Bullets

Bajaj Auto, a leading two and three-wheeler manufacturer, is increasing the production of its electric scooter, Chetak. It aims to produce around 10,000 units per month by June.

The company has resolved supply chain issues and is expanding the sales network of the brand. It plans to establish roughly 150 exclusive outlets for Chetak electric scooters by September.

Eco-friendly vehicles with the possibility of price reduction, yeh hue na ache din!

Solving privacy concerns raised by Italian watchdog, Garante, ChatGPT was successful in uplifting its Italy ban. Following the deadline of April 30, OpenAI’s ChatGPT fulfilled the conditions proposed by the Italian data protection authority.

The recent changes, like age verification and privacy policy updates, are shared by several Italian users on their social media platforms. Appreciating the updates, Garante proposes a publicity campaign to OpenAI for more privacy awareness.

Are data privacy concerns that easy to solve, though?🤔

Godrej Consumer Products is set to acquire Raymond’s consumer care business. The deal of Rs 2,825 crore includes Park Avenue men’s grooming brand and KamaSutra sexual wellness products.

The acquisition is expected to be completed by May 10. Raymond is a leading player in men’s deodorants and branded condoms segments but a minor player in mainstream soaps and shampoos.

The move will complement Godrej’s business portfolio and growth strategy, offering long-term potential in India.

Making information accessible to all, TIME magazine is slashing its paywall out of the way. 1st June is announced as the day for paywall removal by TIME’s CEO Jessica Sibley.

The news came to light on the annual TIME 100 Gala in New York City. The move is set to pull more young global audiences, as 45% of TIME’s audience falls under the age of 35.

250,000 digital subscribers of TIME would be on cloud nine right now. 

United Kingdom's antitrust body has stayed Microsoft's $69 billion takeover of Activision-Blizzard, stating that the windows maker owning exclusive rights could be a deterrent to the development of cloud gaming.

The Competition and Markets Authority said, “Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities.”

Talk about strategic gaming, am I right?

In a surprising turn of events, Voltas, a prominent player in the compressor-based cooling market, has announced the termination of its joint venture with Highly International (Hong Kong) Limited.

The deal, which was announced in May 2022, aimed at reducing Voltas’ dependency on imported components. However, the government’s necessary approvals were not obtained, leading to its termination.

Despite the setback, it would be interesting to see if Voltas’ reputation for innovation helps it in overcoming this obstacle.

Words sure are mightier than a sword, as the allegations of an Instagram influencer handle, ”Food Pharmer”, on Bournvita have raised question marks on the drink’s claims. 

National Commission for Protection of Child’s Rights has asked Mondelez India’s subsidiary, Bournvita, to remove all the “misleading data” from their product, including packaging, labelling, and advertisements.

Looks like too-much “sugar content”, 7.5 grams in every 20 grams, is turning out bitter for Bournvita.

Google was handed a fine in October 2022 for making changes to its billing system. The fine was propositioned on the basis that Google hasn’t been compliant with the CCI’s ruling.

Google is now appealing to the Delhi HC that the applications run by petitioner ADIF (Alliance of Digital Foundation) to the CCI are not suitable due to a Single Judge ruling.

Will Delhi HC be a ray of hope for ADIF or a green flag to Google’s heavy bill?

Sequoia and Tiger Global backed Fintech startup Jupiter has acquired a Non-Banking Financial Corporation license from RBI. Jitendra Gupta, the founder of Amica Financial Technologies Ltd.,(Jupiter's parent company) has informed various sources that a new CEO will be appointed for the NBFC vertical.

The NBFC license will allow Jupiter to lend money out of its resources, which in turn will allow it to possibly generate revenues to support its operations.

I guess NeoBanks are not forgotten after all!

With a market share of 97%, Google Play Store has been dominating the app store market for a while. Now PhonePe wishes to bring out an alternative app store which is more localised in both the language as well as consumer's perspective.

With its 450 million registered users, PhonePe believes it has a big chance of stealing Google’s market share in this department. 

First, targeting Amazon and now Google, is PhonePe shooting for the stars or punching above its weight?

Adani Group is on a repayment spree since the Hindenburg Report caused the group enterprise to crash and burn, losing around $100 billion in market value and causing credit agencies to downgrade the rating on Adani's bonds.

The company reported a strategy to repay a total of $650 million through its cash reserves over quarterly instalments starting with repaying $130 million on July 2024.

Look at Adani repaying debt and improving its credit report! Select would be proud!

Fairfax Group-funded Go Digit is looking to expand into the life insurance segment. Much to the envy of many startups in these trying funding times, Go Digit already has willing investors ready to float their new business!

The banks have agreed to invest a total of ₹69.90 crore in the insurance business' new vertical in two phases of ₹10.93 crore, and the remaining ₹58.97 crore in the second phase for a 9.94% stake through equity share capital.

As part of the latest stock award, Alphabet Inc.’s CEO Sundar Pichai had a pay raise of $226 million. This raise made Sundar one of the world’s highest-paid corporate leaders.

The stock award has a three-year schedule, with Pichai’s pay package being similar in size to 2019.

Although it’s great news for Sundar, it sure must’ve stung those 12,000 employees who were laid off by Google’s parent company earlier this year.

Companies have started presenting their 2023Q4 results and today's star is Reliance.

The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate has beat estimates and managed to churn out a net profit of ₹19,299 crore this quarter, RIL's highest to date! Revenues have grown, too, reaching ₹2.13 lakh crore. The numbers have grown by 19.1%, and 25.6% year-on-year, while quarter on quarter, the numbers rose by 22.2% and 2.7%, respectively.

One can only imagine how inflated the overvalued stock going to get now...🙄

Mankind Pharma is set to bring out its IPO on April 21. The IPO is meant to raise ₹4,326 crore, making it the biggest IPO this year.🤑 Mankind set the price band at ₹1,026 to ₹1,080 per share.

The entire IPO is an OFS of 40,058,844 equity shares made by the promoters Rajeev Juneja and Sheetal Arora, and Ramesh Juneja, along with other existing investors.

With the captains jumping ship, do you suspect Mankind has "sprung a leak"?🤭

To find a way out of the troubled times, EdTech firm Byju’s is in talks for a $150-$200 million investment from US private equity major Apollo Global Management. Byju’s CEO Raveendran is also discussing the same with Abu Dhabi-based firm 10X AD and Disrupt AD.

The investments might focus on the parent company or Aakash Education Services.

With a liquidity crunch, terrible services, and sucking capital out of investors, Byju’s sure has its hands full in 2023.

The end of April will prove challenging for many as Walt Disney Co. decides to lay off 15% of its workforce, which makes around 7,000 employees.

Staff from both entertainment and corporate division are targeted, saving $5.5 Billion for the company.

With Wall Street’s focus on reducing the high costs of online video platforms, big names like Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Paramount Global are laying off their employees as we speak.🌍

As Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran met Apple CEO in Mumbai, reports have surfaced of developments in Tata's businesses to make headway in the iPhone business.

According to reports, Tata Sons is inching closer to acquiring Taiwanese firm Wistron's manufacturing plant near Bengaluru for around ₹5,000 crore. Tata Electronics is also looking to invest around ₹6,300 crore in its plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu, to manufacture Apple products.

Remember when Vedanta had all the iPhone buzz? Yeah, we don't, either!🤷‍♂️

Infosys shares fell 12% today as the company posted weaker earnings growth in its Q4 results. The IT giant's net profit rose by 8% to ₹6,128 crore, while consolidated revenue rose by 16% y-o-y to ₹37,441 crore. The worst part, Infosys has projected its weakest growth prospects in 6 years at 4-7% for the coming financial year.

While India's aadarsh baalak of IT companies suffers, its bigda baccha ITC broke through its 52-week high in anticipation of upcoming results.

An MoU has been signed between the world’s largest shoemaker Pou Chen and the Tamil Nadu government. Taiwan-based Pou Chen’s subsidiary High Glory Footwear has decided to invest ₹2,302 Crore to set up a manufacturing plant in Ulundurpettai in the Kallakurichi district.

This step would open the gates for the state to become a big centre for non-leather footwear.

With jobs for 20,000 citizens, Tamil Nadu is likely to increase the 25% contribution for footwear production.