In Brief: Paytm makes second top-level hire in two months; Snapdeal CEO to lead CII ecomm panel

Noida-based One97 Communication Group-run fintech startup Paytm has hired Harsh Gupta, the former director of product management for Walmart’s mobile payments app, to lead its merchant payments vertical, according to a report by Entrackr. This is the second top-level hiring in the company’s payments division in the past few weeks. Last month, it appointed Anubhav Sharma, former head of UPI and IMPS at the National Payments Corporations of India, as the vice president of Paytm Payments Bank. 

Snapdeal CEO Bahl to lead CII ecomm committee

Kunal Bahl, co-founder and CEO of Snapdeal, has been appointed the chairman of the ecommerce committee at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2020-21, as per media reports. The upcoming ecommerce policy, consumer protection rules and a consistent interpretation of the intermediary status of ecommerce platforms figure high on the immediate agenda of the committee, the reports said, citing a CII statement.

Paytm criticises telcos, TRAI over phishing attacks

Digital payments giant Paytm has criticised telecom companies and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for failing to control or take action against fraud SMSes from unregistered telemarketers, multiple media reports said. In a composite rejoinder filed in the Delhi High Court, Paytm said that telecom majors such as Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) have failed to meet the verification obligation under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations. The filing is part of an ongoing lawsuit between Paytm parent One97 Communications against telecom firms.

Birlasoft rolls out return-to-work solution

Bengaluru-based information technology (IT) services provider Birlasoft said it has launched intelliOpen, an integrated digital solution that uses internet of things (IoT), analytics, artificial intelligence and wearables to strengthen return-to-work strategies. The solution, which complies with data privacy and confidentiality norms, is an intelligent system that integrates self screening, thermal screening, social distance compliance and contact tracing services, the company said in a statement.

Ola Electric CBO Sanjay Bhan quits

Sanjay Bhan, the chief business officer (CBO) of Ola Electric, has quit the company less than a year after he began to lead its marketing and sales division, The Economic Times reported, citing sources. Ola did not respond to TechCircle’s request for comment on the matter. In July 2019, Ola Electric co-founder Anand Shah left the company’s day-to-day operations to assume a part-time role, the newspaper added.