🔌 India needs better EV policies

byCOVID-19 -
 
22 DECEMBER 2022View in Browser
 
 
 

Hello,

 

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das thinks cryptocurrencies should be banned.

 

At a recent event, Das said that the next financial crisis will be caused by private cryptocurrencies if these assets are allowed to grow. “Cryptocurrencies have… huge inherent risks for our macroeconomic and financial stability,” he said, pointing to the recent collapse of FTX as an example. 

 

In other news, edtech unicorn BYJU'S denied allegations of purchasing phone numbers of children and their parents and threatening them that their future would be ruined if they don’t buy its courses. 

 

Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s jet stalker has a new home…sort of. After Jack Sweeney's ElonJet Twitter bot was suspended, a new subreddit—r/ElonJetTracker—was launched. And the subreddit is growing rapidly with over 214,000 subscribers. 

 

Throwback 2022: Here are the best space photographs of 2022.

 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

  1.  Need better EV policies: Chetan Maini
  2. A hybrid future awaits edtech 
  3. Will the SaaS sector sail through in 2023?

Here’s your trivia for today: When was the first accurate photographic image of a solar eclipse recorded?

 
 

Electric vehicle

 

Need better EV policies: Chetan Maini

 
 

From the days of two-seater Reva to today, Sun Mobility Co-founder and Chairman Chetan Maini believes there has been a radical shift in the government's attitude towards the EV space. 

 

However, he thinks the regulators need to adopt different policies to align with the industry as more EV players keep sprouting up with newer technologies.

 

Core issues:

  1. Standardisation of EV batteries will impede innovation and the government should let the market forces decide.
  2. Subsidies may not be the most effective solution as they may incentivise one EV technology over another.
  3. The government should prioritise creating standards around the safety of electric vehicles.
 
Read More
 
 
 

Funding Alert

 

1) Bigbasket: $200M| Undisclosed

 

2) CollegeDekho: $9M| Series B1

 

3) Eggoz: $8.8M| Series B

 
 
 

Edtech

 

A hybrid future awaits edtech

 
 

The past year has been turbulent for edtech companies with the sector witnessing a 39% drop in fundraising post pandemic boom. With the resumption of offline learning, more than 8,000 employees in the sector were laid off—2,500 by BYJU'S alone. Now, startups are forced to adopt a hybrid model to stay afloat.

 

Changing times:

  1. Edtech startups are exploring new segments outside K-12. Unacademy and Simplilearn are exploring job-focused platforms while PhysicsWallah (PW) is expanding its upskilling vertical.
  2. Players like BYJU’S, Unacademy, Vedantu, and PW have entered the offline space while offline players are adopting online tools.
  3. Imarticus Learning CEO Nikhil Barshikar believes investors will bet on higher education and upskilling companies in 2023.
 
Read More
 
 
 

SaaS

 

Will the SaaS sector sail through in 2023?

 
 

The Indian SaaS (software-as-a-service) industry thrived in 2022, with more than $4.9 billion being raised in the first 11 months alone. However, amid unfavourable macroeconomic conditions, there are gloomy days ahead as companies resort to cost-cutting measures and investors hold back on their purses.

 

Mixed bag:

  1.  Hiring pauses and layoffs have plagued the sector. NASDAQ-listed Freshworks let go of 90 employees while Chargebee laid off 10% of its workforce.
  2. Sales cycles have become longer by 20-30% as inflationary pressures have led to a decrease in cloud spending.
  3. A YourStory dipstick survey reveals a lowering of growth projections in 2023 but companies with strong fundamentals will sail through.
 
Read More
 
 
 

News & Updates

 
  1. Massive drop: Media, which for investors spans a broad range of activities from film production to advertising to cable television, has been among the hardest-hit sectors in what is set to be the worst year for global equities since the financial crisis. 
  2. Succession plans: Billionaire Elon Musk said he will step down as chief executive of Twitter once he finds a replacement, but will still run some key divisions of the social media platform. "I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!" he wrote on Twitter.
  3. Dangerous waves: The tsunami of COVID-19 that’s taking hold across China is spurring concern that a dangerous new variant could emerge for the first time in more than a year, just as genetic sequencing to catch such a threat is dwindling.
 
 
 
 

Here's what else we have for you

 

Kota-based Eduncle is helping students crack competitive exams for higher education through holistic hybrid learning platform

In association with Rajasthan Digifest

 
Dr Amit Pareek founded Eduncle in 2016 after his own experience with entrance and competitive exam preparations for higher education in India’s “education hub” Kota, Rajasthan, where he found a large number of students could not afford the costs of quality preparation and tutoring, nor had access to them. Through end-to-end test preparation and holistic guidance, iStart Rajasthan-recognised Eduncle is disrupting the edtech space by focusing on helping students crack exams such as IIT JAM, UGC NET, GATE, SSC, and more.
 
Know More
 
 
 
 

Inside T-Hub, the world's largest innovation hub in Hyderabad

In association with t-hub

 

Since its inception in 2015, T-Hub has consistently worked towards building a comprehensive global innovation hub. It has also institutionalised programs for startups, corporates, and other stakeholders, delivering 75+ innovation programmes to date. Know more!
 
Know More
 
 
 

Startups leveraging AL and ML services with AWS

In association with AWS

 

With AWS MLeap spotlight is on the success stories of startups driving significant change by leveraging AI/ML. Watch as new-age entrepreneurs take us through their vision, the impact they are driving for the greater good, and how their association with AWS is playing a vital role.

 
Know More
 
 
 
 

Did you know?

 

When was the first accurate photographic image of a solar eclipse recorded?

 

Answer: On July 28, 1851, by Julius Berkowski in Prussia.

 
 
 
 

We would love to hear from you! To let us know what you liked and disliked about our newsletter, please mail nslfeedback@yourstory.com . 


If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, sign up here . For past editions of the YourStory Buzz, you can check our Daily Capsule page here .

 
FeedbackUnsubscribeNewsletters
 
 

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post

Contact Form