Friday, March 29

News

PayU Hires Pradeep Shekhawat as Head of SMB Business
News

PayU Hires Pradeep Shekhawat as Head of SMB Business

Unique online payments solution PayU India has announced appointment of Pradeep Shekhawat to Head the SMB Business division of its operation. The decision follows suit with the growing aspirations of the brand to expand its line of Businessand deliver valuable products and services to small business, hence pivoting the current surge in FinTech services. Pradeep Shekhawat, an alumnus of IIT-Bombay and IIM-Bangalore, will have the pivotal task of looking after the strategic growth and expansion of SMB Business, a wing initiated towards the growing MSME and startup sector in India. "Our SMB Businessis one of our PremierBusinessin Indiaand it continues to be a key contributor to PayU India's success. Pradeep's broad experience, competencies and strong leadership skills make him the...
Online Vendors Meet Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on AskMe Payment Issue
INDIA, News

Online Vendors Meet Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on AskMe Payment Issue

Corporate Affairs Ministry has assured Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of taking up the pending payment issue of cash-strapped e-commerce firm AskMe on priority basis. Representatives of All India Online Vendors Association (AIOVA) today met Sitharaman on the issue of pending payment from askmebazaar.com. Since the issue raised by AIOVA pertained to Ministry of Corporate affairs, Sitharaman spoke to Corporate Affairs Secretary. "Corporate Affairs (Secretary) assured Sitharaman that he shall take up the issues raised by AIOVA on a priority basis," the commerce and industry ministry said in a tweet. Hit by a cash crunch, e-commerce company AskMe has decided to shut shop, leaving 4,000 staffers jobless.
Israel Satellite Owner Demand $50 Million or Free Flight From SpaceX
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Israel Satellite Owner Demand $50 Million or Free Flight From SpaceX

Israel's Space Communication Ltd said on Sunday it could seek $50 million or a free flight from Elon Musk's SpaceX after a Spacecom communications satellite was destroyed last week by an explosion at SpaceX's Florida launch site. Officials of the Israeli company said in a conference call with reporters Sunday that Spacecom also could collect $205 million from Israel Aerospace Industries, which built the AMOS-6 satellite. SpaceX said in an email to Reuters that it does not disclose contract or insurance terms. The company is not public, and it has not said what insurance it had for the rocket or to cover launch pad damages beyond what was required by the Federal Aviation Administration, which oversees commercial U.S. launches, for liability and damage to government property. SpaceX h...
Indian Olympic Champion Abhinav Bindra Will Start Business of Sports Science
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Indian Olympic Champion Abhinav Bindra Will Start Business of Sports Science

Olympic champion Abhinav Bindra was, for a change, not his laconic self as he fired a parting shot in which revealed his plan to earn a living out of business that deals with "fitness, medical and high performance side of sports". Bindra, India's lone individual Olympic gold medallist, today officially announced his retirement from shooting, saying,"It is time to move on and hand over the baton to the younger generation". After ruling the shooting range for more than a decade, Bindra, who will soon turn 34, hads set his sights on his new business venture. "I am trying to earn a living. I am involved in business, trying to earn a living, put food on the plate. Well I am interested in sport but sport you know is not going to give me much money. I am involved in certain things, which i...
Finance Ministry Will Challenge Delhi High Court Order to Refund The Service Tax of Travel Portals MakeMyTrip, Ibibo and Ebiz
INDIA, News

Finance Ministry Will Challenge Delhi High Court Order to Refund The Service Tax of Travel Portals MakeMyTrip, Ibibo and Ebiz

A recent High Court verdict directing the central revenue authorities to refund service tax collected from three travel portals including MakeMyTrip may be challenged in Supreme Court by the government. Officials sources today said legal experts are going through the High Court order and an appeal challenging the verdict is likely to be filed in Supreme Court. Delhi High Court had on Thursday ordered Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence (DGCEI), an intelligence arm under the Finance Ministry to refund the service tax collected from travel portals-- MakeMyTrip, Ibibo and Ebiz, saying the payment made by them "was not voluntary but under coercion and duress". The court had also pulled up the DGCEI for "unwarranted" arrest of a senior official each from MakeMyTrip and Ebi...
Ola Fires 250 People Citing Non-Performance, Other Issues to Take on Rival Uber
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Ola Fires 250 People Citing Non-Performance, Other Issues to Take on Rival Uber

Within weeks of firing about 700 employees of its TaxiforSure operations, cab aggregator Ola has now sacked close to 250 people from its own workforce citing non-performance and other issues. The move comes as the Bengaluru-based firm is locked in an intense battle with global rival Uber in the Indian market. "An annual attrition of 3-4 per cent is a natural churn that is witnessed in the current industry scenario. This includes performance driven exits, contract roles as well as a few surfacing from constant business realignment," an Ola spokesperson said. The spokesperson further added that these have been "well thought through" organisational decisions, keeping in mind the best interests of employees and business efficiencies. The company, however, said it also inten...
Jugnoo Introduces Unified Payment Interface Upholding Cashless Economy
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Jugnoo Introduces Unified Payment Interface Upholding Cashless Economy

Perpetuating the futuristic and simpler mode of payment, Jugnoo announces the integration of Unified Payment Interface (UPI). With this roll out, Jugnoo sends out a strong and profound message that digital transactions are the future of Indian economy. The leading auto-rickshaw aggregator is of the opinion that this integration is aimed at detangling payment complexities for customers who have not yet adapted to payment gateways and wallets. Furthermore, this assimilation is touted to aid in increasing digital transactions, which is currently pegged at a Y-O-Y growth of 40 percent. "There is a lot of friction in the current digital payment ecosystem. Although slowly and steadily people are getting used to shopping and paying online in India, there still is a vast majority in the ...
Didi Acquisition of Uber Was Pre-planned, Will Investigate: China
CHINA, News

Didi Acquisition of Uber Was Pre-planned, Will Investigate: China

China's commerce ministry is investigating the planned acquisition by ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing of U.S. rival Uber Technologies Inc's China unit over anti-monopoly concerns, the ministry's spokesman said on Friday. Shen Danyang told reporters the Ministry of Commerce would look to protect fair market competition and consumer interests in the deal, which will create a roughly $35 billion giant dominating China's car-hailing market. A representative for Uber could not be reached immediately for comment. A Didi spokeswoman said: "We are in communication with the authorities." It is unclear how the investigation could affect Didi's planned acquisition and subsequent integration of Uber's China unit, already the top two players in the market. That had raised monopoly concerns as D...
Facebook Satellite Blast During Launch of SpaceX Rocket
INDIA, News

Facebook Satellite Blast During Launch of SpaceX Rocket

AFP- An unmanned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on the launch pad during a test in Florida on Thursday, destroying a satellite that Facebook planned to use to beam high-speed internet to Africa. The blast at Cape Canaveral — though it caused no injuries — marks a setback for the California-based private space firm and its founder, internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, who wants to revolutionize the launch industry by making rocket components reusable. Loss of Falcon vehicle today during propellant fill operation. Originated around upper stage oxygen tank. Cause still unknown. More soon. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 1, 2016 Dramatic footage broadcast by ABC News showed the rocket burst into a roaring ball of flame amid what appeared to be a succession of blasts — sending its payl...
Snapdeal Launches Its Own Cloud Platform Cirrus
News

Snapdeal Launches Its Own Cloud Platform Cirrus

Online marketplace Snapdeal on Thursday announced the launch of its private cloud platform, Cirrus, to help the company offer a more frictionless, reliable experience to customers and help save costs. This move will enable Snapdeal to ensure that business growth is augmented with platform speed, security, and stability, it said. The private cloud solution has been built and operationalised in under a year and is timed to handle long-term growth in traffic, Snapdeal said in a statement. The launch follows a sustained increase in online traffic at Snapdeal and will also satiate fast growing demand for crunching big data "to build personalised and relevant experiences for consumers," it added. "Snapdeal was born in the cloud, but public clouds stopped being cost efficient af...
Droom Announces Budget of Rs. 100 Crore For Marketing
News

Droom Announces Budget of Rs. 100 Crore For Marketing

India's pioneering online automobile transactional marketplace Droom is geared to launch a mega promotional campaign with a budget of Rs. 100 crore. The new campaign is being launched for television, YouTube, print, digital and social media and will also be seen outdoors on billboards and external installations. The entire campaign is designed to drive traffic and increase consumer awareness and to enhance the sense of pride amongst Indian consumers when it comes to buying a pre-owned vehicle. Droom, which has reported more than 700 percent year-on-year revenue, plans to adopt an aggressive performance-linked marketing approach which will see country-wide spread of the advertisements. Automobiles, being a big-ticket item, have a significant gestation period which may last from a mini...