Good morning. Earlybird here with another tray of snackable news for the modern-day entrepreneurs and future leaders.

The EV space is having its moment. Following Ola Electric’s signing with Tamil Nadu to invest Rs 7,614Cr to set up EV facility, Uber is now partnering with Tata Motors to introduce 25,000 EVs to its fleet. Uber India president claims that the Tata Motors EV deal is the biggest for any ride-hailing platform.

MARKETS

*Stock data as of market close. Source.

• Markets: The Nifty may experience a bumpy ride ahead as bears take control. Analysts predict a breach of 17,800 if banks continue to weaken. Hold on to your pants and keep a close eye on the moving dots.

FINANCE

Indian banks hike fixed deposit rates, sending savers on a high

💸 Several Indian banks including SBI, PNB, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and DCB Bank have raised their fixed deposit (FD) rates in February, aiming to attract depositors who are looking for better returns amid the current economic climate. With inflation concerns rising, many savers are turning to fixed deposits as a reliable investment option.

The FD rate hike is seen as a response to the recent surge in inflation and the Reserve Bank of India's decision to keep interest rates unchanged in its latest monetary policy review. Here are some of the highlights of the recent FD rate hikes:

• State Bank of India (SBI) has raised its interest rates on fixed deposits by up to 25 basis points.

• Punjab National Bank (PNB) has increased its FD rates by up to 30 basis points with the top rate of 7.25% for the average Joe

• Kotak Mahindra Bank has hiked its rates on deposits as well, much to the delight of senior citizens who now enjoy 7.7% on their bank stash

• DCB Bank tops the current FD charts with 7:85% as standard and 8.25% for the elderly

STARTUP

Microsoft teams launches AI-powered assistants to spice up virtual meetings

Microsoft Teams has upped its virtual meeting game by introducing AI-powered assistants designed to enhance remote communication. With the upcoming release of Teams Premium in India, these assistants aim to ease virtual meeting management and increase productivity — all while making remote standups more engaging.

What are these new-fangled bot things?

• The AI-powered meeting assistants in Microsoft Teams are equipped with voice recognition, machine learning capabilities, and an advanced note-taking feature called intelligent recap. They also support live subtitles in 40 different languages, which can either be really great or kind of awkward depending on who you ask.

• Cortana, the personal productivity assistant that everyone used to mute, is now integrated into Microsoft Teams, and can be used to join and leave meetings, as well as schedule and cancel them.

• Teams will now also allow users to organize more interactive and engaging virtual meetings. For example, by using custom Together Mode in Teams Premium, attendees can be placed in a shared virtual space, such as an auditorium, to make remote meetings feel more lifelike.

TECH

India takes the fast lane to digital connectivity

India has made a significant jump in mobile internet speeds, moving up 10 places to 69th in median mobile speeds globally. Nice. The report comes from network analytics provider Ookla and is good news for India’s telecom industry, which has been working diligently to improve connectivity across the country.

During its transition into 2023, India's median download speed saw a notable boost from 49.14 Mbps in December of last year to 50.02 Mbps recorded last month.

Positive Impacts

India's progress in mobile internet speeds are expected bring more people online and create new opportunities for e-commerce, telemedicine, online education, and other digital services.

QUICK BYTES

• 🚫 Rapido, Ola and Uber ban. The Delhi gov has banned bike taxi services by ride-hailing giants, Rapido, Ola, and Uber, citing safety concerns and regulatory issues.

• 🏥 Flipkart is in advanced talks to acquire online pharmacy start-up Pharmallama as the e-commerce giant aims to enter India's fast-growing digital healthcare space.

• ⚡️ Uber introduces 25,000 EVs. Uber has partnered with Tata Motors to introduce 25,000 electric vehicles to its Indian fleet, in line with its green initiative and the Indian government's push towards clean energy.

• 🚀 $255m Missile order secured. Bharat Dynamics, the Hyderabad-based missile manufacturer, secures an export order worth $255 million to provide surface-to-air missile systems to a friendly foreign country

FUNDING

• Hippo Video, an Indian video interactive platform, has secured $8 million in a funding round led by Alpha Wave Incubation and participation from existing investors. The funding will be utilized to expand its customer use cases across the U.S. market.

• UBreathe, a biotech startup that develops plant-based air purifiers, has raised Rs 1.5 crore ($180k USD) from Namita Thapar on the popular television show Shark Tank Season 2.

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