To The Point

Spotlighting India: OTT shows that caught our attention

Spotlighting India: OTT shows that caught our attention

The 'Thalaivar' juggernaut rolls on with Rajinikanth's Jailer

The 'Thalaivar' juggernaut rolls on with Rajinikanth's Jailer

China slips into deflation: Why you should care

China slips into deflation: Why you should care

If Softbank's getting its mojo back, what does that mean for India's startups?

If Softbank's getting its mojo back, what does that mean for India's startups?

Zomato, Meesho profits: Are they sustainable?

Zomato, Meesho profits: Are they sustainable?

  • Your UPI experience is about to change...

    Your UPI experience is about to change...

    A new innovation called the UPI Plugin will allow you to make payments from within a merchant app itself, which means that when you make a transaction for Swiggy or Amazon, for instance, you won't have to leave the apps at all. Where does this leave players like PhonePe and Google Pay? The payment giants have expressed concerns with this new model, and we unpack how it will play out on this episode. Joining us today is Anuj Kacker, co-founder of Neobank Freo, and a fintech expert. He also talks about how credit coming to UPI will be the next big thing

  • India to restrict laptop imports — will Apple move to make them locally?

    India to restrict laptop imports — will Apple move to make them locally?

    India, last week, announced restrictions on the import of laptops and tablets, initially with immediate effect, but later added a three-month grace period. Forbes India's Rajiv Singh joins us on ToThePoint today to talk about whether this move will help incrementally boost the development of India's electronics ecosystem. And we speculate a bit about whether Apple, whose Q3 laptop and iPad sales were down from a year earlier, will expand its India manufacturing operations to go beyond iPhones and include Macbooks and iPads as well

  • Inside India's new draft policy for deep tech startups

    Inside India's new draft policy for deep tech startups

    Industry stakeholders have welcomed the need for a policy for deep tech startups, a draft for which was released by a consortium on July 31, open for public feedback until September. The policy hopes to encourage and support research, development and innovation in the deep tech domain through grants and incentives. However, the industry also says that a lot will depend on how the policy is implemented. Helping us unpack what this means is Satya Chakravarthy, head of the national centre for combustion research and development at IIT-Madras

  • Tesla's China hurdle in India

    Tesla's China hurdle in India

    Tesla is looking to set up an India factory, but will, reportedly, have to find a workaround for the Chinese supplies it needs. A Reuters news report says that amid strained India-China relations, India has asked Tesla to emulate the Apple manufacturing model in the country—for each Chinese vendor involved, a local partner must step in. Auto expert Puneet Gupta, director, S&P Mobility, speaks to us about what this means, as the world is watching India's road to electrification

  • If an AI tool makes an ad, who is responsible for it?

    If an AI tool makes an ad, who is responsible for it?

    The Advertising Standards Council of India has just released a white paper on the use of generative AI in ads, in collaboration with the well-known law firm Khaitan & Co. We invited Manisha Kapoor, CEO and secretary general of ASCI, and Tanu Banerjee, a partner at Khaitan & Co. to discuss some of the points they've highlighted in the paper, that looks at opportunities, risks and best practices. The bottom line is that the human user still needs to be accountable and responsible in the use of this new, rapidly evolving technology

  • Tiger Global's Flipkart and other exits — what's next in India's startup landscape?

    Tiger Global's Flipkart and other exits — what's next in India's startup landscape?

    According to various media reports, Tiger Global Management, a hedge fund and venture business famous in India for backing Flipkart and later Freshworks, has exited both companies. Forbes India's Rajiv Singh joins us on ToThePoint today to discuss the ways of Tiger, whose investments helped to put the spotlight on opportunities for global investors in the emerging startup ecosystem in India. The scene is different today, though, amid a funding winter—how soon will Tiger Global find another Flipkart?

  • Data protection bill, 2023 likely to be introduced in Parliament — expect the law soon?

    Data protection bill, 2023 likely to be introduced in Parliament — expect the law soon?

    India's Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 is likely to be introduced in the Parliament soon, amid protests from several opposition members, according to multiple media reports today. We asked Prateek Waghre, policy director at the Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group, to explain the significance of this bill becoming law. This latest bill, is the culmination of a process that started from a landmark judgement six years ago that reaffirmed privacy as a fundamental right, Prateek says

  • Google and Meta did better than expected — is that just ads or is there good news for tech spending?

    Google and Meta did better than expected — is that just ads or is there good news for tech spending?

    Alphabet, on the back Google, did better than expected, and so did Meta, with its latest earnings and where Facebook crossed 3 billion monthly active users. Harish Krishnakumar, senior market analyst with IDC India's Enterprise IT Services and Cloud team, and Suresh Ramanathan, dean and principal at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai joined us today on ToThePoint to discuss this. We asked if the stronger ad spending allows us to anticipate greater enterprise tech spending in the months to come. And were there any lessons here, for India's consumer facing Internet startups

  • Byju's problems pile on — what's the end game, and how will this impact India's edtech startups?

    Byju's problems pile on — what's the end game, and how will this impact India's edtech startups?

    In a relatively short span of time, Byju's credibility has taken a hit, from being India's most valued startup to one whose future is in question, as investors leave the company's board and raise red flags. Forbes India's Rajiv Singh joins us today to talk about some of the most recent developments and what we might infer from them. Questions include, were such marquee firms, who are some of the largest names on Byju's cap table, not aware of the extent of the problems and why were they unable to get the company to course correct sooner

  • With rumours of a Rs20-lakh car, is Tesla any closer to starting in India?

    With rumours of a Rs20-lakh car, is Tesla any closer to starting in India?

    Tesla has been negotiating with India for well over a year, Soumen Mandal, a senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research points out. Mandal, who tracks the automotive segment as part of his portfolio, joins us on ToThePoint today to walk us through how India might go from here to becoming an export hub for Tesla, and whether it can also be significant domestic market. And if an agreement is reached soon, here's how long it will take before a made-in-India Tesla rolls out

  • The blue bird is dead, Twitter becomes X: Can a 'super app' work in India?

    The blue bird is dead, Twitter becomes X: Can a 'super app' work in India?

    Elon Musk reportedly said in a Twitter Spaces conversation that the blue bird logo was being cut down with blow torches, after he announced yesterday that the microblogging platform is being re-branded as X. Sanjay Swamy, co-founder and managing partner at Prime Venture Partners, joins us today to discuss what this re-branding means. Swamy, a well-known VC investor in India's fintech scene who's previously also helped design some of the payments aspects of Aadhaar, sets forth his arguments as to why he doesn't see a successful super app emerging in India any time soon

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