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  • Amagi Purchases Argoid AI in Order to Revolutionise Streaming with more Intelligent Solutions

    The acquisition of Argoid AI, a business that specialises in artificial intelligence-driven recommendation engines and programming automation for over-the-top (OTT) platforms, has been announced by Amagi, a Bengaluru-based supplier of cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV (CTV). It is anticipated that this action will improve Amagi’s AI capabilities, which is consistent with its goal of providing media firms with tools for intelligent content development, distribution, and monetisation.

    The content recommendations and real-time programming selections made possible by Argoid AI’s solutions help to boost audience engagement and streamline streaming platform operations. Amagi intends to enhance its product line, which includes Amagi NOW and Cloudport, by incorporating this technology to provide more individualised and effective content scheduling options.

    The CEO and co-founder of Amagi, Baskar Subramanian, emphasised the significance of AI in changing the media and entertainment industry. In recent years, Amagi has made investments in AI and ML. According to him, the company is a firm believer in the revolutionary role that AI and ML will play in revolutionising the media and entertainment sector by generating increased revenue, improved efficiency, and an unparalleled viewing experience.

    With this acquisition, Amagi will include Argoid’s AI components into its cloud offerings, greatly increasing value for its clients, he continued. The two businesses’ combined technological know-how will tackle important streaming industry issues like intelligent programming, viewer retention, and content discoverability.

    Argoid AI’s Founders to Join Amagi’s Team

    Gokul Muralidharan, Soundararajan Velu, and Chackaravarthy E, the founders of Argoid AI, will become part of the Amagi team and contribute their experience to the company’s continued development of AI-driven breakthroughs.

    “This partnership allows Argoid AI to scale its AI-driven solutions, delivering even greater customer value,” said Muralidharan, who was excited about the collaboration. He believed that by working together, the company would completely transform the way that content is created and shared in the digital age.

    With the acquisition of Argoid AI, Amagi has taken the next step in using AI to meet the increasing demand for platforms that support Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST). With a solid clientele that includes DAZN, NBCUniversal, Lionsgate Studio, and A+E Networks UK, the company hopes to strengthen its place in the media-tech industry.

    This acquisition comes after Amagi made a number of calculated steps to bolster its product line. The business purchased Tellyo, a UK-based platform for social sharing and real-time live cloud production, in November 2023. It acquired the US-based data platform for video providers, Streamwise, in 2022. Amagi’s objective of strengthening its analytics and remote manufacturing capabilities was in line with both acquisitions.

    Amagi Continues To Scale up its Revenue

    Amagi has had strong development, as evidenced by its operational revenue, which increased from INR 680 crore in FY23 to INR 879.15 crore in FY24. Even though the company’s losses in FY24 decreased by 23.7% to INR 245 crore, it is still committed to growing internationally.

    Amagi’s biggest market is still the US, which accounted for 67.3% of company sales in the most recent fiscal year. With sales rising by 31.1% to INR 115.5 crore, the UK contributed 13.1%. But fewer than 1% of its overall revenue came from India, which represents a 54.3% year-over-year drop to INR 8 crore. A significant rise of 78.9% was seen in other regions, which contributed INR 164.1 crore.

    Funding rounds, such as a $100 million investment in November 2023 that valued the company at $1.4 billion, have supported Amagi’s financial growth. With a valuation of more than $1 billion, it was also recognised as a media-tech unicorn by earlier funding attempts in 2022.

    Tata and Jio Platforms Compete to Provide AI Compute
    Tata and Jio Platforms submit bids to provide AI compute services, showcasing their competitive drive to support India’s growing AI infrastructure demands.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Nazara and Lysto Collaborate to Enhance Web3 Play

    Nazara Technologies, a publicly traded gaming company, said that it has paid $500K (about INR 4.17 Cr) to acquire an 8.5% share in the Web3 gaming platform Circle of Games (COG). According to a separate announcement from Circle of Games, the investment was a part of a bigger funding round worth $1 million (about INR 8.3 crore), in which Swiss non-profit The Hashgraph Association also participated. Nazara said in a regulatory filing with the bourses on April 17 that its business in Dubai had purchased 1,273 class A1 preferred shares of Circle of Games’ parent company, COG Holdings Global Ltd.

    As part of the agreement, Nazara Dubai will also be granted 891 more “advisory shares” in the business. The listed gaming giant will own 8.5% of the Web3 gaming company overall. According to Nazara, the cash-only agreement would be carried out in one or more installments.

    Collaboration will Provide Win-Win Situation for Both the Firm

    According to the firm run by Nitish Mittersain, the acquisition of the stake will enable it to increase its footprint in the Web3 and blockchain gaming markets. The agreement will also enable the two businesses to take advantage of team and technology synergies.  According to a statement from Circle of Games, the $1 million will be used to develop platform capabilities, expedite its go-to-market (GTM) strategy, and increase its presence in the US, EU, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. A portion of the funds will also be used to diversify its gaming offerings. According to Rabilal Thapa, cofounder and CEO of Circle of Games, “Nazara will provide strategic guidance, support, and access to its extensive network to help the company grow.”

     This partnership goes beyond simple financial investment. “We are happy to further empower the global Web3 gaming industry through our co-investment with Nazara Technologies in Circle of Games, the leading Web3 multi-gaming app that aims to onboard the next billion users onto the Hedera network,” said Kamal Youssefi, president of the Hashgraph Association, in a statement regarding the fundraising effort. Thapa, Rajeeb VC, and Rohit Tiwari founded the Web3 casual multi-gaming platform Circle of Games in 2022. The company, which is based in the British Virgin Islands, says it has over 2.5 lakh Android users enrolled and plans to add 100 million users to its Web3 gaming platform by 2026. Additionally, it makes use of its alliances with Web3 initiatives and ecosystems, including Chingari and Solana, which provide it access to a gaming community of over 500 million members across more than 50 countries.

    Nazara on Acquisition Spree

    By the end of June 2024, Circle of Games intends to introduce its native coin ($COG) in an effort to attract more users to the site. The development coincides with Nazara’s acquiring spree. The gaming giant announced last month that it had set aside $100 million for mergers and acquisitions over the next two years. In February of this year, the company purchased Ninja Global FZCO (Ninja), a gaming and esports production company, as part of this. Before that, it had invested two tranches of funds in Freaks 4U Gaming, a full-service gaming and esports agency based in Germany. NODWIN Gaming, the listed giant’s esports business, also revealed in January that it had paid INR 55 Cr in cash and stock to acquire 100% ownership in Comic Con India.

    Nazara Technologies Board Approves INR 196 Crore in Investments
    Nazara Technologies’ board approves five investments totaling INR 196 crore, strengthening its strategic growth in the gaming and tech sectors.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Swiggy’s Food Delivery Business is not Concentrating on Expanding into New Cities

    The food delivery industry has reached a saturation point in terms of the number of cities; thus, foodtech giant Swiggy is concentrating on strengthening its position in the current locations rather than expanding geographically. Following the release of its financial results for the second quarter of FY25, the company emphasised during its earnings call that there is no longer any business case for growing into an additional 50–100 cities. According to the corporation, there isn’t a strong commercial rationale for expanding to another 50 or 100 locations; therefore, doing so would primarily be a selfish exercise.

    Swiggy is instead focusing on expansion in high-potential metropolitan areas with growing migrant populations and developing communities, such as the new Bengaluru and Delhi NCR neighbourhoods. Cities like Bengaluru and the National Capital Region are no longer confined to their central regions. According to Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety, the company’s expansion into neighbouring zones—which Swiggy refers to as Tier 1.5 locations—is growing more and more important as new customers in these areas look for affordability.

    Changing Business Strategies

    Affordability is still a major factor, the CEO continued, particularly for markets like regular corporate lunches, where maximising delivery speed by distance is essential. Core city rents are also rising. In the meantime, Swiggy is trying to satisfy the increasing demand from customers for more options for its rapid commerce vertical, Instamart. It is still difficult to strike a balance between this and delivery speed, though. Although consumers anticipate a wide selection of goods, Swiggy claims that its current business strategy can supply up to 20,000 SKUs in 10 minutes. According to Majety, the corporation would have to make a minor compromise by lengthening the delivery time if it wanted to increase the assortment beyond this range.

    Adding New Dark Stores for Business Expansion

    Rahul Bothra, the CFO of Swiggy, told a media outlet last month that the company’s new dark stores would essentially occupy an area that is two to three times larger than its existing dark stores. In addition to expanding the company’s SKU coverage, adding dark stores will provide a variety of delivery options; for example, Swiggy Instamart can deliver some items in 10 minutes and others in 20 minutes, Bothra stated. On December 4, Swiggy announced that its operating revenue had increased by 30% to INR 3,601.45 Cr, while its consolidated net loss had decreased by 4.78% year over year to INR 625.53 Cr. In the quarter ending in September 2024, Swiggy Instamart’s operating revenue increased 135.7% to INR 490 Cr from INR 208 Cr in the same time the previous year.

    Swiggy Expands “Bolt” 10-Minute Delivery to 400+ Locations
    Swiggy extends its “Bolt” 10-minute meal delivery service to over 400 locations, making quick and convenient dining accessible across India.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Tata and Jio Platforms Place Bids to Provide AI Compute

    According to the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), 19 service providers have put in bids to supply cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) computing services under the INR 10,738 Cr IndiaAI Mission.  Cloud service providers, managed service providers, micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs), and data centre service providers—including Jio Platforms, Tata Communications, Sify Digital Services, Yotta, and CMS Computers India—were among the organisations that took part in the bidding round. 

    The other bidders were Vensysco Technologies, CloudThat Technologies, Cyfuture India, I2k2 Networks, Ishan Infotech, Orient Technologies Limited, NxtGen Datacenter and Cloud Technologies, Path Infotech, Shezar Web Technologies, and Unicloud Labs.

    Selected Companies will be Empanelled as Agencies

    The chosen businesses will be appointed as agencies to offer AI computing services to academics, researchers, startups, and students. In collaboration with commercial entities, the Centre intends to construct infrastructure of 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) under the IndiaAI compute pillar. According to a statement from MeitY, 50 service providers attended the pre-bid conference in August 2024. The bids were then opened on December 2, and the deadline for submitting proposals was set on November 28.

    Based on the eligibility and technical requirements outlined in the request for empanelment (RFE) document, a technical evaluation committee will now assess the bids that have been received. The qualified bidders will next be instructed to address the panel with their suggested solutions. The “technically qualified bidders” won’t be permitted to enter the commercial bids until after that. Additionally, the ministry stated that the empanelment will last for 36 months. However, it stated that if both parties agree, there will be a chance to extend the deadline by another 12 months.

    IndiaAI Mission Focuses on Seven Areas

    Earlier this year, the federal cabinet authorised the INR 10,738 Cr IndiaAI Mission. Computing, fundamental models, datasets, applications, skill development, startups, and safe AI are its seven main areas of interest. Its goal is to use a public-private partnership (PPP) model to support the domestic GenAI ecosystem.

    MeitY secretary S. Krishnan stated in May of this year that when it comes to additional GPU power authorised under the Mission, indigenous enterprises will be given preference. Krishnan had stated at the time that the first set of use cases for AI compute power should be available to researchers and entrepreneurs over the next 18 to 24 months, by the end of the fiscal year 2024–2025 (FY25). Later in September, Krishnan added that after the current 10,000 GPU objective is met, the government may consider using viability gap funding (VGF) to build more “compute capacity.”

    Google Cloud, HCLTech Unveil AI Security Detection Service
    Google Cloud and HCLTech collaborate to launch an AI-powered security detection service, enhancing cybersecurity with advanced threat detection capabilities.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • PB Fintech will Establish a Fully-Owned Subsidiary for Healthcare Services

    The board has given PB Fintech, an insurtech major, permission to establish a new subsidiary in order to provide healthcare services. “The incorporation of the wholly owned subsidiary has been approved by the board of directors of PB Fintech Limited through a circular resolution passed on December 03, 2024, to carry on the business of healthcare services,” the insurtech major stated in a filing with the BSE.

    PB Fintech added that the incorporation procedure would be finished after receiving approval from the appropriate authorities and that it will submit an application to float the new healthcare-focused company at a later time. At a face value of INR 10 each, the listed insurtech platform and other corporate nominees will initially purchase 50,000 equity shares of the new firm.

    The Subsidiary will be Launched With the Approx. Investment of $100 Mn

    Two months ago, Yashish Dahiya, the group CEO and chairman of PB Fintech, stated that the company is thinking about entering the healthcare industry and would invest $100 million one time to purchase a 30% share in a new healthcare startup. He brought up concerns at the time about middle-class families’ inability to afford the nation’s healthcare system.

    According to him, PB Fintech would try to close the gap that exists between insurance firms and hospitals. The announcement, however, caused a significant reaction from the markets. Following Dahiya’s suggestion at the company’s latest experiment, the shares fell as much as 10% during intraday trading on September 26. However, after he formally acknowledged the situation to the media on September 30, shares experienced a significant recovery.

    The New Subsidiary will Focus on Health Care and Allied Services

    The subsidiary, which has an INR 5 lakh authorised share capital, will concentrate on healthcare and related services. The business made it clear that upon incorporation, the new entity will become a connected party. Since PB Fintech is a professionally run company, it does not have a single promoter or promoter group.

    After receiving the required approvals from the Registrar of Companies and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, the incorporation procedure will start. The transaction signifies PB Fintech’s strategic expansion into the healthcare industry, even though turnover statistics are not yet available due to the entity’s unestablished status.

    Financial Dynamics of PB Fintech

    The healthcare plans offered by PB Fintech had previously drawn criticism from broking firm Bernstein, which stated that the move would represent a “sharp departure from the company’s current asset-light model to a more asset-heavy space.” In terms of finances, PB Fintech keeps increasing its earnings. In the second quarter (Q2) of the fiscal year 2024–25 (FY25), the company reported a net profit of INR 51 Cr, compared to a net loss of INR 21.11 Cr in the same period last year. From INR 811.6 Cr in Q2 FY24 to INR 1,167.2 Cr in the reviewed quarter, revenue from operations increased by more than 43%.

    Paisabazaar Gets IT Department Notices Over Vendor Payments
    Paisabazaar receives notices from the IT Department concerning vendor payments, prompting scrutiny over potential irregularities in financial transactions.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Smartworks and Ecom Express Receive SEBI Approval for IPO

    SEBI has approved the initial public offerings (IPOs) of coworking space provider Smartworks and logistics business Ecom Express. According to the information on SEBI’s website, the regulator made the remark against Ecom Express on November 29.

    A prior, on November 28, Smartworks received the observation. The public offering is approved by SEBI when an observation is issued. In August, Ecom Express submitted its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for an initial public offering (IPO) for INR 2,600 Cr. This includes an offer for sale (OFS) for INR 1,315.5 Cr and a new issue of equity shares up to INR 1,284.5 Cr. In the same month, Smartworks submitted its draft IPO documents. The company’s initial public offering (IPO) will include an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 67.49 lakh equity shares and a new issue of equity shares valued at INR 550 Cr. Before submitting its Red Herring Prospectus (RHP), the coworking company also intends to raise INR 110 Cr through a pre-IPO placement.

    Operations and Financial Dynamics of Both the Firms

    The late TA Krishnan, Manju Dhawan, K Satyanarayana, and Sanjeev Saxena founded Ecom Express in 2012 as a pure-play provider of B2C ecommerce logistics solutions. It makes money by providing services to consumers in the Indian e-commerce sector, which includes D2C, vertical, horizontal, and fast commerce platforms. In the fiscal year 2023–2024 (FY24), the company reported a net loss of INR 255.8 Cr on operational sales of INR 2,609 Cr. Conversely, Smartworks, a shared workspace service that provides businesses with customised coworking solutions, was established in 2016 by Neetish Sarda and Harsh Binani.

     With more than 40 locations in 14 cities, including Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai, it boasts more than 8 million square feet of office space. It says it serves over 600 businesses, such as Moglix, DHL, Starbucks Coffee, and Honeywell.  It faces competition from companies like IndiQube, WeWork India, and Awfis. According to its DRHP, Smartworks’ operating revenue increased to INR 1,039.4 Cr in FY24, while its net loss decreased to INR 49.8 Cr. 

    IPOs are Becoming More Common Among Startups

    With initial public offerings (IPOs) emerging as a crucial means of obtaining funding, the Indian startup scene is undergoing a significant transformation. For the second time in history, mainboard initial public offerings (IPOs) have raised more than INR 1 lakh crore in 2024. Over INR 1.03 lakh billion has been raised through 70 initial public offerings (IPOs) this year, the most since 2007. In contrast, 63 firms raised more than INR 1.19 lakh crore through IPOs in 2021, compared to 100 IPOs that were launched in 2007 and raised INR 34,179 crore.

    This remarkable expansion coincides with a slowdown in the global IPO markets, which has seen a 16% drop in capital raised and a 12% drop in listings. India has distinguished itself on the international scene with its distinct blend of economic stability, a flourishing digital economy, and a developing private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) ecosystem.

    UPI Value Drops 8% in November, Volume Down 7%
    UPI transactions saw a decline in November, with an 8% drop in value and a 7% decrease in volume, reflecting a slowdown in digital payments activity.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Zomato Grants Foodie Bay Employees’ ESOP Trust 47.75 Cr in Equity Shares

    The Foodie Bay Employees ESOP Trust, an employee welfare trust established by the foodtech company, has received 47.75 Cr equity shares from Zomato under various employee stock option programmes (ESOPs). The Deepinder Goyal-led firm announced in an exchange statement on December 2, that its board had authorised the issuance and distribution of 47.75 Cr equity shares under the Zomato ESOP 2018, ESOP 2021, ESOP 2022, and ESOP 2024 schemes, each with a face value of INR 1.

    The newly allocated shares are valued at INR 13,489.3 Cr (about $1.60 Bn) based on the stock’s most recent close. According to the filing, the company’s issued, subscribed, and paid-up equity share capital grew from INR 917.28 Cr to INR 965.03 Cr with the allocation of new equity shares to Foodie Bay Employees ESOP Trust.

    Strengthening the Cash Balance to Remain Ahead in the Race

    CEO Deepinder Goyal stated that Zomato needed to improve its cash balance because of the current competitive environment and the company’s much larger scale. It is anticipated that Zomato’s financial stability may suffer in the near future as a result of the growth of Blinkit, its rapid commerce division. This was made clear by Zomato’s Q2 FY25 results, which showed a 30% sequential drop in net profit to INR 176 Cr for the foodtech company. This was mostly caused by higher costs associated with Blinkit’s expansion drive. Strong performance across its meal delivery and quick commerce sectors drove a 14% quarter-over-quarter increase in operating revenue to INR 4,799 Cr in Q2 FY24.

    As part of their initiatives to reward staff, several modern internet businesses have issued ESOPs this year, including Delhivery, Nykaa, ixigo, and ideaForge, among others. The travel tech business ixigo gave 17.57 lakh stock options last month, while logistics giant Delhivery increased its ESOP pool by allocating 73K stock options. Only a few days after raising INR 8,500 Cr through the placement of eligible institutions—its first significant fundraising effort since its 2021 IPO—Zomato announced its ESOP.

    Furthermore, the median ESOP pool size grew from 9% in 2021 to 12.6% in 2024, and 90% of founders now talk about ESOPs with candidates during interviews or job offers, up from 75% in 2021. Additionally, the reasons for providing ESOPs have changed; in 2024, 40% of founders cited cost reductions, up from 28% in 2021. The founders cited the necessity to retain people as the second most important reason for putting these plans into action, behind creating a sense of ownership and company culture.

    Even with this increase, fewer than 30% of founders still fully understand the complexity of ESOPs, a percentage that hasn’t changed since 2021. Just 14% of founders felt educated about the tax consequences of ESOPs, which is a fairly low level of understanding.

    Swiggy Expands “Bolt” 10-Minute Delivery to 400+ Locations
    Swiggy extends its “Bolt” 10-minute meal delivery service to over 400 locations, making quick and convenient dining accessible across India.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • The Board of Nazara Technologies Authorises Five Investments Totalling INR 196 crore

    Listed gaming giant Nazara Technologies has announced plans to continue its acquisition binge by investing in kids’ play centre company Funky Monkeys and edtech Learntube.ai, as well as acquiring a larger stake in three of its subsidiaries: Nodwin, Sportskeeda’s parent company Absolute Sport, and adtech Datawrkz. The investment will strengthen “its position in the gaming and entertainment ecosystems,” according to a statement from Nazara.

     Nazara will subscribe for optionally convertible preference shares in order to invest INR 64 Cr in its esports subsidiary Nodwin. This is intended to help the gaming subsidiary grow and improve its intellectual property. It is important to remember that Nodwin is one of Nazara’s main sources of income.

    Details of Further Investments

    Nazara announced that it would spend INR 69 Cr to buy shares that resulted from Sportskeeda employees exercising their ESOPs. This will make it a completely owned subsidiary and raise its ownership position in Absolute to 100%. By subscribing to its mandatory convertible cumulative preference shares (CCPS), the business would spend INR 15 Cr in its adtech subsidiary. In 2022, it purchased a 33% share in Datawrkz. For INR 43.7 Cr, Nazara is purchasing a 60% share in the chain of indoor play centres. Funky Monkeys Play Centres, which was founded in 2012 by Binita Putcha and Sanjay Ghadiali, operates 11 locations around India and bills itself as the industry leader in indoor play centres for children.

     According to its founders, the acquisition will enable synergies with Nazara’s digital intellectual property, namely Kiddopia. For a 4.7% share in the AI-powered edtech platform, Nazara will invest INR 4.2 Cr. In October of last year, Learntube, formerly known as CareerNinja, obtained initial commitments from investors such as Blitzscaling Ventures, Goodwater Capital, and Bisk Ventures as part of its larger $2 million seed round. It’s unclear if the Nazara funding is included in the seed funding round as well. Learntube is a platform driven by artificial intelligence that combines gamification and individualised instruction to create an engaging educational experience.

    Nazara’s First AI Investment

    Nitish Mittersain, the CEO of Nazara, stated in a LinkedIn post that the Learntube investment will be the company’s first AI investment. According to Mittersain, Nazara is dedicated to creating the most diverse gaming and entertainment platform in India, and many of the efforts it unveiled on December 2nd are intended to spur profitable growth in these key areas of the business’ focus. The announcement of the financing follows Nazara’s November 27 private placement transaction, in which it raised INR 855 Cr ($101.3 Mn). The financing included participation from investors such as SBI Mutual Fund, Aamara Capital, and Mithun Sacheti, the founder of Caratlane.

    Nazara Expanding its Nexus

    The business subsequently stated that it intended to use the funds to finance corporate expansion, make strategic acquisitions, and improve the company’s capacity to grasp fresh growth prospects. Nazara said on November 29 that it has acquired Trinity Gaming, a gaming agency and platform, for INR 24 Cr ($2.8 Mn), shortly after obtaining the new funding. Notably, during its 2024 acquisition binge, the corporation acquired shares in Pokerbaazi, Paperboat, STAN, Fusebox, Ninja Global FZCO, Freaks 4U, and Circle of Games. Nazara’s consolidated net profit for the September quarter of the current fiscal year (Q2 FY25) was INR 16.24 Cr, which is 33% less than the INR 24.18 Cr it made in the same period last fiscal year.

    Piyush Gupta, Ex-Peak XV MD, Launches Kenro Capital
    Piyush Gupta, former MD of Peak XV, launches Kenro Capital, focusing on secondary transactions and strategic investments in the financial sector.
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  • Google CEO Sundar Pichai Receives Contempt Notice from Mumbai Court

    Google CEO Sundar Pichai was served with a contempt notice by a Mumbai court on 2 December. The said notice has been served regarding YouTube’s noncompliance with a court order mandating the removal of a defamatory video called “Pakhandi Baba ki Kartut.” Yogi Ashwini, the founder of the animal charity NGO Dhyan Foundation, is purportedly the target of the posted video. 

    The notification was sent on November 21, 2024, by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Ballard Pier. The controversy started when the Bombay High Court ordered YouTube to remove the controversial video on March 31, 2024. 

    How it all Started?

    According to the Dhyan Foundation, the video includes offensive and defamatory content that has damaged Yogi Ashwini’s and the organisation’s reputations. The video is apparently still available outside India in spite of the court’s order. In October 2023, the Dhyan Foundation accused Google of wilfully disobeying the court order in a contempt plea. Raju Gupta, the NGO’s attorney, claims that Google has used delay tactics by requesting adjournments without good cause while reputational damage persists.

    Response from YouTube

    YouTube has responded by claiming that defamation is not a type of content that can be restricted under Section 69-A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, therefore invoking its immunity under the Act. Additionally, the platform said that civil courts, not criminal ones, are more appropriate for handling defamation cases.

     Because the IT Act does not specifically prohibit criminal courts from hearing such cases, the judge rejected YouTube‘s concerns. According to the court’s order, the respondent’s filed authority is currently beneficial to the court. The process is mentioned in the aforementioned authority. Nevertheless, it is never stated that the criminal court lacks the authority to consider such an application. Thus, in the humble view of the court, the current application’s maintainability will not be hindered by the ratio of the aforementioned authorities.

    Interestingly, this is not the first time Google has been involved in a dispute in the nation. Earlier this year, some Indian businesses claimed that Google was charging them a large 11-26% fee on payments made through alternative billing systems, prompting the antitrust authority to initiate a probe into the company’s contentious user choice pricing system. Google was previously fined more than INR 2,200 Cr by the antitrust commission in 2022 for two different cases concerning abuse of power in the market for Android devices and its Play Store regulations.

    In a different matter, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) is looking into Google after receiving a complaint from the gaming platform WinZO. The tech giant has been charged with giving Rummy and daily fantasy sports (DFS) apps a substantial competitive advantage at the expense of other real-money gambling (RMG) apps.

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    Google Cloud and HCLTech collaborate to launch an AI-powered security detection service, enhancing cybersecurity with advanced threat detection capabilities.
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  • 17 Crypto Platforms Under Investigation for Alleged INR 824 Cr In GST Evasion

    Authorities investigating the goods and services tax (GST) have so far charged 17 cryptocurrency exchanges with dodging the tax to the tune of INR 824.14 Cr. Pankaj Chaudhary, the minister of state (MoS) for finance, stated in a written response to the Lok Sabha that INR 122.29 Cr in GST dues, including interest and penalties, had been recovered from the cryptocurrency platforms.

     WazirX parent company Zanmai Labs owes the government INR 40.51 Cr, while cryptocurrency giant Binance’s subsidiary Nest Services alone is responsible for 87% of the INR 824 Cr tax evasion, or INR 722.43 Cr. CoinDCX and Neblio Technologies, their FIU-registered Indian company, have been charged with tax evasion of INR 26.63 Cr. Likewise, CoinSwitch Kuber is being investigated for INR 14.13 Cr in GST evasion, while ZebPay is being investigated for INR 7 Cr in GST avoidance. Authorities have also booked other cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Flipvolt Technologies, UnoCoin, and BuyUcoin. 

    Virtual Digital Assets

    The majority of cryptocurrency assets, with the exception of gift cards and vouchers, are categorised as “Virtual Digital Assets” (VDAs) under Section 2(47A) of the Income Tax Act. According to the Finance Ministry, 47 Virtual Digital Asset Service Providers (VDA SPs) have registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India as reporting companies in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002. Cryptocurrency transaction income is subject to a flat 30% tax rate and 1% tax deducted at source (TDS) on transactions over INR 50,000 per year.

    Bringing Crypto Under the Roof of PMLA

    The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) has applied to cryptocurrency assets since March 2023, forcing exchanges and crypto service providers to adhere to anti-money laundering regulations, such as know your customer (KYC) requirements. The Financial Intelligence Unit-India is in charge of enforcement. Digital assets do not currently have a defined Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) code or pricing. Rather, the GST rate of 18%, the highest in this category, is applied to the HSN code 960899, which covers “other miscellaneous articles.” Only those who voluntarily register for GST or whose sales or turnover during the fiscal year surpass the INR 40 lakh level are subject to GST obligation.

    Although “crypto” and “digital assets” are not defined in the current GST Act, the word “virtual digital assets” was added in the financial budget. Any type of code or information that represents value and can be traded and utilised in financial transactions is referred to as a virtual digital asset. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other digital assets designated by the central government, excluding Indian or foreign currencies, are among the assets that can be electronically stored or transferred.

    UPI Value Drops 8% in November, Volume Down 7%
    UPI transactions saw a decline in November, with an 8% drop in value and a 7% decrease in volume, reflecting a slowdown in digital payments activity.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde