1. WS Retail Breaks Up With Old Parent Company Flipkart. Sources revealed that sales stopped a year ago, DIPP had introduced new FDI rules where ecommerce company cannot allow more than 25% sales from one vendor.

2. Google Pleads Guilty, Says Sorry For Outdated UIDAI Helpline Number. Google has said that the addition of UIDAI’s outdated helpline number to the contact list of Android phone users is not a situation of an unauthorised access of users’ devices. Users can delete the number manually. UIDAI helpline number and the 112 distress helpline number were inadvertently coded into the SetUp wizard of the Android release given to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for use in India and has remained there since.

3. India Makes A Massive Leap In UN E-Government Survey 2018, Secures 96th Position.

4. Madhya Pradesh Startup India Yatra Brings 71 Startups 110 Incubation Offers. Yatra began on July 17 with 136 startups were selected to make final pitches. The Startup India van travelled to 25 colleges and covered 10 districts and 15 institutions in a span of 30 days. These 136 startups had been a part of an accelerator programme which trained them for finale pitches and the result was that seven incubators made 110 incubation offers to 71 startups. Further, cash prizes of INR 10 Lakh were awarded to 16 aspiring entrepreneurs ranging between INR 25,000 and INR. 75,000.

5. Facebook Stops Data Sharing With Apps.With this move, Facebook wants to ensure that third-party software on its platform is in line with its data privacy rules and also comply with the new restrictions announced in F8 Conference.

6. Sellers Associations Will Give Feedback On Draft Ecommerce Policy – The feedback will be shared with CAIT. The draft policy had highlighted the possibility of allowing a limited inventory-based B2C model for online sale of domestically produced goods, as long as the company is controlled by Indian management and foreign equity does not exceed 49%.

7.  Govt Launches Defence India Startup Challenge To Close Ranks With Indian Startups, Disrupt Sector – Shortlisted startups & MSMEs will be provided aid of up to $220K (INR 1.5 Cr) to meet the challenge.

8. Walmart To Hire 1,000 People For Technology Roles In India – looking at expanding its headcount and driving more product ownership in India.

9. JP Morgan, IIMA-CIIE To Setup Financial Inclusion Lab To Incubate Fintech Startups – This would be the largest philanthropic commitment made by JP Morgan. As part of the collaboration, the startups will enable access and usage of appropriate financial products and services for LMI households.

10. MakeMyTrip Raises $10 Mn From Its Parent Company in Mauritius – MakeMyTrip India contributes about 85% revenues to the Nasdaq-listed parent company MakeMyTrip.

11. Startup Academia Alliance Programme Launched To Promote Entrepreneurship – aims to reduce the gap between scientific research and its industrial applications. 133 applications were received from startups, of which 43 were selected.

12. 91springboard Joins Google For Entrepreneurs Network, Launches Startup Hub For Women Entrepreneurs.

13. Karnataka Govt May Allow Bike Taxis Soon, Uber Files Application To Improve Last-Mile Service In Bengaluru. Some of the significant on-demand bike taxi operators in India are UberMoto, OlaBike, Baxi, Bikxie, and Rapido.

14. Paytm’s Next Bet Is On Savings As It Acquires Bengaluru-Based Balance Technology. Founded in 2016 by Ankit Kumar and Abhishek Malik, Balance Technology is a personal savings app that allows users to save petty change and invest in Fixed deposits and mutual funds. With the acquisition, Paytm expects to encash on insights and track record in building intelligent and elegantly designed products. 

15. Bengaluru-based consumer finance startup HappyEMI has raised a seed funding of $1 Mn from AJ Ventures and Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO). HappyEmi was launched in 2017 by Suhas Gopinath. The startup, which provides shoppers with instant financing at point of sale in stores and online platforms, also plans to use the funds to expand its operation across geographies.

16. Bengaluru-based consumer finance startup HappyEMI has raised a seed funding of $1 Mn from AJ Ventures and Jain International Trade Organisation (JITO). HappyEmi was launched in 2017 by Suhas Gopinath. The startup, which provides shoppers with instant financing at point of sale in stores and online platforms, also plans to use the funds to expand its operation across geographies.

17. Delhi-based early-based startup Olly Credit, which offers loans to salaried individuals through instant microcredit cards, has raised an undisclosed amount in funding from China-headquartered fintech incubator and investor JadeValue, and Mumbai-based Lead Angels Network. Olly Credit was founded in 2015 by Anand Kumar, Ashwin Bhambri, and Ringaile Noq.

18.  Startup incubator Venture Catalysts has made a pre-Series A round of funding worth $1 Mn in Gurugram-based Try & Buy Fashions. Founded in 2017 by Nitin Vats, Try & Buy Fashions aims to bring online shopping as close to the offline experience as possible by allowing trying and buying of apparel through virtual stylists and virtual trial rooms.

 

 

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