Shreya Nandi &Amp; Aryaman Gupta

Stories by Shreya Nandi &Amp; Aryaman Gupta

Entrepreneurs, $20 Bn Is Waiting For You

Entrepreneurs, $20 Bn Is Waiting For You

Rediff.com   22 Dec 2023

'In the next 15-20 years, India will have at least 50 new (AI-driven) billion-dollar companies that are going to solve problems for the largest companies around the world.'

'We can deliver market-beating growth'

'We can deliver market-beating growth'

Rediff.com   6 Dec 2023

'We will continue to build new engines of growth in terms of innovations, enter newer categories, and look at newer propositions.'

Centre to revise SEZ Act, limiting tax sops and enhancing integration

Centre to revise SEZ Act, limiting tax sops and enhancing integration

Rediff.com   16 Nov 2023

The Centre is unlikely to offer new direct tax incentives for units operating in special economic zones (SEZs) and may instead allow the grandfathering of previous exemptions that such units were entitled to, according to proposed amendments to the SEZ Act, 2005, people aware of the matter said. The amendments, proposed by the commerce department, will soon be considered by the Cabinet for approval. This represents a departure from the department's earlier plan to introduce these changes through the Development Enterprises and Services Hubs (DESH) Bill, 2023, which faced strong criticism from the ministry of finance.

Is India's NavIC Better Than GPS?

Is India's NavIC Better Than GPS?

Rediff.com   28 Oct 2023

NavIC consists of a constellation of seven satellites and a network of ground stations and is touted to be more accurate than GPS.

India to advocate for food security, WTO reforms at upcoming Geneva meeting

India to advocate for food security, WTO reforms at upcoming Geneva meeting

Rediff.com   19 Oct 2023

Commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal is set to attend a two-day meeting from October 23 at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, that would focus on finding solutions and giving the 'necessary political push' for at least some crucial global trade issues. Next week's meeting comes ahead of the WTO's 13th ministerial conference (MC13), scheduled in Abu Dhabi in February 2024. It will see participation of senior government officials from all WTO member nations.

Festive Season To Create 700K Gig Jobs

Festive Season To Create 700K Gig Jobs

Rediff.com   17 Oct 2023

'The World Cup alone is expected to create an additional 100,000 jobs, most of which will comprise gig workers in the delivery space, transportation, hospitality and event management.'

Israel trade with India doubled after Covid-19 pandemic

Israel trade with India doubled after Covid-19 pandemic

Rediff.com   16 Oct 2023

India's trade ties with Israel have only strengthened in the years after 2019. The total value of trade rose to $10.5 billion on a rolling four-quarter basis in June 2023 from $5.5 billion in the same month in 2019, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). A rolling four-quarter number provides a comparable figure across different time periods.

Rollout of new PLIs unlikely as govt eyes 'course correction'

Rollout of new PLIs unlikely as govt eyes 'course correction'

Rediff.com   14 Oct 2023

The government has decided to hold off introducing the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for additional sectors until it verifies the efficacy of existing initiatives. Top government officials have received mixed feedback on the scheme, including insights from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, people aware of the matter said. "There are no new PLI schemes in the offing.

Commerce secy, team in London to push trade deal

Commerce secy, team in London to push trade deal

Rediff.com   6 Oct 2023

Officials from India and the United Kingdom (UK) are working overtime to address the contentious issues related to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two nations, in a final push to conclude the deal by the year-end. Commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal was headed to London on Thursday after completing his four-day visit to Brazil. Other key officials from India's negotiating team will be joining Barthwal in the UK capital, hoping to make headway in the FTA negotiations, which started in January last year, a person aware of the matter told Business Standard.

Tides turning for India's startups?

Tides turning for India's startups?

Rediff.com   3 Oct 2023

The recovering valuations, will lead to enhanced optimism among investors about funding startups.

Govt seeks to allay concern over 'retaliatory' duty cut on US apples

Govt seeks to allay concern over 'retaliatory' duty cut on US apples

Rediff.com   20 Sep 2023

India's recent move to remove additional 'retaliatory' duty on eight products from the United States (US), including apples and walnuts, would not have any negative impact on the domestic producers, the government clarified, even as the issue threatened to snowball into a political slugfest between the ruling and Opposition parties. The move would, in fact, result in competition in the premium market segment, ensuring better quality at better prices for consumers, especially for apples, a senior government official said. "There were certain concerns that were being raised on the mutually agreed solution that has come in, more specific to seven-eight agriculture products where we had levied additional import duties in retaliation to the steel and aluminum measures (imposed by the US)," Peeyush Kumar, additional secretary in the commerce department, told reporters in a briefing.

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.'

Pragati Maidan: A Walk In Time

Pragati Maidan: A Walk In Time

Rediff.com   12 Aug 2023

'A microcosm of India, inclusive and welcoming'. For years, Pragati Maidan was the centre of Delhi's social life.

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.