HomeStartup NewsSTARTUP DIGEST: Centre launches e-RUPI, UPI logs 3-bn transactions in July, Zomato to launch unlimited free delivery

STARTUP DIGEST: Centre launches e-RUPI, UPI logs 3-bn transactions in July, Zomato to launch unlimited free delivery

There were several important developments in the startup space during the day on Monday. Here are the top stories from the startup universe that hit headlines today.

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By Aishwarya Anand  August 2, 2021, 9:53:36 PM IST (Published)

STARTUP DIGEST: Centre launches e-RUPI, UPI logs 3-bn transactions in July, Zomato to launch unlimited free delivery
There were several important developments in the startup space during the day on Monday. Here are the top stories from the startup universe that hit headlines today.


PM Modi launches new digital payment platform e-RUPI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched a digital payment platform called e-RUPI.

The platform, developed by the National Payments Corporation of India in collaboration with the Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority, claims to be a person and purpose-specific digital payment solution.

The PMO said it is expected to be a revolutionary initiative in the direction of ensuring a leak-proof delivery of welfare services.

e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless digital payments medium, which will be delivered to mobile phones of beneficiaries in form of an SMS-string or a QR code. It will connect the sponsors of the services with the beneficiaries and service providers in a digital manner without any physical interface.

Paytm Money banks on youth as the non-payments business begins to look up

IPO-bound digital payments player Paytm is banking on youth in small-town India to drive one of its newest businesses, the wealth management arm, Paytm Money.

In a blog titled, ‘How the young Indian millennial invests’, the company said an average Paytm Money user is 28 years old. More so, 60 percent of the users come from beyond the metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru. An equal number were first-time investors too. Also, women invest twice as much as men do.

Paytm Money, which allows users to trade stocks, invest in mutual funds, buy and sell gold, recorded a combined assets under management of Rs 5,200 crore at the end of FY21, according to the DRHP filed by the company ahead of its IPO. Over 6 million people currently use Paytm Money in India.

The update on the new business vertical comes at a time when critics are questioning Paytm’s ability to turn profitable in the near-future as it plans to go public by the end of the year. While the small-revenue UPI-led payments business runs on the side, Vijay Shekhar Sharma has pivoted to non-payments verticals such as Paytm Money and Fantasy Gaming in search of better margins.

UPI reports record 3 billion transactions in July

Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has made a record in volume and value of transactions in July as digital payments rise in the pandemic.

UPI processed a record 3.24 billion transactions in July up 15.7 per cent from June when it processed 2.8 billion transactions. In value terms, in July, the platform processed transactions worth Rs 6.06 trillion, up 10.76 per cent from June.

This is the second-highest month-on-month jump in the volume of transactions for UPI in 2021. In March, UPI recorded a 19% surge in volume as compared to February.

The UPI ecosystem is mainly driven by the top three players namely PhonePe, Google Pay and Paytm.

Zomato launches 'Zomato Pro Plus'; offers unlimited free deliveries

Post a blockbuster IPO, Online food delivery giant Zomato has announced the launch of a limited edition plan that will allow unlimited free deliveries to Pro Plus members.

In a tweet, founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal said the new initiative comes after the platform has garnered 1.8 million Zomato Pro members. The company is launching limited edition *Pro Plus* membership for select customers.

Goyal said that all the Zomato Edition Black credit cardholders will receive an automatic upgrade to Zomato Pro Plus, while the rest will need to buy the Pro Plus upgrade from the Zomato app.

Ixigo appoints 6 independent directors on its board

Travel app Ixigo has announced the appointment of six independent members to its board of directors.

The new independent members of the board are Arun Seth, ex Chairman & Trustee NASSCOM Foundation; Mahendra Pratap Mall, ex-Chairman & Managing Director IRCTC; Shubha Rao Mayya, ex VP ICICI Limited & ICICI Prudential Life; Frederic Lalonde, Founder & CEO Hopper Inc; Rahul Pandit, MD & CEO Hamstede Living, ex Lemon Tree Hotels, Ginger Hotels & Rajesh Sawhney, Co-Founder Innerchef.

In a Twitter post today, Ixigo’s Group CEO & Co-Founder, Aloke Bajpai said, “We are thrilled to welcome 6 new independent board members bringing rich, diverse and relevant experience to our Board. Together, we will take our iconic travel-tech offerings to the next level.”

Lomotif appoints Tarun Katial & Ken Cheung as senior advisors

Video sharing social networking platform Lomotif has onboarded former ZEE5 CEO Tarun Katial and former top Facebook executive Ken Cheung as senior advisors.

As per the company, the two industry experts will be advising Lomotif’s senior team on its international growth and expansion with a focus on enhancing user centricity, growth, and adoption worldwide.

“Their depth of experience and domain expertise will play a pivotal role in setting a new benchmark for the industry and at the same time strengthen the platform’s growth and expansion across territories,” said Paul Yang, founder and chief executive, Lomotif .

“Their valuable perspective will help the company in attaining long term goals,” he added.

Govt launches indigenous instant messaging platform Sandes; India's answer to WhatsApp

The Centre has launched ‘Sandes,’ an instant messaging platform, and it is available on Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on July 30.

The app is an Indian alternative to Facebook-owned WhatsApp and can be used for all kinds of communication by anyone with a mobile number or email ID. Sandes is currently being used by government employees and agencies linked to the government.

The government -- after its clashes with WhatsApp over end-to-end encryption and the new IT Rules -- decided to aggressively pursue and launch homemade apps and software to develop an ecosystem of Indian made products.

"Sandes is an open source based, secure, cloud-enabled platform. It is hosted by the government and on government infrastructure ensuring the control remains with the Government only. With features like one-to-one and group messaging, file and media sharing, audio-video call and e-gov application integration etc. It is available at Google Play Store and the App Store," Rajeev Chandrasekhar said in response to a query regarding Sandes.

GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY & STARTUP NEWS

Twitter's Dorsey leads $29 bn buyout of Afterpay; Square reports over 143% jump in revenue in Q2

Twitter boss Jack Dorsey’s payment platform Square is set to acquire Australia’s 'buy now, pay later' pioneer Afterpay for $29 billion.
The deal offers a 30% premium that is set to be Australia's biggest-ever buyout.

As per Reuters, Afterpay shareholders will own 18.5 percent of the new company's capital. Square said it will undertake a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange to allow Afterpay shareholders to trade in shares via CHESS depositary interests.

Meanwhile, Square reported on Sunday a jump of more than 143% in its total net revenue for the second quarter. The payments firm posted total net revenue of $4.68 billion for the quarter ended in June, compared to $1.92 billion last year.

Twitter to offer 'bounty' to find algorithmic bias

Twitter has said it would offer a cash "bounty" to users and researchers to help root out algorithmic bias on the social media platform. The firm said this would be "the industry's first algorithmic bias bounty competition," with prizes up to $3,500.

The competition is based on the "bug bounty" programmes some websites and platforms offer to find security holes and vulnerabilities, according to Twitter executives Rumman Chowdhury and Jutta Williams.

"Finding bias in machine learning models is difficult, and sometimes, companies find out about unintended ethical harms once they've already reached the public," Chowdhury and Williams wrote in a blog post.

They said the hacker bounty model offers promise in finding algorithmic bias.
The move comes amid growing concerns about automated algorithmic systems, which, despite an effort to be neutral, can incorporate racial or other forms of bias.

Russia opens case against WhatsApp for violating personal data law

Russia has launched administrative proceedings against Facebook's WhatsApp for what it said was a failure to localise data of Russian users on Russian territory, the Interfax news agency reported.

A day earlier, a Russian court fined Alphabet's Google 3 million roubles for violating personal data legislation and registered administrative proceedings against Facebook and Twitter for the same offence.

The cases are part of a wider spat between Russia and Big Tech, with Moscow routinely fining social media giants for failing to remove banned content and seeking to compel foreign tech firms to open offices in Russia.

WhatsApp could be fined between 1 million and 6 million roubles ($13,700 to $82,250), Interfax reported, citing court documents. A court date has not yet been set.

Amazon hit with $886 million EU data privacy fine for non-compliance of personal data norms

European regulators have fined Amazon 746 million euros ($886 million) for data protection violations.

Amazon said in a regulatory filing that the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection issued a decision against the company earlier this month, claiming that its processing of personal data did not comply with the European Union general data protection regulation.

Amazon said that it believes the decision is without merit and that it will defend itself vigorously.

Amazon has come under scrutiny by the EU before. In November regulators filed antitrust charges against the company, accusing Amazon of using its access to data from companies that sell products on its platform to gain an unfair advantage over them.

Zoom reaches $85 million settlement over user privacy, 'Zoombombing'

Zoom Video Communications has agreed to pay $85 million and bolster its security practices to settle a lawsuit claiming it violated users' privacy rights by sharing personal data with Facebook, Google and LinkedIn, and letting hackers disrupt Zoom meetings in a practice called Zoombombing.

A preliminary settlement filed on Saturday afternoon requires approval by US District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California. Subscribers in the proposed class action would be eligible for 15% refunds on their core subscriptions or $25, whichever is larger, while others could receive up to $15.

Zoom agreed to security measures including alerting users when meeting hosts or other participants use third-party apps in meetings, and to provide specialized training to employees on privacy and data handling.

The San Jose-based company denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle. In a statement on Sunday, Zoom said: "The privacy and security of our users are top priorities for Zoom, and we take seriously the trust our users place in us."
Saturday's settlement came after Koh on March 11 let the plaintiffs pursue some contract-based claims.
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