Zomato to acquire grocery delivery platform Blinkit for over ₹4,440 Cr.
According to Bloomberg, the popular online food delivery platform Zomato will acquire online grocery delivery firm Blinkit reported on Friday.
Zomato, which is backed by Sequoia Capital and Jack Ma's Ant Group, expects the market for quick deliveries to expand. The deal is worth Rs 4,447 crore (approximately $570 million). Zomato will pay this in the form of parent company shares. It is unclear whether this will be an 'all-stock' deal. Zomato currently owns 9% of Blinkit and intends to keep the Blinkit app separate from the Zomato app after acquisition.
Google is shutting down Hangouts after 9 years.
Google is retiring its cross-platform instant messaging service Hangouts. Google has begun sending in-app notifications to Hangouts mobile users requesting that they switch to Chat in Gmail or the Chat app. Users of Hangouts on Gmail on the web will be able to chat in Gmail starting next month. Google Hangouts will be phased out in November, and users are encouraged to download all of their data before then.
Google Chat is an improved version of Hangouts that includes a number of new features such as side-by-side editing of Docs, Slides, and Sheets. Spaces, a topic-based collaboration, is also included. Chats enable groups and teams to share ideas, documents, and manage files and tasks all in one place.
Scientists grow food in the dark with ‘artificial photosynthesis.’
Artificial photosynthesis has been developed by scientists at UC Riverside and the University of Delaware to grow food-producing plants in complete darkness. An electrolyzer was used by the researchers to convert raw materials such as carbon dioxide and electricity into acetate. This results in the formation of a "food-producing" medium, which replaces biological photosynthesis in some foods. According to the peer-reviewed article published in Nature Food, producing algae with this technology is four times more energy-efficient than growing it with photosynthesis.
Crypto TDS (tax) rules come into place.
The rules for tax deducted at source (TDS) on virtual digital assets went into effect on July 1. This comes after the government imposed a 30% flat income tax on cryptocurrencies beginning April 1. TDS would be deducted on each trade in which a cryptocurrency is exchanged for INR or another cryptocurrency. Users will see the applicable TDS on the order confirmation screen if crypto exchanges facilitate P2P orders. TDS for crypto-related transactions will be 5%, according to Section 206AB of the Income-Tax Act of 1961.
TDS will be calculated on the 'net' consideration payable after GST/charges are deducted. So, if 1 BTC is traded for Rs 100 (for example), the BTC seller receives Rs 99.
How Metaverse will usher in a passwordless world.
Users are betting on a virtual reality world in which they can interact with and experience things just like they would in real life. The Metaverse is vulnerable to cyber-attacks such as phishing and ransomware. Users may unknowingly share sensitive data with a hacker, putting their real-world assets at risk.
Big tech companies have realised that a push toward a future without passwords is required.Each of us has a distinct biometric identity, such as a fingerprint, face ID, or Live ID. The beauty of BlockID is that it is built on blockchain and is backed up by a distributed ledger. Because there is no central database, the platform is extremely secure.
With the advent of the metaverse and blockchain technology, now is the ideal time to eliminate passwords, thereby making the virtual space safer.
