Mobile Services
Budget 2018-19:What fintech, e-commerce and investors expect from Jaitley
NEW DELHI: India’s Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget for 2018-19 on 1st February.This would be his third full-year Budget. So all eyeballs on his briefcase, what Jaitley is going to present for India.
Lets go through exceptions from Jaitley
Ishan Singh, CEO & MD RevStart, Active Angel Investor.
The Indian government has done great work with the Atal Innovation Mission and Atal Tinkering labs which have focussed on grants to educational institutions, however, to accelerate commercialization, they need to partner with private for-profit incubators and accelerators.
For any budding entrepreneur, access to capital is the most critical factor to success. The government needs to establish a start up Bank like the SBA in the US and allow equity crowdfunding to ease the flow of equity capital and credit to entrepreneurs and start-ups.
Anurag Avula, Co Founder and CEO, Shopmatic
“The Indian Government is taking great strides forward in digitising the entire country with its Digital India movement. That opens a very big opportunity for businesses to go online and sell. We continue to look forward to further initiatives in the Union Budget 2018019, that will truly give Startups and Entrepreneurs a fillip in growing their businesses and taking them online.
The country has a great potential to foster a startup environment and with the right initiatives and incentives, can indeed go a long way in encouraging millions of talented individuals to succeed ,”
“The Indian Government is taking great strides forward in digitising the entire country with its Digital India movement. That opens a very big opportunity for businesses to go online and sell. We continue to look forward to further initiatives in the Union Budget 2018019, that will truly give Startups and Entrepreneurs a fillip in growing their businesses and taking them online.
The country has a great potential to foster a startup environment and with the right initiatives and incentives, can indeed go a long way in encouraging millions of talented individuals to succeed ,” said Mr. Anurag Avula, Co Founder and CEO, Shopmatic
Ranjit Punja, CEO & Co-Founder, Creditmantri.com
As a fintech service which has data and technology in its core, the GST did not impact us directly; but this unified tax with and the recent systemic changes would bring about a much-needed digital push and increased accountability. We hope in the year ahead that the Digital India initiatives along with the GST which functions entirely online would bring about a shift in mindset and increased digital adoption,”
Surendra Kumar Jalan – Founder and CEO, OML P2P
“ We expect the Government will continue with it’s focus and thrust on the digital India programme in the coming Financial Years.
P2P industry has vast potential to support and provide financial inclusions of the masses, who are currently deprived of the adequate financial support (Loans) for their Personal and Business needs. As P2P industry is in its nascent stage, we expect Government to provide adequate tax incentive to the lenders to encourage large number of investors (Lenders) to join in for lending through these platforms to provide Financial Support (Financial Inclusions) of the people deprived of credit,”
Sanjay Sharma- MD and CEO, Aye Finance
“As we approach for the budget this year, one of the primary suggestions would be that the government should continue its firm stand on not allowing unnecessary loan freebies to the Agro or MSME sector. Passing on such freebies destroys the credit discipline and rewards the offenders, and thus indirectly punishes the diligent loan repayers.Further, the regulatory rules governing the fintech businesses need to be finalized on priority. Last year has seen these go through discussions and consensus building. This year should see the rules formalized into policy pronouncements. The focus of the regulators should be to enlarge the reach of organized lending, especially in bringing the excluded parts of the economy into the fold of organized lensing. Fintechs are, and will, play an important part in achieving this objective,”
Aditya Kumar, CEO & Founder, Qbera.com
Fintech companies in India are hoping that the upcoming budget emphasize on usage of IndiaStack, which would help end consumer apply for a loan with a click of a button. With sustained push towards a digital first economy, government can truly promote financial inclusion .
Satyam Kumar- CO-Founder and CEO, Loantap.in
“We find Angel Tax very contradictory to government’s push for Start Up and a matured market place transaction. In a fair transaction both Investor and Start Ups are free to negotiate a price point for investment and the same are guided by demand-supply principal. We see no place for IT Department to penalise a good negotiator.
On the other hands, when the economy is crying for capital investment & job creation, start ups are doing exactly the same with the help of Angel or Seed Stage investors. Why to penalise them? If we can not give them a Good Job Done Card, then atleast we should keep them away from trouble.”
Manish Chaudhari, Co-Founder and CRO, CoinTribe.
“With Demonetization and GST, the Govt has given a great boost to digital transactions and availability of financial records for Small business which is likely to provide a big boost in the coming years. This agenda can be enhanced by encouraging the Small Businesses with tax benefits for conducting digital transactions as this will build a strong foundation for sustainable Small Businesses. The overall expectation from this budget is also around lowering of income tax rates for businesses and professionals to encourage wider taxation coverage similar to the drive for increasing coverage in indirect taxes.
Given the growth in Fintech, it will be a welcome move if the govt. also creates some schemes to encourage budding Fintech entrepreneurs e.g. creation of Fintech Parks where space, high speed internet, basic admin facilities can be provided,”
NEW DELHI: Bharti Airtel, India’s telecommunications services provider, today announced the launch of its ultra-fast 5G services in 125 cities. Airtel 5G Plus service is now available to customers in over 265 cities in the country.
Airtel 5G Plus has three compelling advantages for customers. First, it runs on a technology that has the widest acceptance in the world with the most developed ecosystem. This ensures that all 5G smartphones in India seamlessly work on the Airtel network. Second, the company promises to deliver the best experience – between 20 to 30 times higher speeds than today coupled with brilliant voice experience and super-fast call connect. Finally, Airtel 5G Plus network will also be kinder to the environment with its special power reduction solution. Powered by the reliable Airtel network infrastructure, Airtel 5G Plus will provide superfast access to High-Definition video streaming, gaming, multiple chatting, instant uploading of photos et all.
Commenting on the launch, Randeep Sekhon, CTO, Bharti Airtel said, “5G has revolutionized the world of internet, ushering new era of connectivity and communications that will prove to be a game-changer for the country. At Airtel, we remain committed to delivering the highest quality of network and service to our customers as we roll-out 125 more cities today. Airtel was the first in the country to offer 5G services in October 2022, and today’s mega launch is our promise to connect every Airtel customer in the country with ultra-fast Airtel 5G Plus. Our 5G rollout is on track to cover all towns and key rural areas by March 2024.”
Airtel 5G Plus service availability will continue to rapidly expand – including service in all towns and villages in the country soon – as the company is working towards offering nationwide coverage. Airtel is now offering its 5G services in every major city from the upper northern city of Jammu to the southern tip of Kanyakumari.
In the last one year, Airtel has demonstrated the power of 5G with a host of powerful use cases that will change the way customers lead their lives and do business. From India’s first live 5G network in Hyderabad to India’s first private 5G network at the BOSCH facility in Bengaluru to partnering with Mahindra & Mahindra to make its Chakan manufacturing facility, India’s first 5G enabled auto manufacturing unit, Airtel has been at the forefront of 5G innovation.
NEW DELHI: Apple Inc has rolled out a beta programme to enable 5G on Apple devices as the upgrade lets users try out pre-release software.
This software upgrade enables 5G access on Apple devices, as and when service providers Jio, Airtel and Vodafone enable 5G network access, sources said.
Apple Users have to enrol for the Beta Programme on the website, install a profile and download the software.
Jio users using iPhone 12 and above, in cities where JioTrue5G has been rolled out, will be invited to the Jio Welcome Offer. Jio Welcome Offer provides unlimited 5G data at up to 1 Gbps speed to users at no additional cost. However, there is a condition that prepaid users must be on active Rs 239 and above plan. All Postpaid users are eligible for this trial.
Airtel is not providing any special 5G offer like Jio to their users. In the cities/areas in which the Airtel 5G network has been launched, users can trial 5G services as a part of their existing plan, once they have updated the latest Apple Beta software.
While an email sent to Apple did not solicit an immediate response, the firm had last month stated: “We are working with our carrier partners in India to bring the best 5G experience to iPhone users as soon as network validation and testing for quality and performance is completed. 5G will be enabled via a software update and will start rolling out to iPhone users in December”.
Airtel and Jio customers on iPhone 14, iPhone 13, iPhone 12 and iPhone SE (3rd generation) models can experience 5G as part of Apple’s iOS 16 Beta Software Program. The Apple Beta Software Program is open to anyone with a valid Apple ID who accepts the Apple Beta Software Program Agreement during the sign-up process.
If a user has an iCloud account, that is an Apple ID, it is recommended they use that. If they do not have an iCloud account or any other Apple ID, they can create one.
Customers who want to try the beta software should back up their iPhones before installing the beta software. It is recommended to install the beta software only on non-production devices that are not business-critical. Users can also provide feedback to Apple on quality and usability, which helps Apple identify issues, fix them, and make Apple software even better.
The iOS beta comes with the built-in Feedback Assistant app, which can be opened from the Home screen on the iPhone or iPad or from the Dock on the Mac.
Source: Press Trust of India
5g
Nokia wins multi-year deal with Reliance Jio India to build one of the largest 5G networks in the world
NEW DELHI: Nokia has announced that it has been selected as a major supplier by Reliance Jio to supply 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio countrywide in a multi-year deal. Reliance Jio is India’s number one mobile operator and has one of the largest RAN footprints in the world.
Under the contract, Nokia will supply equipment from its AirScale portfolio, including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software. Reliance Jio plans to deploy a 5G standalone network which will interwork with its 4G network. The network will enable Reliance Jio to deliver advanced 5G services such as massive machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low-latency.
Akash Ambani, Chairman Reliance Jio, commented: “We are pleased to be working with Nokia for our 5G SA deployment in India. Jio is committed to continuously investing in the latest network technologies to enhance the experience of all of its customers. We are confident that our partnership with Nokia will deliver one of the most advanced 5G networks globally.”
Pekka Lundmark, President and CEO at Nokia stated: “This is a significant win for Nokia in an important market and a new customer with one of the largest RAN footprints in the world. This ambitious project will introduce millions of people across India to premium 5G services, enabled by our industry-leading AirScale portfolio. We are proud that Reliance Jio has placed its trust in our technology and we look forward to a long and productive partnership with them.”
Nokia has a long-standing presence in India. This new deal will mean that Nokia is now supplying India’s three largest mobile operators.
