One quick thing: Three of the largest cloud service providers - Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) - are under the weather with a cloudy future, according to industry experts. 

These firms registered a modest 6% growth in deal win by annual contract value (ACV) in Q4CY22 vs 57% growth in Q1, signalling slowing demand for cloud migration amidst clients reprioritising tech budgets, according to ISG data.

• Among those slashing spending include global social media and content companies, tech companies, and startups

• Edtech, e-commerce, and fintech startups have slowed spending in the past 2-3 quarters

In today’s newsletter:

• Nykaa Q3 profit plunges 71%
• India takes UPI to the global stage
• The Bengaluru firm powering Gaganyaan mission

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Nykaa's debut on the stock market 15 months ago was celebrated. Because it was the only profitable tech company amidst a sea of loss-making tech companies like Zomato, Policybazaar, and Paytm.

But, the online beauty and fashion retailer seems to be moving in the opposite direction now.

Nykaa's profit in the December quarter (Q3) fell by 71% year on year to Rs 9 crore.

• However, its revenue has increased by 33% to Rs 1,463 crore, and its gross merchandise value has grown 35% to Rs 2,796 crore

Nykaa CEO Falguni Nayar attributed the decline in net profit to investments in warehouses for e-commerce shipments and retail stores

• Those who sacrifice long-term growth for short-term profit would be making a mistake, she stated

Meanwhile, Nayar defended the contentious bonus issue from the previous quarter, claiming that it was fair to all shareholders and aimed to create value.

• She did, however, admit that the beauty and lifestyle retailer made a mistake in estimating when the bonus shares could be traded

• This is because the company assumed that shareholders would be able to begin trading bonus shares within 4-5 days of voting on the issue

For a long time, India's soft power was represented by cultural products such as movies and music. However, it is now attempting to replace that with tech.

At the G20 digital economy working group meeting, India is extensively discussing and offering its digital public infrastructure, such as Aadhaar and the Unified Payments Interface, to the world.

That too for free!

• Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government has already signed agreements with 13 countries which want to adopt UPI

• He highlighted that UPI was conceived as an open-access payment system and has been recommended as a model in the US

The loan app ban, which caught many digital lending platforms off guard last week, is a national security issue, according to Vaishnaw.

• As many as 94 digital lending platforms, including Kissht and PayU-backed Lazypay, were spiked after blocking orders were issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000

• According to the order, these apps were flagged by the Ministry of Home Affairs because of alleged Chinese links

Gaganyaan, India's human space flight mission by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has been in the works for 16 years. Despite numerous delays, the much-anticipated mission is finally starting to pick up momentum once again.

Recently, ISRO carried out a series of tests including one with the Indian Navy to test the recovery of a mock crew module from a closed pool.

Today, Bengaluru-based Ankit Aerospace delivered a 3D-printed grid fin to ISRO that may be used in the crew module on the launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission.

• The grid fin will assist Gaganyaan in stabilising the crew module if there is an issue with the launch
  
  
• Unlike grid fins used in SpaceX rockets, the one made by Ankit Aerospace was 3D-printed using titanium wires

This prototype, which was delivered in the presence of ISRO chairman S Somanath, will undergo several tests in the coming months to determine its strength, check for cracks, etc.

• If the tests are successful, ISRO will then ask the company to manufacture four more of these grid fins

Ankit Patel, the firm's founder and CEO, stated that 3D printing allowed it to save 70% of titanium, which would not have been possible if it had been manufactured using traditional methods such as casting.

• However, he admits that this method is far more expensive, and he is counting on the prototype's success to lower production costs in the future

Go deeper

In a world where technology is advancing at breakneck speed, India's digital payment landscape has seen a remarkable transformation with the rise of UPI. 

However, for millions of Indians, including senior citizens, novice smartphone users, and those who are not fluent in English, accessing and navigating the digital payment system can still be a daunting task. 

But that's where Project Pratima comes in - an innovative initiative by the Payments Council of India (PCI) that aims to simplify the user experience of digital payments through the creation of a standardised icons library for all financial institutions in India. 

Here is how this design project was conceived and executed.

On February 13, 2001, Google made its first-ever acquisition by acquiring Deja.com's Usenet, which went on to form the foundation of Google Groups.

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said a standalone country's effort to control and regulate cryptocurrencies will not be effective as it is completely driven by technology.
  
  
• The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to sue stablecoin issuer Paxos Trust Co. for violating investor protection laws regarding Binance USD.

People in Kolkata are happy. 

You may be wondering why. Because they serve as the antithesis to the rising hustle culture phenomenon.

No one is in much of a hurry, and they don't seem to mind waiting a long time for a routine bank enquiry; what exactly are you going to achieve anyway by saving half an hour, says Sandipan Deb, former editor of Financial Express, in a column for us. 

Kolkata is the city to retire in after you decide you have had enough of all those rat races that plague the other metropolises, he says. 

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