Weekly Wrap-Up: Jio-Airtel Wars, Flipkart Funding, Amazon E-Wallet, Airtel Digital TV & More…

It’s Monday morning and yet again time to do a quick review of the posts published on trak last week. If you were offline for any reason this is a great way to catch up with all the tech buzz from last week.

Internet/Tech/E-Commerce

To be held from 27th September to 29th September 2017, Indian mobile congress is expected to see participation from 8-10 countries. China has a similar Shanghai Mobile World Congress every year, that draws attention from around the globe for the massive scale it has.

From now on, few publishers would be empowered to show a ‘Fact Check’ tag in Google News, while publishing their stories. This label will identify and show only those stories, which have been verified by other fact checking publishers.

As per confirmed reports, Flipkart is all set to re-enter into online grocery niche; and this time, instead of launching their own app or service, Flipkart may acquire an existing player or merge with their current operations.

A lot of people have been talking about audio calls finally coming to Duo, and the company even announced audio calls from the app in Brazil last month. Now, Google Duo officially supports audio calling worldwide.

Instead of having a chat-head with friends for disappearing media, and one for regular DMs and conversations, Instagram is clubbing the two into one. This means the photos and videos you sent with a fixed timer will be shown, although expired, in the same conversation folder as your regular messaging.

Google has launched the Areo app in India, which will bring together startups like UrbanClap to provide home services like plumbing, AC maintenance and electrical wiring etc. and Faasos and other such businesses for home delivery of food.

Reserve Bank of India has finally approved Amazon’s digital wallet and provided them with a license to operate a full-scale eWallet. This now puts Amazon in direct competition with existing digital wallets such as Paytm, Freecharge, PhonePe and MobiKwik.

Business/Startups

The biggest news is that Flipkart has raised whopping $1.4 billion ( largest ever funding deal in India) from three major investors: Tencent, Microsoft and Ebay; and this is Flipkart’s largest ever fundraising in their last 10 years of existence.

Complementing the Gold service, Zomato has announced the launch of Zomato Treats, a service that will offer you a free dessert with your order at just Rs. 249 a year. This can be availed at any of the participating restaurants on Zomato’s platform.

Under FATCA provision (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), Income Tax Department has asked all banks and financial institutions to seek self-certification from bank account holders, before April 30th.

India’s state-run oil marketing companies: Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp have decided to join their forces, and implement the concept of dynamic fuel pricing in India. This means that prices of petrol and diesel will now change daily, based on market rates and currency conversion trends.

The question arises, how will this Dynamic fuel pricing affect Indians? Herein, we present 4 after effects of dynamic pricing in India, which India may soon witness

Uber has now introduced uberMOTO to the third city in India, Jaipur. From today onwards, people in Jaipur will be able to hire a bike taxi for the same route they would have taken a taxi.

As per latest information coming out related to the implementation of GST regime, it is now clear that service tax is all set to increase under the new tax structure. As per statements issued by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, we have come to know that from 15% current slab, service tax for some services would increase to 18%.

80% of all engineering students are unemployable, as per HDFC Chief. When will statements end? Why are engineering students insulted?

Telecom/Mobile/Gadgets

Vodafone, one of the leading telecom operators in the country, which is soon to be merged with Idea Cellular has seen the highest number of complaints in the quarter ending December 2016.

Samsung is going to sell refurbished smartphone models this year, to compensate for the revenue losses. This is not a shocker since the whole fiasco post mortem resulted in Samsung blaming faulty batteries.

Last week, Jio came up with ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Offer’, that will offer similar benefits like the ‘Jio Summer Surprise Offer’.

The new Airtel plan, launched to counter Jio’s Dhan Dhana Dhan,  offers unlimited calls to any network bundled with 4G data, this is also a segmented offer. In simple words, the offer will available only to those who see it in MyAirtel app or get an SMS regarding the same. You can also use this trick to get the offer.

The devastation caused by Reliance Jio is refusing to subside. As per data reported by Telecom Authority of India, all telecom operators in the country, except Jio, encountered massive loss to the tune of Rs 37,284 crore during last quarter of 2016.

Airtel Digital TV has now launched the coveted android TV-based hybrid STB (Set-Top Box) in India. The STB combines the best of over 500 satellite channels and the internet and online content.

In a landmark judgement, which can open a Pandora’s box, Supreme Court has ordered the removal of a cell tower in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The order was passed after a man claimed that radiations from the cell tower caused his cancer.

Both Jio and Airtel are now locked in a fierce battle to prove superiority, as both are accusing one another of using unfair means to gain customers.

Others

India’s largest cab-hailing company, Ola, is going to start a pilot on electric vehicles in India. By 2018, the company plans to push out electric vehicles and replace the commercial vehicles to align with the Government’s vision.

As per the new directives, if name mismatch is preventing the linking, then citizens can now upload a scanned copy of their PAN Card at the Income Tax portal to link Aadhaar card.

In order to access the open series maps, the general public was required to visit any one of the 23 Survey Of India offices spread across India, and then ask for a copy of the map, after furnishing required ID proof.

One of the most talked about plans of Indian Railways was allowing brands to sponsor trains, inner walls and the outer surface of coaches; and this plan is now approved.

Supreme Court has declared that Internet Access is a basic fundamental right for every Indian; This Right Cannot Be Curtailed

On the occasion of Baba Bhimrao Ambedkar’s 125th birth anniversary, PM Modi launched the official BHIM-Aadhaar Pay app, meant for merchants. The Aadhaar Pay platform was launched last year on December 30th.

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