Seven nations to sign up for India Stack, Zomato Gold is back
At the start of January, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella praised India’s digital infrastructure, saying the country had a huge lead over others. Now, seven nations are set to sign up for India Stack’s digital public goods, union minister of state Rajeev Chandrasekhar told us. DigiLocker tops their wishlist, a source said, and UPI is in demand too.
Seven nations to sign up for India Stack, Zomato Gold is back
As many as seven countries will sign up to use India Stack’s digital public goods, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, union minister of state for electronics and information technology, told us. These agreements will be signed at the World Government Summit that will be held from February 13 to 15 in Dubai where more than 140 countries are expected to participate.
DigiLocker tops wishlist : Sources said these countries are mainly interested in DigiLocker, a secure cloud-based platform for storing, sharing and verifying documents. About 14.4 crore Indians have used the platform so far.
Other platforms on offer are foundational identity programmes like the Modular Open Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), instant real time payments system Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Covid vaccination platform CoWIN and Health Stack. Some countries have also expressed interest in the Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing and National Digital Education Architecture.
A source told us, “Singapore, France and Dubai have already announced plans to use UPI while other countries are in talks to do so. We have offered UPI to all central banks around the world.”
Nadella praise: India’s digital initiatives and the country’s progress on building digital public goods have been extraordinary, Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella said during his keynote address at the Microsoft Future Ready Leadership Summit in Mumbai on January 3.
“One of the things that is amazing to see is India’s lead when it comes to digital public goods… There’s India and then there is daylight, when it comes to the enlightened way,” he added.
Zomato Gold returns with discounts on delivery and dining out
Zomato has brought back its Gold subscription programme two-and-a-half years after it was replaced by Zomato Pro. The Pro membership programme was shut down last year. Last month, CEO Deepinder Goyal had tweeted a teaser on the return of Zomato Gold.
Details: According to company sources, the Gold membership is currently being offered on an invite-only basis. However, users with existing Pro memberships are being offered Gold subscriptions for three months.
The new Zomato Gold membership costs Rs 999 for three months but is currently being offered at Rs 149 for three months. Subscribers will get free deliveries at restaurants less than 10 km away on orders above Rs 199, and discounts on food deliveries and dining out.
Many avatars:In June 2020, Zomato shelved its Gold programme for Zomato Pro. That version of Zomato Gold offered several benefits, including a 1+1 offer on food and drinks at restaurants.
The company discontinued Zomato Pro in August 2022, months after it shut down its premium loyalty programme Zomato Pro Plus, which it launched in 2021.
Competition: We reported previously that the company was working on a new loyalty programme to take on Swiggy One. Launched last November, Swiggy One offers a common membership for the bouquet of services, including food delivery, quick commerce, and local door-to-door package delivery.
Source : economictimes.indiatimes