News Roundup: 12 Stories You Don’t Want To Miss This Week [7 December – 12 December]

Rahul Yadav has finally disclosed details of his new venture – “Intelligent Interfaces”. His new venture will be used by various government departments and will help them use internet and technology tools to save cost and expedite service delivery. ”

Important developments of the week:

PayUBiz Introduces ‘One Tap’ Payment

In a bid to simplify the process of online payment through credit and debit cards, PayUBiz launched ‘One Tap’ technology to enable its merchants to offer one-tap payment for users.

Migme Enters Into Strategic Alliance With Paytm

In order to expand its payment reach across South Asia, migme entered into a strategic alliance with India’s Paytm, Indonesia’s Mimopay and Nepal’s eSewa. Also, the new payment partners will provide their user base with  more options and opportunities to purchase migme’s premium services in a seamless and efficient manner.

Eko Launches Semi-Closed Prepaid Wallet

Eko launched its semi-closed prepaid wallet in partnership with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and RBL Bank Limited (formerly The Ratnakar Bank Limited) to make secure transactions on their mobile phones, without installing any software on the phone or the SIM card.

Uber Shuts Down UberAUTO Service In New Delhi

After seven months of operation, Uber shut down  its service of UberAUTO in New Delhi. The service was first of its kind platform for a mode of transport other than four-wheeler taxis by Uber.

Jugnoo Accuses Ola

Jugnoo accused Ola  of bribing Jugnoo’s team to gain access to its employee’s database. In an interview Jugnoo said that Ola resolved to unethical means to poach their drivers and employees.

Mobikwik Becomes Primary Wallet For Payment For IRCTC

Indian Railways travellers can now use MobiKwik to book railway tickets in a convenient and secure manner using  their smartphones. MobiKwik also plans to extend this on IRCTC’s other digital platforms.

Nasscom Launches Techstartup.in

Nasscom launched Techstartup.in in partnership with IBM in Delhi to accelerate digital transformation at startup level. The portal will serve as a centralised hub for India’s tech and product ecosystem, city by city.

Alibaba Launches Online Platform ‘SMILE’

Alibaba.com launched an online platform Small and Medium Industries Leveraging Export (SMILE) for Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The platform will provide access to global business trading counterparts as well as one-stop trading solutions including financing, logistics, inspections and certifications, technology and SME trade-linked education, for SMEs in India.

AskmePay Launches AskmeFin

To facilitate financing for SMEs, AskmePay, the payment initiative by AskMe group launched AskmeFin. For this, the company has tied up with Mahindra Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Capital Float, Religare, SMEBank.in and Mandii.com.

Khan Academy Partners With Tata Trusts

US-based Khan Academy entered into a strategic not-for-profit partnership with the Tata Trusts to provide free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere in India. The academy seeks to disrupt the traditional model of tutoring in India.

Myntra’s GMV Now Around $500 Mn

Myntra closed the second quarter of the financial year with annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) of around $500 Mn and 66 per cent growth in top line, helped by lower discounts. Ananth Narayanan said on the sidelines of Myntra’s annual brand summit that the company’s plan is to get to $1 Bn by next year.

Other Developments Of The Week:

Now Zoom In On Zomato Via Chat

Zomato updated its app by introducing a chat feature which will enable consumers to chat for any order-related queries. The company integrated the chat feature through a partnership with Konotor, a mobile-first user engagement platform.

TyC Sports Signed With YuppTV

TyC Sports signed with YuppTV for their new over the top (OTT) TV service targeting Argentines living outside of Argentina.

Jugnoo Allies With Zophop

Jugnoo announced its alliance with Zophop so that its users can make best travel decisions, based on route, modes, and time required. The partnership will not only boost Jugnoo’s services and customer reaches, but it will also add an extra mode of transportation in the vehicle options on Zophop.

Droom Launches ‘Droom Assist’ & ‘Orange Book Value’

Droom launched ‘Droom Assist’, a personalised service for customers that will provide them with assistance in making and buying decisions for auto experts. Whereas, Orange Book Value is algorithmic pricing engine that helps in measuring fair price range for any used automobile.

Meru Cabs Ties-Up With Indian Oil

Under the tie-up, Indian Oil along with Meru aims to change its consumer’s behavior by asking them to share their ‘Personal Car’ ride with people travelling in the same direction by using ‘Carpool By Meru’ integrated on ‘Meru Cabs’ mobile app.

Hugefly Launches Artificial Intelligence Backed Image Search

The ‘Image search feature’, would enable shoppers to upload the picture that they are looking for and find the closest and the best-suited results for their search. The feature is backed by artificial intelligence and advanced Natural Language Processing, wherein the application understands the context of the searched query and gives extremely relevant results.

Paytm Awards iPad Air To 150 High-Performing Employees

To express gratitude to 150 employees,  who have worked with Paytm for five years and more across all levels, divisions and functions like operations, finance and administration, will be gifted  iPad Air for their loyalty & contribution.

Revv Launches Android & iOS App

Self-drive car services company, Revv, released its mobile app on Android as well as iOS for users to explore models, availability and price even without signing-in. To further enhance the experience, users can use the pre-trip inspection checklist on the app and modify, cancel, extend or shorten the trip till three hours before the scheduled start time.

ShopClues Launches A Merchant Discussion Forum

To help sellers manage & grow their business better through an online community, ShopClues launched peer to peer Merchant Discussion Forum- “Sellers Club”. Through this, sellers can get access to all vital information related to setting up, managing and growing their online stores on the marketplace.

Pennyful.In LaunchesCashback Shopping App

Pennyful’s new CashBack shopping app for Android features over 500 best known online stores. The app makes browsing for products easier and magnified on the smaller mobile platform. It also lets users browse the store and claim offers from within the app itself.

Flintobox Launches Android App

Flintobox conceived as part of a series of activity boxes that caters to the overall development of a child launched its mobile app ‘Flintobox Early Learning App’ on Android platform.

Ola Enables Hassle Free Personal Loans For Driver Partners

Ola drivers can avail loans through a single-window access at Ola offices. The facility is already available in Bangalore and Pune, with a further plan to expand in six more cities over the next six months. For its financing options, Ola will also tie up with multiple finance partners.