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And, that’s a wrap!

After three days of entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers and stakeholders diving deep into the Indian startup ecosystem’s tech agenda, the 13th edition of YourStory’s flagship annual event, TechSparks, wrapped up on Saturday.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman capped off India’s most influential startup-tech summit with great poise as she spoke about the country’s revolutionary tech stack and how startups can power the nation’s growth. At one point, she doffed her hat to the founders present in the audience, calling them India’s “economic freedom fighters.”

Also participating on Day 3 of TechSparks 2022 was Polygon Co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, who described Web3 as a horizontal technology for decentralised computing, and a movement that can create global community-owned businesses out of India.

Physicswallah’s Alakh Pandey then spoke about his plans for the unicorn startup saying he’d like to focus on educational content in regional languages. 

Click here to read more about the events on Day 3. 

In other news, Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said he was optimistic that the inflation print for October would be lower than 7%. Retail inflation in September had increased to 7.4% from 7% in August due to higher food and energy costs.

ICYMI: Comic Con India is returning to the country after a two-year hiatus. The event will begin with Bengaluru, as the ninth edition of the convention will be held on November 19 and 20.

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Government’s tech infra push
• Making India a Web3 manufacturing hub
• Info Edge’s Q2 FY23 results

Here’s your trivia for today: Before Apple, iPod creator Tony Fadell had his MP3 player idea rejected by which two companies?

TechSparks 2022

Government’s tech infra push

On the final day of TechSparks 2022, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted the government’s crucial role in India’s growth as a technology powerhouse by encouraging public-private initiatives such as India Stack.

“The government is committed to ensuring that the digital framework and technology-based solutions will be [for the] public good and available for everybody to use,” the finance minister said.

India’s tech stack:

• India Stack comprises an array of software tools, or application programming interfaces (APIs), built by government agencies and nonprofits.
• The Open Network for Digital Commerce and the Open Credit Enablement Network have also been built as a public good for entrepreneurs to build solutions on top of those.
• FM Sitharaman said there has been a 46% increase in patent sanctions over the last 5-6 years. There is support for women’s patent applications and the cost of registration is down.

TechSparks 2022

Making India a Web3 manufacturing hub

No one is more hyped about India’s Web3 push than Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal, who has high hopes for the country to lead the global push towards decentralisation.

“India can become the digital goods manufacturing factory of the world if we focus on Web3. It is a once-in-a-generation impact and wealth-creation opportunity,” he said in a fireside conversation with Shradha Sharma, Founder and CEO of YourStory.

Jumping on the opportunity:

• Built on Ethereum, Polygon uses a Proof of Stake (PoS) consensus model and has a native token named MATIC.
• Sandeep said Polygon has the opportunity to play a larger role in Web3 policy development in India, the US, Europe, and other regions.
• He cited the example of the Indian crypto management app Pillow, which has become popular in Nigeria and other countries.

Financial earnings

Info Edge’s Q2 FY23 results

Naukri.com owner Info Edge (India) said its second-quarter income increased by 51.22% from a year earlier to Rs 531.82 crore, while its EBITDA, or core earnings from operations, swelled 66% to Rs 184 crore.

Net profit, however, plunged 97.99% to Rs 168.10 crore from Rs 8,355.72 crore in Q2 FY22.

Key metrics:

• The recruitment vertical, including acquired businesses Zwayam and DoSelect, saw revenue increase by 56.4% to Rs 418.1 crore.
• Its recruitment operations increased by 48.7%, generating Rs 293.3 crore.
• EPS fell to Rs 13.05 in the July-September quarter from Rs 649.52 in the same period last year.

News & updates

• The wipeout: At least $1 billion of customer funds have vanished from collapsed crypto exchange FTX, according to two people familiar with the matter.
• Meta reorganisation: Facebook owner Meta Platforms has told employers that it would stop developing smart displays and smartwatches, and that nearly half of the 11,000 jobs it eliminated this week in an unprecedented cost-cutting move were technology roles.
• Cyber police: Australia has formalised a new cyber-policing model in a stepped-up effort to “hunt down” cyber-criminal syndicates, following recent hacks impacting millions of Australians.

Before Apple, iPod creator Tony Fadell had his MP3 player idea rejected by which two companies?

Answer: RealNetworks and Philips

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