Additionally on this letter:
■ Govt, RBI to carry talks over ban on mortgage apps
■ MCA might begin accepting bodily firm filings
■ Indian startup fired 6,000 staff in Oct-Dec 2022: report
Unique: Ecommerce companies might quickly begin displaying ‘purple alerts’ on unhealthy meals
India’s meals security regulator FSSAI (Meals Security and Requirements Authority of India) is mulling making it necessary for ecommerce and fast service platforms to place a label or a well being ranking on the meals packet offered on their platforms.
How will it work? Well being teams and NGOs had appealed to the meals regulator to have ecommerce platforms show these proposed labels prominently. Now, ET has learnt that the regulator is seeking to implement them. One of many sources stated that this label, which might be both ranking or colored labels (purple being tremendous unhealthy), might be positioned subsequent to the MRP.
Packaged meals gamers not joyful: The packaged meals business has not been very eager on bringing about these modifications. The matter has been caught in session for over seven years now. International meals business executives have identified that on-line grocery portals, particularly fast commerce ones, are fast-growing gross sales channels for them. “Any extra declarations on e-commerce platforms, over and above what’s already talked about on the packs, might be a deterrent to consumption,” a senior govt from a packaged meals firm stated on the situation of anonymity.
Ban on quick-loan apps: IT, Dwelling ministries and RBI to determine on steps
The ministries of Dwelling Affairs and Info Know-how, together with the Reserve Financial institution of India, are anticipated to conduct talks over the approaching few days to determine subsequent steps over banning of on-line mortgage apps and portals.
ET was the primary to report on Monday that the federal government order banning 94 lending apps on Sunday additionally included apps of Indian companies.
A busy day: Panic-stricken founders of digital lending platforms met officers of the Ministry of Electronics & Info Know-how (MeitY) in New Delhi on Tuesday – a day after web service suppliers began taking down web sites of on-line lending corporations.
In a single-on-one conferences between the impacted fintech apps and the ministries involved, representatives from lending companies sought clarifications on why the blocking order was issued.
Why the ban? A supply within the authorities stated that the ban was on account of three broad categorisations – first, the record of apps embody people who might have final or partial possession with Chinese language entities; second, apps offering loans which aren’t regulated by the RBI and which can be storing information in Chinese language servers, and lastly, apps being run by corporations towards which buyer complaints of restoration harassment have been made.
What subsequent? Over the following few days, the RBI is predicted to share extra views with the ministries on the lending apps, that are regulated by the banking regulator. The authorities may search extra documentation from corporations with regard to this.
Tech glitches with MCA portal: Govt might begin accepting bodily filings
After greater than two weeks of technical glitches confronted with the Ministry of Company Affairs’ MCA21 portal, the federal government is prone to start accepting sure filings in a bodily method.
The motion: As a part of its plan to revamp the MCA21 portal, the company affairs ministry transitioned 56 regulatory kinds to the third model (V3) of the portal. Of those, 10 kinds had been launched on the brand new portal on January 9, whereas the remaining 46 had been transitioned on January 23.
The response: After the launch of 46 kinds on January 23, customers and firms attempting to make regulatory filings to replicate developments of their entities couldn’t accomplish that due to technical errors with the portal.
Sticky level: One of many kinds that corporations had been unable to submit was the PAS-3, which is to be filed on the time of allotment of shares to any investor. If this specific type shouldn’t be filed with the MCA, corporations – each listed and unlisted – are unable to entry the funds raised. The PAS-3 type was transitioned to V3 on January 23. Firms reported not with the ability to finance their every day bills on account of failure to file this submission.
What modified? Kochi-based Muthoot Finance, on its lack of ability to file the shape, submitted a writ petition within the Kerala Excessive Courtroom in search of interim reduction by the way in which of the court docket directing MCA to permit submission of bodily kinds. In an interim order dated February 3, the Excessive Courtroom directed the ministry to just accept kinds in each bodily and digital modes.
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About 6,000 Indian startup staff laid off in Oct-Dec 2022: report
Startups in India fired about 6,000 staff in October-December 2022 and one other 4,000 or so in January 2023 alone as traders tightened their purse strings amid volatility within the international financial system, in keeping with a CIEL HR Companies examine.
Quote, unquote: “With 2 lakh folks employed within the startups in India, layoffs in December to January have been about 2%,” Aditya Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Companies, advised ET.
Additionally learn | Layoffs in 2023: Zoom, Dell amongst newest companies to chop jobs amid financial turmoil
Startups ‘didn’t apply brakes’: Anshuman Das, cofounder, Careernet, stated startups and ecommerce companies that had been on a hiring binge within the second half of 2022 and didn’t apply the required brakes are largely firing folks.
Layoffs in latest months vary from 3-18%, he stated, including, “Underneath 5% layoffs is a much-needed clean-up exercise with largely dangerous hires or fallacious hiring choices.”
ET Ecommerce Index
We’ve launched three indices – ET Ecommerce, ET Ecommerce Worthwhile, and ET Ecommerce Non-Worthwhile – to trace the efficiency of lately listed tech companies. Right here’s how they’ve fared to date.
Vedanta will play lead in Foxconn JV with 63% stake
There isn’t any change within the shareholding construction of the three way partnership between Vedanta Group and Foxconn Applied sciences for the manufacture of semiconductors and show models in India, a senior Vedanta group govt advised us.
Quantity sport: The oil-to-metals group will proceed to carry 63%, whereas Foxconn will personal 37%, Akarsh Hebbar, international managing director of show and semiconductor enterprise, stated in an unique interview.
Hebbar’s assertion comes amid indications that the federal government is in favour of the Vedanta Group taking up the position of a ‘junior accomplice’ within the JV with Foxconn.
Background: We reported on February 4 that although Vedanta will proceed to stay a accomplice within the JV, “it is not going to be the lead accomplice,” because it has no prior expertise in semiconductor chip manufacturing.
“The federal government is okay with Vedanta being a junior accomplice, however not an working accomplice, within the enterprise,” a senior authorities official had advised ET.
We has additionally reported beforehand that the Vedanta-Foxconn JV had tied up with European chipmaker STMicroelectronics because the know-how accomplice for the proposed semiconductor chip manufacturing unit in India. Whereas refusing to verify or deny the tie-up with STM, Hebbar stated that the JV was in talks with varied know-how companions who can present the “feasibility for the nodes”.
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I&B ministry has addressed 265 grievances round OTT content material: The ministry of knowledge and broadcasting (MIB) has addressed 265 grievances round over-the-top (OTT) content material ever because the Info Know-how (Middleman Pointers and Digital Media Ethics Code) Guidelines, 2021, had been enforced.
ChatGPT, Bard & Ernie | The three musketeers of AI: ChatGPT, an AI chatbot from OpenAI Inc, took the web by storm after it was launched in November final 12 months. The chatbot grew to become the quickest on-line platform to succeed in 100 million lively month-to-month customers, a milestone it touched in January, simply two months after its launch. Learn our in-depth on ChatGPT and its rival chatbots
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Digital cameras again in style after on-line revival (BBC)
