Eternal and its GST shortfalls; Inside edtech startup Instrucko

Hello,

Amid global backlash over AI chatbot Grok’s ability to generate sexualised and non-consensual images, Elon Musk’s X has curtailed its image-generation and editing features for free users, reserving the capability mainly for paying subscribers.

Speaking of AI, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the world's trust in India is its biggest strength, emphasising the need to ensure that Indian AI models are ethical, unbiased, transparent, and based on data privacy principles.

Although AI is seen as a threat to jobs and even mental health, it has some remarkable use cases. For example, an AI software took only five hours to analyse drone photos to find a missing mountaineer—a task that rescuers couldn’t do in over a year.

Lastly, while we were expecting to see flying cars by 2026, Kawasaki wants to give the world a four-legged robot horse called Corleo. 

The hydrogen-powered horse was initially a 2050 pipe dream for the Japanese conglomerate, but it now reportedly plans to make the robot commercially available in about four years.

What exactly is the need for a robo horse? Designed for thrill seekers, Kawasaki says Corleo could be used to “eliminate mountain accidents and make mountainous regions safe and enjoyable for everyone.”

Yeehaw!!

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Eternal and its GST shortfalls
• Inside edtech startup Instrucko
• STEM access for girls in rural India

Here’s your trivia for today: The Golden and Silver Lions are awarded at which film festival?

Foodtech

Eternal and its GST shortfalls

Eternal, formerly known as Zomato, has received consecutive tax orders from West Bengal authorities demanding a total of approximately Rs 31.25 crore, inclusive of interest and penalties.

The foodtech major stated that the demands were issued by the Additional Commissioner of State Tax (Appeals), West Bengal, citing short payment of output tax. Eternal said it believes it has a "strong case on merits" and plans to file appeals against the orders before the appropriate authorities.

All the receipts:

• In a disclosure made on January 8, the company reported receiving two orders covering the financial years ending March 2021 and March 2022, demanding a total GST of Rs 16.72 crore, along with interest of Rs 9.16 crore.
• Earlier, in a filing on January 6, Eternal disclosed receiving an order for the period between April 2019 and March 2020, which demanded GST of Rs 1.92 crore, with the interest amounting to Rs 1.58 crore.
• Over the last two years, Zomato has faced a series of GST-related demands, many tied to whether delivery charges collected from customers are liable for GST and whether the company availed excess input tax credit.

<Top Funding Deals of the Week>

Startup: Even Healthcare

Amount: $20M

Round: Undisclosed

Startup: Varthana Finance

Amount: $6M

Round: Loan

Startup: Nitro Commerce

Amount: $5M

Round: Series A

Startup

Inside edtech startup Instrucko

Founded by Devvaki Aggarwal in late 2020, Gurugram-based Instrucko expanded from a small online English language learning platform into a global learning ecosystem. Today, it offers languages, communication, and life skills programmes, along with teacher training across private and government schools in India.

Key takeaways:

• Instrucko began rolling out its programmes in late 2020, starting with English and later expanding into languages, mathematics, public speaking, creative writing, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy.
• Since 2021, through NGOs such as Literacy India and Mobius Foundation, the startup has been training teachers across government schools in areas such as competency-based education, numeracy and literacy skills, storytelling-led teaching, and life skills development.
• It sees strong growth in southern India and is growing steadily in the US, the UK, Singapore, Canada, and the UAE, mainly through word of mouth and without any marketing spend.

Education

STEM access for girls in rural India

The story of VigyanShaala began with a simple idea: two physicists driven by a shared love for science and a desire to pass that curiosity on to young minds. This personal passion evolved into a larger mission—to make science engaging, accessible, and meaningful for students who are often excluded from mainstream STEM learning.

Founded by Darshana Joshi and Vijay Venugopalan, the non-profit is working to expand access to STEM education for underprivileged youth in rural India, with a particular focus on girls. 

News & updates

• IPO: Reliance Jio Platforms is considering an IPO this year that would float 2.5% of the company, a move that could make it the country's largest-ever IPO worth more than $4 billion. In November, investment bank Jefferies estimated that Reliance Jio's valuation stood at $180 billion.
• Policy hit: General Motors said it will lose another $6 billion as a result of its decision to pull back on electric cars. It comes on top of a $1.6 billion charge it disclosed in October for changes to its EV plans.
• Market: Indian equity benchmarks fell for a fifth consecutive session on Friday and recorded their worst weekly drop in over three months as renewed concerns over US tariffs rattled investors. The Nifty 50 fell 0.75% to 25,683.3, while the Sensex slipped 0.72% to 83,576.24. The indexes lost about 2.5% each for the week.

The Golden and Silver Lions are awarded at which film festival?

Answer: Venice Film Festival

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