Startup News – 28th August 2017

by Kapil · Published August 28, 2017 · Updated February 12, 2018

We bring you the weekly dose of startup news you probably should not miss out on.

The news that is circulating over and over in the startup world is Narendra One of the most important news is that, PM Narendra Modi, at the Champions Of Change event organised by NITI Aayog in the capital, has met over 200 startup entrepreneurs since last week. The event aims at creating a dialogue between the government and startups in order to get them in sync with the PM’s mission of a ‘New India by 2022.’

Another important Indian startup news story of the week was on Zomato. Gurugram-based foodtech giant Zomato is now on the fast track to success. After reaching 3 Mn monthly orders for the first time in July, the foodtech unicorn has reportedly on-boarded 21,500 subscribers for its paid Zomato Treats service. According to reports, the premium service has delivered over 100K treats to its subscribers, since launching in April 2017. Also, Zomato has launched an initiative to help new businesses find their feet. Zomato will now feature a “New” tag on recently opened restaurants, instead of a rating score, for the first 60 days of them listing on the platform.

Important Indian Startup News Stories Of The Week

BJP To Test Chat-Based Collaboration App BJP Connect

This is another major Indian startup news of this week. The app, called BJP Connect, will be initially rolled out to volunteers working for the party in the state elections in Karnataka to be held before May 2018. If the pilot is successful, the party has ambitions to take the app national before the 2019 general elections.

Ola Partners With Google For Intercity Travel

As per the partnership, commuters travelling between cities will now be able to discover Ola Outstation for intercity travel on Google Maps for mobile. The partnership will currently enable bookings for intercity travel from 23 cities to over 215 one-way routes in the country. The integration will be expanded to a total of 500 routes in the coming weeks.

Also, the Airport Authority of India partnered with Ola. The ride-hailing app can now extend its range of mobility offering to commuters, through designated Ola Zones and Kiosks, at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, Kolkata, Chennai International Airport, Pune International Airport and Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, Lucknow.

This will bring down the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETAs) to as low as 2 minutes.

UCWeb May Get Banned In India

The Alibaba-owned UCWeb browser is the latest addition to the list of Chinese companies suspected of stealing the data of Indian users. If proven guilty of data theft, the company could run the risk of getting banned in the country. This development comes at a time when the Government of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reportedly doubled down on its scrutiny of China-based smartphone makers allegedly involved in data leakage.

Flipkart Global Ties Up With EBay

Another important Indian startup news which garnered attention this week was ecommerce marketplace Flipkart tying up with eBay to launch a new programme, ‘Flipkart Global.’ With this partnership, Flipkart will now allow users from about 200 international markets to purchase products on its marketplace. This includes the United States, UK, Germany, Canada and Australia. As a part of the launch, the existing 25,000 retail export sellers on eBay India will migrate to Flipkart Global and start listing their products through the platform.

Uber Integrates UPI Payments For Rides

The US-based company launched UPI in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and banking partners Axis Bank and HDFC Bank. Users can now pay Uber fares through cash, Paytm, debit/credit cards as well as UPI interface.

Haryana To Launch Its Startup Policy

This is another interesting Indian startup news of the week. The policy will be focussing beyond Gurugram to encourage entrepreneurship in the state. The Haryana Startup Policy will be unveiled at the Digital Haryana Summit next month. The policy was initially slated to be launched in 2015, and then in 2016. On both occasions, it hit a roadblock. The state government did release a draft policy, ‘Startup Policy 2017’ in May 2017.

Supreme Court Rules Right To Privacy Is A Fundamental Right

This has given a huge setback to the government’s Aadhaar. Post this judgment, a five-judge bench of the apex court will now test the validity of Aadhaar from the aspect of privacy as a Fundamental Right. The ruling is based on an array of petitions that challenge the mandatory use of Aadhaar.

India Post Sends Notice To Paytm

The notice was sent over the unsanctioned use of the term “postcard.”Earlier this month, the Noida-headquartered company launched a new money gifting product dubbed as Paytm Postcards. As stated, India Post currently has the exclusive right to use the word “postcard,” as per IPO Act rules and regulations.

Also, Paytm Mall announced its intention to pour $35 Mn into its logistics network. The investment will go towards bolstering the core technology and infrastructure of the ecommerce platform. The move is part of the company’s efforts to expedite deliveries by working with local suppliers.

Other Indian Startup News Stories Of The Week

Digital Advertising Expenses In India To Cross $1.5 Bn By December 2017

With businesses, especially in the ecommerce sector, relying heavily on ads to acquire customers, the segment is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33%. At present, digital advertising spend accounts for around 14% of the overall advertising spend in the country.

Inuxu’s ‘Adgebra’ Joins Forces With IZooto

The partnership aims to monetise the notifications with targeted native ad solution. ‘adgebra’ has been creating its niche by offering native ads in 10+ Indian regional languages. All of adgebra’s current and browser notification native inventory will be available for brands and agencies via a self-serve platform.

Tata Motors To Revamp Nano As An Electric Vehicle

The Mumbai-headquartered multi national automaker recently conducted a road test of Nano EV in Coimbatore. Competing against homegrown Mahindra & Mahindra’s newly-launched electric vehicle e2oPlus, the Tata Nano EV will come equipped with lithium battery-powered electric motor. The move is likely geared towards boosting the sale of Nano, which has been dropping steadily over the last few years.

FabAlley Checks In To The Offline Fashion Market

Online fast fashion brand, FabAlley announced its first brick and mortar store with an exclusive brand outlet for its ethnic-wear brand Indya. The first store is scheduled to open in Phoenix Market City, Whitefield, Bengaluru. Spread over 350 sq. ft., the store will allow customers to get a holistic brand experience of FabAlley offline. FabAlley claims to have a 40% growth in revenue in FY17 and with its aggressive omnichannel expansion plans, it is on-track to achieve 100% YoY revenue growth this year.

LoanAdda Launches LoanSwift

LoanSwift enables LoanAdda to analyse vast amounts of non-traditional credit data to increase loan approval rates and reduce the risk of credit decisions, particularly for thin-file and no-file borrowers like millennials. The platform consists of capabilities such as data aggregation, which identifies, cleans and aggregates data from thousands of sources, regardless of format and modeling tools which help train, ensemble and productionalise machine learning models that address credit risk analysis.

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