Samie Modak And Neha Alawadhi

Stories by Samie Modak And Neha Alawadhi

Dream run to continue for small- and mid-cap stocks

Dream run to continue for small- and mid-cap stocks

Rediff.com   9 Aug 2021

The relentless rally in small- and mid-cap stocks continues as large-caps show signs of fatigue. In July, the Nifty Smallcap 100 rose 8.1 per cent, extending its year-to-date (YTD) gains to 48.5 per cent, while the Nifty Midcap 100 added 3.1 per cent, taking its YTD rise to 33.5 per cent. On the other hand, the Nifty50 remained unchanged for the month, with YTD gains of 12.7 per cent.

IMD may deploy cutting-edge tech to forecast weather accurately

IMD may deploy cutting-edge tech to forecast weather accurately

Rediff.com   3 Aug 2021

IMD has decided to increasingly use cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in forecasting, both to avoid such glitches and to counter the disruption of normal seasonal patterns as a result of climate change. It has formed various internal sub-groups of senior officials and meteorologists to decide on how best to use AI and ML in predicting cyclone intensity, and in making short-range weather forecasts (those valid for up to three hours) as well as long-range forecasts.

Sachin Tendulkar invests $2 mn in JetSynthesys

Sachin Tendulkar invests $2 mn in JetSynthesys

Rediff.com   30 Jul 2021

Sachin Tendulkar has recently made an equity investment of $2 million in digital entertainment and technology company JetSynthesys. The investment further strengthens Tendulkar's relationship with JetSynthesys, as the two already have an existing joint venture for a digital destination for all things cricket, called 100MB, and immersive cricket games Sachin Saga Cricket Champions and Sachin Saga VR. With this investment, Tendulkar joins the bandwagon of existing shareholders of JetSynthesys, who include Adar Poonawalla, Kris Gopalakrishnan, and the multi-billion-dollar family offices of the promoters of Thermax, Triveni Group, Yohan Poonawalla Group and DSP Group.

Zomato to debut on the stock markets today, 4 days ahead of schedule

Zomato to debut on the stock markets today, 4 days ahead of schedule

Rediff.com   23 Jul 2021

India's first unicorn Zomato will make its stock market debut on Friday, marking a historic moment for the domestic capital market. As per initial schedule, Zomato's listing was to take place on July 27. However, investment banks managed to complete the share allotment and listing formalities ahead of the deadline. Under the Sebi framework, the timeline between IPO closing and listing has to be six working days. Zomato's IPO had closed on July 16.

Indians more vulnerable to tech support scams, says Microsoft report

Indians more vulnerable to tech support scams, says Microsoft report

Rediff.com   23 Jul 2021

Indians are more vulnerable to technology support-related scams compared to the global average, and lost over Rs 15,000 on average in such scam, a Microsoft research has found. According to the 2021 Global Tech Support Scam Research report, which looks at tech support scams and their impact, consumers in India experienced a relatively high scam encounter rate of 69 per cent during the past 12 months, close to the 70 per cent rate experienced in 2018. In contrast, there was an overall five-point drop in scam encounters globally with a rate of 59 per cent over the same period. The survey was conducted in Spring 2021 and asked consumers to share their experiences with tech support scams for the year prior (January 2020 to present).

Paytm's listing grew 370x from Rs 120 cr in 2010 to Rs 16,600 cr 11 years later

Paytm's listing grew 370x from Rs 120 cr in 2010 to Rs 16,600 cr 11 years later

Rediff.com   17 Jul 2021

According to its DRHP filed in 2010, the company's net worth was just Rs 140 crore. Its total income for the financial year 2009-10 stood at Rs 119 crore and it had a net profit of Rs 16 crore. In sharp contrast, at the end of March 2021, Paytm's networth was Rs 6,535 crore and total income stood at Rs 3,187 crore.

How face-off with Indian govt has boosted Twitter

How face-off with Indian govt has boosted Twitter

Rediff.com   16 Jul 2021

Political controversies aside, Twitter's business in India is expanding, and creating opportunities for Indians, reports Neha Alawadhi.

'IPO won't change how Zomato operates'

'IPO won't change how Zomato operates'

Rediff.com   16 Jul 2021

'We work with a very large restaurant base, we make sure that we're doing the right thing by them, and we're helping them grow because we'll grow only when they do.'

Zomato's entry to Nifty or Sensex would be challenging

Zomato's entry to Nifty or Sensex would be challenging

Rediff.com   15 Jul 2021

Zomato could get added to the MSCI and FTSE indices by the end of this year, while an entry to the Nifty or the Sensex would be challenging before the second half of 2022, said Brian Freitas, an analyst at independent research provider Smartkarma, in note. "With nearly the entire pre-IPO shares locked up for one year, the free float will be very low and the stock will need to move higher to around Rs 328 per share (4.3 times over possible IPO price of Rs 76) to be included in the Nifty index (with no change in the market cap of the smallest index constituent). "We can be reasonably certain that Zomato will not be included in the Nifty index till the September 2022 rebalance at the earliest," he said.

The Man in the Middle of the Twitter Storm

The Man in the Middle of the Twitter Storm

Rediff.com   10 Jul 2021

When the Delhi police served him a notice in May for a case involving tagging some political leaders' tweets as carrying manipulated media, a spirited Maheshwari said he was employed by Twitter Communications Private Limited, and not Twitter Inc, and, therefore, could not help them. The authorities were understandably not pleased.

Zomato's Rs 9,375-cr IPO to open on July 14

Zomato's Rs 9,375-cr IPO to open on July 14

Rediff.com   8 Jul 2021

Food delivery company Zomato's Rs 9,375-crore initial public offering (IPO) will open for subscription on July 14, said investment banking sources on Wednesday. The company initially was looking to raise Rs 7,500 crore through the offering. Investment banking sources said the issue size has been increased because of the robust demand from investors.

Insolvency proceedings against Oyo Hotels closed

Insolvency proceedings against Oyo Hotels closed

Rediff.com   8 Jul 2021

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday closed insolvency proceedings against Oyo and one of its subsidiaries, and also disallowed the intervention of external parties including Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI). Industry body FHRAI said in May it has been allowed by the NCLAT to intervene on behalf of hotels in the Oyo unit insolvency case before the tribunal. The association had filed the application on behalf of its member hotels in India, who it said at the time are operational creditors suffering hugely on account of non-payments of debt by Oyo.

Restaurant body up in arms against Zomato, Swiggy

Restaurant body up in arms against Zomato, Swiggy

Rediff.com   6 Jul 2021

Alleging "anti-competitive practices" by Zomato and Swiggy, restaurant industry body National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) on Monday said it has approached fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) for a detailed probe against the food aggregators. Keeping the interests of restaurants in mind, NRAI on July 1 had filed information with the CCI, it said in a statement. The main issues highlighted by the association in the submission are bundling of services, data masking, and exorbitant commission charged, price parity agreements, deep discounting, including forcing restaurant partners to give discounts to maintain appropriate listing, exclusivity of listed restaurants, and violation of platform neutrality, vertical integration, and lack of transparency on the food ordering platforms.

Zomato mega IPO likely this month following Sebi nod

Zomato mega IPO likely this month following Sebi nod

Rediff.com   6 Jul 2021

The company, backed by China's Ant Group, is planning to issue fresh shares worth Rs 7,500 crore in the IPO. This will make this India's third-largest offering after Reliance Power and DLF.

81% consumers back e-commerce rules, want clarity on services-based biz

81% consumers back e-commerce rules, want clarity on services-based biz

Rediff.com   5 Jul 2021

As many as 81 per cent people support having rules for consumer e-commerce, but want more services-based platforms to have more clearly defined roles, a survey by community social media platform LocalCircles has found. The survey asked respondents to answer questions based on the recent draft Rules proposed by the ministry of consumer affairs. The responses found 81 per cent consumers wanting sales of products and services over electronic or digital networks to be governed by a set of electronic commerce rules.

Analysts expand stock coverage amid sharp market rally

Analysts expand stock coverage amid sharp market rally

Rediff.com   3 Jul 2021

Brokerages are expanding the universe of stocks they cover amid a boom in the market. Several stocks in the mid-cap universe are now tracked by more analysts than they were a year ago. For instance, SBI Cards and Payment Services is now tracked by 17 brokerages, compared to just four a year ago.

Facebook removes over 30mn posts, most for violent content

Facebook removes over 30mn posts, most for violent content

Rediff.com   3 Jul 2021

Facebook removed 25 million pieces of content identified as 'spam,' 1.8 million pieces of content containing 'adult nudity and sexual activity', reports Neha Alawadhi.

Clubhouse sets the trend for social audio apps in pandemic

Clubhouse sets the trend for social audio apps in pandemic

Rediff.com   2 Jul 2021

From Twitter to Facebook to Spotify, everyone it seems is clambering aboard the social audio bandwagon. Neha Alawadhi reports.

India's digital economy to grow 10x to $800 bn by 2030

India's digital economy to grow 10x to $800 bn by 2030

Rediff.com   1 Jul 2021

India's consumer digital economy which was pegged at $85-90 billion in calendar year 2020, is expected to become a $800 billion market by 2030, according to reports released by consulting firm RedSeer at its flagship event Ground Zero 5.0. The digital economy includes 60 per cent of travel, 40 per cent non-grocery retail, 30 per cent of education, 25 per cent of food and beverages services and 6 per cent of pharma/grocery going through digital channels by calendar year 2030. Online retail is set to become the third-largest market by scale by CY30 with an annual gross merchandise value (GMV) of $350 billion in CY30, said RedSeer.

Facebook, Google agree to publish transparency reports

Facebook, Google agree to publish transparency reports

Rediff.com   30 Jun 2021

While Facebook said on Tuesday it will publish an interim report on July 2 as mandated by the IT rules, Google will publish its transparency report as required under the new IT Rules in India.