News Roundup: 12 Startup Stories That You Don’t Want To Miss This Week [25 April – 30 April]

A recent report by IAMAI states that the proposed 6% equalisation levy of tax, also termed as ‘Google Tax’, on digital ad firms by Modi Government, will significantly increase business cost for tech startups.

Nasscom To Take 30 Tech Startups To Valley

NASSCOM is hosting the third edition of Nasscom Innotrek 2016. The program is an annual showcase of promising early stage Indian product, IoT, gaming, and technology startups who are at the forefront of the next wave of software dominance from Indian shores. 39 Indian startups has been selected for the same.

RBI Proposes Guidelines For P2P Lending Business

To regulate the online lending marketplaces and bring them under the regulatory purview of the central bank, the RBI proposed that peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms will register as non-banking finance companies (NBFCs).

Tata To Launch Fitness Tracker

Diversifying its portfolio further, Tata Group is planning to foray into wearables. It is planning to launch a yoga wearable that would help the user to monitor breathing and alertness.

Ex Housing Co-founder Advitiya To Reimagine K-8 Education

After Housing, Advitiya Sharma launched an EdTech startup GeniusTeacher to reimagine how education is delivered and consumed. Working on a hybrid model, the startup will be focused on kindergarten to class eight students and will provide solutions to neighbourhood teachers to make learning more effective.

Modi Govt. To Launch Master App ‘UMANG’

In order to ease out the difficulties faced by the citizens while accessing e-government services, Modi government will soon be launching Master app – UMANG. UMANG stands for Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance. The app will bring 200+ government services under one roof and users will be able to access the app in 13 languages and there is also proposal to make it available offline via sms or single toll free number.

CouponDunia Launches Cashback

CouponDunia announced the launch of cashback along with which the company has also undergone a complete brand makeover and has unveiled a new logo which aims to signify ‘big savings’.

Snapdeal To Deliver Food

Snapdeal announced strategic partnerships with Cleartrip and Redbus for travel, and Zomato for food orders, but without investing in them. Separate icons for travelling and food ordering will be introduced on the Snapdeal app.

Housefull International Sends Legal Notice To MebelKart

Online furniture store Housefull International sent a legal notice to AskMe Group backed online furniture marketplace MebelKart for allegedly selling defaulting on payments and selling imitations. The company filed a complaint against MebelKart with Mumbai police.

Airtel Integrates All Mobile Wallets On MyAirtel App

Working in line with its ‘Customer First’ philosophy, Bharti Airtel decided to offer a unified recharge interface by integrating all mobile wallets on My Airtel App. The Airtel customers will be able to make payments new mobile wallets, credit cards, debit cards and netbanking.

Snapdeal Develops New Plug And Play Platform

In an attempt to automate and get better control over logistics process, Snapdeal has made it mandatory for its logistics partners to integrate with its logistic platform. The company is working on developing a new plug and play platform to improvise its logistics.

ED Hits At Sequoia Again

Sequoia Capital’s Managing Director VT Bharadwaj is being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in Delhi. The questioning came a week after the agency raided Sequoia’s offices in Mumbai and Bangalore. Sequoia is under ED’s scanner in connection with the agency’s investigation into Vasan Healthcare, in which it invested in 2009.

Other Developments Of The Week

Housing.com Launches ‘Housing News’

Housing.com launched Housing News, a comprehensive news platform that will feature objective news and analysis on the real estate sector. The news will be presented from the buyer’s point of view.

EPaisa Launches MasterWallet

EPaisa launched a platform MasterWallet for its merchants that will enable them to accept payments from any digital wallet without having to go through the hassle of opening an account with each and every wallet company.

Monster India To Use Its Database To Crowdsource Funds For Startups

Monster India launched #MakeIndiaWork initiative in order to use its database as a ready pool for startups to source crowd funding for their ventures. It will provide business networking opportunities through a holistic 360 degree approach to startup activities.

Karnataka Transport Authorities Seize Cabs

Transport authorities in Bangalore seized about 110 cabs including that of Ola and Uber. The transport authorities have said that the cab aggregators do not have a transport licence to operate in the city.

Digital Vidya Launches Ask Digital Vidya

Digital Vidya, a digital marketing education firm, announced the launch of an online digital marketing helpline platform, ‘Ask Digital Vidya’. The platform host discussions around variety of digital marketing topics such as SEO, SEM, Social Media, Email Marketing, Inbound Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Growth Hacking, Web Analytics and Jobs & Careers.

Applyifi Launches The Fundraising Assistance Program (FRA)

Applyifi launched The Fundraising Assistance Program (FRA) to give companies’ tools to startups that they need to make a compelling pitch to investors, in just three one-on-one sessions. The startups can practice their pitch with real and experienced investors and get actionable feedback in real time.

DBS Bank Launches Mobile-Only Bank

Aiming to add over 5 Mn banking customers in India over the next three to five years, Singapore-based DBS Bank launched its first mobile-only bank in India. The bank will be completely paperless and branchless, enabling customers to open accounts by leveraging biometrics-enabled IDs and Aadhaar card to ensure that that there is no paperwork.

Payjo Launches Recharge Bot

Fintech payments startup Payjo has launched its product Recharge Bot, an application virtualisation platform for recharging prepaid phone accounts through Facebook messenger. The application does not need to be downloaded as a separate app but is easily available if one searches for Recharge Bot on Facebook.

Gupshup Launches Bot Builder Platform

Messaging platform Gupshup has launched its bot builder platform called gupshup.io. It consists of omnichannel messaging rules and protocols, called APIs, and bot builder tools. The omni-channel APIs enable connectivity to almost every messaging channel including SMS, Facebook Messenger, Slack and Telegram.

Industrybuying Introduces EMI Features

B2B ecommerce platform Industrybuying introduced EMI feature for its buyers by tying up with Innoviti. At present, ICICI Bank and Citi Bank customers will be able to utilise this feature and later, the company is also planning to enable this feature for HDFC Bank and SBI customers.

Yatra To Allow Users To Book Ola, Uber

Yatra.com will now allow users to book cabs from aggregators such as Ola and Uber through its mobile app, as it looks to provide more services to travellers that can add to its revenue. The app will also allow booking of outstation cabs and hiring self-drive cars.

Practo Expands Services

Apart from medicine delivery and consultation, Practo starts providing information, and enters beauty and wellness segment. Some of the new initiatives, such as consultation and medicine delivery, will help Practo derive revenue from existing users, who currently do not pay for searching for doctors or diagnostic centres.

Explara Launches Success Based Event Performance Marketing Solution

Explara launched Success Based Event Performance Marketing solution, offering a holistic marketing solution for event organizers. This allows event organizers to engage audiences through various unique digital marketing strategies carried out and executed by Explara thereby ensuring the success in tickets sales.

VIRANI Enter The Ecommerce  Space

Diamond conglomerate B. Virani& Co will announce the launch of its ecommerce portal Viranigems.com offering exquisite bespoke jewellery to its consumer. The website is designed to provide effortless jewellery shopping to the customers by offering transparency throughout the purchasing process. The jewellery portal which showcases timeless collections of creative, pre-made designs to its stakeholder will allow complete freedom to customize and create unique diamond jewellery pieces.

Shopmatic Launches In Singapore

Shopmatic launched its business operations in Singapore. The online platform helps in managing the entire ecosystem for them- right from helping them develop their own unique web-store, listing them on marketplaces and social channels to assisting them with insights on how to sell online.

Delhi Govt. To Launch App Based Bus Service

The decision came in support of Chief Minister Arvind  Kejriwal’s Odd-Even scheme. In order to strengthen the public transport system and to control the issue of surge pricing by the cab aggregators, the transport Minister Gopal Rai on Friday announced that an-app based bus service will be launched in Delhi starting from June 1.

Indi.com Goes Live In India

Anil Kapoor back the social video platform indeed.com have gone live in India it has collaborated with Universal Music, Mohit Suri, Anita Dongre, IBM GEP India, Times Music as launch channel partners to host special user engagement challenges.

Jugnoo Ties Up With Ixigo

Jugnoo tied up with ixigo.com to easily book a Jugnoo auto-rickshaw ride via ixigo cabs and circumvent the need of negotiating with the drivers or waiting for an auto rickshaw.

Ola Micro Expands To 75 Cities Across India

Ola announced that its newest category ‘Ola Micro’ has now expanded to 75 cities across the country. It is the company’s newest AC Cab offering at INR 6/km and has been scaled up from just seven cities to 75 cities within seven weeks since its launch.

Swiggy Bolsters Its Live Order Tracking Facility

To cater to 70% of its customers who use the live order tracking feature on the website and app, Swiggy revamped its live tracking facility to add features that will significantly enhance customer experience and bring value to their food ordering and delivery process. The live tracking feature has been implemented across the entire fleet of delivery to increase efficiency while allowing customers to track their orders in real time – from placement of order to delivery.

Rare Media Launched Blue Dolphin Lite

Rare Media Company announced the release of their latest product Blue Dolphin Lite – a cloud-based, mobile-first field force management suite. It operates on an Android based application with a web console and is targeted at organisations that need to automate their field operations. The platform simplifies communication between field employees and managers resulting in more efficient monitoring and evaluation.

Voonik Now Forays In Men’s Category

Voonik launched Mr Voonik, a fashion app dedicated to men’s fashion. It will offer a wide choice of men’s clothing and accessories. The platform has over one lakh products available on Mr Voonik.