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In today’s newsletter:

• Quick commerce apps face staffing woes 
• Now, mandatory cyber, AI audits for private, public cos 
• Ather narrows loss to Rs 178 crore

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India’s 10-minute delivery race is speeding ahead, but its rider roster is stuck in traffic.

As the festival frenzy kicks in, quick commerce firms are kicking into high gear – but feet on the street are falling behind.

• Blinkit, Instamart, and Zepto are racing to expand, but some metros are running 30% short on riders, as per staffing firms

Recruiters say hiring can’t keep pace with the breakneck rollout of dark stores and ballooning order volumes.

• Delivery hubs are running lean, leading to delayed drop-offs and frazzled fulfilment

With falling payouts and rising pressure, riders are hitting the brakes – or switching lanes.

• Attrition is surging, with most delivery workers quitting in under six months, as many jump ship to steadier EV fleet and logistics jobs

• Staffing firms say rider payouts have dipped to Rs 15–Rs 25 per order in some zones, down from Rs 34–Rs 42 earlier

Fewer incentives and patchy earnings have made retention a festival-season headache.

With the festive frenzy looming, platforms are piling on perks to keep the wheels turning.

• From cash bonuses to hybrid contracts, firms are sweetening the deal to draw in delivery partners

• Payout timelines are shrinking and flexibility is rising – anything to fill those empty slots

But with churn still high and rivals circling, it’s a race to retain more than just speed.

Dig deeper

India's nodal cybersecurity agency wants an audit of it all. 

The Indian Cybersecurity Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has made annual cybersecurity audits mandatory for both public and private sector organisations.

• It has also brought in AI and quantum systems used in the government under formal compliance requirements for the first time

The government brought in these requirements in the Comprehensive Cyber Security Audit Policy Guidelines, issued on July 25, 2025.

Under Section 13 of the guidelines, organisations must conduct at least one comprehensive audit every year

• Regulators are allowed to increase the frequency based on size or criticality

Audits will now cover three new areas:

• Artificial Intelligence Bill of Materials
  
  
• Software Bill of Materials
  
  
• Quantum Bill of Materials

These "ingredients lists" must capture details such as AI model names and versions, datasets used, vulnerabilities, and even environmental impact. 

Find out more

EV startup Ather Energy has clocked an optimistic Q1, with improving margins, higher deliveries, and a smaller loss.

Ather reported a net loss of Rs 178 crore in Q1 FY26, nearly 3% lower than the same period last year. 

• But the real story is in its revenue growth and margin turnaround

• Revenue from operations jumped 79% YoY to Rs 645 crore
  
  
• Expenses rose to Rs 851 crore, up from Rs 551 crore last year
  
  
• EBITDA margin turned positive at 16%, from –33% in Q1 FY25
  
  
• EPS improved to Rs 5 from, Rs 7 per share
  
  
• Delivered 46,000 scooters, marking a 97% YoY increase
  
  
• Stock rose 13% post-results, hitting a fresh 52-week high of Rs 392

CEO Tarun Mehta credited Rizta’s success and expanding retail footprint for the strong quarter. 

The company led in market share across South India and is accelerating growth in Middle and Northern India.

"We have had a phenomenal start to this financial year, led by Rizta’s success and a strong expansion of our retail footprint. We were No.1 by market share in South India this quarter and are now scaling up quickly across Middle India, which has ramped up faster than expected," Mehta said. 

Interestingly, Ather's rival EV player Ola Electric on the other hand  saw its revenue for the quarter fall to Rs 828 crore, marking a 49.6% year-on-year decline from Rs 1,644 crore.

Read more 

• Airtel’s Xtelify has launched Airtel Cloud, a sovereign platform built in India capable of 140 crore transactions per minute, along with an AI-driven software suite to power telecom digitalisation worldwide.
  
  
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) is investing $12.7 billion in India by 2030, aiming to position the country as a key hub in the global artificial general intelligence (AGI) race.

India and Australia are teaming up...in orbit. 

Dhruva Space’s first commercial mission, LEAP-1, is all set to blast off aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in the third quarter of the year. 

• It will carry two Aussie payloads: an AI module from Akula Tech and a hyperspectral imager from Esper Satellites, riding Dhruva’s P-30 satellite

The mission will also flex Dhruva’s ground station tech. Find out more

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