The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has reportedly imposed a ₹10 lakh penalty on Roppen Transportation Services, the parent company of Rapido, over misleading advertisements, unfair trade practices and prohibited dark patterns. The issue centres on prompts that encouraged riders to add ₹10, ₹20 or ₹30 to improve their chances of getting a ride after an initial fare had already been d…
India's Defence Tech Startups: Apollyon Dynamics and the Ahuti Mk II Drone An Indian defence technology startup is drawing attention for a high-speed interceptor drone reported to have reached nearly 500 kilometres per hour. Hyderabad-based Apollyon Dynamics developed the Ahuti Mk II, which the supplied report says reached 498 km/h and entered the India Book of Records in September 2026. The comp…
Food Packaging Should Make Ingredients Easy to See, Not Hard to Find One of the simplest ways a food brand can respect its customers is to make it easy for them to understand what they are buying. Yet anyone who has tried to read a crowded food label knows the problem: ingredient lists can be tiny, nutrition panels can be difficult to locate, and important information may be buried beneath design…
How Zoho Shows India's Growing Technology Ambition For a long time, the global technology industry was dominated by companies that built their products in the United States and Europe. Businesses across the world relied on their software, cloud infrastructure, productivity tools, and digital platforms to run everyday operations. India became a major technology services destination, supplying skil…
A Handmade Idea That Found a National Market A crochet flower may look like a small decorative object, but behind it can be an opportunity to build a business, create employment and bring a traditional craft into the modern marketplace. In Ludhiana, Punjab, a young entrepreneur named Vanshika Mittal has demonstrated how a simple idea inspired by family tradition can become a fast-growing gifting …
Why Cash Reserves Could Become a Startup's Biggest Advantage For startup founders, raising money is often celebrated as a sign of success. A new funding round can attract media attention, strengthen investor confidence, help companies hire employees and provide the resources needed to enter new markets. But behind every funding announcement lies a more practical question: how long can the busines…
For months, a small metallic device attached to the side of Deepinder Goyal's head attracted almost as much curiosity as the entrepreneur himself. It did not look like a smartwatch, fitness band or conventional medical device. There was no visible screen, no large strap and no familiar display showing steps or heart rate. It simply sat near the temple, creating a question that spread across socia…
Introduction For years, India's startup and investment story has been closely associated with a relatively small group of cities. Bengaluru became synonymous with technology and venture capital, Mumbai remained one of the country's most important financial centres, and Delhi NCR developed into another major hub for startups, investors, corporate headquarters and professional talent. These cities …
India’s quick-commerce battle has entered a new phase, and Amazon is no longer treating rapid delivery as a side experiment. The company is putting substantial money and infrastructure behind Amazon Now, its ultra-fast delivery service, as it attempts to establish a meaningful position in a market already shaped by Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, with Flipkart Minutes and other players expan…
A food order on Zomato has traditionally given customers a relatively simple choice at checkout: pay online or pay in cash when the delivery arrives. That distinction is now becoming more expensive. In September 2026, Zomato began introducing an additional charge for customers who choose cash on delivery, with the fee appearing separately in the bill as a “Pay on Delivery Fee.” Reports from custo…
