In Brief: Flipkart tightens return policy over rising fraud; drone registrations begin today

Walmart-owned ecommerce platform Flipkart has tightened its return policy due to rising fraud on the platform, The Economic Times reported. Consumers buying winter fashion and lifestyle products on Flipkart will get less time to return products -- the return window has been slashed to 10 from the 30 days earlier, the ET report said. This is the first time Flipkart is making such changes in the fashion and lifestyle segment, it said.

Unregistered drones can’t fly after Jan 31, registration begins today

All drone operators in India will have an opportunity to register their unmanned aerial vehicles from January 14. A government order issued on January 13, 2020, said one could register on the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s Digital Sky platform by January-end to regulate drone numbers, The Economic Times reported. An order from the aviation ministry said that any unregistered drone operated beyond January 31 would face penal action. The order, signed by SK Mishra, joint secretary, aviation ministry, said that “to facilitate the identification of civil drones and drone operators, a one-time opportunity for voluntary disclosure of such drones and drone operators is now being provided.”

GPX, Nokia to build India’s first data center interconnect network 

GPX India, a provider of true carrier-neutral data centres, announced that it has deployed India’s first DCI (Data Center Interconnect) together with Nokia to connect its two data centres in Mumbai. It will ensure a reliable and high-speed up to 10 TBPS connectivity between the two data centres. The solution offers cost efficiency while enhancing simplicity, the companies said in a joint statement. Nokia’s solution can support 1G, 10G, and 100G bandwidths, and can scale up to 200G and 600G in the future to support the growing demand, Nokia said. “This model of data centre interconnectivity, first in India, will enable DCs to grow and provide a campus type environment enable customers to expand between various DC sites in close proximity without any hassles,” Manoj Paul, MD, GPX India, said.

Yatra Angel Network backs HR-tech startup Zimyo 

Gurugram-based human resource-tech startup Zimyo has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Yatra Angel Network. The round saw participation from The Fintech Meetup founder Abhishant Pant, Payments Council of India chairman emeritus Naveen Surya, YAP founder Madhusudanan R, Phi Commerce founder Jose Thattil, RupeePower founder Tejasvi Mohanram and BetaPlus Capital, the press statement said. The startup will use the funds to develop its product offerings and to scale into multiple diversified platforms. Founded in 2018 by Kumar Mayank and Ajay Kadyan,  Zimyo is a cloud-based HR and benefits solutions to help startups and small and mid-size businesses manage their talent, with a focus on providing financial offerings to their employees. 

Social incubator Ma’an invites applications from startups in mental health space

Social incubator and accelerator programme Ma’an has opened entries for startups working in the field of mental wellbeing. The initiative, run by the Abu Dhabi-based Authority for Social Contribution, Ma’an is aimed at supporting new startup community-based organisations and social enterprises, the press statement said. The programme will offer funding, training, incubation and mentorship to the startups. 

Oyo to lay off 2,400 employees over the week: ET report

Global hospitality chain Oyo is firing 2,400 employees from its total workforce in India over the course of the third week of January, according to an Economic Times report, citing sources on Tuesday. “The intent is to bring the headcount down by another 20% at least, and launch another resizing exercise by the end of March,” the report quoted a top company executive as saying. The layoffs will primarily be in mid-management, business development, sales and operations roles, and in select technology teams, the daily said.