One quick thing: Indian Govt restricts import of laptops, tablets, PCs

In today’s newsletter:

• Data protection bill tabled: What's in store
• Zomato delivers PAT, with a twist
• Spinny lays off 300 in business rejig

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The long-awaited Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) bill has been tabled in the Lok Sabha by IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. 

• It's been exactly one year since the government withdrew the bill's predecessor, citing compliance-related concerns

The bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha today, even as members of the Opposition alleged that it violates the Right to Privacy and that it should be sent to a committee.

Also Read | DPDP Bill will protect user rights, make compliance easy for startups: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Now that the official draft of the bill is public, here’s what it contains:

• Platforms must obtain consent from a parent or guardian in order to process the data of children. They also cannot track, monitor behaviour, or target advertising at children
  
  
• The concept of "deemed consent" was introduced in a previous version of the bill— and it was criticised.  In the current bill, the government has replaced the term "deemed consent" with "certain legitimate uses''
  
  
• A regulator will be set up to oversee all data processing and data breach-related issues. However, the Centre could potentially exert significant control over the regulator
  
  
• Under certain circumstances, this regulator can also advise the government to block access to any information that is hosted on any “computer resource”

• Clauses also provide the government with sweeping exemptions

The reactions to the bill have been mixed, with criticism pouring in from several quarters.

• For instance, the US-based trade body Information Technology Industry Council, which represents tech companies like Google, Amazon, Apple, and Meta, has questioned the removal of the deemed consent provision

• Digital rights body Internet Freedom Foundation said it was “extremely disappointed” and that provisions of the bill may facilitate surveillance

• Lawyers have also questioned the independence of the Data Protection Board, whose members will be appointed by the government
  
  
• Restrictions on processing of children’s data have also been criticised as they may curtail innovation

In July 2021, Zomato surprised everyone with its bumper listing on Indian stock exchanges. It also was the first tech unicorn to be listed on domestic bourses.

• Now, exactly two years later, the food tech platform has surprised all everyone again. This time, by reporting a quarterly profit, earlier than expected

And yes, quarterly profit after tax, not adjusted for anything! Let that sink in.

Zomato reported a profit after tax of Rs 2 crore for April-June, one quarter earlier than expected.

Akshant Goyal, the company’s CFO, also gave strong guidance, saying that he expects over 40% YoY topline (adjusted revenue) growth for at least the next couple of years.

• The company reported earnings within market hours, and as expected, its share price jumped, ending 1.7% higher on NSE

A closer look at Zomato’s financials shows that if it weren’t for a tax provision of Rs 17 crore, Zomato wouldn’t have been PAT positive.

It will be interesting to see if shareholders read the devil in the details. For now, Zomato seems to have covered most bases.

Zomato’s food delivery business is back on the growth track with an 11% increase in gross order value (GOV) after contracting in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, Zomato’s quick commerce arm, Blinkit, has turned profitable on a per-order level. Zomato also said that Blinkit’s GOV will grow 20% in the next quarter.

“I believe that 10 years from now, Blinkit will drive more value for our shareholders than Zomato," Deepinder Goyal, Zomato’s co-founder and CEO, said to shareholders in a letter.

With Zomato turning profitable, how investors perceive Swiggy’s valuation in the next funding round (if it ever happens) would be interesting.

Just when we thought startups were done firing employees, Spinny drifts into the layoff lane.

Spinny has laid off 300 employees, or about 5% of its total workforce of 6,200.

Why?

• The company is merging Truebil and Spinny Max, causing redundancies

This is the first known round of layoffs at the Tiger Global-backed startup. Its peer, CARS24, had also let go of around 600 employees last year. 

• On a year-on-year basis, demand for used cars has decreased especially when compared to the pandemic years

Last month, CarTrade Tech said that it acquired OLX, which includes OLX Autos, a direct competitor to Spinny.

Go for a spin

• Alibaba released two open-sourced AI models, Qwen-7B and Qwen-7B-Chat, with 7 billion parameters each. 
  
  
• Instagram is working on a new feature that will label content generated with the help of AI.

Are you confused about the roots of recent wars? Do you ever wonder how conflicts start, where, and why? Well, wonder no more!

Conflict of Interest from the Imperial War Museum breaks down the roots of recent wars from the Troubles to the Yugoslav War of the early Nineties, and Afghanistan to Yemen.

In this podcast, celebrities ask the simple questions about some of the world's most important conflicts. They're taken on a journey through the museum itself, discovering the objects, people, and stories which bring a conflict to life.

Check it out on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

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