VARINDIA IT MAGAZINE

Apple store India launch delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic:  Apple   has delayed its plans to launch its first offline store in India due to the   COVID-19 pandemic .   CEO Tim Cook   last year announced that the first physical Apple stores would open in the country starting 2021.   Apple has been working to establish its native retail presence in the Indian market for some time. Last September, the company started its online store to begin its retail business in the country. For Apple India is the most promising market that’s becoming one of the key focus countries for the iPhone market.   It was considered as a strategic move by Apple to stand against traditional e-commerce players including  Amazon  and  Flipkart  that also sell devices such as the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook.   Apple has also ramped up manufacturing in the country with the most recent iPhone 12 also now being assembled here. It currently manufactures the iPhon...

Sonu Sood launches Travel Union to support small business owners:  Travel Union , India’s first rural B2B travel tech platform, was launched today. Travel Union,   a Sonu Sood initiative , will democratize travel services by providing a platform to Travel Union members (travel agents) towards serving the travel needs of rural customers at every district, block and gram panchayat level. With a mission to support, digitally empower and build a leading travel agent business community in rural India at zero investment, Travel Union aims to be the largest rural digital travel services platform serving the 1 billion Bharat population.   At the rural level, the travel sector has been largely unorganised with no player focusing on the needs of Indians in tier 2 towns and villages. Travel Union addresses multiple unfulfilled needs of rural travel agents, small business owners and enterprises, called Travel Union Members, the primary one being the absence of travel-tech platforms d...

Amazon extends work-from-home period until January 2022:  Due to the surge in COVID-19 cases across the nation because of the more contagious delta variant,   Amazon   has delayed its return-to-office date for technology and corporate workers until January.   Before returning to office Amazon will not mandate employees receive the  COVID-19 vaccine . The company said that the employees who are not vaccinated will be required to wear masks in the office.   The surge of the delta variant of the coronavirus has upended many companies’ plans to bring office workers back this fall, a drive already complicated by efforts to accommodate widespread employee preference for flexible remote work policies, and debates over how to handle vaccine and masking policies.   Companies like  Microsoft ,  Google ,  Twitter , Lyft etc. have postponed the plans of reopening offices.   As per news source, Amazon earlier set September 7 as return date and t...

Mindtickle becomes a unicorn after raising $100 million in the Series E funding round led by SoftBank:  Mindtickle , the sales readiness platform, has become the latest unicorn after raising an additional $100 million in the Series E funding round. The funding round was led by   SoftBank   and existing investors -   Norwest Venture Partners , Canaan, NewView Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures also participated in the round.   Earlier in November last year, Mindtickle had raised $100 million. The startup is now valued at $1.2 billion with a total $281 million in funding.   “Revenue leaders understand that sales readiness is a mission-critical component of their strategy to consistently meet or exceed their goals,” said  Krishna Depura, Mindtickle CEO and co-founder .   The company helps companies such as Johnson & Johnson, and Wipro be ready to grow revenue by increasing knowledge, understanding ideal sales behaviours, and adapting to change. Mindt...

Telangana Government dedicates 3000 public Wi-Fi hotspots to citizens of Hyderabad, powered by ACT Fibernet:  In its efforts towards further accelerating ‘ Digital Telangana ’, Government of Telangana commemorated 3000+ public Wi-Fi hotspots in Hyderabad as part of the Hy-Fi project in collaboration with   ACT Fibernet . Launched in the presence of   K. T. Rama Rao , Minister for Municipal Administration & Urban Development, Industries, and IT & Commerce, Govt. of Telangana, Jayesh Rajan, Principal Secretary of the Industries & Commerce (I&C) and Information Technology (IT) Departments of the Telangana government, Bala Malladi, Chief Executive Officer, Atria Convergence Technologies Ltd and other dignitaries, and officials.   With this launch, Hyderabad becomes one of the first cities in India to deploy public wi-fi network at such a large scale.   Each of the 3000 Wi-Fi hotspots are powered by ACT SmartFiber Technology, which will ensure superfa...

ixigo takes over bus ticketing platform AbhiBus:  Le Travenues Technology, the company that operates the AI based travel app “ixigo”   has purchased the business and operations of Hyderabad based bus ticketing and aggregation platform   AbhiBus   as a going concern on a slump sale basis vide a business transfer agreement, for a mix of cash and ixigo stock as consideration. The Abhibus team led by its founder Sudhakar Reddy Chirra have joined the ixigo team, and all intellectual property, brands, technology and operations are being transferred to ixigo.   Aloke Bajpai  and  Rajnish Kumar , Co-Founders, ixigo said - “ixigo and AbhiBus founders share the passion and focus on the next billion traveler market. AbhiBus has built an innovative and high growth company with deep penetration on the supply side across state road transport companies (SRTCs) & private bus operators and on the demand side, as the dominant bus ticketing brand in several Indian st...

ED issues Rs 10,600-crore notice on Flipkart for forex violations:  The   Enforcement Directorate (ED)   has issued a show cause notice of about Rs 10,600 crore to   Flipkart   and its promoters for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law.   The notice under various sections of the  Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)  was issued to 10 people last month that includes Flipkart, its founders  Sachin Bansal  and  Binny Bansal , among others. According to sources, the notice was issued after completion of an investigation and the charges include violation of the foreign direct investment (FDI) rules and those that regulate multi-brand retail. The company and its executives will now undergo adjudication that will be conducted by a Special Director-rank officer of the agency based in Chennai.   Proceedings under FEMA are civil in nature and the final penalty, post-adjudication, can be at least three times the amount contrave...

91.2% of debt with 43 lenders is settled by Zee founder:  Subhash Chandra , the founder of   Essel group , has settled 91.2 per cent of his debt with 43 lenders, and the remaining dues are in the process of being paid.   Chandra in an open letter said, “I am happy to report that we have come out of the financial stress situation by settling 91.2% of our total debt to 43 lenders in 110 accounts. About 88.3% of the amount has been paid, while the remaining 2.9% is in the process of being paid. We are making all the required efforts to settle the remaining 8.8% of our total debt. I have no regrets for parting with substantial ownership in the business and especially in the ‘jewels of the crown’. This was done to keep the family’s honour."   In his first open letter issued on January 25, 2019, Chandra had apologised for the hardships faced by the lenders due to the liquidity crisis triggered by the  IL&FS  case and committed to repay the money to the best o...

Deloitte buys industrial cybersecurity business aeCyberSolutions:  Deloitte Risk & Financial Advisory   announced the acquisition of the industrial cybersecurity business ( aeCyberSolutions ), S.C.-based Applied Engineering Solutions, Inc. (aeSolutions). The deal will bolster Deloitte's existing cybersecurity offerings with the aeCyberSolutions business' well-tested frameworks, methodologies and technology-enabled tools for industrial control systems / operational technology (ICS/OT) security. The deal will also bring aeCyberSolutions' professionals, who have deep experience in industrial sector standards development and risk advisory services.   The remaining businesses which includes its engineering business unit were not part of the transaction.   "Cyberattacks on industrial controls systems for critical infrastructure are increasingly sophisticated and far-reaching, making cyber resilience and regulatory compliance more important than ever," said  Wendy ...

Jio Fiber intros 'Camera on Mobile' feature, allows users to make video calls from TV using smartphone camera:  The users of   Jio Fibre   can now enjoy video calls from their TVs without requiring an external camera or webcam. The new feature is named ‘ Camera on Mobile ' and is available through the   JioJoin app   (previously named JioCall) available for Android and iOS devices.   ‘Camera on Mobile' allows users to use their phone camera as an input device for video calls. It enables video-calling through the JioFiberVoice that is bundled with Jio Fiber service to offer calling support to broadband users. Customers can also use the JioJoin app on their mobile devices to make voice calls using their landline number.   For last few months the ‘Camera on Mobile' feature has been in testing and it has now been rolled out to both Android and iOS users.   To start making video calls on TV using the camera of mobile device, user needs to first configu...

FM announces Average Annual Revenue Collection from Tobacco Products Stands at Rs 53,750 Crore:  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman   has told the   Rajya Sabha   that the average annual revenue collection, including   GST   and excise duty, from tobacco products, stands at about Rs 53,750 crore.   The minister also said the GST rates, including compensation cess rates, on goods are fixed on the basis of the recommendations of the  GST Council .   Answering supplementary questions, she said many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and consumer education forums have suggested to increase levies on tobacco products considering the health impact.... Read More

Bharatpe joins the Unicorn club, valuation touches $ 2.85 bn:  Merchant payments and financial services provider   BharatPe   has raised $370 million in a primary and secondary mix, as a part of a Series E funding round led by new investor New York-based   Tiger Global Management . Its valuation rose more than threefold to $2.85 billion in just six months time. BharatPe becomes 19th unicorn in 2021 with $370 Mn round led by Tiger Global.   The fintech company had raised $108 million in February this year at a valuation of $900 million.  Ashneer Grover  , the co-founder of BharatPe will assume the role of managing director at the company and will continue driving its strategy, technology and product functions, as well as managing capital fundraising.This is a three-fold jump in the company’s valuation within six months. It was valued at around $922 million during its last fundraise in February.   BharatPe has also made significant changes to its to...

Avantha Group's Gautam Thapar arrested by ED for money laundering:  On Tuesday evening the   Enforcement Directorate (ED)   arrested   Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar   investigating a money laundering case against him. The agency arrested him following searches at 14 locations, including Mumbai and Delhi. The ED started interrogating Thapar on Tuesday morning in connection with the alleged property transaction between Avantha Realty and   YES Bank's co-founder Rana Kapoor   and his wife.   In June, the federal agency had booked Thapar and promoters and directors of two private companies based in Delhi and Gurugram for causing an alleged loss of Rs 467 crore (approximately) to YES Bank.  Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)  too has been investigating Thapar's role in the matter.   Agencies also examined Thapar's role in alleged irregularities at CG Power and Industrial Solutions in a separate case.   In 2019, the CG Powe...