Top 5 tech and startup stories of the day
UPI may soon enable cash withdrawals via QR codes. This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.
Also in the letter:
■ Caps coming for satcoms
■ AI overviews face heat
■ Chart-ed: edtech funding rebounds
Cash on scan: UPI may soon power cardless withdrawals everywhere
Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s digital payments darling, may soon become your ATM too.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has sought the Reserve Bank of India’s nod to enable QR-code-based cash withdrawals via UPI at over 2 million banking correspondent (BC) outlets across the country. The move could make withdrawing cash as seamless as buying groceries.
How it works:
Currently, such withdrawals at merchant points are capped at Rs 1,000–2,000 per transaction. BCs could raise this ceiling to Rs 10,000, offering more flexibility.
Why it matters:
The flip side:
The bottom line: If approved, this could elevate UPI from a payments powerhouse to India’s go-to platform for cash access, bridging the gap between digital rails and physical currency.
Quick commerce, ecommerce firms' festive gig hiring spree weak in due diligence
Quick commerce and ecommerce companies are in hiring overdrive for the festive rush, with gig intake jumping 20-25% year-on-year. But the race to scale up is exposing cracks in background checks. Fake IDs, mismatched addresses, and outright impersonations are slipping through despite platform safeguards.
Why it matters:
DoT mulling new norms: For satcom companies, sky may have a subscriber limit
Satellite internet players, such as Starlink, Amazon Kuiper, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Jio-SES, may soon hit a regulatory ceiling in India. Quite literally. The Centre is considering caps on the number of users each satellite system can serve, officials told us.
The mechanics:
Pricing backdrop:
But why? The move is aimed at soothing nerves in India’s telecom corridors. Incumbent operators worry that satellite players could sneak into the retail mobile broadband market by piggybacking on existing permits, gradually amassing a vast user base.
Experts warn that this could erode the core revenues of traditional telcos. By capping subscribers, the government hopes to manage the satcom surge—allowing growth but without letting it overshadow terrestrial networks just yet.
Rolling Stone, Billboard owner takes Google to court over AI summaries
Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
The gloves are off. Penske Media, the publisher behind Rolling Stone, Billboard and Variety, has dragged Google to federal court in Washington, D.C., accusing it of stealing traffic, revenue and content. The case centres on Google’s AI Overviews–summaries that surface on top of search results, and according to Penske, scrape publisher content without consent.
The allegation:
Why it matters:
Google’s defence: The company calls the suit “meritless” and insists AI Overviews help users discover more content across a wider range of sites.
The big picture: As AI becomes the default search layer, publishers fear being cut out of the loop. Penske’s suit could become the legal litmus test for how far courts and regulators are willing to curb Google’s power in the AI era.
Also Read: Nano Banana takes Google Gemini to the top of Apple App Store charts
Chart-Ed: Driven by AI, edtech funding rebounds with 5X surge in H1 2025
India’s edtech sector is showing signs of a comeback. In H1 2025 (January-June), funding jumped over 5X year-on-year to $120 million across 11 deals, up from just $22 million and seven deals in the same period last year.
Tell me more:
What else? The sector faced headwinds following Byju’s governance troubles and increased investor scrutiny. In response, edtech firms are leaning into AI and sharper, outcome-driven models.
Also in the letter:
■ Caps coming for satcoms
■ AI overviews face heat
■ Chart-ed: edtech funding rebounds
Cash on scan: UPI may soon power cardless withdrawals everywhere
Unified Payments Interface (UPI), India’s digital payments darling, may soon become your ATM too.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has sought the Reserve Bank of India’s nod to enable QR-code-based cash withdrawals via UPI at over 2 million banking correspondent (BC) outlets across the country. The move could make withdrawing cash as seamless as buying groceries.
How it works:
- Users open any UPI app and scan the BC’s QR code.
- Their account is debited, the BC’s is credited.
- Users walk away with the cash.
Currently, such withdrawals at merchant points are capped at Rs 1,000–2,000 per transaction. BCs could raise this ceiling to Rs 10,000, offering more flexibility.
Why it matters:
- Inclusion push: BCs already anchor financial access in rural and underserved areas, offering Aadhar-based and micro-ATM services. UPI integration removes friction, skipping the need for cards or fingerprints.
- Convenience factor: For individuals with worn biometric data or concerns about card fraud (such as cloning), a QR scan is a cleaner and quicker option.
The flip side:
- Fraud risks: The industry fears that the ease of use could invite misuse. BCs have been unwittingly caught in cybercrime networks that route stolen funds through multiple accounts.
- Oversight gap: With no clear standard operating procedures on fraud investigations, flagged BCs risk freezing, hurting their livelihood.
The bottom line: If approved, this could elevate UPI from a payments powerhouse to India’s go-to platform for cash access, bridging the gap between digital rails and physical currency.
Quick commerce, ecommerce firms' festive gig hiring spree weak in due diligence
Quick commerce and ecommerce companies are in hiring overdrive for the festive rush, with gig intake jumping 20-25% year-on-year. But the race to scale up is exposing cracks in background checks. Fake IDs, mismatched addresses, and outright impersonations are slipping through despite platform safeguards.
Why it matters:
- Safety & trust: Lapses put customers at risk and expose platforms to regulatory breaches.
- Operational costs: Firms must invest in ongoing monitoring, from selfie rechecks after onboarding to regular criminal record scans.
- Voices from the field: “Weaknesses in ID checks are often spotted only after a negative incident,” said CIEL HR CEO Aditya Mishra, warning that tighter vetting and regulatory audits are vital. Eternal (Zomato-Blinkit spokesperson) added that impersonation amounts to identity theft, with permanent bans for violators.
DoT mulling new norms: For satcom companies, sky may have a subscriber limit
Satellite internet players, such as Starlink, Amazon Kuiper, Eutelsat OneWeb, and Jio-SES, may soon hit a regulatory ceiling in India. Quite literally. The Centre is considering caps on the number of users each satellite system can serve, officials told us.
The mechanics:
- Satellite firms will require fresh approvals from the Department of Telecommunications and the space regulator, IN-SPACe, to onboard users beyond an approved threshold.
- The cap would depend on how much bandwidth and speed per user the company declares in advance.
Pricing backdrop:
- The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had earlier recommended a five-year spectrum allocation pegged at 4% of adjusted gross revenue (AGR), with room for future tweaks.
- However, the DoT wants flexibility to revise terms sooner if the tech landscape changes.
But why? The move is aimed at soothing nerves in India’s telecom corridors. Incumbent operators worry that satellite players could sneak into the retail mobile broadband market by piggybacking on existing permits, gradually amassing a vast user base.
Experts warn that this could erode the core revenues of traditional telcos. By capping subscribers, the government hopes to manage the satcom surge—allowing growth but without letting it overshadow terrestrial networks just yet.
Rolling Stone, Billboard owner takes Google to court over AI summaries
The gloves are off. Penske Media, the publisher behind Rolling Stone, Billboard and Variety, has dragged Google to federal court in Washington, D.C., accusing it of stealing traffic, revenue and content. The case centres on Google’s AI Overviews–summaries that surface on top of search results, and according to Penske, scrape publisher content without consent.
The allegation:
- Penske alleges Google presents publishers with a false choice: opt out of AI summaries and vanish from search, or stay in and be scraped.
- The result? A plunge in traffic and money. Penske says affiliate revenues have dropped over a third from 2024 highs.
- And AI Overviews now appear on 20% of Google searches linking to its sites, a share it expects will rise.
Why it matters:
- Precedent-setting: This is the first major US media lawsuit targeting AI Overviews. If Penske wins, other publishers may follow suit.
- Publisher pushback: While OpenAI and other AI firms have signed licensing deals with media houses, Google has largely relied on its search dominance–until now.
Google’s defence: The company calls the suit “meritless” and insists AI Overviews help users discover more content across a wider range of sites.
The big picture: As AI becomes the default search layer, publishers fear being cut out of the loop. Penske’s suit could become the legal litmus test for how far courts and regulators are willing to curb Google’s power in the AI era.
Also Read: Nano Banana takes Google Gemini to the top of Apple App Store charts
Chart-Ed: Driven by AI, edtech funding rebounds with 5X surge in H1 2025
India’s edtech sector is showing signs of a comeback. In H1 2025 (January-June), funding jumped over 5X year-on-year to $120 million across 11 deals, up from just $22 million and seven deals in the same period last year.
Tell me more:
- The bulk of the capital flowed into study-abroad platforms, workforce skilling startups, and AI-led tools for language and vernacular learning.
- Still, the total lags behind H1 2023’s $230 million haul.
What else? The sector faced headwinds following Byju’s governance troubles and increased investor scrutiny. In response, edtech firms are leaning into AI and sharper, outcome-driven models.
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