Weekly News Roundup at 10:00 am on 25th February 2024

Let’s begin. The domestic venture debt market has crossed the $1 billion mark in the calendar year 2023, a jump of 50% compared to the previous year, according to a report by Stride Ventures. The report further highlights consumer durables and fintech companies being the major attracters for venture debt in the aforementioned period. Just like venture capital Venture Debt is also a way to raise money for startups. However, it defers from venture capital because the company has to dilute its stake to raise money meanwhile venture debt comes with a cost of interest. Venture debt is not available to the incubating companies. A startup company in a growth stage can avail loan, which may lack positive cash flow. Telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea this week opposed peer Reliance Jio’s proposal that postpaid users’ pending dues of up to Rs 100 should be ignored while porting out. The Reliance Industries-owned company made this proposal to Trai in an open house discussion on the subject ‘Draft Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2023’. Currently, telcos can stop the mobile number portability process for a postpaid user if his or her dues are above Rs 10. However, as per directions from Trai, a telecom operator will have to ignore and allow for a seamless port out if dues are less than 10. As per Airtel and Vi, if the threshold of Rs 10 is increased to Rs 100, it will hit their revenues. Meanwhile. India’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for the month of February came in at 56.7 as compared to 56.5 in the previous month, up from December’s 18-month low of 54.9. According to the HSBC final India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by S&P Global, India’s Services PMI rose to 62 from 61.8 on a month-on-month basis and composite PMI was at 61.5 vs 61.2. The headline HSBC Flash India Composite PMI Output Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of India’s manufacturing and service sectors – rose from a final reading of 61.2 in January to 61.5 in February. On to the auto sector. Mahindra has launched the ‘Scorpio N Z8 Select’ variant, priced at Rs 16.99 lakh onwards, ex-showroom. The new Scorpio N is finished in an exclusive Midnight Black colour while getting LED lighting, alloy wheels, sequential turn indicators, and more. The new Mahindra Scorpio N Z8 Select variant is available in both, petrol and diesel versions and their pricing is as follows. In terms of features, the Z8 Select variant gets an 8-inch infotainment screen and a 7-inch colour TFT cluster, featuring Adrenox Connect with over 60 connected car functionalities, built-in Alexa, sunroof, and wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.In terms of power, the Scorpio N Z8 Select variant gets petrol and diesel options In other news, Uber this week signed a MoU with Open Network for Digital Commerce to explore an integration with the network to expand the range of mobility offerings on the Uber app. The agreement with ONDC, a private non-profit organization established by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of Government of India, is aimed to strengthen Uber’s mission of bringing safe, affordable and reliable rides to all Indians. At an event in Bengaluru, Uber’s global CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spoke with Infosys Chairman, Nandan Nilekani on the subject of ‘Building Population Scale Technology.’ Dara Khosrowshahi said companies and governments around the world can learn from the scale and ambition of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure. Moving on. EPFO has added 15.62 lakh net members in the month of December, 2023, which is the highest in the last three months, according to EPFO’s provisional payroll data released today. An increase of 11.97% has been registered in net member addition during the current month as compared to the previous month of November 2023. Further, the year on year analysis reveals a growth of 4.62% in net member additions compared to December 2022. This surge in membership can be attributed to various factors, including increased employment opportunities, a growing awareness of employee benefits, and the effectiveness of EPFO’s outreach programs. Lastly, Tesla founder Elon Musk has been nominated by the Norwegian Minister of Parliament Marius Nilsen, for Nobel Prize 2024. MP praised Elon Musk’s companies for their contribution to global connectivity and safety, while the identities of Nobel Peace Prize nominees remain undisclosed even after the award ceremony. Nilsen acknowledged the role of Musk’s satellite internet constellation, Starlink, highlighting its deployment in Ukraine to aid resistance fighters in communication, coordination, and resilience against Russia’s ongoing aggression. In a recent update from Elon Musk’s Neuralink project, Musk announced a milestone achievement: the successful demonstration of a brain implant allowing a human patient to control a computer mouse with their thoughts. Musk described the patient’s recovery as full, with no adverse effects.