One important thing: Space startups have reason to celebrate. In the Indian Space Policy 2023 released today, the government said it will focus on providing support to them, apart from providing regulatory stability.

• Meanwhile, space startups Dhruva Space and Bellatrix Aerospace will have their payloads onboard ISRO’s PSLV-C55 rocket, scheduled to launch on April 22. 

In some sombre news, SpaceX’s Starship, touted to be the world’s biggest rocket, briefly took flight before exploding in midair during its first launch attempt.

In today’s newsletter:

• Apple Saket vs Apple BKC: Does size matter?
• HCLTech’s Q4 earnings a mixed bag
• Layoffs hit Open and Koo

P.S. An ultra-famous movie franchise is being made into a television series. Scroll below for more deets! 

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Apple enthusiasts in India are abuzz with excitement as two new retail stores have opened in Delhi and Mumbai. However, the difference in size between the two stores has sparked a conversation. 

• Although Delhi buys more iPhones than Mumbai, the Apple Store in the city pales in comparison to the one in the financial hub. Apple Saket is also a far cry from the extravagant and grandiose structures that Delhi is known for.

Today, Apple CEO Tim Cook inaugurated Apple Saket, the company's second retail store in Delhi. This comes days after the launch of Apple BKC in Mumbai. 

• Unlike the Mumbai store's two-floor layout, Apple Saket is a single-floor store inside Select City Walk, which is one of Delhi's popular malls. It may require a bit of searching to find the store. 

The price for prime real estate? Roughly the same. Apple will pay around Rs 40 lakh per month for its 8,400 sq. ft retail store in Delhi and roughly Rs 42 lakh per month for its 20,000 sq. ft store in Mumbai.

Apple fans we spoke to at the launch said what really counts for them is the shopping experience rather than the physical size of the store.

"I am here for the experience and this is one area where size (of the store) doesn't matter," said an Apple customer.

In the crowd, there was an Apple enthusiast who brought a collection of products, including a 1999 iBook, a first-generation iPad, and an Apple Watch. There was also a fanboy with a unique haircut.

Apple's investment in India may see a substantial rise in the near future, with the possibility of doubling or tripling its current investment, according to Minister of State in Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The tech giant is also reportedly exploring options to expand its exports from India in the coming years.

"I am very confident that this Apple-India partnership has a lot of headroom for investments, growth, exports and jobs – doubling and tripling over coming years,” Chandrasekhar said.

Apple mainly assembles iPhones in India through contract manufacturers, but has plans to expand into iPads and AirPods.

P.S: Check out our live coverage of the Apple Saket launch event.

The third largest IT services firm HCLTech crossed several milestones this quarter, though muddled with a mixed set of numbers.

• It crossed Rs 100,000 crore in INR revenue for FY23
  
  
• HCLSoftware business crossed $1 billion in annual recurring revenue 
  
  
• Q4 net profit grew 10.61% YoY 
  
  
• Attrition rate dropped to 19.5%, a 220 bps QoQ dip

• Though in the range of its guidance, EBIT margins plunged 150 bps QoQ
  
  
• Deal win total contract value was at $2.07 billion for Q4FY23, down 8% YoY
   
• EBIT margin guidance for FY24 decreased from 18-20% to a range of 18-19%

HCLTech's full-year headcount addition for FY23 was 17,067, down from 39,900 in FY22. The FY23 fresher hiring target of 30,000 was not met; instead, it added approximately 26,734 freshers.

• The company now plans to add 15,000 freshers in FY24

CEO and MD C Vijayakumar highlighted that the company won several large deals in the financial services sector across geographies despite the macro challenges and global banking crisis.

“I believe FY24 will be a year of consolidation both on the demand and supply side… Clients had accelerated tech spends in the last many quarters, its now time to review and consolidate to the most efficient and impactful technologies,” he said.

Here’s the full coverage and analysis of HCLTech’s numbers

In a tough day for two Tiger Global-backed startups, Open and Koo have both let go of a significant portion of their workforce. (Coincidence?)

While it was the first round of layoffs for the neobanking platform Open, the homegrown microblogging platform Koo is already on its third strike since the start of 2022.

Koo has a total workforce of about 300 people, out of which nearly 90 employees will be affected in this particular round, sources told us.

• The company, however, said that the 30% workforce reduction occurred over the past months and includes the 15 employees laid off in September last year, and another 30 sacked in February

Open, on the other hand, has laid off approximately 47 employees, while its founders have taken a 50% pay cut.

Open added that the cost-cutting measures are part of their plans for growth and profitability.

The layoffs at Koo, however, come as the company is reportedly unable to close a new round of funding. Koo denied it and said that the company is "well capitalised" and is currently not looking to raise capital.

“...Given the current market environment and external realities of a global slowdown, we get affected too…We have acted on some role redundancies,” a Koo spokesperson told us.

Here’s more on Open and Koo

Today marks the anniversary of the first transcontinental call made via picturephone in 1964 between New York City and Anaheim, California. This device comprised a telephone handset and a small display, allowing users to see each other through fuzzy video images while conversing.  

• Coinbase has received a license to operate in Bermuda. It plans to launch an offshore derivatives exchange in the island nation as soon as next week.
  
  
• Microsoft is working with decentralised data platform Space and Time to make real-time blockchain data available to developers directly from its Azure Marketplace. Microsoft's venture capital arm, M12, is an investor in Space and Time.

It's the season of reboots and revivals of iconic movies and television shows. The latest to join the fray is the popular movie franchise The Twilight Saga, based on the book series by Stephenie Meyer.

Lionsgate Television now wants to reboot this supernatural romance saga as a television series. The project is reportedly still in its infancy with Meyer expected to be involved in the show’s development.

This comes on the heels of Warner Bros. Discovery announcing plans of adapting the Harry Potter book series into a 10-year-long television show that will run on its streaming service Max. While the show will have an all-new cast, author J.K. Rowling will serve as executive producer.

That said, whether media companies should reboot these popular movies that already have passionate fan bases as a TV show with an all-new cast or not is a debatable topic.

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