<ul><li>Iconic romantic films including DDLJ, Tamasha, Titanic 3D version and Jab We Met were re-released during Valentine’s week. </li><li>For chains like PVR, reruns have been an important part of their campaign to bring India back to the theatres. </li><li>Analyst Karan Taurani believes reruns are not powerful enough to impact collections or drive theatre occupancy and indicates lack of fresh Bollywood content. </li><li>Indian film critic Sucharita Tyagi states reruns of classics are helping build film communities, drive theatre occupancy and celebrate cinema. </li></ul>Theatre audiences in one of the PVR’s in Punjab were seen dancing to the groovy beats of ‘Mauja hi mauja’, a song from Shahid Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor Khan-starrer Jab We Met, rereleased in theatres almost two decades after its original release. Kapoor called it ‘too special’ on Twitter. But is the business of nostalgia strong enough to mint money at the box office? Several iconic romantic films including – Shah Rukh Khan (SRK)-Kajol-starrer Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge (DDLJ), Ranbir Kapoor-Deepika Padukone’s Tamasha, James Cameron’s Titanic in 3D and Jab We Met – were released across PVR, Inox and Cinepolis theatres during Valentine’s week this February. Even though DDLJ remains the longest-running film in Indian cinema and is immensely popular with multiple reruns, it found tough competition this Valentine’s week from the Jab We Met rerun. “Jab We Met has now started beating DDLJ in PVR. Jab We Met collected ₹2 lakh on Friday. The collections then jumped to approximately ₹5 lakh on Saturday while the collections on Sunday were ₹6 lakh. On Monday, while DDLJ collected ₹6 lakh, Jab We Met collected ₹6.5 lakh in the multiplex chain,” reported<a href="https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/jab-mets-re-release-springs-surprise-collects-monday-sunday-also-beats-dilwale-dulhania-le-jayenge-pvr/"> Bollywood Hungama</a>. Rerun campaigns for boosting footfalls PVR Oberoi Mall in Goregaon, Mumbai decided to play six shows of Jab We Met on Valentine’s day. Tamasha had 150 shows with 50% audience occupancy and Titanic 3D version rerun had 1,000 shows, with 60% occupancy, PVR told Business Insider India. The PVR’S Valentine Week Film Festival (10th-16th February 2023) also re-released other romantic titles across languages – Ticket to Paradise (English), Ved (Marathi), Geetha Govindam (Telugu), Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (Tamil), Hridayam (Malayalam), Googly (Kannada) and Love Ni Bhavai (Gujarati). “Screened across 25 cities in India, Jab We Met, DDLJ, Tamasha, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa and Titanic especially received good response, recording average occupancy of 50-70%. Shows of Jab We Met had to be increased to meet the increased demand,” Gautam Dutta, CEO, PVR, told Business Insider India. PVR aims to continue with their rerun campaigns in the future, given the power nostalgia wields on millennials and even GenZs, Dutta added. For chains like PVR, reruns have been an important part of their campaign to boost theatre occupancy – be it re-releasing 11 films starring Amitabh Bachchan on his 80th birthday or the ‘Dilip Kumar Hero of Heroes’ campaign celebrating his 100th birth anniversary. The release of DDLJ during SRK’s birthday last year collected ₹23.4 lakh, claiming 60% occupancy then. “When you watch Jab We Met, you also watch it with 300 people who are die-hard fans of that film. Witnessing this celebration is pure joy. You know the punchlines, where to laugh, where to cry. Props to the Film Federation of India for bringing these classics back. They are also driving theatre occupancy,” Sucharita Tyagi, an Indian film critic told Business Insider India. Many movies like DDLJ, Tamasha, Jab We Met are already available on OTTs yet cinephiles are flocking to theatres in hoards. An Ormax report states the Indian theatre audience has lost <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indian-film-industry-lost-24-million-moviegoers-to-the-pandemic-ormax/articleshow/97918537.cms">24 million</a> moviegoers to the pandemic. This is accentuated by low impact of small and medium-budget films and availability of OTT platforms. The OTT audience in India has grown 20% in 2022 with 424 million active users. Yet, it looks like the big screen has its pull. “We are seeing films like Deewar in theatres, which was released when we weren’t even born. It is a novelty experience. Reruns boost film communities. The Priyanka Chopra led Jio-MAMI festival is also bringing physical screenings back. It is a good time for cinema I believe,” added Tyagi. Impact on collections: minuscule Reruns may boost film communities, but will they be able to revive flagging footfalls and lift box office collections? Karan Taurani, analyst at Elara Capital, believes reruns are not powerful enough to impact collections or drive theatre occupancy. They are rather indicative of fresh Bollywood content. Also, reruns have limitations in their reach. For instance, a Jab We Met will rake in more numbers in Punjab or Delhi as compared to South Indian cities like Chennai. “Reruns are happening because Pathaan has seen a strong run in the last two and a half weeks. Little to no fresh content is being offered, which is why these films are being re-released. The number of Hindi films released every quarter have come down 25-30%, from over 20 films every quarter pre-pandemic to less than 14 films now. There is greater reliance on big-budget films,” Taurani told Business Insider India. SRK-Deepika Padukone-starrer Pathaan crossed ₹500 crore in India in 20 days, contributing 46% to <a href="https://www.ormaxmedia.com/insights/stories/the-india-box-office-report-january-2023.html?s=08">January’s India box office</a> collections. Films released in January 2023 grossed ₹1,389 crore at the domestic box office, the highest since April 2022, as per <a href="https://www.ormaxmedia.com/insights/stories/the-india-box-office-report-january-2023.html?s=08">Ormax report.</a> A caveat – only six films managed to cross the ₹10 crore mark, indicating greater reliance on big-budget movies like Pathaan. “The impact of reruns is very minuscule. Collection is low because these are consumed more in terms of single screens where ticket prices are low. I don’t foresee a large number of people going to multiplexes for these films as ticket prices are 3-4 times higher,” added Taurani. But Tyagi states these movies are helping India come back to the theatres, although she too wishes the ticket prices of these movies were cheaper. “I cannot say if these movies are being used as fillers before the big releases but I am glad India is coming back to the theatres. I wish the ticket prices and snacks at concession stands were cheaper at theatres to make movie watching a more affordable experience,” added Tyagi. Reruns may not be too successful at raking in the moolah at the box office but what they surely do is revive the currency of nostalgia – allowing the audience to relive the past while providing theatre chains a respite from falling audience footfalls.

Business of nostalgia: Reruns aim to bring India back to the silver screens

<ul><li>The data center has been set up with an investment of around ₹1,500 crore and will see an additional investment of ₹5,000 crore in IT equipment. </li><li>Yotta also entered into an MoU with the UP government to invest ₹39,000 crore in a phased manner over 5-7 years. </li><li>“Data will be a $1 trillion dollar economy by 2025..Today, over 85% of India's data is stored abroad. With this emerging data center, that is about to change," said Niranjan Hiranandani of the Hiranandani real estate development group.</li></ul> Hiranandani group’s wholly-owned subsidiary Yotta Infrastructure on Monday unveiled North India’s first hyperscale data center at its Greater Noida Data Center Park, in a boost to the region’s digital economy. Called Yotta D1, it was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics &amp; IT. The data center has been set up with an investment of around ₹1,500 crore. Once fully functional, Yotta D1 building will see an additional investment of ₹5,000 crore in IT equipment, the company said in a press release. "When the data revolution began in India, Mumbai and Chennai were prime data storage centers. This is about to change with data centers now coming up in the Delhi NCR region as well. When you have a data center next to you, a lot of companies will be able to give lightning fast processing for data to local people, in turn boosting productivity," said Darshan Hiranandani, co-founder and chairman of Yotta Infrastructure. Yotta D1 is strategically located near the key business hubs of NCR, the company said. The company also entered into an MoU with the UP government to invest ₹39,000 crore in a phased manner over 5-7 years. The investment will go towards constructing the data center campus and procuring IT equipment and other hardware for Yotta customers. "Data will be a $1 trillion dollar economy by 2025 and this data center built in Greater Noida is the fastest-built data center globally. Today, over 85% of India's data is stored abroad. With this emerging data center, that is about to change," said Niranjan Hiranandani of the Hiranandani real estate development group. The data center inaugurated on Monday is spread across 20 acres. The Yotta Greater Noida Data Center Park will offer a total capacity of 30,000 racks, four dedicated fiber paths and an IT power capacity of 160 MW. In addition, the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the next two data center buildings – Yotta D2 &amp; D3, was also performed on Monday. Data centers go ‘local’ Sunil Gupta, co-founder and CEO Yotta Infrastructure, said that India will need to build its data storage capacity at a pace which is 15 times more than the mature global data centers of the world. India has over 700 million active internet users, and has clocked in 9.3 billion UPI transactions in one quarter alone. "If someone in Delhi wants to watch a high-definition movie, they should not wait for data to come from the Mumbai data center," said Gupta, who is also known as India's Data Man. The 5,000 data racks in Yotta D1 building has the capacity for storing at least 60 lakh high-definition movies, the company said. "These data centers will have multiple-use cases. Customers from edtech, healthtech companies, SMEs, public sector units, state government initiatives like AYUSH, Aadhar, storage of passport data can tap into this resource," added Gupta. Launched three years ago, Yotta Infrastructure has built data centers in Powai and will be tapping into Thane and Panvel in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Gujarat and West Bengal in the coming years. It also aims to go international and is in talks with the government of Bangladesh, the company said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/here-are-some-features-users-want-elon-musk-to-add-to-twitter/articleshow/95200755.cms">From longer tweets to proper verification of users, here are some of the Twitter features we want Elon Musk to introduce</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/these-interesting-new-whatsapp-features-could-be-coming-soon-to-the-app/slidelist/95202260.cms">These interesting new WhatsApp features could be coming soon to the app</a>

Hiranandani Group unveils North India’s first hyperscale data center in boost to region’s digital economy

<ul><li>Himshakti is an FMCG brand offering organic Himalayan products like seasoned salts, spices, and juices. </li><li>The funding round also saw participation from angel investors like Anand Kumar of Pier Counsel and Varun Agrawal of StarClinch. </li><li>The funds will be used for marketing and sales and improved packaging of the products. </li><li> The Uttarakhand-based startup plans to expand in France, Europe and ASEAN countries, aiming for shelf space in 200 premium stores. </li></ul>IIM Kashipur on Thursday said it had partnered with Artha Venture Fund’s Access programme and the partnership’s first investment was in Dehradun-based FMCG brand Himshakti, which has raised ₹17 lakh in its pre-seed round. The pre-seed funding round also saw participation from angel investors Anand Kumar of Pier Counsel and Varun Agrawal of StarClinch. Himshakti plans to use the funds for marketing, sales, and improving the packaging quality of its products. Artha Venture Fund, through its Artha Access programme, co-invests with accelerators like India Accelerator, Huddle, and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park. Founded in November 2019 by Harshit Sehdev, Himshakti products are organic and claim to provide health benefits like improved immunity and digestion. The startup aims to support and empower the local villagers and farmers by providing them with a consistent source of income. “Himshakti is one of the most promising Uttarakhand-based startups that is doing a phenomenal job at the grass root level to stop rural migration and provide job opportunities to the farmers of Uttarakhand,” said Professor Safal Batra, director, Foundation for Innovation &amp; Entrepreneurship Development, IIM Kashipur said. The funds will be used for marketing and sales and improved packaging of the products. Himshakti is currently applying for international certifications to launch its operations in Europe and ASEAN. The brand also wants to expand its footprints in France alongside aiming for shelf space in 200 premium stores. Himshakti products were seeing higher acceptance rates in the last 12 months at premium hotel chains and organic stores, the company claimed. The Indian fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry has grown by 10.9% in the quarter ending June 2022, versus 6% in the previous quarter, according to NielsenIQ’s FMCG Snapshot for <a href="https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/analysis/2022/fmcg-in-india-continues-to-recover-with-double-digit-growth-in-q2-2022/#:~:text=According%20to%20NielsenIQ's%20FMCG%20Snapshot,FMCG%20in%20India%2C%20in%202022.">Q2 2022</a>.

Artha Venture Fund ties up with IIM Kashipur to lead a pre-seed round in FMCG brand Himshakti

<ul><li>India would have to dedicate 5.9% of its GDP towards climate finance. </li><li>A key challenge for India would be land availability as the report pegs that it will need 45 million hectares of land than it has, towards its green initiatives. </li><li>Over three-fourths of India of 2050 is yet to be built, thus green policies need to be proactively put in place, the report says. </li></ul>India will need to invest an estimated $12.1 trillion by 2050 to achieve carbon neutrality, says McKinsey &amp; Company report on ‘Decarbonising India’. This would require the country to dedicate 5.9% of GDP towards climate finance, said the report released on Thursday. “India will need an estimated $7.2 trillion of green investments until 2050 to decarbonise in the LoS (line of sight) scenario and an additional $4.9 trillion for the ‘Accelerated’ scenario (about 3.5 percent and 2.4 percent of India’s GDP through this period respectively). 50 percent of the investment required for decarbonisation is economically viable, particularly across renewable energy, auto and agriculture; others would need policy support,” the report said. The report comes on the heels of the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) by the United Nations, scheduled to be held from 6-18th November in Egypt, this year. Over three-fourths of India of 2050 and 80% of India of 2070, is yet to be built. The next set of policies across key sectors like power, cement and agriculture will determine whether India can effectively contribute to a carbon-free world. India is the world’s third largest emitter, creating 2.9 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide every year, which is 4.9 percent of annual global emissions, the report states. If this goes unchecked, India has the potential to generate 11.8 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide per year by 2050. “Right policies, set up now, will enable India to add low carbon capacity in the next two decades thereafter,” claimed McKinsey. Five sectors which contribute to roughly 70 percent of India’s overall emissions are power, transportation, steel, cement and agriculture. The primary driver of carbon emissions in India is the power sector (coal, oil, gas) which accounted for 34% emissions. This was followed by agriculture (18%), primarily methane from cattle and rice cultivation. Other key emitters include transport (9%), water waste (6.2%) and buildings (4.5%). “Boldness in sustainable investments helps. This is what happened with the gradually increasing adoption of electric vehicles and solar energy. Even though coal mining districts of India will lose employment, construction jobs will increase and new renewable energy sectors will pop up, generating at least 30 million jobs,” said Rajat Gupta, Asia leader of the Sustainability Practice, McKinsey &amp; Company, who was also part of the core team that contributed to the national solar mission. Indian sustainability initiatives have also reaped results. “Tailwinds like reducing costs of renewables, EVs and progressive policies exist, e.g., the implicit carbon tax on transportation fuels of $140 to 240/tCO₂e is helping the electrification of mobility,” the report said. Key challenges towards India’s green future The plan has many challenges that go beyond policies and investments. India will need 45 million hectares more land than that’s available to drive its green initiatives. There is an increasing need to optimise current land use. In automotive, 100% of two wheelers, three wheelers and light truck sales may need to be electric early in the next decade. All car sales would have to be electric by 2035 and trucks by 2050. The pace of renewable capacity addition needs to pick up – from 10 gigawatts to 40-50 gigawatts per year and green steel needs to become competitive. Moreso, battery costs will have to decline by 40% by 2030, green hydrogen by two-thirds by 2035. Farmers have to adopt new practices for rice cultivation, the report reveals. The shift to sustainable-farming practices however could help generate additional farmer income of ₹3,400 per hectare per year, as per the line of sight scenario, the report calculated. “We need to intensify our efforts towards building more urban forests but also make our current forest more dense. Higher adoption of electric vehicles and green hydrogen are needed. Use of carbon tax especially in the steel sector is needed towards making greener investments in India,” said Divy Malik, Associate Partner at McKinsey &amp; Company. The shift towards greener alternatives however will help it reap monetary benefits too. India can save $1.7 trillion in forex which would otherwise be spent on energy imports (oil and coking coal) till 2070, adds the report. Moreover, it also holds the potential to become a manufacturing and R&amp;D base for cleantech like EVs, batteries and electrolysers.

India needs to invest $12.1 trillion to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050: McKinsey

<ul><li>BluSapphire is a cybersecurity SaaS platform which was founded by Kiran Vangaveti. </li><li>VC firm Dallas Venture Capital, Binny Bansal-backed xto10x, RPG Ventures &amp; Merisis Venture Partners participated in the funding round. </li><li>ValueBridge Capital was the sole advisor for this transaction</li></ul> Full-stack cybersecurity platform BluSapphire Cyber Systems said on Thursday it has raised $9.2 million in a Series A funding round led by Barings Private Equity India. The round also saw participation from VC firm Dallas Venture Capital, Binny Bansal-backed xto10x, RPG Ventures &amp; Merisis Venture Partners. ValueBridge Capital was the sole advisor for this transaction, the company said. BluSapphire, a Gartner Cool Vendor, is a cybersecurity SaaS platform which was founded by Kiran Vangaveti. A Gartner Cool Vendor title is given to a small company that is providing innovative tech solutions. “Building resilience against sophisticated cyber-attacks is the key to business survival. BluSapphire operates with this vision. The capital will help us continue to build and grow our SaaS platform rapidly across North America and India,” Vangaveti, who is also the CEO of BluSapphire, said. The full-stack AI and predictive analytics platform allow clients to prevent sophisticated cyberattacks across cloud, on-premises and hybrid work environments, the company said. “BluSapphire offers a full-stack cybersecurity platform, which helps automate cybersecurity operations. The efficiencies offered by their platform can reduce SOC operating expenses by close to 70% with cutting-edge detection and response times. The product has strong validation from reputed defence and corporate sector clients and it has won various awards,” Arul Mehra, partner, Barings Private Equity India, said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/kkr-to-acquire-digital-services-transformation-company-ness-digital-engineering/articleshow/95119920.cms">KKR to acquire digital services transformation company Ness Digital Engineering</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/q2-corporate-earnings-report-banks-perform-well-moderate-growth-in-fmcg-auto/articleshow/95120418.cms">Q2 corporate earnings report: Banks perform well, moderate growth in FMCG, auto</a>

Cybersecurity platform BluSapphire raises $9.2 million in Barings PE-led funding round

<ul><li>Dubai-based Artfi has raised a private funding round of $3.26 million. </li><li>Retail investors can now own blue-chip artworks of Picasso, VS Gaitonde, M F Husain, Sacha Jafri, Banksy among others. </li><li>The global art market has an estimated value of $65 billion. </li></ul>Artfi, a Dubai-based blockchain NFT ecosystem received funds worth $3.26 million at a valuation of $100 million. Investors that participated in this round include Sheikha Hend Al Qassemi, a member of the ruling family of Sharjah; Raza Beig, director of Landmark Group, UAE among others. Founded by art connoisseur Asif Kamal, this startup will concentrate on creating fine art NFTs. Artfi will use this capital to build a dedicated marketplace for fine art NFTs, as well as for product and team development. “Artfi was launched with a vision to make art accessible to everyone. Each art piece that we bring and fractionalize into 5-10k NFTs will be priced at the real value of art with predefined coordinates and fraction number, unlike super inflated JPEG NFTs that are crashing badly today,” said Asif Kamal, founder and CEO of Artfi. It is building fine arts NFTs which represent iconic blue-chip artworks of world-renowned artists like Picasso, VS Gaitonde, M F Husain, Sacha Jafri, Banksy among others. Blue-chip artworks are made by renowned artists. The funding comes when NFT transaction activity has <a href="https://go.chainalysis.com/rs/503-FAP-074/images/state-of-web3.pdf">declined</a> from $3.9 billion in February 2022 to less than $1 billion in March 2022. “This is an opportunity for people to now diversify their portfolios from stocks, fixed deposits and invest in one of the largest asset classes that have outperformed all these traditional investments for over 30 years,” said Asif Kamal, founder and CEO of Artfi. The global art market has a total <a href="https://www.statista.com/topics/1119/art-market/">estimated</a> global sales of $65 billion, according to Statista. The fine art fintech company is also gearing up for whitelisting of its offerings from August — which means users get guaranteed early access.

A web3 startup making NFTs of Picasso and M F Husain art, receives funding

Cryptocurrencies have caught the imagination of investors apart from tech enthusiasts – in a very short period of time. Now, there are as many as 20,000 such currencies in circulation. Yet, most governments tend to view it with suspicion, and a few have even gone ahead and banned them. As per the Law Library of Congress, a global <a href="https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llglrd/2021687419/2021687419.pdf">research </a>directorate, eight jurisdictions had an absolute ban, and 15 jurisdictions with an implicit ban on cryptos in 2018. In November 2021, it grew to nine jurisdictions with an absolute ban and 42 with an implicit ban. And, the list keeps growing. The monetary authority of Singapore is expected to broaden its crypto regulations soon. Many of India’s neighbors like Nepal and Bangladesh too have banned them. India slapped a 30% tax on cryptos earlier this year, along with a 1% TDS on all crypto transactions. However, the government also said that it does not mean that it is legally recognizing it. Its central bank however has no doubts and keeps insisting on a ban. "In view of the concerns expressed by the RBI on the destabilizing effect of cryptocurrencies on the monetary and fiscal stability of a country, the RBI has recommended framing of legislation on this sector,” said Nirmala Sitharaman India’s finance minister said on July 18. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Here are the top ten countries that have already instituted a ban on cryptocurrencies." comment="subhead" text="Here are the top ten countries that have already instituted a ban on cryptocurrencies.">Here are the top ten countries that have already instituted a ban on cryptocurrencies.</cmsannotation> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Nepal" comment="subhead" text="Nepal">Nepal</cmsannotation> The Ministry of Communications and technology directed Nepal Telecommunications Authority to implement a ban on the use of cryptocurrencies in July 2019 citing an increased risk of fraud and illegal outflow of the country's domestic capital. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Bangladesh" comment="subhead" text="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</cmsannotation> Bangladesh banned trading in all virtual currencies in 2017 saying cryptos lead to terror funding and money laundering. It’s also illegal to mine cryptos in this Asian country. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Indonesia" comment="subhead" text="Indonesia">Indonesia</cmsannotation> Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority said in 2022 that firms are not allowed to trade any crypto assets. The government advised citizens against crypto ‘Ponzi schemes’. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="North Macedonia" comment="subhead" text="North Macedonia">North Macedonia</cmsannotation> There is a complete ban on the usage of cryptocurrencies in North Macedonia since 2016, making it the only European country to do so. The governor of the National Bank of Macedonia said all international payments are done by banks, so crypto is illegal. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Russia" comment="subhead" text="Russia">Russia</cmsannotation> Russia’s love-hate relationship with crypto came to an end with Prime Minister Putin banning crypto in 2022. Putin declared cryptos a threat to financial stability. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Qatar" comment="subhead" text="Qatar">Qatar</cmsannotation> Cryptocurrencies have been banned in the Qatar Financial Center since 2018. The country said that this is to “ensure the safety of the financial and banking system”. Calling it highly volatile and subject to hacking, the country also banned bitcoin trading the same year, saying penalties will be imposed on companies who indulge in them. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Bolivia" comment="subhead" text="Bolivia">Bolivia</cmsannotation> The Bolivian central bank placed a complete ban on crypto tokens in 2022, although the country already prohibited cryptocurrency usage since 2014. Bolivia took this step stating that citizens could encounter major financial losses and fall victim to “scams”. Even though it’s not considered a crime, Bolivia does not support any crypto brokers. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Algeria" comment="subhead" text="Algeria">Algeria</cmsannotation> The central bank of Algeria prohibited the use of all cryptocurrencies because they are largely unregulated and volatile. The law was passed in 2018. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Morocco" comment="subhead" text="Morocco">Morocco</cmsannotation> Cryptocurrencies have been shunned in Morocco since 2017, becoming the first African country to do so. The reason they banned crypto is still vague, only highlighting its ‘illegal’ aspect. Although peer-to-peer bitcoin trading is still prevalent in the country. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Ghana" comment="subhead" text="Ghana">Ghana</cmsannotation> Ghana’s securities and exchange commission termed cryptocurrencies illegal in 2020, banning their use. The Bank of Ghana has also not recognised crypto legally, also discouraging the use of cryptocurrencies. However, the government of Ghana is still open to regulating crypto in the near future.

10 countries that banned cryptos calling them threats, ponzi schemes & more

<ul><li>KoinX, an Indian crypto startup launched a platform to calculate crypto taxes, and raised $1.5 million in seed funding.</li><li>Over 16,000 users have been registered on the waitlist of the platform.</li><li>Four Indian and two international crypto exchanges have collaborated with KoinX.</li><li>The subscription to the platform is priced at ₹749 per user per annum.</li></ul>India has a new crypto tax regime in place and investors are struggling to understand its implications on their taxes. India’s first crypto tax calculation platform, KoinX, aims to make life easy on the tax front for crypto investors. Launched on April 5, 2022, KoinX is seeing active interest, with over 16,000 Indian users in the waiting list. It claims to be a one-stop-shop for calculating tax levied on digital assets like cryptocurrencies, NFTs. “Crypto transactions are complex, as apart from INR pairs, there are crypto-to-crypto transactions that are also allowed in this ecosystem. Since crypto is dynamic, it is difficult for an average person to keep track of the ever-changing prices. Keeping updated with new reforms of crypto tax laws in the country also becomes difficult,” KoinX’s founder Punit Agarwal told Business Insider India. The Indian government announced new crypto taxes earlier this year, levying a 30 percent tax on crypto profits, effective April 1, and a 1 percent tax deductible at source (TDS) on all crypto transactions, effective July 1. India’s crypto market is going through rocky times with Indian crypto exchanges reporting a drop of over 90% drop in their trading volumes, mostly hurt by the newtaxes. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Surviving the crypto bear market" comment="subhead" text="Surviving the crypto bear market">Surviving the crypto bear market</cmsannotation> However, angel investors are optimistic about the sector as evidenced by the recent investment in KoinX. KoinX raised $1.5 million in seed funding from Polygon founder Sandeep Nailwal, iSeed Fund, Kube VC and over 40 plus angel investors on July 5, 2022. “It is no doubt worrisome for an angel investor to see the disturbing numbers but a lot of companies built in the bull market are based on euphoria. The companies who survive the current bear market of crypto and blossom during this time are worth investing in. One such company is KoinX,” said Ajeet Khurana, crypto advisor and ex-CEO of ZebPay, one of India’s first crypto exchanges, and also an angel investor in KoinX. KoinX acquired Crypto Kanoon on July 5, 2022 for an undisclosed amount to lasso in the loyal crypto community in India. Crypto Kanoon, co-founded in 2018 by Kashif Raza provides legal updates about cryptos in the country. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Evolving space" comment="subhead" text="Evolving space">Evolving space</cmsannotation> Crypto is an evolving space, with even the regulators still struggling to understand how it all works, KoinX says and its tax-calculation platform will help investors navigate this landscape better as it believes even chartered accounts are not up to speed on crypto. “The first reaction of a chartered accountant in India is that crypto is not legal. Apart from the service fees, they often admonish users for keeping any asset in crypto. KoinX aims to address this,'' said Raza. KoinX is charging ₹749 per user per annum to calculate and prepare a ready-to-download tax report for filing crypto income. It has tied up with six crypto exchanges – CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, Binance, Vauld, Bitbns and WazirX – for data access. The company aims to begin with taxes but can expand to other ancillary services in the future. Agarwal says the waitlisted users will get early access to the application and added benefits. Users who joined the waitlist between 8 pm IST to 11:59 PM IST on July 5, will enjoy using the platform free of cost for two tax seasons, he added. The app version of the platform is expected soon. SEE MORE <a class="tout-title-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/retail/news/dmarts-growth-momentum-could-be-impacted-by-high-inflation/articleshow/92747965.cms" style="">DMart has more stores and no disruptions like it wanted – and investors are excited</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/not-just-crude-gold-silver-and-even-wheat-and-edible-oil-prices-are-going-down-in-india/articleshow/92748130.cms" style="">It’s not just crude, gold, silver and even wheat and edible oil prices are going down</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/spicejet-shares-plunge-sharply-due-to-several-technical-malfunctions-and-rising-jet-fuel-prices/articleshow/92742788.cms" style="">SpiceJet: In the eye of a perfect storm</a>

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