News Roundup: 9 Startup Stories You Don’t Want To Miss This Week [6 June – 11 June]

Uber alleged that the officials of Karnataka Transport department refused to accept Uber’s documents in support of its claim for a licence to operate as app-based taxi aggregator in the state. The officials stated that Uber’s papers were not in order.

On the other side, the Radio Taxi Association has written to the government, stating that both Ola and Uber are defying the marketplace guidelines issued earlier this year by the government.

Important Developments Of The Week

Gujarat Govt. Unveils New Policy For IT Startups

Gujarat government announced its first ever IT and Electronics startup policy to promote 2000 new ventures in the next five years in the state. Under this policy, 50 incubators will be developed to mentor and guide startups.

6 Startups Blacklisted From IIT Placements

In the All-IIT Placement Committee, placement heads of 16 IITs decided to blacklist six startups from participating in campus placement for the academic year 2016-17. The list includes companies like etailer Zimply, healthcare startup Portea and grocery portal PepperTap. Students were left in the lurch after these startups withdrew their offer completely.

Amazon To Invest Additional $3 Bn In India

Amazon will invest another $3 Bn in India, in the next few years to take on rivals Flipkart and Snapdeal. This takes Amazon’s total investment in India to over $5 Bn. The announcement was made by Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos at U.S.-India Business Council’s 41st Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. – where Amazon and its business leaders met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Flipkart, Snapdeal To Face A Major Blow

According to HR service provider TeamLease, about 10,000 delivery persons who had joined online companies like Flipkart, Snapdeal, TinyOwl, Grofers, etc., are keen on shifting back to offline companies like Domino’s, McDonald’s , and KFC, citing unpredictable and stressed work hours, backache, sales pressure and low compensation as the reason.

Netflix Announces First Original Indian Series

Netflix announced a new Netflix original series, based on the critically-acclaimed best-selling novel Sacred Games by Indian author Vikram Chandra. This Hindi-English series will be produced in India in partnership with Phantom Films and be available to Netflix members globally upon completion.

Paytm To Invest $90 Mn In Marketing

Paytm is planning to invest an estimated $90 Mn (INR 600 Cr) on marketing for this financial year to boost brand messaging. It has launched a new TVC, highlighting Paytm wallet’s multiple uses to further strengthen its core messaging ‘Paytm Karo’.

Amazon Launches New Platform To Take On Quikr And Olx

Online marketplace Junglee, the Indian subsidiary of Seattle-based Amazon, has finally rolled out its service to enable a platform where users can sell used goods. The company has started pilot in Bangalore, which will allow individuals to sell pre-owned goods under various categories such as Mobiles, Books, Tablets, watches, etc.

Modi Government Hits Startups Hard

PM Narendra Modi’s Startup India initiative has hit hard on startups. In the last three months, out of 250 applications received, only one got clearance from the government to set up new business.

Other Developments Of The Week

Shopmatic Expands To Hong Kong

Shopmatic, an international ecommerce platform that offers an entire ecosystem of selling online, has launched its business operations in Hong Kong to help the local entrepreneurs and individuals tap the rapidly expanding world of ecommerce and sell their products online. The online platform will allow small businesses to flourish by helping them manage the entire ecosystem for them- right from developing their own unique web-store, listing them on marketplaces and social channels to assisting them with insights on how to sell online.

Former Snapdeal CTO’ Startup Takes Off

Delhi based Bona Vita technologies has launched its online travel planning and booking marketplace, Gofro.com for indians travelling abroad. It is founded by former Snapdeal CTO Amitabh Misra.

Online Truck Aggregator Trucksumo Shuts Down

Hyderabad based online truck aggregator Trucksumo has suspended its operations owing to difficulties faced in continuing operations. It has stopped taking orders since June 1

PayUMoney Launches POS Business Terminal

PayUMoney launched its POS business terminal. The step aims to transform retail experience for millions of small merchant outlets across India, thus inclining them towards paperless payment.

IDC Reveals India’s Wearable Market Report

As per a report by research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), India’s wearable market reached 400,000 units in Q1 2016 with fitness bands dominating the market and accounting for 87.7% of the market share. Meanwhile, smart wearables such as smart watches contributed to around 12.3%.

Flipkart Revises Return Policy

Flipkart revised its return policy for buyers. As per the new policy, a customer who has bought a product on Flipkart can now return the product within 10 days. Earlier the return was allowed within 30 days on most top-selling products.

C Sivasankaran Enters The Taxi Space

Serial entrepreneur Chinnakannan Sivasankaran has decided to foray the taxi-aggregation space with the launch of UTOO Cabs. UTOO is being launched from Chennai and aims to make home-office commute easy and comfortable.

Paytm’s Payment Bank To Use Infosys’ Finacle Software

Paytm’s payment bank will use Infosys’ Finacle core banking software to provide its services. Infosys is also looking at the other winners of the payment bank licences to sell its banking software.

OYO Enters Into Partnership With ItzCash

OYO announced a strategic partnership with ItzCash to tap the next 500 Mn underserved Indian consumer segment. The tie-up will facilitate effortless payments for hotel-bookings across 5500 hotels in over 170 cities in India through ItzCash’s easy money transfer solutions. With this partnership, ItzCash is going aggressive in hotel booking and aims to double its volume and clock INR 400 Cr by FY18.

Mazkara Rebrands As Fabogo

Mazkara is getting a makeover by rebranding itself to Fabogo. The name change and brand overhaul, comes as the company eyes it’s expansion into multiple markets within India.

Now Pay On Ebay, YepMe Via Ola Money

Ola Money announced its partnership with online marketplaces eBay, YepMe and AskmeBazaar. It will allow customers to pay from their Ola Money wallet with an additional 10% discount to make their payments on eBay.

Wok Express To Invest 100 Cr. For Expansion

Wow Express, a quick service restaurant company, plans to expand its footprint in Mumbai and also enter new markets such as New Delhi and Bangalore as a part of its growth investment strategy. The startup plans to invest about INR 20 Cr in its Mumbai expansion and further invest over INR 100 Cr to set up a chain of over 100 outlets across Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.

Edelweiss Retail Finance Expands Partnership With Indifi Technologies

Indifi Technologies, an enabler for SME funding in India, has expanded its partnership with Edelweiss Retail Finance, as a lender on its online lending platform. With this association, Edelweiss Retail Finance will now extend lending to small businesses across multiple segments that Indifi operates in, viz. travel, transportation, ecommerce, hotels and grocery stores. Through this partnership expansion, Indifi aims to address the growing demand of the working capital requirement in the MSME segment.