Controversial betting app Mahadev is among 22 illegal betting apps that the government ordered to be blocked on Sunday, following an investigation and raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ Zomato Gold needs fine-tuning, say experts
■ Infographic Insight: How is India using UPI, and where?
■ Byju’s files much-delayed FY22 financials
Govt bans Mahadev Book Online, 21 other illegal betting websites, apps
The government on Sunday issued orders to ban 22 illegal betting and gambling apps and websites, including the controversial app Mahadev Book Online, an official notification said, on the request of the ED, an official notification said.
Driving the news: The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) on Sunday issued the order, which follows investigations conducted by the ED “against illegal betting app syndicate and subsequent raids on Mahadev Book in Chhattisgarh, revealing the app’s unlawful operations,” the IT ministry said in a press release.
The investigation: This comes weeks after the ED seized assets worth Rs 417 crore in connection with the Mahadev online betting app. The probe agency had then alleged that the company was running operations from Dubai and made Rs 450 crore per month by offering illegal bets through a cache of online applications.State inaction? “Chhattisgarh Government had all the power to recommend shutting down of website/app under Sec 69A IT Act. However, they did not do so. They have been investigating it for last 1.5 years,” said minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar. In a scathing post on X, the minister alleged inaction on the part of CM Bhupesh Baghel, who faces election in the state in December.
Recap: In March this year, the IT ministry had issued similar orders to bar the operations of 138 betting and gambling apps on an “urgent” and “emergency” basis. Over the last two years, the government has banned close to 400 gaming, gambling, betting, photo editing and other apps and websites for either having links with China or being involved in money laundering as well as improper storage of data of Indian citizens.Also read | Offshore gaming apps lure users with ‘No GST’ carrot
Cyberattacks against India rise 278% in 3 years: report
India saw state-sponsored cyberattacks go up by 278% between 2021 and September 2023, with information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) companies facing the lion’s share of these attempted invasions, as per a report by cybersecurity firm Cyfirma.
Under attack: Indian government agencies have seen cyberattacks skyrocket by 460% during this period. Those on startups, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) shot up by a whopping 508%, as per the report.
Interestingly, these findings come days after opposition lawmakers received alerts on their Apple iPhones that they could be potential targets of a state-sponsored privacy attack. The government has ordered a probe to unearth more details on this.
Sectors impacted: Cyfirma found that services companies, including IT and BPO, were at the receiving end of 14.3% of cyberattacks between March 2021 and September 2023. This was followed by manufacturing at 11.6%, and healthcare and education at around 10% each. Retail, including online platforms, saw 9.8% of attacks while government agencies saw 9.6%.
Main target: The report showed that India is the biggest target globally, facing nearly 13.7% of all cyberattacks. The US is in second place at 9.6%, followed by Indonesia and China with 9.3% and 4.5%, respectively.
Also read | Over 1 lakh cyber security incidents in govt organisations this year
Despite numbers, Zomato must tweak Gold to cut profitability drag, say experts
Zomato CFO Akshant Goyal
Even as Zomato’s loyalty programme, Gold, which was relaunched in January this year, continues to drive volumes for the food delivery platform, it may need some fine-tuning to reduce its drag on the company’s profitability, analysts and sector experts said.
Details: In the letter to shareholders following the release of its September-quarter earnings on Friday, Zomato’s chief financial officer Akshant Goyal said Gold members were contributing to 40% of its food delivery gross order value (GOV).
However, he also said that as of now, “a Gold order is less profitable than a non-Gold order due to the impact of programme benefits. The delivery charges paid by the customer are almost negligible (due to the free delivery benefit for orders above a certain value).”
Financials: Zomato reported a net profit of Rs 36 crore in the quarter ended September 30, an increase from a profit after tax of Rs 2 crore in the June-quarter, when it posted its first ever quarterly net profit.
Quote, unquote: “There is some assurance in the fact that loyal customers are ordering and are ordering more…but it is important that drag on food delivery margins does not turn into value eroding. I’m sure the company has plans to turn some levers that could increase margins from Gold customers without affecting the growth…that’s where the focus is required,” an analyst said.
By the numbers: To drive the adoption of Gold, Zomato has also been offering the subscription at discounts, a strategy the company says is likely to change moving forward. As of September 30, the company reported 3.8 million Gold members, compared to 2 million a quarter ago. In comparison, rival Swiggy One’s subscriber base stood in the “low-single-digit millions” as of late August, a person in the know told ET.
Also read | Blinkit quarterly contribution margin turns positive first time ever
Everything’s about profitability at ET Soonicorns Summit
From left: Kunal Bahl, cofounder Titan Capital; Priyanka Sahay, assistant editor, ET Prime; Rohit Bansal, cofounder, Titan Capital
Stars of the startup ecosystem gathered in Delhi-NCR at the ET Soonicorns Summit on Friday and together underscored the importance of building profitable businesses. Founders and investors deliberated on the theme ‘Resilience, Reset, Results’ at the summit, which served as a platform for key industry leaders to offer insights on how to foster the next generation of unicorn founders.
Driving growth: Prashant Tandon, cofounder and CEO of Tata-owned digital health platform 1mg, spoke about prioritising growth.
“When capital is available, you invest aggressively in growth. What that means is that your teams, technology, processes…everyone optimises for growth,” he said. The company is a few quarters away from profitability, Tandon said.
Similarly, fintech company Mobikwik is also on track to attain full profitability and pursue a public offering in FY25, the company’s cofounder Upasana Taku said.
Healthy habits: Kunal Bahl, cofounder of early-stage investment firm Titan Capital, highlighted that a lot of correction has happened in FY23, and FY24 results of startups will show “the healthiest financials in our ecosystem”.
Also read | Investment in Mamaearth happened by chance: Titan Capital’s Kunal Bahl
Infographic Insight: How is India using UPI, and where?
India has seen Unified Payments Interface (UPI) payments to merchants increasing steadily. An ET analysis shows peer-to-merchant transactions accounted for 25% of the total UPI transactions in value terms and almost 60% in volume in the July-September quarter.
Last month, UPI crossed the 11-billion transaction milestone, an increase of more than a billion transactions since 9.9 billion were recorded in July.
Byju’s files much-delayed FY22 financials, posts operating loss of Rs 2,253 crore
Troubled edtech major Byju’s on Saturday reported its delayed audited financial accounting for the year ended March 2022 — in parts — showing a 2.3 times growth in revenue to Rs 3,569 crore in its standalone business.
The latest results have come after a delay of more than a year. Byju’s had filed financials for FY21 in September 2022 after an 18-month delay, with revenue readjusted to Rs 2,280 crore and losses swelling to Rs 4,588 crore.
By the numbers: Ebitda loss of the core business — financials for which were reported — was down to Rs 2,253 crore in FY22, from Rs 2,406 crore in the previous year, according to a company statement.
Standalone: The financials released on Saturday do not include earnings for Aakash Educational Institute and other acquisitions made by Byju’s parent Think & Learn Pvt Ltd over the last few years.
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