Karnataka’s startup policy; Reliance’s quick commerce run

Hello,

With widespread use of AI today, there is a great need for audit and accountability.

The company management and board must act as a “crucial first stage” of assessment to ensure there is no breach of fair market conduct rules, the Competition Commission of India has emphasised. The regulatory body’s chairperson Ravneet Kaur has urged boards and management of companies using AI tools for business growth to assess whether the deployment complies with fair market standards.

Still on the subject of AI, OpenAI is looking to test ads in ChatGPT in the coming weeks, as it looks to have a diverse revenue model and expand access to its AI tools without increasing costs for users.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flagged off India’s first Vande Bharat sleeper train from Malda Town railway station in West Bengal. Operating on the Howrah-Guwahati route, the train runs between Malda town and Kamakhya in Assam. The PM also inaugurated the return service (Guwahati-Howrah) virtually. The train is expected to redefine overnight train journey, promising an enhanced experience with regional cuisine and reduced travel time.

Elsewhere, scientists have come up with the most detailed map till date of the terrain hidden below the vast ice sheet blanketing Antarctica. The new map uncovers an exuberant landscape of mountains, canyons, valleys and plains and discerns, for the first time, tens of thousands of hills and other smaller features.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about

• Karnataka’s startup policy
• Reliance’s quick commerce run

Here’s your trivia for today: What is a Danish pastry called in Denmark?

Startup roadmap

Karnataka’s startup policy

Karnataka has announced a new startup policy for 2025–2030, outlining a plan to establish 25,000 new startups over the next five years—with at least 10,000 expected to emerge from clusters beyond Bengaluru.

The state has earmarked Rs 570.675 crore under the policy, which focuses on funding access, incubation infrastructure, market expansion, and regulatory facilitation, according to a government statement.

Beyond Bengaluru:

• The state government has launched a Rs 75-crore 'Beyond Bengaluru Cluster Seed Fund' to boost startup activity in emerging non-metro regions.
• The fund has a Rs 20-crore commitment from the state, while the remainder will be mobilised from institutional and private participation.
• It will initially focus on the clusters of Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi–Dharwad.

Quick commerce

Reliance’s quick commerce run

Reliance’s quick commerce business JioMart reached a daily order run rate of 1.6 million by the end of December 2025, according to disclosures made in the company’s investor presentation. The business recorded a 53% quarter-on-quarter growth, indicating a sharp acceleration during the October–December period.

Key numbers:

• Blinkit averaged 2.4 million orders per day in the July–September quarter, while Swiggy Instamart handled around 1.1 million daily orders in the same period.
• Based on these figures, Reliance claims to be India's second-largest quick commerce player by order volume, behind Blinkit.
• Reliance said its registered customer base increased to 378 million, up 12% year-on-year, while total transactions rose 48% year-on-year to 524 million in the quarter. It also reported that transaction frequency on its digital platforms is approximately twice that of competitors, though it did not disclose absolute frequency figures.

News & updates

• Acquisition: Micron Technology is set to acquire PSMC’s Taiwan fab for $1.8 billion in cash. The company has announced that it has signed an exclusive letter of intent to acquire Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation’s P5 fabrication site in Tongluo, Taiwan. The semiconductor giant, with a market capitalisation of over $408 billion and trading near its 52-week high of $365.81, continues to strengthen its global manufacturing footprint.
• Seeking gains: Elon Musk is seeking up to $134 billion from OpenAI and Microsoft, arguing he deserves the “wrongful gains” they received from his early support of the AI startup, according to a court filing.
• Rocket mission: Nasa is preparing to roll out its most powerful rocket yet before a mission to send astronauts around the moon and back again for the first time in more than 50 years. The Artemis II mission is scheduled to launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida as early as February 6, taking its crew on a 685,000-mile round trip that will end about 10 days later with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

What is a Danish pastry called in Denmark?

Answer: In Denmark, a Danish pastry is called ‘wienerbrød’, which translates to ‘Viennese bread’. Local lore suggests the pastry was introduced to Denmark by Austrian bakers in the 1850s during a strike.

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