Deep tech startups in sectors such as space, semiconductors, and biotech take far longer to mature than conventional ventures. Because of that India is adjusting its startup rules, and mobilizing public capital, hoping to help more of them make it to commercial products.

This week, the Indian government updated its startup framework, doubling the period for which deep tech companies are treated as startups to 20 years and raising the revenue threshold for startup-specific tax, grant, and regulatory benefits to ₹3 billion (about $33.12 million), from ₹1 billion (around $11.04 million) previously. The change aims to align policy timelines with the long development cycles typical of science- and engineering-led businesses.

The change also forms part of New Delhi’s effort to build a long-horizon deep tech ecosystem by combining regulatory reform with public capital, including the ₹1 trillion (around $11 billion) Research, Development and Innovation Fund (RDI), announced last year. That fund is intended to expand patient financing for science-led and R&D-driven companies. Against that backdrop, U.S. and Indian venture firms later came together to launch the India Deep Tech Alliance, $1 billion-plus private investor coalition that includes Accel, Blume Ventures, Celesta Capital, Premji Invest, Ideaspring Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, and Kalaari Capital, with chipmaker Nvidia acting as an adviser.

For founders, these changes may fix what some see as an artificial pressure point. Under the previous framework, companies often risked losing startup status while still pre-commercial, creating a “false failure signal” that judged science-led ventures on policy timelines rather than technological progress, said Vishesh Rajaram, founding partner at Speciale Invest, an Indian deep tech venture capital firm.

More details on TechCrunch

Gurugram police have arrested Dhruv Dutt Sharma, director of 32nd Milestone. He is accused of defrauding around Rs 500 crore. Sharma allegedly sold a single building floor to more than 25 individuals.

Source: ETimes

Google’s parent company has leased one office tower and purchased options on two others in Alembic City, a development in the Whitefield tech corridor, totaling 2.4 million square feet, according to people familiar with the deal. The first tower is expected to open to employees in the coming months, while construction on the remaining two is set to conclude next year.

Source: Bloomberg

Estimates suggest that 11,000 to 22,000 roles could be eliminated worldwide.

This would represent about 5% to 10% of its workforce of roughly 220,000.

Eternal founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal has said he asked Albinder Dhindsa, founder and CEO of Blinkit, to step down twice in the period following Zomato’s acquisition of the quick commerce firm, as part of what he described as a hard-edged leadership reset.

Speaking on a video podcast with Raj Shamani, Goyal said the conversations took place soon after the acquisition, when Dhindsa was struggling to adapt to the changes required post-integration.

“Right after we acquired Blinkit, I asked him (Albinder) to leave. I told him, ‘You will not be able to cut it. He said okay. This happened twice during that timeframe, and we started the transition,” Goyal said.

The comments offer a rare public glimpse into how Goyal manages senior leadership transitions at Eternal, the parent of Zomato and Blinkit, particularly in situations where founders or top executives are required to adjust to a new organisational structure after an acquisition.

Source

The results mark a high-burn scale-up year for Zepto, coming ahead of its planned IPO filing and amid rising competitive intensity in India’s quick commerce market.

Quick commerce major Zepto more than doubled its total sales in the financial year 2024–25 (FY25), even as losses expanded sharply during the year as the company continued to scale operations in India’s increasingly competitive quick commerce market.

According to Zepto's audited financials, accessed by Moneycontrol, the company reported total sales (turnover including other income) of Rs 9,668.8 crore in FY25, up 129% year-on-year from Rs 4,223.9 crore in the financial year 2023–24 (FY24). Its net loss rose 177% to Rs 3,367.3 crore, compared with Rs 1,214.7 crore a year earlier.

How does Zepto compare with Blinkit and Instamart?

In quick commerce, platforms typically recognise around 15–20% of gross merchandise value (GMV) as revenue. On that basis, Zepto’s operational revenue for FY25 is estimated to be between Rs 1,495 crore and Rs 1,994 crore, despite reporting close to Rs 10,000 crore in total sales.

By comparison, Blinkit, owned by Eternal, reported revenue of Rs 5,206 crore in FY25, while Swiggy reported revenue of Rs 2,252 crore for the year.

Are losses comparable across quick commerce players?

Loss figures across quick commerce players are not directly comparable, given differences in disclosure. While Zepto reports net loss at the company level, Swiggy and Eternal do not disclose standalone losses for their quick commerce businesses, instead reporting adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (adjusted EBITDA).

In FY25, Instamart reported an adjusted EBITDA loss of Rs 2,095 crore, while Blinkit’s adjusted EBITDA loss stood at Rs 292 crore.

For Zepto, losses increased faster than sales, with net loss rising to around 35 percent of turnover in FY25, compared with about 29 percent in FY24.

Why has competitive intensity increased after FY25?

This comes at a time when competitive intensity in India’s quick commerce market has risen sharply after FY25, extending well into the first and second quarters of FY26. Major players have continued to add dark stores, ramp up delivery capacity and sustain high customer incentives, even as the market has scaled rapidly.

The pressure increased further after Zepto’s $450 million fundraise, which prompted rivals to accelerate expansion and capacity build-outs to defend market share.

As Moneycontrol reported earlier, analysts tracking the sector have said the post-FY25 period marked a new phase of heightened competition, with aggressive expansion by leading players keeping margins under strain across the category.

What are Zepto’s IPO plans and board changes?

The FY25 performance comes as Zepto moves closer to the public markets. The company is set to confidentially file draft initial public offering (IPO) papers on December 26, 2025.

Separately, Zepto has appointed its founders Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, along with chief financial officer Ramesh Bafna, as whole-time directors, following shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting held on December 23.

What did Zepto’s founders and CFO earn in FY25?

As per filings, Palicha and Vohra each drew remuneration of Rs 1.5 crore in FY25. Under the approved terms, both founders will receive a fixed salary of Rs 2.5 crore per annum, along with perquisites including rent and other expenses capped at Rs 10 lakh per month, and statutory benefits.

CFO Ramesh Bafna drew Rs 6.85 crore in remuneration in FY25. His approved compensation includes a salary of Rs 3.85 crore per annum, along with bonuses, long-term incentives and other benefits, as determined by the board, including in years of inadequate profits.

Source

Given the steep asking rate of 22.3% during November-March FY2026 to meet the Budget estimate, ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar expressed apprehension that the gross tax revenues will undershoot the Budget targeted by Rs 1.2 to 1.5 lakh crore.

The government needs a growth rate of 14% to meet corporate tax target of Rs 10.82 lakh crore, 32.5% growth to meet income tax target of Rs 14.38 lakh crore and a growth rate of 18% to meet Rs 10.10 lakh crore Central GST target.

Source