Peerzada Abrar, Sai Ishwar

Stories by Peerzada Abrar, Sai Ishwar

Medlife, PharmEasy eye $200 million merger deal

Medlife, PharmEasy eye $200 million merger deal

Rediff.com   21 Jul 2020

There are several discussions going around in the e-health sector for consolidation with key players being PharmEasy, 1mg, Medlife and Netmeds. According to reports, Reliance Jio is in talks with Netmeds to acquire the latter.

Robots to the rescue in times of coronavirus

Robots to the rescue in times of coronavirus

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2020

From scanning hospital entrants to disinfecting hospital areas and floors, robots are being roped in for tasks considered high-risk, says Peerzada Abrar.

Can TikTok beat the swadeshi brigade and come back?

Can TikTok beat the swadeshi brigade and come back?

Rediff.com   12 Jul 2020

TikTok is up against not just government sanction but also a set of feisty home-grown brands that have raised the 'vocal for local' banner to stake claim to the platform's vast small-town reach, point out T E Narasimhan and Sai Ishwar.

TCS to resume hiring outside talent

TCS to resume hiring outside talent

Rediff.com   11 Jul 2020

The Mumbai-headquartered company, however, said it would selectively hire experienced employees from outside.

E-com cos told to display 'country of origin' on all products

E-com cos told to display 'country of origin' on all products

Rediff.com   9 Jul 2020

The development comes amid a growing clamour for the boycott of Chinese products in India, combined with the government's push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Drones still can't deliver packages even in green zones

Drones still can't deliver packages even in green zones

Rediff.com   8 Jul 2020

Use cases for drones are, however, immense - industrial inspections, geospatial surveys, agricultural surveys, and general surveillance and security.

Byju's enters the tuitions classes game

Byju's enters the tuitions classes game

Rediff.com   8 Jul 2020

Students may choose between weekday and weekend batches, and attend scheduled online maths and science classes based on their school curriculum.

It's reverse brain drain! Start-ups woo talent returning to India from US

It's reverse brain drain! Start-ups woo talent returning to India from US

Rediff.com   6 Jul 2020

Indian start-ups and software product companies are trying to attract engineers and programmers who are either stranded in India because of the lockdown or H-1B visa holders who have been laid off.

Ban on Chinese apps: Will Indian players' dream run continue?

Ban on Chinese apps: Will Indian players' dream run continue?

Rediff.com   2 Jul 2020

The idea behind starting Chingari is not to build a TikTok clone but to position itself as a super app for India like WeChat.

Chinese app ban: Indian start-ups face a major hurdle

Chinese app ban: Indian start-ups face a major hurdle

Rediff.com   2 Jul 2020

According to experts, the banning of the apps has created negative sentiments and reduced the confidence among the Chinese investors to invest in India.

India's Chinese app ban may hit their valuations

India's Chinese app ban may hit their valuations

Rediff.com   1 Jul 2020

The banned Chinese apps, which include TikTok, Shareit and UC Browser, earn revenue mainly from online advertisements, subscriptions, and commissions for selling products. India is the biggest driver of these Chinese apps due to the population. The ban on the 59 Chinese apps will negatively affect the valuations of the companies, especially those going for IPO.

What IT firms are doing to optimise staff costs

What IT firms are doing to optimise staff costs

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2020

Already 15-20 per cent of the workforce, earlier used to be procured from staffing firms and subcontractors, are replaced by freelancers tapped from platforms like Topcoder, GitHub, and Upwork.

Bleak future for Indian start-ups funded by Chinese investors

Bleak future for Indian start-ups funded by Chinese investors

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2020

According to experts, this will have major impact on new investments by Chinese players in companies, such as Paytm, Ola, BigBasket, Byju's, Dream11, MakeMyTrip, and Swiggy, when they go for follow-up funding. Chinese investors, such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi, are active in the Indian start-up space, and have collectively invested billions of dollars.

For India's start-ups space is the next frontier

For India's start-ups space is the next frontier

Rediff.com   28 Jun 2020

While participation of start-ups in the space sector has largely been minimal so far, their involvement will be key towards building India's very own aerospace companies such as Maxar, Elon Musk's SpaceX and Rocket Labs, according to experts.

Campaign to boycott China-linked apps picks up speed

Campaign to boycott China-linked apps picks up speed

Rediff.com   19 Jun 2020

According to industry insiders, India has 400 million smartphones and is the world's fastest-growing app market. So the addition or deletion of apps impacts the global valuations of these platforms. "Based on calls given by various local organisations to delete Chinese Apps, there will be an impact," said Blaise Fernandes, director at foreign policy think tank Gateway House. "All of them eventually will go the IPO (initial public offering) route so there would be economic impact also."

Udaan set to fly after hitting Covid air pocket

Udaan set to fly after hitting Covid air pocket

Rediff.com   17 Jun 2020

The lockdown that crippled the entire logistics, delivery and supply chain network to near zero, was enough to deal a body blow to India's fastest growing unicorn whose very business model saw a severe disruption, like several other firms and sectors.

How Myntra plans to run India's biggest fashion sale

How Myntra plans to run India's biggest fashion sale

Rediff.com   16 Jun 2020

The 12th edition of EORS will be held from June 19-22. There will be a dedicated central virtual war-room for tactical problem solving across all phases of the event. Shoppers across the country will have access to over 700,000 styles from over 3,000 fashion and lifestyle brands. Myntra is expecting 3 million people to shop from the safety of their homes.

Digital lenders step up to help early-stage startups

Digital lenders step up to help early-stage startups

Rediff.com   14 Jun 2020

In order to make it hassle-free, various start-up support groups such as TiE (The Indus Entrepreneur) and India Angel Network (IAN) are partnering with the digital NBFCs to extend debt finance to their member companies.

COVID-19 opening new doors to fintech companies

COVID-19 opening new doors to fintech companies

Rediff.com   27 May 2020

The coronavirus pandemic has changed how businesses look at payments. Earlier, fintech companies said when they were talking to merchants, they were not interested in digitisation.

Start-up founders turn to venture debt funds

Start-up founders turn to venture debt funds

Rediff.com   24 May 2020

The country's top three venture debt firms -- Alteria Capital, Innoven Capital, and Trifecta Capital -- combined deployed about $300 million (Rs 2,200 crore) in start-ups such as BigBasket, Cure.fit, Ninjacart, Dunzo and Lendingkart till April end, according to the government's Investindia website.