How Uber came back from the brink to dislodge Ola
When the world was limping back from the Covid devastation, few businesses were sure about their future. And Uber India was no exception. When it sold its food-delivery business to Zomato and shrunk its size, speculation was rife whether Uber will exit India ride-hailing business too. Cut to 2025. Uber has emerged as the biggest cab-hailing platform in India, with a clear lead over Ola. Bhavish Aggarwal-led domestic rival dominated Uber for much
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News18
20 minutes ago
- News18
Republican push for proof of citizenship to vote proves tough sell in states
Austin, Jun 3 (AP) President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have made it a priority this year to require people to prove citizenship before they can register to vote. Turning that aspiration into reality has proved difficult. Trump's executive order directing a documentary, proof-of-citizenship requirement for federal elections has been blocked by a judge, while federal legislation to accomplish it doesn't appear to have the votes to pass in the Senate. At the same time, state-level efforts have found little success, even in places where Republicans control the legislature and governor's office. The most recent state effort to falter is in Texas, where a Senate bill failed to gain full legislative approval before lawmakers adjourned on Monday. The Texas bill was one of the nation's most sweeping proof-of-citizenship proposals because it would have applied not only to new registrants but also to the state's roughly 18.6 million registered voters. 'The bill authors failed spectacularly to explain how this bill would be implemented and how it would be able to be implemented without inconveniencing a ton of voters," said Anthony Gutierrez, director of the voting rights group Common Cause Texas. Voting by noncitizens is already illegal and punishable as a felony, potentially leading to deportation, but Trump and his allies have pressed for a proof-of-citizenship mandate by arguing it would improve public confidence in elections. Before his win last year, Trump falsely claimed noncitizens might vote in large enough numbers to sway the outcome. Although noncitizen voting does occur, research and reviews of state cases has shown it to be rare and more often a mistake. Voting rights groups say the various proposals seeking to require proof-of-citizenship are overly burdensome and threaten to disenfranchise millions of Americans. Many do not have easy access to their birth certificates, have not gotten a US passport or have a name that no longer matches the one on their birth certificate — such as women who changed their last name when they married. The number of states considering bills related to proof of citizenship for voting tripled from 2023 to this year, said Liz Avore, senior policy adviser with the Voting Rights Lab, an advocacy group that tracks election legislation in the states. That hasn't resulted in many new laws, at least so far. Republicans in Wyoming passed their own proof-of-citizenship legislation, but similar measures have stalled or failed in multiple GOP-led states, including Florida, Missouri, Texas and Utah. A proposal remains active in Ohio, although Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, has said he doesn't want to sign any more bills that make it harder to vote. In Texas, the legislation swiftly passed the state Senate after it was introduced in March but never made it to a floor vote in the House. It was unclear why legislation that was such a priority for Senate Republicans – every one of them co-authored the bill — ended up faltering. 'I just think people realized, as flawed as this playbook has been in other states, Texas didn't need to make this mistake," said Rep. John Bucy, a Democrat who serves as vice chair of the House elections committee. Bucy pointed to specific concerns about married women who changed their last name. This surfaced in local elections earlier this year in New Hampshire, which passed a proof-of-citizenship requirement last year. Other states that previously sought to add such a requirement have faced lawsuits and complications when trying to implement it. In Arizona, a state audit found that problems with the way data was handled had affected the tracking and verification of residents' citizenship status. It came after officials had identified some 200,000 voters who were thought to have provided proof of their citizenship but had not. A proof-of-citizenship requirement was in effect for three years in Kansas before it was overturned by federal courts. The state's own expert estimated that almost all of the roughly 30,000 people who were prevented from registering to vote while it was in effect were U.S. citizens who otherwise had been eligible. In Missouri, legislation seeking to add a proof-of-citizenship requirement cleared a Senate committee but never came to a vote in the Republican-led chamber. Republican state Sen. Ben Brown had promoted the legislation as a follow-up to a constitutional amendment stating that only U.S. citizens can vote, which Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved last November. He said there were several factors that led to the bill not advancing this year. Due to the session's limited schedule, he chose to prioritize another elections bill banning foreign contributions in state ballot measure campaigns. 'Our legislative session ending mid-May means a lot of things die at the finish line because you simply run out of time," Brown said, noting he also took time to research concerns raised by local election officials and plans to reintroduce the proof-of-citizenship bill next year. The Republican-controlled Legislature in Utah also prioritized other election changes, adding voter ID requirements and requiring people to opt in to receive their ballots in the mail. Before Gov. Spencer Cox signed the bill into law, Utah was the only Republican-controlled state that allowed all elections to be conducted by mail without a need to opt in. Under the Florida bill that has failed to advance, voter registration applications wouldn't be considered valid until state officials had verified citizenship, either by confirming a previous voting history, checking the applicant's status in state and federal databases, or verifying documents they provided. top videos View all The bill would have required voters to prove their citizenship even when updating their registration to change their address or party affiliation. Its sponsor, Republican state Rep. Jenna Persons-Mulicka, said it was meant to follow through on Trump's executive order: 'This bill fully answers the president's call," she said. (AP) GSP First Published: June 03, 2025, 19:45 IST
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Good Glamm misses payroll; Uber leadership reshuffle
Good Glamm misses payroll; Uber leadership reshuffle Also in the letter: Good Glamm delays paying salaries again amid cash crunch What's happening? Asset sales: The bigger picture: Pradeep Parameswaran elevated as Uber's global mobility head in top-level rejig What's happening: Parameswaran joins Uber's executive leadership team and will report directly to CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. He replaces Andrew Macdonald, who has been promoted to chief operating officer after a 13-year run at the company. This marks Parameswaran's second promotion in just over a year, after being elevated from his APAC role to global head of business development. Indian leadership: In October 2024, Sachin Kansal and Praveen Naga were appointed chief product officer and chief technology officer, respectively. In December 2023, Madhu Kannan, a former executive of the Tata Group, joined Uber as its global head of corporate development. Musk kicks off xAI, Neuralink fundraises after DOGE farewell xAI to raise $5 billion: Neuralink secures fresh cash: XChat rolls out: Tesla not into India: Also Read: Microsoft cuts hundreds more jobs after firing 6,000 last month Previous round: Company's justification: Zoom out: Last week, ET reported that Salesforce CFO and COO Robin Washington said the company is slowing hiring and reassigning about 500 customer service employees to new roles, a shift expected to save $50 million. In April, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that AI now writes roughly 30% of the code across the company's repositories. Prosus chief investment officer Ervin Tu to step down Curriculum vitae: Changing scenario: Quote, unquote: Broke beauty platform Good Glamm Group did not pay wages for the second month in a row. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.■ Musk in fundraising mode■ Fresh layoffs at Microsoft■ Top exit at ProsusCash-strapped beauty and content platform Good Glamm Group has delayed employee salaries for a second consecutive month, as it continues to grapple with a funding squeeze, sources told company had previously informed employees that April salaries would be deferred and paid along with May's in June. However, as of June 3, no salaries have been credited, and this time, management has not provided any explanation for the former employees are also awaiting their full and final settlements, leaving both current and ex-staff financially stay afloat, the Mumbai-based company has been selling or exploring the sale of multiple portfolio brands. Sources said Good Glamm is in talks to sell its stake in personal care brand Organic Harvest back to the brand's founders. As we've reported earlier, it has already exited Sirona and ScoopWhoop Once valued at over a billion dollars, Good Glamm pursued an aggressive acquisition spree during the peak of the roll-up ecommerce boom, rapidly acquiring direct-to-consumer (D2C) and content brands. However, scaling and integrating those businesses proved more challenging than anticipated, leading to layoffs, restructuring, stalled growth, and a depleted funding has named Pradeep Parameswaran , its former head of India and Asia-Pacific, as the company's global head of move is part of a broader leadership reshuffle at the ride-hailing promotion also highlights the growing influence of Indian-origin executives within Uber's global Musk is back on the fundraising saddle , channelling efforts into his new-age companies–xAI and Neuralink, as he sidelines political distractions to refocus on AI venture is seeking to raise $5 billion. Morgan Stanley is shopping the debt at a double-digit interest rate, with the package comprising a floating-rate term loan, a fixed-rate term loan, and senior secured notes. Separately, Musk is selling $300 million worth of xAI shares through a secondary offering, aiming for a sky-high valuation of $113 billion. The funds will likely go towards scaling AI infrastructure, including a data centre in Memphis, and xAI's supercomputer, has raised $650 million as it kicks off clinical trials. The round saw participation from ARK Invest, DFJ Growth, Founders Fund, G42, Human Capital, Lightspeed, QIA, Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Valor Equity Partners and Vy his push to turn X into an 'everything app', Musk has unveiled XChat, a replacement for the legacy direct message (DM) feature inherited from Twitter. The feature offers Bitcoin-style encryption, disappearing messages, cross-platform audio and video calls, and native file has no plans to manufacture in India , according to union heavy minister HD Kumaraswamy. His comment comes just as India announces its new flagship electric vehicle (EV) has laid off over 300 employees on Monday, Bloomberg reported, as the company looks to rein in costs even while ramping up investments in comes weeks after Microsoft let go of around 6,000 staff in its biggest layoff round in years. That wave cut across levels, teams and regions. However, software engineers, particularly those based in its Washington home, bore the brunt.'We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace,' said a Microsoft move reflects a broader trend in tech, where companies are reducing headcount, automating roles and prioritising AI-focused Tu, the group president and chief investment officer at Prosus, will step down from his role , but continue as an advisor to the joined Prosus in August 2021 and has since led several key initiatives, including simplifying the group's structure, improving financial performance, overseeing the ongoing share repurchase programme, and enhancing the operations of the investment team at the Naspers-controlled the past 10 months, under the leadership of CEO Fabricio Bloisi, Prosus has transitioned from an investment holding company to an operating tech business, with a sharper focus on lifestyle ecommerce across its core markets in Latin America, India, and Europe. Against this backdrop, Tu believes now is the right time to move on, the company added."I have enjoyed my time with the group immensely, I've accomplished what I wanted to achieve, and the Group is in very good hands," Tu said.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
WTO chief urges India to support proposal on investment facilitation
WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged India to support the China-led Investment Facilitation for Development proposal, highlighting that many developing nations back the initiative. She acknowledged India's concerns regarding agriculture and emphasized the need for WTO reforms, inviting members to voice their issues. This discussion occurred during a mini-ministerial meeting focused on improving the multilateral trading system. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Paris, World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Tuesday urged India to support the China-led proposal on investment facilitation for development as several developing countries are backing the Director General of the Geneva-based body said she discussed several issues like WTO reforms and agriculture with Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Indian minister is here on an official visit."We need India as a leader. India is a leading country, and India is doing well. So, India needs to open the way for other developing countries, for example, on investment facilitation for development, we want it to support, because so many developing countries - 90 out of the 126 who are members, would like to move with this," she told reporters for agriculture, "we also need" to listen to what India's issues are and try to be supportive.A China-led group of 128 countries is pushing for the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) proposal. It will be binding for only the signatory members. India is against it and has opposed the initiative in the last 13th ministerial conference at Abu Dhabi as such agreements would dilute the multilateral nature of the 166-member IFD was first mooted in 2017 by China and other countries that depend heavily on Chinese investments, and countries with sovereign wealth funds are party to that pact. Among major countries, the US is also sitting out of the World Trade Organization (WTO) deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as WTO chief is here to participate in a mini-ministerial meeting, which is scheduled on the margins of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Ministerial Council Meeting here. It was convened by ministers from about 25 countries, including India, Australia, and Singapore, are here to attend the meeting."We are invited by Australia to be able to talk to each other, (about) the possible reforms to the WTO," Iweala said, adding that the multilateral trading system has been disrupted in a way it hasn't been before."But guess what? Sometimes I see challenges as opportunities, and I think this is a very good opportunity for the WTO members to look at what are those things that work and should be kept and there are many," she added that still three quarters of world goods trade is taking place on WTO terms, on MFN (most favoured nation) terms and members want to safeguard that."But there are things that also don't work. And when you have this kind of disruption, you ask yourself, what is it that needs to be reformed about the WTO? What is it that developing countries like India don't like? Let them put that on the table. What is it that the US doesn't like? Put that on the table. What do Africans not like...? Put that on the table. Let's collect this. And then let's try to reform it," she meeting assumes significance against the backdrop of the 14th ministerial conference is scheduled for March 26-29 in Cameroon, a Central African nation. PTI
