India’s fledgling morning milk delivery startups are quickly consolidating as online grocery major Bigbasket is in talks to acquire Unilever Ventures-backed Milkbasket even as the Alibaba-backed company is in advanced stages of closing the deal to acquire another player in the space, DailyNinja, said three people briefed on the matter. Both are distress and majority […]
It’s crazy fact-checking the Infodemic, fake after fake
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Last weekend, an audio message, purportedly from a lady whose father was an army doctor, went viral on WhatsApp. The message claimed that “army hospitals are in direct contact with the ministry of health, and they’ve been ordered to create quarantine facilities everywhere.” But that wasn’t the dangerous part of the message. […]
Payment aggregators to face stricter norms, sector livid
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi The Reserve Bank of India will soon treat all payment aggregators as regulated entities under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act (2007) under its direct supervision, bringing in tighter regulations for the country’s digital payment industry. The new set of guidelines for these companies include having minimum net worth of ₹15 crore […]
Brace yourself for slower data speeds
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Consumers of mobile and home broadband services may soon have to brace for sharp slowdowns in data speeds, dropped video calls or heavy buffering as India Inc asks staff to increasingly work from home to contain the spread of Covid-19. Experts and analysts say existing telecoms infrastructure belonging to Bharti Airtel, Vodafone […]
Indians lost Rs 228 crore in 52,000 cases of bank fraud between Mar-Dec 2019: Govt
More than 52,000 cases of credit, debit card and net banking fraud were registered in India in the nine months to December, with people losing over Rs 228 crore during the period, a 60% jump in money lost compared to the previous 12 months, the government said on Wednesday. In fiscal year 2019, around 52,304 […]
How local language content startups help stem fake info
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Regional language content startups which typically cater to gig economy workers, daily wage earners, housewives and students, are amplifying their outreach about the Covid-19 virus pandemic in a bid to control misinformation. Josh Talks, Vokal, Lokal, NoticeBoard, Youth Ki Awaaz, DailyHunt, and Trell among others are making and sourcing content from authentic, […]
Coronavirus pandemic hands Big Tech a chance to burnish its image
Google, Facebook and Amazon are using their size, reach and technology prowess to help Americans cope with the coronavirus crisis, an opportunity for Big Tech to counter a drumbeat of criticism in Washington. The three companies have a chance to burnish their images amid intense U.S. regulatory scrutiny by the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission, […]
Fox acquires streaming service Tubi for $440 million
Fox Corporation has agreed to acquire ad-supported streaming service Tubi for $440 million in cash. The acquisition of Tubi is in line with the company’s long-term strategic initiatives to broaden and enhance its direct-to-consumer digital reach and engagement, Fox said on Tuesday. After the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney for $73 billion in […]
India plans e-commerce regulator, tighter controls under new policy: Sources
India wants to set up an e-commerce regulator and force companies such as Amazon to swiftly turn over information sought by authorities as part of a new policy being drafted, two sources familiar with the plan told Reuters. The new policy will be India’s latest effort to tighten control over e-commerce and is likely to […]
RBI introduces new guidelines for non-bank payment aggregators
All non-bank payment aggregators will have to apply for fresh licences. The Reserve Bank of India has introduced a new set of application criteria and operational guidelines to strengthen the governance and functioning of these entities and bring them under its direct supervision. These entities, including fintech startups such as PayU, Instamojo, Paytm, CCAvenue, Razorpay […]