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Several Indian telecom companies are offering incentives to use internet from midnight to wee hours of the morning, forcing Indian smartphone users to increasingly go online in those hours. These offers have existed for a long time but only 1% of data was being consumed by users post midnight. However, after <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword>’s commercial entry last September, there has been a mammoth rise in such offers as data usage in these hours has gone up to 10-15%, as per Counterpoint Research. By the time this financial year ends, the usage might have crossed 20%, say industry experts. "The success of night calling plans has led the operators to come up with night exclusive plans, which was initially influenced by Jio," Satyajit Sinha, research analyst for mobility and Internet of Things at Counterpoint told <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/spurred-by-various-data-plans-users-are-going-online-after-midnight-to-make-most-of-data-plans/articleshow/59673814.cms">ET</a>. "And at the same time, the biggest challenge for an operator is not only to increase the subscriber base but also to provide customer satisfaction to existing consumers by updating plans frequently, so they don't port to other competitors." The rise in offers was triggered by Jio's night plan it offered from December to March, giving free and unlimited data between 2 am and 5 am along with a 1GB a day plan. This led to rival telcos, viz. <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone India and <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword>, to come up with their own night plans. "We hope that this will have a positive impact on the overall network experience during the day/peak-hours as Happy Hours can help shift some of the non-urgent data traffic to non-peak hours and help reduce congestion," said <keyword id="276810" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ajai-Puri">Ajai Puri</keyword>, director, operations (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel. (Image source Inforisticblog)

Better internet speeds are keeping Indian smartphone users up all night

<ul><li>Cryptocurrency mining is a virtual process and consists of complex mathematical algorithms that need computation.</li><li>The more you mine, the harder it becomes to mine further.</li><li>Many have adopted green sources of electricity like solar and wind, but the proportion is minuscule.</li></ul>On Thursday morning, India time, <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite" data-type="tilCustomLink">cryptocurrency</a> aficionados around the world read this<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/tesla-wont-allow-bitcoin-payments-on-cars-anymore-due-to-the-negative-impact-on-the-environment-from-mining/articleshow/82593236.cms"> news</a>. Yes, Tesla’s <keyword id="6355315" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="elon-musk">Elon Musk</keyword> just had an epiphany. He suddenly seems to have realised that <keyword id="6354947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bitcoin">Bitcoin</keyword> mining needs electricity -- and that too, huge amounts of it. While we are not sure what prompted this thought in Musk’s supposedly super-intelligent brain, here is the logic behind it: Gold is considered to be the epitome of commodities because it can neither be created nor destroyed. The quantity of gold available usually remains limited and stable, making it an excellent tool to back a currency. Since then, we've moved onto fiat money, but the value of gold is far from diminishing. The mining of a cryptocurrency is a similar concept. Instead of flooding the market with coins in one go, it's better to add a resistance factor that ensures coins seep out gradually, giving time for economies to set a value and start trading. However, unlike the ordinary world, cryptocurrency mining is a virtual process and consists of complex mathematical algorithms that need computation. Once the breakdown is complete, you've just mined a coin. But the speed at which you can mine a cryptocurrency depends on the design and computing power. The more you mine, the harder it becomes to mine further. It's estimated that 18.5 million bitcoins have been excavated so far, meaning an ordinary laptop can no longer get the job down. In pursuit of happiness, miners have globally bought expensive equipment ranging from top-notch <keyword id="113675" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="nVidia">Nvidia</keyword> GPUs to actual supercomputers. How do computers work? Yes, they need electricity. And this electricity is usually produced by burning coal or fossil fuels, leading to higher emissions and pollution. China dominates bitcoin mining so far, and conventional sources generate two-thirds of its electricity. Many have adopted green sources like solar and wind, but the proportion is minuscule. Russia is also a favourable country because of its Siberian tundra, which offers natural cooling to the equipment. Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, a UK-based research institute, estimates that bitcoin's annualised electricity consumption hovers just above 115 terawatt-hours (TWh). It further adds that <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite" data-type="tilCustomLink">Bitcoin</a> now represents an estimated 0.59% of global electricity production or enough to power all the kettles in Britain for 33 years. The bigger problem is, mining isn't done on an individual scale. Miners have started taking advantage of scaling and creating mining "farms" where massive rigs with multiple processors are synced to work in tandem. While data centres worldwide help us power the internet, they consume far lower energy than mining. TRG Datacenters says that <keyword id="6221313" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="xrp">XRP</keyword> is the least damaging crypto, with the usage of 0.0079 Kilowatt-hour (KWh). Dogecoin comes in second at 0.12 KWh, followed by Litecoin at 18.522 KWh and Ethereum at 62.56 KWh. Bitcoin, the gold standard, requires a whopping 707 KWh. Many bitcoin enthusiasts say that mining’s adverse effects shall be negligible compared to the bigger picture -- a global digital decentralised currency. However, it's impossible to make sense of that logic when traditional currencies are far from being antiquated and central governments are keen on adopting Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-responds-to-privacy-criticism-by-alleging-other-apps-like-zomato-ola-aarogya-setu-zoom-google-and-other-apps/articleshow/82570897.cms">WhatsApp responds to privacy criticism by alleging that other apps and tech companies also show disdain for user privacy</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/vodafone-idea-adds-subscribers-for-the-first-time-in-15-months/articleshow/82568343.cms">Vodafone Idea shares up by 10% as it adds subscribers for the first time in 15 months – Airtel, Reliance Jio expand their user base</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/markets/news/heres-why-the-spike-in-inflation-in-the-us-may-worry-markets-in-india/articleshow/82597218.cms">Here's why the spike in inflation in the US may worry markets in India ⁠— but experts say don’t panic yet</a>

Elon Musk realised that he can’t champion both renewable energy and Bitcoin at the same time — here’s why

<ul><li>In our latest episode of BTS with Insiders, we got chatting with <keyword id="212001" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Agnello-Dias">Agnello Dias</keyword>, Creative Chairperson, Dentsu Aegis Network India and Co-Founder, Taproot Dentsu and <keyword id="343974" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Santosh-Padhi">Santosh Padhi</keyword>, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, Taproot Dentsu about a few campaigns close to their hearts.</li><li>They took us behind the scenes of popular campaigns like Pepsi's Change the Game and <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>'s Har Ek Friend Zaruri Hota Hai, among others.</li></ul> It was in 2009 that Agnello Dias (Aggie) and Santosh Padhi (Paddy), two people pegged as the hottest creative stars in Indian advertising came together and founded Taproot. Within just a few years of starting the agency, it boasted of an enviable roster of brands it had created campaigns for including <keyword id="54572" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PepsiCo">PepsiCo</keyword>, Airtel and Bennett, Coleman &amp; Company. Three years later, Japanese advertising major Dentsu acquired a majority in the agency. Over the past 11 years, with Aggie and Paddy at the helm of affairs, the agency has come up with some memorable, powerful campaigns that have helped brands tell wonderful, engaging stories. As a part of our latest series, BTS with Insiders, we spoke to the creative duo about some of the most memorable campaigns they have created together. Here are a few of the stories they shared with us. <div type="javascript" title="Facebook" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[]]></cdata></div> Pepsi ‘Change the Game’ campaigns We all know about the cola wars of the past when players like Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Thums Up would all try to come up with irreverent campaigns, poking fun at each other. In 2011, Pepsi was the official World Cup sponsor. It was a brand that had always stood for irreverence, and everything that was anti-authoritarian and anti-establishment. In the past, it had roasted Coca-Cola when it was the official world cup sponsor with its cheeky, ‘Nothing Official About It’ campaign. So in 2011, when it was the official sponsor, its brief was unique. It wanted to say it is the official sponsor, while also making a statement that it is proudly irreverent. “During the discussion around the campaign, we stumbled upon the insight that the game itself had become far more irreverent than it was say 15-20 years ago,” said Aggie. The agency then decided to manifest this irreverence of the game by depicting a few key shots that the newer breed of cricketers had started playing. “Once we came up with the idea, the client was perceptive enough to see its power straight up,” added Aggie. The agency came up with five films featuring star cricketers and their trademark shots - MS Dhoni’s ‘Helicopter shot’, Virender Sehwag’s ‘Upper cut’, Harbhajan Singh’s ‘doosra’, Kevin Pietersen’s‘Switch hit’ and Tillekratne Dilshan’s ‘Dilscoop’. The campaign went on to become a huge hit, so much so that Pepsi replicated the idea in other markets like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “It also was a very special campaign for us because it was perhaps for the first time that such a huge brand chose to work with a smaller, independent agency. It totally changed the game for us,” added Paddy with a smile. Airtel’s ‘Har Ek Friend Zaruri Hota Hai’ Before Airtel’s friendship campaign, the brand every year would come up with a campaign that would put out a world philosophy that could be appropriated by mobility, shared Aggie. “That was the time when all brands were trying to build the category, nobody was trying to take each other's market share. The brief given to us that time was that we don't see anything wrong in what we are doing by putting out a life philosophy about how the world is getting more connected except that our tone and manner is making us sound old-fashioned. The brand said that they didn’t want to become younger or exchange market shares. It just wanted to keep its philosophy, while saying it in a younger manner,” he explained. That’s how the agency thought of giving out a philosophy but not from a pulpit. The idea took birth when the agency started discussing about 3 am friends who one could turn to if someone was in trouble. And that’s how the campaign took shape. What also makes the ad memorable is the jingle created by music composer Ram Sampath, who was given the task of creating a song without using any real instrument. All the percussions in the ad come from things one might find in a classroom, including notebooks, dusters and even dustbins. The campaign went on to become a huge hit. <keyword id="6377547" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="adidas">Adidas</keyword>’ Odds In wake of the 2016 Paralympic Games, Adidas came up with a unique initiative called ‘Odds’ where para-athletes, primarily blade runners, were given a pair of the same side footwear instead of the usual pair that is sold to consumers. The campaign spoke about the inspirational story of <keyword id="2726242" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Major-DP-Singh">Major DP Singh</keyword>, a Kargil war veteran who lost his leg but not his determination. “We got the insight for the ad from a simple idea. One of the kids at the agency said what if we dedicate 2 left or 2 right shoes to para-athletes? We thought it must already have been done by some brand. We were really surprised to see that it had never been done and its such an injustice on the community that for years they had to buy a pair of shoes from which they could only use 1. So we thought we had to make this larger than life,” shared Paddy. They approached Major DP Singh who agreed to be a part of the campaign and the rest, as they say, is history. Paddy also shared a life lesson that he got from Major Singh. “On the first day of the shoot, we went to the top of a mountain at 4am where he used to practice to capture the early morning sunlight. Since the spot was far from the city, we travelled for an hour. He was an army guy and wanted a proper schedule. We gave him one and told him we will finish the shoot in 2 days. The packup for the first shoot was supposed to happen at 8 or 8:30 which got delayed by an hour or so. By the end of it, he wasn’t happy and went home. And he didn’t come to the second location. When the producer tried to reach out to him he said, ‘Please tell Adidas, Taproot and Paddy that I am done with my shoot.’ We were really shocked as we had a packed schedule. So I went to his house and asked him what happened. So he said, ‘I am an army guy and I follow schedule. If your shoot was getting delayed, someone should have come and informed me. I respect time and if I respect time, you should respect me.’ I apologized and assured him that something like this never happens again. So this wasn’t just a learning for me but for everyone else who was present at the sets that day,” reminiscened Paddy. <keyword id="5709" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="mumbai-mirror">Mumbai Mirror</keyword> Mumbai Mirror is a tabloid from the stable of the <keyword id="6356641" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Times-of-India">Times of India</keyword> group, a brand that Taproot had been handling for a while. The brief given to the agency for the campaign was simple, “The client said here are 6 stories we have broken, please showcase these stories. It was from there that we took the leap and said that newspaper is the voice that amplifies the voice of the oppressed. There were stories that would not make it to the national newspaper but its players like Mumbai Mirror that take these smaller oppressed voices and amplifies them,” said Aggie. Those who have watched the campaign know that it makes its point heard loud and clear. The idea was to deliberately make the campaign disturbing. “There have been opinions about why the film was so shrill, it could have been toned down. But in my opinion, when you are taking this stance it can be either disturbing or it can’t be this at all. Then it would just need to be a completely different thought. And that’s why we decided to make it that aggressive,” explained Aggie. Times of India – Farmer Suicide campaign The last campaign that the duo spoke about went on to become one of their most awarded one. Our country is no stranger to the disturbing news of farmer suicides ever year. It’s still an ongoing issue and the agency wanted to bring out the stories of these farmers who simply become a statistics every year. The agency used burnt hay to make portraits some of the farmers who had committed suicide, leaving behind families of 4-6 members. “These paintings were sold and whatever money we made out of, we gave to the family members because once the earning member of the families pass away, the others also die a slow death. This was what we did in the first year. In the second year, TOI got on board the Samaj Seva Charitable Trust. We did a TV commercial and some billboards, as a second leg of the campaign. Because of the simplicity of the campaign, it did really well. It did well for us too as we picked up a lot of awards. It looks like something made out of something but how lovingly you do it and how relevant you are, makes or breaks the campaign,” said Paddy.

BTS with Insiders: The stories behind some of Taproot Dentsu’s most iconic campaigns

Having Mittal as a surname may come off as a burden to a bright 27 year old willing to make a mark in the global market. However, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Kavin+Mittal">Kavin Mittal</a> is determined to not let his father’s fame blur his own .Master Mittal is the founder-CEO of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Hike+Messenger">Hike Messenger</a> and the son of Bharti Mittal, the head of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Bharti+Airtel">Bharti Airtel</a>, India’s largest telecom company. 
 
BI India chatted up with this young and enthusiastic <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=entrepreneur">entrepreneur</a> to know what gets him going. 
 
BI: Your biggest lessons as an <keyword id="6359301" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entrepreneur">entrepreneur</keyword>. 
Kavin: I think the biggest lesson is you've got to keep your ego in check. I believe the success of a company is directly proportional to the learning curve of the founder-CEO. My learning curve in the last three years has been literally vertical. What did I know about building a messaging app? Nothing. You've to stay ahead of the curve, and the curve is moving so fast that there's less time in figuring out how this stuff works. 
 
Second is you need to have a strong mind. Perseverance is very important. One of the biggest reasons why startups fail is perseverance. Not very long ago Hike was all set to shut down. Back in Jan 2013, this was before we raised our first round of funding. Germany became very big for us, but India was still zero. By March we had 3 million users as targets, and we had zero in India that Jan. We were freaking out. With our back pushed up against the wall we launched talk-time rewards, which incentivized people to get friends on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Hike">Hike</a>, and the user-base went from zero to 5 million in 3 months. If we didn't have the determination to make this a success, it would not have happened. 
 
Third is a healthy body and a healthy mind. It's been a very stressful period, the last three years. You go through ups and downs. More downs than ups, and it's very important to be fit to actually stay in a state of mind to make good decisions, even in the worst times. I only have 24 hours a day, I could really use 48 hours. But the only way to expand this is to work out, stay healthy so that your 24 hours feels like 48 hours. 
 
BI: Your father, Sunil Mittal, is a self-made man, and he's had life lessons galore. How often do you go to him for any kind of advice and how often has his advice made any impact in the business you're in? 
Kavin: The simple answer to that is that every great successful entrepreneur has great mentors. I have a mentor who happens to be my father, whose experience in life happens to be tremendous. 
 
BI: Who are the people you look up to in the business world as role models, as people you can emulate and learn from? 
Kavin: You know there's a saying - you're born original don't die a copy. I love that. I think you can borrow from people you look up to, but never try to copy. You got to be your own person. Of course, I've looked up to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Steve+Jobs">Steve Jobs</a> my whole life. I was very inspired by him. There are very few people in the world with five big breakthroughs. 
 
The second one has to be <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Niki+Lauda">Niki Lauda</a>. I'm a big <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Formula+One">Formula On</a>e fan. If you've read the Lauda story, it's a much more real version of the Rush movie. Hats off to the guy, the way he changed the sport, the accidents that he had, the perseverance that he had after that. Came from a very wealthy family, still went his own way. 
 
There are a common set of qualities in these people. They have a very, very clear state of mind and they want to change the world around them. 
 
BI: What are the biggest challenges young entrepreneurs in India face today? 
Kavin: To sum it up in a sentence everybody seems to be looking for a quick fix. Everybody wants to go from start to finish tomorrow. It does not happen. Building businesses and products take time. You'll go through more downs than ups in your life while building a startup. Don't build a company to be successful and famous. If you do that you'll face a quick death. Start a company if you're inspired by an idea. 
 
BI: Are there books that have left an impression on you? 
Kavin: The most recent one is called The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. He's a great guy. Talks about life as a journey, his startup and so forth. It's like my Bible. 
 
The other one is a book that I've read again for the second time. It's called Zen Mind Beginner's Mind. It stems from the Zen Buddhist philosophy that I personally follow. It's just changed the way I look at the world completely. When you realize the world around you is simply an illusion of your mind, it's a very, very powerful thing. These two books have had the biggest impacts on my life in the last 3 years. 
 
BI: What is the one thing that really makes you happy after a hard day at work? 
Kavin: Sleep *Laughs*. Just getting 7 hours of restful sleep will make you the happiest person on the planet. 
 
BI: Given your sweet tooth, won’t some Rasmalai and Rabri also make you happy *laughs*! 
Kavin: I really like the Magnum Almond. I can go through three or four of them in a day. I avoid them like a plague. You have to build a life that offers you balance. I work out really hard so that I can cheat and eat some Chocolate, and because I eat chocolate I have to work out. It balances itself out in many different ways. You have one life to live. 90 years is not a lot of time, and I've already almost gone through one-third of my life. Time flies by, each year becomes a smaller part of your life. So each year goes by faster. 
 
BI: We read a lot about people like Elon Mask. Where are we lacking in India. Why don't we have people like these? More than 60% of software engineers in the US is Indian! 
Kavin: You can see the first wave of Internet startups in India happening today. There are a lot of people working on ground-breaking technology in this country. More importantly it's the environment, the mindset. In <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Silicon+Valley">Silicon Valley</a> it's OK to have 10 failures. Here you have half a failure and they'll put you in a pit and shame you. You really should see failure in a company as a comma, not a full-stop. You have to allow people to iterate and fail, and that's the only way to grow. 
 
BI: You think the push to startups will only come when we're more open-minded? 
Kavin: I think it's already happening in such a big way. However, there are still people who fear failure. Fearing failure is a good thing as long as it drives and motivates you. It should not be the dominant thing. The pressure of success is so high that that itself can detriment a lot of people to talk about ideas. Hope we can provide inspiration to the next generation of companies. Look at Ritesh Aggarwal from Oyo Rooms for instance, a very smart guy. This is happening and we hopefully will see more of this sooner.

Being Kavin Bharti Mittal: Inside
India Inc's brightest scion

<ul><li>Academy award singer, composer and now director AR <keyword id="11852" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="rahman" source="Orion">Rahman</keyword> has sold an estimated 150 million records. </li><li>He founded the music school KM Music Conservatory in Chennai that also has a project, The Sunshine Orchestra, for underprivileged children. </li><li>For a man of few words, he has been subtly expressive about ‘Bollywood gangs’, and why he hates the term ‘Bollywood’. </li></ul>Academy award winner AR Rahman, arguably the most famous introverted Indian composer and singer, turns 56 today. He has sold an estimated 150 million records, according to Berklee Today. Known as the ‘<keyword id="151503" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mozart" source="Orion">Mozart</keyword> of Madras,’ Rahman is deeply reticent, letting his compositions speak for him. Journalist Karan Thapar famously called him his ‘most difficult interview.’ Much is known about him thanks to his 2018 authorised biography Notes of a Dream written by <a href="https://scroll.in/reel/897429/10-things-we-learnt-about-ar-rahman-from-the-authorised-biography-notes-of-a-dream">Krishna Trilok</a> – like him giving up his Hindu identity to embrace <keyword id="893778" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sufi-islam" source="Orion">Sufi Islam</keyword>. Here are some lesser-known facts about Rahman, the first Asian to win two Oscars. Rahman’s ad jingles Rahman composed ad jingles for Airtel, Titan watches, Premier pressure cooker and <a href="https://www.cinestaan.com/articles/2017/jan/6/3693/do-you-know-these-10-ad-jingles-composed-by-ar-rahman">Renault</a>, among others in his initial years. On being asked about whether he was hesitant to step into movie music composition, he said, ‘I felt underqualified to take on a big movie, I felt I needed to learn more.” <div type="image" title="Rahman’s ad jingles" agency="BCCL" msid="96793867" hostid="261" sizebytes="32886"></div> ‘Mani Ratnam my real mentor’ An invitation to score the 1992 movie Roja by Indian director Mani Ratnam opened the door to a film-composing career for Rahman. ‘Mani Ratnam was like a real mentor for me. He taught me from a director’s point of view how to create music and mix things to click with the people’, he said in an interview to Berklee Today. He met the director through Sharada Krishnamoorthy, who was a cousin of Ratnam’s. <div type="image" title="Mani Ratnam AR Rahman" agency="BCCL" msid="96793903" hostid="261" sizebytes="41362"></div> Can ditch family dinner for a song AR Rahman’s marriage to <keyword id="26044" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="saira-banu" source="Orion">Saira Banu</keyword> was an arranged one and he had already told his wife that ‘if they had a dinner, and a song came up, they would have to ditch the dinner’, Rahman’s biographer Trilok writes. His wife says Rahman had ‘autotuned’ her before marriage and that she doesn’t need much to be happy and is content enjoying ‘simple things’ <a href="https://scroll.in/reel/897429/10-things-we-learnt-about-ar-rahman-from-the-authorised-biography-notes-of-a-dream">with him</a>. <div type="image" title="Saira Banu and AR Rahman" msid="96793935" hostid="261" sizebytes="52432"></div> Revived Asha Bhonsle’s career The revered singer Asha Bhonsle was facing a dry spell in her career before the 1990s. It was AR Rahman’s entry into the Hindi music world with the film Rangeela that gave her the second innings of her career. <div type="image" title="AR Rahman Asha Bhosle" msid="96793957" hostid="261" sizebytes="46326"></div> He gave popular singer <keyword id="3153353" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sid-sriram" source="Orion">Sid Sriram</keyword> his big <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/metrolife/r-rahman-gave-sid-his-first-707219.html">break</a> Indian Carnatic and film musician Sid Sriram was given his first break by Rahman. Previously a student at Berklee College of Music, it was Rahman who called him to sing for the Mani Ratnam film ‘Kadal.’ When I was in Berklee, I sent him (Rahman) an email with some of the original music I was releasing at the time. I never expected a response, so when he did respond I couldn’t contain myself.’ <div type="image" title="Sid Sriram" msid="96793988" hostid="261" sizebytes="61782"></div> Winning global accolades He is the first Asian to win two Oscars for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. He has also composed for Hollywood movies like 127 hours, Pele, The 100-Foot Journey, Million Dollar Arm and People Like Us, to<a href="https://www.arrahman.com/albums.aspx?id=11"> name</a> a few. He has collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on the musical Bombay Dreams, staged in London’s West End and on Broadway. Rahman has shared the stage with stars such as Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger. <div type="image" title="Oscars" agency="BCCL" msid="96794008" hostid="261" sizebytes="31278"></div> A man of no words Famed journalist Karan Thapar shared that Padma Shri winner AR Rahman was his ‘most difficult interview’. Rahman only answered in monosyllables. ‘His answers were “Ummmm”. When I asked him the second question, he answered, “Hmmmm.” When I asked him a third, it was “Ummmmmmmmmmm”, <a href="https://www.thequint.com/voices/opinion/karan-thapar-interview-on-his-interactions-with-modi-bhutto-and-more#read-more">wrote</a> Thapar in his book ‘Devil’s advocate’. <div type="image" title="BBC World" msid="96794105" hostid="261" sizebytes="35452"></div> Not so silent anymore AR Rahman has become more vocal about his views. Upon being awarded ‘Icon’ at Confederation of Indian Industry, Rahman said, ‘I think India is India. For me, it doesn't matter. Somebody does good here, and north Indians benefit, somebody does good there, we benefit, the borders are broken,’ he <a href="https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/music/ar-rahmans-speech-on-north-and-south-india-goes-viral-india-is-india-time-to-show-unity-articleshow.html">said</a>. He also hates the term ‘Bollywood’ as it is generic and condescending in its description of India’s diverse <a href="https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/ar-rahman-on-why-he-hates-bollywood-anything-coming-out-of-the-country-is-called-bollywood-its-condescending-to-artistes-7264184/">heritage</a>. <div type="image" title="Bollywood gang" agency="BCCL" msid="96794138" hostid="261" sizebytes="81966"></div> Furious at Masakali 2 music remake The movie ‘Delhi 6’ released in 2009 was a hit due to its groovy album composed by AR Rahman, sung by Mohit Chauhan, and lyrics penned by <keyword id="2257" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="prasoon-joshi" source="Orion">Prasoon Joshi</keyword>. The upcoming movie ‘Masakali 2’ album, starring <keyword id="132292" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="siddharth-malhotra" source="Orion">Siddharth Malhotra</keyword> and <keyword id="1476559" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tara-sutaria" source="Orion">Tara Sutaria</keyword>, has been subtly called out by the singer. He tweeted: <div type="twitter" handle="arrahman" handlename="A.R.Rahman" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1209988634184581120/Bu95OE_R_normal.jpg" favoritecount="50164" retweetcount="12385" status="Enjoy the original #Masakali https://t.co/WSKkFZEMB4@RakeyshOmMehra @prasoonjoshi_ @_MohitChauhan https://t.co/9aigZaW2Ac" createdat="1586362696000" id="1247921714979205121"></div> ‘A Bollywood gang against me’ Rahman broke his silence after Sushant Singh<a href="https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/no-place-for-talent-ar-rahman-saying-bollywood-gang-stopping-him-from-getting-work-stuns-fans-2735519.html"> Rajput’</a>s passing away. He composed music for SSR’s movie Dil Bechara. ‘I don’t say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumours…I am doing dark movies, because there is a whole gang working against me, without them knowing that they are doing harm,” he said in an interview with Radio Mirchi. <div type="image" title="AR Rahman" msid="96794184" hostid="261" sizebytes="38054"></div> KM Music Conservatory in Chennai Established in 2008 by the A.R. Rahman Foundation, KM Music Conservatory (KMMC) offers world class music education in Chennai. Lydian Nadhaswaram, the child prodigy from Chennai-based KM Music Conservatory appeared on World’s Best on CBS and won a $1 million prize in 2017. <div type="image" title="K.M Music Conservatory" msid="96794205" hostid="261" sizebytes="106598"></div> The Sunshine Orchestra The Sunshine Orchestra was also founded in 2008 by the A R Rahman Foundation. Socially and economically-deprived children with an aptitude in music are provided free musical training through KM Music Conservatory. The group has played for many events and Rahman’s films, including Cobra, Sanju and Shikara. <div type="image" title="AR Rahman Foundation" msid="96794238" hostid="261" sizebytes="72526"></div> AR Rahman’ directorial debut Le Musk Rahman also made his debut as a director for a multi-sensory virtual reality film, Le Musk - at the 2022 Infinity Festival Hollywood. Inspired by the love for perfume he shares with his wife Saira Banu, Rahman used scent as a narrative device “creating a feature-length cinema VR experience that pushes boundaries of storytelling and incorporates multiple <a href="https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/597980719/film-composer-a-r-rahman-makes-directorial-debut-with-multi-sensory-film-le-musk-na-premiere-at-infinity-festival-hlwd">senses</a>.” <div type="image" title="Le Musk" msid="96794273" hostid="261" sizebytes="40444"></div> SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/foreign-institutional-investors-sell-shares-nearly-5000-crore-in-first-four-trading-days-of-2023/articleshow/96790974.cms">Foreign institutional investors sell nearly ₹5,000 crore worth equities in first four days of 2023</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/an-aai-and-two-college-dropouts-home-snacks-biz-sends-shark-tank-judges-into-a-bidding-war/articleshow/96784920.cms">An aai and two college dropouts’ home snacks biz sends Shark Tank judges into a bidding war</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/aman-gupta-and-anupam-mittal-backed-revamp-moto-launches-its-first-transformable-ev/articleshow/96790725.cms">Shark Tank S1 winner Revamp Moto launches an EV that lets you add a child seat, freezer box and more</a>

AR Rahman can leave dinner midway if inspiration strikes & other anecdotes about the reticent music maestro

<ul><li>Indian IT giants are scrutinising every aspect of their expenses in order to cut down on costs as business takes a hit during the coronavirus pandemic. </li><li>Wage hikes have been paused, new employees aren’t being onboarded, and it helps that <keyword id="123591" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Work-from-home">work from home</keyword> means that travel expenditure is low for the meanwhile. </li><li>The weakening rupee against the US dollar brings in support. </li><li>Cost-cutting measures may help companies tide through the turbulent time, but they won’t help overall margins expand. </li></ul>The global economic recession would mean that the companies that employ the services of Tata Consultancy Services (<keyword id="6357150" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="tcs">TCS</keyword>), <keyword id="6354512" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Infosys">Infosys</keyword>, HCL Technologies, <keyword id="10862" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wipro">Wipro</keyword>, <keyword id="43217" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tech-Mahindra">Tech Mahindra</keyword> and the likes are likely to cut corners and therefore, the Indian IT giants will also have to curb costs. All IT majors in India have listed a few ways ⁠— no salary hikes, reduced costs like travel and sponsorships, increased work from home⁠ — to cut costs. And, the Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are hoping that a stronger dollar will boost margin when earnings are converted to rupee. However, a former Infosys Board Member TV Mohandas Pai believes that all these may, at best, keep the margin intact. “The IT industry will suffer in the near term due to bankruptcies of clients, a decline in spends, and economic contractions,” Pai told Edelweiss. “Big companies are already making 20 to 25% margins, and both rupee depreciation and productivity improvement are the tools that enable them to maintain margins,” he added. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Company </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Operating Margin Q4 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TCS </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">25.1% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Infosys </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">21.1% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">HCL Technologies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">20.9% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Wipro </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">17.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tech Mahindra </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">15.5% </td></tr></tbody></table> IT majors have ‘no regret’ capping salaries for the time being Wipro is considering temporarily putting employees on leave in order to manage costs. Similarly, Infosys CFO Nilanjan Roy, said “We have stopped hiring temporarily, we have also frozen any salary hikes, we have temporarily suspended all promotions — so these, we believe, are no-regret moves,” during the fourth-quarter earnings call. So, how much does that save? According to the TCS annual report, the average annual increase was 6% in India. And, for the top five IT companies in India the employee costs can range from 30% to as much as 54%. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Company </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Actual employee cost FY20 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">% of revenue </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">HCL Technologies </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 9,916 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30.4% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TCS </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 64,906 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">49.4% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Infosys </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 42,434 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">53.7% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TM </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 9,282.70 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">31.8% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Wipro </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹ 26,171.80 crore </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">51.9% </td></tr></tbody></table> ‘Work from home’ can be a big cost saver <keyword id="141968" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="HCL-Tech">HCL Tech</keyword> has proposed a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/hcl-tech-follows-tcs-and-infosys-lead-says-50-of-its-employees-will-work-from-home-even-after-the-lockdown-is-lifted/articleshow/75593968.cms">50/50 plan</a> ⁠— where only 50% of its employees will need to work from office at any given time ⁠— while TCS CEO Rajesh Gopinathan wants only <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-ceo-says-the-business-model-is-20-years-old-and-its-time-to-go-employee-lite/articleshow/75243124.cms">25% of the employees on any project at any one place, at any one time. </a> The rest can work from home even after the lockdown has ended. “This would axe travel and real estate costs by roughly 300 to 400 basis points,” according to Pai. A hundred basis points make for a percent. However, there are other <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/2020/03/30/productivity-pitfalls-working-home-age-covid-19/">experts who believe</a> that any increase in productivity seen during the pandemic may only be temporary as other social options are limited. Once the lockdown is lifted and normal activity resumes, the same level of productivity may prove difficult to sustain. A weaker rupee is good for companies that earn in dollars Infosys has already gained 2% on the rupee depreciation — which meant a 50 basis points margin benefit — in the fourth quarter with 97% of their billing in foreign currency. HCL technologies also saw a similar benefit on their margins of around 53 basis points. “Foreign exchange movements, particularly the rupee movement is the one that gave us the maximum benefit,” said CFO of HCL Technologies, Prateek Agarwal. For TCS, movements in currency exchange rates through the year resulted in a positive impact of 0.1% on the reported revenue — that’s around 10 basis points for the whole year. These cost-cutting measures are the need of the hour to maintain margins, however, they aren’t going to spurt profitability, according to Pai. IT majors will be happy keeping the profit margin where it is with FY20 being more about sustaining growth rather than boosting profits. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/indian-banks-earn-3-1-billion-with-rbi-instead-of-giving-loans-to-businesses-despite-repo-rate-cut/articleshow/76000355.cms">Indian banks have made $3.1 billion just by parking funds with the RBI — instead of giving them out as loans</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/these-indian-states-have-seen-the-worst-economic-impact-due-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/articleshow/75999085.cms">These Indian states have seen the worst economic impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/airtel-share-price-target-as-africa-unit-nears-a-billion-dollars-in-revenue/articleshow/75970641.cms">Airtel’s Africa unit is now a nearly-billion dollar business where every user pays 40% more than the one in India</a>

Three ways TCS, Infosys and other IT giants in India are trying to cut costs — but it’s not going to increase their profitability

The industry has vowed a hefty investment of $75 billion (Rs 4,72,500 Crores) at the launch of the <keyword id="1929810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Digital-India">Digital India</keyword> week Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said today. 
 
"On Digital India day (July 1), you will be happy to know that we made a very decisive initiative that investors -- global and Indian -- must declare their intention to invest in India...on a single day in a programme of two hours we were pledged USD 75 billion investment in the field of ICT and other allied services," Prasad said while launching the Indo-Africa ICT Expo. 
 
The ministry is expected to have received a commitment of about Rs 4.7 lakh Crores from leading Indian and global companies as of July 1. This includes Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, Aditya Birla group and Vedanta. 
 
Prasad said,"In India we have got a very fantastic expression 'Jugaad' technology. What is a jugaad technology? In simple terms, innovation. I always say that jugaad technology must be filtered into sophisticated technology to make India a powerful country." 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

Industry has promised Rs 4,72,500 Crores to Digital
India

<keyword id="1868750" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hike-Messenger">Hike Messenger</keyword>, India’s only homegrown messaging platform has raised a Series D financing of over USD 175 million. The funding round was led by <keyword id="212412" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tencent">Tencent</keyword> Holding Limited and <keyword id="6354671" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Foxconn">Foxconn</keyword> Technology Group. The round valued the company, which is India’s biggest internet company in terms of users, close to USD 1.4 Billion. 
 The funding round also saw participation from <keyword id="44033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="hike">Hike</keyword>’s existing investors, viz. <keyword id="526777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tiger-Global">Tiger Global</keyword>, Bharti Airtel, and the <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Softbank">Softbank</keyword> Group. With this round, fourth for Hike, its total investment has gone up to USD 250 million. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Hike-just-unveiled-its-new-headquarters-and-trust-us-its-gorgeous-HikeHQ/articleshow/50925928.cms">In pictures: I spent two hours at Hike's new office and I wish I could go back again!</a> 
 
“Hike deeply understands India; a highly diverse market with many nuances. It is on a mission synergistic to ours, which is to enhance the quality of human life through internet services. With our investments, Hike will be able to leverage our deep domain expertise in the messaging platform space to provide more value to its users in India,” said Tencent President Martin Lau. 
 
Hike currently engages 100 million users that send 40 billion messages per month, with 95% of users based in India and 90% of them being below the age of 30. The average time that a Hike user spends on its platform every week comes out to 120 minutes. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Want-to-work-at-Hike-Messenger-Kavin-Mittal-tell-you-4-qualities-hes-looking-for/articleshow/51010049.cms">Exclusive: Here are the 4 qualities Hike’s Kavin Mittal looks for while hiring</a> 
 
Following are the three key pillars on which the messenger has been built: 
 
1. Local expressive content: Hike is popular for giving over 10000 stickers to its users in over<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Hike-goes-multilingual-to-suit-Indian-users/articleshow/50282215.cms"> 40 languages</a>, themes and UIs. This relevant local content, including news in Hindi and English, games, Live Cricket, Coupons etc. is what attracts young users to Hike. 
2. Emphasis on privacy: Hike boasts of an innovative feature, called Hidden mode, which can quickly hide chats. Other than that, it also allows users to control who can see their pictures, statuses and ‘last seen’ timings. 
3. Data constraints: In case there is no internet connectivity, Hike users can use Hike2SMS for sending SMSs, and Hike Direct for sharing files. 
 
Also speaking on the occasion was Masayoshi Son, founder, chairman and CEO of the SoftBank group, who said, “Hike is one of SoftBank’s best performing portfolio companies in India and we are happy to have stayed invested in it from the beginning. The team has reached an outstanding scale in a short span of 3.5 years. As an investor, we share their vision and we are happy that they are moving ahead in their journey so quickly in a competitive environment.” 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Softbank-President-Nikesh-Arora-quits/articleshow/52851915.cms">As Nikesh Arora quits, SoftBank will continue its focus on Indian startups</a> 
 “I’m thrilled to announce this new milestone in our journey. Tencent and Foxconn both have pedigrees that speak for themselves and such an investment especially in today’s market just goes to show the strong foundation on which Hike is being built. The new fund raise is going to allow us to push Hike to greater heights and invest in areas that will be key to our long term vision and success,” said Hike founder and CEO <keyword id="6567188" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kavin-Bharti-Mittal">Kavin Bharti Mittal</keyword>.

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