Hello,

It’s been a slippery slope to the bottom for the rupee. 

The Indian rupee logged its weakest closing level on record on Wednesday at 84.74 against the U.S. dollar, egged on by broad-based dollar bids, among other factors. Even gains in Asian peers like the offshore Chinese yuan weren’t enough to offset the slide. 

According to a Reuters poll, this may not even be the worst of the rupee’s gradual decline. 

Recently proposed tariffs by US President-elect Donald Trump and the potential of a rate cut by the US Federal Reserve this month have contributed to pushing up the dollar by nearly 6% since October. 

More eyes are on the world’s largest economy and its actions than ever before. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned against a return to protectionist stances in global trade, the outlook for which has become cloudier following said US tariff hikes. 

Those who don’t learn from history, are bound to repeat it, after all. 

The global cost of living crisis has left no avenues untouched, not even where your daily cuppa is concerned. The prices of coffee have soared to their highest in nearly 50 years due to poor weather in Brazil and Vietnam, forcing roasters such as Nestle to raise prices and consumers to hunt for cheaper brews.

Between hedging by traders driving up prices and growers hoarding harvests in wait for better local prices, your favourite robusta grind could be more than a pinch to your wallet soon. 

While the price of your daily latte may be rising, Swiggy’s new 10-minute food delivery service Bolt is certainly cutting down on the time it takes to deliver it. Already accounting for 5% of Swiggy’s total food delivery orders within just two months of its launch, it may have the potential to reshape food delivery, believes Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Food Marketplace at Swiggy.

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In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• MapmyIndia’s reputation problem
• The start of a market makeover
• Black Friday sales gain popularity

Here’s your trivia for today: The myth that carrots improve your vision is rooted in a propaganda campaign from which war?

Technology

The many problems at MapmyIndia

It’s tough for MapmyIndia to fix its reputation or governance problems even if it gives up its plans to invest Rs 35 crore in the business-to-consumer (B2C) venture of its former CEO, market analysts say.

The controversy involves parent company CE Info Systems’ recent announcement regarding CEO Rohan Verma’s departure to launch a new venture. 

Lost journey:

• The investment structure in the B2C venture has become an issue. Initially, CE Info Systems planned to invest through two channels—first taking a minority 10% stake for Rs 10 lakh, and then providing a much larger investment of Rs 35 crore through compulsory convertible debentures (CCDs).
• This meant Verma would retain 90% ownership of the venture while accessing significant funding from the listed company.
• While Verma has now said he’ll fund the B2C venture himself instead of taking the Rs 35 crore from the parent company, experts say the company’s approach to its consumer business needs rethinking.

Startup: Enterpret 

Amount: $20.8M

Round: Series A

Startup: Dentalkart 

Amount: Rs 85 Cr

Round: Undisclosed

Interview

The start of a market makeover

Zomato—the food delivery platform that has become a fixture of urban Indian life—is poised to replace JSW Steel in the Sensex, with whispers of a Nifty 50 inclusion following close behind. 

Its inclusion heralds a fundamental shift in what constitutes corporate power in modern India, and highlights how digital platforms are displacing the industrial stalwarts that once embodied Indian enterprise. “I think more tech-enabled [companies] are going to be in the top 50,” observed Deepak Shenoy, Founder and CEO of Capitalmind, in conversation with YourStory’s Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma.

Change:

• Reliance, the embodiment of old-economy might, now channels its ambitions through the digital arteries of Jio Platforms. The revolution, it seems, isn’t about creating new technology but about reimagining how India does business.
• The public markets are witnessing this shift in real-time. Swiggy leads 2024’s global tech IPO calendar, joining other digital enterprises like Ola Electric and FirstCry in their public market debuts.
• Yet beneath this digital transformation lurk questions of sustainability. “I think competition is going to increase dramatically whether it is Reliance, Dmart or Aditya Birla,” Shenoy cautioned.

Ecommerce

Black Friday sales gain popularity

Traditionally considered a US staple, Black Friday sale is fuelling shopping frenzy in India. Along with the Cyber Monday sale, it has become an important part of India’s cycle of ecommerce events and gives brands a fillip between the festive season and end-of-the-year sales.

Discounts:

• The sale enables brands and retailers to clear their unsold inventory to make space for new stock for next year. It is also the last shopping festival before Christmas and New Year.
• During the sales held from November 27-30, the gross merchandise value (GMV) across brands grew by 24% compared to the Black Friday event held last year, according to data shared by ecommerce enablement platform Unicommerce. 
• According to Unicommerce data, beauty, wellness and personal care products grew 34% YoY, mainly driven by demand for perfumes, deodorants, and makeup items. 

News & updates

• Forecast: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey signaled that policymakers still believe four quarter-point interest rate cuts next year is the most likely scenario as he said inflation has come down “faster than we thought it would.”
• Falling out: Divergences between Carlos Tavares and Stellantis board members, which led to the CEO’s abrupt resignation, were mainly over priorities for the next 15 months and on how the automaker relates to its stakeholders, finance chief Doug Ostermann said on Wednesday.
• Expansion: TotalEnergies struck a deal to buy renewable-energy company VSB Group from Partners Group for 1.57 billion euros ($1.65 billion), expanding its presence in Germany.

The myth that carrots improve your vision is rooted in a propaganda campaign from which war?

Answer: World War II. To keep the use of radar a secret. British officials launched a campaign stating eating carrots improved night vision.

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Former Peak XV executive and public policy expert Shweta Rajpal Kohli has launched Startup Policy Forum (SPF), an initiative to empower and boost the growth of the Indian startup ecosystem.

SPF is tentatively expected to launch on National Startup Day, January 16th, Kohli told YourStory.

The initiative aims to bring together founders, policymakers, and regulators to help bolster the government’s initiatives to support Indian startups.

“India has become one of the most attractive global hubs for innovation thanks to the government’s steadfast focus on catalysing the startup ecosystem and the macroeconomic stability provided by our world-class regulators. It’s a privilege to bring together a group of new-age nation-builders keen to engage in constructive collaboration with government and regulators and drive impactful change,” said Kohli, who is the President and CEO of the forum.

SPF will limit its members to 100 selected startups in its initial phase and has onboarded 30 startups as its members. These companies include fintech giants Razorpay, CRED, and Pine Labs, on-demand food and grocery delivery platform, Swiggy, and omnichannel retailer Bluestone.

The forum has also established four councils for sector-specific initiatives which include the Fintech Policy Council (FPC), Consumer and Commerce Council (CACC), Emerging Tech and AI Council (ETAC), and New-Age Public Companies Council (NPCC).

To help bridge the gap, SPF has hired a team of experts in public policy, legal affairs, taxation, policy research, communications, and marketing.

In a statement, Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry said, “Our startups are driving transformative change by democratising business and converting job seekers into job creators. We are glad to see many founders joining the Startup Policy Forum (SPF), which should reinforce India’s global leadership in the new-age economy. The forum should play a pivotal role in India’s journey to become Viksit Bharat by 2047 under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.”

Do people really need food in ten minutes? Indian consumers have addressed this scepticism with their wallet, voting in favour of quick service, says Rohit Kapoor, CEO of Food Marketplace at Swiggy.

Swiggy’s latest offering Bolt, a 10-minute food delivery service, already accounts for 5% of its total food delivery orders, within just two months of its launch. The service has been scaled to 400 cities and it now offers more than 10 lakh menu items, usually those that require no or minimal preparation time.

With strong consumer traction, the service has piqued investor and analyst interest with respect to economic sustainability.

Kapoor believes Bolt has the potential to reshape food delivery.

Bolt has been one of Swiggy’s fastest executions in terms of concept and scale and will account for 10% of all food delivery orders in the near term, says Kapoor in an exclusive interview with YourStory.

Swiggy’s core business of food delivery reported its first profitable quarter, with a 22% rise in operating revenue—fuelled by newer offerings like Bolt, Eatlists (a feature that helps users discover and share food recommendations) and PocketHero (offers cashback and discounts on food orders from select restaurants).

In the second quarter of FY25, Swiggy’s food delivery segment clocked a net profit of Rs 121 crore against a loss of Rs 43 crore in the same period last year, aided by improvements in contribution margins on the back of higher monetisation in advertising and reduced delivery costs, while maintaining delivery partner earnings.

The company has managed to rein in its marketing, indirect and absolute costs by tapping into the efficiencies of a unified app comprising food delivery, quick commerce and dine-out. Swiggy has also been increasingly focusing on going deep in existing cities and spreading its operations in the peripheries of big cities like Bengaluru.

Kapoor sheds light on the operations behind Bolt, how Swiggy is looking at the 10-minute food delivery space, and overall competition.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

YourStory [YS] : How do you see Bolt showing up in your P&L in any way?

Rohit Kapoor (RK): We don’t see a problem from a P&L standpoint in running Bolt right now. It has been one of our fastest executions in terms of concept and scale. We see it touching 10% of all food delivery orders at some point in the near term.

YS: What kind of different value propositions do you see with Swiggy Bolt, Swiggy Cafe (a curated service that offers snacks and drinks under Swiggy’s label and some other brands), and Insta Cafe (a 10-minute food delivery service on Instamart).

RK: I think Bolt is a speed proposition on the entire food delivery spectrum, with its core offering being 10-minute food delivery. There was a lot of scepticism about why food is needed in 10 minutes, but Indian consumers have voted with their wallet to show that they want things faster. 

On the other hand, a cafe is very distinctive with curated offerings for consumers who do not want to go into 10 options. It is sort of a derivative of the marketplace model itself, where brands are coming up and serving customers in different setups. For instance, we have partnered with brands like Blue Tokai and Whole Truth.

Swiggy Cafe is currently available on the food delivery page, but we can add this as a storefront on the Instamart page as well. There is no separate infrastructure being built for Insta Cafe in any way. 

We believe in the quick delivery food phenomenon, and we want our tentacles on every model out there. Since it’s early days and there is no clarity on which model will work, we want to be present in every model.

YS: Are you thinking of amalgamating the fleet of grocery delivery service Instamart and Bolt?

RK: Instamart is at a scale where it requires its own fleet by itself. There is no real advantage in trying to cross-utilise Instamart’s fleet with food, as Instamart anyway gets a large number of orders. The fleet is being utilised well.

YS: What is the innovation behind Bolt’s operations?

Due to heavy competition in the space, I won’t be able to share the economics of Bolt but there is a lot of product development that has happened on the delivery side. It is a complex execution because you have to be really precise on the distance from restaurants, timing, and the kind of menu to include and not include. If you include too less, then there is an assortment problem, while too many options can affect speed as it can increase the preparation time .

We are working with restaurant partners to curate a menu that is aligned to faster prep and fast delivery and iron out inefficiencies. The simple principle is: you are serving a high-density supplier to a high-density consumer location largely. 

YS: How do you look at the rise in subscription pricing of Swiggy One, a premium membership programme?

RK: It is definitely guided a little bit by the competitive mechanism out there and what the consumers are looking for. In our mind, Swiggy One squares up more with Zomato Gold; Zepto Pass is not even in the frame of our reference right now. 

Despite increasing Swiggy One’s subscription pricing, and offering free delivery at a larger scale, there is no dent in the overall profitability of the category. There are a 100 line items which go into the profitability of the company and not just one.