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<ul><li>The Karnataka government bans online "games of chance".</li><li>As the IPL season has kicked in, Dream11, My11Circle, MPL Pro, Bet365, Gamezy and many others gaming platforms can come under the radar of Karnataka’s ban on online ‘game of chance’.</li><li>The offence under the law will lead to a prison term of up to three years and fine of up to ₹ 1 lakh.</li></ul>The Karnataka government on Tuesday <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/karnataka-assembly-passes-bill-banning-online-games-of-chance/articleshow/86407014.cms">reportedly</a> passed a bill that bans online "games of chance”. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai reportedly said that the government will deal with gaming operators who run “games of chance” camouflaged as “games of skill”. Even those skill games that involve the risk of the player losing money would invite action under the law, he said. However, there is not enough clarity on which games are considered under “game of skill” and “game of chance”. As the Indian Premier League (IPL) season has kicked in, online gaming firms like Dream11, My11Circle, MPL Pro, Bet365, Gamezy and many others can come under the radar of Karnataka’s ban on online ‘game of chance’. Operating such games, sheltering such operations, and abetting and participating in such online games both cognisable and non-bailable is an offence, according to the bill. The offence will lead to a prison term of up to three years and fine of up to ₹ 1 lakh. So far, Punjab, Haryana, Bombay and Rajasthan High Courts have given <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/supreme-court-upholds-dream11-fantasy-sports-format-as-game-of-skill/articleshow/85040855.cms">verdict </a>supporting online gaming platforms like Dream11 and considers it as a “game of skill”. The Karnataka government has gone ahead with the ban despite the Supreme Court’s <a href="https://m.economictimes.com/tech/startups/supreme-court-upholds-dream11-fantasy-sports-format-as-game-of-skill/articleshow/85040855.cms">decision </a>that favoured the fantasy gaming industry, calling them skill gaming instead of gambling. Priyank Kharge, former information technology (IT), tourism and social welfare minister of Karnataka, batted against a blanket ban for all online games. “The government should form a committee with industry stakeholders and come out with a law that curbs online betting instead of a bill that won’t stand the test of law,” he said in a tweet. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Text"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Kharge mentioned Karnataka is the gaming hub with investments of ₹4,000 crore employing thousands of people. The former minister further added that more clarity is required on certain of these issues because these are buzzing businesses. “They (online gaming platforms) are run by very young players (individuals) who have just graduated from colleges and it will kill them at this stage. Tax certainty is required as you cannot tax the entire thing, just because you feel that there is revenue which can be collected from these activities,” said Abhishek A Rastogi, partner at Khaitan &amp; Co in a Twitter live session with Business Insider on Monday. <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> In the same conversation, another panelist, Sandeep Chilana, managing partner at Chilana &amp; Chilana Associates, said that there will be legal challenges by these online gaming entities in the court after the ban. “In the online gaming casino sectors, and the entertainment sector everything is charged under different categories of rates. So I'm saying, gambling betting is one thing, but if you see a serious casino business, you are charging me the royalty, the licence fee to operate the casino, you are charging GST [goods and services tax] on that also, then you are asking for the 20% tax only even if it's a slot machine,” said Rastogi. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/tonetag-backed-by-amazon-and-mukesh-ambani-is-ready-to-go-beyond-payments-using-sound-waves-not-internet-and-smartphones/articleshow/86419124.cms">ToneTag, backed by both Amazon and Mukesh Ambani, is ready to go beyond payments using sound waves, not internet and smartphones</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/zee-entertainment-merges-with-sony-pictures/articleshow/86416420.cms">Marriage Story! Zee gets a white knight in Sony</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/irctc-indiamart-zee-entertainment-cummins-india-share-price-under-pressure-but-still-worth-buying/slidelist/86407477.cms">IRCTC, IndiaMART, Cummins India and others have been under pressure in the last 5 days but still worth buying</a>

Experts say Karnataka’s ban on 'games of chance' may face a legal test

Indian startup founders on Monday said that to explore a comprehensive digital India, the <keyword id="6360189" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="union-budget" source="Orion">Union Budget</keyword> for FY24 must leverage the full inherent potential of the homegrown technology industry to become champions of digitisation. Gautam <keyword id="893041" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nimmagadda" source="Orion">Nimmagadda</keyword>, Founder and CEO of Quixy, a cloud-based no-code application development platform, said that currently, startups can avail of a tax holiday for three years since incorporation. "However, the ideal exemption should be 10 years, in view of the high cost of solution development. As positive employment drivers, startups also require government intervention in the expensive affair of hiring and retaining the right talent to drive growth," Nimmagadda said in a statement. "To lead the startups onwards and upwards, a single-window process to enable the right financial support from government would be incentivising for MSMEs," he added. According to ESOPDhan co-founder <keyword id="576027" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nitin-agarwal" source="Orion">Nitin Agarwal</keyword>, the budget can reduce the holding period of ESOP shares of unlisted companies from two years to one year for purposes of capital gain. "This would make ESOPs a more attractive tool to retain and reward employees, especially among startups that are today seen as major job creators," Agarwal added. 2023 is already shaping up to be a watershed moment for the gaming industry. With the government releasing draft online gaming rules earlier this month, the burgeoning sector will see a lot more success this year. According to Sai Srinivas, Co-founder and CEO of MPL, the industry hopes to get clarity in a few areas. "The first is the GST mechanism on online gaming. We hope the government provides clarity on the tax slab applicable on skill gaming. Another relates to the AVGC fund set up as part of the AVGC Promotion Task Force announced in last year's budget," he mentioned. Access to financial support "will be a tremendous boost to young talented developers and designers, and will accelerate the push to 'Create in India' and take made-in-India games to the world," he added. <keyword id="16292225" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="dhruv-jolly" source="Orion">Dhruv Jolly</keyword>, Founder and MD, <keyword id="16292224" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="taponn" source="Orion">TapOnn</keyword> digital, said that the budget would include some assistance for qualifying firms under the 'Startup India Scheme' in terms of the number of taxes that must be filed, the frequency of filing, or the tax slabs. "We might witness a strong emphasis on attracting more foreign investment, making the registration and compliance process more easy and fast, and strengthening economic ties with other countries in the Indo-Pacific region," Jolly said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/adani-group-stocks-witness-high-volatility-amidst-war-of-words-between-the-company-and-hindenburg-research/articleshow/97437171.cms">Adani Group stocks witness high volatility amidst war of words between the company and Hindenburg Research</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/auto-parts-sourcing-startup-capgrid-raises-7-million-from-nexus-venture-others/articleshow/97437294.cms">Auto parts sourcing startup CapGrid raises $7 million from Nexus Venture, others</a>

Budget expectations: Startups seek 10-yr tax holiday, less holding period of ESOP shares

<ul><li><keyword id="7087972" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> had plans of spending 40% of its marketing budget on <keyword id="6354312" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IPL">IPL</keyword> this year.</li><li>With the suspension of the league, we speak to <keyword id="6176095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhishek-Madhavan">Abhishek Madhavan</keyword>, Senior Vice President, Growth and Marketing, MPL who tells us how the brand plans to communicate with its consumers now, and what its plans to grow the business further is.</li></ul>The <keyword id="6357332" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaming">gaming</keyword> and esports sector in India has been witnessing good growth in India, thanks to improved accessibility in technology and cheaper internet. That investors and venture capitalists are putting in monies in the sector is further proof that there is a huge opportunity. A recent report by <keyword id="274082" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Maple-Capital-Advisors">Maple Capital Advisors</keyword> stated that the Indian gaming sector saw investments of around $544 million between the August 2020 and January 2021 period, a number that is expected to double over the next 12-18 months on the back of higher user awareness and accelerated engagement. Over the past few years, we have seen a number of e-gaming players enter the market. Many of these have been spending substantial amounts on advertising too. One such player, Mobile Premier League (MPL), announced in February this year that it had raised $95 million in a Series D round of funding, bringing its value to $945 million after raising. With this fresh round of funding, MPL planned to expand its eSports portfolio and bolster its efforts to organize more eSports tournaments nationally and internationally at scale. It is also looking at accelerating its international expansion this year. Last month, MPL also acquired esports gaming platform <keyword id="6231572" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="GamingMonk">GamingMonk</keyword> that hosts esports tournaments across multiple platforms. MPL had invested on the Indian Premier League last year and reaped impressive results, it saw the number of gamers on its platform go up 7X post IPL so this year too, the platform had launched an aggressive campaign to grab maximum eyeballs during the league. However, with the suspension of the league, how does it impact its marketing plans for the rest of the year? We spoke to Abhishek Madhavan, Senior Vice President, Growth and Marketing, MPL who told us how the year has been so far for the platform and what more we can expect from it through the rest of the year. Excerpts: <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?" text="Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?">Q) We had thought 2020 was a difficult year but 2021 has been an even difficult one so far. How has the year been so far for MPL from a business standpoint?</cmsannotation> It’s been quite a year in general. What the country is witnessing is unprecedented and right now, our focus is on trying to do our bit in helping out and ensuring that our employees and their families are safe. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?" text="Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?">Q) In terms of growth, the pandemic had led to a lot of people staying at home, exploring newer ways of keeping themselves entertained and fantasy gaming benefited from that. What kind of growth have you witnessed in the last one year?</cmsannotation> Last year’s lockdown due to the pandemic was a black swan event that nobody could have foreseen. Yet, it did help the gaming industry as people explored their skills by taking to gaming platforms from their homes. However, pure fantasy apps were affected due to the lack of live sporting action last year. That being said, we added over 3 crore users on MPL last year. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?" text="Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?">Q) You were supposed to spend 40% of our ad budget on IPL. As the league stands postponed indefinitely, how are you modifying your marketing plans for the rest of the year?</cmsannotation> We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns. However, since our business is not IPL dependent, we are looking at other conventional media channels to run our brand campaigns on, at the moment. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?" text="Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?">Q) You had an aim of increasing your user base to 10 crore by the end of the league. How do you aim to achieve this target now?</cmsannotation> We are a gaming platform. And while the IPL definitely helps us, what we offer our users goes beyond just fantasy sports. There are over 50 games on MPL across categories like esports, casual, fantasy, etc, and once things get better for the country, you will hear from us on our campaigns. Right now, our focus is on helping the situation get better in whatever way we can. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?" text="Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?">Q) What kind of growth had you seen from associating with IPL last year?</cmsannotation> Last year’s IPL broke viewership records and we too benefited from our partnerships and associations with teams such as KKR and RCB. We engaged our gamers with activities such as player meet-and-greets, special contests, and giveaways. During IPL 2020, the number of fantasy gamers on MPL increased by 7 times compared to pre-IPL, and the number of daily installs of the MPL app increased by 100% compared to pre-IPL 2020. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?" text="Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?">Q) In the last few years, there has been a boom of fantasy gaming platforms in India. How are you differentiating yourself?</cmsannotation> We are a full-fledged gaming platform with a 365-day value proposition and we aren’t a fantasy app that is dependent on sport seasons or leagues. With our wide variety of games and features, we attract a wide range of users above the age of 18, going all the way to ages 60 and above. Gamers can find all kinds of games on our platform, along with social features to connect with the gaming community. We are also organising fortnightly esports tournaments in games such as Chess, World Cricket Championship, etc, and entry to these tournaments is absolutely free, with lakhs in prize money up for grabs. We are also live-streaming these tournaments to millions of viewers through our social media handles. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?" text="Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?">Q) Where do you think MPL's next phase of growth will come from?</cmsannotation> Esports is currently on the upswing in India and across the world. We think India has an abundance of talent in esports and mobile esports is the best way forward in recognising and honing this vast talent pool. Esports being recognised by traditional sports competitions like the Asian Games is a big boost for this sector. We aim to take esports to the masses via our mobile application and are geared for the growth coming in from this sector. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?" text="Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?">Q) Will you continue with your Hain Akal Khelo MPL campaign despite IPL's suspension considering it had been gaining traction?</cmsannotation> The core message behind the ‘Hain Akal Khelo MPL’ campaign is that fantasy sports require skill and knowledge of the game. While we launched it along with the IPL, the campaign continues to run as the core message applies to all fantasy sports. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?" text="Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?">Q) What is your vision for MPL? Where do you want to see it in the next few years?</cmsannotation> We want to be the world’s biggest esports and skill gaming platform. That is the vision we have right from the start and we feel India is poised to become a global leader in esports. We have a great number of skilled game developers who can make games for the world and we have so many gamers who are waiting for an opportunity to excel in esports. By bringing them together on our platform, we can exhibit India’s prowess to the world. Our Indonesia business is doing really well and this has encouraged us to plan to expand to other geographies as we march towards realizing our vision.

We will be back on IPL media properties whenever the league returns: Abhishek Madhavan, Mobile Premier League

<ul><li><keyword id="6422069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="online-gaming">Online gaming</keyword> is growing in India by leaps and bounds. The pandemic has given the industry a further boost.</li><li>During the past few months, many homegrown gaming platforms have seen unprecedented growth.</li><li>Founded in 2018, <keyword id="7087972" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league">Mobile Premier League</keyword> has also witnessed a good growth, with many of its users coming from Tier II and Tier III cities.</li><li><keyword id="6176095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Abhishek-Madhavan">Abhishek Madhavan</keyword>, VP, Growth and Marketing, MPL tells us about the platform's journey so far and how its plans to grow its presence further.</li></ul> The online gaming industry in India is booming. Even before the pandemic hit, and people took to online games, the Indian gaming industry was growing at a healthy speed. <keyword id="906162" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-gaming">Mobile gaming</keyword> in India has been growing at a rapid rate due to development as well as smartphones becoming more affordable. According to Statista, the market value of mobile gaming in India was estimated to reach about $405 million by 2022. The number of mobile phone gamers was anticipated to be around 628 million by 2020 according to the forecast. Another report by investment bank Maple Capital Advisors titled Gaming – India Story stated that by 2024, the overall gaming industry in India is set to be valued at $3,750 million. The lockdown, while hitting most industries hard, has come as a boost for the Indian gaming industry. In the past few months, we have seen people not just take to offline games to spend time with family, a lot of them are enjoying their me-time playing different kinds of online games. Made-in-India games like Ludo King have witnessed an unprecedented growth, not just in India but even outside India. One such gaming platform that has witnessed an unprecedented growth during these last few months is Mobile Premier League (MPL). Not only is MPL sponsoring teams in leagues like IPL, it recently made news when it announced that it will be the presenting sponsor for <keyword id="8654765" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bigg-boss-2020">Bigg Boss 2020</keyword>. The platform is also witnessing a huge demand from smaller cities. Currently, it has over 40 million registered users in India and around 3 million registered users in Indonesia. Having Sequoia, Go Ventures, Times Internet, RTP Global, BeeNext, Venture Highway as its investors, the startup has raised a total of $40.5 million till date. We recently caught up Abhishek Madhavan, VP, Growth and Marketing, MPL to understand the factors that have led to his growth and their plans for the future. Excerpts: Q) The lockdown has come as a blessing in disguise for the gaming industry. What kind of growth has MPL witnessed in the last few months? We witnessed 3-4x overall growth over this period. Number of games played per day for some of our popular titles like WCC increased by 400%. We also saw that new users coming onto our platform played 3-4 different games on average. Q) There has been an overall increase in people taking up gaming from smaller cities. What kind of growth have you witnessed coming in from smaller cities and what are the factors that have accelerated this growth? MPL has always had a substantial presence in Tier II and Tier III cities across the country. A lot of the growth of gaming in smaller cities can be attributed to 4G data and smartphones easily available to more people. We also foresee more growth in this regard as internet and smartphone penetration increases across the country. One of our first digital sports scholars, VS Rathanvel is from Coimbatore and he won the first Chess Mahayudhorganised by MPL in July 2019. The runner-up in the same competition was Ankit Rajpara, who is from Mehsana in Gujarat. Q) What is your revenue model right now? What kind of increase have you seen in in-app purchases in recent months? Are you witnessing people from smaller cities also spend money on gaming? MPL is a gaming platform and we charge a platform fee for paid contests/tournaments. All our games are also available for free. We have seen an increase in our users participating in paid contests and tournaments. Q) How have you been marketing your platform? We just partnered with Kolkata Knight Riders and its sister franchise in the Caribbean- Trinbago Knight Riders - as their principal sponsor. Recently, we even sponsored the Irish Men’s Cricket team for the ODI series against England. These are some of our current marquee brand marketing activities. We also command a good presence in television and digital advertisements and we ensure that the messaging is simple, honest and that it resonates with our audience. Q) Where do you think the next phase of growth for MPL will come from? We are a platform, with a variety of games and content cutting across categories. We will look to add more games from various game developers. Our live-streaming feature for audio and video has also picked up so we are excited about that as well. Q) Where does India rank when it comes to growth in online gaming? Esports has taken off in the country and we have even won a Bronze medal in the Asian Games 2018, where they had esports for the first time. We have a lot of talent in gaming and esports and with the industry becoming mainstream, we can hope to do better on the world stage. Q) What is your vision for MPL? We aim to become a one-stop shop platform for gamers and game developers. We already have 50+ games on our app and have over 15 gaming studios as our developer partners. We want to work with more and more indigenous game developers and give them a platform to showcase their games to our user base. The more the number of quality games, the more our users will have a great experience on the platform.

Mobile Premier League wants to give a boost to indigenous game developers by showcasing their games to its wide set of audience

<ul><li>The tech industry has seen more than 200,000 <keyword id="6357067" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="layoffs" source="Orion">layoffs</keyword> since the start of 2022.</li><li>Instead of performance, the focus for layoffs is more on eliminating redundant roles that no longer add a major value to the organization.</li><li>Some of the red flags an employee should look out for are a decrease in hiring, budget cuts and changes in management.</li></ul>Bipin Singh, a business development manager at Byju’s with over 11 years experience in the EdTech industry was laid off last month after a stint of 1.5 years at the company. In his LinkedIn post he mentioned about the layoff and urged everyone to reach out to him with job offers or if not, like share and comment on his post to increase reach. Anil <keyword id="906861" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sahani" source="Orion">Sahani</keyword>, a software engineer, lost his job in Accenture recently .“I was one of the first ones to let go as I was a contract employee and also did not have any notice period. The layoffs are still on.” Singh and Sahani are among the thousands of employees who have been affected by tech layoffs in India. Google trend data, which reflects what people search for, shows that between January 22-28 this year, the term ‘layoff’ was at its peak popularity of 100, while between January 23 to January 29 last year, it was just at five. This is not surprising because layoffs are being reported majorly in the media and almost every other post on Linkedin is talking about layoffs. It all started with the news that the big tech giants like Amazon and Google parent Alphabet were laying off in large numbers. While Alphabet laid off 12,000 people, the Amazon layoffs affected more than 18,000 people. Microsoft said it will lay off 10,000 people by the end of the third quarter of 2023 and even SAP and IBM have started laying off employees. It seems it is almost like a contagion that is spreading rapidly like wildfire. The Indian situation: Which brings us to the question: Is the situation as bad in India? Layoffs are now a reality in India too. Reports suggest that around 21,000 techies have lost their jobs in the last three to four months. In the third week of January, Wipro fired more than 400 freshers for failing performance tests. While Amazon has laid off 1,000 of its employees in India, IBM and SAP are also laying off employees, affecting their employees in India as well. Very recently, Byju’s laid off 1,000 people, in a second round of layoffs in February. Sivaprasad N, vice president &amp; business head, TeamLease Digital, a staffing solutions company, puts the number of layoffs in the tech industry at more than 2,00,000 since 2022. Over 21,000 employees <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/70-plus-indian-startups-show-exit-door-to-21k-techies-more-pink-slips-coming/articleshow/97411761.cms?">have been laid off </a>by 70 startups in the past 3-4 months including from unicorns like BYJU'S, <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword>, MPL, Innovaccer, Unacademy, Vedantu, Cars24, OYO, Meesho, Udaan and many more. Anuj Gupta, who has over 10 years of experience in SEO, has lost his job in edtech company upGrad and is a part of the current tech and marketing layoff wave. The layoff situation in India is currently more of a spill-over effect of shake-ups in the West. Unlike the funding winter that hit the Indian funded tech startups cohort in 2022, the current layoffs by big labels are largely corrective talent adjustments. “Despite potential opportunities coming our way due to global shakeups, it is prudent for India Inc. to treat the current layoffs as a tip of the iceberg,” says <keyword id="138078" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="kamal-karanth" source="Orion">Kamal Karanth</keyword>, CoFounder, Xpheno, a specialist staffing company. He adds that enterprises, especially in tech, will benefit from remaining alert and conservative on costs for at least two quarters. Agrees Sivaprasad, “Companies are battling a slowdown in demand after a hiring frenzy. No company is certain to avoid significant cutbacks in such an economic environment. We are witnessing a significant drop in tech hiring unlike previous years as companies are only doing selective hiring for critical projects. It looks like the trend will continue for some time.” Many IT majors have announced mass layoffs in the last couple of months, quoting factors like overhiring, an impending recession and geopolitical conflicts. “We expect businesses to exhibit caution in hiring and workforce management through a major part of 2023,” <keyword id="13896318" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sachin-alug" source="Orion">Sachin Alug</keyword>, CEO, NLB Services - a global technology &amp; digital talent solutions company. Delhi-based Pankaj Kumar, laid off from a software company this month, says that one day he got a message saying that the company was restructuring and that it was his last day. “However, we were forced to resign and also we received very little in the name of assistance as promised.” Kumar feels that most startups today have no clue about manpower requirements and just hire to show their investors that they are doing well without having an idea of how they can sustain themselves in crucial times. Tech jobs have been the most affected: As discussed, tech companies, especially IT firms, are very vulnerable to an impending recession in the US. “The tech sector has always been highly sensitive to economic cycles, and the current economic downturn could have a significant impact on these companies. A recession could lead to decreased consumer spending, reduced corporate investment, and layoffs, which could all hit tech companies hard,” says <keyword id="328697" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sandeep-budhiraja" source="Orion">Sandeep Budhiraja</keyword>, Co-founder, Executive Director and Chief People Officer - BYLD Group which provides HR and Business productivity solutions, Additionally, the US market is a major source of revenue for many tech companies, so a recession here could have a widespread impact on global operations. Finally, any disruption to the global supply chain could further disrupt tech companies, as many rely on components and materials sourced from around the world. “The sectors that may be most affected, other than the technology, are telecommunications, financial services and retail. The telecommunications sector could be hit by reduced investment in infrastructure and lower customer demand. The financial services sector could be adversely affected by a decrease in credit availability and tightened lending standards, while the retail sector could suffer from decreased consumer spending,” adds Budhiraja. Everyone is vulnerable: “Instead of performance, the focus for layoffs is more on eliminating redundant roles that no longer add major value to the organization. Usually, mass layoffs affect employees invariably regardless of their performance but in organizations that choose to let go of a selected few, performers at a certain level tend to be the target,” says Alug. The primary causes of layoffs are the foreseeable recession and the geopolitical scenario which have led to inflation, impacting many industries. Prominent players in the IT and Technology domain are being cautious to ensure profitability and better predictability of business. Agrees Karanth, “The larger layoffs related to enterprise strategy and austerity are mostly across the ranks and ratings of performance. Such layoffs related to macroeconomic movements are typically steamrollers on entire divisions, geographies and business units. While each enterprise has their own pattern of priority on the layoffs, the high cost and high volume headcounts typically come under the lens faster.” Look out for red flags: “Layoffs in a situation like now are largely written on the wall. It is often the speed and style of a layoff that's a surprise to talent, and not the layoff by itself,” says Karanth. Some of the red flags an employee should look out for are a decrease in hiring, budget cuts and changes in management. “Additionally, if a company is reducing or eliminating certain departments or projects, it may be a sign that layoffs are coming. If there are rumours of layoffs or if employees are being asked to take unpaid leave, this could also be a sign that layoffs are imminent. Finally, if the company is not meeting its financial goals or is experiencing a downturn in business, layoffs may be a possibility,” says Alug. Hiring remains slow: “Many of those who lost their jobs are still looking for work, as nearly every major corporation has put a freeze on new hiring due to global macroeconomic conditions and recession fears. We are witnessing a significant drop in tech hiring unlike previous years as companies are only doing selective hiring for critical projects. Looks like the trend would continue for some time,” says Sivaprasad. However Karanth feels that while tech hiring has slowed down, there are opportunities for talent who are flexible and agile to look beyond their domain. The non-tech sector's talent demand has been compensating well for tech's hiring slowdown. <keyword id="2838370" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shraddha-jain" source="Orion">Shraddha Jain</keyword>, who is also known as 'Aiyyo Shraddha' on social media, posted a hilarious video on Instagram, where she slammed companies for laying off employees despite making a profit. "At the company offsite, we celebrated the company tripling its profit in a year. What happened? A month later we are so poor. Who robbed us?" she asked. While these are questions that reflect the grim reality of large scale layoffs, employees should brace themselves for tough times ahead. 2023 will be a turbulent ride.

Tech layoffs to continue for sometime thanks to a slowdown in demand and an uncertain economic environment

<ul><li>Since the beginning of sporting events like India’s tour of Sri Lanka in mid-July and the ongoing Olympics, <keyword id="3163762" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="SonyLIV">SonyLIV</keyword> registered an increase of 3X in viewership.</li><li>SonyLIV has roped in 100+ advertisers for India’s tour of Sri Lanka and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.</li></ul>Riding high on the success of Euro 2020, SonyLIV once again recorded landmark numbers with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and India’s tour of Sri Lanka. Since the beginning of sporting events like India’s tour of Sri Lanka in mid-July and the ongoing Olympics, SonyLIV registered an increase of 3X in viewership. Pioneers in the industry, the platform offered highlights, player compilations, and specials of India’s tour of Sri Lanka in four languages - English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. With unprecedented coverage with 20 LIVE streams, SonyLIV emerged as the one-stop destination for all the action from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The platform tied up with Google for their Organised Search Results Page (OSRP) to enhance consumer engagement on the platform. With this collaboration, users searched and watched their favourite team or athlete’s medal-winning performances, world record clips, medal event highlights, comprehensive day-wise India highlights, and more on Google OneBox in the form of SonyLIV VODs. SonyLIV has roped in 100+ advertisers for India’s tour of Sri Lanka and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The list of multiple sponsors comprised brands like Maruti Suzuki, LIC, JSW (Jindal Steel), WazirX, Vimal, Swiggy Betway, Fresh to Home and MPL. The platform cleared 99% of the total advertising inventory, on the back of continued support from some of the most prominent brands across various sectors - AMFI, Apple, Tata Motors, RBI, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Amazon, Herbalife, Visa, Amul, TVS Eurogrip Tyres, NPCI, Accenture, Acer, Dafanews, CoinDCX, Abbott, Cars24, Medibuddy, Bridgestone, Raymond, Yamaha, Fastrack and GoDigit. SonyLIV is also the streaming partner for India’s tour of England, comprising five test matches that began on 04th August 2021. <keyword id="11456071" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ranjana-Mangla">Ranjana Mangla</keyword>, Sr. VP &amp; Head of Ad Revenue, <keyword id="6358540" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sony">Sony</keyword> LIV said, "We are enthralled with the overwhelming response from advertisers that helped clear 99% of our total inventory for India’s tour of Sri Lanka and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. While majority of the Euro 2020 advertisers continued their association, we onboarded more than 100 advertisers. We are grateful to our partners who continue to extend support to all our sporting events. With sports consumption on the rise, we are confident of onboarding new brands for the India-England series." Parth Jindal, Managing Director, JSW Cement, JSW Paints and Founder JSW Sports and IIS said, "The association with Sony and SonyLIV has been truly outstanding - working with a team that is as passionate as JSW with regards to the Olympics has truly been a pleasure and is something we at the JSW Group hope to do again in the very near future." Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki Ltd said, "Our association with SonyLIV as the Co Presenting Sponsor for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been very fruitful as it enabled us to connect with sports enthusiasts across the country. For the first time in India, SonyLIV’ s coverage with 20 LIVE streams, has given the viewers a chance to watch their favourite sport and not miss any action. India has already won multiple medals and our association with ‘Tokyo 2020, India’s Top Moments’ and ‘Top Athletes’ segments helped achieve the desired engagement for the brand. We look forward to the forthcoming sporting events on the platform." Nischal Shetty, CEO, WazirX, said, "Our partnership with <keyword id="9550787" type="AGENCY" weightage="20" keywordseo="sonyliv-india">SonyLIV India</keyword> to co-present for the Euro 2020 and India Vs Sri Lanka cricket series through our #IndiakaBitcoinExchange campaign not only helped us land the right knowledge on crypto but also bust the misconceptions around crypto investments. It helped us stay true to our vision to make crypto mainstream in India."

SonyLIV witnesses 3X increase in viewership with its recent sporting events

<ul><li><keyword id="6422582" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Crypto-Exchanges">Crypto exchanges</keyword> in India are looking to form a new lobby and push for self-regulation.</li><li>This new coalition will be formed under IndiaTech, an industry body that represents other startups like Ola, MakeMyTrip, and Dream11.</li><li>Zebpay has confirmed its participation and other <keyword id="2721952" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto">crypto</keyword> exchanges are reportedly mulling it over.</li></ul>Crypto exchanges are joining hands to create a new lobby in India as regulatory uncertainty still looms overhead. And, this new lobby will be under the umbrella of IndiaTech — an industry body representing the country's leading internet startups like Ola, MakeMyTrip, Nykaa, Dream11, and more. <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">Crypto exchange</a> ZebPay has already confirmed its plans to join IndiaTech while other exchanges are still mulling it over, according to the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/top-crypto-exchanges-plan-multi-pronged-push-for-regulation/articleshow/83716658.cms">Economic Times.</a> The new lobby won’t replace the work already being done with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), but be another avenue for these nascent companies to make their case to the Indian government, banks and other regulatory authorities. CoinDCX, a competing crypto exchange, is already a ‘standard member’ of IndiaTech. Self-regulation may buy crypto exchanges sometime Regulating an industry like crypto is not a straightforward task. Intricate details of new legislation can take months or even years to be prepared. India’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-new-data-protection-bill-makes-a-good-show-of-user-rights-but-can-it-deliver-on-its-promises/articleshow/81422687.cms">Personal Data Protection Bill</a> has been stuck in the pipeline for three years as concerns over data usage and privacy have continued to escalate. In uncertain circumstances, the government has opted for a unique approach to address its issues with self-regulation. With this, the government not only looks like it’s taken a stance against what it believes to be against the law, but it has also passed the buck onto the organisations themselves to stay in line. For instance, over-the-top (OTT) players like Netflix and Prime Video were asked to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/self-regulation-code-adopted-by-disney-hotstar-amazon-prime-and-other-ott-platforms-what-is-this-code/articleshow/78009955.cms">self-censor the content</a> back in 2019. This bought them two years. Come 2021, the government issued the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/indias-new-rules-for-ott-platforms-could-lead-an-increase-in-content-related-disputes/articleshow/81306652.cms">new IT Rules</a> that may solve grievance redressals but brings up issues of content-related disputes. Following the same strategy, IndiaTech introduced a <a href="https://www.indiatech.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/IndiaTech.org_Crypto_Policy_Proposal_2021.pdf">whitepaper</a> in May 2021, proposing a five-point framework to regulate or monitor the industry. <h2 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;">A new avenue to show the Indian government that crypto exchanges are serious about regulation</h2> Leading crypto exchanges in the country have also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/wazirx-zebpay-crypto-and-others-are-setting-up-their-own-self-regulation-board-in-india/articleshow/83203195.cms">created</a> a new industry body called the Blockchain and Crypto Assets Council (BACC) under the aegis of IAMAI. These companies, which include Zebay, WazirX, and others have created self-regulating guidelines for money laundering, financial terrorism, and foreign exchange blunders. Until the government finds a solid regulatory body or framework, the self-imposed rules can help ease friction. Crypto exchanges and many experts have urged the government to consider <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-classification-in-india-as-asset-may-not-solve-regulation-problem/articleshow/83434444.cms">cryptocurrencies as an asset class</a>, removing any doubt that it could potentially affect the country's fiat currency -- the rupee. At the same time, crypto exchanges are in overtime mode, reaching out to the government, banks, financial institutions, and more to seek acceptance and make way for a crypto future. <h2 style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:18pt;margin-bottom:6pt;">Uber, Ola, Dream11 and others went through similar hurdles</h2>India is infamous for its bureaucracy and red tape, a hurdle that every startup on the cusp of innovation has had to deal with. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/uber-and-ola-are-not-acting-as-a-cartel-says-india-supreme-court/articleshow/79751539.cms">Uber and Ola</a> faced a hard time getting legal protection or approval. The entire country was under the control of cab mafias and unions that restricted a free market-like play. A considerable amount of dialogue and convincing was required to make cab-hailing services the new norm. Similarly, Dream11 faced a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/dream-11-gets-a-big-boost-from-bombay-hc-verdict/articleshow/69858772.cms">unique challenge</a> of operating its business since betting is considered illegal in the country. How do you pitch fantasy sports and their prediction as not ‘gambling’? The company defended its model by saying users require skills to make informed or correct decisions, improving their winning chances. In line with the stock market, it's a healthy mix of fundamental knowledge and market-based speculation. Today, a plethora of players like MPL, CricPlay, and more are leading the segment. And, <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">crypto exchanges</a> want to paint a picture of being like any of these other startups by associating themselves with IndiaTech. Just as these other services were too unique to be judged from the top, crypto exchanges too are merely ahead of their time. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/citymall-a-startup-that-helps-budding-entrepreneurs-start-their-ventures-on-whatsapp-has-raised-over-22-million/articleshow/83741383.cms">CityMall, a startup that helps budding entrepreneurs start their ventures on WhatsApp, has raised over $22 million</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/investments-in-crypto-hit-17-billion-in-the-first-six-months-of-2021/articleshow/83740327.cms">Investments in crypto hit a new record of $17 billion, but Indian funds are yet to jump on the bandwagon</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/ecommerce/news/flipkart-and-amazon-may-not-be-able-to-do-flash-sales/articleshow/83737670.cms">Amazon, Flipkart and other e-commerce platforms may not be able to do flash sales any more, if Indian government has its way</a>

There’s a new Indian crypto lobby in the making and Zebpay has confirmed its participation

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/magic-the-gathering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Magic the Gathering</a> is one of the most popular collectible card games in the world, with more than 35 million players spread across 70 countries.</li><li>The game's parent companies, Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast, recently announced a $10 million esports program for tabletop and digital competitions in 2019.</li><li>The announcement follows the launch of "MTG Arena," a fully digital version of Magic the Gathering for PC.</li><li>The prize money will be divided between the Magic Pro League, supporting the 32 best players in the world, and Mystic Championships, which will allow any Magic player to qualify and compete.</li></ul>Magic the Gathering is one of the most celebrated card games ever created, reaching more than 35 million players around the world in 70 countries. The collectible card game will enter a new phase in its history in 2019 with a brand new esports program announced by Magic's parent companies Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast during <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-video-games-introduced-at-annual-game-awards-2018-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Game Awards</a> on December 6th.Launching in 2019, the new esports program introduces a $10 million prize pool split between traditional tabletop tournaments and digital competitions using the new "MTG Arena" video game.Magic the Gathering has a long history of competitive play, with the first Magic Pro Tour dating back to 1996. The decision to introduce a larger scale esports program alongside "MTG Arena" will help introduce a wide range of new players to the game. "MTG Arena" is still in beta, but is free to download. The game is the first fully-digital representation of "Magic the Gathering" and offers learning tools for new players.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-power-nine-magic-the-gathering-cards-costs-so-much-trading-game-2018-5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">These 9 Magic: The Gathering cards are worth a staggering $27,000 - here's why</a>"Today is an extremely important day for Magic: The Gathering as we announce our commitment to esports and our Magic players by evolving our tournament structure to include a $10 million prize pool," Wizards of the Coast President Chris Cocks said in a statement. "We are fully embracing esports and affirming Magic as a leader in the collectible card game category while providing lucrative opportunities for pros, players, sponsors, and esports partners."The esports program will be divided into two types of competitions: The Magic Pro League (MPL) will be focused on premier events between 32 of the top-ranked Magic the Gathering players in the world; Mythic Championships will let players from around the world compete in "MTG Arena" online to qualify for a chance to play against the stars of the MPL.Official tabletop tournaments will be considered Mythic Championships as well, and each in-person event will award $500 in prize money.The Magic Pro League will focus on developing the top level of professional Magic the Gathering competition, with the top 32 players earning contracts worth $75,000 each. Those top players will face-off against each other each week, with the matchups building toward new Mythic Championship events.To kick off the 2019 esports season, Magic the Gathering is hosting a special $1 Million Mythic Invitational at PAX East 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts this March. Details on qualifying for the event will be revealed in early 2019. The first Mythic Championships for tabletop players will be held in Cleveland (February 22 to 24th), London (April 26 to 28th), Barcelona (July 26 to 28th) and Richmond (November 8 to 10th)."The past 25 years of Magic competition has led us to design this comprehensive esports program that would support Magic: The Gathering Arena, while increasing our investment in tabletop Magic," Elaine Chase, Vice President of Esports at Wizards of the Coast said in a press release. "Our investment in esports will catapult the game to new heights while providing support to the players by giving them the platform to build their brand and bring Magic to a broader audience."For more details on the new Magic the Gathering esports program or to play Magic the Gathering Arena for free, <a href="https://magic.wizards.com/en/competitive-magic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visit the official website.</a><div></div> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cooked-entire-thanksgiving-dinner-using-google-home-hub-2018-11">I tried cooking an entire Thanksgiving dinner using Google Home Hub and found there are two major flaws with it</a></h3> <div> </div> </div></hr></hr>

With more than 35 million players worldwide, Magic the Gathering is giving back to its community with a brand new game and $10 million in esports prize money

Ahead of Nazara Technologies’ IPO, the CEO says its public listing will put Indian gaming on the world map

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The commercial space industry is ratcheting up the frequency of rocket launches and the sizes of its vehicles.</li><li>Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX, hopes to see more 1,000 launches per year of the company's new 39-story Starship rocket system.</li><li>But before any company can launch a rocket in the US, they must work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to obtain a launch license. One factor is accident insurance, and the amount is mostly determined by the risk to lives on the ground.</li><li>The FAA uses a $3 million amount as the value for each casualty in a hypothetical worst-case accident. The number was chosen in 1988, based on airline crash lawsuits, but has not budged since despite inflation and other factors.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/prime">Click here to read more BI Prime stories</a>.</li></ul>WASHINGTON - With the meteoric rise of the commercial spaceflight industry, which has <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/space-angels-report-dawn-private-spaceflight-age-26-billion-invested-2020-1">seen nearly $30 billion in private investments</a> over the past decade, the world could soon see far more rockets - and much, much bigger ones - launching and landing on the regular.But with any boost in access to space comes increased risk, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which issues rocket-launch licenses, has for years avoided a serious reckoning of calculating the value of a human life, according to government auditors.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-stock-options-internal-market-tender-offer-2020-1">SpaceX</a>, the aerospace company founded by <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-boca-chica-texas-possible-crash-pad-house-2020-1">Elon Musk</a>, is on track to launch about two dozen Falcon 9 rockets in 2020. But Musk recently said Earth may soon see more than 1,000 launches per year of Starship, a planned 39-story rocket system that's designed to slash launch costs perhaps 1,000-fold. Each spaceship could ostensibly <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-plans-1-million-people-to-mars-by-2050-2020-1">ferry 100 people to Mars</a> and pack up to 100 tons of payload."Megatons per year to orbit are needed for life to become multiplanetary," Musk <a href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1217986505513172992" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> this month.Rocket launches can't happen willy-nilly from US soil, though; SpaceX and other companies must get clearance from the FAA. Accident insurance is a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starhopper-rocket-launch-liability-insurance-faa-mandate-2019-8">core requirement of a launch license</a>, and to calculate the coverage needed, the agency simulates the unthinkable: a worst-case accident that has a 1-in-1o-million chance of occurring.The damage and death resulting from such an unlikely nightmare is called "maximum probable loss," or MPL, and its priciest - and most controversial - component is called "cost-of-casualty amount." In short, the figure attempts to estimate the value of a human life brought to a premature end on the ground by an explosion, falling debris, or some other lethal consequence of a launch or landing failure. "It sounds strange when you think about it. How can you put a value on human life?" George Nield, a former FAA associate administrator who led its Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) for more than a decade, previously told Business Insider. "But you want to make sure people and families are compensated if something happens that's not their fault."Currently, the FAA ascribes what it has called a "conservative" value of $3 million per hypothetical victim. But federal auditors within the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have hammered this figure over the years for being much too low."[B]y not prioritizing this weakness FAA may be exposing the federal government to excess risk. By continuing to use the $3 million cost-of-casualty amount in its MPL calculation methodology that we and others have noted is outdated, FAA may not be requiring launch companies to have sufficient insurance to cover all losses that can be reasonably expected," the GAO wrote in <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-366" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 2017 report</a>.<h2>Why the FAA says one life is worth $3 million in a spaceflight accident</h2>When the AST (the commercial space transportation office) formed in 1984, Nield said Congress gave the new FAA division two central and seemingly contradictory missions: keep the public safe, yet also "encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space transportation."Instead of simply saying "no" to every launch, Nield says the AST works with companies to think through their launch vehicle's hazards, model possible accident scenarios, establish safety zones, and then calculate if the overall risk is acceptable."The probability of an expected casualty has to be less than 100 in a million, otherwise you're not going to be able to fly," Nield said.In the case of SpaceX's most recent Starship-related launch - the flight of a stubby, six-story prototype <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-starhopper-launch-video-youtube-live-video-feed-2019-8">called the Starhopper</a> - the FAA said the risk of one casualty was about 1-in-1 million, or 100 times less. The rocket launched from a pad located about 1.5 miles east of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-elon-musk-texas-starship-mars-launch-site-pictures-2019-5">Boca Chica Village at the very southern tip of Texas</a>, where SpaceX is building out a private spaceport amid a few dozen homes."To put this extremely remote chance in perspective, if SpaceX was to launch this same exact mission every day, we would statistically expect one serious injury or fatality at Boca Chica Village between 720 B.C. and today," an FAA spokesperson previously told Business Insider.For that launch, the FAA mandated that SpaceX obtain $100 million in worst-case-scenario insurance - nearly all of which was tied to 33 estimated casualties, valued at $3 million each.But as the GAO and other federal entities have indicated, that figure is likely "outdated" and "insufficient."In the mid-1980s, when AST was formed, there was - and still is - no on-the-ground death resulting from a commercial space launch. The office eventually settled on the $3 million figure in 1988, basing it on legal judgements and settlements that arose from airline crash lawsuits. The number was more like $1 million per death, but GAO auditors said the office wanted to be "conservative" and tripled the number.The FAA contracted the Science and Technology Policy Institute (STPI) in 2015 to reevaluate the figure and make a recommendation - but it couldn't. The reason, said government auditors, is that many airplane crash lawsuits ended privately, and thus STPI "was only able to access very limited information on settlement awards," the GAO wrote in its 2017 report. "As a result," the report said, "a reliable estimate of the average loss per casualty" could not be made.The $3 million has not budged since, even though that amount of money in 1988 dollars - when adjusted for inflation - is now worth more than double that amount."STPI's study indicated that a cost-of-casualty amount of approximately $6 million per casualty might be appropriate, but the study did not make a recommendation of what amount ths FAA should use," the GAO wrote.<h2>When the price of a life might go up</h2>A follow-up report by GAO officials in <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-57" target="_blank" rel="noopener">January 2018</a> noted some progress on the matter, but found the FAA still under-prioritizing the matter and, as of publication, the agency is still using the $3 million figure.The GAO, which in part aims to keep the government from shooting itself in the foot financially, is concerned about the figure because a real-world accident could see claims that exceed the insurance taken out by an aerospace company.Nield explained the MPL insurance - for example, the policy SpaceX obtained for its Starhopper launch in August 2019 - is only the first part of a three-tier system to soak up liability. A company's insurance requirement maxes out at $500 million. If, in the event of a very unlikely incident, the liability exceeds that amount, he says the FAA can move to the second tier: asking for up to $1.5 billion in additional cash to compensate victims."What if it's a really, really, really bad day, and the losses add up to more than that amount?" Nield said of the total $2 billion.The third tier of liability moves back the company: "Then the losses and responsibility reverts to the launch operator. Unless it's a very large and stable company, that's going to put them out of business."In its 2018 report, the GAO said the FAA was working toward revisiting the $3 million figure, but intended to consult with private launch and insurance companies, as well as a then-recently reestablished Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. At the time, the FAA hoped to get to the matter in mid-2018 - but the GAO noted that deadline was unlikely to be met.More than two years after the GAO filed what appears to be its latest report, the FAA is still using $3 million as its cost-of-casualty amount as other upcoming launch systems, like Starship and Blue Origin's New Glenn and New Armstrong rockets, move toward reality.The FAA likely will not begin to revisit the cost-of-casualty amount until this fall at the earliest, according to an email sent by a spokesperson to Business Insider, adding that those discussions later this year "would only be the beginning of the process.""The top priority is to streamline launch and reentry licensing requirements overall," the spokesperson said, noting that the agency is working to submit a package of new regulations for launch and reentry of commercial spacecraft, called SLR2. "The current proposed rule is designed to consolidate and streamline multiple regulations, as well as allow performance based regulations that give more flexibility to the license applicants while still protecting public safety."Speaking at the agency's 23rd annual Commercial Space Transportation Conference here in Washington, DC, Wayne Monteith, who heads the FAA's AST office, said that those new regulations likely won't be completed until the fall.For his part, though, Nield says it's important to highlight the current safety record of the more than <a href="https://www.faa.gov/data_research/commercial_space_data/">335 commercial launches licensed by the FAA</a>."There has never been a member of the public ever killed or had property damage by a commercial space flight," Nield said last year. "This is because the industry and the government have done a good job of ensuring public safety."Do you have a story to share about the spaceflight industry? Send Dave Mosher an email at <a href="mailto:dmosher+tips@businessinsider.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dmosher+tips@businessinsider.com</a> or send him a Twitter direct message to <a href="https://twitter.com/davemosher" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@davemosher</a>. You may also consider more secure communication options <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dave-mosher" target="_blank" rel="noopener">listed here</a>.

Your life is worth about $3 million in a rocket accident, according to the FAA. Here's how the agency got that number - and why auditors say it's a problem.

<ul><li>Shah Rukh Khan topped the report in 2019 and <keyword id="6354832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ms-dhoni">MS Dhoni</keyword> was at No. 1 in 2020.</li><li>As per IIHB’s report, Dream11 was the most spontaneously recalled brand in this year’s survey.</li></ul>Versatile actor <keyword id="106133" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ranveer-Singh">Ranveer Singh</keyword> versus Captain Cool MS Dhoni? Well, both seem to have done equally well in the annual IPL ad recall research of the Indian Institute of Human Brands (IIHB) conducted ten days after the start of the League this year. The research polled 879 respondents in the age-group of 18-35 years (M=481, F=398) across India. The interviews were conducted telephonically. Dream11 was the most spontaneously recalled brand in this year’s survey, which possibly also helped enhance both the brand equity and recall of MS Dhoni who anchored the 12-ad series for the brand as its ambassador and protagonist. Jio Fiber, with multiple IPL teams featured with an effervescent Ranveer Singh gyrating with a sing-song brand message, came in second on recall in the research, also helping the celebrity endorser to considerably strengthen his personal recall. Byju’s was the most spontaneously recalled brand on the IPL last year; though its celebrity endorser Shah Rukh Khan trailed behind other celebrities. Virat Kohli, as expected, did well on recall too, and came third in the recall rankings. Salman Khan did surprisingly well in this year’s survey and came in at No. 4, ahead of Rishabh Pant, Rahul Dravid, Varun Dhawan, Alia Bhatt and Saurav Ganguly who followed in that sequence. Ajay Devgn, Sachin Tendulkar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shah Rukh Khan, Boman Irani, Kareena Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Katrina Kaif, Ayushmann Khurrana and Akshay Kumar, on the other hand, had very few mentions and scored very poorly on respondent recall. There were sporadic mentions of Virender Sehwag and Priyanka Chopra too. In the last survey conducted in October 2020, MS Dhoni had the highest spontaneous recall as a celebrity endorser. Virat Kohli was a not-so-close second. Akshay Kumar was at rank 3; Ayushmann Khurrana at rank 4. “MS Dhoni and Ranveer Singh had a disproportionate share of visibility and recall in the IPL research we just conducted. This was in sync with the ultra-high recall of the brands they respectively endorse”, said Dr. Sandeep Goyal, Chief Mentor of IIHB. “It is interesting nevertheless to note that brands without celebrities like Phone Pe, Byju’s and others too have done well wherever media investments are heavy”. IIHB team used its proprietorial CELEBAR tool based on Celebrity Brand Association &amp; Recognition to assign a metric score to each celebrity and associated brand. The tool takes into account: <ul><li>Spontaneous recall of the brand</li><li>Spontaneous recall of the celebrity</li><li>Association between brand &amp; celebrity together </li><li>Recency of communication </li><li>Media weight behind campaign</li><li>Solus versus multiple brands using the celebrity</li></ul>MS Dhoni had a CELEBAR score of 87, up from 82 at the last IPL. His spontaneous recall was an unusually high 82%. His association with Dream 11 was also very constant at 79% from the last edition. He got 9% association with IPL/Star TV, 8% brand association with Indigo Paints, 6% with Orient Fans for Orient Fans and Livfast Solar. 2% recall came from SunFeast Yippee. So, most of Dhoni’s brand goodness got hijacked by Dream 11, much like last year. If Dhoni had only been endorsing Dream 11, his CELEBAR score would have been near 100, given his strong association with that one brand, to almost the relative exclusion of the other brands he endorses. Ranveer achieved a CELEBAR score of 86, empirically almost equal to that of MS Dhoni. But his association was more democratically spread with Jio Fiber at 56%, JD mart at 48%, My11 Circle at 22% and Bingo at 18%. Names of some other brands were mentioned by respondents but these were filtered out as they were not part of the IPL broadcast. Both MS Dhoni and Ranveer gained massively also on account of their main brands spending disproportionately large amounts of media monies which made them exponentially more visible than other competing celebrities. Virat Kohli trailed far behind the Top 2. His score of 45 on CELEBAR is mostly derived by his 94% association with MRF tyres. Bluestar is in low single digits on association. Salman Khan at a CELEBAR of 38, owes 82% recall to Rajshree elaichi and the balance to Pepsi. Rishabh Pant climbed up interestingly to No. 5 on the strength of his JSW appearances. Varun Dhawan had 76% of his recall from Lux Cozi and much lower from Frooti. Alia owed most of her recall also to Frooti with scattered mentions of Dark Fantasy. Interestingly, the IPL seems to be running no/few ads with Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, and even with cricketers Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul or Hardik Pandya, or the media weightages behind those ads were too insignificant to be noticed by viewers. The Cred ad for Rahul Dravid was spontaneously recalled by 17% respondents but only 2% remembered Jackie Shroff and only 1% mentioned Kumar Sanu for the same brand. Mutual Funds (AMFI) ads had 22% recall but most respondents got the protagonists mixed up, with the most attributing the messaging to Dhoni and Kohli. Dream 11’s association with multiple cricketers was mentioned by many respondents but most were not sure if they remembered current creatives. Only the connect with MS Dhoni was unambiguous. Despite heavy media weights, Vimal elaichi ad featuring Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan had only an 8% recall. Netmeds with Kareena Kapoor and Renuka Shahane had a good 9% recall. Priyanka Chopra’s Appy Fizz and Katrina’s Slice were almost not recalled. Hema Malini managed 3% recall on Kent RO. Randhir Kapoor’s Asian Paints managed 4% while Kareena Kapoor’s and Pankaj Tripathi’s Berger creatives both got below 1%. Ayushmann was remembered by less than 1% in Urban Company. Gajaraj Rao was mentioned in less than 1% for Voltas. Unacademy featuring Sunil Gavaskar and Harsha Bhogle too scored poorly at 2%. Gamezy featuring KL Rahul got less than 1% recall. On the ads without celebrities, the most remembered were Phone Pe (32%), Byju’s (31%), Vivo (22%), One Plus (21%), Groww (20%), Upstox (20%), Kia (19%), MPL (18%), Bisleri (11%), PharmEasy (11%), Thums Up(9%), Coca Cola (6%), Renault Kiger (6%), Tata Safari (6%), Skoda (3%), Ajio (3%), Dark Fantasy (2%), LikedIn (2%), Raymond (2%) and Tuborg (1%). As more gets added to the broadcast as the IPL progresses, both standings of celebrities and recall of brands may change.

Ranveer Singh and MS Dhoni are the most recalled brand ambassadors this IPL: IIHB Report

<ul><li>In our last feature from the series where we crystal-gazed into 2022 and brought to you some key trends that will impact the industry, we speak to experts from the Indian <keyword id="6357332" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gaming" source="Orion">gaming</keyword> industry.</li><li>They share their thoughts of a few big trends that will dominate the industry in 2022.</li></ul>As we enter 2022, we can only look back and wonder at the meteoric rise online gaming has seen in India in the past two years. While gaming had been witnessing growth, albeit a relatively slow one, before the lockdown, it was during the locked-at-home phase that many across the country not only discovered the joys of gaming, but also realised they could make a healthy living out of it. If most reports coming out in the last one year are to be believed, India will see an even faster growth for the industry in the next few years, and now Bharat is joining in this growth. A recent report by <keyword id="7087972" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-premier-league" source="Orion">Mobile Premier League</keyword> (MPL), an <keyword id="2440542" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="esports" source="Orion">esports</keyword> and skill gaming platform revealed that India’s tier-III cities and towns have witnessed a significant rise in the number of online gamers in 2021. The top 30 of them reported up to 170% more gamers compared to 2020. Some of the small towns have more than 100% to up to 200% growth in online gamers. Another report by Sequoia India and BCG said that while the gaming industry in India is currently smaller than that of the US and China and is 1% of the global gaming market, it is generating $1.5B revenue and is expected to triple to over $5 billion by 2025 on the back of the ‘mobile first’ phenomenon. This massive growth has also led to a new breed of influencers who are being followed by hundreds of thousands of engaged audiences. YouTube’s recently released list of top Indian creators on its platform featured 5 gamers. And things are just about starting to get heated. To understand where this highly dynamic industry is headed in this next year, we reached out to a few prominent voices from the industry and this is what they had to say: Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India &amp; Vice President of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF) India was a sleeping giant till Covid-19 happened, and now we have established ourselves as a market that cannot be ignored; Stakeholders like the brands, investors, authorities and so on, were just sitting on the fence and observing. But with a market of at least 450 million online gamers, the potential of video games and esports cannot be ignored. The year 2021, has been the inflection point for video games in India. While esports evolves itself into various business models, Non-fungible token (NFT) will be one big trend to watch out for in 2022. Video Games is the best use case for NFTs, customization of the skins, virtual avatars, in-game items/rewards etc. all this already exists in video games (so-called metaverse) and is now starting to be converted into NFTs. One of the key drivers for the meteoric growth of Video Games has been live streaming and esports, and such content creators and/IP holders will eventually look at converting the best of gameplays/streaks/moments into NFTs, which not only help increase monetization for content creators, video game developers etc. but also be a catalyst in terms of retention of fans and users respectively. Anirudh Pandita, Founder, <keyword id="820765" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Loco" source="Orion">Loco</keyword> Gaming has now arrived as a truly mainstream entertainment experience and has become the primary source of entertainment for India’s young generation. 2021 saw the rise of esports and game streaming, and 2022 will see this multiply. In 2021, we saw the arrival of BGMI which all Indian fans were waiting for and in 2022, we will see multiple big publishers release games for India. In 2021, we saw esports go to new heights and we will see continued growth in the sector in the next year as prize money as well as number of games will increase. Game streaming saw the entry of hundreds of thousands of new streamers and millions of viewers, and this trend should accelerate in 2022, with individual streams rivaling those of major traditional sports. Lastly, with blockchain providing interesting use cases, we expect to see interesting new use cases come out to help creators and consumers. We, at Loco, have always aimed at paving the way for gaming to go from a niche hobby to a mainstream national interest- which the year 2021 has helped realize. We are confident that with this, India will cement its place on the global gaming map in 2022. Abhishek Aggarwal, Co-Founder &amp; CEO, <keyword id="12415204" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="trinity-gaming" source="Orion">Trinity Gaming</keyword> The gaming industry is progressing, taking complete advantage of the latest developments in technology, software, better internet services, gadgets, cloud technology and more. In the Indian scenario, there is an explosive growth of gamers in this booming industry with creative and engaging content being an important aspect of the system. With more games introduced and with more people joining the pool, more brands are shifting their focus on marketing their brands through these young creators who have an enormous fan following across the age group of 15-30 which is the most targeted audience in advertising terms for both endemic and non-endemic brands. Gaming content has begun to penetrate the Tier II, Tier III locations, and beyond, giving vernacular content creators a chance to grow. With Hindi &amp; Tamil being the two most popular languages in streaming in India, it will surely gain more prominence in the coming time. More people will watch game streaming. Audiences tend to admire their creators and feel more connected to them due to their high level of engagement. The future of gaming beholds a lot and a stronger and classified gaming ecosystem is on the rise. Tarun Gupta, Founder, <keyword id="10820861" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ultimate-battle" source="Orion">Ultimate Battle</keyword> Games and gaming content are highly engaging and we're seeing a huge spike in average and concurrent viewership for gaming content. The consumers are very dynamic and their attention span size has decreased noticeably in GenZ. We see short gaming video content to witness a never seen before hype in the gaming community. The mobile gaming market is expanding in tier 2 and tier 3 cities and we'll witness a rise in engagement in games, viewership, and content creation. Young gamers will play engaging games, consume fast-paced engaging content, and want to socialize with gamers often simultaneously. This will lead to more virtual world socialization among the young generation and higher consumption of gaming content. As such, 2022 will usher higher inclination by brands into the gaming industry to target the young age group of 18 to 25. With many startups and organizations focusing on gaming and esports, we'll see a spike in Esports events and team IPs being created. This will boost the gaming ecosystem in India and open multiple opportunities in careers for gamers and IT professionals. Roland Landers, CEO, <keyword id="3634002" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="All-India-Gaming-Federation" source="Orion">All India Gaming Federation</keyword> The Indian gaming industry along with the M&amp;E segment has now become one of the fastest growing sectors in India with around 7.3 Bn downloads in recent years. It has emerged as an important avenue due to a multitude of favorable factors such as young and tech-savvy population, affordable availability of feature-packed smartphones, better internet connectivity, and an overall technological development. The move has also accelerated the growth of multi gaming format in the online gaming space. The Indian gaming industry is expected to reach 3 billion by 2025 and is now projected to grow faster than the global online gaming segment. The industry currently employs 40,000 people in direct jobs and by 2024 the online skill gaming industry is expected to employ around 2 lakh people. This growth will further lead to revenue generation for the country, driven by ease of payment, better security and instant withdrawal of winnings etc. As the regulatory landscape is also evolving and positive judgments are expected from many states, we as an industry leader look forward to an exciting year for this sunrise sector. With its exponential growth, the gaming industry will also attract international investors to invest in the Indian market. Sameer Barde, CEO - E Gaming Federation <div type="image" title="IMG-20220110-WA0005" msid="88826278" hostid="261"></div> Online gaming will become increasingly mainstream and find acceptance as a source of entertainment in 2022. This year, we anticipate a growth rate of over 35 % for the sector as a whole. However, for this to happen, we hope to see government stakeholders accepting the need for regulation to protect the player and industry interests. Increasing monetization and adoption of new-age technology including blockchain and NFTs in the gaming ecosystem will be seen. We expect a larger number of players moving from free-to-play to paying-to-play, in-game purchases, and skill gaming. Industry players will develop new and exciting games for users based on traditional games and Indian themes, keeping the PM’s vision in mind. Additionally, e-Sports being a medal sport in the forthcoming Asian Games in September will result in a significant increase both in terms of acceptance and interest. All in all, we at EGF are excited and believe that this will be a bellwether year for the entire industry. Bhavin Pandya, CEO and Co-Founder, <keyword id="8913431" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Games24x7" source="Orion">Games24x7</keyword> The Indian online skill gaming industry is poised for tremendous growth. With the right support particularly in the form of progressive policy structures, gaming can spur a second software revolution in India. As of today, this industry offers direct employment to almost 50,000 people. It is also a major source of taxation for the exchequer. In addition, the sector has multiplier benefits for several other domains including fintech, banking, semiconductors, animation, and other aspects of Information Technology. The sector has witnessed significant investments from marquee international investors and accounts of several Unicorns. With the right encouragement and support, India can emerge as a global pioneer in gaming technology. Ankur Singh, CEO and Founder, Witzeal We believe that the gaming sector will continue to expand with the high end adoption of AI and data science to understand and provide users experiences they wish for. Future of gaming will likely be based upon newer technologies like Blockchain and its active usage would prove fruitful in the years to come. Another key trend to look forward to is the penetration of gaming in rural areas because the penetration of internet and smartphones is on a gradual rise. Yashash Agarwal, Co-Founder and CEO, <keyword id="3212361" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gamezop" source="Orion">Gamezop</keyword> <div type="image" title="RIC_8498" msid="88758667" hostid="261"></div> Blockchain gaming is shaping up to be a very interesting space. We are already seeing very interesting games emerge with blockchain and NFTs at the heart of all the action. Games like Axie Infinity have popularized the Play to Earn mechanic and they have been able to scale engagement as well as monetization to huge numbers. Take it one step further and we see that decentralization is fundamentally changing how companies operate: all the way from raising money, to day-to-day governance. This is most notable in DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organisations), which follow a bottom-up, community-driven management style. We are excited to see the blockchain gaming projects that emerge from India! Vaibhav Odhekar, COO &amp; Co-Founder, <keyword id="2734866" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="POKKT" source="Orion">POKKT</keyword> The gaming industry is constantly evolving, and its popularity will continue to rise. In the last three years, the sector has welcomed 500 million new gamers globally. New technological breakthroughs such as virtual reality have provided another dimension towards entertainment in this domain. For many young folks, the industry has also become a viable career option. Talking about the trends- The audience will continue to diversify in the coming years. So, instead of a male/female audience bias, we'll have a nearly 50-50 gender split, with a lot more older people joining the online gaming space. India is expected to create more global content. Although the percentage is extremely low right now, as more high-quality content is created in India, the trend will improve. Also, e-Sports as a category will grow in popularity. In 2022, there will be a significant increase in the number of movies released worldwide. So, the biggest trend we anticipate to see is a lot more games based on movie franchises. Gaming has its own history of adapting films and gamers are enthralled by such games. Video games are a vast medium that covers a wide variety of genres and experiences that can only be experienced in games, along with contributions from a population from all over the world. Even while many modern games are inspired by movies, they are nevertheless unique in their own way and we expect them to expand in the coming years.

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