Startups to Shine at IPL Cricket This Year: Your Top India Headlines for Tuesday

The eighth season of the Indian Premier League cricket kicks off today and there’s a new breed of sponsors this year. The slots typically snagged by the cola , car or telecom majors now has companies such as PayTm, Shopclues, Cardekho and Faaso’s as well as last year’s biggies Amazon and Snapdeal. It must be noted that the companies mentioned here have raised money in the past few months and are flush with funds at the moment. And with Bollywood stars gracing the stands and assuring enough viewership on television, IPL may well be a good place to attract those customers. But it’s Multi Screen Media, the broadcast rights holder for IP, that’s laughing all the way to the bank.

While on cricket and startups, here’s another nugget. Cricketer Yuvraj Singh is the latest to join the growing list of wealthy Indians looking to invest in startups. Yuvi, who is all set to play for the Delhi Daredevils team this IPL, has set up YouWeCan Ventures and hopes to invest about 500 million rupees in healthcare, travel, hospitality, real estate and media sectors in the next three-five years.

Airtel Zero may be flying in the face of net neutrality. The telecom major has launched Airtel Zero, what it calls a value added service for web and app developers. What it means is consumers get free access to apps that sign up for this service. Activists are also upset over reports that Flipkart may be one of the companies that have signed up for Airtel Zero, something the e-commerce company neither confirmed nor denied. Of course, much of their ire is also targeted at the telecom regulator, which has so far prided itself on looking out for customers, rather than the telecom service providers. It will be interesting to see how TRAI reacts to the backlash that this move has already started to generate.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is an angry man. Miffed by reports that tagged the government’s tax demand from foreign funds as tax terrorism, Jaitley responded with a strongly worded message. A legitimate tax demand is not tax terrorism and the opposite of tax terrorism is not a tax haven, he said. Their worries are, of course, colored by Cairn Energy’s 20 billion rupee tax dispute with the government, which is right now being heard in the courts. For a government that is also looking at foreign investment as a means to boost economic growth, this is something needs careful handling.

And if you’re following the story of the two Air India pilots who got into a fight in the cockpit, here’s what really happened.

Every morning, we'll share the top news from India that professionals need to know. Click Follow to not miss one. And we want to know what you think, so head to the comments below with feedback, suggestions, bouquets and brickbats.

Start publishing your own posts on LinkedIn. Click here to get started.