Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, IDFC FIRST Bank, HDFC Bank, Indusind Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and State Bank of India are in various stages of adopting the account aggregator (AA) framework, according to an industry body, ahead of a public rollout of the new technology product in May. Account aggregators are responsible for transferring, […]
Spotlight is on telemedicine in the season of flu
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi As the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 continues to rise in India, telemedicine or online consultation has become the first point of contact for many who suspect they’ve contracted the disease. Companies such as Practo, 1mg, Medlife, mfine and a few others are reporting a several-fold increase in online consultations for […]
Consumer goods flying off the shelves
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Ecommerce platforms, retail chains and kirana stores reported a sharp surge in sales of staples, daily necessities and personal hygiene products in the past few days as panic buying took hold across India amid the fear of closures as Covid-19 cases rise. Deliveries have been delayed and some items such as sanitisers […]
Pentagon reconsiders Microsoft contract after Amazon protest
The Pentagon is reconsidering its awarding of a major cloud computing contract to Microsoft after rival tech giant Amazon protested what it called a flawed bidding process. U.S. government lawyers said in a court filing this week that the Defense Department “wishes to reconsider its award decision” and take another look at how it evaluated […]
How the tech industry is ensuring business continuity in the times of coronavirus
Coronavirus has presented a situation most geeks probably didn’t anticipate: what happens when even the disaster recovery sites and business continuity plans are rendered useless. You can fly resources to alternative locations. But how do you run a global business when flights are grounded and countries regulate who can come in? For the $190 billion […]
The challenges of delivering orders in the times of coronavirus
Even in a sluggish economy, startups helped spawn the gig economy that created jobs and new ways of working and sharing. However, the gig economy is seeing challenges because of the Covid-19 scare — especially as delivery personnel are highly exposed to the environment. In a “response note”, online grocer BigBasket said warehouse employees handling […]
Oyo entices virus-stricken hotels in Japan with cash
By Pavel Alpeyev and Takahiko HyugaOyo Hotels, one of the largest startups in SoftBank Group’s portfolio, is promising cash to hotels in Japan that join its platform as bookings plunge in the coronavirus-stricken country. The Indian startup, looking to get more hotels into its network and expand its reach, will pay new members a lump […]
Coronavirus impact: Apple India shuts down four sales offices and map development centre
Apple India is shutting down its four sales offices in India and the development centre for maps in Hyderabad as part of the global step which the iPhone maker has taken to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus amongst its employees and associates. As per two industry executives aware of the plans, over 5,000 employees […]
Apple shifts annual developers conference to online-only format
Apple on Friday moved its annual developers conference in San Jose, California, in June entirely online, citing the “current health situation.” Apple is the latest largest technology company to cancel or move its software developer conference online. Facebook , Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google all previously did so. Apple’s annual conference typically attracts more than 5,000 […]
Direct banks to allow crypto trade: Firms to RBI
Fintech Lawyers, a law firm that represents cryptocurrency traders, has asked the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banks to allow transactions in cryptocurrencies. The request comes in the wake of the recent Supreme Court order that struck down the central bank’s April 2018 circular that disallowed banks and regulated entities […]