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As Indian startups face turbulence in the global funding winter, experts on Monday said they need to reserve cash, create a long-term goal and adopt a culture of customer feedback to survive in 2023. On the occasion of the 'National Startup Day', envisioned by Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="narendra-modi" source="Orion">Narendra Modi</keyword> last year, industry experts said that the founders must continuously monitor the trends which are happening in the world. Indian startups fired more than 18,000 employees in 2022 amid a funding winter and macroeconomic uncertainty. "Investing in R&amp;D can be one of the finest ways to actually tackle disruption. Make sure that as a business, you keep some of your profits or your balance sheet reserves for investing into R&amp;D to actually learn more," Dr Ritesh Malik, Director, <keyword id="6365866" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="alliance" source="Orion">Alliance</keyword> for <keyword id="2947744" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="digital-india-foundation" source="Orion">Digital India Foundation</keyword>, or <keyword id="1429787" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="adif" source="Orion">ADIF</keyword>, told IANS. "If you feel that there is a platform like Instagram where the go-to-market strategy is more efficient, start learning Instagram and start promoting your products there," he added. According to <keyword id="6061635" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="tejas-khoday" source="Orion">Tejas Khoday</keyword>, Co-Founder and CEO of trading platform FYERS, this year is special as India has emerged to be the third largest startup ecosystem in the world. "While the past year was turbulent with IPOs of several well-known startups not doing too well, the ongoing funding winter and related layoffs, in the long run, all this will be a blip on the radar," he said. That said, this will help the ecosystem to mature and hopefully and we will see startups achieve a better balance between scale and profitability in 2023, Khoday noted. While interacting with over 150 startups, <keyword id="2238662" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pm-modi" source="Orion">PM Modi</keyword> last year announced the commemoration of National Startup Day on January 16 every year. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and the <keyword id="6416832" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ministry-of-commerce-and-industry" source="Orion">Ministry of Commerce and Industry</keyword> marked an entire week as <keyword id="16072714" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="national-startup-week" source="Orion">National Startup Week</keyword>, from January 10 to 16. According to Malik, startups must hear back from their customers. "The more you hear from your customers, the more you will be able to understand their changing needs. And the more your product becomes dynamic and you constantly change that product to the whims and fantasies of the customer," he noted. <keyword id="3337958" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ravish-naresh" source="Orion">Ravish Naresh</keyword>, CEO and Co-founder of Khatabook, said that there is a stronger acknowledgment of Indian startups' role in solving core problems of emerging economies to bridge the socio-economic gaps. "This year, our primary aim is to turn profitable and scale up the digital lending offerings to meet the unmet credit demand of Indian MSME businesses. We are optimistic about the Indian economy and its opportunities for the startup ecosystem," he said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/logistics-startup-locad-raises-11-million-in-series-a-funding-led-by-reefknot-investments/articleshow/97020396.cms">Logistics startup Locad raises $11 million in Series A funding led by Reefknot Investments</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/foreign-investors-pull-out-15000-crore-from-stocks-in-the-first-two-weeks-of-2023/articleshow/97019987.cms">Foreign investors pull out ₹15,000 crore from stocks in the first two weeks of 2023</a>

Indian startups need to conserve cash & listen to customers, say experts

The Alliance of Digital <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> Foundation (ADIF) on Wednesday hailed the action taken by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against Google for unfair use of its dominant position with respect to Play Store policies, especially in regard to In-app payment systems. As Google's unfair practices in regards to In-<keyword id="235499" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="app" source="Orion">app</keyword> purchases and subscription fees are established through the CCI verdict, the lasting way out is to have a legislative frame to restrain such practices of excessive charging by the App Aggregators platforms, it said. An ADIF spokesperson said that this payments decision, along with the <keyword id="6355645" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="android" source="Orion">Android</keyword> app bundling decision by the CCI last week, will set a new precedent globally against the anti-trust practices followed by any dominant tech organisation in India. ADIF, an over 500-member alliance working relentlessly for easing the operating ecosystem for startups, said that there is a strong need to back the CCI decision with appropriate legislation, so as to stop App Aggregator platforms from charging excessively from App developers. "A price regulatory authority and framework in Digital India Act or Competition Act, in line with DMA act in the UK for digital markets may be the imminent step in the right direction, which would help in restraining such anti-competitive practices by Significant IT intermediary organisations," said the organisation. Charging to the tune of 30 per cent for payment services is excessive by any means and the CCI noted that mandatory imposition of <keyword id="15347289" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="gpbs" source="Orion">GPBS</keyword> (Google Play Billing System) limits technical advancement in the market for in-app payment processing services because it disturbs the incentives for innovation and the capacity of payment processors and app developers to innovate and build new technologies. "Also, other than payment processing services, Google play store does not provide any additional service which justifies the imposition of its supra-competitive fees, hence their commission of 15 per cent or 30 per cent is without any commercial justification," it added. There is a strong need to stop this abusive practice, and as has been established by CCI of this unfair practice, there needs a legislative framework to restrict the In-app payment charges in line with PG charges (up to 3 per cent). "The time is ripe to replicate the same for the app developers also, as this would usher a new paradigm in the Start-up space in India, with consumers getting innovative app-based solutions for their professional and business needs," said the ADIF. The CCI fined Google Rs 936.44 crore on October 25 for abusing its dominant position with regard to its Play Store Billing and payment policy, a few days after the regulator slapped a fine of Rs 1,338 crore for abusing its dominant position in multiple markets with its Android mobile operating system (OS), may be considered as the resilient footing to set up the legislative framework. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/this-xiaomi-12s-ultra-concept-is-a-hope-to-take-smartphone-photography-to-the-next-level-lets-you-attach-dslr-lenses-to-the-phone/articleshow/95252403.cms">This Xiaomi 12S Ultra Concept is a hope to take smartphone photography to the next level — lets you attach DSLR lenses to the phone</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/crypto-exchange-binances-ceo-invests-500-mn-in-twitter-to-support-free-speech/articleshow/95256055.cms">Crypto exchange Binance's CEO invests $500 mn in Twitter to "support" free speech</a>

CCI action against Google to bring in fair play in Indian app ecosystem: ADIF

The latest verdict of <keyword id="6354977" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court" source="Orion">Supreme Court</keyword> in the <keyword id="16189781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google-CCI-case" source="Orion">Google-CCI case</keyword> can benefit the Indian tech and digital industry in the long run but there is a long road ahead to achieve that goal, industry experts said on Saturday. In the ruling earlier this week, a Supreme Court bench said the findings by the CCI cannot be said to be "without jurisdiction or with manifest error" and affirmed the <keyword id="7315513" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NCLAT-order" source="Orion">NCLAT order</keyword>, declining to grant interim relief to <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google" source="Orion">Google</keyword>. The bench directed the NCLAT to dispose of Google's appeal by March 31, and granted Google seven days to deposit 10 per cent of the Rs 1,337.76 crore penalty imposed by the CCI. However, the Supreme Court is yet to decide on the merits of the case. "The SC order is good wherein Google may have to deposit initial money. But to recover the fine and penalty, the government will have to win before NCLAT and the Supreme Court by demonstrating clear violation of Indian laws by Google operations in the country," Supreme Court lawyer and cyber law expert, Virag Gupta, told IANS. The apex court observed that Google ought to follow regulations established by the European Union. "However, India lacks a strong legal framework. European penalties against tech giants are based on a robust GDPR regime. The Digital Markets Act of the EU defines three elements of size, control and durable positions of tech giants. Such comparable laws don't exist in India," Gupta lamented. Google had alleged that the CCI copy-pasted parts of a European court order without examining associated evidence in India. The tech giant is reviewing the Supreme Court's decision. A company spokesperson said in a statement that the decision "is limited to interim relief and did not decide the merits of our appeal". "Android has greatly benefited Indian users, developers, and OEMs and played a key role in India's digital transformation. We remain committed to our users and partners and will cooperate with the CCI on the way forward, in parallel with our appeal," said a Google spokesperson. The CCI has also imposed a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on Google in a separate case for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State of Electronics and IT, had hailed the CCI's decision, stressing that a free and fair internet is a firm policy goal for the government. According to the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF), a policy think tank for Indian startups, the SC order established that Google is not above the law of the land. "The recent CCI decision and the SC upholding NCLAT decision of refusing stay has set a global benchmark, and would cement India's position in preventing startup's interests and severely restricting abuse of dominance by Google," said an ADIF spokesperson. The verdict is a "monumental step towards fair competition and practices in India", and the decision "could potentially embolden the startup ecosystem in the country, boost innovation, and encourage smaller players to enter the market", according to the ADIF. (Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in) SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/rils-q3-net-profit-stays-flat-at-15792-crore-retail-and-jio-deliver-while-o2c-drags-due-to-weak-demand/articleshow/97179878.cms">RIL’s Q3 net profit stays flat at ₹15,792 crore – retail and Jio deliver, while O2C drags due to weak demand</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/reliance-retails-q3-net-profit-up-6-2-at-2400-crore-finance-costs-depreciation-weigh/articleshow/97179758.cms">Reliance Retail’s Q3 net profit up 6.2% at ₹2,400 crore; finance costs, depreciation weigh</a>

Google-CCI fight can become India's digital opportunity say experts

In probably the first case of a Big Tech giant paying a penalty to the Indian regulators as the government aims to bring a new Digital India Act, <keyword id="6355629" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="google" source="Orion">Google</keyword> has paid the entire penalty amount of Rs 1,337.76 crore imposed by the Competition Commission of India (<keyword id="47183" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cci" source="Orion">CCI</keyword>) in the <keyword id="16080839" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="android-case" source="Orion">Android case</keyword>. Reliable sources told IANS on Tuesday that the entire penalty amount has been deposited in the Consolidated Fund of India, within the 30-day deadline given by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (<keyword id="6396355" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nclat" source="Orion">NCLAT</keyword>) in its order. The Indian market regulator imposed a penalty on Google in October 2022 for allegedly exploiting its dominant position in the <keyword id="6355645" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="android" source="Orion">Android</keyword> market. Earlier this year, Google announced to comply with the CCI's directives for Android. "The CCI's recent directives for Android and Play require us to make significant changes for India, and we've informed the CCI of how we will be complying with their directives," Google said in a statement. "We're updating the Android compatibility requirements to introduce changes for partners to build non-compatible or forked variants," said Google. Through user choice billing, developers can offer users the option to choose an alternative billing system alongside Google Play's billing system when purchasing in-app digital content. The changes came as a Supreme Court bench said that the findings by the CCI cannot be said to be "without jurisdiction or with manifest error" and affirmed the NCLAT order, declining to grant interim relief to Google. The bench directed the NCLAT to dispose of Google's appeal by March 31 and granted Google seven days to deposit 10 per cent of the Rs 1,337.76 crore penalty imposed by the CCI. Google had alleged that the CCI copy-pasted parts of a European court order without examining associated evidence in India. The CCI has also imposed a penalty of Rs 936.44 crore on Google in a separate case for abusing its dominant position with respect to its Play Store policies. In response to Google's announcement of implementing its new Google Play payments policy, the Alliance of Digital India Foundation (ADIF) had expressed deep concern over the policy change and has demanded that the new policies must be put on hold, since Google charging a nearly 30 per cent service fee on app developers will prove to be a significant blow to the Indian startup ecosystem. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/hugh-grant-says-playing-the-bad-guy-is-more-fun-delicious/articleshow/99931571.cms">Hugh Grant says playing the bad guy is 'more fun &amp; delicious'</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/sharad-pawar-quits-as-ncp-chief-forms-panel-to-name-his-successor/articleshow/99931187.cms">Sharad Pawar quits as NCP chief, forms panel to name his successor</a>

Google pays entire ₹1,338 crore penalty to CCI in Android case

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Spanish region spent $276 million on trains before they realized they were too big to fit in the tunnels.</li><li>Two officials in the transport industry were fired as a consequence.</li></ul>Spanish transport services are going back to the drawing board after spending millions of euros on new commuter trains that are too large to fit in tunnels of the rail network.Two senior officials in the Spanish transport industry <a href="https://www.eldiariomontanes.es/cantabria/cesados-jefe-inspeccion-adif-gerente-material-renfe-20230206182447-nt.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were fired earlier this</a> week after local news outlet El Comercio <a href="https://www.elcomercio.es/asturias/feve-sigue-recibir-trenes-encargo-confusion-dimensiones-asturias-renfe-20230124002202-ntvo.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported last month</a> that the government had spent €258 million (about $276 million) on unusable trains. The 31 trains were meant to replace older ones in the north of Spain — on a route that connected the Cantabria and Asturias regions. President of Cantabria Miguel Angel Revilla <a href="https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/02/10/unspeakable-botch-spain-spends-258-million-on-trains-that-are-too-big-for-its-tunnels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called the circumstance</a> an "unspeakable botch," according to local newspaper El Diario Montañés. Renfe — the country's national train operator — ordered the trains in 2020, granting the manufacturing contract to the transport manufacturing company CAF.Renfe said it provided correct measurements from Adif, a train track company, Euronews <a href="https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/02/10/unspeakable-botch-spain-spends-258-million-on-trains-that-are-too-big-for-its-tunnels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>, but the manufacturers said they warned the national train line that the sizing was likely, not correct. The miscommunications likely arose because the tunnels in the region were built in the 19th century, according to Euronews, so they do not accommodate recent standard train sizes. Luckily, the trains were still in the design phase, the country's transport minister said, and had not yet been built when the error came to light. They were meant to be available in 2024. However, a complete redesign means the new service will not be available until 2026. Isabel Rodriguez, a government spokesman, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/02/07/spain-spends-258m-build-trains-big-tunnels/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called the incident</a> "unacceptable" and said there would be an internal investigation into the mix-up.This is not the first time there have been sizable train troubles in Europe: in 2014, a French rail company <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/shortcuts/2014/may/21/french-rail-company-sncf-trains-too-wide" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spent billions of euros</a> on trains that were "too wide" for the tracks.

$276 million was spent on 31 Spanish trains before it was realized they were too big to fit in the tunnels

The <keyword id="7656598" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="merchant-payments" source="Orion">Merchant Payments</keyword> Alliance of India (MPAI) and the Alliance of <keyword id="1929810" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-india" source="Orion">Digital India</keyword> Foundation (ADIF) on Wednesday urged the <keyword id="6354335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank-of-india" source="Orion">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi" source="Orion">RBI</keyword>) to extend the card-on-file (CoF) tokenisation deadline of December 31 for merchants. Citing several operational challenges that will hinder the transition to the token-based payments ecosystem, the industry bodies voiced their concerns over industry readiness on the RBI directive on card-on-file tokenisation. MPAI and ADIF said that 'ecosystem readiness' is a sequential process of going live with stable API (application programming interface) documentation for tokenised transactions. The digital payments ecosystem is a long way from consumer-ready solutions and unless regulated entities are compliant, merchants will not be able to successfully process tokenised transactions, they said in the joint letter. "In the scenario that banks are lax on preparedness, the brunt of that will be borne by merchants in the form of loss of revenue - we are looking at revenues losses of anywhere between 20-40 per cent at the minimum should that be the case," said Sijo Kuruvilla George, Executive Director, ADIF. The RBI in September prohibited merchants from storing customer card details on their servers with effect from January 01, 2022, and mandated the adoption of CoF tokenization as an alternative to card storage. The industry bodies said that if implemented in the present state of readiness, the new RBI mandate could cause major disruptions and loss of revenue, especially for merchants. "This unpreparedness will impact recent digital payments adopters even deeply. The frequency and intensity of phishing attempts will go as entire card details are to be entered for each transaction, causing a significant increase in irreversible fraudulent transactions," said Vishal Mehta, Chair of Governing Council, MPAI. Based on the set of guidelines that have been mandated by the RBI, sensitive customer information is to be stored in the form of an encrypted 'token' to help secure transactions. These tokens then allow payments to be processed without disclosing the customer details or allowing the payment intermediaries to store customer data that could breach security and privacy. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/tiktok-scores-higher-traffic-ratings-than-google-to-become-the-most-popular-domain-in-2021/slidelist/88403667.cms">People looked up TikTok more than Google making the short videos app the most popular domain in 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/upcoming-whatsapp-new-features-will-enhance-admin-control-in-groups-add-shortcut-for-quick-replies-and-more/articleshow/88387262.cms">Upcoming WhatsApp features: New admin controls, shortcuts for quick replies, message reactions and more</a>

Merchant bodies urge RBI to extend card-on-file tokenisation deadline citing operational challenges

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">REUTERS/Marcelo del PozoA woman sits on her suitcase as she waits for a train during a 24-hour nationwide train strike against the privatization plans of railways public companies Adif and Renfe at Santa Just train station in the Andalusian capital of Seville, southern Spain October 31, 2013.</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Despite strong consumer data, rail freight is in a steep decline in the United States.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/railroads">Railroads</a> across the board posted disappointing earnings, as volumes continue to fall. </li><li>Cheap trucking rates have siphoned some shipments, but President Trump's trade war isn't helping anything. </li><li>Moody's on Friday lowered its rating for the sector to negative from stable. </li><li><a href="https://www.thisisinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. </a></li></ul>The amount of freight shipped by railroad has declined for months thanks to cheap trucking rates and President Donald Trump's trade war and there doesn't seem to be much light at the end of the tunnel.After disappointing results by nearly every major freight railroad for the third quarter earlier in October, there's more bad news on the horizon, says Moody's.Freight volumes across the board are likely to fall through 2020, the credit ratings agency said on Friday, lowering its outlook to negative from stable."Coal shipments fell 9% over the last three months, a decline we expect to accelerate to the low teens in 2020," Moody's said. "Absent a substantial federal policy shift, technological innovations or a significant and sustained increase in natural gas prices, none of which are likely, demand for thermal coal from US utilities is subject to a secular decline of on average about 7% per year over the next 10 years."Intermodal, a big segment that has seen an outpouring to trucks, isn't set to fare any better."The continuing decline in intermodal shipments is at odds with a moderately growing economy and still healthy consumer data," Moody's said. "But high inventory levels, heightened competition from truck carriers and lane rationalizations weigh on shipments of intermodal freight."In its third-quarter earnings call, Union Pacific, the nation's largest railroad, didn't directly name Trump - but said the economy wasn't doing the railroad any favors."The economy is what the economy is," Robert Knight, the railroad's chief financial officer, said. "We deal with the hand that we're dealt and we don't use that as an excuse."CSX's CEO echoed his concerns, and called the economy puzzling."Both global and U.S. economic conditions have been unusual this year, to say the least, and have impacted our volumes," Jim Foote, who's worked in the industry for decades, said on a conference call. "The present economic backdrop is one of the most puzzling I have experienced in my career."There's one odd sticking point: consumers.Consumer spending has remained strong, despite the struggles from tariffs, especially on Chinese goods."The continuing decline in intermodal shipments is at odds with a moderately growing economy and still healthy consumer data, including robust retail sales growth (see Exhibit 6), a low unemployment rate and high - albeit somewhat more cautious - consumer confidence," Moody's said. "Positive consumer data underpin intermodal shipments because intermodal freight largely contains consumer-related freight."Might that glimmer of hope save the sector? Not likely, says Baird analyst Ben Hartford. "What's quite clear is that we're not yet at a trough -- trains have not yet bottomed," he said in October. "We need to have some clarity in trade policy." <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/emirates-flight-attendant-what-job-takes-first-class-flight-2019-10">What it takes to be a first-class flight attendant for Emirates</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

America's railroads are in a downward spiral and it's expected to get even worse

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Xoan A. Soler/Monica Ferreiros/La Voz de GaliciaA wounded victim sits next to a body covered with a blanket after a <keyword id="41341" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="train">train</keyword> crashed near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern <keyword id="6363645" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Spain">Spain</keyword>, July 24, 2013. At least 56 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain's Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia.</div></div>SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain (Reuters) - A train derailed outside the ancient northwestern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday night, on the eve of a major religious festival, killing at least 78 people and injuring up to 131 in one of Europe's worst rail disasters.
In what one local official described as a scene from hell, bodies covered in blankets lay next to the overturned carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage after the disaster.
Firefighters clambered desperately over the twisted metal trying to get survivors out of the windows, while ambulances and fire engines surrounded the scene. Cranes were still pulling out mangled debris on Thursday morning, 12 hours after the crash.
The government said it was working on the assumption the derailment was an <keyword id="6354769" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="accident">accident</keyword>.
One official source said speeding was a likely cause of the derailment, which occurred as the train reached a curve in the track, but the public works minister said it was too early to draw conclusions on what had happened.
El Pais newspaper cited sources close to the investigation as saying the train was travelling at over twice the speed limit on a sharp curve and Santiago's mayor said the train was probably going too fast.
"We heard a massive noise and we went down the tracks. I helped getting a few injured and bodies out of the train. I went into one of the cars but I'd rather not tell you what I saw there," Ricardo Martinez, a 47-year old baker from Santiago de Compostela, told Reuters.
<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Oscar CorralRescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 35 people were killed and 50 injured when a train derailed on the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday in one of the country's worst rail disasters. Bodies covered in blankets lay next to carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage a few hundred meters away from the entrance to the city's main station.</div></div>
The Santiago de Compostela train operated by state rail company Renfe, which had 247 people on board, derailed as the city prepared for the renowned festival of Saint James, when thousands of Christian pilgrims from across the world pack the streets.
The city's tourism board said all festivities, including the traditional High Mass at the centuries-old cathedral, had been cancelled as the city went into mourning following the crash.
Passenger Ricardo Montesco told Cadena Ser radio station the train approached the curve at high speed, twisted and wagons piled up one on top of the other.
"A lot of people were squashed on the bottom. We tried to squeeze out of the bottom of the wagons to get out and we realized the train was burning. ... I was in the second wagon and there was fire. ... I saw corpses," he said.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who was born in Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia region, visited the site on Thursday morning. He was due to go to the main hospital later in the day and hold an emergency meeting with local authorities.
"In the face of a tragedy such as just happened in Santiago de Compostela on the eve of its big day, I can only express my deepest sympathy as a Spaniard and a Galician," he said in a written statement late on Wednesday.
<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Monica Ferreiros/La Voz de GaliciaRescue workers help a victim of a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 56 people died after a train derailed in the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, the head of Spain's Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, told Television de Galicia MANDATORY CREDIT.</div></div>INVESTIGATION
Both Renfe and state-owned Adif, which is in charge of the tracks, had opened an investigation into the cause of the derailment, Renfe said.
The official source said no statement would be made regarding the cause until the black boxes of the train were examined, but said it was most likely an accident.
"We are moving away from the hypothesis of sabotage or attack," he said. "It's too early to be 100 percent sure but speeding is a likely cause for the accident."
Santiago mayor Angel Curras told Cadena Ser radio: "It seems the speed of the train was likely not the right one."
Clinics in Santiago de Compostela were overwhelmed with people flocking to give blood, while hotels organized free rooms for relatives. Madrid sent forensic scientists and hospital staff to the scene on special flights.
The <keyword id="6355784" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="death">death</keyword> toll was 78, a spokeswoman for Galicia's Supreme Court said, adding that the figures were still provisional. Judges in Spain are responsible for recording deaths.
Up to 131 people were injured, a Galicia-based spokeswoman for the office of the central government said earlier.
"The scene is shocking, it's Dante-esque," said the head of the surrounding Galicia region, Alberto Nunez Feijoo,in a radio interview. He said he had declared seven days of official mourning in the Galicia region.<div class="image-container" style="width:800px"><div class="image">REUTERS/Oscar CorralRescue workers pull victims from a train crash near Santiago de Compostela, northwestern Spain, July 24, 2013. At least 35 people were killed and 50 injured when a train derailed on the outskirts of the northern Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela on Wednesday in one of the country's worst rail disasters. Bodies covered in blankets lay next to carriages as smoke billowed from the wreckage a few hundred meters away from the entrance to the city's main station.</div></div>NO BUDGET CUTS
The eight-carriage train was travelling from Madrid to Ferrol on the Galician coast when it derailed, Renfe said ina statement.
The disaster stirred memories of a train bombing in Madrid in 2004, carried out by Islamist militants, that killed 191 people, although officials do not appear to suspect an attack this time.
Spain is struggling to emerge from a long-running recession marked by government-driven austerity to bring its deeply indebted finances into order.
But Adif, the state railways infrastructure company, told Reuters no budget cuts had been implemented on maintenance of the line, which connects La Coruna, Santiago de Compostela and Ourense and was inaugurated in 2011.
It said more than 100 million euros a year were being spent on track maintenance in Spain.
Firefighters called off a strike to help with the disaster, while hospital staff, many operating on reduced salaries because of spending cuts, worked overtime to tend the injured.
The city's festival focuses on St James, one of Jesus' 12 disciples, whose remains are said to rest there and who is patron saint of Galicia.
The apostle's shrine is the destination of the famous El Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across the Pyrenees, which has been followed by Christians since the Middle Ages.
Wednesday's derailment was one of the worst rail accidents in Europe over the past 25 years.
In November 2000, 155 people were killed when a fire in a tunnel engulfed a funicular train packed with skiers in Austria.
In Montenegro, up to 46 people were killed and nearly 200 injured in 2006 when a packed train derailed and plunged into a ravine outside the capital, Podgorica.
In Spain itself, 41 people were killed the same year when an underground train derailed and overturned in a tunnel just before entering the Jesus metro station in Valencia.
(Additional reporting by Inmaculada Sanz, Sonya Dowsett, Sarah White, Andres Gonzalez, Blanca Rodriguez, Julien Toyer, Emma Pinedo and Raquel Castillo; Writing by Sonya Dowsett and Julien Toyer; editing by Mike Collett-White and Barry Moody)

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