India's richest man Mukesh Ambani may as well be a magician, too.

At the height of global economic financial crisis, Ambani-helmed Reliance Industries' digital subsidiary Jio Platforms is in the midst of an unprecedented investment-attraction spree. 

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, a global top-line sovereign wealth fund, has announced that it will invest $1.5 billion (Rs 11,367 crore) for a 2.32% stake in Jio Platforms.

This investment values Jio Platforms at an equity value of Rs 4.91 lakh crore and an enterprise value of Rs 5.16 lakh crore.  

With this investment, Jio Platforms has raised $15.2 billion (Rs 115,693.95 crore) from ten leading global investors including Facebook, Silver Lake (1 and 2), KKR, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG, and L Catterton in the past nine weeks. Since April 2020. It has sold a total of 24.7% stake in its business.

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Two players in sync

Jio Platforms, with more than 388 million subscribers, has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain. 

PIF is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia and as part of its mandate to diversify its economy, has made its largest investment into the Indian economy to-date. This investment is in line with PIF’s strategy and mandate of investing in sectors and companies that generate long-term commercial returns to drive Saudi Arabia’s economy.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “I have greatly admired the defining role PIF has played in driving the economic transformation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I welcome PIF as a valued partner in Jio Platforms and look forward to their sustained support and guidance as we take ambitious steps to accelerate India’s digital transformation for enriching and empowering the lives of 1.3 billion Indians.” 

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of PIF, commented: “We are delighted to be investing in an innovative business which is at the forefront of the transformation of the technology sector in India. We believe that the potential of the Indian digital economy is very exciting and that Jio Platforms provides us with an excellent opportunity to gain access to that growth. This investment will also enable us to generate significant long-term commercial returns for the benefit of Saudi Arabia’s economy."

The investments in context

The question among most analysts is what does so much investment into Jio Platforms mean.

At one level, it is just simple translation of Mukesh Ambani's stated goal of making Reliance Industries debt-free by March next year. But by the looks of it, the target may be achieved thsi year itself. The money raised so far should go a long way in cutting down Reliance's $21 billion debt bill.

To put in perspective the aggressive path that Jio Platforms is charting out for itself, it has so far lured $15.2 billion in nine weeks, whereas the India’s startup companies in all raised $14.5 billion last year.

This, by all accounts, is astonishing. 

From another perspective, it also reflects the attractiveness of Jio Platforms, and by extension Indian market, for these global biggies.

The Indian mareket size, 1.3 billion in actual population, is a major pull for the global investors. And despite the ruling government not covering itself with any great glory in matters of ecconomy, India still stands out as a beguiling investment destination for global corporations.

Especially on the technology front, India offers promise as internet penetration is getting better by the day, and that promises many of these tech investors a chance to up their game further.

Jio is also the trigger for other companies in India to seek out big investors from elsewhere. Bharti Airtel is reportedly in talks with Amazon and Vodafone Idea was said to be negotiating with Google, though the latter one has been denied by the company.

Challenge for Jio

Jio Platforms has of course got its task cut out. Having raised so much money it has to deliver what its stakeholders would expect of it.

But before that, some of these deals have to pass muster with the State regulators. Today it has come to light that India's antitrust watchdog is investigating Jio's mega deal with Facebook.

Jio's plan to roll out its Jio Mart in a massive way, banking on WhatsApp's digital payment gateway WhatsApp Pay, has also been delayed.

But sources in the company say these are routine issues, and would be sorted out in due course.

These big ticket investors are thorough professionals and would want Jio to deliver on its promise soon. For that, Jio would have to get its house in order and set right these teething issues.

That road for Jio is long.

(Every company that has invested in Jio Platforms and what it means: Read here.)

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Facing relentless pressure from the market as well as privacy groups, Zoom Inc has announced that it would make available end-to-end encryption to both paying and non-paying users of its video conferencing service.

This is seen as a welcome 180 degree turn from the company that had earlier taken the stand of providing end-to-end encryption only to its paying customers. The non-paying customers had to make do with a watered-down encryption, generally referred to as transit encryption.

The contention of privacy and human rights advocates was that Zoom's model was essentially making privacy a premium feature available only to paying customers. It was also claimed that the paying customers had more 'traceability', and hence were less likely to use the platform for illegal activities.

Bowing to the relentless pressure on it, Zoom, which had become hugely popular all over the world during the pandemic-induced lockdown, has now announced that it plans to roll out end-to-end encryption to non-paying users (E2EE), too.

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Simple process to keep tabs on users

Hitherto, free users on Zoom sign up with an email address, which does not provide enough information to verify identity.

But now that Zoom has relented, a new process will be in place for free  users.

“Free/Basic users seeking access to E2EE will participate in a one-time process that will prompt the user for additional pieces of information, such as verifying a phone number via a text message,” Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said in a post. 

“Many leading companies perform similar steps on account creation to reduce the mass creation of abusive accounts. We are confident that by implementing risk-based authentication, in combination with our current mix of tools—including our Report a User function—we can continue to prevent and fight abuse,” Yuan added.

The beta launch will happen in July, but it is not clear how the roll-out would be phased and when.

Optional feature

The registration process is similar to those required by end-to-end messaging services like WhatsApp. Users of each service must prove they have a valid phone number. This is expected to weed out shady and illegal operators in a large manner. 

Strong encryption everywhere helps everyone. At an individual level, too end to end encryption essentially provides each user with keys that reside solely on their devices, where communications are encrypted and later decrypted (the encrypted data is usually encrypted a second time as it travels over the wire). 

Technical experts say it is well-nigh difficult for anyone (be it the government or malicious hackers) to access the human-readable content. In principle, even service providers have no access to the keys that decrypt the data. 

This kind of protection is the need of the hour as more and more sensitive information is transmitted over the Internet. 

Yuan said that E2EE when implemented will be an optional feature.

"E2EE will be an optional feature as it limits some meeting functionality, such as the ability to include traditional PSTN phone lines or SIP/H.323 hardware conference room systems. Hosts will toggle E2EE on or off on a per-meeting basis." 

Account administrators will be able to enable and disable E2EE at the account and group level. 

(Via): Zoom.Us

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German audio giant Sennheiser has launched the Momentum TW 2 earphones in India as the successor to the Momentum TW earphones launched last year. The new model, priced at Rs. 24,990 is definitely on the expensive side compared to earpods  launched around the sub-Rs.10000 category in recent times. 

The new Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 earphones is a direct competitor to the  Apple Airpods Pro, especially since the latest device comes equipped with active noise cancellation. 

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The German audio brand has long been a trusted name in the world of over-ear headphones, and since the release of the popular Momentum True Wireless last year, the world of true wireless earbuds, too. Now Sennheiser has furnished its popular earbuds with noise cancelation, in a similar vein to the AirPods Pro and the Sony WF-1000XM3, as well as improved battery life, and a more compact design.

While the device is definitely on the expensive side, Sennheiser is hoping that the enhanced battery life and the addition of active noise cancellation would make the new pair of earphones an attractive buy in a market lorded over by Apple Airpods Pro, which is priced at Rs.24,990 in India. 

The Momentum TW earphones 2 became available in black colour starting June 16 while the white colour variant would become available later, though the company press statement does not mention a date. The products are currently available via their online shop as well as retail outlets in India.  

The Momentum True Wireless 2 supports the aptX Bluetooth codec and claims improved battery life compared to its predecessor. They promise seven hours per charge with the case offering an additional three charges for a total of 28 hours of juice per charging cycle. 

The Momentum True Wireless 2 is powered by 7mm drivers, and the listening experience can be tweaked and customised using the Sennheiser Smart Control app, available for both iOS and Android. The touch controls can also be customised to let users define their preferred way of controlling audio, calls or activating voice assistants such as Google Assistant or Apple Siri. 

Leading consumer brands Samsung and OnePlus have decided to locally manufacture most of their televisions in India. Their decision is reportedly impelled by the zero import duty on open cell TV panel, a vital component in TV manufacture. 

This development comes alongside the news that television sales in India, especially big-screened smart televisions, have got a new buoyancy. 

According to a news report in Economic Times, Samsung will likely manufacture locally 85 to 90% of the televisions it sells in India. On the other hand, OnePlus will begin domestic production of TVs in India for the first time ever. OnePlus launched its TVs in India last July, and the TVs sold so far were imported from China.

Samsung and OnePlus have both tied up with the Chinese electronics firm Skyworth to manufacture TV sets at its plant in Hyderabad which is a JV  with an Indian firm. Skyworth will make 32 and 43 inches TV sets --- two of the more popular sizes to sell in India.

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Samsung's plans

Samsung moving its 32 and 43 inches TV manufacturing to Skyworth means its existing tie up with another contract manufacturer, Dixon Technologies, will be tweaked.

Samsung reportedly has asked Dixon Technologies to make smart TV variants from 43-58 inches. It is a segment that is seeing good traction in India this season, as people stuck at home due to the lockdown, have shown a liking for larger screens. Dixon, for the record, also has ties-up with Xiami and Panasonic for manufacture of smart TVs.  

Samsung had resumed manufacture in India early this year (January) after it had halted its production in October 2018 in the light of 5% import duties on smart TV panels.

It was only after that import duty was scrapped, Samsung got back to local production. 

OnePlus's gambit

For OnePlus, this is a major decision to manufacture locally as it had managed its TV sales in India till now through imports from China.

OnePlus, it is said, aims to make India its production hub for global exports. The television units will reportedly be imported in the open-cell format to avail duty benefits.

For OnePlus, smart TVs are the next big growth category after having conquered the premium segment in smartphones. OnePlus has plans to expand its television portfolio in the country to include smaller screen sizes, too.

All leading TV manufacturers such as LG, Sony, Xiaomi and Panasonic have already been manufacturing TVs in India.

Boost for Make in India idea

Samsung and OnePlus opting for local manufacture is being seen as major shot in the arm for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clarion call for building Aatmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India).

With two consumer goods biggies choosing to make India its production base, it is doubtless portrayed as a boost for Make In India plan that the present government in India is tom-tomming about.

Source: Economic Times.

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Netflix and Amazon Prime have been going great guns with India-focused content development and programming since 2019. Come Thursday, and SonyLIV, the video-on-demand service owned by Sony Pictures, is throwing its hat into the crowded OTT ring through its premium offerings. 

The company has already relaunched its website with a flashy new design and has already started updating its mobile application. Part of the relaunch includes a brand new avatar with new originals and exclusives lined up on its Premium service. As a result, the company is also increasing the subscription for its premium service, though new prices haven't been announced. 

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The subscriptions for OTT service grew exponentially post the Covid-19 lockdown starting March 25 this year. Though the Big-2 have not revealed numbers Zee reported a spike in daily active users and app downloads by 33% and 41% respectively. While Alt Balaji reported a 60% increase in its daily subscriber base post the lockdown. 

Though SonyLIV may have missed out on this early advantage, they are seeking to catch up by launching India-based programming that includes original and exclusive series from Sony Pictures. There's the Jimmy Shergill-starrer 'Your Honour', a remake from an Israeli program, the legal drama 'For Life' and the Ranvir Shorey-led Kadakh which is a feature film about a cheating husband. 

With these and many more exclusive movies such as Spiderman coming, it may still be a good time to pick up an annual subscription for Rs.499 that would remain in force for the next three days. 

The Amit Sadh starrer 'Avrodh - The Siege Within' based on the surgical strikes post the Uri terror attack. The movie has been directed by Raj Acharya who helmed '21 Sarfarosh', a highly popular series on Netflix. There is also 'Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story' which is based on the 1992 stock market scam, directed by Hansal Mehta. 

SonyLIV is also reportedly working with some major directors including Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari of Nil Battey Sannata, Nikhil Advani, Nitesh Tiwari of Chhichhore, Rohan Sippy and stand-up comedian and show host Kapil Sharma. 

Of course, it remains to be seen whether Sony Pictures can retrieve lost ground, given that even Apple TV Plus is now getting ready to join the fun alongside the already existing biggies. A major issue that SonyLIV may have is the total absence of regional content, which fuels even someone like Amazon Prime which recently bought four south Indian movies for premiering them exclusively. 

On a Saturday night in India, it was party time in Jio Platforms, the digital subsidiary of Reliance Industries helmed by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani.

Two more big investors, TPG Capital and L Catterton, put in $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore) and $250 million (Rs. 1894.50 crore) respectively in Jio Platforms. 

This would mean Jio Platforms has now secured more than $13.7 billion by selling about 22.3% stake to nine investors Facebook, Silver Lake (1 and 2), KKR, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, Mubadala, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, TPG, and L Catterton in the past eight weeks.

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TPG Capital

The first investment of the night was from TPG Capital. Though it was speculated that might invest over a billion, it settled for $600 million (Rs 4,546.80 crore).

The investment will translate into a 0.93% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis for TPG.

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $79 billion of assets under management across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth equity, real estate and public equity. Its investments in global technology companies include Airbnb, Uber, and Spotify, among others.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, said, “Today, I am happy to welcome TPG as valued investors in our continued efforts towards digitally empowering the lives of Indians through the creation of a digital ecosystem. We have been impressed by TPG’s track record of investing in global technology businesses which serve hundreds of millions of consumers and small businesses, making the societies we live in better.” 

Jim Coulter, Co-CEO TPG, said, “We are excited to partner Reliance to invest in Jio. As an investor in growth, change, and innovation for over 25 years – and with a longstanding presence in India -- we are excited to play an early role in Jio's journey as they continue to transform and advance India's digital economy. Jio is a disruptive industry leader that is empowering small businesses and consumers across India by providing them with critical, high-quality digital services. The company is bringing unmatched potential and execution capabilities to the market, setting the tone for all technology companies to come.” 

TPG is making the investment from its TPG Capital Asia, TPG Growth, and TPG Tech Adjacencies (TTAD) funds.

L Catterton

L Catterton, the second investor of the night, came up with $250 million (Rs 1894.50 crore). L Catterton’s investment will translate into a 0.39% equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis. 

Founded in 1989, L Catterton is an investor in consumer-focused brands around the world. With a partnership with LVMH and Groupe Arnault, L Catterton has successfully invested in brands like Peloton, Vroom, ClassPass, Owndays, FabIndia, PVR Cinemas.

Mukesh Ambani  said, “I particularly look forward to gaining from L Catterton’s invaluable experience in creating consumer-centric businesses because technology and consumer experience need to work together to propel India to achieving digital leadership.” 

Michael Chu, Global Co-CEO of L Catterton, said, “Over our more than 30 year history, we have established a track record of building many of the most important brands across all consumer categories and geographies, from retailers, omni-channel and digitally native brands. We are strong supporters of fostering growth through product development, enhanced digital capabilities and strategic alliances. We look forward to partnering with Jio, which is uniquely positioned to execute on its vision and mission to transform the country and build a digital society for 1.3 billion Indians through its unmatched digital and technological capabilities.”

In total, Jio Platforms has now secured more than $13.7 billion (Rs 104,326.95 crore) by selling about 22.3 stake in around two months time.

Jio Platforms, with more than 388 million subscribers, has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain. 

The deals are expected to help RIL retire a substantial chunk of its net debt of Rs 1.6 trillion at the end of March.

Hope for Indian companies

Jio Platforms getting a bucket-load of heavy-duty investments from global biggies also augurs well for Indian business sentiments.

In a climate of anti-China, both in India and elsewhere, these deals are seen as a big booster for India Inc. Some experts see it as a post-coronavirus trend, when the American and Middle-East based global corporations tilt towards India, as against China. 

This is also the trigger for other companies in India to seek out big investors from elsewhere. Bharti Airtel is reportedly in talks with Amazon and Vodafone Idea was said to be negotiating with Google, though the latter one has been denied by the company.

(Your one-stop guide to Jio Platforms and its investors is here).

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Having first launched a fact-checking chatbot for WhatsApp in English and Spanish, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) has now followed it up with a Hindi version. It's main purpose is to help users verify information being shared around the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The chatbot, which is free to use for everyone on WhatsApp, helps those communicating in Hindi language to verify data disseminated around the coronavirus and information being shared freely across the messaging service. It's main purpose is to combat misinformation during the current phase of Unlock-1 that India is witnessing. 

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The app allows users to verify whether information around the Covid-19 is classified as false by any of the independent fact-checkers in the CoronaVirusFacts alliance, a group coordinated by the IFCN, which was launched in 2015 by the Poynter Institute as a means to support the growing tribe of fact-checkers on the internet. 

How to get started?

Users seeking to access the chatbot in Hindi should save +1 (727) 2912606 as a contact on their smartphones and then text the word "नमस्ते"  to get the Hindi bot started. Another option is to just click on this link to start the conversation. The bot has a short numerical menu that only requires text numbers to navigate. 

WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, boasts of more than 400 million users in India, of which more than 44% understand and communicate in the Hindi language. This was the prime mover behind IFCN's decision to have a Hindi version of their chatbot busting fake news around the coronavirus pandemic.

Fact-checking sources

The Hindi chatbot would provide content gleaned from the Jagran Group's fact-checking unit Vishwas News, besides India Today, News Mobile, The Quaint, Fact Crescendo and Newschecker. The database would have more than 250 fact-checks to start with and more would get added on a daily basis. These sources are part of IFCN's fact-checking team in India. 

In a prepared statement, IFCN Director Baybars Orsek said, "Billions of users rely on WhatsApp to stay in touch with their friends and families every month. Since bad actors use every single platform to disseminate falsehoods, to mislead others during such troubling times, fact-checkers’ work is more important than ever. Since January, IFCN’s CoronavirusFacts Alliance has been utilizing the capacity of the fact-checking community to help users to sort truth from fiction by debunking falsehoods around the COVID-19 pandemic. The new IFCN chatbot in Hindi will allow users to search for fact checks and get connected with fact-checkers from their smartphones. The chatbot will also serve as a way to direct people to their local fact-checkers’ websites.”

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Outfit7, the multinational family entertainment company known for the Talking Tom app and games, has added a new virtual pet simulation title around their popular 'My Talking Tom Friends' theme. The new game would be available for global downloads across platforms from June 12. 

Update: 

The game is now available for download on Play Store and App Store globally. "With My Talking Tom Friends, our goal was to take the popular virtual pet genre and reinvent it. We wanted to go far out and deliver something that sweeps people off their feet,” Xinyu Qian, CEO of Outfit7, said in a prepared statement. 

The new game, which saw more than 13 million pre-registrations prior to launch, unites all six iconic characters in a play-as-you-want sandbox experience.

The new game takes a sandbox approach that allows users to play in any fashion that they feel like. Additionally, it would be for the first time since Outfit7 launched in 2009, that users would have the fun of playing with all Talking Tom characters at the same time. 

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“From the beginning, we knew we were working on something special – something that hadn’t ever been done before. We set out with the vision to take the whole genre to the next level,” said Barbara Erman, Senior Game Designer at Outfit7 and part of the team behind My Talking Tom Friends, said in a prepared statement.

Outfit7 had celebrated its tenth anniversary last year and had announced that they had also hit ten billion downloads of their mobile games. The company has also consistently ranked amongst the top-10 mobile gaming publishers in the world. Outfit7's best known flagship franchise is Talking Tom and Friends which received a huge fan following when it launched in 2010. 

In the years since, Outfit7 has expanded its portfolio to include a suite of award-winning games, a 3D CGI animated series, video content and a licensing program. At current count, their games have been downloaded over 12 billion times with more than 380 million users listed to play the games each month. 

No wonder Barbara Erman is earnest in her praise for the latest release. She says the company was looking to give users a fan moment of being able to share amazing experiences with them. "The line between you and them disappears as you get drawn into their bright, vivid world of games, fun and friendship," she says. 

With Talking Becca – the newest addition to the franchise – joining Talking Tom, Talking Angela, Talking Hank, Talking Ben, and Talking Ginger, players can now tend to the needs and wishes of all six characters at once, and help them live their fascinating lives.

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Samsung could launch the new Galaxy A21s, considered a cheaper alternative to its flagship Galaxy S20, in India on June 17 (updated). The device, which was announced last month by the Korean electronics giant, features a quad camera set up and a robust battery. 

A video teased by Samsung India via its official Twitter account indicates that the new smartphone would be launching this Wednesday. The short video highlights the long battery life that the Galaxy A21s is supposed to be bringing forth. 

It further said that the device could be priced in the Rs.15,000 to Rs.20,000 and would become available via Samsung's online stores as well as other eCommerce outlets. In the UK, the phone costs around GBP 179 which translates roughly to Rs.17,100. 

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The specs

The Samsung Galaxy A21s comes with a 6.5-inch screen that renders 720x1600 display, a quad-lens camera with 48MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro and 2MP depth sensors. There is also a 13MP selfie camera. 

Earlier leaks had said that the device would be powered by an Exynos 850 chipset that is octa-core with a maximum clock speed of 2GHz. However, the chipset name or storage size had been confirmed by Samsung. We do know that the phone has 3GB of RAM and a robust 5,000mAh battery with 32GB of storage to boot.  

Design features

The official renders of the phone, shared above, suggest that the Samsung Galaxy A21s has an all-screen look with a punch-hole camera on the top left corner and a slim bezel below the display. On the back, the quad-lens cameras are stacked in a large block with a fingerprint scanner also present. 

The device measures 75.3 x 163.6 x 8.9 mm according to the leaks and is clad in plastic with a weight of 191 grams. These details are yet to be confirmed by the company though. The device comes in black, white and blue shades and resembles several other mid-range Galaxy A phones. 

The A21s would become Samsung's fourth Galaxy A Series smartphone in India this year, having already launched the A51 (click to buy), A71 (click to buy) and the A31 (click to buy) in the country thus far. 

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Twitter seems to be on a new-features launch spree.

In India, it has started rolling out in India Fleets, an Instagram story like feature. 

And it is also testing another feature that prompts users to read before they retweet.

Now, Twitter is said to be working on tweet reactions that would readily allow users to retweet posts with a predefined selection of emojis. (As of now, Twitter users can post emojis on their timelines based on the availability of the same on their respective keyborads).

But now, according to Jen Manchun Wong,  a reverse engineering expert, the new feature will allow users to react to tweets with emojis, in the same way anyone can react to Facebook posts on that social media platform.

Given the availability of similar tools on other messaging platforms, it makes sense for Twitter to move in-step, tapping into habitual messaging behaviour in order to facilitate more engagement.

The emojis sighted include '100 percent', 'no entry', 'laughing face', 'shocked face', and 'prayer hands'.

But when exactly this feauture would be rolled out for regular users is unclear.

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Not for the first time

This is not the first brush of Twitter with emojis.

Twitter, early this year, launched reactions-like option in direct messages, which enables users to allocate a quick emoji response to any message within a thread.

It may be recalled that a few years back, Twitter switched its 'star' icon for favorites to a 'heart', while also renaming the action 'like'. 

At that time, Twitter reportedly experimented with the emoji response mechanism to enable users to choose their own reaction to a post. But for some unspecified reason it shelved that idea.

Probably Twitter is seeing good usage of 'Reactions' within DMs that it is now thinking of extending similar feature for tweets on open timelines.

Apart from being popular among regular users, Twitter can also tweak this emoji reponses with brands and products. Paid emoji campaigns and special events can be thought up for leveraging commercial opportunities.

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This may be June. But at Jio Platforms it might be December with Santa seemingly dealing out one gooodie after another in unending profusion.

The company which has had eight separate investments (from seven investors) over the last two months, is set for one more. This time it is said to be from global investor TPG Capital.

According to a news report in Economic Times, Jio Platforms, from the stable of India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, is in the process of roping in San Francisco-based tech investor TPG Capital. 

The news report claimed that the private equity firm was in active talks with Jio and was likely to put in $1-2 billion.

TPG is an investor in several top global technology disruptors such as Uber, AirBnB and SurveyMonkey.

A formal announcement is likely to drop in a couple of days.

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Jio is rampant

As of now, Jio Platforms, the digital subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has received an investment commitment of close to $13 billion (Rs 97,885.65 crore) against a dilution of 21.06 per cent stake, with the last one coming from Abu Dhabi government's global investment arm Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). The other investors include: Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista, General Atlantic and KKR, Mubadala  and Silver Lake again in seven weeks.

Jio Platforms, with more than 388 million subscribers in its three-and-a-half-year existence, is blazing a hot trail that its competitors are finding it impossible to match.

Jio has made significant investments across its digital ecosystem, powered by leading technologies spanning broadband connectivity, smart devices, cloud and edge computing, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, augmented and mixed reality and blockchain.

(Your one-stop guide to Jio Platforms and its investors is here).

Junior Ambanis to the fore

Jio Platforms, was created as a subsidiary of RIL in October last year to bring together all digital and mobility businesses under one roof. The new entity has become the parent of Reliance Jio Infocomm and applications like MyJio, JioTV, JioCinema, JioNews and JioSaavn, besides content-generation ventures. 

Jio Platforms is also being seen as the fief of the two Ambani scions --- Akash and Anant.

Akash Ambani, the elder of next generation Ambanis, is presented by Indian financial newspapers as the person behind these major investment deals.

Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Mukesh Ambani, has been formally inducted into the family empire as additional director in Jio Platforms.

The idea is to build Jio Platforms like Alibaba and Google, which claim high valuations in the stock markets.

The stake sales are part of Jio Platforms' parent company RIL's (Reliance Industries) plan to be debt-free by March. Most likely, the target is likely to be achieved by December, with Reliance already securing Rs 53,124 crore from a rights issue that closed on 4 June.

Harbinger of hope for India

Jio Platforms getting a bucket-load of heavy-duty investments from global biggies also augurs well for Indian business sentiments.

In a climate of anti-China, both in India and elsewhere, these deals are seen as a big booster for India Inc. Some experts see it as a post-coronavirus trend, when the American and Middle-East based global corporations tilt towards India, as against China. 

This is also the trigger for other companies in India to seek out big investors from elsewhere. Bharti Airtel is reportedly in talks with Amazon and Vodafone Idea was said to be negotiating with Google, though the latter one has been denied by the company. 

Source: Economic Times

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An unheralded and unheard of Indian company based out of Delhi, BellTrox InfoTech Services, is alleged to have been spying on investors, politicians, lawyers, and environmental groups across the world for seven years, according to an investigative report.

BellTrox, it is claimed, hacked into, and spied on, over 10,000 email accounts of targets across countries and professions, including judges in South Africa, politicians in Mexico, lawyers in France, environmental groups and journalists in the US and gambling tycoons in the Bahamas.

According to a Reuters report, aspects of BellTroX's hacking spree aimed at American targets are currently under investigation by the US law enforcement agency.

Though Reuters has scooped the news, the actual investigation into the shady shenanigans was carried out by Toronto-based internet watchdog Citizen Lab. Apparently, it spent over two years investigating the ‘Hack-For-Hire Operation’, and it now claims BellTrox was “one of the largest spy-for-hire operations ever exposed”.

Interestingly, there is no mention of any Indian target being hacked into by BellTrox.

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Mired in mystery

BellTrox's owner, identified as one Sumit Gupta, has refused to disclose who had hired him and also denied any wrongdoing.

It is, however, said that in 2015, the US indicted several US-based private investigators and also Sumit Gupta (whom the it notes also uses the alias Sumit Vishnoi), for their role in a hack-for-hire scheme.  An aggregator of Indian corporate registration data lists Sumit Gupta as the director of BellTroX, and online postings by a “Sumit Vishnoi” contain references to BellTroX. 

BellTroX and its employees appeared to have used euphemisms for promoting their services online, including “Ethical Hacking” and “Certified Ethical Hacker.” BellTroX’s slogan is: “you desire, we do!”

BellTroX staff activities listed on LinkedIn include: Email Penetration, Exploitation, Corporate Espionage, Phone Pinger, Conducting Cyber Intelligence Operation.

Further, BellTroX’s LinkedIn pages, and those of their employees, have received hundreds of endorsements from individuals working in various fields of corporate intelligence and private investigation.

Since a few days back, BellTrox's site is throwing up an error message.

Not so uncommmon

Among the more recent reports of hacking, BellTrox is believed to have spied on targets like American private equity firm KKR, and equity research firm Muddy Waters Research, though it is unclear who might have hired it for the job.

Although they receive a fraction of the attention devoted to state-sponsored espionage groups, it is said that "cyber mercenary" services are widely used across countries.

As per the investigations, the data scooped up provide insight into the operation, detailing tens of thousands of malicious messages designed to trick victims into giving up their passwords. The messages were reportedly sent by BellTroX between 2013 and 2020.

Despite the indictment, BellTroX and other companies that provide these services publicly promote their activities. This, analysts say, suggests that companies and their clients do not expect to face legal consequences and that the use of hack-for-hire firms may be standard practice within the private investigations industry.

Source: Here

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Amazon Prime Video led the way and now Netflix has followed suit. Barely weeks after news broke about seven feature films would premiere on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix has today announced that it would be streaming 'Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl' on the platform. 

Though no dates were mentioned in the statement from Netflix, the streaming service shared a video of Gunjan Saxena, one of the first two Indian women to fly in a combat zone during the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan. 

In May, Amazon Prime Video had announced that the Amitabh Bachchan-Ayushmaan Khurrana movie 'Gulabo Sitabo' would be among seven movies across four languages to be premiered on the streaming platform. Of these, Tamil movie 'Ponmagal Vandhal' premiered on May 29 while 'Gulabo Sitabo' is slated for release on June 12 (Friday). 

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The movie has Janhvi Kapoor playing the title role of Gunjan Saxena while Pankaj Tripathi plays her father and Angad Bedi her brother. Others in the cast include Viineet Kumar, Manav Vij and Ayesha Raza. The movie, directed by debutant director Sharan Sharma is produced by Karan Johar's Dharma Productions along with Zee Studios.

Netflix and Dharma Productions have partnered to release movies directly on the platform. Their previous collaborations include Drive featuring Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez and the more recent Kiara Advani film Guilty which featured a story around the the #MeToo movement. 

Who is Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena?

Flight Lieutenant Gunjan Saxena joined the Indian Air Force and made history during the Kargil battle in 1999 when, as a flying officer, she flew rescue missions to airlift wounded soldiers in her Cheetah aircraft. The IAF pilot had a close shave when an enemy missile missed her chopper and exploded right behind. She was honoured with the Shaurya Chakra for her bravery. Saxena was one among two women who flew missions in 1999. It is not clear whether Srividya Rajan's character is also part of this movie. 

In the video, we have Janhvi Kapoor narrating the story of Gunjan Saxena who wanted to grow up and become a pilot in a world where people believed that women can't even drive cars. This is when her father, also part of the defence forces, convinces her that whether a man or a woman flies a plane, they are called pilots. 

In a statement, the movie's producer Karan Johar described Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl as a defining movie based on a true story of a woman who has inspired others. "We are excited to partner with Netflix and share this fearless story about following your heart and dreams with millions around the world."

This is one of the many films that were originally scheduled for theatrical release but have opted for digital release. However, with India entering into the Unlock phase since Monday, it would be interesting to see whether other production houses follow suit or prefer to wait it out till cinema theatres are given the go-ahead to open. 

At this point, while malls and temples have opened in some states with stricter social distancing norms, cinema houses have been kept shut given that the risk of closer contact may result in the spread of the virus. 

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It has been a topsy-turvy time for the two-member team behind the Mitron app, which has been in the news for various conflicting reasons.

At first, Mitron emerged out of nowhere to be seen as a brave challenger to the popular and powerful TikTok. It totted up over 5 million downloads in less than a month.

But then, Mitron ran into some bad form. It was first allleged to be a rebadged version of a Pak app. Then Google removed it from its Play Store for alleged violation of its privacy policy.

Now, Mitron App, founded by a former IIT Rourkee student Shivank Agarwal and his friend Anish Khandelwal, is back in the thick of things.

It is now available again on Google Play Store.

And the two founders of Mitron app say they are keen to take it forward, even as they play down the charge that it is a rebadged version of a Pak app.

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Not from Pak, but from market place

In a chat with Indian Express, Agarwal and Khandelwal say that they purchased an initial template of the app from Envato, which is an Australian market place to buy and sell digital assets.

Such off-the-shelf buying is not uncommon in the software world. Many top apps had in fact purchased such templates and tweaked it to their market convenience. 

The duo added that they had completely revamped the source code to meet their scalability and security requirements.

Pooh-poohing the allegation that it is a Pak app, Agarwal and Khandelwal asserted: "Envato is a marketplace where users can purchase licensed code. We also purchased a template from this marketplace and we are the legal owners of the codebase of Mitron."

Stating that their product is completely a “Make In India product”, the founders said the entire production-ready code was developed in Bengaluru.

On the issue of Google removing the Mitron app from the Play Store, they said the app is fully restored on Play Store without any change to the content. "The major concern was that we didn’t have a proper reporting platform which is required for a UGC platform. We are working on adding that feature on our app." Privacy policy was alos a missing documentation, which they have now addressed, too.

The road ahead

Mitron is now  contemplating tweaking the user interface, which as of now looks a TikTok clone, in a bid to create its own niche in the market.

Mitron is also on its way to getting itself available on the Apple app store.

Having pegged itself as a hardcore Indian product, Mitron is planning to making its itself available in various Indian regional languages.

Going the whole hog on the app's Indian tag, the founders say:"Indian consumers should be served by Indian platforms and Indian data should always be secured on Indian servers."

They say it helps to have an Indian social media platform which understands and abides by Indian community guidelines. 

Verily, shots fired at TikTok.

Source: Here.

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The Covid-19 pandemic has made the world wary of touching surfaces in public places. ATM kiosks, where punching of multiple keys by multiple people is inevitable, are understandably seen as risky places.

In the event, it was equally inevitable that banks began contemplating 'contactless' ATMs. And as ever, technology looks to be the saviour.

As per media reports, the Mumbai-based AGS Transact Technologies, a provider of cash management services in India, is testing its contactless ATMs at three banks in India. AGS Transact, for the record, manages 70,000 ATMs for banks in India.

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Just a nifty change

Come to think of it, it is just a nifty turnaround from the existing system where magnetic stripe card and PIN number is used to identify the cardholder. The new plan just puts to use QR code. 

In the proposed plan, customers have to use their mobile device and the bank's mobile app. A QR code is given to them via the app and they have to use their mobile device to scan that code on the ATM screen. The machine will use the code to identify the account. 

Quite simply, customers will have to enter the amount they wish to withdraw and their PIN number on their mobile device. The contactless ATM will interact with the app and then distribute the cash.

Scope for skimming ruled out 

AGS Transact's CTO, Mahesh Patel, has been quoted as saying that the contactless ATM's QR code is safer to use than a debit card because it eliminates the risk of being skimmed. The process to make a withdrawal is also faster, taking approximately 25 seconds from start to finish.

The good news for banks is the software application for contactless transactions can be integrated within the banks' existing apps. However, it might need two months time to integrate, as mobile banking, ATM operations and maintenance services have to be seamlessly integrated.

Source: Here. 

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