Fastag adoption in slow lane; UIDAI CEO interview
Also in the letter:
Fewer use cases take toll on Fastag growth
In numbers:
Limited application:
Fastag was initially meant to digitise highway tolls, but over time, it was expected to evolve into a broader vehicle-linked payment system, covering everything from fuel to parking.
While some adoption has trickled in for parking, fuel remains largely untouched, according to a fintech founder.
Cost issue:
Roadblocks:
Yes, but:
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UIDAI searches for more ways to curb Aadhaar, UID fraud
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IT companies tighten belt as AI, macro headwinds squeeze biz margins
Reading signs:
For instance:
HCLTech trimmed its margin guidance for the first time in several quarters, now projecting 17%-18%, down from 18%-19%.
TCS took an 80 basis point margin hit in Q1, mainly due to rising employee costs.
Experts said top-tier firms are tightening the screws with measures such as cutting variable pay, deferring raises, and managing bench strength more stringently.
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ETtech Explainer: CoinDCX cyberattack |
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Happy Monday! Fastag saw limited growth last fiscal, with momentum tapering off. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch.■ IT firms face double whammy■ Explained: CoinDCX cyberattack■ Rebel Foods' new CEOFastag, the electronic toll payment system for vehicle owners, has been stuck in neutral since early 2024.The user base remains flat at around 350-380 million, and the number of participating banks has held steady at 38. Both figures have shown no movement in over a year, pointing to an apparent plateau in adoption.A key reason, industry insiders say, is the lack of fresh use cases beyond highway tolls.The economics don't help either. Installing Fastag-enabled gates costs between Rs 1.5-2 lakh per gate, making it a tough sell for smaller commercial venues.Many fintech startups have also stepped back, industry insiders say. They added that disillusioned with the revenue potential from digital payments, they have largely avoided launching new initiatives. The lack of incentives has further stalled innovation.'No new-age fintech is currently pumping funds into digital payments. Fastag and such payment methods needed incentives for more customers to use them readily. In the absence of incentives, new use-cases are not building up,' said the founder of a digital payments startup.Add to that the headache of poor bank-led customer service—especially for recharge failures or blacklisted tags—and Fastag's once-impressive momentum has all but faded.Bhuvnesh Kumar, CEO, UIDAIAmid rising concerns of Aadhaar-related fraud, the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) is tightening safeguards around the national ID system, CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar told ET.To curb misuse, the agency tasked with issuing Aadhaar will now verify changes to birth dates and biometrics directly with source databases across states, Kumar said. So far, UIDAI has integrated records from 35 states, linking them with key databases such as PAN, CBSE mark sheets, and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).Technology is central to the effort. UIDAI is rolling out artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools to flag fake fingerprints, enable 'live finger' checks, improve facial recognition, and estimate age using visual data. It also matches photos against the Bureau of Immigration records to catch fraudulent attempts.'When someone submits documents for Aadhaar enrolment or updates, we'll check them at the source to ensure they're genuine,' Kumar added.The agency is working to move Aadhaar applications fully online. Demand from non-citizens living in India has also picked up. Still, UIDAI remains firm that they must complete 180 days in the country and apply under the correct category before becoming eligible.ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees.Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@timesinternet.in to explore sponsorship opportunities.As Q1 earnings roll in, India's top IT firms are grappling with a double whammy : persistent macroeconomic pressures and AI-led efficiencies that are beginning to squeeze margins..Between April and June, companies pulled every internal lever to shield profitability, even as momentum on large deals continued to slow. Analysts believe this playbook will likely persist through the rest of the fiscal year.They added that revenue may see a modest lift from pent-up demand. However, margins are expected to stay under pressure as firms double down on cost discipline and operational rigour.'FY26 is a margin protection and margin expansion year,' Gaurav Vasu, CEO of data and research platform UnearthInsight, told ET. 'Large deal wins are not yet translating to revenue acceleration, so lead indicators (pipeline, bookings) matter—but execution and conversion will be critical in H2 FY26.'Indian cryptocurrency exchange CoinDCX suffered a cyberattack on July 19, stealing digital assets worth around $44 million from one of its internal operational accounts.Cloud kitchen company Rebel Foods has named cofounder Ankush Grover as its new chief executive, replacing Jaydeep Barman, who will transition into a chairman and group CEO role.Gurgaon-based AceVector Group, the holding company of Snapdeal and Unicommerce, said in a newspaper advertisement on Saturday that it has filed draft documents with the capital markets regulator for an initial public offering.■ AI groups spend to replace low-cost 'data labellers' with high-paid experts ( FT ■ A major AI training data set contains millions of examples of personal data ( MIT Tech Review ■ How the rise of green tech is feeding another environmental crisis ( BBC
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Indian Express
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CoinDCX offers 25% bounty to recover stolen crypto in $44-mn hack
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Time of India
26 minutes ago
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This typically leads to a tax demand notice to the property buyer from the Income Tax Department for the shortfall of 19%.' Karundia explains how this relief works for those who short deducted TDS from April 1, 2024 to July 31, 2025: 'This benefit also applies to property buyers who failed to deduct TDS at the higher 20% rate from sellers with inactive PANs. For instance, if someone purchased a property on April 2, 2024, from a seller whose PAN was inoperative, the buyer was required to deduct TDS at 20% rather than the standard 1%. If they didn't and received a demand notice, the notice will be cancelled provided the seller activates their PAN by September 30, 2025.' Gupta explains how the relief works for those who short deducted TDS on or after August 1, 2025: The recent CBDT Circular No. 9/2025, issued on July 21, 2025, offers relief in such cases. It provides that no demand for short deduction will be raised if the deductee—i.e., the property seller—makes their PAN operative by linking it with Aadhaar within two months from the end of the month in which the payment was made. For example, if a property is purchased on August 2, 2025, from a seller with an inoperative PAN and the buyer deducts TDS at 1%, the buyer will not be penalized, provided the seller regularizes their PAN by October 31, 2025. Why did the income tax department give this relief? The Central Board of Direct Taxes vide Circular No. 03 of 2023 dated 28th March, 2023 had specified that the consequences of PAN becoming inoperative as per Rule 114AAA of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 shall take effect from 1st July, 2023 and continue till the PAN becomes operative. Further, Circular No. 06 of 2024 dated 23.04.2024 issued by the Board, provided relief to deductors/collectors from the applicability of higher TDS/TCS rates under section 206AA/206CC of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter 'the Act') for transactions entered into upto 31.03.2024, where the PAN becomes operative (as a result of linkage with Aadhaar) on or before 31.05.2024. Several grievances have been received from the taxpayers that they are in receipt of notices intimating that they have committed default of 'shortdeduction/collection' of TDS/TCS while carrying out the transactions where the PANs of the deductees/collectees were inoperative. In such cases, as the deduction/collection has not been made at a higher rate, demands have been raised by the Department against the deductors/collectors while processing of TDS/TCS statements under section 200A or under section 206CB of the Act, as the case may be. The Income Tax Department has given relief to those income tax payers who got an income tax demand notice due to short deduction of TDS and short collection of TCS from those deductors and collectors, who have an in-operative PAN. An PAN will be termed in-operative, if it is not linked with income tax department said that all such tax demand notices issued due to short deduction/collection of the TDS/TCS, will be deleted, if the PAN is made operative again within a specified a circular dated July 21, 2025 the Income Tax Department said: "...There shall be no liability on the deductor/collector to deduct/collect the tax under section 206AA/206CC of the Act, as the case maybe, in the following cases:This circular says that those taxpayers who deducted TDS or collected TCS at a lower rate than otherwise prescribed for in-operative PAN cases will get relief from tax demand subject to the condition that the PAN is made operative within a specified circular mentions two different deadlines for giving this releif from short tax deduction and collection Accountant Ashish Karundia explains that numerous tax deductors and collectors have received TDS/TCS demand notices from TRACES for applying a lower tax rate on transactions involving taxpayers whose PAN was inactive at the time, often due to it not being linked with Aadhaar. "This circular issued on July 21, 2025, now provides relief in such situations. If the affected taxpayer activates their PAN by linking it with Aadhaar by September 30, 2025, any related short deduction or collection demands issued to the deductor or collector will be withdrawn."Karundia adds: 'Further, for transactions occurring on or after August 1, 2025, if the taxpayer's PAN becomes active within two months following the end of the month in which the transaction took place, the TDS/TCS demand will also be dropped. This second relief is not limited by the September 30 per Section 194-IA on property sales above Rs 50 lakh, buyers have to deduct TDS at 1% rate before making the payment to the sellers. However if the seller's PAN is in-operative then TDS at 20% rate is required to be deducted. The problem is in cases where the buyer deducted 1% TDS instead of 20% as it should be when the seller's PAN is in-operative. 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39 minutes ago
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UCO Bank Q1 net profit up 10 pc to Rs 607 cr
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