ETtech Morning Briefing: India seeks WhatsApp Pay info, Flipkart and Amazon India losses & more

A look at the top tech and startup stories in the past 24 hours and its potential implicationsETtech  |  June 01, 2018, 06:30 IST
India seeks more details from NPCI on WhatsApp Pay

What's the news?

The ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) has written to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) seeking further details about WhatsApp's mobile payment service that is set to officially launch this month

What details are they asking?

MeitY has asked for details about the data storage policy of WhatsApp and how user data will be shared with its parent company Facebook.

It had earlier raised questions over WhatsApp not following the two-factor authentication norms laid down by Reserve Bank of India in addition to expressing concerns over the management of user data.

India absence from Mary Meeker's annual Internet trends report

What's the news?

From being described as one of the “most fascinating markets for the internet on the planet” in her annual technology report last year, India has failed to find a mention in the 2018 edition of venture capitalist Mary Meeker’s seminal Global Internet Trends report.

What are industry experts saying?

The response from industry experts has been mixed. Some have termed the exclusion as a wake-up call for Indian companies, indicating that local ventures are still not regarded as major players, compared to their global peers.

Other industry experts, however, have reacted with surprise, and have stated that the report, by largely ignoring Asia’s third-largest economy, has missed important trends.

Flipkart Internet FY17 losses down

What's the news?

Flipkart Internet, the marketplace entity of the ecommerce company, narrowed its FY17 losses by almost a third to Rs 1,639 crore from Rs 2,305 crore during FY16.

How did this happen?

Flipkart Internet has managed to increase operating revenues while trimming its expenses. The company clocked operational revenues of Rs 1,882 crore in FY17, 15% higher than its revenue of Rs 1,635 crore in FY16. Overall expenses witnessed an 8% drop to Rs 3,892 crore in FY17 from Rs 4,257 crore during the last fiscal.

Amazon India losses grew 31% in FY17

What's the news?

Amazon Seller Services, the main marketplace business of Amazon in India, saw its losses grow by 31% in FY17, reaching Rs 4,830 crore from Rs 3,679 crore the year before.

Why did the loss increase?

Amazon India saw its expenses grow in delivery charges, which rose up to Rs 2,549 crore from Rs 1,510 crore, while employee benefits also increased to Rs 781 crore from Rs 500 crore the year before. There was also an increase in expenses in areas such as payment processor fees and reimbursement of damages to fulfilled inventories.