Aryaman Gupta, Nivedita Mookerji

Stories by Aryaman Gupta, Nivedita Mookerji

'India's done magical work'

'India's done magical work'

Rediff.com   21 Sep 2023

'To get a 100 per cent consensus document without any reservation, any bracket, any chair summary is unprecedented in the history of multilateral forums.'

G20 Summit: Startups hope Delhi Declaration to help ease capital access

G20 Summit: Startups hope Delhi Declaration to help ease capital access

Rediff.com   11 Sep 2023

The Indian startup ecosystem has lauded the inclusion of startups in the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration for the first time ever in the history of G20. Industry stakeholders say that the move will lead to easier access to capital, reduce regulatory hurdles, and may revive funding activity. The Declaration, through the Startup20 initiative, recognised startups as "natural engines of growth" and key to socio-economic transformation by driving innovation and creating employment.

Oyo's India CEO, Europe head resign ahead of IPO

Oyo's India CEO, Europe head resign ahead of IPO

Rediff.com   7 Sep 2023

IPO-bound hospitality major Oyo's India Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ankit Gupta and the head of its Europe business Mandar Vaidya have resigned. A company spokesperson told Business Standard that the two had moved on from their roles six months ago in March 2023. During the same period, Oyo had rejigged its top management, where the company's COO Abhinav Sinha was reassigned as Chief Product and Technology Officer, while Chief Business Development Officer Anuj Tejpal was reappointed as Global Chief Merchant Officer.

With Zepto Becoming First Unicorn of 2023, is Funding Winter About to Thaw?

With Zepto Becoming First Unicorn of 2023, is Funding Winter About to Thaw?

Rediff.com   7 Sep 2023

Quick commerce startups hope to race towards better days. Can they crack the execution code?

Zerodha's Kamath brothers to invest Rs 100 crore in Nazara Technologies

Zerodha's Kamath brothers to invest Rs 100 crore in Nazara Technologies

Rediff.com   5 Sep 2023

The board of Nazara Technologies, a listed online gaming company, has approved the issue of shares worth Rs 100 crore to firms managed by Zerodha founders Nikhil and Nithin Kamath, the company said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The company is proposing to issue 1,400,560 equity shares at a face value of Rs 4 each, for Rs 714 per equity share. This will amount to Rs 99,99,99,840 and will be proportionately allotted to M/s Kamath Associates and M/s NKSquared.

Crypto unicorn CoinSwitch lays off 44 employees citing role redundancy

Crypto unicorn CoinSwitch lays off 44 employees citing role redundancy

Rediff.com   30 Aug 2023

The move comes barely a week after fellow crypto unicorn CoinDCX laid off 12 per cent of its workforce - an estimated 80 employees - amid challenging macroeconomic conditions and regulatory uncertainty in the sector. CoinSwitch has 519 employees, according to its LinkedIn profile. This means around 8 per cent of its workforce were shown the door.

Titan set to buy out Esops of CaratLane staffers for Rs 350 crore

Titan set to buy out Esops of CaratLane staffers for Rs 350 crore

Rediff.com   22 Aug 2023

Tata Group-owned Titan, which has agreed to purchase founder Mithun Sacheti's stake in CaratLane for Rs 4,621 crore, is planning to buy employee stock options (Esops) of the jewellery retailer's employees for around Rs 350 crore. This will take Titan's ownership in the company to 100 per cent. CaratLane reportedly has around 1,500 employees, most of whom do not own shares in the company.

Unicorns Carve Profits In Funding Winter

Unicorns Carve Profits In Funding Winter

Rediff.com   22 Aug 2023

'Given that the market is now demanding disciplined growth, well-run companies should be able to demonstrate profitability with the cash on hand.'

Quick commerce firms gain traction. Next stop: Profit

Quick commerce firms gain traction. Next stop: Profit

Rediff.com   7 Aug 2023

Quick commerce is proving to be a solid business proposition, with companies like Zomato's Blinkit and Y Combinator-backed Zepto recently registering growth, charting paths to profitability. Blinkit logged its highest gross order value (GOV) and customer transactions in June and July, showing a positive contribution for the first time in the quarter ended June 2023. Deepinder Goyal, Zomato's co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO), predicted that Blinkit would deliver more value to shareholders than the core food delivery business in the next decade.

Magicpin app crashes under tomato demand, stocks sold out within 10 mins

Magicpin app crashes under tomato demand, stocks sold out within 10 mins

Rediff.com   1 Aug 2023

Hyperlocal delivery platform magicpin experienced an overwhelming surge in demand at 9 am on Monday, causing its app to crash, leaving users temporarily unable to access the platform. The increased traffic came after the firm announced its "tomatoes @ Rs70" initiative last week in partnership with National Cooperative Consumers Federation of India (NCCF) and Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). This led to magicpin's tomato stocks depleting within the first 10 minutes, leaving many buyers struggling to order.

Narayana Murthy's Catamaran aims to double AUM to $2 billion in 5 yrs

Narayana Murthy's Catamaran aims to double AUM to $2 billion in 5 yrs

Rediff.com   31 Jul 2023

Catamaran, the family office of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy, is targeting 15 per cent returns on its portfolio investments per annum as it shifts focus from early-stage investments to growth and late-stage bets. This would double the firm's assets under management (AUM) from the current $1 billion to $2 billion over the next five years. "For direct investments, we are focusing on growth-stage investments and very selectively on early stage," Deepak Padaki, president, Catamaran, told Business Standard. "(This is) primarily because the early-stage space in India, in the last three-four years, has completely changed. "There has been a huge influx of capital in the last two years. It has become a very crowded space for early-stage investment," he said.

'Indian manufacturers are making good-quality EVs'

'Indian manufacturers are making good-quality EVs'

Rediff.com   29 Jul 2023

'I'm very much against petrol and diesel....'' 'I travel in an electric car.' 'I have had a really good experience with it.'

Why Indians Are Buying Phones Offline

Why Indians Are Buying Phones Offline

Rediff.com   27 Jul 2023

Similar discounts compared to online led to a spike in demand for offline, where customers can get a more personal and hands-on product experience.

E-sports not affected by revised GST

E-sports not affected by revised GST

Rediff.com   25 Jul 2023

E-sports experts say the burgeoning sector will not be affected by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council's recent decision to levy a blanket 28 per cent tax on online gaming, which is being viewed by the industry as a death blow to gaming companies.

Why ASUS Is Betting On Gaming

Why ASUS Is Betting On Gaming

Rediff.com   24 Jul 2023

'As long as ASUS continues to introduce new products into the market, we still have a chance to grow our business in India.'

Zepto 'in talks' to raise funding, may become India's 1st unicorn this year

Zepto 'in talks' to raise funding, may become India's 1st unicorn this year

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2023

India may get its first unicorn this year as Zepto, which promises 10-minute deliveries, is in talks to get fresh funding that would take the start-up's valuation past $1 billion. The quick-delivery firm is looking to raise $150 million in a series E round, which will take its valuation to $1.3 billion. The round will be led by StepStone Group, a limited partner (LP) of Zepto's existing investor, Nexus Venture Partners, said media reports.

Primed for Prime Day, Amazon@10 goes from 100 product launches to 45,000

Primed for Prime Day, Amazon@10 goes from 100 product launches to 45,000

Rediff.com   11 Jul 2023

E-commerce major Amazon will host Prime Day - its annual sale event - in India on July 15-16. The company will launch over 45,000 products from over 400 Indian and global brands. The announcement of the Prime Day event in India comes at a time when 900 workers at Amazon UK plan to strike for three days (July 11-13).

IIT Madras raises Rs 231 cr in funding from alumni, firms, donors in FY23

IIT Madras raises Rs 231 cr in funding from alumni, firms, donors in FY23

Rediff.com   20 Jun 2023

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) said on Monday that it had raised the highest-ever corpus of annual funds for the institution, garnering Rs 231 crore from alumni, industry and individual donors for 2022-23 (FY23). Its funding increased 76 per cent year-on-year (YoY) compared to Rs 131 crore in FY22, according to data shared by the institute. The number of donors contributing more than Rs 1 crore increased 64 per cent YoY.

'We are not saying everybody has to pay that much'

'We are not saying everybody has to pay that much'

Rediff.com   12 Jun 2023

'If you are going to have only a handful of telecom players on whom the entire dream of Digital India rests, it's important they are financially sustainable.'

TVs, Laptops, Phones May Cost More

TVs, Laptops, Phones May Cost More

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2023

The reason? Price of open cell panels has gone up 15%. One of the main components in the manufacturing of TV sets, open cells contribute to 60%-65% of the manufacturing cost.