New Delhi: The Nirbhaya fund, set up by the Centre in 2013 to be used towards ensuring women's safety, has seen a dismal nine per cent utilisation with states such as Maharashtra and Meghalaya not spending a single rupee from it, according to government data. In total, just Rs 147 crore out Rs 1,649 crore sanctioned by the Centre has been spent by the state and UTs governments, the Parliament was recently informed by Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani. Uttar Pradesh and Telangana, the two states which were in the news recently for horrific incidents of rape and murder, were among the highest recipients of the Nirbhaya fund alongside Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi. While Karnataka used 7 per cent of the fund allocated to it by the Centre (the fund allocated to Karnataka was Rs 191 crore and utilisation Rs 13.62 crore), Tamil Nadu used 3 per cent of the amount allocated to it under the Nirbhaya fund (the fund allocated was Rs 190.68 crore and utilisation Rs … [Read more...] about Maharashtra among six states that didn’t use Nirbhaya fund; UP, Delhi spent less than 5%
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How to send money to any UPI ID via WhatsApp payments feature
WhatsApp introduced its payments service in India last month. The feature is still in pilot stage but already a number of users have activated it on their smartphones. WhatsApp’s payment feature is based on the government-backed Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform and competes with the likes of Paytm and other digital wallet platforms. WhatsApp earlier this week made some changes to the payment interface, also the first update since its roll out. WhatsApp now makes it easier for users to send money via UPI to your friends and people not in your contact list. The update includes sending money to UPI ID directly. Earlier you could send money only to contacts in your WhatsApp only. This essentially means you don’t need to save someone’s number in your contacts list to get started with WhatsApp payments. How to send money to any UPI ID via WhatsAppYou can always send money to a contact by tapping on the “Payment” option … [Read more...] about How to send money to any UPI ID via WhatsApp payments feature
CG Power imbroglio: Gautam Thapar cites board approvals, rejects fund misuse allegations
MUMBAI: Citing regular board approvals for various inter-corporate loans, former CG Power Industrial Solutions' non-executive chairman Gautam Thapar has refuted allegations of fund misuse amid alleged governance lapses coming under the regulatory scanner, according to documents submitted by him to the government. In a 36-page submission to the corporate affairs ministry early November, Thapar, who was sacked in a boardroom coup in the wee hours of August 30, has provided documents on various issues, including inter-corporate loans, minutes of board meetings and loans from lenders like Standard Chartered Singapore and Yes Bank. CG Power board sacked Thapar after an audit report by Vaish Associates, which itself is based on as many as 23 disclaimers, claimed that Thapar swindled Rs 3,000 crore from CG Power. Markets regulator Sebi banned Thapar and entities associated with him for three years, following which he moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which has asked the company to … [Read more...] about CG Power imbroglio: Gautam Thapar cites board approvals, rejects fund misuse allegations
WhatsApp payment feature: These 2 instant messaging apps that let you send, receive money
WhatsApp is close to rolling out its UPI-based payment service on the messaging app. The feature is currently being tested and is visible to select users on WhatsApp beta for Android and iOS. While there are dedicated apps for UPI payment services, this feature is getting popular on other apps as well. What is UPI?Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is an instant payment method developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). UPI enables transfer of funds under one umbrella by linking different bank accounts. It offers a seamless real-time payment of money from one bank to another. UPI is different from mobile wallets as one need not store money first to their account. It will directly transfer money from the linked bank account. Apps like Paytm, Flipkart, and Uber also offer payments based on UPI. However, there are two more popular apps which have UPI-based payment method available. These include Truecaller and Hike. Both the apps are … [Read more...] about WhatsApp payment feature: These 2 instant messaging apps that let you send, receive money
CoWrks plans to raise $350 million to fund expansion
BENGALURU: Collaborative workspace provider CoWrks plans to raise $350 million (?2,425 crore) to fund its growth plans, chief executive officer Abhishek Goenka said. The company will use the money to increase its desk counts across the cities where it already has a presence in and to enter new markets. It plans to take the total desk count to 65,000 by the end of this year from 25,000 now. “This will be the first big round of fundraising for the company. We are in talks with domestic and institutional investors. There could be more than one investor, too,” Goenka said. The company plans to enter cities such as Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore and Ahmedabad with small-format facilities by the end of next year and is targeting a member base of 1,20,000 across all markets. “We have good occupancy and is profitable at the centre level. We will continue to grow,” said Goenka. CoWrks currently has operations in Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Hyderabad. … [Read more...] about CoWrks plans to raise $350 million to fund expansion