Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp has received permission from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to expand its pilot United Payment Interface (UPI) services to 10 million users, according to Nandan Nilekani, the architect of unique identity database Aadhaar and UPI. Nikelani was speaking at an IIT Industry Conclave event on Friday. WhatsApp’s payment […]
Archives for 2020
E-comm in India is a fantastic revolution, says L’Oréal CEO
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi L’Oréal, the world’s largest cosmetics company, said e-commerce is turning out to be a game changer in India, a market where rivals have been historically stronger due to dominance of kirana stores. India has an estimated 10 million kirana stores, which account for an estimated 90% of overall consumer products sales. A […]
Tech platforms take on virus rumours
Illustration: Rahul Awasthi Technology platforms are fighting to control misinformation regarding the novel Coronavirus through search prompts, removal of content and by teaming up with fact checkers, amid a social media deluge of alarming warnings, possible cures and rumours regarding the virus that originated in China. On Friday, Twitter launched a dedicated search prompt for […]
Amazon Flex drivers are using bots to cheat their way to getting more work
Contractors working for the Amazon Inc. Flex program load packages into vehicles to deliver to customers in San Francisco. David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images Like many gig economy workers, Amazon Flex drivers start off their day by opening an app. The Flex app is where drivers find package delivery jobs in their […]
China allocates $10.26 billion to fight coronavirus
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s finance ministry said on Sunday all levels of government had allocated a total of 71.85 billion yuan ($10.26 billion) as of Saturday afternoon to fight coronavirus. The ministry will deploy the funds to ensure that members of public can afford diagnosis and treatment, it said in a statement on its website. […]
‘Crisis mode’: Coronavirus disrupts the heart of electronics manufacturing in China
Apple CEO Tim Cook attends the annual session of China Development Forum (CDF) 2018 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China March 26, 2018. Jason Lee | Reuters Factories in China, the center of the electronics industry’s supply chain, have been closed for an extended Lunar New Year holiday and the outbreak of the […]
China blocks Foxconn plan to restart factories over virus worries – Nikkei
(Reuters) – Chinese authorities have blocked a plan by Apple supplier Foxconn to resume production in China from Monday, the Nikkei business daily reported on Saturday, amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus. Public health experts carried out inspections at Foxconn’s factories in the southern city of Shenzhen and told the company that […]
Amazon invests Rs 2,500 crore in marketplace and data centre units
Amazon has made fresh investments of a little over Rs 2,500 crore into its e-commerce marketplace and data centre businesses in India, documents filed with the Registrar of Companies showed. The investment follows a Rs1,715 crore infusion into Amazon’s payments and wholesale arms last month. Amazon Seller Services, the company’s marketplace unit, received a cash […]
Rare online revolt in China over death of virus whistleblower
They posted videos of the Les Miserables song, “Do You Hear the People Sing”. They invoked article No. 35 of China’s Constitution, which stipulates freedom of speech. They tweeted a phrase from the poem “For Whom the Bell Tolls”. The Chinese public have staged what amounts to an online revolt after the death of a […]
Top talent leaving Flipkart in search of greener pastures
Nishant Verman and Anurag Verma join the list of senior exits at Walmart-owned Flipkart in the past six months. Verman was vice president and Verma was senior director. Kirti Varun Avasarala, Vikash Jalan and Samrat Dogra, all of whom were directors, have also quit. At Flipkart-run Myntra, Bindu Mendosa has stepped down as senior vice […]