Saturday, November 16

India

After a Ban in 2016, Google Street View Relaunched in India
27Jul By Linda AshokNo Comments
India, Technology

After a Ban in 2016, Google Street View Relaunched in India

Because of worries over the country's security, Google Street View was banned in India in 2016, now relaunched with strong partnerships! According to reports, Google had submitted an additional proposal for the Street View service in 2018, but like the previous one, it was declined. This time, the rollout of Google's Street View service in India depends on partnerships with various local agencies and organizations. Google has formed partnerships with the mapping solutions provider Genesys International and the IT powerhouse Tech Mahindra to bring you the Street View function. Google claims this is the first time that Street View has ever been brought to life entirely by local partners anywhere in the world. What is Google Street View Google Street View provides users with panoramic views...
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An Analysis of India’s 5G Spectrum Auction Outcome
26Jul By Linda AshokNo Comments
India, Technology

An Analysis of India’s 5G Spectrum Auction Outcome

India's most awaited battle for the 5G Spectrum auction got Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, along with a slew of players expected to bid as much as $14 billion for frequency rights. These rights could determine who dominates the digital era. The scheduled date is Tuesday, July 26, 2022, from 10 am till 6 pm. Although Mukesh Ambani's Reliance, Jio Infocomm Ltd., has paid the highest pre-auction deposit, thereby being the most aggressive bidder in the sale and a new entrant Adani Data Networks Ltd., whose bids will be closely watched as competitors try to map out its telecom ambitions. Wireless carriers Bharti Airtel Ltd., a joint venture between Vodafone Group Plc and Kumar Mangalam Birla's group managed by billionaire Sunil Mittal, and Vodafone Idea Ltd., are also ta...
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An Analysis of Paytm 0% MDR for Businesses to Use Paytm Gateway
5Jul By Linda AshokNo Comments
Business, India

An Analysis of Paytm 0% MDR for Businesses to Use Paytm Gateway

If there is any payment app that deeply profited from India's demonetization, it is One97 Communications's Paytm (NSE: PAYTM). If you aren't aware of the 2016 Indian Banknote Demonetization, know that on November 8, 2016, the Government of India canceled all ₹500 and ₹1,000 banknotes of the Mahatma Gandhi Series, replacing them with the new ₹500 and ₹2,000 banknotes. Now Paytm, founded in August 2010 with an initial investment of US$2M by its founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma in Noida, Delhi NCR, rode the tide, spent a great deal on marketing and came to the public notice. Now it seems to be the Paytm 0% MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) for online businesses. Come to think of it, the advent of Paytm was at a strategic hour when India's national payment solution BHIM was waiting for the sperm. Wi...
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A Heatmap Analysis of EdTech in India Selling Ice to Eskimos
19Jun By Linda AshokNo Comments
Business, India

A Heatmap Analysis of EdTech in India Selling Ice to Eskimos

Across Indian media, there is a wave of critical reviews of edtech predicting an apocalyptic hour in the industry. These reviews are, however, a commentary on marketing missteps or financial miscalculations and not a deeper crack that concerns data privacy in India and the exploitation of child-sensitive data. New parents, aka woke millennials succumb to marketing gimmicks by these edtech startups in India. They outsource the brain development of their newborns and toddlers. The reason behind such outsourcing is busy work life and the fear of missing out in an extremely competitive world.  Nikhil Subramaniam at INC42 covers the edtech bubble, Jaspreet Kalra, Olina Banerji, and Arundhati Ramanathan at The Ken write about Deloitte's delay in signing off Byju's 2021 financial statements...
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The Eloquent Brief: Invact Metaversity Meltdown, Ft. Manish Maheshwari
24May By Linda AshokNo Comments
Business, India

The Eloquent Brief: Invact Metaversity Meltdown, Ft. Manish Maheshwari

At this moment, a lot is happening in India. Starting from massive layoffs to the preparation for the upcoming Shark Tank India and then edtech crumbling worse than cookies, you have a moment for every enthusiast. Among these, the most interesting appears to be Invact Metaversity.  What is Invact Metaversity? Invact Metaversity is the imagination of a hyperloop MBA in a virtual environment, which isn't a recorded or live face-to-face classroom but a more adult version of Google Earth view where you can imagine yourself walking into some campus. Some use of AR/VR, a 3-D rendering of university life.  Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) India's former head, Manish Maheshwari, and Microsoft's former executive Tanay Pratap founded Invact Metaversity in December 2021, but now, the two are considering wi...
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Grocery Delivery Startup Raises $200M, Burns Less Cash than Rivals
5May By Linda AshokNo Comments
Business, India

Grocery Delivery Startup Raises $200M, Burns Less Cash than Rivals

Zepto, an Indian grocery delivery startup, has just raised $200M at a valuation of $900M. As per this latest fundraising in the grocery delivery sector, it is now seen as an Investor hotspot where every business is vying to deliver groceries to a customer in flat 10 minutes. Indian delivery startup, Zepto, is spearheaded by two Stanford dropouts aged 19. Founded in 2021 during the prime of the pandemic, this new fundraising is led by Silicon Valley-based Startup incubator- Y Combinator! The investment round also includes US-based Kaiser Permanente and its previous investors, Nexus Venture Partners. As per market speculation, Zepto food delivery startup competes with Blinkit, erstwhile Grofers, backed by SoftBank. In the wake of 10-minute delivery, these Indian grocery delivery startu...
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Insider Trading in India: Past Failures of SEBI & Tryst with Technology
28Apr By Linda AshokNo Comments
India, Technology

Insider Trading in India: Past Failures of SEBI & Tryst with Technology

It is an instance of insider trading when someone working within the system leaks embargoed information or Unpublished Price-Sensitive Information (UPSI) to trade or help trade with external parties. In India, an inside trader applies to a person working in a publicly listed company who would buy or sell stock informed by inside data, including quarterly results, merger and acquisition, expansion or shutdown plans, or other significant activities. The Companies Act, 2013 and the SEBI Act, 1992 prohibit insider trading in India. To contain the wrongful act, in 2015, the SEBI (Securities & Exchange Board of India) formed the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulation. According to the regulation, Insider trading in India is a punishable offense and subjected to legal probing. SE...
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Gigafactory in India by 2025, Informs Lithium-Ion Cell Manufacturer Log9
23Apr By Linda AshokNo Comments
India, Technology

Gigafactory in India by 2025, Informs Lithium-Ion Cell Manufacturer Log9

A 7-year-old advanced battery technology startup Log9 intends to capture the first-mover advantage without participating in the government's ambitious INR 18,000 crore PLI scheme for advanced cell chemistry. The Bengaluru-based bootstrapped Lithium-Ion cell manufacturer, Log9, promises the first Gigafactory in India by 2025. Even though it only has a 25-megawatt-hour (MWh) capacity and an investment of around $25M (INR 190 crore), it has a very aggressive growth plan. By March 2023, Log9 plans to increase battery pack production from 10,000 units today to 40,000 units by June and 4 lakh units by March 2023, with a 50 MWh cell manufacturing capacity. Over the year, this would cost an additional $15 M(INR 110 crore). That, however, is only a warm-up. India's first Giga factory is expected...
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The Anti-Gravity of an Unfunded Literary Publishing House from India
8Jan By Linda AshokNo Comments
Business, India

The Anti-Gravity of an Unfunded Literary Publishing House from India

Amidst some of the positive returns of the pandemic is the return to reading books. There has been a noticeable surge in the publishing industry influenced by established startup entrepreneurs, sometimes by wantrepreneurs, yet sometimes by aesthetes those who use books for egalitarian shelf decoration. But whatever is the end purpose, at the forefront, publishing is doing well, asserts Dr. Kiriti Sengupta. Who is Dr. Kiriti Sengupta? Dr. Kiriti Sengupta is a critically acclaimed Indian English Poet, who along with the Indian novelist in vernacular Bangla, Bitan Chakraborty, are the Joint Directors of Hawakal Publishers, a private limited literary publishing house from India with over a decade of contribution. The company that started in 2008 as a small office in Kolkata bootstrapped to pr...
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