The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has announced a provisional allocation of satellite spectrum for six months. The move will enable select companies, including Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Jio’s Orbit Connect India, to test-run their satellite services.

An official notification, released on October 10, 2024, details the eligibility criteria, allowing companies with a valid DoT licence and In-Space authorisation to access the spectrum.

Currently, OneWeb and Orbit Connect India have met the requirements to utilise the provisional spectrum. However, competitors like Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper are still awaiting the necessary licences.

Notably, the DoT has emphasised that any data collected during this testing period must be securely stored within India. Licensees are required to ensure the confidentiality of this data and provide detailed information about their server and data centre locations to the department. 

Sharing operational data with external parties is restricted and only allowed under specific circumstances, such as when requested by law enforcement agencies.

Under the terms of the provisional spectrum assignment, the companies are expected to demonstrate compliance with security and technical standards. 

Although they can provide services to users during the testing phase, charging for these services is not permitted. Furthermore, companies can test their offerings with an unlimited number of customers, facilitating thorough assessments of their capabilities.

It is pertinent to note that Reliance Jio received approval from the Indian space regulator to operate satellites in June this year. 

However, further approvals were pending from the DoT to begin operations.

In August, Airtel’s OneWeb claimed to be ready to roll out the satellite broadband service in the country. At that time, parent Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal stated that the satellites were constantly orbiting India and that they were “just waiting for a signal from the DoT to light up those SNPs (satellite network portals) for commercial service.”

Few months back, Apple’s satcom partner Globalstar was also mulling to apply for a licence to offer satcom services in India. 

At the heart of all this is the homegrown satcom space, which, as per the government, could be key to delivering internet services to 1.2 Bn Indians by 2025-26.

The post Bharti, Jio Granted Provisional Allocation Of Satcom Spectrum For Test Runs appeared first on Inc42 Media.

D2C men’s grooming startup Menhood’s company secretary and compliance officer, Ankita Soni, has stepped down. 

In a filing with NSE Emerge, the D2C startup said that the resignation came into effect on October 5. Soni, who was appointed in December 2023, oversaw the company’s statutory compliance, among other responsibilities.

As per Menhood’s draft red herring prospectus (DRHP), Soni, before joining Menhood, served as company secretary at consulting firm GACM Technologies, where she advised senior leadership on corporate governance and regulatory matters.

Founded in 2019 by Dushyant Gandotra, Divya Gandotra and Shivam Bhateja, Menhood offers a range of men’s grooming and lifestyle products, including trimmers, intimate perfumes, and moisturisers.

It competes with D2C brands such as The Man Company, Bombay Shaving Company and Beardo. The company went public in July this year, and its IPO was oversubscribed 157.5X. 

The development comes months after FMCG major Emami purchased D2C men’s grooming brand The Man Company in an all-cash deal. Following the completion of the deal, Helios Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, the parent entity of The Man Company, became a wholly owned subsidiary of Emami.

As per an analysis by Inc42, the Indian beauty and personal care market is projected to become a $28 Bn opportunity by 2030, accounting for 7% of the overall ecommerce market.

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India plans to share its expertise in digital public infrastructure (DPI), including systems like Aadhaar and Unified Payments Interface (UPI), with ASEAN nations to explore cross-border collaborations. 

In a joint statement, the two sides said they would explore cooperation in areas like education, healthcare, agriculture, and climate change.

The statement followed the 21st India-ASEAN Summit, during which both sides committed to advancing AI technologies responsibly by developing infrastructure, skills, and risk management frameworks. 

They also discussed partnerships in fintech innovations and digital financial solutions. Both parties also agreed to strengthen cybersecurity cooperation to support the digital economy.

The move is in line with India’s plans to share DPI with countries across the world. 

In July, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) teamed up with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and central banks from four ASEAN nations to launch Project Nexus, a multilateral initiative aimed at facilitating retail cross-border payments. 

Under the initiative, UPI will be linked with the respective fast payment systems (FPS) of Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to facilitate instant cross-border retail payments.

Last year, the RBI also engaged in discussions with counterparts in the US, Hong Kong, and SWIFT to explore a fast and cost-effective cross-border settlement system using central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

The RBI also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) to conduct joint proof-of-concept and pilot projects for a bilateral CBDC bridge. This initiative aims to facilitate cross-border CBDC transactions for remittances and trade while promoting innovation in financial services.

Notably, in February 2023, India and Singapore linked their real-time payment systems.

The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has also signed agreements with countries like Peru and Namibia to develop UPI-like payment systems.

The post India To Share Digital Public Infra Expertise With ASEAN Countries appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked fintechs and banks to make their point of sale (PoS) devices and other payment solutions accessible to persons with disabilities (PwDs).

In a statement, the central bank said that at a time when all sections of the population, including differently abled persons, are increasingly adopting digital payment systems, payment system participants (PSPs) should review their payment systems/ devices in terms of accessibility to PwDs. 

“While selecting potential solutions for the purpose, care should be taken to ensure that the modifications / enhancements do not compromise security aspects of their systems,” it said. 

Additionally, the PSPs have been asked to submit the details of their systems that need to be modified, along with a time bound plan of action for those modifications, within one month from the date of issue of the notice. 

The statement comes after the finance ministry released the “Accessibility Standards and Guidelines for Banking Sector” earlier this year.

The recent update is in line with the RBI’s effort to make fintech space more accessible to the wider population in India. 

For instance, earlier this year, the central bank said it will soon launch a platform to offer credit to rural and small businesses.

Dubbed ‘Unified Lending Interface’, the platform will cater to large unmet demand for credit across various sectors, particularly for agricultural and MSME borrowers.

Earlier this week, the central bank also increased the transaction limit for UPI123Pay and UPI Lite to further increase UPI adoption.

While the transaction limit of UPI123 Pay will be increased to INR 10,000 from the current INR 5,000, the limit for UPI Lite will be increased to INR 1,000 from the current INR 500. 

The developments come at a time when UPI continues to grow by leaps and bounds. In September, the number of UPI transactions surged to 15.04 Bn from 14.96 Bn in the previous month.

Fintech giants PhonePe and GooglePay continue to dominate the UPI market. 

The post Make Pos Devices Accessible To Persons With Disabilities: RBI To Fintechs appeared first on Inc42 Media.

With an eye on diversifying its product mix, Tiger Global-backed wealthtech startup Jar is said to have entered into the ecommerce space with its D2C jewellery brand Nek. 

The cofounder and CEO of the gold-focussed micro-savings platform, Nishchay AG, told Livemint that the company entered the space in February this year and is on track to exceed INR 100 Cr in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by October.

As per the report, Nischay said that the move is part of Jar’s efforts to diversify revenue streams and reduce losses. “Gold is widely understood and stable. Since our users save in gold, launching Nek as a jewellery brand was a natural progression,” he added. 

As per the report, Nek focusses on gold jewellery and leverages Jar’s existing customer base that has invested in digital gold. However, Nischay added that revenue from the core digital gold vertical will remain the primary growth driver, contributing over 50% to the overall topline. 

Founded in January 2021 by Nischay and Misbah Ashraf, Jar operates a mobile-based app, which allows users to invest as little as INR 1. It claims to have more than 1.5 Cr users on the platform.

This comes close on the heels of Jar bagging $22.6 Mn in its Series B funding round at a post-money valuation of $300 Mn from Tiger Global, and Eximius Ventures, among others. It recently partnered PhonePe to roll out a new ‘Daily Savings’ feature to spur the purchase of digital gold. 

Notably, the ecommerce foray comes months after Jar was said to be mulling a foray into the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending space with its new offering ‘Jar Plus’.

On the financial front, Jar saw its net loss widen almost 77% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 122.8 Cr in FY23 despite a sharp jump in revenues. Meanwhile, operating revenue jumped 1,000% to INR 8.7 Cr during the period under review from INR 73.8 Lakh in FY22.

The post Wealthtech Startup Jar Marks Ecommerce Foray With Its D2C Jewellery Brand Nek appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Dating platform fluttr will raise INR 3.75 Cr as part of a strategic funding round from Zee Akaash News, a wholly owned subsidiary of the media conglomerate. 

In a filing with the BSE on Thursday (October 10), Zee Media said that it has signed an agreement to invest the capital by subscribing to equity shares and convertible warrants of flutrr. 

“… We wish to inform you that the company’s wholly owned subsidiary viz. Zee Akaash News Private Limited has, after obtaining requisite approvals, entered into Agreement dated October 10, 2024, for making an investment aggregating to INR 3,75,22,391/-… in Flutrr,” the filing read. 

As per the filing, Zee Aakash News will purchase one equity share at a price of INR 22,391, and five convertible warrants for INR 3.75 Cr. The media giant expects the transaction to be completed by December 31, 2024. 

Founded in 2021 by father-son duo Kaushik and Anirban Banerjee, flutrr claims to be India’s first regional language dating app, allowing users to communicate in a language of their choice. 

The app primarily targets users in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, offering communication in English, Hindi, and Bengali. The startup also claims to use matching algorithms based on astrology and numerology. 

Last year, flutrr raised INR 4 Cr from The Chennai Angels, Times of India, and others. The company topped it up with another undisclosed fundraise from actress Huma Qureshi in July this year. 

flutrr competes with platforms like Bumble and Tinder in the dating app market. In a bid to take on the giants, the platform plans to soon add eight additional Indian languages to its kitty, including four South Indian languages. flutrr claims to have over 4.5 Lakh weekly active users and more than 9 Lakh app downloads.

As per Zee Media’s BSE filings, fluttr’s turnover jumped to INR 2.5 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 99 Lakhs in FY23 and INR 17 Lakhs in FY22. 

The latest fundraise comes at a time when homegrown dating platforms are witnessing renewed interest from investors. Last month, AI-powered dating platform Schmooze raised $4 Mn in its Series A round led by Elevation Capital. Earlier this year, another AI-powered dating platform Juleo bagged $2.5 Mn in a strategic funding round from more than 180 angel investors. 

As per a report, the Indian online dating market is projected to reach $402 Mn in revenue with a user penetration of 6.3% by the end of 2024. 

The post Zee Media Right Swipes INR 3.75 Cr Investment In Dating Platform flutrr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Recently listed B2B travel portal TBO Tek has incorporated a new step-down subsidiary, TBO Tek Australia. Headquartered in Sydney, the new subsidiary will provide business support services, including marketing and promotional activities, to TBO Tek in Australia.

The subsidiary will also help the company strengthen its presence in the Australian travel industry — a move that is in sync with TBO Tek’s efforts to expand its global reach and enhance its service offerings in key markets.

Incorporated in October 2024, TBO Tek Australia, which has authorised and issued capital of 1,000 shares at AUD 10 apiece, is yet to begin its operations. 

This comes about a month after the travel tech company initiated its plans to expand in Europe. On September 20, TBO Tek incorporated a wholly owned subsidiary in Canary Island by the name TBO Jumbonline Canarias to expand its footprint in the region. 

Last year, the company acquired Swiss-based BookaBed AG for INR 90.4 Cr to boost its market share in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Founded in 2006, TBO Tek offers travel solutions to agents and tour operators, including white-label services, hotel and flight booking APIs, and dynamic travel packages. 

The company went public in May this year. Its shares were listed at INR 1,380 on the BSE, registering a premium of 55% to its issue price. Since its listing, shares of TBO Tek have surged over 30%, reaching an all-time high of INR 2,000 earlier this month.

In the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal, the company reported a 29% year-on-year increase in net profit to INR 60.91 Cr. Operating revenue grew 21% to INR 418.5 Cr from INR 344.6 Cr in Q1 FY24.

The post After Canary Island, TBO Tek Sets Up New Subsidiary In Australia appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Gurugram-based carbon management platform Onlygood.ai has secured INR 4 Cr in a seed funding round from IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC), Goel Group, and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV). DICV has secured a 1.5% equity stake in the startup. 

The funding will help the company expand its operations in India, the Middle East, and Europe, along with bolstering its R&D plans and team expansion. 

“…This funding will help us to expand our reach and continue delivering high-impact solutions to businesses worldwide,” said Rajeev Sinha, founder and CEO of Onlygood.ai. 

Founded in 2020, Onlygood.ai specialises in simplifying carbon management and sustainability reporting for businesses. Its platform helps companies measure, track, and reduce their carbon footprints. 

The company has already opened its first office in Dubai and plans to enter the European market by the end of this year. Further, the company is planning to raise $8-10 Mn in a Series A funding round in mid-2025 to fuel global growth focussing on North America. 

The company has partnerships with firms like Maruti-Suzuki, DICV, and NTTData, and is working with local and international partners to deliver sustainability solutions tailored to regulatory needs.

The announcement comes at a time when the cleantech space has been witnessing renewed investor interest, despite the funding winter and adverse market conditions. 

As users and businesses become more environmentally conscious, the arena is seeing a big uptick in numbers and adoption among the masses. 

Earlier this year, cleantech startup Sprih raised $3 Mn in a seed funding round led by Leo Capital.

While another cleantech startup Varaha announced that it secured $8.7 Mn funding to improve its tech and science capabilities, expand Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa operations and meet the growing demand for carbon credits.

In January, cleantech startup INDRA raised $4 Mn in a Series A funding round co-led by Mela Ventures and Emerald Technology Ventures, with participation from Peak Sustainability Ventures and The Climate Angels.

The post Onlygood.ai Raises Funds From Daimler India, IIT Madras To Strengthen Its ESG Stack appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Close on the heels of reports that the personal data of 3 Cr Star Health customers was leaked online, the hacker has now claimed that the insurer’s chief information security officer (CISO) sold him the data. 

In a post on X, the hacker, with the alias ‘xenZen’, claimed that CISO Amarjeet Khanuja later even attempted to renegotiate the deal and demanded more money for continued access to the data on the company’s servers. 

The hacker, on his website, also shared alleged chat logs and emails with Khanuja as evidence.

Meanwhile, in a statement sent to NDTV Profit, the company confirmed the hack and claimed that it has so far not found any evidence of wrongdoing from their CISO following a preliminary investigation into the data breach.

“We request that his (CISO’s) privacy be respected, as we know that the threat actor is trying to create panic. We also want to emphasise that any unauthorised acquisition, possession, or dissemination of customer data is illegal,” the insurer reportedly added.

Star Health also reiterated that its operations remain unaffected by the data breach, adding that all services continue without disruption. 

“A thorough and rigorous forensic investigation, led by independent cybersecurity experts, is underway, and we are working closely with government and regulatory authorities at every stage of this investigation,” Star Health also reportedly added. 

This follows reports that the personal data of over 3 Cr Star Health customers was listed for sale online. The leak included sensitive information such as names, addresses, phone numbers, PAN details, policy nominees, medical history, and more. 

The hacker, with the alias ‘xenZen’, has created a full-fledged website offering the full dataset for $150,000 (about INR 1.26 Cr) and a smaller package of 1 Lakh entries priced at $10,000 (INR 8.4 Lakh). 

The breach reportedly exposed over 7.24 terabytes of sensitive customer data. Additionally, over data, including Aadhaar and PAN card photos, medical reports, and claim details, is said to have been circulated on Telegram and has been made public.

Meanwhile, Telegram said in a statement that the bots reported to Telegram for sharing Star Health data were immediately removed and moderators are monitoring to prevent them from being recreated. The company further added that the sharing of private information on Telegram is expressly forbidden and such content is deleted whenever it is found.

Notably, Telegram claims that the company addressed 2380 legal requests from India in the third quarter (Q3) of this calendar year (2024) alone, up from 2151 requests in Q2 2024.

This comes at a time when cyberattacks are on the rise in the country. In July, one of WazirX’s multisig wallets was attacked, resulting in the loss of digital assets worth over $230 Mn.

In the same month, cybercriminals managed to transfer INR 40 Cr from IndusInd Bank’s customers into various mule accounts. Maharashtra cyber cell officials were able to retrieve INR 33 Cr later. 

Meanwhile, to combat the rising cases of cyberattacks, the Indian government recently created a central registry of suspects. The Centre has also launched a Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC) and the Samanvay platform to tackle cyber crimes.

Update | October 11, 4:55 PM: This article was updated to include Telegram’s statement. 

The post Hacker Alleges CISO’s Hand In Star Health Data Breach appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Amazon India has partnered with Startup India to undertake multiple initiatives to empower startups to build and grow their businesses via ecommerce. 

“Amazon will collaborate with Startup India to enable eligible startups to tap into opportunities in ecommerce by registering on Amazon India’s marketplace through a dedicated page on the Startup India portal,” the ecommerce giant said in a statement.

The company said that it will provide dedicated onboarding experience, along with mentorship from Amazon leaders, go-to-market support and logistics guidance to the startups.

Amazon said it also aims to empower women entrepreneurs via its ‘Saheli’ program by partnering with Startup India. The Saheli programme aims to support women entrepreneurs by providing a platform to showcase their locally made products.

“The collaboration will drive a high-impact learning program designed to fuel the ecommerce journeys of eligible women led small and medium businesses in India,” the statement said.

Additionally, Amazon will also help in creating awareness about the Bharat Startup Knowledge Access Registry (BHASKAR) initiative, a digital platform for startups, launched by the central government to facilitate growth of the Indian startup ecosystem.

“… By combining Amazon’s ecommerce expertise with Startup India’s role as the Government of India’s flagship initiative for the development of the startup ecosystem, we will provide a robust platform for Indian startups and businesses to scale domestically…” DPIIT joint secretary Sanjiv said. 

Earlier this month, Amazon India also partnered with India Post to facilitate customer deliveries across every pin code in the country.

Last month, the ecommerce platform also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry of labour and employment to post work opportunities at Amazon’s corporate offices and operations network on the National Career Service (NCS) portal. 

Amazon is among the key players in the Indian ecommerce space and competes with the likes of Flipkart and Meesho. While it is yet to turn profitable in India, the US-based giant continues to bet on India, which is an important market for it.

However, the company continues to be troubled by regulatory and other issues in the country. Recently, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) found Amazon and Walmart-backed Flipkart guilty of violating competition laws. 

The antitrust watchdog has sought turnover details from both ecommerce giants to determine the penalty to be levied on them for flouting antitrust norms.

Besides, Amazon is also facing increasing competition from quick commerce players like Zomato-owned Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto as they expand their catalogue.

The post Amazon Partners With Startup India To Help Startups Leverage Ecommerce Opportunity appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Fintech unicorn CRED has appointed Arvind Kathpalia, the chief risk advisor of slice, as its new advisor on risk and compliance.

In a statement released to the press, CRED founder, Kunal Shah, said that Kathpalia’s experience in risk management and compliance will be instrumental for the company.

“I’m excited to learn from him as we advance towards that vision,” Shah said.

Notably, Kathpalia is already working with one of CRED’s rivals in the fintech space, slice. CRED’s appointment does not bar him from working with slice, people close to the development told Inc42. He joined the Rajan Bajaj-led unicorn (slice) in May this year to support its newly merged banking unit with North East Small Finance Bank. 

Before joining slice, Kathpalia served Kotak Group for over 25 years – starting in 2009. At Kotak, he was involved in identifying, assessing, mitigating and monitoring credit, market, operational and liquidity among other risks. He has also held various leadership roles at ANZ Grindlays and Standard Chartered Bank.

Founded in 2018 by Shah, CRED’s initially offered rewards and benefits to premium credit card users for paying their bills. However, it has been on the super app path for the last few years and has launched many new services to monetise its user base. 

Notably, the company’s operating revenue jumped about 71% to INR 2,397 Cr in the financial year 2023-2024 (FY24) from INR 1,400 Cr in FY23. 

However, the company’s net loss also increased in FY24, up 22% compared to last year. In FY23, the company reported a net loss of INR 1,347 Cr, which increased to INR 1,644 Cr in FY24. 

The fintech’s operating loss declined 41% to INR 609 Cr in FY24 from INR 1,024 Cr in the previous year.

The post CRED Hires slice’s Arvind Kathpalia As Risk Advisor appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Digital payments major PhonePe has announced a partnership with ICICI Bank to roll out credit-on-UPI for customers of the bank. 

In a statement, ICICI Bank said that the service will only be available for pre-approved customers on the PhonePe app. The new service will enable select customers to avail a credit line (for making UPI payments) of up to INR 2 Lakh with a repayment period of 45 days.

“This credit line is interoperable across various UPI payment applications and provides customers the facility of transacting using any UPI payment app,” added the bank. 

Commenting on the partnership, head of payments at PhonePe Deep Agrawal said, “… This partnership will enable customers to avail flexible short-term credit through a fully digital user experience from within the PhonePe app instantly. Credit line on UPI is yet another innovative product offering that will unlock and revolutionise access and use of credit in the country…”.

Chiming in, ICICI Bank’s head of payment solutions Niraj Tralshawala added, “…At the anvil of the festive season, the pre-approved customers of ICICI Bank can activate the credit line instantly to make payments for their festive shopping needs on PhonePe”.

The collaboration will enable the two companies to expand their offerings, tap into new customers, create additional streams of revenue with interest payments, and enable high-value purchases.

This follows PhonePe introducing credit line on UPI in August this year, which allows users to link their bank’s credit lines directly to UPI on the platform. This comes a year after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) expanded the scope of UPI to include pre-approved credit lines. 

It is pertinent to note that the credit line on UPI utilises the existing UPI infrastructure for a seamless experience.

The development comes as UPI transactions recorded a modest month-on-month (MoM) increase of 0.53% in September 2024, rising to 1,504 Cr from 1,496 Cr in the previous month. On a year-on-year basis, the transaction count saw a significant surge of 42%.

According to data from the National Payments Corporation of India, the total UPI transactions processed in September amounted to INR 20.64 Lakh Cr, up from INR 20.61 Lakh Cr in August.

The post PhonePe Partners ICICI Bank To Offer Credit Line On UPI For Select Users appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Audio products and smartwatch maker boAt managed to reduce its net loss by 47% to INR 53.6 Cr in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from INR 101 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

As per internal documents accessed by Inc42, boAt also managed to turn EBITDA profitable in FY24. It posted an EBITDA of INR 14.04 Cr during the year under review as against an EBITDA loss of INR 50.21 Cr in FY23.

It is pertinent to note that the D2C unicorn slipped into loss for the first time in FY23, which it attributed to investments for its smartwatch category and setting up manufacturing infrastructure in India. The startup had posted a net profit of INR 68.7 Cr in FY22.

Meanwhile, boAt’s revenue declined 5% to INR 3,121.6 Cr in FY24 from INR 3,284.7 Cr in the previous fiscal year.

The financial disclosure comes at a time when the startup is gearing up for its initial public offering. It is looking to list on the exchanges in 2025.

This is the startup’s second attempt at going public. In May 2022, markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) approved boAt’s INR 2,000 Cr IPO. However, it didn’t proceed ahead with the IPO plans. Later in that year, boAt raised INR 500 Cr from Warburg Pincus and Malabar Investments in October. 

Founded in 2015 by Sameer Mehta and Aman Gupta, boAt operates in the larger audio and wearables markets and sells products such as headphones, smart watches and speakers. It is backed by the likes of Qualcomm Ventures, Ranveer Singh, Warburg Pincus, among others, and has raised about $177 Mn in funding till date.

Update | October 8, 10:37 PM: This story has been updated to rectify the name of Aman Gupta.

The post boAt’s FY24 Loss Nearly Halves To INR 54 Cr appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Caller identification app Truecaller has named Airtel veteran Seema Jindal as the head of public affairs, telecom in India.

In her new role, Jindal will work with government agencies like TRAI and DoT to aid Truecaller’s growth and compliance efforts, the company said in a statement.

“As the digital communication landscape evolves in India, my focus will be on ensuring that Truecaller remains at the forefront of regulatory compliance while continuing to build and strengthen partnerships with government bodies and industry stakeholders,” said Jindal. 

With over 25 years of experience across various roles in regulatory, interconnection and compliance, she was at the helm of Airtel in implementing regulations around telecommunication spam using digital ledger technology.

In her most recent position at Airtel, she served as the head of regulatory affairs for DLT, DTH, teleports, and VSAT, leading the implementation of a regulatory framework for telecommunication spam.

It is pertinent to note that India is Truecaller’s largest market and it contributed 74.2% of the Swedish caller identification platform’s total net sales in the first quarter of 2024 calendar year. 

India generated $29.2 Mn (INR 244.2 Cr) in revenue, an 8% increase year-on-year (YoY). 

The company’s net sales also grew 9% YoY in Africa and the Middle East, and 24% YoY in other regions. Overall, Truecaller’s revenue rose 10% YoY to $39.4 Mn (INR 329.3 Cr) from $35.7 Mn (INR 298.4 Cr) in the same quarter last year.

The growth comes as Truecaller expands its services in India, introducing an AI-powered call recording feature in February and launching Truecaller Assistant, an AI feature that supports Hindi, English, and Hinglish.

Last year, Truecaller acquired the Bengaluru-based TrustCheckr, which helps businesses verify customer information and detects the risk of fraud based on phone numbers and digital signals.

The post Truecaller Ropes In Airtel Veteran Seema Jindal As Head Of Public Affairs, Telecom appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The government has reportedly eased the eligibility criteria for the procurement of 10,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) under the IndiaAI mission to allow more participation of smaller companies and startups.

According to a Moneycontrol report, the IT ministry has reduced the turnover requirement for bidding companies and adjusted the AI compute unit specifications.

These changes were made after companies raised concerns during a pre-bid meeting in September, saying that the initial tender terms were too restrictive for smaller businesses.

The turnover requirement for primary bidders has been reduced from INR 100 Cr to INR 50 Cr, while for non-primary consortium members, it has been halved to INR 25 Cr, as per the documents dated September 27.

In the original tender, bidders were required to have at least 1,000 AI compute units on their cloud platform. While this remains unchanged, the government has lowered the performance specifications.

Initially, the AI compute units needed to meet 15 TFLOPS for FP32, 300 TFLOPS for FP16, and have 40 GB of compute memory. The new requirements have reduced FP16 to 150 TFLOPS and AI memory to 24 GB.

Additionally, bidders can now provide a bank guarantee for future AI compute units, giving them six months post-agreement to meet the requirement.

Earlier this year, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) secretary S Krishnan had reportedly said that the government may tap into “viability gap funding (VGF) to create more “compute capacity”.

It is pertinent to note that in March the Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission with an allocation of INR 10,372 Cr over the next five years.

Notably, of the total INR 10,372 Cr outlay for the AI Mission, more than INR 4,500 cr has been earmarked for compute capacity.

Under the Mission, the government is currently planning to build a cutting-edge, scalable AI computing infrastructure by deploying more than 10,000 GPUs– which will be made available to various stakeholders including startups, MSMEs and institutions at subsidised rates. 

Indian authorities have proposed to pay up to 50% of the GPU cost by giving vouchers to various institutions and others.

Driving this push is India’s AI boom. The country now hosts over 100 startups that have raised more than $600 Mn between 2019 and the first half of 2024.

According to an Inc42 report, India’s Generative AI market is projected to surge, surpassing $17 Bn by 2030.

The post IndiaAI Mission: Govt Eases GPU Norms To Facilitate More Participation Of Smaller Firms appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Beauty and fashion ecommerce major Nykaa said its consolidated net revenue grew in “mid-twenties” in the second quarter of the ongoing financial year 2024-25 (FY25).

In its quarterly update, Nykaa said that the beauty division saw strong performance, with both net revenue and net sales value (NSV) rising in the mid-20% range. It added that the growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) was even higher.

“Strong overall performance was seen across omnichannel retail business, owned brands as well as eB2B distribution business, ahead of the festive season. Dot & Key, a new age skincare brand, continues to experience rapid growth, with Nykaa expanding ownership to 90% at the beginning of this financial year,” the Falguni Nayar-led company said 

However, Nykaa’s fashion vertical continues to lag behind. The NSV of the fashion segment grew in the low teens. Its overall revenue growth reached low 20%, which, the company said, was partly driven by the acquisition of its content platform Little Black Book (LBB). 

It is pertinent to note that Nykaa decided to merge LBB with Nykaa Fashion earlier this year.

The company said that there was a slight slowdown in consumption in the first half of FY25, but it remains optimistic about demand rebounding in the second half, supported by festive and wedding seasons.

Nykaa’s fashion vertical has been proving to be a laggard for the last few quarters amid rising competition. In Q1 FY25, the GMV of the fashion segment rose only 15% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 774.1 Cr

Overall, the company’s consolidated net profit jumped almost 152% to INR 13.6 Cr in the first quarter of FY25 from INR 5.4 Cr a year ago. Operating revenue grew 22.8% to INR 1,746.1 Cr in the reported quarter from INR 1,421.8 Cr in Q1 FY24.

Nykaa is looking to further shore up its revenue by expanding to the Middle East. As part of this push, it recently incorporated two new subsidiaries in Qatar and Saudi Arabia under the brand name Nysaa. 

Shares of Nykaa ended Monday’s (October 7) trading session 0.9% higher at INR 193.95 on the BSE amid a bloodbath in new-age tech stocks.

The post Nykaa Sees Revenue Growth In Mid-Twenties In Q2, Fashion Division Slows Down appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Following the settlement of a two-year long legal dispute between BharatPe and Ashneer Grover, the fintech startup’s former managing director, his wife Madhuri Jain, among others, have moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of an FIR filed with Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in the case.

The petitioners said that since the parties reached a settlement on September 30, the FIR should be quashed. They sought some time to file the affidavit regarding the compliance of the terms of the settlement agreement, following which the HC asked them to file it within two days.

The court also asked BharatPe’s director to file an authorisation letter issued to him on behalf of the fintech company within two days. 

Earlier, sources close to BharatPe told Inc42 that the startup would not object if the Grovers appealed to a court to quash the FIR.

The case dates back to January 2023, when BharatPe filed a civil suit against Grover and his family members for alleged embezzlement of funds. The fintech unicorn also sought up to INR 88.67 Cr in damages.

Following this, the Delhi Police EOW registered an FIR against Grover, his wife, and other family members alleging a fraud of INR 81 Cr.

As part of its investigation into the matter, Delhi Police arrested Grover’s brother-in-law Deepak Gupta, who was accused of instructing the vendor Amit Kumar Bansal, last month.

However, by the end of September, the fintech giant settled the case with Grover, stating that the ex-cofounder will not be associated with BharatPe in any capacity nor be a part of the shareholding of the company.

“Certain shares of Mr Grover shall be transferred to the Resilient Growth Trust for the benefit of the company and his remaining shares will be managed by his family trust,” BharatPe said in a statement.

The post Ashneer Grover Seeks Quashing Of EOW FIR After Settlement With BharatPe appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Just a few days after elevating its executive Abhishek Pipara as the chief financial officer (CFO) of its offline centres business, edtech startup Unacademy has now promoted its director of people experience and culture, Arooshi Singh, as head of HR.

“Arooshi has worn many hats and led multiple functions across HR with dedication, passion, and excellence. Her journey with Unacademy has been inspiring, and her impact on the team has been immense,” said Gaurav Munjal, founder and CEO of Unacademy, in an internal note seen by Inc42. 

With an overall 13 years of experience, Singh has been associated with Unacademy for seven years. Previously, she spent more than 5 years teaching yoga and creating communities around it.

It is pertinent to note that the edtech giant has been undergoing a major restructuring for quite some time now. In July, Inc42 learnt that the company’s chief operating officer (COO) for offline centres, Jagnoor Singh, would be moving out. 

This came just a little over a month after cofounder and chief technology officer (CTO) Hemesh Singh announced to quit and move back to advisory role. 

Unacademy’s partner Sumit Jain replaced Singh as the cofounder– also getting a seat on the board. 

Earlier this year, the company appointed CRED’s head of finance Pratik Dalal as chief finance officer of its offline business – Unacademy Centres.

Notably, The Peak XV Partners-backed edtech startup reduced its loss to INR 1,678.1 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from INR 2,847.9 Cr in the previous fiscal. 

Unacademy was founded by Munjal, Hemesh Singh and Roman Saini in 2015. The edtech forayed into offline learning centres post pandemic in 2022. The company has its centres in about 40 cities in India, with a claimed network of more than 91,000 educators and over 99 Mn learners on its platform. 

The post Another Top Deck Rejig At Unacademy, Arooshi Singh Elevated As Head Of HR appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Electric mobility startup Yulu claims to have crossed annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $30 Mn and also turned EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) positive on the growing demand for quick commerce and food delivery services as well as supportive government policies.

Currently, Yulu has a fleet of over 40,000 electric vehicles and is looking to double down on its plan to deploy one lakh EVs by 2025. To fuel this expansion, it will raise $100 Mn (around INR 839.6 Cr) in its Series C funding round over the next year.

Yulu, cofounded by Amit Gupta, RK Misra and Naveen Dachuri in 2017, offers electric-two wheeler mobility solutions in Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai. The startup now plans to expand to cities like Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai.

In September last year, Yulu raised $82 Mn (INR 653 Cr) in its Series B round of funding, which was led by the US-based Magna International and saw participation from Bajaj Auto.

The startup claims to facilitate over 20 Mn deliveries per month, claiming to save 30-40% cost compared with traditional fuel vehicles. The company says that its AI powered platform allows it to scale while maintaining efficiency. 

“The simplicity and ease of our platform allow gig workers without vehicles to join the delivery workforce, while also addressing the crucial supply gap in the quick commerce value chain,” said Amit Gupta.

Yulu claims to cover about 100% of all the dark stores. It further says that its EVs comprise 35-80% of all vehicles at the store level and claims to have increased its revenue and users by more than 7X in the last 24 months. 

The growth is also supported by its battery-swapping network, Yuma Energy, and partnerships with players in the quick commerce space like Zomato, Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy, among others. 

The company is also eyeing to grow on the back of central and state level policies to boost transport electrification and ecommerce– including government backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). 

The company’s consolidated net loss widened 71% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 94.9 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) as the company’s expenses jumped with the expansion of its battery swapping infra and increasing headcount.

The post Yulu Turns EBITDA Positive, Breaches $30 Mn ARR On Rising Quick Commerce Demand appeared first on Inc42 Media.

In a relief for Ola, a vacation bench of the Karnataka High Court has reportedly stayed a ruling that classified the ride-hailing startup’s relation with that of its drivers as that of employer-employees. 

Earlier, a single-judge bench of Justice M G S Kamal had directed Ola parent ANI Technologies to pay a compensation of INR 5 Lakh to a woman who was allegedly sexually harassed by one of its cab drivers in 2018. The order also said that drivers would be considered as employees under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act).

However, the bench of Justices S R Krishna Kumar and M G Uma, in its interim order dated September 30, stayed the previous order while hearing Ola’s appeal against it, news agency PTI reported.

Ola’s counsel argued before the bench that drivers are independent users of the platform and cannot be classified as employees. 

The case dates back to 2018, when a woman passenger alleged sexual harassment by an Ola driver, which led to a police complaint and further legal action under the POSH Act.

Besides the compensation, the single-judge bench of the Karnataka HC had also ordered ANI Technologies to pay INR 50,000 for covering the legal costs of the complainant.

Impact On Gig Economy

The earlier order, classifying the relation of Ola with its drivers as that of employer and employees, could have impacted not only the ride-hailing startup but also the entire gig economy of the country. 

From ride hailing and food delivery to ecommerce and quick commerce, most of the companies and startups don’t classify their drivers/ delivery executives as their employees. As such, the previous ruling was seen as potentially a path-breaking judgement.

Shaik Salauddin, national general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), earlier hailed the initial judgement. He said it set an important precedent to recognise drivers as employees and pushes for greater protections for gig workers.

It is pertinent to note that gig workers across the country have many times in the past complained about bad working conditions, long work hours, and low salaries. Besides, there have been multiple instances of gig workers going on strike or protesting against platforms to demand higher wages and improvement in working conditions.

In August, auto and taxi drivers across Delhi NCR protested against cab aggregators like Ola and Uber. Prior to that, women gig workers associated with Urban Company went on a strike at the startup’s Bengaluru office to protest against its new terms of reference. 

Notably, Fairwork India rated Ola, Uber, Dunzo, and Porter as the worst-performing startups on its index on working conditions of gig workers.

Amid all these, the Centre has been making efforts to provide social security to gig workers, while states are also taking steps to safeguard gig workers.

The post Relief For Ola: Karnataka HC Stays Order Declaring Drivers As Startup’s Employees appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans to launch the second phase of a centralised system soon to block international spoofed calls.

Spoofed calls are fraudulent international calls that appear to originate from Indian mobile numbers. As per the DoT, the system has been envisaged with an eye on curbing the growing number of incidents involving fake threats of mobile disconnection and arrests, and impersonation of government officials. 

The implementation of the system has been divided into two phases. The first phase, which has already been executed by all four major telecom service providers (TSPs), focusses on preventing calls spoofed with numbers of subscribers from the same telecom operator.

So far, about one-third of the estimated 4.5 Mn spoofed calls entering the Indian telecom network have been blocked under the first phase. The second phase will expand the effort to eliminate spoofed calls across all TSPs and is expected to be commissioned shortly.

To further combat these threats, the DoT has introduced several initiatives. One of these is the Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU), aimed at curbing the misuse of telecom resources for cybercrime and financial fraud. 

Additionally, the DoT has developed the Sanchar Saathi portal, which serves as a citizen-centric platform allowing users to report suspected fraudulent communications and unsolicited messages, report stolen or lost handsets, verify the genuineness of mobile devices before purchase, and report incoming international calls with Indian numbers.

Moreover, the DoT has launched the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), a secure online platform that facilitates real-time information sharing among stakeholders such as telecom operators, law enforcement, and banks to prevent telecom misuse. 

The DoT also said that it has disconnected 1.77 Cr mobile connections acquired through fake documents. It has also taken targeted actions, including blocking 33.48 Lakh connections and 49,930 handsets used by cybercriminals. 

It has also traced 12.02 Lakh out of 21.03 Lakh reported stolen mobile phones and blocked 2.29 Lakh devices linked to cybercrime activities. 

Furthermore, approximately 11 Lakh bank accounts associated with fraudulent connections have been frozen, and 71,000 SIM agents have been blacklisted, with 365 FIRs registered across various states.

Last month, it was reported that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and DoT jointly disconnected over 1 Cr mobile connections to check pesky callers and fraudsters.

TRAI is said to be mulling for compulsory name display on incoming calls. However, it has faced delays due to tech-related issues to roll out the plan.

The post DoT Rolls Out New System To Block Spoofed International Calls appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Listed drone startup DroneAcharya has joined hands with American Blast Systems (ABS) to expand its footprint into the US, UK and European markets. 

The MoU will focus on manufacturing and distributing drones across sectors such as defence, law enforcement, agriculture and logistics.

Under the partnership, both companies will co-design and co-develop drones in Los Angeles, with applications targeted at surveillance, security, and logistics.

“This partnership opens up a vast overseas market for DroneAcharya’s drone hardware and services. We see tremendous potential in this collaboration, which positions India at the forefront of the global drone industry,” said Prateek Srivastava, founder and managing director of DroneAcharya.

Founded in 2017, DroneAcharya provides drone solutions including multi-sensor surveys, pilot training, and data processing. 

The company went public in December 2022 at a listing price of INR 102 per share, a significant premium over the issue price of INR 54 apiece.

Financially, DroneAcharya has shown strong growth, with operating revenue increasing nearly 90% to INR 35.19 Cr in the financial year ending March 2024, up from INR 18.56 Cr in FY23. 

The company also reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of INR 6.2 Cr in FY24, almost double the INR 3.42 Cr from the previous fiscal year.

In January, DroneAcharya secured a contract from the Indian Army to provide capacity building and advanced drone training at the Mechanised Army Courses Group in Ahmednagar. 

Earlier this year, the startup also received an order from the Adani Group to provide Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) certified drone pilot training, aimed at supporting drone operations for mapping, monitoring, and inspection across Adani Group’s diverse businesses in energy, infrastructure, logistics, resources, and agribusiness.

Notably, DroneAcharya expanded into the drone manufacturing and spacetech industries last year.

The post DroneAcharya Joins Hands With ABS To Expand Into Overseas Markets appeared first on Inc42 Media.

Marking the first deployment from its maiden venture debt fund, VentureSoul Partners has infused INR 20 Cr debt to lending tech startup True Balance.

The startup will use the funds to further expand its operations, the venture debt firm said in a LinkedIn post.

Last month, VentureSoul marked the first close of its maiden fund, which has a target corpus of INR 600 Cr, at about INR 145 Cr. 

The fund is a SEBI-registered Category II alternative investment fund (AIF) and has garnered commitments from family offices, corporates, high-net-worth-individuals (HNIs), and other investors.

True Balance is operated by Balancehero India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea-based Balancehero Co. Ltd. The startup began its operations in India in 2017 after obtaining the licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to provide wallet services. In 2019, True Balance received approval from the central bank to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC). 

It offers loans up to INR 1.25 Lakh and utility bill payment services. True Balance targets customers with credit scores of 650 and above and currently manages assets worth INR 1,100 Cr, and serves over 9 Lakh active customers.

The fintech startup competes against the likes of MobiKwik, Paytm, PhonePe, Navi, among others, in India. 

The startup clocked a consolidated net profit of INR 58.8 Cr in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23), up 17X from INR 3.4 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Operating revenue jumped 1.8X to INR 431.1 Cr from INR 243.9 Cr in FY22.

The development comes at a time when debt funding is at a record high, exacerbated by the ongoing funding winter and the emergence of new avenues to secure capital. The debt route also allows startup founders and other shareholders to fuel growth without diluting their stakes. 

As per Inc42 data, debt investments in Indian startups more than doubled to $576 Mn in H1 2024 from $285 Mn during the same period a year ago. 

Just days ago, agritech startup WayCool secured a debt funding of INR 100 Cr from Grand Anicut. Prior to that, edtech startup Vedantu also bagged INR 19.25 Cr in a mix of debt and equity financing from Stride Ventures.

Last month, IPO-bound adtech startup InMobi also secured $100 Mn in debt funding from Mars Growth Capital.

The post VentureSoul Makes First Bet Via Maiden Debt Fund, Infuses INR 20 Cr In True Balance appeared first on Inc42 Media.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has alleged the Competition Commission of India (CCI) of inaction and mishandling investigations into anti-competitive practices by ecommerce majors Amazon and Flipkart. 

In a letter to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman today (October 3), CAIT raised concerns over the alleged delays in addressing the violations of India’s FDI policies by the two ecommerce giants. 

According to CAIT, Amazon and Flipkart have been bypassing regulations by using proxy sellers to control inventory and dominate listings on their platforms. 

These sellers, according to CAIT, benefit from reduced fees and exclusive product launches, while independent traders are burdened with significantly higher charges, distorting the competitive landscape.

It criticised the CCI for not taking decisive action on numerous complaints filed by various trade associations and individuals. 

The industry body pointed to multiple cases involving allegations of preferential treatment, deep discounting, and exclusive deals with mobile manufacturers that have either been dismissed or subjected to significant delays. 

Even after the Supreme Court gave the green light for investigations, CAIT said that progress has been limited, with the CCI showing little urgency in addressing these complaints.

A key point of contention for CAIT is the CCI’s decision to separate investigations into Amazon and Flipkart, a move the organisation argues has only prolonged the process. 

The Director General’s office submitted a detailed investigation report in December 2023, but the CCI took five additional months to request separate reports for the two companies. 

CAIT argues that this decision has delayed the comprehensive review of their anti-competitive practices, further stalling action.

In addition to these procedural delays, CAIT expressed concerns about alleged bias within the CCI’s antitrust division, suggesting that certain officials may be favouring the ecommerce giants.

The traders’ body demanded the removal of officials who have been in their positions for more than three years, in line with government policy, and called for stricter oversight on those involved in handling the case.

Notably, earlier this week, CAIT released a white paper, highlighting a need for establishing a dedicated ecommerce regulator to address unfair trade practices in the Indian ecommerce market.

In the white paper, CAIT outlined several recommendations to create a unified dispute resolution mechanism and streamline the regulatory framework for governing ecommerce platforms.

The post CAIT Alleges Inaction In CCI’s Probe Against Amazon & Flipkart appeared first on Inc42 Media.