Demonetisation and its impact on India’s economy have been discussed in detail since 8 November, the day PM Modi made the shock announcement by invalidating over 80 percent of Indian currency. Based on their political affiliations, economists have differed widely on the impact of this step but mo…
‘Equalisation Levy’ to create a huge problem for start-ups: Tax lawyer Nishith Desai
As part of the continuing opposition from industry bodies to the ‘Equalisation Levy’ that came into effect earlier this year, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and law firm Nishith Desai Associates, in a white paper released on Tuesday, said the measure would hurt Indian startu…
Babycare start-up Mamaearth secures funding from Fireside Ventures
Mamaearth, a babycare products startup, which sells its products only through Amazon India and FirstCry.com has raised an undisclosed amount in seed round of funding led by Fireside Ventures and some HNIs, a top company executive told. Founded in 2016 by a couple Varun Alagh and Ghazal Alagh, thi…
Startup India, a work-in-progress: DIPP Secy
A year after the Startup India Action Plan was unveiled by the Prime Minister the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Ramesh Abhishek called it a “work-in-progress”. Recounting the initiatives taken by the DIPP to provide structure to the developing startup …
OnlineTyari acquihires photo-sharing application Plix
Test preparation platform OnlineTyari has acquihired photo-sharing application Plix in a cash-and-equity deal valued at about $1.5 million (Rs 10.2 crore). As part of the deal, Plix’s seven member technology team will join OnlineTyari within a month to work on technologies and come up with …
Govt working on ways to let companies start business in 4 days flat
Aiming to break into top 50 best countries to do business in, the government has identified areas requiring doing away with complex rules and simplifying procedures to enable businesses to start in four days flat. With India ranked poorly at 130th among 190 nations on the World Bank’s Ease …
Zoomcar raises funds from Chinese VC firm Cyber Carrier
Self-drive car rental start-up Zoomcar has raised an undisclosed amount from Chinese venture capital firm Cyber Carrier CL as an extension of its Series B round, the company said in a statement on December 20. The company had raised $24 million in August in a Series B funding round led by Ford Sm…
How food tech start-ups earn margins through kitchen model
Twigly, FreshMenu, Inner Chef and Faasos are the likely survivors of a meltdown in the food tech space in India. All of these firms have adopted a model in which they control the experience — from cooking to packaging to delivery through their own teams, and not depending on restaurants to run th…
Education technology start-up Byju’s raises funds from World Bank arm IFC
Education technology start-up Byju’s, owned by Think and Learn Pvt. Ltd, has raised an undisclosed amount from World Bank arm International Finance Corp. (IFC), the company said in a statement on December 20. The latest round came close on the heels of Byju’s raising $50 million from the Chan Zuc…
B2B start-ups raise $98 mn across 30 deals so far this year
Earlier this year, three former executives from Flipkart Ltd, India’s most valuable e-commerce firm, launched Udaan, an online marketplace connecting manufacturers, wholesalers, traders and retailers. In November, Udaan.com raised $10 million in Series A funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners I…