Latest news with #GauravKunwar
Time of India
14 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
3 IIT Kanpur graduates put their brains but it did not work. Their honest confession wins over netizens
Internet reacts About OkCredit In the high-stakes world of startups, where founders often scramble to project perfection, a rare moment of vulnerability has captured the internet's attention. Harsh Pokharna, co-founder and CEO of OkCredit , recently took to Instagram to share a refreshingly honest confession: launching their fintech app in 14 Indian languages was a costly mistake. Instead of hiding the misstep, he broke down why it failed and what others can learn from a digital ledger app designed to simplify receivables and payables for small businesses, was built by three IIT Kanpur alumni—Harsh Pokharna, Gaurav Kunwar (CPO), and Aditya Prasad (CTO). To scale quickly, the team decided to go vernacular, translating the app into 14 Indian languages, including Tamil, Marathi, Bengali, and Punjabi. But in a candid post, Pokharna revealed that the effort didn't pay to him, only English and Hindi have remained active. The rest were shut down after the team realised that most smartphone users understood at least basic English or Hindi, and the ones who didn't were rarely the paying customers. The result? Months of effort, hiring regional support teams, customizing user flows, and burning resources, without a significant impact on wrapped up the post with a hard-earned insight: unless you're in the entertainment space, vernacular content might not be worth the hype. For most consumer apps, focusing on two or three widely understood languages is more than lauded the post for its clarity, humility, and relevance. Many entrepreneurs commented that the insight was timely and echoed their internal debates about whether to offer regional language options. Others praised the courage it took to publicly share a failure and turn it into a lesson for the startup ecosystem OkCredit, as listed on the Google Play Store, allows users to manage collections, send payment reminders via SMS and WhatsApp, and access reports across devices. Though the app scaled rapidly in its early days, this linguistic reset proves the team isn't afraid to pivot—and own up to what didn't work.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
At Least 4 People Killed and 50 Rescued After Avalanche Buried Them Under Snow and Debris as Search Continues for Missing
At least four people are dead and several others are still missing after an avalanche occurred in India, according to news sources. The Indian Army shared in a post on X on Friday, Feb. 28, that the army 'launched rescue operations" after an avalanche struck a GREF Camp near Mana village in India's northern Uttarakhand state — a mountainous location near the border of Tibet — trapping dozens of construction workers. Fifty people were initially rescued after being buried under snow and debris, but four eventually succumbed to their injuries and died, authorities said, according to AFP, BBC and Dunya News. Five other construction workers are still missing, according to the outlets. The Indian Army shared photos of the rescue on X, with army members trudging through thick snow to get to the avalanche site. Additional photos showed army members carrying injured workers who had been rescued on stretchers. Related: Wife Finds Dead Husband Buried Under 3 Feet of Snow After He Failed to Check-In Following Colo. Avalanche The Indian Army noted in an update that 'despite harsh weather conditions and continuing snow' they were working to 'extricate the injured,' with army doctors on site performing 'critical life saving surgeries on the critically injured.' They also noted that they were utilizing several tools at their disposal including 'specialized recco radars, UAVs, quadcopters' and 'avalanche rescue dogs' to locate survivors, in another X post. They noted that helicopters were also 'operating continuously for staging forward essential equipment, resources and evacuation of the injured.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. They shared photos and videos of the injured on stretchers being moved from helicopters to medical tents to receive aid and of doctors stitching up wounds. Uttarakhand state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami shared in a statement on X that rescue teams were "continuously engaged in relief efforts" in the aftermath of the avalanche. Related: Avalanche Forecaster, 37, Dies After Triggering Snowslide While Skiing with Friend 'The government is fully committed to provide all possible help to the affected people in this hour of crisis,' he said, according to a translated post on X. 'The safety of the affected workers is our top priority. The administration, army and SDRF teams are continuously engaged in relief work.' The minimum temperatures at the area where the avalanche struck had been around 10° Fahrenheit around the time of the incident, according to AFP. Gaurav Kunwar, a former village council member of Mana, told BBC News that the area where the avalanche hit was a "migratory area" and that "no one lives there permanently.' "Only labourers working on border roads stay there in the winter," he told the outlet. "There's also some army presence there. We've heard that it has been raining in the area for two days. The road workers were in a camp when the avalanche hit." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Four dead and several missing after India avalanche
At least four people have died and several others are missing after an avalanche hit the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, authorities have said. A rescue operation has been under way after the avalanche swept away road construction workers in the village of Mana, which shares a border with Tibet, on Friday. Some 50 people who were buried under snow and debris were rescued, but four died from their injuries, the Indian army said. Helicopters have been deployed in the search for five people who are still unaccounted for in the Himalayan mountain state, it added. Uttarakhand state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said rescue teams were "continuously engaged in relief efforts" following the avalanche, which hit a Border Roads Organisation camp. He added that the government was committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected "in this hour of crisis". Footage posted on X on Friday by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police showed rescuers carrying people on stretchers and walking through several feet of snow - even as more snow continued to fall. Gaurav Kunwar, a former village council member of Mana, told BBC News on Friday the area where the avalanche hit was a "migratory area" and "no-one lives there permanently". "Only labourers working on border roads stay there in the winter," he added. "There's also some army presence there. We've heard that it has been raining in the area for two days. The road workers were in a camp when the avalanche hit." The India Meteorological Department warned on Friday of heavy rainfall and snow in the northern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as Jammu and Kashmir. Orange alerts were also issued for snowfall in several districts of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
BBC News
01-03-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Four dead and several missing after Indian Himalayas avalanche
At least four people have died and several others are missing after an avalanche hit the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, authorities have said.A rescue operation has been under way after the avalanche swept away road construction workers in the village of Mana, which shares a border with Tibet, on 50 people who were buried under snow and debris were rescued, but four died from their injuries, the Indian army have been deployed in the search for five people who are still unaccounted for in the Himalayan mountain state, it added. Uttarakhand state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said rescue teams were "continuously engaged in relief efforts" following the avalanche, which hit a Border Roads Organisation added that the government was committed to providing all possible assistance to those affected "in this hour of crisis".Footage posted on X on Friday by the Indo-Tibetan Border Police showed rescuers carrying people on stretchers and walking through several feet of snow - even as more snow continued to fall. Gaurav Kunwar, a former village council member of Mana, told BBC News on Friday the area where the avalanche hit was a "migratory area" and "no-one lives there permanently"."Only labourers working on border roads stay there in the winter," he added."There's also some army presence there. We've heard that it has been raining in the area for two days. The road workers were in a camp when the avalanche hit."The India Meteorological Department warned on Friday of heavy rainfall and snow in the northern Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as well as Jammu and alerts were also issued for snowfall in several districts of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
