Новости за 13.09.2024

North Korea has revealed a secretive uranium-enrichment facility, with leader Kim Jong Un calling for an exponential increase in nuclear weapons. This disclosure aims to pressure the U.S. and its allies. The images released could help estimate North Korea's nuclear capabilities. Kim stressed the need for more centrifuges and new-type centrifuge introduction, citing increased threats from the U.S. and its allies.

The Adani-Hindenburg controversy escalated as the US short seller alleged that Swiss authorities had frozen over $310 million in six bank accounts linked to the Adani Group, citing criminal court records. The Adani Group rejected the "baseless allegations," stating its operations are transparent, lawful, and unrelated to any Swiss court proceedings.

Japan's military scrambled fighter jets after two Russian patrol planes circled the country on Thursday, though no airspace violation occurred. The last similar incident was in 2019. The Russian Tu-142 aircraft flew from the sea between Japan and South Korea towards Okinawa, then northwards over the Pacific Ocean to Hokkaido. This follows joint naval drills by Russia and China in the Sea of Japan earlier this week.

US Election 2024: Vice President Kamala Harris has taken a lead over former President Donald Trump after their debate in Philadelphia, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Harris is ahead by five points, with 47% to Trump's 42%. The debate featured sharp exchanges, and many viewers saw Harris as the clear winner.

After disrupting the SMS channel, WhatsApp is piloting calling functionality for large enterprises, which could cause a channel shift from IVR telephony currently used for customer services.

The startup that provides digital infrastructure to hospitals for processing insurance claims and assists patients in getting faster pay-outs was praised for its mission to improve a massive pain point for users.

Founded in 2020, when the entire health sector was focused on fighting the pandemic, the startup had a tough time convincing hospitals to let it test its hypothesis and explaining the potential upsides of the software to top neurologists in the country.

After lengthy discussions, the jury whittled it down to Nexus Venture Partners managing director Suvir Sujan and Elevation Capital co-managing partner Mukul Arora.

Shah founded Kinara Capital, a non-banking financial company, in 2011 to drive financial inclusion for small businesses and emerged as the jury favourite because of her ambition to solve a significant problem in the lending space.

The ten-member jury chose Lenskart, which is currently valued at $ 5 billion, over publicly listed general insurer Go Digit in a keenly contested round where the relative merits of both companies were discussed in detail.

While waste and its disposal method as a theme interested the jury, they finally picked Haqdarshak for the startup’s efforts for bringing in more people within the government’s welfare schemes through a profitable business model.

What goes behind selecting the nominees and the winners of the ET Startup Awards, considered the most prestigious in the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem?

The jury of the ET Startup Awards lauded champs in this category that build successful businesses without the help of venture capital. And for this, wearables maker Boult stood out among the nominees for achieving its scale without tapping external funding.

The two top candidates that emerged after discussions were shared workspace provider Awfis, which went public in May this year, and furniture and electronics rental startup Rentomojo, which is backed by Accel, Chiratae Ventures and Edelweiss.

The jurors were full of praise for the variety of technology-led businesses competing for the top spot across campuses, in the social enterprise field, among women-led ventures and those bootstrapping their way to success.

Previous winners of the ET Startup Awards (ETSA) have stood out amid a crowded ecosystem and have gone on to become successful businesses. We look at a few of them from previous editions of the awards.

The award recognised Lenskart’s success in building a fast-growing, large-scale, omnichannel consumer retail venture while creating an entirely new category, the jury noted. The 10-member jury chose eight winners from a shortlist of 41 contenders after deliberating for over 2.5 hours.

After more than two hours of deliberations, the high-powered jury for the Economic Times Startup Awards 2024 selected the eight winners from a cohort of 41 nominees.

Foxconn, which is likely to invest $37.2 million, holds a 40% equity stake in the venture. It has allowed the majority partner—HCL Group—to decide the location of the unit, sources said.

Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari announced plans to formalize the pattern of holding exercises like Tarang Shakti, highlighting the need for a common data link for interoperability with friendly nations. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh emphasized India's progress towards self-reliance in the defence sector, citing advancements in indigenization of weapons and aircraft. The multilateral aerial exercise 'Tarang Shakti 2024' featured displays by Surya Kiran aircraft and Tarang helicopters.

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump launched campaign efforts in swing states with contrasting strategies. Harris, in North Carolina, emphasized bipartisan support and healthcare promises, while Trump, in Arizona, focused on tax exemptions and immigration rhetoric. Both aim to sway voters in key battleground states crucial for the upcoming election.

Defensive FMCG and capital goods stocks are gaining momentum yet again.

Alkem Laboratories, India's fifth-largest branded pharmaceutical company, is vying for JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals as KKR looks to sell. Torrent Pharmaceuticals has exited negotiations over valuation differences. If successful, this will be Alkem's largest acquisition, enhancing its presence in the chronic segment and potentially moving it to fourth place in the domestic formulations market.

The government is considering bailout plans for MTNL and RINL, with discussions involving the finance ministry. A committee will decide on MTNL’s bank debt, while RINL faces significant losses and debt. Both companies are in default and seeking loan restructuring to remain operational.