Surajeet Das Gupta, Gyan Verma, Viveat Susan Pinto

Stories by Surajeet Das Gupta, Gyan Verma, Viveat Susan Pinto

Wings clipped, ad body looks at a 'co-regulating' role with govt

Wings clipped, ad body looks at a 'co-regulating' role with govt

Rediff.com   2 Sep 2020

Newly formed CCPA will now regulate false and misleading advertising and also take action to punish offenders, whether through fines, discontinuance, alteration of the ad, or even jail. ASCI as a voluntary, self-regulatory body, had no legal powers to enforce its actions.

Pandemic brings windfall for e-pharma companies

Pandemic brings windfall for e-pharma companies

Rediff.com   27 Aug 2020

The online pharmacy market, which was worth about $512 million in 2018, is growing at a CAGR of 63 per cent and is expected to hit overall revenues of over $3.6 billion by 2022.

Pandemic heat spreads to large restaurant chains

Pandemic heat spreads to large restaurant chains

Rediff.com   27 Aug 2020

A third of the total restaurant market in India - valued at Rs 4.25 trillion - could be wiped out in the current financial year, since many players have simply been unable to sustain operations in the absence of customers.

WhiteHat Jr making an aggressive bid to go global

WhiteHat Jr making an aggressive bid to go global

Rediff.com   24 Aug 2020

Next month, the edtech start-up, that teaches coding to kids online, is launching operations in five new markets - the UK, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.

In 3 years, RIL forked out $ 3.1 billion on acquisitions

In 3 years, RIL forked out $ 3.1 billion on acquisitions

Rediff.com   20 Aug 2020

The acquisitions were made in areas which are closely related to Reliance's key businesses - telecom, internet, retail, digital, media, education, digital, chemicals and energy.

How Mukesh Ambani plans to expand his empire

How Mukesh Ambani plans to expand his empire

Rediff.com   19 Aug 2020

Its trajectory in telecom is well known but now it is pushing for a similar leap into the ranks of the top players in its other businesses: media and entertainment, e-commerce, a series of online businesses ranging from health to education, and retail.

Malls, retailers begin talks again over rentals

Malls, retailers begin talks again over rentals

Rediff.com   17 Aug 2020

Retailers want rental waivers should be extended for a few more months, since business is not expected to pick up before the Dussehra-Diwali period, which falls in October-November.

Star to charge Rs 1 million for 10 second IPL ad

Star to charge Rs 1 million for 10 second IPL ad

Rediff.com   14 Aug 2020

Star earned ad revenues of around Rs 30 billion during last year's IPL. Whether it hits last year's figure will depend on how the economy picks up during the festival season.

25 years of telecom in India: Who won, who lost

25 years of telecom in India: Who won, who lost

Rediff.com   14 Aug 2020

While smart boys like the Ruias of Essar, Ajay Piramal, Max India promoter Analjit Singh laughed all the way to the bank, the Tatas, Anil Ambani, Malaysian tycoon T Ananda Krishna of Maxis (which invested in Aircel), Sistema, and Norway's Telenor burnt their fingers, notes Surajeet Das Gupta.

FMCG story slides into slow lane; Britannia bucks the trend

FMCG story slides into slow lane; Britannia bucks the trend

Rediff.com   13 Aug 2020

While green shoots are beginning to emerge, with June sales rebounding to pre-Covid levels thanks to a rural revival, most FMCG chief executives have voiced concerns about localised lockdowns that began in July and have extended into August in some states.

Huawei's future in India depends on its role in 5G

Huawei's future in India depends on its role in 5G

Rediff.com   13 Aug 2020

It has invested $2 billion and spent $200 million on its R&D centre in Bengaluru, the largest such centre outside China where some core technologies are under development.

In times of Covid-19, drive-through restaurant biz booms

In times of Covid-19, drive-through restaurant biz booms

Rediff.com   10 Aug 2020

in the last three months, brands such as Tata Starbucks, KFC, and Pizza Hut have launched drive-through or kerb-side delivery services at their restaurants to catch consumers nervous about dining in.

Apple to shift 10% of manufacture to India in 5 years

Apple to shift 10% of manufacture to India in 5 years

Rediff.com   10 Aug 2020

Two of Apple Inc's global vendors -- Wistron and Foxconn (through Han Hoi), which already manufacture Apple phones in India -- and a third entity, Pegatron, which will be setting up a new plant, have applied to the government to be eligible under the PLI scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturers.

How govt plans to stop telcos from buying Chinese equipment

How govt plans to stop telcos from buying Chinese equipment

Rediff.com   4 Aug 2020

Under these rules, telecom gear makers have to share their source codes and get their equipment tested by third-party labs accredited to the government.

This year's IPL could be a big hit with advertisers

This year's IPL could be a big hit with advertisers

Rediff.com   3 Aug 2020

'That it is happening in the second half of the year, during the festive season, will only encourage many to step up advertising.'

India's telcos continue to dial the wrong number

India's telcos continue to dial the wrong number

Rediff.com   2 Aug 2020

India's telecom sector has been through dizzying peaks, troughs, policy U-turns, court battles, brutal competition, and daily controversies. India could go back to a private sector duopoly with just Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel surviving the mayhem. The third player, Vodafone Idea, could be history.

Why cinema halls won't open for now

Why cinema halls won't open for now

Rediff.com   28 Jul 2020

Companies say that unlike in the US and other countries, in India the high cost of rentals and lower ticket price makes it unviable to run an operation without half the seats available for sale.

Who needs TikTok? Bharat has its very own alternatives

Who needs TikTok? Bharat has its very own alternatives

Rediff.com   27 Jul 2020

Chingari, Roposo, Khabri and Trell are seeing huge traction as people are looking at options to earn incentives from home. Music streaming app Gaana, which is strongly placed in the market with 150 million users, recently opened up its short video platform for subscribers.

JioMart taps more daily orders than BigBasket, Amazon

JioMart taps more daily orders than BigBasket, Amazon

Rediff.com   24 Jul 2020

While JioMart is doing 250,000 orders per day, BigBasket and Amazon pantry are doing 220,000 and 150,000 orders, respectively.

Global 5G players brace for Reliance Jio challenge

Global 5G players brace for Reliance Jio challenge

Rediff.com   23 Jul 2020

Reliance is leveraging the technological change of building a virtualised 5G network which would see the current hardware-dependent networks shift to software-centric platforms.