Guess Whose 4G Network Is The Slowest, Flipkart Eyes Offline, Banks In Damage-Control Mode After Data Breach And Other India News

Jio takes baby steps: Even as the telecom regulator cleared Reliance Jio’s free call offer, it limited it to 90 days – till Dec. 3. In a blow to the incumbents, TRAI said that the tariff plans of the new entrant were in compliance to existing rules. Meanwhile, TRAI data shows that the 4G speed on Jio’s network is slower than the top telcos. The Mukesh Ambani-led company was quick to respond. It said the comparison “has an inherent bias against Jio data usage.” (Pic credit: TRAI)

Online-to-offline: Flipkart is considering opening brick-and-mortar shops in small cities. The online-to-offline strategy is part of the e-commerce firm’s efforts to attract more customers. Flipkart touched a 100 million registered user mark and is now aiming to double it. The move may help the online retailer gain popularity in places where e-commerce hasn’t been able to make a mark. Flipkart is not the first to go the offline way. Amazon India had launched its offline initiative in 2014.

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“Basically we want to have some sort of a connect with the offline world as well—this is one of our upcoming initiatives, but it’s not something that’s out there yet,” Flipkart’s engineering chief Ravi Garikipati said.

E-commerce news: The recent and ongoing festive sales have brought cheer to customers but have added to offline retailers’ woes. Future group CEO Kishore Biyani along with other retailers met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to discuss the issue. Biyani expressed his concern regarding the hefty discounts being offered by e-tailers. The retailers said there should be a “level-playing field for retailers and e-commerce players, and there should be uniformity in policy." Meanwhile, theRBI eased norms for foreign investments in startups. Now, Foreign Venture Capital Investors registered with SEBI can invest in startups in India without any prior permission from the central bank.

Damage-control: The Indian banks hit by the biggest data breach are in a damage-control mode now. SBI, HDFC, Axis, ICICI and Yes Bank are planning to refund money to customers as well as other banks. The banking breach affected over 3 million debit cards across all banks. SBI has said it would replace all malware-affected cards. Axis has already replaced some cards while some cardholders have been asked to change their security codes. The breach went undetected for about 3 months and banks have rebooted their security to avoid such instances in the future.  

Ultimatum: In a major blow to the BCCI, the Supreme Court froze all of the cricket body’s financial transactions. It gave BCCI the ultimatum that unless it agrees to abide by the Lodha reforms, it won’t be allowed to give money to the state associations.

Fly online: You will soon be able to go online while travelling on an Air India flight. The airline is said to be in talks with BSNL for installation of wi-fi on its aircraft. Air India has initiated talks with international internet providers as well.  The facility is provided by other leading airlines and it seems Air India wants to catch up to them. But we shouldn’t forget that feasibility and cost will be the key factors the recently-profitable airline would need to consider.