Month: December 2021

Travelling Overseas? Know what to do if you test COVID-19 positive

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

As countries slowly reopen after extensive lockdowns over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s only natural for people to want to take off and explore the world. Unfortunately, the new highly-transmissible Omicron variant may set back such travel plans, even if temporarily.

But while the debate is on about whether one should travel overseas, the fact remains that many individuals are doing so. If you choose to go on a trip to a foreign country during the pandemic, keep in mind that the chances of contracting COVID-19 while travelling are high and can land you in a spot.

Also read: Omicron threat puts international travel under pressure, future bookings weaken

COVID-19 can still strike despite the strictest security measures and multiple vaccinations. What will happen if you test positive for the coronavirus while travelling overseas? Let us explore some scenarios.

What if you test positive before boarding the flight?

This scenario is rare, considering the current testing requirements for flying. Even to step inside an airport, let alone boarding a flight, most countries are demanding proof of a negative test report at least 48 hours before flying.

Also read: West Bengal to temporarily suspend direct flights to and from UK from January 3

However, if you test positive for COVID-19 before boarding the flight, it is necessary that you isolate yourself from other individuals swiftly instead of boarding the flight. Also, contact your doctor as soon as possible and return home and continue to isolate yourself from others. If you are currently at your destination, then plan on remaining in your hotel or other government-approved quarantine facilities till the time your test comes negative.

What if you test positive on arrival?

In some countries, you may be subjected to random testing even if you show no symptoms while in other countries you may be checked if you seem symptomatic. The process will differ depending on where you are in the world but in general if you have symptoms related to COVID-19 you will be asked to take a test. You will be placed under isolation until your reports come back.

If the test is positive, you will almost certainly be put under quarantine for the prescribed period as per COVID-19 protocol and until you are no longer at the risk of spreading it. If you remain symptomatic, again specifics, such as the duration of the compulsory quarantine period, will differ depending on which country you are in.

Also read: Coronavirus Omicron News LIVE Updates: 113 countries accept India’s COVID vaccination certificate, says govt

It is critical to empower yourself with information and understanding of the protocol for positive test results at the locations you will be visiting. This is important not only for your safety and well-being but also for the health of your bank account.

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

Jodhpur food trail for the budget traveller

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Though it is primarily known for the majestic Mehrangarh Fort and the opulent Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur is a food haven.

No matter where you’re eating in this fort city, you can depend on the street food for quality and taste. However, a word of caution. The best food here is rich. Spicy or sweet, most of it is fried. Therefore, it does not score too high on the health quotient. So try to not count calories if you really want to enjoy the delicacies that Sun City has to offer.

Winter is the best time to visit Jodhpur. The weather is just ideal for a walk down the narrow lanes of the old city and stopping every once in a while at non-descript, unassuming stalls to gorge on mouth-watering preparations.

Even if you don’t have the budget to splurge at Umaid Bhawan, you can still have a great time eating around in Jodhpur. This city makes delicious food possible without burning a hole in your pocket. In this food guide, we share with you several options you can choose from when in the Blue City. We recommend all of them hoping they add distinct flavours and aromas to your vacation.

Street food

Janta Sweet Home: It is Jodhpur’s equivalent of Jaipur’s Laxmi Mishthan Bhandar. However, unlike LMB, it has maintained its economic price and food quality over the years and therefore, is still extremely popular among the locals. You can visit Janta for breakfast or lunch. Do try their pyaaz ki kachori, chaach, best of Janta sandwich, and mawa kachori.

Shahi Samosa: You can spot this shop from a distance, thanks to the swelling crowd outside it at all times. Their samosas and mirchi badas are a specialty and make it stand out from the 20 other odd shops in Jodhpur selling them.

Laxmi Tea Hotel: Laxmi Tea Hotel: Near the Clock Tower, it is a short distance away from Shahi Samosa. You get excellent tea at several spots in Jodhpur (including Bhati Tea Stall and Hans Café opposite NLU), but what this place serves is something else. Until visiting here, Jaipur Literature Festival’s Pushkari Chai ranked at the top of my list of must-have teas. But not anymore. You should also try their kesar doodh (saffron milk). On a cold winter night, after having visited the Mehrangarh, it feels like a warm, sweet, aromatic hug served in a khulhad.

Garib Hotel Omlette Shop: Right opposite Laxmi Tea Hotel, they make omelettes so well, Lonely Planet recommends them. Do try their Michael Baba omelette with the local favourite beverage kala ghoda masala soda.

Punjabi Chic Inn: Don’t get befuddled by its rundown appearance, they are the unrivalled champion doling out chicken rolls unlike anyone around. You will agree too after you’ve had their chicken tikka roll, chicken angara, or desi katta roll.

Lunch

Gypsy: The hype around Gypsy is not without reason. It’s always bustling with people wanting to have a satisfying meal. Their veg thaali is magnificent with something for every palette. They offer unlimited servings, so make sure you go with an empty stomach.

Kalinga: Near the Jodhpur Railway Station, their laal maans is an absolute delight. Complement it with their chai and you’d want nothing more.

Kim Mohan’s Restaurant: Known for Korean food, their bibimbap is a must-have. It’s a serving of steaming rice with a lot of stir-fried vegetables and eggs.

Bhawani Dal Baati Churma: If you’re in the mood to have dal baati churma, you must visit this modest eatery in Sardarpura. Make sure you order chaach to complete the meal.

Kerala Hotel & Fast Food: If you want a break from the local Rajasthani fare, this is the place for you. Though they also serve biryani, north Indian, and Chinese food, you must try their kothu parottas, pepper chicken, and appam.

Dinner

Sparrow’s Pizzeria: It’s a mellow, fairy lights, windy sort of a place to hang out with friends or spend an evening away by yourself. Try out their volcano pizza, mutton d’lux, and farmville delight. One pizza will do for two. Their generous portion sizes will stump you. However, they do not serve alcohol.

Blue Turban: Overlooking the Mehrangarh, it has a stunning view of the gigantic fort. An economical alternative to the Raas Haveli, it is an ideal place for a dinner date. Their kebab platter, laal maans, and paneer do pyaza are delectable. They also serve alcohol.

Kebab Korner, Bal Samand Lake Palace: Though their private lake can be accessed only by resident guests, you can relish the dreamy ambiance of this place sitting by the bonfire and looking at the stars. Tucked away in a quiet corner, their Rajasthani fare is sumptuous and service excellent. Do try their gatta curry, lachha paranta, tandoori naan, and laal maans. If you want to have alcohol, stick to what you know and like. You can skip their cocktails.

Motu Jalebiwala: Not everyone can make a 250 gm king-size jaleba that’s more than enough for four. Motu Jalebiwala can. And they do such a fine job of it. Their jalebis are hot, crisp, and they melt in your mouth.

Chaturbhuj Rameshchandra: Their gulab jamuns may look a bit undercooked, but they are a delicacy. It is difficult to stop at just one. You must also try their mishri mawa.

Mishri Lal Mishthan Bhandar: Though they also serve south-Indian and fast food, their makhaniya lassi and rabri are their claim to fame. Their gajar halwa is worth a shot too.

Swadeshi Sweet Home, Mandore: Known for their besan ki chakki, they make it with pure desi ghee and use ground cardamom generously to season it. Need I say more?

Bonus: If you are looking for something to take back home, buy mixed namkeen and chana jor garam from Chandra Vilas Namkeen. Opposite Janta Sweet Home, they have an elaborate variety of namkeen that make for befitting souvenirs for friends and family.

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

RBI receives application from West End Housing Finance for small finance bank licence

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday said it has received an application from West End Housing Finance under the “on-tap” small finance bank licensing guidelines of 2019, taking the total number of applicants to seven.

“The Reserve Bank of India has received an application under the Guidelines for ‘on tap’ Licensing of Small Finance Banks dated December 5, 2019 from West End Housing Finance Limited,” RBI said in a press release.

Also Read: RBI extends deadline for periodic KYC update by 3 months till March 31, 2022

Other applicants under guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of small finance banks are VSoft Technologies Private Ltd, Calicut City Service Co-operative Bank Ltd, Akhil Kumar Gupta, Dvara Kshetriya Gramin Financial Services Private Ltd, Cosmea Financial Holdings Private Ltd and Tally Solutions Private Ltd.

The guidelines for ‘on tap’ licensing of universal banks and SFBs in the private sector were issued on August 1, 2016 and December 5, 2019, respectively. As per the guidelines, the initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital for a universal bank should be 500 crore. Thereafter, the bank should have a minimum net worth of Rs 500 crore at all times.

Also Read: RBI may need to re-look its stress test models

The minimum paid-up voting capital/net worth for SFBs should be Rs 200 crore. In the case of urban co-operative banks desirous of voluntarily transiting into SFBs, the initial requirement of net worth is Rs 100 crore, which will have to be increased to Rs 200 crore within five years.

In March, the RBI had announced a Standing External Advisory Committee, headed by former RBI Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath, for evaluating applications for universal banks and small finance banks.

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: GlobalBees and Mamaearth turn unicorn, Jupiter gets $86 million in Series C round, Teachmint acquires Airlearn & Flipkart’s Rs 17,000 crore ESOP pool

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Roll-up firm GlobalBees joins unicorn club with $111.5 million funding

Thrasio-style e-commerce startup GlobalBees has entered the unicorn club after raising $111.5 in its Series B funding round led by Premji Invest. Steadview Capital, along with existing investors SoftBank and e-commerce baby products company FirstCry also participated in the funding round.

The investment pushed GlobalBees valuation at $1.1 billion, making it the 44th Indian company to join the unicorn club in 2021. The roll-up firm said it plans to use the fresh capital to strengthen its product portfolio and also for innovation, enhancing customer experience, hiring employees and scaling brands that it owns. The company added it is in advanced talks with 20 companies to acquire their brands.

Mamaearth turns unicorn after funding from Sequoia, Sofina & others

Personal care brand Mamaearth has entered the billion-dollar club after raising funds in a new round at unicorn valuation, as per data from Venture Intelligence. The funding was led by Sequoia Capital’s Sequoia Capital Growth Fund III, Sofina and Evolvence Fund. As per reports, Mamaearth has raised close to $80 million, at an estimated valuation of $1.07 billion.

It has approved the allotment of 1,741 Series F preference shares at an issue price of Rs 33,85,049 to raise Rs 589.3 crore or $79.5 million. This is the second round for the startup in 2021. In July, it had secured $50 million in a round led by Sofina at a valuation of $730 million.

Jupiter gets $86 million in Series C round from QED Investors & Sequoia Growth fund

Neobank Jupiter has secured $86 million as part of its Series C fundraise led by US-based QED Investors and Sequoia Growth fund, according to regulatory filings sourced through Tofler. The round also saw participation from other existing investors such as Tiger Global, Matrix Partners, 3one4 Capital and BEENEXT. This is Jupiter’s second round of fundraising in 2021.

Founder and CEO Jitendra Gupta told Moneycontrol that the valuation for the company now stands at $710 million. This is a jump of close to 2.5x in valuation from the previous round, which valued Jupiter at $293 million. As per the report, the startup will continue to invest in customer acquisition with an aim to have a million customers by April 2022 and is also looking at entering lending in the coming year.

MetaMap raises Rs 530 crore in Series B funding round led by Tribe Capital

MetaMap (formerly known as Mati), a startup that builds a merit-based trust and reputation infrastructure layer to help companies transition to a borderless economy, has raised Rs 530 crores in Series B funding led by Tribe Capital.

Craft Ventures, Alameda Research (FTX), Titan Capital, and prominent angel investors including Jerry Murdock, founder of Insight Partners, also participated in the funding round. With this investment, the company’s total funding stands at Rs 630 crore. The firm said it will deploy the fresh capital in product development and furthering its international expansion.

Infra.Market gets Rs 200 crore in debt funding: Report

B2B construction materials marketplace, Infra.Market, has raised Rs 200 crore by issuing debentures to a group of investors led by financial institution Avendus, the Economic Times reported.

The funding is intended to help meet the working capital needs of the Tiger Global-backed company. This is debt funding with a three-year tenure. The company is also in talks to raise equity funding, the report added. Infra. Market became a unicorn—a privately held startup with a valuation of $1 billion or more in February.

Insurance broker SecureNow bags $6 million in Series B round

Insurance Broker SecureNow has raised $6 million in a Series B round led by Apis Insurtech Fund I, managed by Apis Partners, and Charan Singh, founder of SelectQuote. The firm will be using the fresh capital to develop the platform further, bundle value-added services for clients, and increase client outreach, it said in a statement.

The company will focus on commercial insurance issuance by developing an end-to-end insurtech platform, that presently serves 25,000 small businesses in 150 locations. Over the next three years, the startup aims to grow to over one million enterprises, and the same timeframe in which it expects to reach profitability, it added.

Deep tech startup Metamall raises $ 4.6 million ahead of IDO

Blockchain startup Metamall has raised $4.6 million in a pre-IDO (a fundraising technique mediated by a decentralized trade) round. The funding round saw participation from new-age investors including 316VC, CSPDAO, MarsVC, WLI Capital, BullPerks, HVS Ventures, CCK ventures and others.

Metamall has sold $1 million worth of land on the Metaverse. Out of $2.5 million land available on pre-sales, $1 million has been sold in 3 days to investors, it said in a statement. The firm will use the proceeds to develop its technical capabilities, and strengthen cooperation with main websites and builders. It will allow Metamall to create essentially the most modern and enjoyable game-for-money (P2E) metaverse for customers.

OwO Tech gets $3 million seed capital from marquee investors to fuel growth

Water e-commerce start-up OwO Technologies has raised $3 million (about Rs 22.5 crore) seed funding from marquee investors. OwO is creating disruptions in the online essentials space (the drinking water market at large) by launching WaaS (water-as-a-service), the company said in a statement adding that the company aims to expand to 75 cities by March 2023. The funding will be used to scale its technology platform and to launch operations in Delhi, Noida, Jaipur and Pune.

Eximius Ventures launches gaming syndicate ‘The Gaming Lounge’, makes first investment in EsportsXO

Micro venture capital fund Eximius Ventures has launched a gaming syndicate ‘The Gaming Lounge’ to take more bets in the gaming sector outside of the fund and has made its first investment in EsportsXO.

The syndicate will invest exclusively in gaming companies in the seed stage and help them grow with the right capital, industry-specific guidance, and network access. Through this platform, Eximius aims to facilitate the flow of capital into the nascent-stage gaming industry and promote its growth, the VC fund said in a statement.

The syndicate plans to invest in sic-eight deals per annum exclusively with an equity cheque of up to $500,000. Within gaming, it plans to support several sub-segments such as esports, game development and publishing, and gaming infrastructure, Eximius Ventures added.

Hair Forever gets $150K in Pre-Seed round

Hair Extension Manufacturing startup Hair Forever has raised funds worth $150,000 from several angel investors in a pre-seed round. This is the third venture by the serial entrepreneur Ashish Tiwari, after Healthkhoj and Hair Originals.

The company has already set up the facility in Gurugram, Haryana, and is planning to go aggressive in the terms of manufacturing, to accomplish its target of cutting a thicker slice in the market share in the top 4 Indian markets- Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Chandigarh, and Pune, by mid of 2022, it said in a statement.

Tournament discovery platform EsportsXO raises $1.1 million in seed round

EsportsXO, a tournament discovery platform for gaming enthusiasts, has raised $1.1 million from We Founder Circle and Wami Capital. SOSV, Mumbai Angels Network, SucSEED Indovation Fund, The Gaming Lounge and FAAD Network, also participated in the seed funding round.

“EsportsXO’s USP lies in the SaaS tool, built to focus on their product strategy, with other aspects creating a flywheel effect for the platform. This funding is a testament to their growth and progress, and we believe that it will help the platform reach greater heights,” added Nandini Mansinghka, co-founder & CEO, Mumbai Angels Network. The firm plans to invest the fresh funds into tech and non-tech talent acquisition, aggressive marketing and operations.

Retail AI startup Tango Eye raises $1 million from Lenskart, eyes Global expansion

Software startup Tango Eye has raised $1 million in a pre-series A funding round led by direct-to-consumer (D2C) eyewear brand Lenskart. The firm will use the funds for product development activities, expansion, and to increase manpower in the technology and business space, it said in a statement. Lenskart launched Vision Fund in June 2021 and plans to invest up to $20 million in select entities across eyewear, eye care and omnichannel retail sectors.

Mensa Brands adds home-grown denim brand High Star to its cart

E-commerce roll-up brand Mensa acquired High Star, a home-grown denim brand that caters to digital-first consumers. Mensa Brands has set a target of achieving a 10x gross turnover for the brand within the next 4 to 5 years.

“Our team has outlined a strategic roadmap for expanding the brand’s footprints in the domestic and international markets across channels to reach consumers and continue to improve customer experience,” Ananth Narayanan, founder and CEO of Mensa Brands said.

Mensa’s team will bring their expertise to expand the brand’s presence pan India and take it global. Within the first year of onboarding, Mensa will support High Star in areas such as digital marketing, technology, working capital management and channel expansion, a statement said.

‘House of Brands’ IDAM acquires 60% stake in MeeSoGood

IDAM Natural Wellnes, the parent company of D2C personal care brand Bella Vita Organic, has picked up around 60 percent stake in MeeSoGood, a chocolate and coffee brand, for an undisclosed amount.

The strategic acquisition was made by IDAM to primarily help MeeSoGood cater to the increased demand in volumes and access different markets across India, the firm said in a statement. This was IDAM’s second acquisition so far. In October, IDAM announced the acquisition of pet wellness firm Petveda.

Teachmint acquires Airlearn to expand developer offerings

Education infrastructure startup Teachmint has announced the acquisition of Airlearn, a video engagement platform for education businesses, in a cash-and-stock deal to expand its developer offerings.

With this deal, Teachmint strengthens its developer offering called Teachstack, enabling edtech companies across the globe to build state-of-the-art classroom solutions for their users, the company said in a statement. This comes following Teachmint’s acquisitions of course-selling platform Teachmore and Singapore-based Teachee’s India team.

Flipkart creates ESOP pool of Rs 17,000 crore; highest in India: Report

E-commerce platform Flipkart has created a Rs 17,000-crore ESOP pool, the highest stock options allocated to employees among Indian technology companies. The Walmart-owned homegrown e-tailer joins new-age companies like Oyo, Paytm, Nykaa and Zomato which also created a high ESOP pool, the Economic Times reported quoting data exclusively sourced from search firm Longhouse Consulting.

Oyo created an ESOP pool of Rs 7,569 crore, Zomato had Rs 5,639 crore, Paytm Rs 4,571 crore and Nykaa Rs 4,280 crore. Zomato and Nykaa, which debuted on the Indian bourses earlier this year, generated a windfall for employees and investors with the listing.

Learning platforms UpGrad and Byju’s put together ESOP pools of Rs 427 crore and Rs 3,092 crore, respectively. ShareChat, a social media platform in regional languages which entered the unicorn club in April, created an ESOP pool of Rs 462 crore.

With more companies conducting buyback programmes, Indian start-ups have seen a record year for ESOPs. Between July 2020 and November 2021, 40 Indian start-ups bought back ESOPs worth Rs 3,200 crore, an earlier ET report said.

In July, Flipkart announced one of the largest buybacks of the year worth Rs 600 crore. Around 6,000 employees of the e-commerce platform were said to have the option to liquidate up to 10 percent of their vested ESOPs, a Times of India report said.

Ola Electric kick-starts setting up Hyperchargers for e-scooters, aims to hit 4,000 by 2022

Ola Electric has started to install its charging network called Hypercharger across the country days after it started to roll out its electric scooters S1 and S1 Pro to its customers. Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO and co-founder of Ola Electric, shared the update while revealing the EV maker’s plans to increase the charging infrastructure in the coming days.

Aggarwal took to Twitter to announce that Ola Electric aims to set up more than 4,000 such charging points for its electric scooters across India by the end of the year.

Draft e-commerce policy, rules to be released together soon: Report

The government will soon circulate revised versions of the e-commerce policy and e-commerce rules to spell out comprehensive guidelines for all online transactions, covering all digital commerce and service providers, including marketplaces, ride-hailing companies, ticketing and payment companies, sources told the Economic Times.

The idea is that the two drafts will be released at the same time and be in sync with each other, reducing the scope for misunderstanding. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the ministry of commerce will release the draft e-commerce policy, which will lay down the ground rules for online trade and address gaps in overall digital commerce policy.

The ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution will release the draft e-commerce rules aimed at ensuring consumer interest is protected, the report added. The latest draft of the policy by the DPIIT is expected to focus on setting up a regulator, framing an e-commerce law, and penalties for violations. It will cover all e-commerce companies – Indian as well as foreign-funded ones.

Removed 61,114 content pieces in November in India: Google compliance report

Google received 26,087 complaints from users and removed 61,114 pieces of content based on those complaints in November, the tech giant said in its monthly transparency report. In addition to reports from users, Google also removed 3,75,468 pieces of content in November as a result of automated detection.

Google had received 24,569 complaints from users and removed 48,594 pieces of content based on those complaints in October, while 3,84,509 pieces of content were removed as a result of automated detection. The US-based company has made these disclosures as part of compliance with India’s IT rules that came into force in May this year.

Google, in its latest report, said it had received 26,087 complaints in the month of November (November 1-30, 2021) from individual users located in India via designated mechanisms, and the number of removal actions as a result of user complaints stood at 61,114. These complaints relate to third-party content that is believed to violate local laws or personal rights on Google’s significant social media intermediaries (SSMI) platforms, the report said.

Under the IT rules, large digital platforms – with over 5 million users – have to publish periodic compliance reports every month, mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken thereon.

Google approaches Karnataka HC against CCI’s probe into Play Store rules

Google has filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court, seeking more time to respond to the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) questions into its Play Store rules. “We have filed a writ in Karnataka High Court regarding the interim relief application in the Google Play probe by the CCI, seeking to move forward in line with established due process principles. We respect the CCI’s investigative process and will continue to engage cooperatively and constructively in the interest of a fair investigation,” Google said in a statement.

Google has also sought that CCI share the identity of complainants, and add a judicial member to the panel. Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) had approached CCI in October seeking interim relief from Google’s Play Store policy. ADIF said app developers, especially those selling digital goods and services, have been unhappy and vocal about their objections to the policy ever since it was announced back in September 2020. Google has been tinkering with the policy since moving the deadline and then lowering the percentage of its app store fees to make it more palatable to the app developers, it noted.

Google had previously stated that apps that choose to sell digital content through its Play Store have to use the Google Play billing system and pay a percentage of the in-app purchase as a fee. It had given time until September 30, 2021, to complete the necessary updates. However, it extended the deadline to March 31, 2022, after concerns were raised by the developer community in India.

Nexus co-founder Naren Gupta passes away

Naren Gupta, the co-founder of Nexus Venture Partners and a pioneer of venture capital in India, passed away on December 26 at the age of 73. Gupta founded Nexus Venture Partners along with Suvir Sujan and Sandeep Singhal in 2006 and has been actively investing in Indian startups for the last 15 years. Nexus is one of India’s earliest and largest homegrown venture capital firms, managing over $1.2 billion.

He was credited with turning Nexus around after its bets in Housing, ShopClues and Snapdeal went awry a few years ago. Nexus’ unicorns from only the last one year- startups valued at over a billion dollars include Unacademy, enterprise software firm Postman and B2B marketplace Infra.market, while IPO-bound Delhivery and software firm Druva’s valuations have doubled to about $3 billion as well.

Entrepreneur Pankhuri Shrivastava passes away

Pankhuri Shrivastava, the 32-year old founder of women-focused social community platform ‘Pankhuri’and rental startup Grabhouse, passed away on December 24 due to a cardiac arrest. “With profound grief and sorrow, we regret to inform the sad demise of our CEO Pankhuri Shrivastava. We lost her on 24th December 2021 due to a sudden cardiac arrest. May her soul obtain Sadgati. Om Shanti,” Shrivastava’s company tweeted. Venture capitalists and top executives mourned her untimely demise on social media.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

TikTok dethrones Google to become most popular website: Report

Popular short video-sharing platform TikTok has surpassed tech giant Google as the most popular website of the year, says a report. According to a report by IT security company Cloudflare, the viral video app gets more hits than the US-based search engine, reports BBC.

The rankings show that TikTok knocked Google off the top spot in February, March and June this year, and has held the number one position since August. In 2020, Google was first, and a number of other sites, including TikTok, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Netflix, were all in the top 10.

Starboard acquires stake worth $800 million in GoDaddy – WSJ

Activist investor Starboard Value LP has purchased a 6.5 percent stake in web services firm GoDaddy worth about $800 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. Shares of GoDaddy, which have dropped 8 percent so far this year, rose 2.6% in premarket market trading. According to the report, Starboard plans to push the company to improve its performance.

Apple issues rare $180K bonuses for top talent in a bid to prevent defections to Meta: Report

Apple has issued unusual and significant stock bonuses to some engineers in an effort to retain talent, looking to stave off defections to tech rivals such as Facebook owner Meta Platforms, according to a Bloomberg News report.

The bonuses have ranged from about $50,000 to as much as $180,000 in some cases. Many of the engineers received amounts of roughly $80,000, $100,000 or $120,000 in shares, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the program isn’t public. The perk was presented by managers as a reward for high performers.

Last week, the company informed some engineers in silicon design, hardware, and select software and operations groups of the out-of-cycle bonuses, which are being issued as restricted stock units. The shares vest over four years, providing an incentive to stay at the iPhone maker.

Apple closes New York City stores to shoppers as COVID-19 cases rise

Apple has closed all of its 12 New York City stores to indoor shopping as cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant surged across the United States. Customers will be able to pick up online orders at the stores, an Apple spokesperson told Reuters. The affected stores include outlets at Fifth Avenue, Grand Central and SoHo.

“We regularly monitor conditions and we will adjust both our health measures and store services to support the wellbeing of customers and employees,” the company said in a statement.

Alphabet CEO Pichai can be questioned in privacy lawsuit, judge rules

Plaintiffs who accused Alphabet’s Google of unlawfully tracking their internet use while on “Incognito” browsing mode can question Chief Executive Sundar Pichai for up to two hours, a California federal judge has ruled.

In the lawsuit filed in June 2020, users accused Google of illegally invading their privacy by tracking internet use while Google Chrome browsers were set in “private” mode. The plaintiffs are arguing that Pichai has “unique, personal knowledge” of issues relating to the Chrome browser and privacy concerns, a Monday court filing showed.

Russian court fines Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms

A Moscow court has fined Alphabet’s Google 7.2 billion roubles ($98 million) for what it said was a repeated failure to delete content Russia deems illegal, the first revenue-based fine of its kind in Russia.

According to Reuters, Moscow has increased pressure on big tech this year in a campaign that critics characterise as an attempt by the Russian authorities to exert tighter control over the internet, something they say threatens individual and corporate freedom. Google said in an email it would study the court ruling before deciding on further steps.

Chinese citizens slam Musk online after space station near-misses

Chinese citizens lashed out online against billionaire Tesla founder Elon Musk’s space ambitions after China complained that its space station was forced to take evasive action to avoid collision with satellites launched by Musk’s Starlink programme, Reuters reported.

The satellites from Starlink Internet Services, a division of Musk’s SpaceX aerospace company, had two “close encounters” with the Chinese space station on July 1 and October 21, according to a document submitted by China earlier this month to the U.N.’s space agency.

“For safety reasons, the China Space Station implemented preventive collision avoidance control,” China said in a document published on the website of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. The complaints have not been independently verified.

US space agency NASA was forced to abruptly call off a spacewalk at the end of November, citing risks posed by space debris. Musk tweeted in response that some Starlink satellite orbits had been adjusted to reduce the possibility of collisions.

Riot Games agrees to pay $100 million to settle gender discrimination lawsuit

Tencent Holdings’ Riot Games has agreed to pay $100 million to settle a 2018 gender-based discrimination class-action lawsuit with California state agencies and current and former women employees, Reuters reported.

The company said it will pay $80 million to the members of the class-action suit, comprising all current and former full-time women employees and temporary agency contractors in California who worked from November 2014 to the present. An additional $20 million will be paid towards attorneys’ fees and miscellaneous expenses, Riot Games said in a statement.

Didi bars employees from selling shares indefinitely: FT

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Global has barred current and former employees from selling shares of the company indefinitely, the Financial Times reported. The 180-day lockup period post the company’s initial public offering during which current and former staff were not permitted to sell shares was supposed to end on December 27, but the prohibition has been extended without a new end date, the report said. Employees will not be able to sell shares until after the company has been listed in Hong Kong, according to the report.

China’s Didi plans Hong Kong ‘listing by introduction’, picks banks, sources tell Reuters

China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Global plans to use a mechanism that will allow it to list shares in Hong Kong without raising capital or issuing new stock as it seeks to delist from New York, sources told Reuters.

The plans come as Didi is moving towards withdrawing from the New York Stock Exchange under pressure from Beijing after running foul of Chinese authorities by pushing ahead with an initial public offering (IPO) there earlier this year despite being asked to put it on hold while a review of its data practices was conducted.

The Hong Kong mechanism, known as ‘listing by introduction’, would allow owners of Didi US shares to transfer them to the city’s bourse gradually. Didi aims to file for the Hong Kong listing by the end-April and list by June.

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

Corporate Newsmakers of 2021; here’s a look

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The COVID-19 pandemic continued to ravage lives and livelihood in 2021. The Delta wave ripped through the country, and pushed the healthcare infrastructure to the edge, the economy managed to stabilise and some sectors saw a recovery. Through one of the most tumultuous years for the global and Indian economy, a few companies stood out and made an impact.

Here are the corporate Newsmakers of 2021.

Serum Institute of India

The world’s largest vaccine maker, created history by delivering over 125 crore doses of its COVID-19 Vaccine licensed from Astra Zeneca. As we enter 2022, the Company has just received the Emergency use authorisation to rollout a second COVID-19 vaccine, Covovax, licensed from global pharma major Novavax.

Nykaa

Online beauty platform Nykaa’s stellar debut on the D-Street in November 2021 created headlines and wealth. With about an 80 percent premium, catapulted Falguni Nayar, the founder and chief executive office of Nykaa, as ‘India’s richest self-made woman billionaire.

Nykaa’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) was subscribed by 91x times and hit Rs 1 lakh crore cap on its debut. The stock continues to gain and is trading above 90 percent from its issue price.

The company’s share of revenue from fashion has seen a whooping increase from 1.2 percent in FY19 to 27 percent in H1FY22.

Nayar started the e-commerce beauty platform when she was pushing 50, with over 20 years of experience as an investment banker. Eight years down the lane, apart from having a strong online presence, Naykaa also has 80 stores across the country under Nykaa Luxe, Kiosks and On-Trend with a valuation of $14 billion.

Also Read: Nykaa, first new-age business that’s profitable

Zomato

Zomato’s listing, arguably started the IPO frenzy to all new age digital businesses in India.

Despite being a ‘loss-making’ company, the India’s largest food delivery company’s IPO was subscribed by 38x times and opened with 58% above its issue price.

In its P&L sheet, Zomato had a loss of Rs 4,600 crore from 2018 to 2021 June and was valued at Rs 60,000 crore.

From Tamil Nadu’s Chennai to Srinagar, Zomato has its roots spread across over 63 cities in India

Paytm

Paytm’s date with Dalal street didn’t live up to expectations.

Despite having the largest IPO in India’s corporate history at Rs 18,300 crore, Paytm could not woo subscribers, and was subscribed by only 1.89 times in total.

Its shares opened on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) at a 9 percent discount from its issue price of Rs 2,150 and later fell by more than 27 percent on both BSE and NSE to close at around Rs 1,560 at the end of the day.

Also Read: Paytm gets scheduled bank status from RBI

In December 2021, three officials, Abhishek Arun, COO of Paytm Payments Bank, Renu Satti, COO of offline payments, and Abhishek Gupta, senior vice-president and COO resigned from the company.

On its P&L, Paytm has a loss of Rs 1,701 crore in FY2021 and Rs 2,942 crore in FY2020.

Tata Group

It was a homecoming of sorts for the National Carrier Air India, with the original founders, the Tata Group winning buying it from the Centre after placing a bid of Rs 18,000 crore.

Air India was founded in 1932 by the Tata’s. In 1953, the airline was nationalized and remained as India’s prized possession controlling the majority of domestic airspace for over four decades.

As of August 2021, the airlines had a total debt of more than Rs 61,000 crores. Tata’s will take up Rs 15,300 crores of the debt.

According to the share purchase agreement, the Tata Group will be back in Air India’s cockpit by January 2022.

Currently, the Tata Group also holds operations of Vistara and AirAsia India.

Also Read: Tata Group betting on new age businesses

Zee-Sony

In a major media deal, the Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) have entered a definitive agreement to merge.

The merger will create India’s second-largest entertainment entity, with 75 TV channels, two film studios (Zee Studios and Sony Pictures Films India), two video streaming services (ZEE5 and Sony LIV), and a digital content studio, Studio NXT.

Sony will hold a majority stake of 50.86 percent in the merged company. Zee currently owns 96.05 crore shares, post-merger the holding will increase to 173.63 crores.

Punit Goenka, managing director & CEO of ZEE, will lead the merged entity as the MD & CEO with the majority of the board of directors nominated by the Sony Group.

UPI

The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) created a new record in 2021.

With transactions touching a record high at Rs 7.71 lakh crore in October. Daily payments through UPI averaged between Rs 25,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore in October. It was a 56 percent jump from September’s Rs 6.54 lakh crore transaction value.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) data also showed that UPI transactions have left debit and credit card transactions behind.

Telecom Relief Package

Much needed breather for the telecom sector, the Union Cabinet approved a crucial package which includes a four-year moratorium on payment of statutory dues, allows 100 percent foreign direct investments through the automatic route and rationalizing spectrum charges that telecom firms have to bear.

The package came as a lifeline for the beleaguered debt saddled Vodafone Idea, which was struggling to survive.

Reliance Industries

Indian Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) made big moves towards building green energy future 021.

The behemoth has inked at least half a dozen deals in the green space since its announcement to build four gigafactories in India.

The gigafactories will manufacture solar panels, electric batteries, green hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells.

RIL is targeting 100 GW of solar manufacturing and green hydrogen at a cost of $1 per kg by 2030. It will spend $10 billion on the new energy business over the next 3 years towards achieving these targets.

The firm has also committed to become net carbon zero by 2035.

Infosys

The tech giant landed itself in a soup due to technical glitches in the income tax portal it helped develop for the government.

Within hours of its launch in June, the portal faced issues such as inability to generate an OTP for Aadhar validation, password generation failure, problems in filing returns, and troubleshoots while linking old data for past returns. Later, the problems expanded to errors in interest calculation, incorrect capturing of details from Form 16, and more.

After several rounds of meetings and corrections, the Tax department claimed, the site was functioning smoothly, even though filers continued to take to social media to voice their concerns.

Also Read: Companies that defined 2021

The article has been written by Padmini Dhruvaraj

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 is Beijing declaring ‘official’ Chinese names for places in Arunachal Pradesh

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

China has recently released a list of “new names” for 15 places in Aruchanal Pradesh. The country’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on December 29 that it was releasing the “standardised” names of 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh. The names were standardised in accordance with the rules laid out by the State Council, China’s cabinet of ministers, on geographical names.

Among the 15 places which were marked down with geographical coordinates, eight are residential areas, four are mountains, two are rivers and one is a mountain pass, reported the Global Times.

Why is China doing this

China is announcing “standardised” names for places in Arunachal Pradesh as the country claims around 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory. China tries to assert its claims over the territory through multiple channels. The release of the “standardised” names has been a tactic that the country has used in the past as well.

The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs had announced the “official” Chinese names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it started calling “South Tibet” back in 2017. China had at the time stated that the six names were from the “first batch” of “standardised” names.

Also read: China has built a 100-home village in Arunachal Pradesh: US defence report

Other channels used by China to try and assert its claims are to lodge diplomatic protests when senior Indian leaders and dignitaries visit the state and ensuring that maps and geographic services used in China show the state as part of Chinese territory.

What does India say

India, in response, has stated that issuing names to existing places does not take away the sovereignty of India over those places.

“This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017. Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be, an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact,” said Arindam Bagchi, Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson.

Also read: Indian troops on high alert after China’s Twitter posts threaten military action in Arunachal: Report

Why China claims Arunachal as its own

China’s claims to the territory in Arunachal Pradesh comes from the contention over the establishment of the McMahon Line. The line demarcated the borders of Tibet and British controlled India in 1914. While representatives from Tibet, Britain and China were present in the ‘Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet’ or the Shimla Convention, the Chinese representative had claimed that Tibet had no independent authority to enter into international agreements since it was a territory of the Chinese Empire.

While China at the time did not have the means to assert or even protest against the claims, ever since the Chinese Communist Party came to power, it has made clear its wishes to reverse the territorial “losses” the country suffered during the so-called century of humiliation, also known as ‘the hundred years of national humiliation.’ Other territorial claims include Taiwan, the South and the East China Sea, and several islands.

Also read: Situation at Sino-India border ‘generally stable’: China

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

10 Crypto Influencers On Social Media You Need To Follow In 2022

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

2021 was all about Bitcoin and NFTs, from El Salvador, a country, adopting the former as its legal currency to a piece of artwork called Beeple selling for USD $69 million. This year has already set the stage for cryptocurrency to dominate headlines in the coming year as well as metaverse, Ethereum 2.0, and more in the pipeline.

As always, it’s best to get news and information from the best in the business. This is why we’ve curated this list of 10 influential people from the world of crypto whom you need to follow to stay on top of everything happening in the ever-changing and dynamic world of cryptocurrency. Here they are:

1 – Vitalik Buterin

No better way to begin this list than with the co-founder of Ethereum, one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in circulation. Buterin’s underlying technology that makes Ethereum work also powers most of the NFT transactions today. Buterin is one of the youngest crypto billionaires, an advocate for abolishing daylight savings, and the co-founder of Bitcoin Magazine. Buterin is active on Twitter where he is just shy of three million followers with whom he shares reviews, news stories, and resources on all things blockchain and crypto.

2 – Roger Ver

More popularly known as Bitcoin Jesus for being one of the earliest adopters and proponents of Bitcoin in 2011, Roger Ver is also known to have invested large sums of money in crypto-related startups including Bitcoin, Ripple, Kraken, etc. He was also an early adopter of accepting payments via cryptocurrency and is known to share immense optimism for blockchain technology and Bitcoin. He is active on Twitter and shares his enthusiasm and other news and information with his 740K followers.

3 – Adam Back

Adam Back is widely regarded as the person who created the proof-of-work system that is used in cryptocurrency and blockchain verification. Back is also known as the face behind some of the most revolutionary crypto-financial infrastructures that involve cryptography protocols and security architecture through his company Blockstream. You can follow his updates regarding Bitcoin and cryptocurrency security among other things along with his 420K plus followers here.

4 – Jack Dorsey

You can’t talk about cryptocurrency without talking about Jack Dorsey, one of its most passionate speakers and the head of Twitter until recently. With six million followers and counting, Dorsey’s voice is among the most influential in the cryptocurrency market. His comments about Web3 being owned by venture capitalists recently stirred a hornet’s nest while his optimism for Bitcoin is always a joy to read. Make sure you’re following Dorsey to stay updated about the good, bad, and everything that cryptocurrencies are working on here.

5 – Elon Musk

The Big Daddy of them all, Elon Musk is single-handedly responsible for many of the price swings seen in the world of cryptocurrency this year. From his love of Dogecoin to accepting and then going back on being able to buy Tesla cars with Bitcoins and more, without Musk and his tweets, the world of crypto would definitely be a much more boring space than it is today. Not following the person whose single tweet can rally or sink cryptocurrencies is like hiding from the storm when its right outside your house. Stay aware, stay updated and stay entertained with Musk and his tweets here.

6 – Andreas Antonopoulos

For some of you, learning everything there is to cryptocurrencies is more important than following trends and fads (as it should be). If you’re looking for someone to educate you on the nuances of crypto, look no further than Andreas Antonopoulos, a tech entrepreneur, open blockchain expert, and bestselling author of various crypto-related publications. From DeFi to NFTs and everything else in the crypto world, if you need to learn something, let Antonopoulos be your guiding light. Follow him along with 677K plus others here.

7 – Altcoin Sara

We’re all for diversity and we couldn’t be more thrilled to talk about Altcoin Sara, a cryptocurrency content creator known for its market analysis and crypto headlines and highly regarded amongst the crypto community. Besides, Sara is also a fitness enthusiast with her Instagram account full of pictures that will motivate you to start trading from your gym right away. Of course, the best way of keeping up with her is through Twitter.

8 – Nicholas Merten

Nicholas Merten is another influential name in the world of cryptocurrencies, thanks to his YouTube channel DataDash as well as being the founder CEO of Digifox Finance that allows users to get paid in cryptocurrency. Merten is known to talk about lesser-known cryptocurrencies and offer his viewpoints regarding them while also analysing the rise and fall of larger coins like Bitcoin and Ether. Follow him on Twitter here.

9 – Changpeng Zhao

Changpeng Zhao, often simply abbreviated to his initials CZ, is the CEO of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance. Not only does CZ share relevant information regarding cryptocurrencies, but his FAQ series on the Binance blog and industry-leading news also make it worthwhile to follow and understand everything happening in the fast-changing crypto world. You can follow CZ here.

10 – Nischal Shetty

If you haven’t been following Nischal Shetty, Founder, and CEO of WazirX, you’ve been missing out, and how! From analysing crypto news from across the world as well as sharing candid thoughts about India’s proposed cryptocurrency regulation to laying out information about Web3 in a concise manner and his famed #IndiaWantsCrypto hashtag, Shetty’s account and his 418K plus followers make him India’s top cryptocurrency influencer. You need to follow Shetty on his Twitter account here.

While you’re at it, we also recommend you open your account with WazirX and start your own cryptocurrency journey after following and learning from all of these amazing influencers from the world of cryptocurrency. It is, after all, India’s most trusted Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange that promises to make your own crypto journey as smooth and reliable as it can be. Open your account here.

This is a partnered post. 

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 mobile users in India may have to pay more in 2022

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

Mobile phone users might burn a bigger hole in their wallets going into next year. With the telecom operators planning to introduce 5G services, companies are expected to hike their rates once again to keep revenues up, reported The Times of India. While 5G services are expected to increase the revenue coming to the companies, the auction for the 5G spectrum is expected to significantly increase expenditure as well.

Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel have already increased their rates earlier in the year. The move from two of the three major private telecom players in India was aimed at increasing the average revenue per user (ARPU), which they said will ease pressure on the telecom industry. The increase in tariffs ranged from Rs 10 to Rs 501 for both companies.

Also read: Jio adds 17.6 lakh mobile users in Oct; Airtel, Vodafone Idea lose subscribers: TRAI data

With the sector still being plagued by debt despite government measures to alleviate the cash crunch, the telecom companies are expected to ask for affordable pricing for the upcoming spectrum allocation. The telecom industry as a whole is expected to have a total debt of Rs 4.7 crore as of March, 2022, according to ICRA.

Also read: Reliance Jio launches Re 1 plan, the cheapest in India; here are all details

Telecom companies are expected to increase their prices so that the average revenue per user (ARPU) can increase to Rs 200, and then ultimately to Rs 300 for the long-term health of the sector. At present, the ARPU for Airtel stands at Rs 153 and at Rs 109 for Vodafone Idea.

Currently, all three major telecom companies are undertaking 5G trials, with testing sites being located in cities like Gurgaon, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune. and Gandhi Nagar. The 5G service is expected to be launched in metros and major cities first before being slowly expanded to other regions in the country.

Also read: Cellular operators’ body backs deploying 5G ‘small cells’ on electric poles

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

India’s current account slips into deficit in Q2 of FY22

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

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

India’s current account slipped into a deficit of $9.6 billion, or 1.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter of the ongoing fiscal, the Reserve Bank of India said on Friday. The current account records the value of exports and imports of both goods and services along with international transfers of capital, and was in surplus both sequentially as well as year-on-year.

July to September #CurrentAccountDeficit 1.3% of GDP Vs 2.4% GDP surplus YoY pic.twitter.com/WwiYGS0p6K

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) December 31, 2021

India’s current account surplus had stood at $6.6 billion or 0.9 percent of the GDP in the April-June 2021 quarter, while in the year-ago period (Q2FY21), the surplus had stood at $15.3 billion or 2.4 percent of the GDP, the data said.

Also read: RBI expresses doubts over govt meeting fiscal deficit targets

For the reporting quarter, the deficit was mainly due to widening of trade deficit to $44.4 billion from $30.7 billion in the preceding quarter, and an increase in net outgo of investment income, the RBI said.

Net services receipts decreased marginally over the preceding quarter but increased on a year-on-year basis, on the back of robust performance of the exports of computer and business services, it added.

Also read: Robust tax mop-up, under-spending by ministries set to help govt bring fiscal deficit down to 6.6%: Report

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