April 22, 2016 - SoftBank investors call for internal probe of Nikesh Arora, seek his removal. SoftBank hits back at allegations against Arora

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Invite Friends Blog Sree Vijaykumar From the Editor's Desk What are Facebook's ambitions? This Economist article takes a stab at this question. Facebook has become more like a holding company for popular communications platforms than a social network. But even that description understates Mr Zuckerberg's ambitions. He is making big bets on the future of communication, mainly messaging services, artificial intelligence and virtual reality. "There were three existential threats to Facebook: WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat," says Jeremy Philips of Spark Capital, a venture-capital firm. "Zuckerberg bought two of them for a little more than 10% of Facebook's market cap." Aside from the blockbuster acquisitions a little-noticed deal has also proved shrewd. Facebook's bought Onavo, an Israeli startup involved in mobile analytics, for a rumoured $120m in 2013. Onavo helps Facebook track which apps are becoming popular and could be worth purchasing - Comment Digital SoftBank investors call for internal probe of Nikesh Arora, seek his removal. SoftBank hits back at allegations against Arora The company slammed the 'unsubstantiated allegations' levelled at its president Nikesh Arora, whom the investors said should be investigated and possibly sacked. Announcing the Bengaluru edition of Techcircle Startup 2016; registrations open now The Bengaluru edition of Techcircle Startup will provide a comprehensive insight on the startup ecosystem in and around Bengaluru bringing together cutting-edge and disruptive early-stage startups, current and potential investors, angels, seed funds, incubators, accelerators & mentors, along with many of India’s most active VC/PE funds. Digital SIDBI sanctions Rs 1,000 crore to 30 venture funds to support startups The amount was sanctioned by the SIDBI executive committee from the Rs 1,416 crore approved by its independent advisory venture capital investment committee. Digital Ola, Quikr backer Matrix raises $110 million for new VC deals Global venture capital firm Matrix Partners that operates a multi-stage investment practice with an India-dedicated fund has raised a fresh corpus worth $110 million (Rs 730 crore) to make new investments in early-stage tech startups. However, this is positioned as an interim fund as the firm Advt: The Power of a Great Digital Hospitality Experience A tsunami of game-changing digital disruptors has swept into the hospitality industry, raising the stakes in delivering the supreme guest experience. Join Chinmai Sharma, Chief Revenue Officer, Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, at Adobe Symposium to get insights into how Taj Hotels plan to bring alive experiences directly from each of their fantastic hotels to screens around the world with breathtaking velocity. Complimentary Registration (for TradeBriefs subscribers).   Digital Commerce Ministry launches ‘Twitter Seva’ for startups Queries on matters relating to Department of Commerce and DIPP will be answered through this service. Digital Blume Ventures backs loyalty rewards app m.Paani Loyalty rewards platform m.Paani has raised an undisclosed amount in funding in its pre-Series A round of funding led by Blume Ventures. Adil Allana of The Allana Group, Aprameya Radhakrishna, founder of TaxiForSure, and Gautam Ivatury, co-founder of Meradoctor and Signal Point Partners also participated in this round. The new capital will be used for expanding its operations in and outside Mumbai, besides product development and talent acquisition in technology, product and sales departments. Digital New report by Morgan Stanley values Rocket Internet at $7.2b A cautiously optimistic report by Morgan Stanley says Rocket Internet has enough liquid cash reserves to keep sustaining the losses reported by some of its major portfolio companies, such as Zalora and Jabong (and others in its Global Fashion Group) and ecommerce store Jumia.   Retail Ecommerce in India: HC seeks Centre's response on RBI's circular on e-retail, FDI linkage Delhi High Court today sought the Centre's response on a petition challenging a circular by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as per which retail trading in any form through ecommerce would not be permissible for companies which receive foreign direct investment (FDI). Retail Apple may get to open stores without 30% sourcing norm The government is set to waive the requirement of mandatory domestic sourcing for Apple, paving the way for the global technology giant to open its own retail outlets in the country. Retail Samsung to adopt hyperlocal strategy in India to boost its online sale Techstory articles  Retail Adidas takes first step to reboot Reebok in India Adidas has hired Silvia Tallon as Reebok India chief; will focus on fitness to drive sales Telecom Indian telecom, allied services industry to generate 10 lakh jobs in 3 years: India Skills Report 2016 The India Skills Report 2016 is a result of a joint initiative of PeopleStrong, Wheebox, in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry, Linke.. Telecom India's Bharti Airtel to sell more than 5 pct stake in telecom tower unit India's Bharti Airtel will sell more than 5 pct stake in its tower arm Bharti Infratel through an open market block deal, CNBC TV18 reportedciting sources. Telecom Chinese investors like Tencent, Cheetah Mobile and Baidu look to fund India's internet companies Chinese firms are dragging potential funding into companies until they can see the kind of sales growth that can fuel their ambitious expectations, th.. Telecom Mobile Accounts for Rising Share of Ad Spend in India eMarketer estimates that about a quarter of digital ad spending in India will be mobile this year. Other estimates are less bullish on mobile’s share of the total, but more positive about overall spending levels. Finance RBI allows NBFC sponsored infra debt funds to raise money via short-term bonds The move could bring down cost of borrowing for infrastructure debt funds Finance Indusind Bank goes online for loan disbursals; expects auto and construction to fuel lending Consumer loans including vehicle loans now consist 44% of IndusInds loan book up from 41% in March 2015. Sobti said the bank will ensure that the corporate to retail loan ratio is 50-50. Finance Ujjivan expects modest growth on way to becoming a small bank The company will be focusing on growing its individual loan portfolios, mainly the micro SME funding and the housing segment. Finance Banks cannot seek details about my foreign assets: Vijay Mallya Vijay Mallya offers Rs1,590 crore to Supreme Court as intent to pay debt Software IT sector hiring may drop by 20% this year, says Nasscom Hyderabad, Apr 21 ()IT industry will see 20 per cent less recruitments this year, as major players like TCS and Infosys are focusing on more automation, thus hiring lesser number of people, according to Nasscom. Software Wipro looking to trim down excess layers of managers and executives Since Neemuchwala joined Wipro as COO, last year, and more recently took over at the helm of the company, this is an exercise that he has driven across Wipro. Software Why is India best for Global In-house Centres? GICs (earlier called global captives) operate in India across all service lines Software Google looking at other big bets apart from Search to grow further A Google empire built on search shifted attention on Thursday to high-speed Internet networks, 360-degree video broadcasting and "other bets" as parent company Alphabet logged disappointing earnings. Ecommerce Three more Housing.com co-founders quit the company two weeks ago to start their own venture Abhishek Anand, Ravish Naresh and Sanat Ghosh, co-founders of real estate portal Housing.com, quit the company two weeks ago to start their own venture Ecommerce Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion asks the online supermarket Big Basket to offer more clarity on its model Big Basket's e-commerce model under FDI scanner - Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has asked the online supermarket to offer more clarity on its model Ecommerce KNOLSKAPE raises Series A funding from Inventus Capital, HR Fund; investment will be used for international expansion, product innovation KNOLSKAPE operates in India and Singapore and uses simulation and gamification technology to help firms retain and transform talent Ecommerce Indian builders are betting on monstrous malls in the age of Flipkart and Amazon. Will it work? After over eight years and Rs1,800 crore in the making, India's largest mall will fully open next week in Noida, an eastern suburb of the country's National Capital Region (NCR). The two-million-square-feet, six-floor Mall of India, built by real estate developer DLF, has been partially functioning for a while, but this'll be the proper inauguration with all the... Franchise Franchisee Journey: From manager of McDonald’s to Ecowash mobile Franchisee of the Year This article appeared in Issue 3#5 (July/August 2009) of Business Franchise Australia & New ZealandGEN Y FRANCHISEE LOVES HIS WATERLESS CAR WASH FRANCHISEecowash mobile Franchisee of the Year is reaping the rewards of his environmentally friendly car washing franchise.  “Obviously I’m out cleaning cars; a lot of people ask if I get sick of it but I don’t.  I enjoy the work.  I’m my own boss and that’s what I want to do.” Franchise Is it wise to DIY the social media management for your franchise? Should you be doing your own social media as a franchise business owner? The answer depends on several factors, including time and comfort level. HR SunEdison files for bankruptcy Shares of SunEdison were halted on the news. HR Different playing field: Discovery's Rahul Johri is new BCCI CEO Rahul Johri will be responsible for smooth functioning of operations, stakeholder management and building robust strategies. HR It's Raining Jobs in Cybersecurity—Especially in India It’s unclear how many millions are coming, but cybersecurity jobs will be increasing by some order of millions in the coming decade, with a huge number of them in India.A Cisco study from last year... HR 3120 stagnating cops to be promoted soon The Punjab Police are set to promote over 3,000 cops who were stagnating on one rank for the past over a decade.   Logistics Blackstone planning to exit Sonalika Tractors partially by selling shares, Sonalika is looking to raise Rs 2,000 cr by the IPO route Sonalika International Tractors Ltd, backed by the New York-headquartered investment firm, is looking to raise as much as Rs 2,000 crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). Logistics Oil steadies as IEA expects biggest non-OPEC output fall in 25 years Low oil prices had cut investment by about 40 percent in the past two years, with sharp falls in the United States, Canada, Latin America and Russia. Logistics Shocking ! highest road fatilities in the world in India, there are 400 road deaths per day in India; up 5% to 1.46 lakh in 2015 Indian roads, which account for the highest fatalities in the world, became yet more dangerous in 2015 with the number of deaths rising nearly 5% to 1.46 lakh.   Logistics Domestic air traffic soared 25% in March, IndiGo increased market share Indian air carriers flew 7.87 million passengers in March 2016, up 25 percent from 6.28 million in March 2015. Construction 552 homes to be build in Konkan region by MHADA in 2016-17 The budget document reveals that the housing body has estimated that the project costs for building affordable homes in Mumbai would consume over Rs 1.. Construction Row over Sama housing project in Vadodara The row over the housing scheme coming up in Sama escalated on Wednesday as anonymous advertisements dubbing protesters as "extortionists" sprung up i.. Construction Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh says we need Smart Village as Smart city insufficient Singh argued the real nation dwells in the villages and hence the country cannot develop and progress by making only the cities smart. Construction Relief for Jaypee after RBI prunes list of firms whose loans need to be provisioned Banks were forced to make substantial provisions in the December quarter following the AQR. Due to this, a number of banks reported record losses. Marketing Geo-targeting, The way forward for TV advertising : Report Geo-targeting not only helps advertisers target special geographies, but also saves brands money as it results in efficient buying of commercial airtime Marketing Twitter introduces First View in India : Report The idea behind First View is to allow brands and advertisers to take the most valuable advertising spot on Twitter for a 24 hour period. Marketing Indian CXOs most likely to bend rules to achieve financial goals EY study shows 70% of Indian respondents will take to unethical means to achieve targets, as against 36% globally Marketing CSR Is Not a Marketing Strategy : Report "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Sound familiar? It's an oft-misattributed Gandhi quote puttering around on America's bumpers and inked in high school yearbooks. While Gandhi never spoke these words, the message is a noble one. In fact, you may be surprised to learn that the sentiment informs some of America's most innovative brands when it comes to corporate social responsibility.   Politics West Bengal elections: Congress, Left demand repoll in parts of Murshidabad district The Congress and the Left Front (LF) on Thursday demanded a repoll in 15 polling booths of Domkol constituency in West Bengal's Murshidabad district. Politics Mamata has virtually accepted defeat, says PM Modi in West Bengal Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has virtually "accepted defeat" Politics U’khand HC strikes down President Rule: Moral victory for Congress, lose-lose situation for BJP Imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand has proved to be one big political and constitutional misadventure for the Modi government Politics ‘Centre should apologise’: Congress, Left welcome Uttarakhand HC’s order over axeing of President’s Rule The Uttarakhand HC's verdict setting aside imposition of President's rule spurred an elated Congress to attack the BJP, demanding an apology from PM Narendra Modi. Sports IPL 2016: Sunrisers Hyderabad tame the Lions in their own backyard Sunrisers Hyderabad won their second outing in four games, it was the first loss for Suresh Raina-led Gujarat Lions. Sports IPL 2016 preview: Dhoni, Kohli aim to get their teams back on winning track For MS Dhoni, the biggest task would be get his team composition right. Bangalore’s strength lies in their batting unit. Sports Cornered by PILs on water, BCCI floats IPL abroad next year IPL has been twice played outside India - in 2009, the league was moved to South Africa, and in 2014, it was shifted to UAE for 15 days. Sports India to play day-night Test against New Zealand this year, says Anurag Thakur Day-Night Test set for home debut in one-off game vs New Zealand; pink ball to be tested in Duleep Trophy. Entertainment Amid row, Santa Banta to release today The DSGMC argued that Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) chairman Pahlaj Nihalani and movie director Amit Shrivastava had failed to comply with court orders to give it a “proper hearing” against the release. Entertainment Stay connected with roots through my films: M. Sasikumar M. Sasikumar,says he chooses to work on such projects because they help him to stay connected with his roots as much as possible. Entertainment Off-beat cinema fulfills actors’ societal dreams: Pankaj Tripathi Pankaj Tripathi says where commercial films give a chance to actors to showcase their talent to a wide audience. Entertainment Prince dead, celebrities express anguish Musicians, actors and other celebrities reacted to the death of music great Prince with shock and anguish Thursday TradeBriefs Publications are read by over 10,00,000 Industry Executives About Us  |  Advertise Privacy Policy    Unsubscribe You are receiving this mail because of your subscription with TradeBriefs. Our mailing address is GF 25/39, West Patel Nagar, New Delhi 110008, India