In Brief: PhonePe restores UPI services; industry group files caveat in Flipkart-CCI case

Digital payments platform PhonePe was back up and running on Sunday, a day after the platform stopped functioning as a result of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) imposition of a moratorium on Yes Bank account holders.

Rana Kapoor-headed Yes Bank and Walmart-owned PhonePe shared an exclusive partnership for unified payments interface (UPI)-based transactions.

“The PhonePe team worked overnight with the NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) and ICICI Bank, its new UPI partner, to ensure all its services were up and running within a day,” a statement from Bengaluru-headquartered PhonePe said on Sunday.

Etailer union files caveat in Flipkart-CCI case

In less than a week since the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered a fresh probe into the business practices of Flipkart, the appellant in the case has filed a caveat in the Supreme Court against the Walmart-owned ecommerce marketplace, according to a Times of India report, citing the filing.

The caveat petition, as the one submitted by the All India Online Vendors Association’s (AIOVA), is a legal precautionary measure. It is a notice to be informed, if and when an expected lawsuit is filed against a matter of their interest -- the purpose of this is to give the entity that has filed the caveat a fair hearing before the court decides on the matter. The period of a caveat is limited for 90 days.

ISB launches pre-accelerator programme for budding entrepreneurs

Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business has tied up with Milan-based Bocconi University to launch Idea to Startup Lab (ISLab), a pre-accelerator training programme for aspiring entrepreneurs with ideas in the early phase. Selected candidates will receive a five-month support programme in Hyderabad after which they can pitch their idea to investors. The programme is currently accepting applications till April 30, the institute said.

Britannia to offer e-courses, finance to women entrepreneurs

Biscuit manufacturer Britannia has launched the second season of its annual Britannia Marie Gold My Startup initiative that provides financial assistance to homemakers with entrepreneurial ideas, it said in a statement on Thursday. 

As a part of the initiative, online certification courses will be available to 10,000 women homemakers through partner body National Skill Development Corporation-run eSkillIndia portal. The portal drives the government's Skill India Mission digitally. The e-courses will help women gain basic communication skills, financial literacy along with information and communication technology (ICT), and micro entrepreneurial skills for socio-economic self reliance. 

Tech Mahindra sets up Ideathon for women entrepreneurs in tech space 

Information technology firm Tech Mahindra’s research and development unit, Makers Lab, has unveiled a women-led Ideathon to drive technology innovation. The Ideathon is aimed at solving real-world challenges through technology, especially in the defence space, and will run for four weeks. 

The top 20 ideas will be rewarded and the entrepreneurs will get an opportunity to interact with instructors as well as army officers from the College of Military Engineering in Pune. The College of Military Engineering is a technical and tactical training institute of the Indian Army (Corps of Engineers) that promotes the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics for the Indian Army, a company statement said.