Neha Alawadhi, Peerzada Abrar &Amp;Amp; Karan Choudhury

Stories by Neha Alawadhi, Peerzada Abrar &Amp;Amp; Karan Choudhury

Space tech start-up Agnikul raises $11 mn funding

Space tech start-up Agnikul raises $11 mn funding

Rediff.com   20 May 2021

Billionaire and Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra along with top Silicon Valley investors Naval Ravikant and Balaji Srinivasan are backing space tech start-up Agnikul as part of a new funding round. Chennai-based Agnikul said, on Thursday, that it has raised $11 million in Series A funding round led by Mayfield India. It is the largest funding round for a private Indian space technology company in the country. Existing investors pi Ventures, Speciale Invest and Artha Venture Fund also invested in this round.

Big relief for Indian IT as Biden administration removes H-1B visa curbs

Big relief for Indian IT as Biden administration removes H-1B visa curbs

Rediff.com   20 May 2021

The US government has removed a regulation proposed by former president Donald Trump's administration that sought to narrow the definition of "specialty occupation" under the H-1B visa regime. The change comes as a relief for Indian information technology firms, which are among the largest users of such visas. "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally vacated a regulation that would have redefined the H-1B specialty occupation, restricted off site placement of H-1B employees, and otherwise increased employer compliance obligations. "The vacatur follows a federal court ruling that set aside the regulation because the agency did not have good cause to bypass notice and comment rulemaking, in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act," explained immigration law firm Fragomen.

Amazon's next CEO Andy Jassy's India Plan

Amazon's next CEO Andy Jassy's India Plan

Rediff.com   15 May 2021

'We look forward to providing great customer experiences in India.'

Is Zomato's Deepinder Goyal up for a challenge?

Is Zomato's Deepinder Goyal up for a challenge?

Rediff.com   12 May 2021

With scrutiny that comes with a public listing, Deepinder Goyal's leadership could face its sternest test yet.

Zomato's revenue from operations doubles to Rs 2,604 cr amid pandemic

Zomato's revenue from operations doubles to Rs 2,604 cr amid pandemic

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2021

Zomato said it has consistently gained market share over the last four years to become the category leader in the food delivery space in India in terms of gross order value from October 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021.

Onsite demand may pick up for IT firms in US, UK

Onsite demand may pick up for IT firms in US, UK

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2021

To be able to manage any such uptick, Indian IT services players are hiring more locals, and relying on hybrid work models.

Why Shah wanted Twitter takedown

Why Shah wanted Twitter takedown

Rediff.com   26 Apr 2021

Home ministry asks IT ministry to order social media platforms to remove around 100 posts or URLs.

Start-ups, venture capitalists offer funds to tackle Oxygen scarcity

Start-ups, venture capitalists offer funds to tackle Oxygen scarcity

Rediff.com   26 Apr 2021

Amid oxygen shortage and a faltering health system in the country, India is seeing over 300,000 cases daily.

Tech firms offer 'support' to employees as Covid cases surge

Tech firms offer 'support' to employees as Covid cases surge

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

Infosys, Facebook, Genpact, and Cognizant, among others, have reached out to employees and offered support in different ways as the second wave of Covid cases sees an exponential rise. Companies are asking employees to stay indoors and prioritise the health and safety of their families. This is of significance as several information technology firms were going to take a call on work-from-home from June and had plans to allow some employees to come back to work.

Credit card data of 1 million Domino's Pizza customers leaked

Credit card data of 1 million Domino's Pizza customers leaked

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

Domino's India data that included sensitive customer information such as their names, phone numbers, and credit card details has allegedly been breached and put on sale on the dark web. According to tweets by Israel-based Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of cybercrime intelligence firm Hudson Rock, Alon Gal, the data is worth 13 terabytes (TB). He tweeted on Sunday that the data includes as many as 180 million order details, including 1 million credit card details. The data, said Gal, was up for sale on the dark web. The threat actor, he said, was asking for $550,000 for the data.

50 more start-ups likely to join unicorn club in year or two

50 more start-ups likely to join unicorn club in year or two

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

There seems to be no dearth of funds to fuel this growth, report Peerzada Abrar and Shivani Shinde.

Top UPI players stare at uncertain future

Top UPI players stare at uncertain future

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2021

'How can we be told not to grow?'

Indian economy in better shape to tackle Covid 2nd wave: CEA Subramanian

Indian economy in better shape to tackle Covid 2nd wave: CEA Subramanian

Rediff.com   17 Apr 2021

'Overall, compared to the previous episode, we are in a better shape because the vaccine is already out there and vaccination drives are proceeding'

How Xiaomi passed the Covid lockdown test

How Xiaomi passed the Covid lockdown test

Rediff.com   16 Apr 2021

'One out of three phones sold in India is a Xiaomi phone.'

Now users can get harmful content removed from FB, Instagram

Now users can get harmful content removed from FB, Instagram

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2021

The content eligible for review includes posts, status updates, photos, videos, comments, and shares.

Byju's buys Aakash Educational Services for $1 bn over Zoom call

Byju's buys Aakash Educational Services for $1 bn over Zoom call

Rediff.com   6 Apr 2021

The stock-and-cash deal is the biggest in the education space.

Udaan, 'Bharat ka e-commerce' see huge surge in business

Udaan, 'Bharat ka e-commerce' see huge surge in business

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2021

Categories such as lifestyle, food and electronics accounted for over 1,350 sellers across the country last year.

MobiKwik continues to deny any data breach, but will do forensic audit

MobiKwik continues to deny any data breach, but will do forensic audit

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2021

If the data breach is found to be genuine, and if the company is found guilty on the grounds of dereliction of duty, or misleading the general public and the RBI about the data breach, actions taken against it will be severe, the person quoted above said.

3.5 million MobiKwik users' data up for sale, company denies claim

3.5 million MobiKwik users' data up for sale, company denies claim

Rediff.com   30 Mar 2021

Many people posted screenshots of the alleged MobiKwik user data, which, according to sources, was up for sale for 1.5 bitcoin or about $86,000.

Foreign e-com cos creating massive unemployment, alleges RIL

Foreign e-com cos creating massive unemployment, alleges RIL

Rediff.com   23 Mar 2021

Capital dumping is being used by foreign e-commerce firms to subsidise and engage in predatory pricing, oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL) has told the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) in an internal document. The document alleges that this is leading to massive unemployment and financial distress among small merchants and kirana stores. It consists of various recommendations and proposed changes that deal with Press Note 2 of 2018 (PN 2), which RIL wanted Assocham to present to the government, according to sources.