GST Scrutiny 🕵️‍♂️, Aakash Leadership Change 💼, Adani Investment 💰

Catch up on the latest in 🇮🇳 Indian 🇮🇳 startups and tech landscape - all in 5 minutes. [Newsletter Banner] Daily 🇮🇳 IndiaTech 🇮🇳 Roundup Welcome to today's edition of the NextBigWhat Daily IndiaTech News! Today's top stories include GST scrutiny on casino transactions, Aakash Educational Services' leadership change, and Adani Green's investment plans. 📰 Help us reach your your friends and colleagues! Share the NextBigWhat newsletter. [Tweet it]( [Whatsapp]( GST authorities scrutinize casino transactions for potential tax evasion 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Tax authorities are investigating casinos for possible evasion of goods and services tax (GST), with more notices expected to be issued. - Casino chain DeltaCorp has already received two notices for GST, with a shortfall of tax amounting to Rs 6,384 crore. - The investigation follows a recent 28% GST levy on online gaming, horse racing, and casinos, with the government maintaining that these activities have always attracted a 28% GST due to their nature of betting and gambling. Aakash Educational Services sees leadership change: Chaudhry to return as CEO, Raveendran’s stake to decrease 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Aakash Chaudhry, the promoter of Aakash Educational Services, is set to return as CEO after the company was acquired by BYJU’s in 2021. - Chaudhry will exchange part of his ownership in Aakash with Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, BYJU’s parent company, reducing the Chaudhry family’s stake to 8.5%. - Following a potential deal with investor Ranjan Pai, BYJU’s founder Byju Raveendran’s stake in Aakash will decrease from 27% to 9%. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Vision, Discipline, and Resilience [NBW Newsletter Ad]( You got to have a very clear vision of where you want to go because if you don’t have that, you’re just floating around. – Arnold Schwarzenegger #bigIdeas from the conversation with Jay Shetty [Read]( Education Ministry instructs schools to establish ‘Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry’ 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - The Ministry of Education has directed all states and union territories to create an ‘Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry’ (APAAR) for students, from pre-primary to higher education, with each student receiving a unique ID. - Despite the form stating ‘voluntary consent’, schools are treating this registry as mandatory, raising concerns about data security and inclusivity. - The APAAR ID will be used for various purposes including tracking educational progress, monitoring dropouts, and accessing the DigiLocker ecosystem for storing academic achievements. Adani Green plans $3bn investment to boost solar manufacturing capacity 📈 India Business - Adani Green Energy intends to invest $3 billion to more than double its solar manufacturing capacity from 4GW to 10GW by 2027. - The company is also building the largest renewable energy park in Khavda, with a 20GW hybrid plant of solar and wind energy. - Adani Green has formed a joint venture with French oil major TotalEnergies, which will invest $300 million to build renewable capacity in India. Get NBW News: The short news app for busy professionals. [App Store]( [Google Play]( TCS concludes recruitment misconduct investigation, dismisses 16 employees 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has concluded its investigation into a recruitment misconduct case, resulting in the dismissal of 16 employees. - Six business associate firms and six vendor entities, along with their owners and affiliates, have been barred from doing business with TCS. - The investigation was initiated after a whistleblower alerted the management of a recruitment scam involving bribery of senior executives. CBDT instructs officers not to scrutinize DPIIT-recognized startups for angel tax 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has directed its field officials not to scrutinize DPIIT-recognized startups for angel tax. - This directive follows concerns raised by startups about receiving scrutiny notices for angel tax. - The CBDT has clarified that a procedure is in place for assessing such startup companies recognized by the DPIIT. Indian government considers invoking IT rules to combat deepfakes on WhatsApp 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - The Indian government is considering invoking a controversial law that would require WhatsApp to disclose the original source of a message, in response to the spread of AI-generated misinformation, or ‘deepfakes’, on the platform. - This move, which would be the first of its kind, has sparked controversy as WhatsApp and Facebook previously challenged the provision, arguing it would undermine user privacy. - The government maintains the measure will not impact normal functioning of WhatsApp, while the platform argues it threatens its end-to-end encryption system and could lead to mass surveillance. Garuda Aerospace CEO predicts India’s potential as a global drone manufacturing hub 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - Garuda Aerospace’s CEO, Agnishwar Jayaprakash, believes India could become a significant player in the global drone sector, thanks to the government’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. - The company, which offers 30 different types of drones and more than 50 services, plans to raise $40-50 million in a pre-IPO round in 2024. - Garuda Aerospace has partnerships with Lockheed Martin, Cognizant, Amazon Web Services, and has agreements with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and BEML Ltd for joint drone manufacturing. India to monitor, not restrict, laptop imports: Commerce Secretary 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - India will not impose licensing requirements on laptop imports but will monitor inbound shipments, according to Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal. - An import management system will be implemented from November 1, as part of efforts to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce imports from countries like China. - India, which imports about $7-8 billion worth of these goods annually, has taken steps to boost domestic manufacturing of electronic items, including implementing a production-linked incentive scheme and increasing customs duties on electronic components. Major Indian IT firms TCS, Infosys, and HCLTech see a reduction in employee count in Q2 🇮🇳 IndiaTech - TCS, Infosys, and HCLTech’s net employee addition decreased by over 16,000 in the July-September quarter due to macroeconomic challenges. - Infosys reported the largest decline in net employee base at 7,530, followed by TCS with 6,333, and HCLTech with 2,299. - The IT majors have also cut their revenue growth forecasts for the ongoing financial year, with voluntary attrition levels moderating to around 14%. © 2023 Zakti Techmedia Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. | [Unsubscribe](