Delhi’s gig workers brace for G20; Inside India’s MSME Lean Scheme

Hello,

UPI keeps getting upgraded.

After a credit line announced earlier this week, NPCI has now enabled voice payments on the platform, a tap-and-pay option, conversational bill payments, and other offerings aimed at creating an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable digital payments ecosystem. 

These are expected to help UPI achieve 100 billion transactions per month, added NPCI. 

In other news, Ola Electric raises funding!

The IPO-bound electric vehicle manufacturer has raised $140 million from existing investors, including Temasek Holdings, reported Mint. This round, led by Temasek, which reportedly invested $90 million, values Ola Electric at around $5.5 billion.

Elsewhere, one of Swiggy’s earliest team members—Anuj Rathi, SVP of Revenue and Growth—announced his departure from the foodtech company after seven years. During his stint, Rathi played a key role in developing Swiggy One (earlier Swiggy SUPER), and other verticals such as Gourmet, Instamart, Swiggy Genie, and more.

Lastly, the Aditya-L1 managed to click not only a selfie but also a picture of the Earth and the Moon on its way to the Sun-Earth L1 point.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Delhi’s gig workers brace for G20 
• Inside India’s MSME Lean Scheme 
• Jawan is an ode to SRK’s stardom

Here’s your trivia for today: What is the scientific study of time, i.e. the measurement of time and making of clocks, called?

G20 

Delhi’s gig workers brace for G20 

At 5 a.m. today, New Delhi will turn into a control zone due to the G20 summit. For delivery agents and other gig workers, the security measures are expected to bring in a host of challenges, impacting their earnings. 

Some of the gig workers YourStory spoke to are planning to move to a different zone in the National Capital Region to service areas in that zone, instead of New Delhi. 

Hindrances galore:

• The Delhi Traffic Police has restricted the entry of commercial vehicles and all categories of goods vehicles into the Delhi border from 9 p.m. on September 7 to 11:59 p.m. on September 10.
• According to several delivery personnel who work with Swiggy servicing New Delhi, the additional incentive during the last month for delivering 18 orders was between Rs 300 and Rs 400.
• Food delivery company Zomato has said its service will be operational in all of Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, as well as Delhi, except for “a small part” of the NDMC area where the G20 summit is being hosted. 

Funding Alert

Startup: Ola Electric

Amount: $140M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: altM 

Amount: $3.5M

Round: Seed

MSME

Inside India’s Lean Scheme 

The MSME Competitive (Lean) Scheme is one of the many initiatives by the government of India to turbocharge the growth of small businesses. 

Among other things, the Lean Scheme aims to help MSMEs enhance productivity, efficiency, and competitiveness by reducing wastage in processes, inventory management, space management, and energy consumption.

Power up:

• Based on the Japanese methodology, the Lean Scheme, a concept of efficient manufacturing, originated from the Japanese automotive manufacturer Toyota.
• Launched in 2009 in India, the scheme underwent a significant overhaul in 2013.
• The programme actively engages business consultants to guide MSMEs in enhancing their operational efficiency.

Review

Jawan is an ode to Shah Rukh Khan’s stardom

At its heart, Tamil movie director Atlee’s debut Hindi film Jawan is a commentary on India’s rising wealth disparity and crony capitalism that has led to unchecked industrial pollution, farmer suicides, and healthcare mismanagement.

But does the story even matter here? Shah Rukh Khan is not just front-and-centre, but he is all the movie is about, even with a huge ensemble cast.

King Khan:

• Director Atlee knows how to put Khan on a pedestal. He lets him have several entrances that may make a fan faint and glorifies his stunts with the help of six action directors.
• The recurring theme of the age gap between actors is a bit uncomfortable. Both Nayanthara and Deepika Padukone are 20 years younger than SRK, and so is Riddhi Dogra, who essays the role of his guardian mother.
• Composer Anirudh Ravichander, attuned to the theme of the movie, understands the objective is to grandstand SRK but delivers a pretty forgettable score.

News & updates

• Disclosures: Election ads on Google and YouTube created with AI will soon have to carry a clear disclosure, according to the company’s new rules. This comes as campaigning for the 2024 presidential and congressional elections in the USA kicks into high gear. 
• Partnership: Hilton is partnering with Tesla to install 20,000 universal electric vehicle chargers at 2,000 of its hotels in the US, Canada, and Mexico. The company plans to have at least six wall-mounted chargers at selected hotels that will work with any EV model, beginning in 2024.
• Wealth race: Morgan Stanley clients discussing their investments will soon have a different sort of experience: having a chatbot listen to their conversation. After testing it with 1,000 financial advisers, the bank will roll out a generative AI bot developed with the makers of ChatGPT, OpenAI.

What is the scientific study of time, i.e. the measurement of time and making of clocks, called?

Answer: Horology.

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