Indian startups might be mired in crores of losses, but they’re still experimenting with some controversial HR ideas. Zomato has introduced the concept of “period leaves” for women. Women employees at Zomato will now get 10 extra days off a year. “Ladies, How many times have you had to send a message to your team saying “unwell today – taking the day off” and having to answer concerned questions about your health with a feeble…

The biggest companies in the world seem to be in no hurry to return to offices after the coronavirus lockdowns had forced employees to work from their homes. Facebook and Google have said that they’ll let employees work from home till mid-2021. Earlier, both companies had announced that they would let employees work from home till the end of 2020. But with coronavirus cases now spiking in some countries, both companies have gone ahead and…

The coronavirus pandemic has brought with it a pall of gloom for India’s startup industry, but it’s also seen some incredible deals being inked. Byju’s has acquired 20-month old ed-tech startup WhiteHat Jr in an all-cash deal worth $300 million (Rs. 2,250 crore). WhiteHat Junior is a coding platform that looks to equip students with computer coding skills, and was founded only in November 2018. WhiteHat Jr connects kids aged 6-14 with online coding teachers, and…

After India had banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps last month, the US also appears to have forced the app to leave its shores. China’s ByteDance, which owns TilTok, has agreed to divest the U.S. operations of its completely in a bid to save a deal with the White House, reports Reuters. Just a few hours ago, US President Donald Trump had told reporters that was looking at options to curtail the operations of…

Flipkart is taking yet another stab at the hyperlocal deliveries market. Flipkart has announced a 90-minute hyperlocal delivery service for groceries and electronic products. Called Flipkart Quick, the service is operational in in parts of Bangalore, and will be expanded to 4-5 major cities in the coming months. Flipkart will source items from its own Flipkart Hubs, and will use logistics firm Shadowfax, and its own logistics arm, Ekart, to fulfil orders. Consumers will be able to…

The Dunzo data breach, which was first disclosed earlier this month, might have been more serious than initially estimated. Dunzo has now said that in addition to users’ phone numbers and email addresses, other data items, including users’ last-known locations, phone types, and device type was also compromised. “Based on our latest investigation we learned the information compromised contained additional Personally Identifiable Information (PII) data besides email and phone numbers,” Dunzo wrote on its blog…

Reliance’s startup acquisitions thus far have centered around tech — it had previously acquired chatbot company Haptik, and Hyderabad-based startup NowFloats. It now seems to be setting its eyes on retail firms. Reliance has acquired a 15% stake in lingerie retailer Zivame. Reliance Brands bought the 15% stake from Ronnie Screwvala’s Unilazer Ventures. ET reported that Reliance was in talks with other partners to take full control of the firm. Reliance will reportedly value Zivame…

India’s economy has been slowly opening up over the last few weeks, but the coronavirus layoffs aren’t quite yet over. Swiggy has just laid off 350 employees, two months after it had laid off 1,100 employees. Swiggy has however said that this would be the final restructuring exercise, and there wouldn’t be further layoffs going forward. Swiggy also said that business was still only half that of its pre-coronavirus peak. “In May, we began the…

As firms look to tighten purse-strings to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, large offices are ending up being the first casualty. Oyo Rooms has terminated the leases of two of its flagship corporate offices in Gurgaon, reports ET. The company is also looking to renegotiate the lease on a third office. The hospitality industry has been amongst the worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic, with hotels seeing a sharp decline in customers. Oyo Rooms has already…

Walmart has consolidated its India holdings, making Flipkart the umbrella brand for all its India initiatives. Flipkart’s wholesale unit will acquire Walmart India’s cash-and-carry business that owns the Best Price brand, the company announced. The Best Price brand will continue to operate via its network of 28 stores and ecommerce operations. In 2018, Walmart had acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart India for $16 billion. But the acquisition of Flipkart wasn’t Walmart’s entry into India —…