Startup news and updates: daily roundup (March 11, 2021)

India's fintech sector valuation to touch $150-160B by 2025: Report

India is strongly poised to realise a fintech sector valuation of $150-160 billion by 2025, translating to an incremental value-creation potential of about $100 billion, a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and FICCI said. The report said over the past five years, Indian fintech companies have raised about $10 billion from investors all over the world, catapulting the sector's total valuation to an estimated $50-60 billion.

Zomatodelists delivery partner after Bengaluru customer accuses him of punching her

For over a day, an Instagram video of a Bengaluru-based video content creator has been doing the rounds. The video shows a shaken woman with a bloody nose, alleging that a Zomato delivery executive assaulted her for not accepting a delayed order.  The case is currently under investigation by the police and Zomato has said it deeply regrets “the incident that happened between the customer and the delivery partner in Bengaluru. We can assure you this is not the experience our delivery universe upholds”.

Second mystery monolith spotted in India, this time in a Mumbai garden

A 'monolith', a sheet metal structure that has mysteriously appeared and disappeared across the world, was seen at Joggers Park in suburban Bandra on Wednesday.First spotted in Utah, US, in November, the monolith has since then come up in 30 countries. In India, the first structure was seen in Ahmedabad last December.

US Congress OKs $1.9T virus relief bill in win for Biden, Dems

 A Congress riven along party lines approved the landmark $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Democrats claimed a major triumph on legislation marshalling the government's spending might against the twin pandemic and economic crises that have upended a nation. The House gave final congressional approval to the sweeping package by a near party line 220-211 vote, precisely seven weeks after Biden entered the White House and four days after the Senate passed the bill.

Govt says 44,534 startups recognised under Startup India initiative by DPIIT

As many as 44,534 startups have been recognised by the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as of February 24, 2021, the Parliament was informed on Wednesday. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash said the Startup India is a flagship initiative of the government launched on January 16, 2016.

Indian YouTubers may pay tax on earnings to Google: All you need to know

Tech giant Google — YouTube’s parent company — has announced that it may deduct up to 24 percent tax on YouTube earnings for creators outside the United States. However, this only applies to the earnings they make from viewers in the United States. The deductions will start as early as June 2021. The tech giant has also said that this includes earnings from YouTube Premium, ad views, super chat, super stickers, and channel memberships.

44,534 startups recognised under Startup India initiative by DPIIT

As many as 44,534 startups have been recognised by the Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) as of February 24, 2021, the Parliament was informed in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash.

MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari inaugurates tech centres in Vizag, Bhopal

Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Nitin Gadkari inaugurated two technology centres at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh to provide training to around 2.5 lakh students in design and robotics. He also inaugurated three extension centres of big technological centres and seven mobile Udyam Express vans. 

Over 9,800 URLs, accounts, webpages blocked in 2020: Ravi Shankar Prasad

More than 9,800 URLs, accounts, and webpages were blocked in 2020, Union Minister for Information Technology (IT) Ravi Shankar said on Wednesday. The URLs, accounts, and webpages were blocked under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000. More than 4,400 URLs on Facebook and Twitter were blocked by the government in 2020 under Section 69A of the IT Act, the Parliament was informed.

Axis Banklaunches contactless wearable payment devices

Axis Bank launched the country's first contactless wearable payment devices to allow customers to make on-the-go transactions more conveniently. The bank has partnered with Thales and Tappy Technologies to design and create these products, which are exclusively available on the Mastercard platform.

Cyber security critical for digital banking success: SBI official

Digital banking or figital is here to stay, and is the future but it is equally important to safeguard the interests of all stakeholders, State Bank of India (SBI) Deputy Managing Director and Chief Digital Officer Ravindra Pandey said at a webinar. The official said that fintech has brought about changes in the customer mindset and it is an era of techfins rather than fintech.

Govt should establish robust regulatory mechanism for cryptocurrency ecosystem: IAMAI

Industry body IAMAI appealed to the Indian government to not ban cryptocurrency and develop a robust mechanism to regulate the related ecosystem in the country. IAMAI noted that cryptocurrency has been generating jobs across a variety of functions - legal, compliance, tech, marketing, business development, finance, etc - in India and abroad.

Labour minister launches convergence of ESI scheme with Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY

Union Minister for Labour and Employment Santosh Gangwar on Wednesday launched the convergence of the ESI Scheme with Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (Ayushman Bharat PMJAY). The move will help 1.35 crore insured workers and their dependent family members to get cashless medical care services in the Ayushman Bharat PMJAY-empanelled hospitals without any referral.