Startup news and updates: daily roundup (August 5, 2021)

Why this education administrator felt the need to start a campus automation platform

CollPoll raised Rs 16 crore from Prime Venture Partners and will use the funds to enhance its platform, hire across functions, and help institutions adopt technology to provide education that equips students for the future of work.

Rocket Skills raises Rs 2.2 Cr in pre-seed round led by Better Capital, First Cheque, and Titan Capital (Funding)

MSME edtech startup Rocket Skills on Thursday raised Rs 2.2 crore in a pre-seed round led by Better Capital, First Cheque and Titan Capital. The startup claims to be a first-of-its-kind platform building the next generation of entrepreneurs through a variety of courses and mentorship programmes.

According to the company statement, these fresh funds will be used to improve their product offerings and expand the programme to other sectors.

About 53,000 startups benefited from DPIIT startup recognition as of July 2021: Govt

As many as 52,732 startups have benefited from the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) startup recognition initiative as on July 21, 2021, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

Startup India is a flagship initiative of the government that aims at building a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country. A 19-point Startup India Action Plan was launched in January 2016, which paved the way for the introduction of a number of policy initiatives.

ED slaps Rs 10,600 Cr FEMA contravention notice against Flipkart

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a show-cause notice of about Rs 10,600 crore to ecommerce major Flipkart and its promoters for alleged violation of the foreign exchange law, official sources said on Thursday.

They said the notice under various sections of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) was issued to 10 people last month that includes Flipkart, its founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, among others.

Over 100pc growth seen in creator revenue in India in Feb-May 2020: YouTube

YouTube on Wednesday said there has been over 100 percent growth in creator revenue in India, coming from features like Super Chat, Super Stickers, Channel Memberships, and Merchandise between February and May 2020.

Tata Steel’s West Bokaro Division onboards 16 women HEMM operators under Women@Mines programme

Giving further impetus to its D&I intitiatives, Tata Steel’s West Bokaro Division on Wednesday announced that it has onboarded 16 women Heavy Earth Moving Machinery (HEMM) operators in all shifts under its flagship programme - Women@Mines.

Tata Steel’s Women@Mines programme aims to provide technical training to unskilled women workers and enable them to work in core jobs in mines. 

Why this serial entrepreneur and IAS aspirant started brewing ‘Rahasya’ Vodka

Blisswater Industries, the parent company that makes Rahasya Vodka, has raised a seed funding of $335,000 from CC One Venture Labs, Majithia Family House, as well as independent investors Yash Shah and Sham Kishor Bhat.

Fintech startup Zeni raises $34M in Series B round led by Elevation Capital (Funding)

The Palo Alto and Pune-based AI-powered fintech startup Zeni on Thursday announced that it has raised $34 million in a Series B funding round led by Elevation Capital with participation from new investors Think Investments and Neeraj Arora. 

Zeni claims to have seen 550 percent revenue growth year-over-year driven exclusively by referrals and organic growth. Existing investors Saama Capital, Amit Singhal, Sierra Ventures, Twin Ventures, Dragon Capital and Liquid 2 Ventures also participated in the round.

A real 'Chak De' moment for Indian hockey: Men's team wins Olympic medal after 41 years

A resolute Indian men's hockey team rewrote history as it claimed an Olympic medal after 41 years, defeating a plucky Germany 5-4 to win the bronze in an edge-of-the-seat play-off match of the ongoing Games here on Thursday.

The eight-time former gold-winners, who battled a heartbreaking slump in the last four decades, made the resurgence of the last couple of years count in the best way possible with an Olympic medal.