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Bengaluru, India—February 22, 2023—IMDb (http://www.imdb.com), the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, today announced the launch of the Popular Indian Celebrities feature, a new way for fans to track trending stars and filmmakers in Indian movies and web series.

The Popular Indian Celebrities feature, available exclusively on the IMDb app for Android and iOS, highlights the top trending Indian entertainers and filmmakers each week. This is based on visits from more than 200 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide. Every week, entertainment fans can see who is trending, follow their favorite entertainers, and discover new breakout talent.

“Talent and filmmakers in India enjoy an immense fandom that crosses regional and national boundaries, and IMDb is uniquely positioned to capture this interest, given our global audience,” said Yaminie Patodia, head of IMDb India. “The Popular Indian Celebrities feature celebrates the passion of IMDb users, highlights celebrities having a breakthrough career moment, and captures trends in entertainment driven by the latest releases and newsworthy events.”

For the week of February 20, the top 20 trending names on the Popular Indian Celebrities feature include:

1. Raashi Khanna
2. Shah Rukh Khan
3. Vijay Sethupathi
4. Regina Cassandra
5. Aditya Chopra
6. Deepika Padukone
7. Kader Khan
8. Bhuvan Arora
9. Anupam Kher
10. Kiara Advani
11. Ayesha Kanga
12. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
13. Shahid Kapoor
14. Kubbra Sait
15. Ram Charan Teja
16. Anjali Sivaraman
17. Salman Khan
18. Yash Chopra
19. Krishna D.K.
20. Nora Fatehi

Popular InThe dian Celebrities feature reflects global trends in Indian entertainment

• This week, the Popular Indian Celebrities feature spotlights talent from trending titles like Farzi (Prime Video), The Romantics, Class (Netflix), and Pathaan (in theaters now).
• Six cast members from the Prime Video Original series Farzi feature in top 20 on the list. Star Raashi Khanna ranks at No. 1, along with Vijay Sethupathi, Shahid Kapoor, Regina Cassandra, Bhuvan Arora, and Kubbra Sait. Series co-creator Krishna D.K. is also on the list this week.
• Aditya Chopra of Yash Raj Films, whose rare interview featured in the Netflix docuseries The Romantics, features at No. 5.
• Shah Rukh Khan (No. 2) and Deepika Padukone (No. 6), stars of the record-breaking box office phenomenon Pathaan, remain near the top of the list a month after the movie’s release.
• Actor Kader Khan, who was recently mentioned in a trending online interview, features in the list, with IMDb users seeking information on his long career as an actor, writer, and producer.
• Fan interest in the wedding of Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra earned Advani a slot on the list at No. 10.
• Netflix original Class’ breakout stars Ayesha Kanga and Anjali Sivaraman also feature on the list this week.

The IMDb Popular Indian celebrities feature is updated every Monday, and is determined by visits from more than 200 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide. The feature is available exclusively on the IMDb app for customers whose location is set to India. Along with Indian celebrities, customers can also see trailers for popular Indian movies and TV shows. The IMDb app also helps customers discover what to watch, add titles to their watchlist, and rate and review what they’ve seen. The IMDb app is available for free on Android devices from the Google Play store, and on iPhone from the Apple App Store.

Entertainment fans can also follow IMDb on Instagram and Twitter for all of the latest content featuring Indian films, web series, talent, and filmmakers. Followers can share what they love most about their favorite Indian celebrities and titles, find the latest trailers and exclusive IMDb content, and discover new content from India and around the world.

Mumbai, 22 February 2023: Driven largely by rising consumption, the rebound in Indian retail market has been exemplary in 2022 which is favorably impacting retail real estate across the country, finds a joint report by real estate consultants ANAROCK and Retailers Association of India (RAI). Buoyed by the growth, developers now plan to add nearly 25 Mn sq ft of new mall space across the Top 7 cities over the next 4-5 years, finds the report titled ‘India Retail Real Estate: REvived, REshaped, & REinforced’. The report was released at the Retail Leadership Summit 2023, where ANAROCK was a knowledge partner.

NCR and Hyderabad account for nearly 46% of the total new upcoming supply, closely followed by Bengaluru at 19%.

Back in 2022, the top 7 cities added over 2.6 Mn sq ft of mall space which was 27% more than the preceding year (2021).

“The festive season, devoid of restrictions and any fear of the contagion, was exemplary with record high volumes and sales value,” says Anuj Kejriwal, CEO & Managing Director – ANAROCK Retail. “Sales value estimated during the festive season in late 2022 was INR 2.5 Lakh Crore, nearly 2.5 times compared to the previous year. The revival of consumer sentiments and penchant for consumption is therefore being promptly acted upon by the majority of brands, retailers, and mall developers. The new planned mall supply across the top 7 cities is testimony to the developers’ expansion strategy.”

“Further, the retail market size is expected to touch USD 2 Trillion by 2032, growing from USD 690 billion in 2021, facilitating the organised retail sector to grow at 25% CAGR.”

Kumar Rajagopalan, the CEO, the Retailers Association of India (RAI), says, “The report also highlights that the Indian retail sector attracted around USD 1,473 Mn between 2019 and 2022, of which 76% of total investments came in 2019 itself. Among the cities, Hyderabad and MMR accounted for nearly 40% of the total PE investments in the sector.”

“Data further indicates that back in 2022, the top 7 cities added nearly 2.6 Mn sq ft of mall space during 2022, which increased by 27% over the previous year (2021),” says Rajagopalan. “Among the cities, Bengaluru and Hyderabad were the only cities which saw new mall supply addition during 2022.”

Presently, the top cities have over 51 Mn sq ft of mall stock across the country with NCR, MMR, and Bengaluru accounting for 62% of the total stock.

In terms of avg. rentals in malls, these appreciated by nearly 15% in 2022 over the previous year, thus reaching higher than the pre-pandemic levels. Bengaluru registered the highest uptick in rentals of around 27%, followed by Kolkata at 20% in 2022 over the previous year.

Other Major Highlights

As per industry estimates, the e-retail market is anticipated to reach USD 120-140 Bn by FY26, increasing at 25%-30% annually over the next five years.
The sales volume of the organized retail segment in FY22 was estimated to be USD 52 Bn and is estimated to grow to USD 136 Bn by 2028 with a CAGR of 17%.
Currently, a high degree of integration of physical and digital is taking place to provide an interactive and all-inclusive experience.

Download the report ‘India Retail Real Estate: REvived, REshaped, & REinforced’

Mumbai: February 22, 2023: ABP Network, India’s leading multi-language news network had made a promise in 2022 that bears fruition on February 24-25, at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. The ABP Network’s ‘Ideas of India’ summit as promised is back, bringing together on one stage: one platform, the brightest minds cutting across sectors from within and beyond the borders of the country. In 2023, the grand second edition of the immensely successful ‘Ideas of India’ summit is woven around the theme of Naya India: Looking Inward, Reaching Out.

ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey said, “The inaugural edition of ABP Network’s ‘Ideas of India, in 2022, turned out to be a huge success, not just in terms of how many people watched it, across our network, but more importantly what the forum meant as an intellectual exchange of diverse ideas. It was evident to me that this was an idea that was worth sticking with, because ABP Ideas of India event is not just a summit, it is a platform that represents and extends the pluralism that is the ethos of India. A true democracy, like India, is a grand idea built on the churning of a million smaller ones, pulling and pushing together as a single unit. I am happy to announce that with ABP Network’s ‘Ideas of India Summit 2023’, this is officially now an annual platform of that churning of ideas, that will contribute to the defining of tomorrow’s India. The 2023 summit is all about the making of a Naya India as we look inward while reaching out to the world.”

The 2-day event, in Mumbai, this year will primarily address the question – Where does India stand at this moment in history, with its burgeoning economy successfully tackling the energy divisions of yet another war in Europe, with a post pandemic recalibrating world looking up to her as a global leader and a whole new generation of Indians impatient to lead across sectors? The speaker list of thought leaders, business icons, cultural ambassadors, and politicians addressing this vital question is long and varied. It extends from Liz Truss, the former Prime Minister of UK to Indian Chief Ministers like Arvind Kejriwal, Bhagwant Mann and Eknath Shinde; From novelist and champion of environment Amitav Ghosh to tech and business innovation icon N.R Narayana Murthy; from internationally acclaimed academician and author Mahmood Mamdani to the highly amiable Union Minister of Road Transport Nitin Gadkari or the Central Minister-in-charge of ensuring connectivity, be it Railways or IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw. The world of arts and cinema will have yesteryear heartthrobs like Zeenat Aman and Asha Parekh as well as a social messaging movie superstar like Ayushmann Khurrana. Ideas of guts and grit of fighting women will be shared by Vinesh Phogat, Ashwini Nachappa, Jwala Gutta, and Joshna Chinappa while education path breakers like ‘Khan Sir’ and ‘NV Sir’ will talk about a young India gaining useful knowledge. International film directors Mira Nair and Shekhar Kapur will be there as will be the versatile actor, Manoj Bajpayee; Devdutt Pattanaik will bring alive the myths of the past as someone like Lucky Ali makes the connection between music and words. From celebrity chef Vikas Khanna sharing ingredients of his cooking mantra to young political heavy weights Poonam Mahajan, K Kavitha, Priyanka Chaturvedi and Raghav Chadha expounding on their individual political party’s recipe for the elections ahead, the summit is all set to deliberate the paths to a vibrant destiny for a new India.

ABP Ideas of India 2023, with 40 odd sessions and more than 60 speakers, is designed to be an intense and thought-provoking experience that celebrates the strengths that make Naya India the nation that it is as the country reaches out to take its rightful place in the world of tomorrow. ABP Ideas of India Summit 2023 will be available for viewing, on both days of 24th and 25th February, across all the different digital and broadcast platforms of the entire ABP Network.

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Hyderabad, 22 February 2023: Global venture capital investment in 2021 doubled over its previous year. However, this rapid growth decreased in 2022, led by a contraction in both deal volumes and values globally. Startup ecosystem market intelligence platform, CB Insights[1] reports that in India, funding and deals decreased consecutively across quarters in 2022. However, despite the retrenchment in funding, in India the early-stage deal share held steady at 74% in 2022, same as in 2021.

India has the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, with over 91,000[2] government recognized startups, many of which are located in tier two and three cities. With over 4,500[3] tech startups, Hyderabad is emerging as one of the major hubs for startups and founders to begin their entrepreneurial journey. Born in the cloud, startups in Hyderabad are innovating and building solutions to address the unmet needs of people across the world.

An example of this is OneMoney, India’s First Account Aggregator, licensed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), that offers a secure data sharing solution to financial institutions. Founder & CEO of OneMoney, Krishna Prasad says he chose to build the fintech startup in Hyderabad because the city offers strong infrastructure support, with a cosmopolitan atmosphere, growth opportunities, top talent accessibility, availability of funds from leading investors and help through government-led initiatives.

Built on Amazon Web Services since Day 1, OneMoney was launched into production in 2021, “OneMoney offers consumers more control over their financial data, through our consent management platform. We work with India’s leading financial institutions, including the public and private sector banks, and enable them to safely share and receive consumers’ data. AWS is designed to provide a stable, reliable and secure technology infrastructure that enables us to serve millions of customers in India. By using the capabilities and managed services provided by AWS, we have scaled to over two million customers in two years, and gained a ~45% market share. AWS also helped us to optimize our technical infrastructure to significantly reduce cloud spend by as much as 25%.”

“AWS contributed to our early stage success through the AWS Activate program, which provided access to AWS credits, cloud services and trainings, and also, by facilitating networking opportunities that helped increase our business and customer base,” added Krishna Prasad.

The fintech uses more than 20 AWS technologies, ranging from basic compute and storage to database and architecture options. With more than 200 fully featured services, AWS offers the broadest and deepest set of capabilities of any cloud provider.

On 22nd November 2022, AWS announced the launch of India’s second AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) Region, which provides customers with more options to run workloads with even greater resilience and availability, securely store data in India, and serve end users with even lower latency. The new AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) Region is estimated to support an average of more than 48,000 full-time jobs annually through a planned investment of more than $4.4 billion (approx. INR 36,300 crores) in India by 2030. The construction and operation of the AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) Region is also estimated to add approximately $7.6 billion (approx. INR 63,600 crores) to India’s gross domestic product by 2030.

“The AWS Asia Pacific (Hyderabad) Region will provide us, and other fintech startups, with greater disaster recovery and resiliency support,” added Krishna Prasad.

Amitabh Nagpal, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Amazon Web Services India Private Limited (AWS India) says AWS is deeply committed to supporting the local startup ecosystem to grow despite the challenging economic environment, “AWS enables startups to tap into the cost effectiveness and flexibility of the cloud to experiment at a greater pace despite lean resources, fail fast with low financial impact, adapt, and recover easily. This creates a low-risk environment that spurs curiosity, innovation, and growth. There has never been a better time to build a startup in Hyderabad. Born in the cloud, OneMoney exemplifies how startups can use a broad range of programs, tools, and applications provided by AWS to achieve scale and at the same time, optimize cloud costs.”

AWS supports local early-stage startups and founders by providing them access to a network of over 60 ecosystem enablers in Hyderabad, including incubators, accelerators, venture capital firms, angel investors, and others.

Endiya Partners, a leading venture capital firm based in Hyderabad, India, invests in promising technology startups across Software as a service (SaaS), healthcare, fintech, and deeptech sectors. Sateesh Andra, Managing Director at Endiya Partners says, “We focus on helping startups reach their full potential, and have seen many of our portfolio companies, such as Darwinbox, Kissht, Zluri, Qapita, Scrut Automation, and others, benefit from their collaboration with AWS. At Endiya, we recognize the pivotal role that cloud technology plays in the success of startups. AWS provides comprehensive support to startups through its AWS Activate program, customer success initiatives, cloud infrastructure, and ecosystem support. We look forward to our continued collaboration with AWS to support the growth of the startup ecosystem in Hyderabad and beyond.”

Background:

AWS provides early-stage startups with access to AWS Activate program, which offers AWS credits, services, trainings, and resources, such as ‘AWS Activate Console’, a personalized hub of tools, resources and content designed to support startup founders. The program also offers a collection of production-ready infrastructure templates, to help startups ‘Build On AWS’ in minutes. Other initiatives, such as AWS Well-Architected Framework offers startups guidance aims to ensure that their architecture is well established, secure, and ready to support scale as the startup grows. Tools such as AWS Cost Explorer and AWS Trusted Advisor enable startups to self-manage their cloud consumption and optimize costs.

Over the past two years, Amazon has provided more than US$2 billion in AWS Activate credits to help early-stage startups launch their businesses and accelerate their growth. With this help, startups are using scalable, reliable, and secure cloud services like compute, storage, database, analytics, Internet of Things, machine learning, and many others from AWS to scale their businesses.

 By Gunjan Goel, Director, Goel Ganga Developments

Pre-launch refers to the period when the building project is announced. It is definitely a good proposition for the buyers and even investors to purchase the property in its pre-launch stage. Many developers offer pre-launch properties to raise funds before final approvals. This way, they avoid having to borrow money from the market at a higher interest rate. Because the property hasn’t been built yet and you’re unsure of the final design, there may be some risks involved. However, there are many advantages to buying a property in the pre-launch phase.

Some of the benefits are listed below.

• 1. Customised Choices

When you buy a property in its launch phase, you get to make your own choice with respect to the desired floor, unit, view, direction, and much more. Buyers can also get interior modifications at this stage. This brings the dream home or workspace closer to expectations. Once the building is fully done, making changes is not easy. There are clearly more choices available during this phase and compromises can be avoided.

• 2. Smart Investment

Buying a property in the pre-launch phase opens up the opportunity to get the best return on investment. We can take the advantage of price escalation that trickles in after pre-launch. Once the building is up for possession, the prices tend to rise. So if we plan to sell off, we can make huge returns. If we plan to allocate more funds to real estate investment, this is just the right phase to put in our money.

• 3. Enjoy Best Deals

During the initial phase of the project, real estate developers offer attractive prices discounts on pre-launched or new-launched projects to attract homebuyers and investors. If you are planning to invest or looking for a home, this is the best time to book your dream home at the lowest prices. So if you want to invest in a budget property, look no further than a new launch project.

• 4. SImplified payment options

Homebuyers can live the dream of owning a home without money constraint with the help of tax benefits that come along with taking a home loan. Several newly launched projects also have offers or schemes where homebuyers do not have to pay EMI until they take charge of the home, which can be a significant financial relief. Furthermore, if you buy a newly launched project, you will only have to pay the builders 20-25% of the total cost. Because the builder is responsible for paying the interest on the loan, it may motivate them to complete the project as soon as possible. This is another advantage of purchasing a property during its initial launch period.

• 5. Securing Property before the price hike

The other benefit of purchasing a property during Its launch phase is the privilege to block the price before the market opens and the rates go up. The unexpected price increase for properties following RERA certification is a fairly common occurrence in the real estate market, and the ability to pre-book and own a newly launched property is undeniably advantageous. Other factors such as rising demand for housing properties, infrastructure developments, rising labor costs, raw material costs, and revised laws all contribute to a property’s price increase; therefore, choosing a newly launched project will save you a significant amount that you can use for future expenses such as registration and interior design.

Hyderabad, February 22, 2023: A panel of experts gathered recently for a discussion on “Strategies for thriving in a global slowdown” hosted by the Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) at the 9th edition of Startupedia ’23 in Hyderabad. It covered among others, a discussion on “Decoding investor needs.” The event concluded on a high note with 100+ participants across the nation and an array of activities that provided the participants with a platform to gain insights and knowledge about the world of startups.

Startupedia is a fully mentored start-up event conducted annually at the Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad. It is a 2-day event where the participants are groomed and mentored by some of the top industry experts to refine their ideas into viable business plans and get an opportunity to pitch their plans in front of a jury comprising industry experts and prospective investors.

Sridhar Seshadri, CEO & Co-Founder, Spotflock Technologies Private Limited, a deep tech company that specializes in AI, machine learning, and natural language processing, talked about focusing on investing in digital transformation, diversifying customer base, leveraging long-term relationships, embracing innovation, prioritizing cash flow and agility, increasing automation, and investing in talent as strategies for thriving in a global slowdown.

Participants gained valuable insights on how to attract investors to their startups. The panel discussion on “Decoding investor needs” discussed various aspects – identifying the different types of investors, understanding their motivations, and establishing trust and communication between investors and startups. They also discussed the importance of financial projections and their impact on investor decisions. They analyzed current market trends’ impact on investor needs and strategies. Participants understood how to communicate the value of a startup to investors effectively.

Following this, Startupedia ’23 had a mentoring session for participants and startups. The startup teams were divided into three panels led by Sridhar Seshadri and two others for mentoring. They provided an opportunity for the participants to receive conceptual clarity, which helped them fine-tune their ideas and business models for a better understanding on how to take their startup to the next level.

Prof. S Srinivasa Murthy, Director, IPE; Bhanu Prakash Reddy Varla, Founder, and COO, SagaVisions India; Charan Lakkaraju, Founder, and CEO, StuMagz; Rathnakar Samavedam, Investment Director and CEO, Hyderabad Angels; Subba Rao, Board of Director, Hyderabad Angels; Anubhav Tiwari, Head of Deeptech & Medtech, Incubator, amongst others, attended the event.

Mumbai, 22 February 2023: The dessert dilemma is real. Dessert cravings come with big decisions to be made. So will it be a decadent cheesecake, a warm chocolate brownie or a mouthwatering ice cream? The list can be daunting, because when you do decide to give-in to indulgence, it better be worth it!

Baskin Robbins, one of the world’s most loved and largest ice cream chains is here to make those daunting moments of your life, a bit easier and much happier. Baskin Robbins, India has now introduced All New scrumptious Cheesecake Sundaes. These combine two individually loved desserts to create a magically drool worthy sundae experience where real gourmet cheesecake meets delicious ice cream and is topped up with delightful syrups and cream for that immensely satisfying dessert experience.

These Cheesecake sundaes are available in 4 fun variants:

• · Baked Cheesecake with Strawberry Ice Cream topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream
• · Baked Cheesecake with Vanilla ice cream and Nutella Spread topped with whipped cream
• · Baked Cheesecake with Vanilla ice cream and mango sauce topped with whipped cream
• · Baked Cheesecake with Lotus Biscoff ice cream and butterscotch sauce topped with whipped cream

Each one is unexpectedly delightful and will leave you craving for more!

Drooling already? Head to the nearest Baskin Robbins and be ready to be #SpoiltforChoice!

Delhi, India. Power management company Eaton participates in the 15th edition of Elecrama 2023—one of the largest platforms to connect the electrical world in technology, new trends, and innovation in India, at India Expo Mart, Greater Noida from February 18th to 22nd, 2023. During the 5-day expo, Eaton will showcase their intelligent and sustainable power management solution products that include Low Voltage solutions, Medium Voltage Solutions, EV Chargers, Power Quality Products, and a range of Make in Indian products.

Commenting on Eaton’s presence in Elecrama, Syed Sajjad Ali, managing director, of Electrical Sector, India, Eaton, says, “Elecrama is one of the largest congregations for players from the electrical and power sector in India. This kind of platform plays a critical role in empowering organizations to explore the most recent product and technological developments in the market. Our participation exhibits Eaton’s commitment to delivering high-performance, safe, reliable, and sustainable solutions for the electrical sector.”

Eaton will demonstrate these technologies and solutions at Elecrama with a breadth of display of power products for use in buildings, businesses, manufacturing facilities, and other sectors. In addition, they will showcase their digital solutions, including Brightlayer, a software program that enables customers to access data, business insights, and digital solutions.

“As a technology leader, Eaton endeavors to ensure that its products and solutions meet the precise needs of the customers. In India, Eaton continues to expand its capabilities in both power quality and power distribution by introducing new products and solutions that address specific electrical power management needs of the country,” said Ali.

In a uniquely designed booth, Eaton’s showcase at this year’s Elecrama provides comprehensive product demos, opportunities to physically touch and feel the products, and digital overviews of product specifications, features, and benefits. All this reflects Eaton’s distinct power management capabilities and fosters tailored interactions that help Eaton design, engineer and build smarter machines.

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment for people everywhere. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably, and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and doing what’s best for our stakeholders and all of society.

Founded in 1911, 2023 marks Eaton’s 100th anniversary of being listed on the New York Stock Exchange. We reported revenues of $20.8 billion in 2022 and serve customers in more than 170 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Air India’s latest deal last week with Airbus and Boeing is just not a landmark moment for job creation in the US and UK, it is a great opportunity for job creation in the Indian market as well. The industry currently employs over 2.5 lakh employees and we expect the demand for both tech and non-tech talent to rise by 10-15% owing to the manpower needed to operate on a large scale.

“This deal will directly impact the Indian talent industry by creating tremendous employment opportunities across various domains. We expect at least 10000 new jobs in both tech and non-tech roles to be created in the aviation sector in the next 2 years in the country. The aviation industry generates multiple jobs each year, whether it lies within the industry or through aviation’s supply chain.” added Sachin Alug, CEO, of NLB Services

India currently has 141 operational airports and the Government of India is expected to invest $1.83 bn in the development of airport infrastructure to build nearly 60 more airports by 2026. All these developments together are expected to boost the overall sector, enabling India to cement its positioning as one of the top three aviation markets in the world.

India is one of the fastest-growing aviation markets in the world. The demand for certain profiles like Aircraft maintenance engineers, Aerospace engineers, Flight engineers, Pilots, Flight attendants and Ground staff will grow in the next few years. Industry reports suggest that the country will require around 2,210 new aircraft in the next two decades and also pegged annual domestic air traffic growth to be nearly 7 percent through 2041.

Here are some of the profiles which are expected to benefit from the deal:

22 February 2023, New Delhi: Currently, online skill gaming operators pay GST at a rate of 18 % on GGR, wherein GGR is the amount of money that an operator deducts from the total entry fee paid by players for the purpose of playing a specific game. However, reports state that several states have considered a uniform rate of 28 percent on casinos, race courses, and online gaming with no distinction based on whether an activity is a game of skill or chance, or both. In the event, the incidence of GST liability is increased to the rate of 28%, then this incremental percentage of about 55% shall lead to a burden on the existing operators and shall be in contravention of the existing terms prescribed for GST that can be levied on online skill gaming as the explanatory note to the chapter that pertains to Other Online Content under the Scheme of Classification of Service specifically states –

“This service code includes games that are intended to be played on the Internet such as role-playing games (RPGs), strategy games, action games, card games, children’s games; software that is intended to be executed online, except game software; mature theme, sexually explicit content published or broadcast over the Internet including graphics, live feeds, interactive performances, and virtual activities; content provided on web search portals, i.e. extensive databases of Internet addresses and content in an easily searchable format; statistics or other information, including streamed news; other online content not included above such as greeting cards, jokes, cartoons, graphics, maps.”

A majority of games hosted by such online skill game operators fall under the above category.

The industry has requested the Exclusion of “Online Gaming” from Sin/Luxury Goods and Services. Online gaming is being clubbed with casinos and horse riding which can not only be classified as sin goods but is almost exclusively pursued by the elite section of society as opposed to this digital gaming has found a higher uptake amongst users in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Consumers of online games, however, constitute an entirely different demographic, for whom online gaming is a source of an affordable and accessible mode of entertainment. Imposing a 28% tax liability on the companies for the provisioning of such services would be tantamount to equating luxury goods with that of products of daily use and will invariably make this otherwise affordable commodity to increase in its value and cost, which is passed on to the end users.

Lack of viability of the increased tax slab and its adverse effect on user retention: As of now, most of the operators are in a nascent stage of their growth and are rarely profitable. This additional tax burden can further impact on their revenues and impede their projected growth significantly, thereby also witnessing a downward trend in the investments which are flowing into this sector, aplenty. Absorbing this additional cost will further erode the revenue for the operators. While very few established players may be able to do the same, most others will fall by the wayside. For many of these players, passing the additional cost to its consumers is also not viable. The growth in the broader online gaming space is coming majorly from tier II and tier III cities[1] where consumers are extremely sensitive to costs and any additional burden may rather mean that the operators lose out on consumers as costs become prohibitive for a vast majority of them – which will also impact the reliance on digital payment systems, who have witnessed an increased uptake by these users. Please note that this is going to be the case irrespective of whether the gross-gaming revenue is taxed at 28% or the deposit amount. While the latter will result in an almost immediate impact, the former will lead to a slow demise of many operators with possibly an exception of a handful of already established and profitable enterprises.

Impact on Foreign Direct Investment: In this post-pandemic world, many of the start-ups across sectors are facing a major funding crunch which has also led to mass lay-offs[2]. As the excess liquidity dries up from the market, particularly driven by rate hikes in the United States, investors are likely to turn even more judicious in their fund allocation and would expect more and more of their portfolio companies to turn profitable. This additional tax burden, at this stage could then make that even more difficult. This could mean a major drop in the FDI as well.

Hazards of other illegal betting platforms outside of India: Given that most of the operators in the industry are start-ups, it is likely that the costs will be pushed to them. It is also well-known that there are several fly-by-night operators in this space which are being operated from outside the jurisdiction of the country and are not amenable to the Indian taxation regime. If a more onerous taxation regime is introduced increasing the costs associated with the usage of gaming platforms, such platforms operated by fly-by-night operators will become an attractive spot for Indian users to move on to, instead of being subject to any higher costs, and fees that they may be subject to with Indian platforms. Any increased cost is likely to push consumers away from such operators which not only means that the growth of domestic players will be stunted but also expose the consumers to several potential frauds and even online harm from such fly-by-night operators. This will consequently result in a significant revenue loss and perhaps an increase in unaccounted monies which could then be used for illegitimate activities detrimental to our nation.

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