Minimising food waste using tech; Powering homes with clean energy

Hello,

GDP calculations are getting an upgrade.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has established a committee to oversee the revision of the base year for national accounts. The effort aims to modernise accounting practices, ensuring they reflect current economic realities and global standards.

In other news, the taxman has come knocking.

Zomato received a GST demand notice of Rs 9.45 crore from the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Karnataka. The company plans to file an appeal in response to the tax notice.

Meanwhile, Ola Electric is gearing up to adopt solid-state battery technology. CEO Bhavesh Aggarwal revealed that the company was in the early stages of experimentation and is expected to use its own cells in its electric two-wheelers soon.

The company’s Li-ion battery cell has received certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards. It is expected to significantly reduce the production costs of the electric scooters.

Lastly, as India takes home another glory with the T20 World Cup, and the Rs 125 crore prize money, it becomes only the third team to bring back the trophy after West Indies and England. 

India scripted many records on the way to its 2024 win, including notching an unbeaten streak throughout the tournament.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Reducing waste in fruit supply chain
• Powering homes with clean energy

Here’s your trivia for today: Which country was the first to use paper currency?

Startup

Reducing waste in fruit supply chain

Food waste is a major problem in our country. India ranked 111 out of 125 countries in the Global Hunger Index in 2023. 

To tackle these challenges, Rohit Nagdewani started Fresh From Farm in 2021. Based out of Delhi-NCR, it is a B2B2C platform that takes charge of end-to-end solutions for fruit retailers. It oversees procurement, handling, sorting, and distribution to enable them to focus solely on driving sales.

E-grocery:

• Fresh From Farm, with a team of 65 members, sources fruits directly from farms, processes them at a central location in Delhi-NCR, and delivers sorted and graded fruits to the vendors. 
• The startup uses data-driven demand prediction to forecast precise fruit requirements, consolidates demand to streamline logistics, and handles sourcing, grading, and sorting.
• Fresh From Farm has registered a 95% repeat order rate in the last 12 months. “There are vendors who have been consistently ordering about Rs 3 lakh worth of produce from us every month for the past 12 months,” Nagdewani explains.

Women Entrepreneurs

Powering homes with clean energy

During her Master's at Purdue University in the US, Radhika Choudary developed an interest in the field of renewable energy. In 2014, she teamed up with Saurabh Marda to start Freyr Energy to offer solar solutions to homes and businesses.

“We aim to provide seamless rooftop solar solutions to households and companies to meet their electricity needs and empower them with access to clean, affordable, and reliable solar energy,” Choudary tells HerStory.

Renewable energy:

• Chaudary explains that typically, a house requires between 2-10 kW, but if there are additional features like swimming pools, the demand can increase from 20 kW to 30 kW. 
• To help customers fund rooftop solar installations, Freyr Energy has collaborated with banks and non-banking financial companies to offer zero-cost EMI options to customers.
• “I believe that when you possess the right knowledge and expertise, gender should not influence how others perceive your capabilities,” she adds.

News & updates

• Cooling down: The downturn in China’s residential real estate sector slowed further in June, following the government’s efforts to put a floor under the housing market in some of its biggest cities. The value of new-home sales from the 100 biggest real estate companies dropped 17% from a year earlier to $60 billion, compared with a 34% decline in May, according to preliminary data from China Real Estate Information Corp.
• Nowhere to go: NASA officials said that despite an indefinite delay in their return to Earth, the Boeing Starliner crew stuck at the International Space Station due to mechanical issues with their spacecraft are not “stranded” in space. Starliner commander Butch Wilmore and co-pilot Sunita Williams have been confined to the space station for weeks after their June 5 launch
• AI focus: SK Hynix Inc, the semiconductor arm of SK Group, plans to invest $74.8 billion through 2028, underscoring the conglomerate’s bet on a sector it considers crucial for future-proofing its businesses. About 80% will be allocated to investing in high-bandwidth memory chips, SK Group said.

What you should watch out for

• Public offering: Bain Capital-backed Emcure Pharmaceuticals, where Namita Thapar of Shark Tank India fame serves as Executive Director, will launch its three-day IPO on July 3. It comprises fresh issuance of equity shares worth Rs 800 crore and an offer of sale of 1.14 crore equity shares worth Rs 1,152 crore by promoters and existing shareholders. The company will be listed on the BSE and NSE on July 10.
• Lady Justice: The National Company Law Tribunal will hear claims of unpaid dues against Think and Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent company of BYJU'S on July 3. Three companies, McGraw Hill, Cogent E-services, and AG Automation, have filed cases against the troubled edtech firm. NCLT will also hear OPPO's claim accusing edtech firm BYJU'S of owing it Rs 13 crore from an alleged breach of the agreement by BYJU'S to preinstall its app on OPPO's phones. The smartphone maker also alleged that BYJU'S promoters are 'absconding' and no longer reside in India.

Which country was the first to use paper currency?

Answer: China. The first use of paper currency can be traced back to 806 AD when they were used as letters of credit in the form of 'flying currency' by merchants.

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