Archives for March 2019

Zomato Media, which owns and operates the eponymous online food delivery and restaurant discovery platform, has sold its United Arab Emirates delivery business to the Berlin-based Delivery Hero for $172 million. The Gurgaon- based company, which is fighting a bruising battle with its cash rich rival Swiggy, has also raised $105 million in its latest […]

It was an ideal time for online lenders to arrive in Silicon Valley. After the financial crisis of 2008, banks who were the first choice as lenders for everyday people took a little bit of time to comprehend the way in which customers wanted to access credit and they were not ready to take any […]

Over the years, malls have been rather critical of deep-pocketed web-commerce companies that routinely showered discounts to divert the flow of business away from shopping centres. But brick-and-mortar stores are rather happy now with at least one new-age business: food delivery, led by apps such as Swiggy and Zomato. Select Citywalk Mall in New Delhi’s […]

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg poses at “An Unforgettable Evening” benefiting the Women’s Cancer Research Fund, at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Steven Spielberg is taking on Netflix. At this year’s annual post-Oscars meeting, the filmmaker, who’s representing directors as an Academy governor, will speak out […]

Several government agencies and public utilities are disincentivising e-payments by refusing to bear transaction costs charged by banks even as the Modi administration promotes digital India. Banks are passing on the cost of online payment to customers in several e-portals. In some cases, not only are charges being illegally passed on, the amount is also […]

Raka Chakrawarti, an entrepreneur from Mumbai, is tensed these days, not about her business, which is booming, but over the rules of the Draft National e-Commerce Policy. If the policy, drafted by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and seeking stakeholder comments, gets a go-ahead as it is, Gourmetdelight, her bootstrapped […]

India has told the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it will not join the negotiations to develop trade rules on e-commerce, arguing that it is an idea whose time has not yet come. New Delhi has also argued that the discussions by some countries are not consistent with the mandate of the multilateral trading system. […]

Web-focused smartphone and electronic brands said business on online marketplaces has returned to normal levels after New Delhi’s changes to overseas ownership rules disrupted sales early February at the two biggest industry platforms, Walmart-owned Flipkart and Amazon. The rebound is pronounced enough for brands such as OnePlus, Realme, Vu, TCL, iFFalcon, BPL, Kodak and Thomson […]

The Walmart-owned e-commerce giant Flipkart has increased the commissions it charges from vendors in the apparel category, a month after the latest FDI norms for online marketplaces kicked in. Effective March 1, Flipkart has increased commissions it charges on western wear, kurtis, innerwear, smartwatches, blazers and waistcoats. The increase in commissions ranged between 6.5-15% across […]

US technology companies and Indian startups are working overtime to put together a response within a week to the government’s proposed ecommerce policy, which is being touted as a digital economy policy that will have far-reaching impact on the country’s technology ambitions. The policy deals with contentious subjects such as data dominance, data sovereignty and […]