Hey everyone,
Monday started on a bad note…
🚨 North India experienced strong tremors on Monday morning, with a 4.0 magnitude earthquake hitting Delhi-NCR at 5:36 AM and another in Bihar’s Siwan district at 8:02 AM.
The epicenter in Delhi was near Dhaula Kuan at a depth of 5 km, causing residents to rush out of buildings. Fortunately, no damage was reported.
Now, let’s check out the other news…
📌 Top Headlines of the Day
Union Minister of Railways of India to unveil IndiaAI portal; 10 firms to supply 14,000 GPUs
The central government is set to launch the IndiaAI Compute Portal, enabling ministries and state governments to request compute capacity at subsidized rates.
The IndiaAI Mission will cover 40% of computing costs for eligible users.
To support AI development, the mission will deploy 14,000 GPUs, with Yotta Data Services contributing 9,216 GPUs, including 8,192 Nvidia H100 chips.
Other providers include AWS, Jio Platforms, and CtrlS Datacenters. The initiative aims to equip researchers and startups with computing power to build foundational AI models.
Markets extend losses for the ninth straight day
Indian equity indices opened lower on Monday, with the NSE Nifty 50 down by 196.25 points (0.86%) at 22,733, and the BSE Sensex declining by 614.65 points (0.81%) to 75,324.56.
By 10:05 AM, Nifty was down by 42 points (0.18%) and Sensex by 147 points (0.19%).
The GIFT Nifty indicated a higher opening, up 50.50 points (0.22%).
Key losers included M&M, Tata Steel, and Hero MotoCorp, while Sun Pharma and Cipla were top gainers.
Woman scammed of ₹1 lakh after contacting fake number on Google
Recently, Instagram content creator Shreya Mitra shared how she was scammed out of ₹93,600 while booking a hotel for her Holi trip to Puri.
She googled Mayfair Heritage Puri and called the number that came up first, thinking it was legit.
After paying via UPI, she later realized it was a scam when she asked for an invoice.
📌 Startup News
Rapido raises Rs 250 crore
The ride-hailing unicorn has raised ₹250 crore ($29.7 million) from Prosus as part of its $200 million Series E round, valuing the company at over $1 billion.
This follows a $120 million round led by WestBridge seven months ago.
Rapido, which completes 3.6 million daily rides, plans to expand to 500 cities by year-end.
In FY24, it saw a 46.3% revenue growth to ₹648 crore while cutting losses by 45% to ₹371 crore.
‘QuickiES' is now part of the food industry
Rebel Foods has launched QuickiES, a standalone 15-minute food delivery app to compete with Zomato and Swiggy.
Announced by EatSure CEO Sagar Kochhar, the service is piloting in select Mumbai pin codes, offering items from 45+ brands, including Faasos and Wendy’s.
Founded in 2011, Rebel Foods operates 450+ cloud kitchens across India, MENA, and the UK.
The company posted ₹1,420 crore in revenue in FY24, with net losses reducing by 42% to ₹378 crore.
Backed by KKR and Temasek, Rebel may go public within 12-18 months as the quick-delivery market heats up.
📌 Global News
OpenAI board unanimously declines Musk’s $97.4 billion acquisition offer
Board chair Bret Taylor called it an attempt to "disrupt his competition."
Musk, backed by investors, claimed OpenAI should return to being open-source and safety-focused.
CEO Sam Altman dismissed the bid, calling Musk "insecure" and suggesting he was trying to slow OpenAI down.
“I wish he would just compete by building a better product,” Altman said, adding, “Probably his whole life is from a position of insecurity… I don't think he's a happy person.”
Third batch of Indians deported from the US en route to their home states
The third batch of 112 deported Indian immigrants from the US arrived in Amritsar and is being sent to their respective states.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann assured proper treatment for the deportees.
PM Modi emphasized India’s commitment to taking back its citizens living illegally abroad and called for dismantling human trafficking networks.
Earlier, on February 5, over 100 Indians were deported, sparking political debate. The Indian government is engaging with the US to ensure fair treatment of deportees.
📌 Now, Bolly News
Loveyapa box office Day 9
Despite positive reviews, Loveyapa, starring Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor, has struggled at the box office, earning just ₹6.8 crore in nine days.
Day 9 earnings were a mere ₹11 lakh.
The film faced tough competition from Chhaava, Badass Ravi Kumar, and the re-release of Sanam Teri Kasam.
The initial success of the film's reviews didn’t translate into ticket sales, and with Chhaava dominating the box office, Loveyapa is unlikely to recover, marking a setback for the debuting actors.
Chhava box office collection Day 3
The historical drama, based on Maratha king Sambhaji's life, earned ₹31 crores on its opening day, followed by ₹37 crores on day two, and ₹48.5 crores on day three, totaling ₹116.5 crores over the first weekend.
This includes the highest day three and first Sunday collections of 2025.
So, that’s it for today. If you enjoyed this edition, subscribe to hear from us every day!
See ya 👋