All stories by Neha Alawadhi
Insolvency proceedings against Oyo Hotels closed
Rediff.com8 Jul 2021The 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
Rediff.com6 Jul 2021Alleging "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.
81% consumers back e-commerce rules, want clarity on services-based biz
Rediff.com5 Jul 2021As 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.
Facebook removes over 30mn posts, most for violent content
Rediff.com3 Jul 2021Facebook 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
Rediff.com2 Jul 2021From 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
Rediff.com1 Jul 2021India'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
Rediff.com30 Jun 2021While 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.
Facebook, Google agree to publish transparency reports
Rediff.com30 Jun 2021While 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.
UN's special rapporteurs ask govt to review new IT rules
Rediff.com19 Jun 2021The submission was made by the UN Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan; on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Clement Nyaletsossi Voule; and the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci.
How to Defeat Pirates who STEAL Films
Rediff.com9 Jun 2021Intelligent tools are being deployed to detect content pirated from OTT platforms.
Paytm to raise $1.5 bn via primary issue of shares ahead of IPO
Rediff.com8 Jun 2021Paytm will look to raise up to $1.5 billion as part of primary share sale, leading up to its initial public offering (IPO), which is planned for November, a person familiar with the developments said. The company is looking to file its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) by July, according to sources. According to this person, though the details of the listing are being worked out, Paytm may take the qualified institutional buyer (QIB) route to list and issue fresh equity to raise funds.
IPO-bound Paytm narrows losses to Rs 1,701 cr
Rediff.com7 Jun 2021As it readies for its initial public offering (IPO) later this year, digital payments firm Paytm is honing its strengths to remodel itself from being a payment wallet to becoming a financial services provider, and is working towards narrowing its losses, evident from its most recent Annual Report. Unlike many of its peers, Paytm has started expanding its merchant payment ecosystem. It has realised that though it can take the maximum share of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions, from a revenue generation point of view it will not have any impact.
Stock broking giant Zerodha's FY21 profit more than doubles to Rs 1,000 cr
Rediff.com31 May 2021Zerodha will not raise external funds now or in the future, because it is profitable and has zero debt.
How start-ups, IT cos helping staff tackle Covid blues
Rediff.com20 May 2021As the deadly second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, startups and technology firms are realising the burnout effect it is having on employees. Many have shortened their work weeks to four days, while others have made provisions for more time off for employees to help them rejuvenate or care for loved ones.
Big relief for Indian IT as Biden administration removes H-1B visa curbs
Rediff.com20 May 2021The US government has removed a regulation proposed by former president Donald Trump's administration that sought to narrow the definition of "specialty occupation" under the H-1B visa regime. The change comes as a relief for Indian information technology firms, which are among the largest users of such visas. "The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally vacated a regulation that would have redefined the H-1B specialty occupation, restricted off site placement of H-1B employees, and otherwise increased employer compliance obligations. "The vacatur follows a federal court ruling that set aside the regulation because the agency did not have good cause to bypass notice and comment rulemaking, in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act," explained immigration law firm Fragomen.
Why Shah wanted Twitter takedown
Rediff.com26 Apr 2021Home ministry asks IT ministry to order social media platforms to remove around 100 posts or URLs.
Credit card data of 1 million Domino's Pizza customers leaked
Rediff.com20 Apr 2021Domino's India data that included sensitive customer information such as their names, phone numbers, and credit card details has allegedly been breached and put on sale on the dark web. According to tweets by Israel-based Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of cybercrime intelligence firm Hudson Rock, Alon Gal, the data is worth 13 terabytes (TB). He tweeted on Sunday that the data includes as many as 180 million order details, including 1 million credit card details. The data, said Gal, was up for sale on the dark web. The threat actor, he said, was asking for $550,000 for the data.
Now users can get harmful content removed from FB, Instagram
Rediff.com15 Apr 2021The content eligible for review includes posts, status updates, photos, videos, comments, and shares.
3.5 million MobiKwik users' data up for sale, company denies claim
Rediff.com30 Mar 2021Many people posted screenshots of the alleged MobiKwik user data, which, according to sources, was up for sale for 1.5 bitcoin or about $86,000.
Haryana's local hire law may impact 150,000 IT jobs in the state
Rediff.com17 Mar 2021A majority of the companies said the law, aimed at jobs with a monthly salary cap of Rs 50,000, will result in them leaving Haryana or growing their operations in other states and abroad.