StartupTalky

Tag: #news

  • AI firm Sarvam Unveiled a Blend of Open Source and Enterprise Products

    As part of its full-stack Generative AI (GenAI) platform, Sarvam AI, an AI startup based in Bengaluru, released a suite of products recently. These solutions cater to both enterprise usage and open source communities.

    With the backing of investors like Lightspeed and Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India), the company said that its upcoming products will support 10 Indian languages—Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Odia, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, and Bengali—and be voice-enabled to run a variety of jobs.

    During an interview with a media outlet, Sarvam cofounder Vivek Raghavan said that the full-stack GenAI platform has been developed and deployed in collaboration with prominent industrial and technological partners. The product mix unveiled includes A1, Sarvam Models, Sarvam Agents, Shuka1.0, Sarvam 2B, and Sarvam Models.

    Products and their usage

    With their multilingual speech capabilities, the initial product, Sarvam Agents, will provide clients with the ability to communicate with agents through phone calls, WhatsApp, or in-app chat. Additionally, they will have the capability to act and make judgements in response to customer inputs. Businesses in industries such as banking, law, consumer products, telecommunications, media, and technology will be able to take advantage of the voice agents for as little as one rupee a minute.

    Another offering is an open source large-language model (LLM) named Sarvam 2B. According to Sarvam, the LLM can efficiently carry out targeted tasks in ten Indian languages thanks to its training on an internal dataset consisting of four trillion tokens.

    Meta, a digital giant, has an open source Llama 8B language model; their third product, Shuka1.0, will be an audio extension that supports Indian language usage. This product will also be available as open source.

    Additionally, a product titled “Sarvam Models” will be made accessible, which contains the Indic language models utilised in the development of Sarvam Agents. Application programming interfaces (APIs) will now be made available for these models. As part of Sarvam’s developer API platform, developers will have access to models for document parsing, speech synthesis, translation, and speech recognition.

    With tools like regulatory chat, document creation, redaction, and data extraction, the fifth product, ‘A1’, is a generative AI workbench made for solicitors to improve their skills.

    Enhancing the growth with partnership

    Yotta, Nvidia, Exotel, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) are some of the companies that Sarvam will team up with to power these offerings. During an event, Vishal Dhupar, Nvidia’s managing director for South Asia, said that the Sarvam stack will be powered by Nvidia’s DGX infrastructure.

    The Beckn Foundation and the financial technology company Pine Labs will be Sarvam’s partners. Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), a government-backed e-commerce network, is powered by the Beckn Protocol.

    A rival to Sarvam, Krutrim AI, which has backing from Matrix, has recently launched a number of offerings, including GPU-as-a-service, cloud hosting for large language models, and access to other open source models. In May, Krutrim—which is part of the Ola group headed by Bhavish Aggarwal—also released consumer-facing smartphone applications for the Krutrim AI assistant.

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  • The Coal Ministry Reveals a Bold Strategy to Increase Coal Production

    In order to significantly increase coal production, decrease reliance on imported coal, and introduce cutting-edge technology into the mining sector, the Ministry of Coal has embarked on a transformative initiative to revolutionise coal mining. This initiative involves engaging Mining Developers cum Operators (MDOs) for major coal mine projects under the Coal India Limited (CIL) umbrella.

    Mining Developers cum Operators (MDOs) are being brought in with the primary objective of dramatically increasing coal production through the simplification of operations, the enhancement of productivity, and the reduction of mining expenses. To increase the amount of coal that is produced domestically, these MDOs are entrusted with excavating, extracting, and delivering coal to Coal India Limited (CIL) in accordance with authorised mining plans. CIL’s goal is to modernise mining techniques and increase operational efficiency by forming partnerships with MDOs that are well-known for their sophisticated technological capabilities.

    CIL identifies 15 coal mine projects

    For the initial phase of the MDO implementation, CIL identified fifteen coal mine projects that had a total capacity of approximately 168 MT. Currently, there are a total of 28 projects, consisting of 18 opencast mines and 10 underground mines, with a combined capacity of around 257 metric tonnes. The awarding of 18 mines to prominent private parties marks a key milestone in this ambitious endeavour, which has been going on for quite some time. It is anticipated that the participation of these MDOs would result in significant contributions to the production of coal, which will guarantee both increased output and operational excellence within the industry.

    According to the terms of the deal, these well-known operators will be in charge of overseeing the entire mining process, beginning with the excavation and extraction of coal and continuing all the way through to the delivery of the coal. Because of their participation, it is predicted that the system will receive cutting-edge technology and operational efficiency that has never been seen before, which will result in amazing enhancements to the capacities of production.

    Various other plans of MDO

    Managing important factors such as Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) concerns, land acquisitions, and environmental clearances will be the responsibility of the MDOs, in addition to making production more efficient. To ensure that environmental regulations are adhered to in a stringent manner, they will also work with the State and Central Pollution Control Boards. For the purpose of assuring long-term stability and consistent advancements in mining operations, each contract with the MDOs will be for a period of 25 years or the life of the mine, whichever is shorter.

    It is a key step towards modernising India’s coal mining business that the Ministry of Coal has adopted a policy to engage MDOs. It is the goal of Coal India Limited (CIL) to improve coal production capacity, increase operational efficiencies, and decrease reliance on coal imports by utilising the experience of reputed MDOs. This would ultimately contribute to India’s energy security and economic prosperity.

    Two of the World’s Five Largest Coal Mines Now in India
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    StartupTalkyNitin Konde

  • Trai’s Attempt to Show Caller ID Encounters Technical Challenges

    Due to technological issues, the telecom regulator’s ambitious goal of making name display mandatory for incoming calls seems to have been halted.

    In February, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) sent a message to telcos, asking them to combat spam and scam calls by ensuring a calling name presentation (CNAP) service on mobile phones.

    However, various media reports have stated that the proposed service cannot be implemented on a national scale due to the fact that it is incompatible with 2G/3G networks and would require substantial investments in network modifications.


    Hurdles That Are Blocking the Implementation


    Even if there are a large number of people using 2G, the money that these consumers bring in for mobile network service providers is quite low. Consequently, it is not a realistic choice for any service provider to invest in such a technology considering that a significant number of users are unable to access it.

    This indicates that the service cannot be provided to the 270–300 million users of the 2G network. The CNAP feature is expected to be supported by smartphones that have been introduced to the market after the year 2021, according to the information provided by a renowned media house. 

    Additional information was provided by a media article, which stated that even if the CNAP capability were included in 4G-5G devices, it would result in a longer call-setup time, which may potentially ruin the entire call experience for users.

    Reason Behind the Launch of This Idea

    In an effort to lessen the amount of consumer harassment caused by unknown or spam calls, Trai made a request to the government in February with the intention of mandating that telecommunications companies install the CNAP service and even pushing device OEMs to enable the feature within a period of six months.

    In the past, the regulatory body for telecommunications had proposed that trials be carried out in a single licensing service area (LSA).

    The Minister of State for Communications, P. Chandra Shekhar, stated in front of Parliament the previous week that the government had taken the required procedures to initiate trials and evaluations for the purpose of establishing the CNAP service by telecommunications companies.

    Experts’ Take on the Situation

    Since there are already sufficient mobile apps that accomplish the goal of knowing the name of the caller in order to make an informed decision about accepting or rejecting a call, experts in the handset sector stated that there is no actual hurry to enforce CNAP without considering ground realities.

    Concerns about consumer data breaches were also raised by business leaders as possible problems with a nationwide mandate for the CNAP service. They claim that some mobile users might be reluctant to provide their identities due to the sensitive nature of mobile subscriber data.

    The telecom regulator Trai has proposed adding the calling entity’s name to the 140-number series that companies and telemarketers use to contact subscribers.

    Additionally, the telecom department has been requested to establish regulations about the necessary evidence that subscriber entities with bulk connections or business connections must give in order to register their desired name with telcos.

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  • R&D Center to Be Established in India by Krafton, Creator of PUBG and BGMI

    According to Sean Hyunil Sohn, the CEO of KRAFTON’s India business, the developer of PUBG and BGMI, plans to establish a research and development facility in India by the end of the year in order to create games that are reflective of Indian culture. The chief executive officer of KRAFTON India, Sohn, stated that while the specifics of the plant have not been decided upon yet, Bangalore and Pune are among the most attractive sites.

    “Whether we import them from abroad or develop them in-house, we will keep releasing games in the Indian market”.

    While speaking on the fringes of IDGS Gaming Conclave, he promised to “do our best” to establish a high-quality development team in India and create games inspired by Indian culture.

    India Being a Major Market for the Company

    In an earlier interview with a media agency, Sohn had said that India had one of the company’s top three user bases among its territories.

    Video games and other forms of digital entertainment are very popular in India.

    “I believe there is a shortage of supply of high-quality talent into the ecosystem, which has numerous causes, yet we have witnessed a very quick growth rate on an annual basis. People may not fully grasp gaming as a legitimate and serious job after learning just a brief overview of the industry’s history”.

    On top of that, he complained that the country’s basic information technology infrastructure for education was underfunded, despite its large and youthful population.

    How Gaming Industry Could Be the Game Changer?

    Promoting and changing public opinion about the gaming business is crucial because it has the potential to have a significant beneficial effect on the sector. The government ought to provide financial aid for schools.

    “Having spoken with several of the younger here, I get the impression that both the home and school environments suffer from a lack of necessary infrastructure. Obviously, I could be completely wrong about the state of education in India”.

    Sohn also clarified that the lack of appropriate hardware prevented them from pursuing their interest in learning to code and create video games.

    Despite the ease of access to knowledge and education in the modern day, he emphasised that the methods and reasoning behind them are equally important.

    KRAFTON intends to invest an extra $150 million in Indian businesses over the next two to three years, adding to the $160 million it has already invested in Indian entrepreneurs since 2021.

    The KRAFTON India Gaming Incubator program was established earlier this year by the company to assist talented Indian game creators. The initiative offers financing, mentorship, and other necessary tools to these developers.

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  • August 23rd Has Been Designated as “National Space Day” by the Indian Government

    In honour of the incredible achievements of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission—including the gentle and safe landing of the Vikram Lander and the deployment of the Pragyaan rover on the lunar surface close to the South Pole—the Indian government has designated August 23rd as “National Space Day.”

    India has become the first country to land near the Moon’s south pole and the fourth country overall to accomplish this historic feat, joining an exclusive club of spacefaring nations.

    It was stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that “National Space Day” will be commemorated annually on August 23–following the landing of Vikram rover. The momentous landing of Isro’s Chandrayaan-3 on the moon’s south pole on August 23, 2023, was an accomplishment for India.

    Despite the setback of the Chandrayaan-2 crash landing four years prior, India became the first country to perform a landing in this region with this accomplishment.

    Application of Space Technologies in the Fisheries Sector

    The leadership of Dr. Abhilaskh Likhi on the “Application of Space Technologies in Fisheries Sector” to honour the Chandrayaan-3 Mission’s outstanding success.

    The Communication & Navigation System for the maritime domain, space-based observation and its impact on enhancing the fisheries sector, and Space Technology in Fisheries—An overview are some of the subjects that will be covered during these 18 lectures and demos.

    Various stakeholders, such as the Indian Space Research Organisation (INSCOIS), New Space India Ltd., state and union fisheries departments, ICAR fisheries research institutes, fishermen, Sagar Mitras, FFPOs, cooperatives, and college and university students will take part in the hybrid mode.

    How Space and Marine Life Are Closely Connected

    The management and growth of marine fisheries in India can be greatly improved with the use of space technologies. Revolutionary shifts occurred in the field as a result of developments in technologies like as GIS, Earth Observations, Satellite Communication, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Satellite-Based Navigation Systems. 

    Using satellites such as Ocean-sat and INSAT, scientists can track ocean colour, chlorophyll content, and sea surface temperature to find good fishing spots.

    They can also use this data to detect blooms of phytoplankton, sediment, and contaminants, which help us understand how healthy the ocean is.  The mission of Earth Observations is to optimise fishing operations while guaranteeing safety by monitoring ocean currents, waves, and extreme weather threats using satellites such as INSAT, Ocean-sat, SAR, etc.

    With the help of GIS mapping, we can identify marine habitats, fishing grounds, and protected areas, and with the help of Navigation with the Indian Constellation (NavIC), we can follow fishing vessels using satellite-based navigation systems.

    With the help of satellites, it may be feasible to communicate when at sea. In order to enhance maritime domain awareness, safety, and the livelihood of fishermen, data can be exchanged in real-time between vessels, shore-based stations, and research institutes through satellite-based communication networks.

    Utilising data from several sources, data analytics and AI have the ability to forecast fish distributions, identify outliers, and enhance fisheries management. By using satellite monitoring to identify illicit operations, provide support for aqua mapping, and issue disaster warnings, these cutting-edge solutions improve maritime efficiency and safety. Furthermore, aqua zoning and image sensing provide accurate instruments for efficient fisheries management.

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  • Broadcasting Bill 2024: Government Withdraws Controversial Version to Float the Revised Version

    Following extensive comments, the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill will be published in its revised form, according to the Ministry of Broadcasting and Information’s announcement on August 12.

    This follows an August 12 request from the MIB, according to various media reports, for parties to hand back the printed versions of the controversial Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2024.

    In an effort to get stakeholders to send back hard copies of the draft without providing any comments, the MIB called them on August 12.

    Afterward, on the evening of August 12, MIB announced that a new draft would be released after October 20, 2024. The government is currently accepting feedback on the bill draft for 2023 until October 15. In November 2023, this specific draft was made public.

    The current state of affairs is that the 2024 draft, which was provided for consultation to a small group of stakeholders, has been removed.

    Why this step was taken?

    The ongoing consultation process that started in November 2023, when the ministry released the first draft version for public input, including the circulation of this document.

    A media report stated that it is still not clear if the measure would be updated as a whole or if only some areas will be revised from the most recent draft. Only a few key stakeholders were given watermarked versions of this unpublished draft.

    There has been a lot of backlash and debate surrounding the proposed Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill since its introduction last year. Concerns that YouTubers and Instagram influencers would be subject to the new regulatory framework have contributed to the issue’s meteoric rise in social media prominence. Members of parliament have also brought up the issue.

    Expected changes in the revised bill

    According to the experts’ predictions, the proposed law may name YouTubers and Instagram influencers as “digital news broadcasters,” using government-determined criteria. Despite TikTok’s ban in India, its creators could still be included under this category.

    Digital news broadcasters would be separate from over-the-top (OTT) services and registered digital media businesses, according to the draft. Even though OTT platforms have a lot of freedom to be creative right now, the original version of the law suggested that they should be forced to follow a programme code.

    Within one month of the bill’s passage, content makers who fall under this new category would be required to inform the government of their activities. It doesn’t matter how many followers an account has; this rule might apply to all accounts that distribute news information.

    Similarly to OTT services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, these creators may be required to register under a three-tier regulation system, according to reports. To top it all off, they’d have to foot the bill for a “content evaluation committee” to review something before it launches. There may be criminal consequences for noncompliance.

    The creation of a Broadcast Advisory Council, with the responsibility of imposing financial penalties for infractions, is another noteworthy component in the proposed legislation. The council would be made up of five officers appointed by the government and professionals from the industry.

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  • Tenth Episode of Crafting Bharat Podcast Series with Dale Vaz, Founder & CEO of Aaritya, Explores Future Insights of the Indian Startup Ecosystem

    Dale Vaz, Founder & CEO of Aaritya discusses his entrepreneurial journey, building a trading platform, and upcoming trends in the industry.

    India is a country with great potential considering its population size, open global economy, and increasing digital adoption. India’s startup ecosystem is the driving force for India’s economic growth. 

    The “Crafting Bharat – A Startup Podcast Series” powered by AWS, and an initiative by NewsReach, in association with VCCircle, unlocks the secrets behind these successful entrepreneurs’ journeys aiming to equip aspiring entrepreneurs and business enthusiasts with invaluable insights. The podcast series is hosted by Gautam Srinivasan, famed for hosting a diverse range of TV and digital programs, currently consulting editor at CNBC (India), CNN-News18, Forbes India, and The Economic Times.

    Financial independence awareness is rising with the increasing young generation of India, and passionate and astute founder, Dale Vaz, Founder & CEO Founder of Aaritya, is on a mission to make financial independence seamless. In the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series, Vaz talks about his entrepreneurial journey, building a trading platform, and upcoming trends in the industry.

    Explore the tales of Indian startup founders’ transformation from dreams to reality, navigating challenges to seize opportunities through the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series.

    Crafting Bharat, Episode 10 With Dale Vaz, Founder & CEO of Aaritya

    Segment 1: The Incubator

    What was going through your mind when you put in your papers around this time last year as the CTO of a (reclaimed) decacorn to lead a startup of your own?

    There were a couple of factors that were running through my mind back in December of the 1 year. One factor was that I have always seen my career in chunks of 5 years. Every five years I would take out time to relook at what I am doing and plan the next 5 years. I believe that 5 years is a good chunk because it gives you enough time to build something meaningful and at the same time it’s a good enough chunk where you can then think of the next 5 years as a certain plan. So, I was coming up on 5 years at Swiggy and one option was always open which was to continue. But I have always had this itch at the back of my mind about taking the experience I have gained in working at a consumer product company and applying it to some transformative space. That itch was very strong, and it became even stronger as I was thinking about the next phase of my life.

    How did you sync your expectations with the investors for Aaritya?

    My journey with the VC Community has been a revealing one because from the outside it would appear that they would just give the money away. But interestingly what I learned is that the VC Community is very well educated about the space and so they have their own perspective and belief on what will work and what won’t. In terms of aligning the investors with my vision, it was largely mutual agreement, where we both came to a place where we both felt that we need to focus on the long-term goal and the long-term is really looking at the new age generations of users coming up, as more than half of our country is 29 years and below.

    Considering your vast tech experience with Amazon, how do you think AWS could be an effective partner to help you scale up?

    I have a history with AWS due to my past work at Amazon and Swiggy, we have chosen AWS as our partner for Aaritya. There are a few reasons why we prefer AWS; one, they give us the ability to scale but in a very cost-effective manner; second, some of the AWS managed services allow us to take away some of that operational load and give it away to AWS.

    Segment 2: The Accelerator

    Considering your experience, what would you say is the key to a good working relationship with the venture capital folks, for all the newly minted founders listening in?

    It’s very early for me to give advice as I have been doing it for a year now, but one thing that has really worked for me so far is being transparent.

    What’s your view on dealing with tech debt that some startups face when they scale up too quickly?

    I have this model which I have used which has kind of helped me. I see debt as two different types, one is a short-term mistake that is expensive to fix like a credit card debt and second is the kind of debt you consciously take like a home loan which is not too bad to have around. As a leader, you need to balance on when you are taking conscious debt which you can pay off over time versus when you are taking a poor decision that can lead to a big pain. As a leader, if you can manage conscious calls then you can achieve the balance between debt and speed of execution.

    The Indian startup ecosystem has been booming making its mark at the global level. With increasing digital adoption and passionate entrepreneurs, the future of the Indian startup ecosystem is promising.

    Stay tuned to the Crafting Bharat Podcast Series as they bring you these inspirational entrepreneurs for insightful and candid discussions with Gautam Srinivasan.

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  • To Enhance Madhya Pradesh’s Electronics and Semiconductor Industry, MPSeDC Signs MoU with IESA

    The electronics and semiconductor sector in Madhya Pradesh has taken a major step forward with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) and the Madhya Pradesh State Electronics Development Corporation (MPSEDC).

    During the “Interactive Session on Investment Opportunities in Madhya Pradesh” that took place on August 8, 2024, as part of the Invest Madhya Pradesh Bengaluru tour, the strategic alliance was officially announced.

    Setting the Right Tone for This Sector

    A primary goal of the MoU is to encourage business initiatives in Madhya Pradesh’s Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) ecosystem to set up shop there. The goal of the effort is to create a thriving ecosystem that includes electronic business services, electronic component manufacturing, printed circuit board (PCB) design and production, and semiconductor assembly, testing, marking, and packaging.

    As a whole, the partnership should help India get closer to its goal of being a global leader in ESDM by 2030.

    “It is with great pleasure that we join forces with MPSEDC, an organisation that is tirelessly assisting the Madhya Pradesh government in developing earmarking legislation and in negotiations with potential corporations to establish ESDM facilities,” Dr. Veerappan, Chairperson of IESA, said, full of optimism regarding the partnership.

    “Our shared goal in forming this cooperation is to set up a system where MPSEDC and the industry can formally communicate and collaborate on MP development so that it can contribute to India’s $500 billion ESDM market by 2030,” said Veerappan.

    This cooperation with IESA is a key step towards realising Madhya Pradesh’s potential in the electronics and semiconductor industry,” Anshul Gupta, Managing Director of MPSEDC, said while highlighting the importance of the MoU.

    The president of IESA, Ashok Chandak, made the following comment: “Madhya Pradesh has long envisioned the development of the ESDM sector and has been actively joining ESDM events and supporting IESA’s flagship event, Vision Summit.”

    “The signing of this MoU by MPSEDC and IESA, witnessed by Shri. Mohan Yadav, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, during his visit to Bangalore, is a significant achievement for both organisations. “It opens the door for accelerated industrial development in Madhya Pradesh’s ESDM sector, with a concentration on manufacturing and job creation,” Chandak noted.

    Rapid industrial development in Madhya Pradesh’s ESDM sector, with an emphasis on manufacturing and job generation, is anticipated as a result of the deal.

    Applying the Concept and Looking Ahead

    Important aspects of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) include working together to develop policies, hosting technical seminars and training programs, promoting Madhya Pradesh initiatives among IESA members and business associates, and providing support in the establishment of EMCs and COEs.

    The partnership is anticipated to bring in substantial investments, create job opportunities, and establish Madhya Pradesh as a rising star in the Indian semiconductor and electronics industry.

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  • Zepto is Set to Relocate Its Headquarters to Bengaluru

    According to a media report, the rapidly expanding e-commerce firm Zepto is gearing up to relocate its headquarters from Mumbai’s Powai to Bengaluru’s Sarjapur, the country’s technological epicentre.

    Even though they have an office in Bengaluru now, the business is planning to merge all of their corporate functions into one larger location.

    All 1,700-1,800 of the company’s employees will be housed in Bengaluru, where the tech and product teams are located, and Mumbai is where the business verticals are located. The company has been in operation for three years.

    A larger property

    In India, Zepto has two significant offices. An expansive property in Mumbai spanning 80,000 to 90,000 square feet and a more compact facility in Bengaluru spanning 30,000 to 40,000 square feet. Both properties will be surrendered when it relocates to a bigger 1.5 lakh square feet location in Bengaluru. Zepto is now working on the final details of a property of that scale in the Sarjapur, HSR, or Bellandur area. Bellandur, HSR, Sarjapur, and the neighbouring tech parks are home to a number of MNCs and cutting-edge startups.

    Zepto will be in close proximity to competitors like Swiggy and Flipkart if it establishes an office in one of these locations.

    Strengthening of the Workforce and Recruitment Strategies

    Approximately 1,000 of Zepto’s 1,700-1,800 workers are based in Mumbai, 400 in Bengaluru, and 300 elsewhere, observing city operations. Since Zepto considers itself a developing company, it finds it simpler to attract talent, therefore it is ready to take that risk. With each new round of money, Zepto’s case strengthens. It plans to hire primarily from and to Bengaluru in the future.

    Zepto’s decision was made at a time when the Tech Entrepreneurs Association of Mumbai (TEAM) is endeavouring to establish Mumbai as an appealing city for founders to establish and expand from.

    Zepto is Not the First Who Made This Shift

    Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola, Gaurav Munjal of Unacademy, Kunal Shah of CRED, Jitendra Gupta of Jupiter, and many more famous founders have all relocated from Mumbai to Bengaluru in the past ten years.

    Not only have the founders done this, but even their investors have joined them.

    Members of the India Quotient and Elevation Capital venture capital teams are among many who have relocated here from other cities.

    You should be in Bengaluru if you are just starting off. There is no other place to consider. In February, Munjal of Unacademy stated on X (formerly Twitter) that the city’s network effects are unbreakable.

    “One can try as hard as he could but you cannot make Delhi or Mumbai a tech hub,” according to him.

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  • Namma Yatri Zero-Commission Cab Service Is Now Live in the Delhi-National Capital Region!

    In Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), Moving Tech Innovations, the parent company of Namma Yatri, has officially launched its new lifelong zero-commission cab service called “Yatri”. The app, which provides community-driven travel solutions and is part of the ONDC Network, has seen substantial expansion with the introduction.

    Following a successful auto pilot, Yatri, India’s first open and community-driven cab and auto service app, has launched its cab services on a larger scale. Using a zero-commission strategy, the app aspires to increase driver profits by 15-20% while providing inexpensive transportation. Improved vehicle maintenance and enhanced safety are two benefits of this model’s cutting-edge features.

    Transport choices are becoming more accessible and affordable thanks to ONGC’s network-centric approach and open design. For drivers making more money, it levels the playing field. The Chief Business Officer of ONDC, Shireesh Joshi, expressed the organization’s continued dedication to facilitating community-driven projects that prioritise people and propel India towards a future of intelligent, efficient, and inclusive transportation solutions.

    Fully Open-Source, Open Network, and Open Data Platform

    Yatri is a platform that runs on three pillars: open source, open network, and open data. The service provides affordable Auto, AC Mini, AC Sedan, and AC XL Cabs and incorporates dynamic booking and fast dispatch procedures. Food, grocery, and e-commerce are all part of the ONDC Network, which is an effort to consolidate several forms of transportation.

    “In the middle of the country, we’re thrilled to be expanding our taxi services. Dedicated to improving the lives of both drivers and people, Yatri goes beyond being just an app. It is a movement. Yatri encourages Samaaj, Sarkar, and Bazaar to work together closely so that the city can become more empowered and linked. Electric Autos & Cabs in Delhi NCR will not collect any subscription fees or commission till March 2026”, according to Shan M S, Co-Founder of Moving Tech, as part of their commitment to support the EV goal.

    Google Realising the Potentials of Moving Tech

    Namma Yatri’s parent, Moving Tech, has also received funding from Google. New options, such as rentals and rapid travel, were recently introduced to Namma Yatri’s service.

    To help speed up the acceptance of digital services in the crucial foreign market, Google has already stated its intention to invest $10 billion in India over the next five to seven years, beginning in 2020.

    In April, Namma Yatri formally separated from its parent firm, Juspay, to become Moving Tech. This new mobility company is headed by Magizhan Selvan, CEO, and Shan M. S., COO, both of whom were previously with Juspay.

    Namma Yatri faces stiff competition in India from services like Uber, Ola, and Rapido- funded by Swiggy. With Google’s help, Namma Yatri might soon grow to incorporate things like carpooling and bike taxis, even if they aren’t available at the moment.

    Namma Yatri’s founders have stated that the company will utilise the additional capital to expand its engineering and research and development capabilities, as well as to provide other forms of transportation, such as buses.

    Namma Yatri Parent Raises $11 Million from Google, Blume Ventures, and Others
    Moving Tech Innovations Ltd., the company behind community-led mobility apps Namma Yatri and Yatri Sathi, has raised $11 million (INR 92 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round.
    StartupTalkyNitin Konde