Twitter removes legacy blue ticks; Google asks apps to use its billing system outside India

This and more in today’s ETtech Top 5.

Also in this letter:
■ Google asks apps to use its billing system outside India
■ ETtech Deals Digest
■ Job cuts in India just a small fraction of global layoffs: Recruitment firms

Twitter legacy blue ticks are history; MIB, MeitY, PIB lose verification mark

Twitter on Thursday began removing the legacy verified blue ticks from the profiles of thousands of users, including politicians, celebrities, and sportspersons with millions of followers on the platform. Henceforth, only those users paying a monthly fee can retain the blue tick on their accounts.

Biggest losers: The latest move has resulted in several celebrities losing the verification badge on Twitter. Shah Rukh Khan (43.4 million), Amitabh Bachchan (48.4 million), Virat Kohli (55.1 million) and Rahul Gandhi (23.3 million) are among those who have lost their verification badge. Even Justin Bieber, the third most followed person on the platform with 113 million followers, and Cristiano Ronaldo, with 108.3 million followers lost their blue ticks.

Twitter Blue price in India: In India, the price for Twitter Blue is Rs 900 per month for the iOS app. For the web, it is Rs 650 per month. For Android users, the monthly charge is Rs 900.

MIB, MeitY, PIB lose verification mark: Twitter removed the blue tick from the official handles of India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and Press Information Bureau. The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health were among the few government body handles to get a grey tick on the platform.

Jack Dorsey’s Twitter alternative Bluesky launched: Meanwhile, Twitter cofounder and former CEO Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky social network, touted as a decentralised alternative to Twitter, has been launched on the Android platform. Dorsey, who stepped down as Twitter’s chief executive in 2021, has pushed for decentralised social networks that give people control over the content they see and the communities they engage with.

Google is asking Indian app developers to mandatorily use its Google Play Billing System (GPBS) in territories outside India, failing which their apps will be delisted from the Google Play Store in 14 days, said Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com’s parent company, People Group.

Details: Following an order by the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Google replaced GPBS with the User Choice Billing (UCB) system. Under GPBS, Google mandates that all in-app purchases go through its payment gateway and charges a 30% commission on such purchases. Under UCB, which is expected to be implemented from April 26, other payment options such as cards, net banking, UPI, wallets, etc will be available but will attract a commission of 11-26%.

‘Everyone needs to stand up’: Rohan Verma, chief executive of MapmyIndia, said: “Terrible! Everyone needs to standup [sic] for India and Indians and stop this foreign colonial domination and destruction of the domestic economy.”

Tweet of the day

ETtech Deals Digest: Indian startups raised $112 million in funding this week

Funding for Indian startups remained muted this week, with companies raising $112 million across 11 rounds, according to data provided by market intelligence firm Tracxn.

The funding raised by startups this week represents a 72% dip from the same period last year, when startups had raised $407 million, across 62 rounds.

Compared to last week, funding fell by 49% from the $221 million raised across 28 rounds.

Early-stage investments stood at $79.3 million, representing 71% of the total funds raised this week, while seed-stage investment was at $5.5 million, representing 5% of the total investment.

Here is a list of startups that raised money this week.

Job cuts in India just a small fraction of global layoffs: Recruitment firms

The Indian workforce will likely be spared of mass layoffs even as companies such as Meta announce more global job cuts, staffing firm executives told us.

Details: Multiple executives at recruitment and staffing firms said that three to four professionals in India are getting laid off for every 100 jobs axed globally.

“We expect a direct impact of layoffs on about 2-3% of total employees in India operations,” said Adecco India director AR Ramesh.

Key numbers: In 2022, India accounted for 11% of global layoffs, according to findings shared with ET by Xpheno Workforce Research & Analytics. So far in 2023, this has come down to under 4%, the findings revealed.

Globally, over 240,000 jobs were cut in 2022 and over 230,000 have been eliminated so far this year, according to Xpheno.

However, the relative pace of layoffs in India is slower compared to the global rate, with the year-to-date 2023 layoff count in India at less than one-third of last year’s total count, said Anil Ethanur, cofounder of specialist staffing company Xpheno.

Amid scorching temperatures with heatwave alerts in several states, a host of companies, including ecommerce companies and food delivery platforms, are trying to provide some relief to delivery workers, riders and employees in sales, whose work requires them to be in the field.

Support mechanisms: A host of companies, including Flipkart, Swiggy, Zepto, Dunzo and Panasonic, are rolling out support mechanisms such as resting areas, having a doctor on call, and providing energy drinks, ORS, and even clothing with breathable fabric suited to the country’s harsh weather conditions.

Also read | Delivery workers’ strike shuts more than 100 Blinkit dark stores in Delhi NCR

Who’s doing what? Zepto said all of its delivery hubs are equipped with benches, water dispensers, coolers, charging stations and fans, with on-demand lunch, dinner, and refreshments at a few stores.

Flipkart said it is providing heat shelters, making provisions for glucose and water as well as food in specific locations.

Swiggy provides workers with resting benches, water stations and buttermilk across a majority of Instamart pods, and issues full-sleeved t-shirts made with 100% breathable dry-fit mesh fabric.

Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Erick Massey in New Delhi and Megha Mishra in Mumbai. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.