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<keyword id="20143333" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="social-media-platform" source="keywords">Social media platform</keyword> <keyword id="20639239" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Koo" source="keywords">Koo</keyword>, which had pitched itself as a rival and viable alternative to <keyword id="19959118" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter" source="keywords">Twitter</keyword> (now X), is shutting down with co-founders on Wednesday penning a heartfelt note about tough decisions and little yellow bird bidding "final goodbye". In a post on <keyword id="19951562" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LinkedIn" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="LinkedIn" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="LinkedIn">LinkedIn</keyword>, co-founders <keyword id="20760806" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aprameya-radhakrishna" source="keywords">Aprameya Radhakrishna</keyword> and Mayank Bidawatka announced that the platform will be discontinuing its services to the public, as talks for a <keyword id="19900447" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="partnership" source="keywords">partnership</keyword> with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses did not yield the desired outcomes. "We explored partnership with multiple larger internet companies, conglomerates and media houses but these talks didn't yield the outcome we wanted," the note said. The duo said that although they would have liked to keep the app running, "the cost of technology services to keep social media app running is high and we've had to take this tough decision". Koo at its peak grossed about 2.1 million daily active users, about 10 million monthly active users, and over 9,000 VIPs that included some of the most prominent personalities from various fields. "We were just months away from beating Twitter in <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword> in 2022, and could have doubled down on that short term goal with capital behind us," they said. A <keyword id="20041080" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="funding-winter" source="keywords">funding winter</keyword>, however hit the company at its peak, hurting plans and forcing the platform to "tone down" its growth trajectory. "Unfortunately for us, the mood of the market and the funding winter got better of us," the note mentioned as the founders signed off saying, "the little yellow bird says its final goodbye" in a reference to Koo's yellow bird logo. It may be recalled that Koo's popularity in India peaked around 2021 amid the Indian government's spat with Twitter (now X) and growing calls for expanding the ecosystem of homegrown digital platforms. At its peak, Koo had experienced heady growth in its user metrics as union ministers and government departments at that time heavily endorsed the homegrown microblogging platform.

Curtains down for Koo; founders say little yellow bird bids final goodbye

In 2023, there has been a sharp rise in low-performing shopping malls with approximately 13.3 million square feet of <keyword id="20144408" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="retail-space" source="keywords">retail space</keyword> categorised as 'ghost shopping centre', a 59 per cent year-on-year surge. According to <keyword id="19895044" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Knight-Frank-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Knight Frank India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Knight Frank India">Knight Frank India</keyword>'s latest report, 'Think <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword> Think Retail 2024: Shopping Centre and High Street Dynamics Across 29 Cities', there has been an increase of 238 per cent year-on-year in Ghost Shopping Centre in terms of leasable area since 2022 in the prime markets. As a result of the rise in 'ghost <keyword id="21560774" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="shopping-centres" source="keywords">shopping centres</keyword>', Knight Frank India estimated that loss of value to be at Rs 67 billion or USD 798 million, in 2023. As per definition, ghost malls are shopping centres, typically having a high vacancy rate and low consumer footfalls. According to the report by the global property consultant, National Capital Region (NCR) accounted for the highest ghost shopping centre stock, measuring at 5.3 million sq ft (rise of 58 per cent year-on-year), followed by Mumbai with 2.1 million sq ft (rise of 86 per cent year-on-year) and Bengaluru with 2.0 million sq ft (rise of 46 per cent year-on-year). Hyderabad is the only city to record a decline in the ghost shopping centre stock by 19 per cent year-on-year to 0.9 million sq ft in 2023. The sharpest rise in ghost shopping centres was recorded in Kolkata (237 per cent year-on-year), though on a lower base. In tier 1 cities, the total number of shopping centres have reduced in a period of one year. Despite the addition of eight new retail centres, total number of shopping centres reduced to 263 in 2023 as 16 shopping centres were shut down over the last year. Underperforming shopping centres were either demolished due to reasons such as developers undertaking residential or commercial developments or were permanently closed or auctioned. The report delved into the retail real estate markets beyond the top-tier markets. This study covered 340 shopping centres and 58 high streets across 29 Indian cities, conducted through primary surveys. According to Knight Frank Research, as of 2023, India has a total shopping centre stock of 125.1 million sq ft. The top 8 Indian cities constitute 75 per cent of the total gross leasable area, at 94.3 million sq ft across 263 shopping centres while Tier 2 cities constitute 30.8 million sq ft. Of the top 8 cities, NCR (31.3 mn sq ft), Mumbai (16.3 mn sq ft) and Bengaluru (15.6 mn sq ft) were the top three cities in the pecking order of leasable area available in the shopping centres. In the report, Knight Frank has projected potential revenue of the shopping centres across 29 cities to reach USD 14 billion during 2024-25. The revenue projections for shopping centres is based on an extensive primary survey of 340 shopping centres, including the top 8 cities. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/indegene-ipo-company-details-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/109888922.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/indegene-ipo-company-details-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/109888922.cms" target="_blank">Indegene IPO: Company details to risk factors, all you need to know</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/worldwide-tablet-shipments-grow-in-q1-2024-after-two-years-of-decline/articleshow/109876390.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/worldwide-tablet-shipments-grow-in-q1-2024-after-two-years-of-decline/articleshow/109876390.cms" target="_blank">Worldwide tablet shipments grow in Q1 2024 after two years of decline</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/asus-zenbook-duo-review/articleshow/109875023.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/asus-zenbook-duo-review/articleshow/109875023.cms" target="_blank">Asus ZenBook Duo review – an excellent dual-screen laptop for multitaskers</a>

Ghost shopping malls surged 59% in 2023, 16 retail centres shut across top cities

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Lai Ching-te on Sunday said it's "impossible" that China would become Taiwan's "motherland."</li><li>He cited the ages of Beijing and Taipei's governments, saying that China's is far younger.</li></ul>Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Sunday challenged the idea that mainland China is Taiwan's "motherland," saying the island's government is older than Beijing's.The comment from Lai, who took office in May, is the latest in the leader's series of barbs toward China's claim that Taiwan is part of its sovereign territory.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZr7Jq9O-MQ">Speaking at a party</a> for Taiwan's upcoming National Day on October 10, Lai said the Republic of China's government, which governs Taiwan independently, would be celebrating its 113th birthday.Meanwhile, the People's Republic of China, which governs mainland China from Beijing under leader Xi Jinping, celebrated its 75th birthday on October 1."Therefore, in terms of age, it is definitely impossible for the People's Republic of China to become the motherland of the people of the Republic of China," Lai said.He then took that rhetoric up a notch."On the contrary, the Republic of China may actually be the motherland of the people over 75 years old in the People's Republic of China," Lai continued as his audience applauded and cheered.Lai called on Taiwanese people to be "precise" in congratulating China on its 75th birthday and to avoid using the word "motherland."The Republic of China was founded in 1912 after the overthrowing of the Qing Dynasty. After losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communist revolutionaries, its leaders, troops, and several million refugees fled to Taiwan in 1949 — the same year that Mao established the People's Republic of China.Beijing has spent decades trying to convince Taiwan's people and leaders that the island should be absorbed under the mainland's control, often threatening to do so by force.But the rise of Lai's Democratic Progressive Party, which has led Taiwan since 2016, indicates a growing attitude among voters that Taipei should resist Beijing and prepare to defend itself if necessary.Lai, who served as vice president under former President Tsai Ing-wen, has <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-election-president-william-lai-ching-te-xi-china-hates-2024-1">leaned into that posture</a> as he campaigned for top office and then took power.Chinese media and officials have responded by calling Lai a "die-hard secessionist. The crime that comes with the label can now carry a sentence as harsh as <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-says-taiwan-need-not-worry-death-penalty-independence-separatists-2024-7">the death penalty.</a>Lai's still keeping the pressure up. On Sunday, he once again described Taiwan as a "sovereign and independent country," a characterization that deeply angers Beijing. There's a movement in Taiwan for the island to officially declare independence — which China says is a red line that essentially means war — and Lai has repeatedly alluded to the idea while falling short of championing it.All of this has made cross-strait dynamics increasingly awkward, with Taiwan still depending heavily on China for trade. In the years that Tsai was president, the island sent up to <a target="_blank" href="https://thediplomat.com/2024/03/taiwans-surprising-drop-in-trade-dependence-on-mainland-china/">43.9% of its annual exports</a> to the mainland and Hong Kong. China even gave Taiwan tariff concessions for over a decade, though it's been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/china-suspends-tariff-concessions-134-items-under-taiwan-trade-deal-2024-05-31/">shutting them down.</a>Between 1991 and 2022, Taiwanese investors put at least $203 billion into China in more than 45,000 approved investment cases, according to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.taiwan.gov.tw/content_6.php">government statistics.</a>Taiwan's government introduced the New Southbound Policy in 2016, an initiative to focus more on trade with India and Southeast Asia so Taipei can reduce its reliance on China.That's all happening against the backdrop of growing strain on relations between China and the US, which announced its largest-ever military aid package of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/09/29/memorandum-on-the-delegation-of-authority-under-section-506a3-of-the-foreign-assistance-act-of-1961-2/">$567 million to Taiwan</a> on September 29.A Chinese invasion of Taiwan has long been feared to be the breaking point for all-out war, <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/taiwan-nuclear-weapons-china-us-experts-war-2024-7">and even nuclear war</a>, between Beijing and Washington.

Taiwan's president is doubling down on sticking it to Beijing, saying China can't be the 'motherland' because its government is younger

<ul><li>There are several internet shutdowns in India each year.</li><li>India reported over 630 internet shutdowns in the last 10 years.</li><li>There have been 400 instances of internet shutdowns in Jammu and <keyword id="6354495" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="kashmir" source="Orion">Kashmir</keyword> in the last 10 years.</li></ul>Internet shutdowns are a huge issue, especially when so many people depend upon the internet for work, education, entertainment and more. India has topped the <a href="https://www.accessnow.org/internet-shutdowns-2021/">list</a> of most instances of internet shutdowns in a country for four years now. Jammu and Kashmir, which is now a union territory has seen the <keyword id="13967833" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="most-internet-shutdowns" source="Orion">most internet shutdowns</keyword> in the country, majorly due to unrest and security reasons. SFLC, an organisation that tracks internet shutdowns in the country and informs the people about instances of internet shutdowns and the reason given by the government. In this post, we look at the states and union territories in India that have seen the most internet shutdowns in the last 10 years. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#000000;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">State / UT </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#000000;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Internet shutdowns in the last 10 years </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jammu and Kashmir </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">400 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Rajasthan </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">84 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Uttar Pradesh </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Haryana </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">17 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">West Bengal </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">13 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Maharashtra </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">12 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gujarat </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">11 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bihar </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">11 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Meghalaya </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Arunachal Pradesh </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.5pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.5pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5.75pt 0pt 5.75pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7 </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/list-of-countries-that-saw-most-internet-shutdowns-in-2021-india-tops-with-more-shutdowns-than-all-countries-combined/slidelist/91185327.cms">List of countries that saw most internet shutdowns in 2021</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/internet-censorship-cost-the-global-economy-5-5-billion-in-2021-report-says/articleshow/88775422.cms">Internet censorship cost the global economy $5.5 billion in 2021, report says</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-suffered-longest-internet-shutdowns-in-2020-globally-for-the-second-consecutive-year/articleshow/80130268.cms">India suffered longest internet shutdowns in 2020 globally for the second consecutive year</a>

Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh saw most Internet shutdowns after Jammu and Kashmir in the last 10 years

<keyword id="6409600" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PUBG-MOBILE">PUBG Mobile</keyword> and <keyword id="6788542" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="pubg-mobile-lite">PUBG Mobile Lite</keyword> will no longer work for gamers in India starting from Friday, the company has announced. <keyword id="6151051" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tencent-Games">Tencent Games</keyword>, that owns the mobile game, said on <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> that it "deeply regrets this outcome" and thanked PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite fans for their support in India. The company said on Thursday that "protecting user data has always been a top priority and we have always complied with applicable data protection laws and regulations in India. All users' gameplay information is processed in a transparent manner as disclosed in our privacy policy". The announcement came on the back of the Indian government's decision to ban PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite on September 2. The game was banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. <keyword id="9900533" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="pubg-corporation">PUBG Corporation</keyword> recently announced that they are withdrawing their partnership with Tencent, and that they will work with the Indian government to look for a quick resolution. PUBG game, which has more than 600 million downloads and 50 million active players globally, has nearly 33 million users in India. PUBG Mobile saw a global revenue gain of $1.3 billion (roughly Rs 9,731 crore) in the first half of this year, bringing its lifetime collection to $3 billion (nearly Rs 22,457 crore) with the highest number of downloads in India which ranks at the top with 175 million installs as people stayed home owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Additionally, the Indian gaming company nCore announced indigenous multiplayer action game FAU-G to fill the void of PUBG Mobile. FAU-G is slated to launch next month. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/space/news/kepler-estimates-there-are-at-least-300-million-potentially-habitable-planets-within-the-milky-way-galaxy/articleshow/78946863.cms">Kepler estimates there are at least 300 million potentially habitable planets within the Milky Way galaxy</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/mit-has-a-new-ai-model-that-can-detect-asymptomatic-covid-19-patients-just-by-the-using-the-sound-of-their-coughs-recorded-over-phone-calls/articleshow/78927475.cms">MIT has a new AI model that can detect asymptomatic COVID-19 patients just by the using the sound of their coughs recorded over phone calls</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tata-communications-executive-explains-how-iot-is-expanding-beyond-manufacturing-and-which-sectors-are-showing-the-fastest-growth/articleshow/78924587.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Tata Communications’ IoT head explains how COVID is driving the next wave of Internet of Things</a>

PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite cease operations in India just ahead of Halloween

<keyword id="1464841" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="edtech" source="Orion">Edtech</keyword> major <keyword id="2900267" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="byju" source="Orion">BYJU</keyword>'s is planning to wind up the coding platform <keyword id="8080458" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="whitehat-jr" source="Orion">WhiteHat Jr</keyword>, which it acquired for $300 million, as part of restructuring and cut costs. WhiteHat Jr, which at its peak had more than 8,000 employees across the country, now has some hundreds of roles left as it never picked up the pace and brought revenues for the company, informed sources told IANS on Thursday. According to people close to the development, the discussions at the top level at BYJU's have happened to get rid of the WhiteHat Jr brand which has faced severe criticism in the past. BYJU's, however, told IANS that they have no plans of shutting it down. "We are merely optimising it for organic and efficient growth. We remain fully committed to delivering world-class educational experiences and solutions that empower students to achieve their full potential," the company spokesperson said. The company said that it is constantly evaluating and optimising its business operations towards global growth. "As an ongoing activity, we are actively evaluating all our business units to ensure that they are aligned with our path to profitability," BYJU's told IANS. TechCrunch was first to report on the development. BYJU's acquired WhiteHat Jr in July 2020 for nearly $300 million. It reported a massive Rs 1,690 crore loss in the financial year 2021, while its expenses reached Rs 2,175 crore in FY21 -- compared to Rs 69.7 crore in FY20. In the April-May period last year, over 1,000 of its employees, including teachers which are on contractual basis, and hence not full-time employees, resigned. Later, more WhiteHat Jr employees either moved on their own or were asked to go. WhiteHat Jr shut its schools division that targeted to take its flagship coding curriculum to 10 lakh school students by the next academic year. Its foray into teaching music online, offering guitar and piano playing, yielded no fruitful results. According to sources, BYJU's which was last valued at $22 billion, will not be able to meet its March 2023 deadline to achieve group-level profitability, as it envisioned in its earnings in October last year. The company, which has sacked thousands of employees to date and has taken deeper cuts, is still unable to achieve profitability at group level amid mounting losses. The edtech unicorn reported a loss of Rs 4,588 crore for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2021. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/ghosting-is-immature-believe-millennials-says-a-study-by-quackquack/articleshow/98172016.cms">Ghosting is immature believe millennials says a study by QuackQuack</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/backstreet-boys-are-performing-in-india-after-13-years-here-are-the-tour-details/articleshow/98172144.cms">Backstreet's back, alright! The 90s boy band to perform in India after 13 years</a>

BYJU's likely to shut down beleaguered coding platform WhiteHat Jr

<ul><li>NordVPN will be shutting down its operations in India by June 26.</li><li>NordVPN becomes the third VPN service provider to exit India citing cybersecurity directives from CERT-In.</li><li>Earlier, ExpressVPN and SurfShark VPN service providers shut down their services in India.</li></ul>NordVPN, one of the most popular VPN service providers confirms that it will be shutting down its <keyword id="77906" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="servers" source="Orion">servers</keyword> in India due to the local government’s new <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/what-is-the-impact-of-new-vpn-guidelines-on-users-and-vpn-providers/articleshow/91468069.cms">VPN guidelines</a> that make it mandatory for VPN providers to record the personal information of users including names, phone numbers, email, IP address, financial transaction and more for a period of five years. On Tuesday, the company spokesperson, Laura Tyrylyte confirmed that they are removing its servers on June 26. The company stated that with the new rules NordVPN won’t be able to guarantee privacy for its users. By June 20, NordVPN users will start receiving notifications about the shutdown within the app. After <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/new-vpn-rules-expressvpn-removes-its-servers-from-india-other-companies-may-pull-out-too/articleshow/91959389.cms">ExpressVPN</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/after-expressvpn-surfshark-is-shutting-down-servers-in-india-over-government-guidelines/articleshow/92073231.cms">SurfShark</a>, NordVPN becomes the third VPN service provider to exit India ahead cybersecurity directive from Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). The public relation head of NordVPN, Laura Tyrylyte said, “We adhere to strict privacy policies, which means we don’t collect or store customer data. No-logging features are embedded in our server architecture and are at the core of our principles and standards.” Moreover, she emphasised that the company is committed to protecting the privacy of customers, therefore, discontinuing operations in India. The Indian government appoints the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) to protect the country’s information infrastructure. CERT-In unveiled cybersecurity guidelines back in April stating that VPN providers, cloud service providers, and virtual asset service providers have to store customers' name, IP addresses, and email addresses. Also, they have to keep track of financial transactions made by users during the time of service. The new directive gets into effect from June 27 onwards. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/asus-launches-new-zenbook-and-vivobook-laptops-with-oled-displays-amd-processors-and-more/articleshow/92228253.cms">Asus launches new ZenBook and VivoBook laptops with OLED displays, AMD processors and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jeff-bezos-elon-musk-and-mark-zuckerberg-have-each-seen-their-net-worths-drop-at-least-64-billion-this-year/articleshow/92213543.cms">Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg have each seen their net worths drop at least $64 billion this year</a>

After rejecting the Indian government's new cyber security guidelines, NordVPN to shut down its servers in India by June 26

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Jack Dorsey said India raided homes of Twitter's workers when the company refused to ban some accounts.</li><li>Dorsey said India, the world's biggest democracy, also threatened to shut Twitter down in the country.</li></ul>Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey said India's government previously raided the homes of the company's employees when the platform refused to comply with censorship demands.Speaking on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS7xmb3UhCU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast "Breaking Points"</a> hosted on Tuesday by Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti, Dorsey recalled his dealings with powerful people attempting to influence Twitter's operations while he still ran the company."India is a country that had many requests of us around the farmers' protest, around particular journalists that were critical of the government," Dorsey said. "And it manifested in ways such as: 'We will shut, put her down in India,' which is a very large market for us.""'We will raid the homes of your employees,' which they did," Dorsey continued. "'We will shut down your offices if you don't follow suit.' And this is India, a democratic country."Dorsey's remarks come two years after Twitter began facing a wave of demands from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to clamp down on dissent and criticism on the platform.One major incident <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-twitters-india-standoff-dragged-in-journalists-and-activists-2021-2">involved the farmers' protests in January 2021</a>, when tens of thousands of farmers gathered in Delhi to object to agricultural laws. The Indian government asked Twitter to permanently ban accounts that were aggressively critical of the government, which the platform refused to do."In keeping with our principles of defending protected speech and freedom of expression, we have not taken any action on accounts that consist of news media entities, journalists, activists, and politicians," Twitter said in a statement then.Tensions escalated further when the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-indian-government-is-escalating-its-fight-to-censor-social-media-2021-5">government issued a law in May 2021,</a> which made tech companies and employees liable for prosecution and prison sentences if they refused takedown orders.The same month, police in India <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/24/22451271/police-india-raid-twitter-tweets-government-manipulated-media">raided Twitter's office in Delhi and Gurgaon,</a> as part of an investigation over the platform labeling an Indian minister's tweets as "manipulated media."On Tuesday, India's information technology minister, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, <a href="https://twitter.com/Rajeev_GoI/status/1668455627319033857">tweeted</a> that Dorsey's claim about Twitter employees' homes being raided was an "outright lie."Accused Twitter of "partisan behavior," Chadrasekhar said the platform had violated Indian law amid the local government's attempt to quash misinformation.Chandrasekhar did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Insider. Representatives for Dorsey's company, Block, did not immediately respond to a similar request for Dorsey sent outside regular business hours.

Jack Dorsey said India raided the homes of Twitter employees when the company wouldn't shut down accounts for the government

On Thursday, the <keyword id="19899810" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reserve-Bank-of-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reserve Bank of India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Reserve Bank of India">Reserve Bank of India</keyword> (<keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="RBI" source="keywords">RBI</keyword>) sought action against four non-banking financial companies (<keyword id="19938300" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NBFCs" source="keywords">NBFCs</keyword>), barring them from making new loan sanctions and disbursements, effective October 21, 2024. A report by <keyword id="19977638" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Morgan-Stanley" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Morgan Stanley" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Morgan Stanley">Morgan Stanley</keyword> suggests that more lending companies might face similar scrutiny in the coming days. As named by the RBI in its order yesterday, <keyword id="20146314" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Asirvad-Microfinance" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Asirvad Microfinance" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Asirvad Microfinance">Asirvad Microfinance</keyword>, Arohan Financial Services, DMI Finance, and Navi Finserv failed to adhere to the <keyword id="21471399" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fair-Practices-Code" source="keywords">Fair Practices Code</keyword> and did not properly assess borrower's income and repayment capacities before disbursing loans, especially when it came to their microfinance loans. Additionally, these companies also resorted to dubious asset classifications and incomplete interest rate and fee disclosures, which in turn led to alarming practices like loan evergreening and more. RBI also found that the weighted average lending rate (WALR) and the interest spread charged over their cost of funds by these NBFCs were over the stipulated norms. Earlier this month, the apex had already issued a stern warning to the NBFC sector, discouraging them from pursuing aggressive loan book expansion at the cost of regulations and fair practices. Per the bank, it would be ideal if NBFCs self-corrected their ways and refrained from giving incentives and fixed targets to their employees for granting loans. As for these four NBFCs, RBI flagged significant deviations with respect to Income Recognition and Asset Classification (IR&amp;AC) norms in their functioning and gross mismanagement of their gold loan portfolios. As RBI noted, these NBFCs had outsourced several of their core financial services as well. The restrictions on these 4 NBFCs will be effective at the close of business as of October 21, 2024. But this will not affect the existing, active loans of the companies. Also, loan collection and recovery processes will also continue in line with existing guidelines. However, Morgan Stanley, in a recent report, has questioned this move, asking whether lending rates alone were the cause for concern by RBI against specified NBFCs or whether broader issues are at play. "Based on an observation of lending rate data collated and presented by MFIN (the industry body for microfinance lenders), we note that Asirvad Microfinance's lending rates are not very different from other lenders," the report said. The report also observes that more regulatory action might follow in the sector, but the intention here was not to shut down new lending by <keyword id="21739781" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="microfinance-institutions" source="keywords">microfinance institutions</keyword> and NBFCs entirely. RBI's restrictions will stay in place until these NBFCs show that they have fully aligned their practices with regulatory guidelines. In response, Navi Finserv Limited has noted that it is committed to conducting its business operations with the highest standards of compliance, customer service, and transparency. "The company is reviewing the directions received from the Hon’ble Reserve Bank of India and will work with them and address all the concerns raised with promptness and completeness," it further added.

Reserve Bank may act against more NBFCs to keep obscure lending practices in check, says Morgan Stanley

<ul><li><keyword id="12163251" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="surfshark" source="Orion">Surfshark</keyword> has announced that it is shutting down its servers in India, making it the second major <keyword id="201519" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="vpn" source="Orion">VPN</keyword> provider to do so.</li><li>This is in response to the Indian’s government’s guidelines for virtual private network (VPN) service providers.</li><li>Earlier this month, ExpressVPN had shut down its servers in the country.</li></ul>Popular VPN provider Surfshark has now announced that it is shutting down its servers in India, in response to the Indian government’s policies regarding user data retention. The Indian government had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/it-ministry-orders-vpn-providers-to-store-user-data-for-five-years-tech-news/articleshow/91334830.cms">released guidelines</a> on April 28 directing companies offering virtual private network (VPN) services in the country to record and store the details of their users. Recording and sharing user data goes against the basic principles of VPN and companies have expressed their reservations over the new guidelines. “Surfshark proudly operates under a strict “no logs” policy, so such new requirements go against the core ethos of the company,” the company said in its official statement. “The infrastructure that Surfshark runs on has been configured in a way that respects the privacy of our users and we will not compromise our values – or our technical base,” the company added. This comes just a few days after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/new-vpn-rules-expressvpn-removes-its-servers-from-india-other-companies-may-pull-out-too/articleshow/91959389.cms">ExpressVPN announced</a> that it had removed its servers from the country. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What will be the impact on users?" comment="subhead" text="What will be the impact on users?">What will be the impact on users?</cmsannotation> Surfshark has said that the servers will be shut down after the new rules come into effect and users will be able to continue to use its India servers till then. The new guidelines will come into effect from June 27. Once the company’s Indian servers are shut down, users will be able to use its virtual Indian servers that are physically located in Singapore and London. This is similar to what ExpressVPN had announced earlier. Indian users will not be impacted by the new guidelines and will be able to connect to any server outside the country. Surfshark in its post has added that the new VPN guidelines will have an adverse impact on the IT sector and the privacy of users in the country. “Taking such radical action that highly impacts the privacy of millions of people living in India will most likely be counterproductive and strongly damage the sector’s growth in the country,” the company added. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/new-vpn-rules-expressvpn-removes-its-servers-from-india-other-companies-may-pull-out-too/articleshow/91959389.cms">New VPN rules: ExpressVPN removes its servers from India, other companies may pull out too</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/what-is-the-impact-of-new-vpn-guidelines-on-users-and-vpn-providers/articleshow/91468069.cms">Indian government's VPN guidelines will impact over 270 million users as VPN providers have no option but to leave the country</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/the-indian-government-may-soon-have-more-control-over-how-social-media-companies-moderate-content-and-block-users/articleshow/91959142.cms">The Indian government may soon have more control over how social media companies moderate content and block users</a>

After ExpressVPN, Surfshark is shutting down servers in India over government guidelines

<ul><li>The government has reportedly invited <keyword id="201519" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="vpn" source="Orion">VPN</keyword> service providers to discuss the new cybersecurity guidelines.</li><li>The new guidelines by the government mandate VPN service providers to record and store user data.</li><li>This comes after ExpressVPN and Surfshark announced that they are shutting down servers in <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>.</li></ul>The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has invited virtual private network (VPN) service providers and other stakeholders such as cybersecurity experts, legal experts and tech policy groups to discuss the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/what-is-the-impact-of-new-vpn-guidelines-on-users-and-vpn-providers/articleshow/91468069.cms">cybersecurity guidelines</a> issued by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team’s (Cert-In). The country’s cyber watchdog on April 28 had issued guidelines that mandated VPN service providers to record and store user data for a period of five years. The guidelines are scheduled to come into effect from June end. Recording and sharing user data goes against the basic principles of VPN and companies have expressed their reservations over the new guidelines. Soon after the announcement, companies like ExpressVPN, NordVPN and PureVPN among others had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/what-is-the-impact-of-new-vpn-guidelines-on-users-and-vpn-providers/articleshow/91468069.cms">criticized</a> the guidelines, claiming that they do not record any user data. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/new-vpn-rules-expressvpn-removes-its-servers-from-india-other-companies-may-pull-out-too/articleshow/91959389.cms">ExpressVPN</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/after-expressvpn-surfshark-is-shutting-down-servers-in-india-over-government-guidelines/articleshow/92073231.cms">Surfshark</a>, two popular VPN service providers have already announced that they are shutting down their servers in India over the new VPN guidelines issued by the government. According to an Economic Times <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/after-expressvpn-surfshark-is-shutting-down-servers-in-india-over-government-guidelines/articleshow/92073231.cms">report</a>, the IT ministry has invited the stakeholders to discuss the impact of the guidelines issued by Cert-In on April 28. “It is a high-level meeting in which policy heads from various companies will also be present. There will be discussions primarily on the Cert-In directives which were issued on April 28, and whether it has had an adverse impact on the startup ecosystem yet. We also expect senior officials from other ministries to be present,” a source familiar with the matter told ET. VPN service providers aren’t the only ones that are against the new guidelines. The Internet Freedom Foundation said, “The directions were released by CERT-In without any public consultation with technology and cyber security experts, which has led to the inclusion of multiple unwarranted provisions.” SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/corporate-vpns-will-reportedly-not-be-affected-by-the-new-vpn-guidelines-in-india/articleshow/91534641.cms">Corporate VPNs will reportedly not be affected by the new VPN guidelines in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/after-expressvpn-surfshark-is-shutting-down-servers-in-india-over-government-guidelines/articleshow/92073231.cms">After ExpressVPN, Surfshark is shutting down servers in India over government guidelines</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/sbi-cards-phonepe-google-pay-to-benefit-from-rbi-allowing-credit-cards-to-be-linked-to-upi/articleshow/92099285.cms">SBI Cards, PhonePe, Google Pay to benefit from RBI allowing credit cards to be linked to UPI, say analysts</a>

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