fixed-line broadband services.

Also read: A tale of two policies

“For any licensee to avail the proposed incentives, a net increase of minimum 15 per cent in working fixed-line broadband subscribers on year-on-year basis in the respective license service area (LSA) should be the eligibility criterion,” Trai recommended adding that eligibility should be assessed on a quarterly basis.

It added that of the total increase in the number of working fixed-line broadband services, 20 per cent connection should be from rural areas.

Telecom service providers may need to declare the availability of fixed-line broadband services in specific geographic areas on a GIS map accessible to the public through their website if Trai’s recommendations are accepted by the government.

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

Amazon Retail launches agronomy services for farmers

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

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Amazon Retail on Tuesday announced the launch of its agronomy services for farmers that will provide timely advice and enable them to make accurate decisions on actions required for their crops. The initiative will also introduce machine learning technology for better produce and build a robust supply chain infrastructure, a statement said.

Amazon Retail is engaged in the business of manufacturing and retailing food products produced and/or manufactured in India. “We are excited by the role we can play in empowering Indian farmers and the agricultural community through pioneering technology that improves farm yield and quality of fruits and vegetables.

“This is a holistic programme that enables farmers to use scientific crop planning based on soil and weather conditions, and provides inputs on crop and disease management,” Amazon India Director (Grocery, Food and Health) Sameer Khetarpal said.

Also read: Amazon Echo Show 8 launched in India, at a discount; know price and all other details

He added that the company plans to “continuously improve the efficiency of the programme and create new modules that will benefit Indian farmers and provide the freshest produce to the customers.

As part of the agronomy service launch, Amazon Retail has built an ecosystem through a combination of agronomist-driven field interventions, and farm management tools to track the impact of interventions, the statement said. Each enrolled farmer partner is onboarded on the farm management tool to provide timely intervention that farmers need and value, it added.

“The team of qualified agronomists offer agritech expertise to registered farmer partners for better farm yield and improved product quality. Along with it, the agronomists provide a comprehensive scientific and precise advisory to the farmers,” the statement said.

Also read: Amazon to end JV with Narayana Murthy’s Catamaran Ventures by May 2022

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

3 mn Indian accounts banned by WhatsApp between Jun 16-Jul 31

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

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Over three million Indian accounts were banned by WhatsApp while 594 grievance reports were received by the messaging platform between June 16-July 31, according to its compliance report. In its latest report released on Tuesday, WhatsApp said 3,027,000 Indian accounts were banned on WhatsApp during the said period.

An Indian account is identified via a +91 phone number, it added. Previously, WhatsApp has stated that more than 95 per cent of bans are due to the unauthorised use of automated or bulk messaging (spam). The global average number of accounts that WhatsApp bans to prevent abuse on its platform is around 8 million accounts per month.

WhatsApp, in its latest report, said it received 594 user reports spanning across account support (137), ban appeal (316), other support (45), product support (64) and safety (32) during June 16-July 31. During this period, 74 accounts were “actioned”, as per the report. WhatsApp explained that “Accounts Actioned” denotes reports where it took remedial action based on the report. Taking action denotes either banning an account or a previously banned account being restored as a result of the complaint.

Also, reports may have been reviewed but not included as ‘Actioned’ for many reasons, including the user needing assistance to access their account or to use some features, user requested restoration of a banned account and the request is denied, or if the reported account does not violate the laws of India or WhatsApp’s Terms of Service. In a statement, the Facebook-owned company said its latest report contains details of the user complaints received and the corresponding action taken by WhatsApp, as well as WhatsApp’s own preventive actions to combat abuse on its platform.

Over the years, the platform has consistently invested in Artificial Intelligence and other state of the art technology, data scientists and experts, and in processes, in order to keep its users safe on the platform, a WhatsApp spokesperson said. “In accordance with the IT Rules 2021, we’ve published our second monthly report for the 46 day period of – 16 June to 31 July,” the spokesperson added.

The new IT rules – which came into effect on May 26 require large digital platforms (with over 5 million users) to publish compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken. Previously, WhatsApp has emphasised that being an end to end encrypted platform, it has no visibility into the content of any messages.

Besides the behavioural signals from accounts, it relies on available unencrypted information including user reports, profile photos, group photos and descriptions as well as advanced AI tools and resources to detect and prevent abuse on its platform, it had 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

Afghanistan crisis: United States’ credibility, global standing damaged in last 2 weeks, says South Asia expert Michael Kugelman

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

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After 20 years, war-ravaged Afghanistan is back under the rule of Taliban. With the departure of the last US military flight from the Kabul airport, America’s longest war has officially come to an end.

The two-decade-long occupation saw the loss of 1,70,000 lives and cost the United States $2.26 trillion according to the Brown University’s cost of war project.

A statement released by US President Joe Biden confirmed that the country’s military presence in Afghanistan has ended and 1,20,000 US citizens, citizens of allies and Afghan allies have been evacuated over 17 days.

While Taliban fighters fired in the air to celebrate the victory, their leaders walked across the runway to mark the end of the US occupation.

In terms of military equipment, the US has left behind 70 mine-resistant vehicles, 27 Humvees and 73 aircraft. However, the country says its equipment has been rendered useless.

According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the country has also suspended its diplomatic presence in Kabul and has transferred operations to Doha in Qatar. The US will use the Doha post to manage diplomacy with Afghanistan.

Meanwhile the UN Security Council has adopted a resolution on Afghanistan,  which requires the Taliban to allow a safe, secure, and orderly departure of Afghans and all foreign nationals who want to leave. Meanwhile, India has made its first formal contact with the Taliban.

India’s ambassador to Qatar Deepak Mittal met Sher Mohammad Stanekzai,  the head of the Taliban’s political office in Doha. Discussions focussed on the safety and early return of Indian nationals stranded in Afghanistan and also concerns over Afghan soil being used for anti-India activities.

Also Read: India holds talks with senior Taliban official, first since fall of Kabul

In an interview to Parikshit Luthra, Michael Kugelman, South Asia expert at Wilson Centre, said, “Reactions to the American departure would have been very different had the withdrawal plan been executed properly. It was a controversial decision when President Biden decided to withdraw but he made a pretty strong argument that it had support from significant quarters in Washington and other NATO capitals as well that it was time for the US to leave and if US troops stayed on in Afghanistan, the Taliban would probably be declaring war against them.”

“So it is a fair argument, some disagree but it was accepted I think across the board. However, what happened in the last few weeks is where we have seen the damage to US global standing and US credibility.”

Also Read: PM Modi forms high-level group on Afghanistan, to focus on immediate priorities of India

Sharat Sabharwal, former Ambassador to Pakistan, said, “India doesn’t have the luxury of abandoning Afghanistan for too long. It is in our region, it is strategically important for us. Even the attitude of the international community has evolved over the last 20-days or so from no emirates to an inclusive government and various other demands it is now down to observance of human rights and not letting use of Afghan territory for terrorism against other countries. So it is good that we have formally started contacts with the Taliban.”

Also Read: Never in history has withdrawal from war been handled so badly: Donald Trump

Watch video for more.

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

Thrasio-style firm GlobalBees acquires D2C startup The Better Home

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

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Digital content platform The Better India (TBI) has sold its D2C home-care brand ‘The Better Home’ to Thrasio-model based startup GlobalBees for an undisclosed amount.

The Better Home, which was founded in February 2020, offers natural ingredient-based home cleaning products. So far, the D2C firm has been selling through online marketplace including Amazon and their own website, across more than 600 cities to over 70,000 customers.

With this acquisition, GlobalBees will scale the brand online and offline even further through marketing and product development, among other measures, a statement said. The Better Home’s 15-member team will also join GlobalBees to continue the business.

Also read: Startup Street: All about fintech consolidations and the new ‘earnouts’ clause

“A successful brand today needs the right blend of traditional business ethics and a new-age approach to marketing and sales to breakthrough. Being a part of the GlobalBees brand will skyrocket The Better Home’s journey,” said Dhimant Parekh, Founder of The Better Home

TBI, the parent company of The Better Home claims that this acquisition will help the firm build massive, scalable purpose-led businesses with its community of 200 million readers.

“Our vision at TBI is to leverage our massive community of over 200 Million readers to build meaningful, impact-focused, scalable and ‘better’ businesses. The Better Home was the first among this, and we will continue to build massively impactful businesses focused on our community’s needs and direct insights that will scale quickly owing to the brand love and goodwill we’ve garnered over the years by staying true to our ethos,” added Dhimant.

Also read: Best of Young Turks: A masterclass in fund raising with Girish Mathrubootham of Freshworks

The Thrasio model has enticed a bunch of startups in India. These companies want to acquire fast-growing online-first brands and build a portfolio of such brands. The parent company brings technology, marketing strategy and boost the growth of the brands they acquire. Following in the footsteps is GlobalBees, backed by kids apparel etailer Firstcry.

The company has made its first acquisition with The Better Home’ and is looking at taking it to international markets.

“People, purpose, passion and product define today’s brands and govern customer preference. The Better Home demonstrated the right mix of these, along with remarkable achievements. We at GlobalBees are excited to announce The Better Home as our first acquisition, and are committed to catapult it into an international brand,” said Nitin Agarwal, CEO of GlobalBees.

Also read: Startup culture now vibrant in India: PM Modi

The move comes just after GlobalBees raised one of the biggest Series A rounds of $150 million, in July 2021, led by FirstCry. The rush to build a Thrasio-type platform in India is also getting massive investor interest. On Tuesday, another Thrasio-style startup Powerhouse91 has on-boarded multiple marquee global investors, raising an undisclosed amount of capital from them.

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

Government intends to spend strongly on infrastructure, says Sanjeev Sanyal

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

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The Indian economy clocked a GDP growth rate of 20.1 percent in Q1FY22. This was largely in line with a CNBC-TV18 poll which had predicted the number will be close to 20 percent.

This rate of growth is due to a low base effect. In the same quarter last year, India was under a national lockdown after the first wave of COVID infections and the economy had contracted by more than 24 percent.

Agriculture registered strong growth. Manufacturing also staged a comeback. But services sector remains a concern despite an 11 percent growth as GDP is still much below pre-COVID levels.

In an exclusive interview with Shereen Bhan, Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Adviser said, “The GDP number is a strong number but it is helped by the fact that there was a low base from the previous year’s lockdown. As we have come off the second wave, we are now in a position to open things up and wherever we have opened up the sector, we are seeing strong recovery coming back. So demand is not a constraint. Our problem is that we cannot open everything up because of health requirements. So the momentum is strong particularly in manufacturing and construction sector and it is only a matter of it being safe enough from a health perspective for us to open things up and I am quite certain that even travel, tourism all the contact services will also grow quite strong.”

Also Read: India’s GDP grows at 20.1% in Q1FY22; here’s what it means according to experts

He said the government intends to spend strongly on infrastructure.

“Government does intend to spend quite strongly on infrastructure and we did – when we went off the lockdown last year in October, from the period of October to March we spent very strongly on infrastructure and that did bring back demand very strongly. So we intend to do that and we have the fiscal resources to do it.”

Also Read: Q1 GDP growth of 20.1% reaffirms imminent V-shaped recovery forecast, says CEA

Watch video for more.

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

Under India’s Presidency, UNSC adopts strong resolution on Afghanistan

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

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The UN Security Council, under India’s Presidency, adopted a strong resolution demanding that territory of Afghanistan not be used to threaten any country or shelter terrorists and that it expects the Taliban will adhere to commitments made by it regarding the safe and orderly departure from the country of Afghans and all foreign nationals.

The Security Council on Monday adopted the resolution sponsored by France, UK and the US with 13 members voting in favour, none against and permanent, veto-wielding members Russia and China abstaining.

Also Read: India holds talks with senior Taliban official, first since fall of Kabul

This was the first resolution adopted by the powerful 15-nation Council on the situation in Afghanistan following the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban and came on the penultimate day of India’s Presidency of the Security Council for the month of August. Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity of Afghanistan, the resolution “condemns in the strongest terms the deplorable attacks” of August 26 near the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul for which the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, an entity affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Da’esh) claimed responsibility and which resulted in deaths and injuries of over 300 civilians and 28 military personnel.

The UNSC resolution took note of the Taliban‘s condemnation of the attack. The resolution demands that Afghan territory not be used to threaten or attack any country or to shelter or train terrorists, or to plan or to finance terrorist acts, and reiterates the importance of combating terrorism in Afghanistan, including those individuals and entities designated pursuant to resolution 1267 (1999), and notes the Taliban’s relevant commitments.

The resolution notes the Taliban statement of August 27, 2021, in which the Taliban committed that Afghans will be able to travel abroad, may leave Afghanistan anytime they want to, and may exit Afghanistan via any border crossing, both air and ground, including at the reopened and secured Kabul airport, with no one preventing them from travelling, expects that the Taliban will adhere to these and all other commitments, including regarding the safe, secure, and orderly departure from Afghanistan of Afghans and all foreign nationals. The Council, through the resolution, also took note of the “dangerous security situation” around the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul and “expresses concern that intelligence indicates further terrorist attacks may take place in the area, calls on the relevant parties to work with international partners to take steps to strengthen security and to prevent further casualties, and requests that every effort be made to allow for the rapid and secure reopening of the Kabul airport and its surrounding area.”

Also Read: US completes withdrawal of forces from Afghanistan after 20-year war

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield in her explanation of the vote said through the resolution we have spoken once again on the urgent need to tackle the serious threat of terrorism in Afghanistan. Last week’s horrific attack in Kabul demonstrated the very real threat that terrorist groups like ISIS-K pose.” President Joe Biden has made clear that America will do what’s necessary to defend our security and our people. And the entire international community is committed to ensuring that Afghanistan is never again a safe haven for terrorism,” she said.

She said the resolution establishes clear expectations regarding the future of Afghanistan – that the Security Council expects the Taliban to live up to its commitment to facilitate safe passage for Afghans and foreign nationals who want to leave Afghanistan, whether it’s today, tomorrow, or after August 31′. On the abstentions by Russia and China, she said we were disappointed with the abstentions of Russia and China. I will tell you that within the P5 we consulted very closely. “We took into account some of the concerns that both the Chinese and the Russians raised in the draft resolution that was eventually approved. So, the fact that they abstained, I think they will have to explain themselves. But I think the Security Council spoke strongly, and what’s in the resolution, I think, are issues that are important to every single member of the Security Council including China and Russia, she said.

Russia’s Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow was forced to” abstain during the vote on the resolution on Afghanistan because the authors of the draft ignored our principled concerns. He said despite the fact that the resolution was proposed against the backdrop of a terrible terrorist attack, the authors categorically refused to refer to a passage on the fight against terrorism containing internationally recognised terrorist organisations ISIL and the East Turkistan Islamic Movement.

We see this as a reluctance to acknowledge the obvious and a desire to divide terrorists into ours and theirs and… to downplay the terror threats coming from these groups. We understand the reasons that incited the authors to try to use the authority of the Security Council to adopt the resolution in this form and in such a tight timeframe but perhaps if we had more time, the result of the vote would have been different.

Chinese Ambassador Geng Shuang said the countries concerned circulated the draft resolution last Friday evening, demanding action to be taken on Monday. China has huge doubts about the necessity and urgency of adopting this resolution and the balance of its content. Despite this, China has still participated constructively in the consultations and put forward important and reasonable amendments together with Russia. Unfortunately, our amendments have not been fully adopted.,” Geng said.

China has always opposed imposing or forcefully pushing for resolution by any sponsors. Based on the above considerations China has abstained from this draft resolution,” Geng added. He said in the face of the fundamental changes in the domestic situation in Afghanistan, it is necessary for the international community to engage with the Taliban, and actively provide them with guidance.

Also read: Hibatullah Akhundzada – Taliban’s supreme leader who is wary of public appearances

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, “China has huge doubts about the necessity and urgency of adopting this resolution and the balance of its content.” Despite this, Wang said China has still participated constructively in the consultations and put forward important and reasonable amendments together with Russia. UK’s envoy to the UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said the resolution is an important step towards a unified international response to the situation in Afghanistan. We will continue to build on this to ensure the Council holds the Taliban accountable on its commitments.

The Taliban will be judged by the international community on the basis of their actions on the ground, not their words. The strong resolution reaffirms the importance of upholding human rights including those of women, children and minorities, encourages all parties to seek an inclusive, negotiated political settlement, with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, that responds to the desire of Afghans to sustain and build on Afghanistan’s gains over the last twenty years. It calls for strengthened efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, calls on all parties to allow full, safe, and unhindered access for the UN and all humanitarian actors to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches all those in need.

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: PayU to buy BillDesk for $4.7 bn, IPO-bound Oyo to launch ‘self sign-up’ service for hotels

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 Tuesday. Here’s a wrap of the top startup headlines.

Prosus to acquire BillDesk for $4.7 billion

In a major consolidation in the payments sector, Prosus-backed PayU will acquire payments company BillDesk for $4.7 billion.

The deal will bring Prosus’ cumulative investment in Indian tech to more than $10 billion.

Prosus said that the acquisition of BillDesk will see PayU becoming one of the leading online payment providers globally, handling a total payment volume (TPV) of $147 billion.

PayU India and BillDesk run complementary businesses within India’s digital payment industry. Together, the two expect to create a financial ecosystem handling four billion transactions annually – four times PayU’s current level in India, as per the company.

Firstcry-backed GlobalBees acquires home care brand The Better Home

GlobalBees, an aggregator of digital brands has acquired The Better Home, a home care products company, as it builds its portfolio of digital-first brands and helps them scale. The deal amount was not disclosed.

This is the first acquisition for GlobalBees. As part of the deal, the 15-member core team of The Better Home will join GlobalBees, the company said in a statement.

The acquisition comes after GlobalBees raised $150 million in a mix of equity and debt in a Series-A funding round led by FirstCry in July. The Thrasio-model based company invests in, acquires, and grows seller businesses across Amazon, Flipkart, and other marketplaces.

GlobalBees is also planning to take The Better Home to international markets.

“The Better Home demonstrated the right mix of these, along with remarkable achievements. We at GlobalBees are excited to announce The Better Home as our first acquisition and are committed to catapult it into an international brand,” Nitin Agarwal, CEO, GlobalBees.

“The Better Home was the first among this, and we will continue to build massively impactful businesses focused on our community’s needs and direct insights that will scale quickly owing to the brand love and goodwill we’ve garnered over the years by staying true to our ethos,” said Dhimant Parekh, founders of TBI & TBH.

The Better Home brand was launched by digital content platform The Better India (TBI). The company retails sustainable household products such as dishwash liquid, home cleaners, air fresheners, laundry cleaners etc. The Better Home products are sold on the brand website as well as Amazon and are available in 600 cities and services 70,000 shoppers, as per the company statement.

Indegene buys US-based Medical Marketing Economics for nearly $10 million 

Healthcare solutions provider Indegene has acquired US-based Medical Marketing Economics (MME) for $10 million in a bid to strengthen its pricing, reimbursement and market access capabilities.

“Their 40+ strong team will strengthen our emerging Biotech and Medical offerings. They bring proven PRMA capabilities that complement our Co-Commercialization solution,” Indegene Cofounder and CEO Manish Gupta said.

Pricing, reimbursement and market access is a strategic area of interest for Indegene. It augments company’s reach both with the big pharma companies and emerging biotech companies, and complements its digital first commercialization practice, Gupta added.

As per the company, the current size of the market access solutions market is $1.7 billion and expected to increase to $2.24 billion over the next five years.

“This signals a great headroom opportunity for us in the US market. Acquiring MME is a step in this direction. The size of this deal is approximately $10 million,” Gupta said.

BharatPe ties up with Axis Bank to expand its merchant acquiring business

Newly-minted fintech unicorn BharatPe has announced a strategic partnership with Axis Bank under which the private lender will act as the acquiring bank for BharatPe’s point of sale (PoS) business BharatSwipe.
This association will help BharatPe enhance the merchant experience by leveraging best-in-class technology platform offered by Axis Bank, the company said in a statement.

Axis Bank claims to be the third largest PoS acquiring bank in the payments acceptance business in India, with an installed base of over 652,026 PoS terminals spread across India. The bank currently processes about ₹19,000 crore of payments per month.

BharatPe launched its PoS machine, BharatSwipe, last year as India’s first zero rental and zero merchant discount rate (MDR) PoS machine.

According to the fintech, BharatSwipe business has scaled up rapidly, and now contributes 20 percent to the overall payments Transaction Processed Value (TPV) of the company. BharatPe has an installed base of over 100,000 PoS machines across 16 cities in the country and facilitates transactions of over Rs 1,400 crore every month.

BharatPe clocked annualized transaction value of $2 billion on the PoS terminals at the end of FY21 and has set a target of $6 billion in annualized TPV by the end of FY22, the company added.

IPO-bound Oyo to launch self sign-up service for hotels: Report

IPO-bound hospitality unicorn Oyo is piloting a self sign-up service that will allow hotels to list properties on the platform in just 30 minutes, according to Moneycontrol.

Any hotel owner can open the website and select from the options of home, hotel or life. The person will be shown the estimated revenue it can earn by joining Oyo, based on local competition and demand patterns including the location of the property, the report claims.

Oyo will likely charge a base rate of around 20 percent, besides service fee and GST, among other costs. It will also take control of 100 percent of room inventory at the property and the pricing of the rooms.

The move is expected to shore up the number of hotels on the platform which saw a massive decline because of the pandemic.

Meesho announces ‘Rest & Recharge’ policy for employees

Social commerce unicorn Meesho has announced a companywide break from November 4 to 14 for all its employees implementing its ‘Reset and Recharge’ policy. The work break will be after the festive season sale offered by the platform.

The startup which helps small businesses and individuals become sellers on social platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, made the announcement on Twitter and Linkedin.

“We are going to completely unplug from work — right after our busy and frenetic festive sale season, so that we are back to doing what we love — relaxed and rejuvenated,” the company said in a Twitter post.

“Between 2020-2021, we know how hard the pandemic has been on our mental health & productivity. Meesho being a people-centric workplace understands this. We will always put our employees’ wellbeing as top priority and the Reset and Recharge policy is one step towards that,” it added.

Amazon revamps $1 bn delivery service partner programme

E-commerce major Amazon India is revamping its global delivery service partner (DSP) programme in India, as it looks to bring more entrepreneurs into its fold to strengthen its last-mile delivery network in the country.

Under the revamped programme, Amazon India will be offering newer services, including allocating an account manager to delivery service partners, along with providing key technology and value-added tools for hiring, legal and technological support.

It also looks to negotiate competitive rates for its partners to provide asset insurance, compliance support and group corporate insurance for delivery partners, the company said in a statement.

The US-based e-commerce major has already worked with close to 340 DSPs in India, which currently operate a delivery network across 750 cities and 1,500 DSP stations.

The programme has helped Amazon to also gain access to remotest corners of the subcontinent, including Ladakh, Nagaland and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the company added.

According to the company, each delivery service partner employs between 40 and 100 delivery agents on average.

Globally, Amazon has invested close to $1 billion till date for the programme and has close to 2,500 partners across 11 countries of the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, the company said.

ImaginXP collaborates with UiPath Academic Alliance programme

Edtech startup ImaginXP has joined enterprise automation software company UiPath’s Academic Alliance programme.

As part of the teaching programme, UiPath will equip ImaginXP educators with knowledge, skills and abilities required to adopt Robotic Process Automation (RPA). UiPath will also provide educators with curriculum, course content, learning materials, and the software required to train students, the company said.

ImaginXP will work with its partner universities to explore opportunities of incorporating RPA as part of various technical and non-technical programs. On successful completion of these courses, all students will receive a course completion certificate jointly issued by UiPath and ImaginXP under UiPath’s Academic Alliance program.

The edu-tech enterprise recently raised $1.5 million, led by Venture Catalysts along with co-investors Shashank Deshpande, Krish Kupathil, Samyakth Capital, among others.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

China tightens gaming rules for kids

China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a stringent social intervention that it said was needed to pull the plug on a growing addiction to what it once described as “spiritual opium”.

The new rules, published on Monday by China’s National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) are part of a major shift by Beijing to strengthen control over its society and key sectors of its economy, including tech, education and property, after years of runaway growth.

According to a translated notice about the new rules, people under 18 will be allowed to play video games one hour a day between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. weekends and legal holidays. Gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors in any form outside the stipulated hours and must ensure they have put real-name verification systems in place, said the regulator, which oversees the country’s video games market.

The rules from NPPA regulator coincide with a broader clampdown by Beijing against China’s tech giants, such as Alibaba and Tencent.

S.Korea’s parliament passes bill to curb Google, Apple commission dominance

South Korea’s parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that bans major app store operators such as Google and Apple from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, effectively stopping them from charging commissions on in-app purchases.

According to Reuters, it is the first such curb by a major economy on the likes of Apple and Google, which face global criticism for requiring the use of proprietary payment systems that charge commissions of up to 30 percent.

The final vote was 180 in favour out of 188 attending to pass the amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, dubbed the “Anti-Google law.”
“We’ll reflect on how to comply with this law while maintaining a model that supports a high-quality operating system and app store, and we will share more in the coming weeks,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters.

Google added Google Play provides far more than payment processing, and its service fee helps keep Android free, giving developers the tools and global platform to access billions of consumers around the world.

“We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this proposal – leading to fewer opportunities for the over 482,000 registered developers in Korea who have earned more than KRW8.55 trillion to date with Apple,” Apple said in a statement.

Apple on Thursday agreed to loosen App Store restrictions for small developers, allowing developers to promote payment options outside Apple’s payment system.

Based on South Korean parliament records, the amendment bans app store operators with dominant market positions from forcing payment systems on content providers and “inappropriately” delaying the review of, or deleting, mobile content from app markets.

It also allows the South Korean government to require an app market operator to “prevent damage to users and protect the rights and interests of users”, probe app market operators, and mediate disputes regarding payment, cancellations or refunds in the app market.

“Today’s historic action and bold leadership by South Korean lawmakers mark a monumental step in the fight for a fair app ecosystem. The legislation passed today by the Assembly will put an end to mandatory in-app purchase in South Korea, which will allow innovation, consumer choice, and competition to thrive in this market,” a spokesperson at Match Group, which owns the popular dating app Tinder, said in a statement.

Zoom’s tepid growth forecast takes shine off billion-dollar quarter

Zoom posted its first billion-dollar revenue quarter but signaled a faster-than-expected easing in demand for its video-conferencing service after a pandemic-driven boom, sending its shares tumbling 11%.

The company on Monday forecast third-quarter revenue between $1.015 billion and $1.020 billion, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $1.013 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

That indicates a rise of just about 31.2% from a year earlier, compared with multiple-fold growth rates in 2020 when the COVID-19 crisis had turned Zoom into a household name due to the rise of remote working and schooling, according to Reuters.

Zoom said it expects a decline in revenue from customers with 10 or fewer employees. This group consists mainly of small and medium businesses which pay bills monthly.

It forecast third-quarter adjusted earnings between $1.07 and $1.08 per share, compared with expectations of $1.09 a share.

Zoom recently announced the buyout of call-center software maker Five9 for $14.7 billion in its largest deal, and Kites GmbH, a firm that helps in real-time language translation.

It posted a profit of $1.04 per share in the second quarter on revenue of $1.02 billion, both of which were higher than estimates.

Yandex takes more control of Russian venture with Uber in $1 bn deal

Russian internet giant Yandex will buy Uber’s stakes in their joint foodtech, delivery and self-driving businesses, and increase its stake in their ride-hailing joint venture as part of a $1 billion deal.

According to Reuters, the restructuring of the MLU ride-hailing and car-sharing joint venture, which includes Yandex.Taxi, will see Yandex own 71 percent while Uber’s stake falls to 29 percent from 33.5 percent, Yandex said, adding it had taken out a $2 billion call option to buy out the rest if it chooses to do so.

Under the agreement with Uber, Yandex will take over Uber’s 33.5 percent indirect interest in Yandex.Eats, Yandex.Lavka and Yandex.Delivery as well as its 18.2 percent interest in Yandex Self-Driving Group (SDG), giving Yandex 100 percent ownership in all businesses.

The restructuring, which Yandex said had already been approved by the boards of directors of Yandex and Uber, will be implemented in two stages, and completed by the end of the year. The deal will be financed from the company’s own funds, Yandex spokesperson Asya Panoyan told Reuters.

Yandex said it will also extend its licence for the exclusive rights to use the Uber brand in Russia and several other countries until August 2030, assuming the exercise of the option.

PayPal exploring stock-trading platform for US

Shares of PayPal jumped on Monday after a report that it is exploring ways to let its US customers trade individual stocks on its platform.

The payments company also hired brokerage industry veteran Rich Hagen, CNBC reported. Hagen is the chief executive officer of Invest at PayPal, as well as the co-founder and former president of brokerage Ally Invest, according his LinkedIn page.

PayPal has 400 million accounts and launched cryptocurrency trading in the US earlier in the year. In a February presentation, PayPal said its total addressable market, including bill payment, government payments and asset trading was $110 trillion.

PayPal’s shares spiked higher and closed up nearly 4 percent.

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 extends tenure of two executive directors of Bank of Baroda

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

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State-owned Bank of Baroda on Tuesday said the government has extended the tenure of its two executive directors — Vikramaditya Singh Khichi and Ajay K Khurana. The government has extended the term of office of Khichi for a period beyond September 30, 2021, till the date of his superannuation, July 31, 2022, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, Bank of Baroda said in a regulatory filing.

Khurana’s tenure has been extended for two years beyond his currently notified term, which expires on September 19, 2021, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the bank said in another filing. Last week, the government informed several public sector banks about extensions given to their EDs.

The MD and CEOs of Punjab National Bank and Bank of Maharashtra have also been given an extension. Bank of Baroda stock closed at Rs 77.35 apiece on BSE, up 0.52 per cent from the previous close.

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