Amitabh Kant to be Niti Aayog CEO for another 2 years, Healthi and Cash Suvidha raise funds
> The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion unveiled a framework that includes 38 pointers to rank states based on measures taken to foster entrepreneurship, reports Libza Mannan. So far, nine states alone covered over 82 percent of recognised startups. While Maharashtra topped the list with the highest number of recognised startups, Karnataka and Delhi occupied the second and third spot with 1,084 and 929 startups, respectively.
> Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, the architect behind Startup India, Make in India, and Digital India programmes, has been given an extension until June 30, 2019. His two-year term was to come to an end by the end of this month, says Vishal Krishna. The extension has been approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet with the order issued by the government.
> Predictive analysis-based healthcare startup Healthi raised funding of $3.1 million led by early-stage VC fund Montane Ventures, which is anchored by the Piramal family office. The company intends to use the funding to boost applications that empower users to understand, engage with, and take control of their health. Healthi also intends to accelerate its product development efforts by significantly ramping up the technology and product teams, reports Sindhu Kashyap.
> As the ecommerce war between market leaders Flipkart and Amazon continues, the new ‘Mobile Majority’ report by US-based free internet provider Jana has found Amazon dominating Flipkart and eBay in terms of search volume with a whopping 46.0 percent versus 20.9 percent and 9.9 percent, respectively, reports Athira A Nair.
> Indian financial services platform Paytm said it sold over 52 million movie and event tickets in 2017. In a statement, Paytm said this was a 500 percent growth as compared with 2016, the year Paytm’s movie ticketing and event booking platform was launched, reports Tarush Bhalla.
> Delhi-based fintech startup Cash Suvidha, which extends business loans, has raised a debt of $2.5 million, of which $1.5 million was through private placement of Non-Convertible Debentures, and $1 million was raised from two financial institutions. According to a company statement, the debt will be used to increase the company's loan book. In December 2017, the company had raised debt of $2.7 million from six financial institutions, says Tarush Bhalla.
> Edtech platform CollegeDekho said that it raised another $2 million from ManCapital, GirnarSoft and other investors as a part of its third round of fundraise, Neha Jain reports. In 2016, the company had raised $2 million from ManCapital, and in 2015, $1 million from GirnarSoft. The startup will use the amount to strengthen its technology, expand collaboration with international colleges and increase marketing activities.
