Also in this letter:
■ Indian IT spends to grow 7.7% to $114.9 billion this year: Gartner
■ Automatic exchange of info should also cover crypto, FM tells G20
■ NFT marketplace OpenSea cuts 20% of workforce
States need to be on the same page on EV policies
With the rising demand for electric vehicles, various Indian states have drafted their own e-vehicle policies. While some have set a segment-wise target, the others have opted for an estimated electrification goal, TOI reported, citing a Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) report.
According to the report, various targets have been set for achieving zero emissions with battery-operated vehicles.
Anumita Roy Chowdhury, executive director (research and advocacy), Centre for Science and Environment, and a member of the expert group preparing New Delhi’s policy, said while EV policies of various state governments may vary, they have many common elements.
She added that states must have a “more harmonised and robust approach” towards incentives and charging infrastructure “with a committed funding strategy to build scale quickly”.
Who’s doing what: Delhi’s draft policy aims for electrification of 25% of all new vehicle registrations by 2024.
- Haryana, meanwhile, aims to electrify all state-owned buses by 2029.
- UP’s policy, drafted in 2019, does not have segment-wise targets. It aims for 10 lakh EVs across all segments in the next two years.
- Unlike those of other states, Rajasthan’s policy for e-vehicles does not mention a target. It merely suggests incentives for EV buyers, depending on the battery capacity of the vehicle.
Indian IT spends to grow 7.7% this year, down from 21% in 2021
IT spending in India is likely to increase 7.7% this year and hit $114.9 billion, said a Gartner report released on Friday.
While robust, this will be far lower than the 21.2% growth recorded in 2021, it said, as global economic uncertainty continues.
Global IT spending is projected to hit $4.5 trillion in 2022, an increase of 3% over 2021, the report added.
Drivers: “Ongoing investment in hyper-scale data centres coupled with average selling price (ASP) increases is forecast to drive 13.%6 revenue growth for data centres in 2022. Digitisation and application modernisation will trigger a software refresh, including ongoing SaaS adoption,” said Naveen Mishra, senior director analyst at Gartner.
IT spending will grow at a much slower pace than in 2021 due to cutbacks on PCs, tablets and printers by consumers, causing spending on devices to shrink 5% worldwide, it said.
“Inflation is top of mind for everyone. Central banks around the world are focusing on fighting inflation, with overall inflation rates expected to be reduced through the end of 2023,” said John-David Lovelock, distinguished research vice-president at Gartner.
Organisations that do not invest in the short term will likely fall behind in the medium term and risk not being around in the long term, he added.
Talent crunch: The critical IT skills shortage being felt across the globe is expected to abate by the end of 2023, when the corporate drive to complete digital transformation slows down and enough time has passed to upskill and reskill existing staff, the report said.
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ETtech Deals Digest
Layer-1 blockchain startup 5ire became India’s 105th unicorn this week, amid a funding and crypto winter. Fintech startups Sewa Grih Rin and Hyperface also raised funds.
Here is a list of all the startups that raised funds this week.
Automatic exchange of info should also cover crypto, FM tells G20
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged G20 ministers tocheck the feasibility of bringing non-financial assets such as crypto under the purview of the automatic exchange of information between countries to curb tax evasion.
Speaking at the G20 Ministerial Symposium on Tax and Development in Bali, she said tax evaders use numerous layers of entities to hide their unaccounted assets.
India has been making a case for global regulation of cryptocurrencies to tackle risks such as money laundering and terror funding.
Quote: “While the development of crypto asset reporting framework is underway, I call upon the G20 to examine feasibility of an automatic exchange of information in respect of other non-financial assets beyond those covered under the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) like immovable properties as well,” said Sitharaman.
NFT marketplace OpenSea cuts 20% of workforce
OpenSea, the world’s biggest NFT platform, has slashed 20% of its workforce to cut costs amid a slump in digital assets. The company’s sales volumes plunged to $700 million in June from a peak of $5 billion in January.
“The reality is that we have entered an unprecedented combination of a crypto winter and broad macroeconomic instability, and we need to prepare the company for the possibility of a prolonged downturn,” chief executive Devin Finzer said on Twitter.
SEC writes to Musk: Meanwhile, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked billionaire Elon Musk for more information about a tweet in which he raised doubts over whether he would move ahead with his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter due to concerns over the number of fake users on the platform.
The SEC asked Musk whether he should have amended his public filing to reflect his intention to suspend or abandon the deal.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Zaheer Merchant in Mumbai and Ruchir Vyas in New Delhi. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.
