It’s Monday morning and yet again time to do a quick wrap-up of the posts published last week. If you were offline for any reason, this is a great way to catch up with all the tech buzz!
Contents
Internet/Tech/E-Commerce
Flipkart-owned Myntra has been planning an entry into offline sales for quite some time now, and the company has finally launched its first store in India. The first store has been opened in Indiranagar, Bengaluru under the private label name Roadster.
Amazon India has decided to embrace GST (Goods and Services Tax) regime in a massive manner. Understanding its importance, and relevance for all traders, businesses and public at large, Amazon India has launched extensive programmes and activities for teaching the nuances of GST regime for not only their sellers but also everyone.
Govt. of India has admitted that close to 30 lakh debit cards were infected by malware, which threatened financial privacy and security of millions of users, a new report has emerged which claims that banks are hiding the fact that UPI, BHIM Apps are prone to hacking.
To avail Amazon Prime content, Vodafone users would have to subscribe to a special consumer offer. The subscription can be done through MyVodafone App or Vodafone Website, after subscribing to Amazon Prime.
Flipkart and Paytm have emerged as the too contenders for acquiring Snapdeal, which is India’s thirds largest e-commerce portal as of now. The insider report claims that Snapdeal is looking for a buyer which can shell out $1.5 to $1.8 billion for them.
Now, Google Maps allows you to share your real-time location and trips with your friends and families. This feature comes in very handy when you have to reach your destination on time but are not able to because you’re stuck in a situation. You can instantly share the location with your friends and let them know where you are.
Quick Heal has detected a serious security breach at Cosmos Bank’s website. As per the findings, their website has been compromised by RIG Exploit Kit, and as a result, all visitors to their website are being automatically infected by the infamous Cerber Ransomware.
In a blog post published on Medium, by a Twitter user named St_Hill reveals a simple Google search, which will churn out thousands of rows of Aadhaar data of Indian citizens. And this should worry you.
Business/Startups
Airbnb Trips has been launched in India, making it the fifth country in Asia to have this platform. Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok were the first to receive it in Asia, along with a few cities in the US, Europe and Africa. Airbnb will start offering this service with New Delhi, followed by other cities once it proves a success.
You would be surprised to know that India is the only country in the world which follows the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) system for selling consumer goods. As per Legal Metrology Act, every packaged product in India is labeled with Maximum Retail Price (MRP), beyond which the product cannot be sold. And, now this system may soon be taken off!
ICICI Bank has decided to jump into the agriculture sector with a new enthusiasm and outlook. They have just launched a new app, called ‘Mera iMobile’, targeted at rural customers, which is offering 135 agri-services, across 11 Indian languages.
Now, a new player is going to enter the Karnataka market to take on Ola and Uber, called HDK cabs. Created by these same driver unions that had protested for driver’s rights, the service will solve all the problems being faced by the existing driver partners.
In one of the fiercest initiatives ever taken to curb the generation of black money in India, Government of India has proposed to make Aadhaar mandatory for filing Income Tax documents.
LinkedIn, World’s biggest professional social network has made a daring claim, something which can force the traditional recruitment consultants to wait and watch. As per LinkedIn’s internal surveys and data, it has been found that whooping 32% of all Indian professionals have used social media to get a new job.
LinkedIn, World’s biggest professional social network has made a daring claim, something which can force the traditional recruitment consultants to wait and watch. As per LinkedIn’s internal surveys and data, it has been found that whooping 32% of all Indian professionals have used social media to get a new job.
University Grants Commission has now asked all Universities to include the student’s Aadhaar number, photograph in the degree awarded. This means that any student who doesn’t have Aadhaar Number won’t be receiving the degree.
The Reserve Bank of India(RBI) issued prepaid payment instruments for Mass Transit Systems on 20th February, and the license will be valid till 31st March 2022. This allows DMRC to start its own E-wallet service for travellers.
Telecom/Mobile/Gadgets
Indian Railways is working on a way to bring entertainment content to your personal devices like laptops, tablets and smartphones. So while you are at the train station, or travelling in the train, you could access movies and TV shows on the go through the internet service.
In its complaint to the ASCI (Advertising Standards Council of India), Jio wants to draw the attention of the regulatory body to Airtel’s misleading claims of being the “Officially the fastest network” on its website.
Xiaomi has set up another plant in the same city, in partnership with Foxconn, to manufacture at least 95% of the phones sold in India in the same country. This brings the operational capacity of Xiaomi’s manufacturing plant to one phone per second during operational hours. They also launched Redmi 4A at Rs. 5999/- last week.
Here are 4 major changes which Indian telecom industry may witness in the longer run, as a direct result of this major merger, the volume of which is unprecedented.
Apple has silently released a ‘Red’ colour variant of the smartphone across 40 countries and regions. Customers can now purchase the special edition RED iPhone 7 and 7 Plus in aluminium finish to contribute to the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS. This product is in recognition of more than 10 years of partnership between Apple and (RED).
If you had any doubt regarding BSNL’s fan base, this fact will clear those doubts: On one particular day, BSNL users have consumed 400 TB of data. This is a record in BSNL’s and Indian telecom’s history.
when Apple announced that they will start assembling their iPhones in India by April, speculations were rife that Govt. of India has bend their rules, and allowed unprecedented concessions and tax breaks to Apple. But, this is not the case anymore. As per confirmed reports coming in, Govt. of India has rejected most of the demands put forth by Apple.
According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research Survey conducted on 1,000 Jio users across India, Reliance Jio will become a huge hit in the market with 84% users retaining the services after it becomes paid from 1st April 2017. The incumbent telecom operators must take the insights generated by this survey into consideration while designing strategies to counter Reliance Jio.
In yet another case of telecom consolidation, Airtel has acquired the 4G business of Tikona Digital Networks. As per regulatory filing by Airtel, this acquisition will cost them Rs 1600 crore.
The period post-March 31st would be the real litmus test for Mukesh Ambani’s Jio because, after that day, Jio would be no longer free. The number of Prime’s paid customer base shall determine Jio’s true impact, and the company has left no stone unturned to make sure that maximum free customers convert into paid ones.
Apple may be starting manufacturing iPhones in India altogether, in the next 2-3 months. This comes at a time iPhone is struggling with iPhone 7 sales in India, purely because of the hefty prices and after sales.
Aadhaar has been now made compulsory for getting a new mobile connection, and all telecom operators need to be re-verify their existing users using Aadhaar based e-KYC within a year.
Others
As per various reports coming in from Cognizant, it has been found that close to 6000 to 10,000 employees of Cognizant will be terminated this year. This amounts to 2.3% to 5% of their overall employee base globally.
Indian Railway has announced a new scheme called ‘Vikalp’ (Option), which can prove to be beneficial for all wait-listed passengers. And, at the same time, it can optimally utilize railways’ resources as well.
In a first of its kind, Amaravati (de-facto state capital of Andhra Pradesh) will soon start using unmanned electric buses to curb the consistent pollution levels in the city. The new initiative also aims to improve mobility and existing transport system made under Chief Minister N.Chandrababu’s decision to revamp the transport model at nine places in Andhra Pradesh.
Trakin Tech Talks in Video
So, if you are too bored to read through all the topics, we also have a video that discussed only the most important topics of last week. And yes, if you have not subscribed to our channel earlier, make sure you do now!
And while you are at it, make sure that you do check out our up-to-date Indian Startup Funding and Investment chart.
