
RBI releases fulllist of legal digital lending apps on its site
(You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India ( RBI ) has published a comprehensive list of legal digital lending apps (DLAs) on its website, allowing consumers to verify whether a particular app is associated with a regulated entity. The list, which features around 1,600 DLAs, includes prominent fintech platforms such as Google Pay Paytm and PhonePe.The move follows the RBI's 2023 digital lending guidelines, which proposed the public display of all verified DLAs to promote greater transparency in the sector.In May, the central bank directed all regulated entities to report their DLAs through the centralised information management system portal. The published list will be updated automatically based on entries in the portal, without further validation by the RBI.The initiative is aimed at enhancing transparency in digital lending practices, in how loan products are offered and disclosed to prospective borrowers. In a bid to curb spread of illegal lending apps, the finance ministry had in September 2022 proposed the RBI compile a whitelist of legitimate DLAs, while ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) would ensure only these apps are allowed on app stores.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Mint
15 minutes ago
- Mint
The companies betting they can profit from Google search's demise
A new crop of startups are betting on the rapid demise of traditional Google search. At least a dozen new companies are pouring millions of dollars into software meant to help brands prepare for a world in which customers no longer browse the web and instead rely on ChatGPT, Perplexity and other artificial-intelligence chatbots to do it for them. The startups are developing tools to help businesses understand how AI chatbots gather information and learn how to steer them toward brands so that they appear in AI searches. Call it the search-engine optimization of the next chapter of the internet. 'Companies have been spending the last 10 or 20 years optimizing their website for the '10 blue links' version of Google," said Andrew Yan, co-founder of Athena, one of the startups. 'That version of Google is changing very fast, and it is changing forever." Companies large and small are scrambling to figure out how generative AI tools treat their online content—a boon to this new crop of startups, which say they are adding new customers at a clip. The customer interest is an early sign of how AI is transforming search, and how companies are trying to get ahead of the changes. Yan left Google's search team earlier this year when he decided traditional search wasn't the future. Athena launched last month with $2.2 million in funding from startup accelerator Y Combinator and other venture firms. Athena's software looks under the hood of different AI models to determine how each of them finds brand-related information. The software can track differences in the way the models talk about a given brand and recommend ways to optimize web content for AI. Yan said the company now has more than 100 customers around the world, including the online-invitation firm Paperless Post. Google executives and analysts don't expect traditional search to disappear. The company, which handles as much as 90% of the world's online searches, has been working to incorporate AI features into its flagship search engine and anticipates people will continue to use it alongside other tools such as Gemini, its AI model and chatbot. Yet the company, a unit of Alphabet, has been under pressure to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT and other AI upstarts that threaten its core business. It risks losing traffic and advertising revenue if users shift to AI-driven alternatives. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai has said that AI Overviews, a feature that summarizes search results at the top of the page, has grown significantly in usage since the company launched it in 2024. Google earlier this year began rolling out AI Mode, which responds to user queries in a chatbot-style conversation with far fewer links than a traditional search. Compared with traditional search, chatbot queries are often longer and more complicated, requiring chatbots to draw information from multiple sources at once and aggregate it for the user. AI models search in a number of ways: One platform might pull information from a company website, while another might rely more heavily on third-party content such as review sites. Of the startups helping companies navigate that complexity, Profound has raised more than $20 million from venture-capital firms including Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures. The company is building its platform to monitor and analyze the many inputs that influence how AI chatbots relay brand-related information to users. Since launching last year, Profound has amassed dozens of large companies as customers, including fintech company Chime, the company said. 'We see a future of a zero-click internet where consumers only interact with interfaces like ChatGPT, and agents or bots will become the primary visitors to websites," said co-founder James Cadwallader. Venture-capital fund Saga Ventures was one of the first investors in Profound. Saga co-founder Max Altman, whose brother is OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, said interest in the startup's platform has exceeded his expectations. 'Just showing how brands are doing is extremely valuable for marketers, even more than we thought," he said. 'They're really flying completely blind." Saga estimates that Profound's competitors have together raised about $21 million, though some haven't disclosed funding. The value of such companies is still infinitesimal compared with that of the search-engine optimization industry, which helps brands appear in traditional searches and was estimated at roughly $90 billion last year. SEO consultant Cyrus Shepard said he did almost no work on AI visibility at the start of the year, but now it accounts for 10% to 15% of his time. By the end of the year, he expects it might account for as much as half. He has been experimenting with startup platforms promising AI search insights, but hasn't yet determined whether they will offer helpful advice on how to become more visible in AI searches, particularly as the models continue to change. 'I would classify them all as in beta," he said. Clerk, a company selling technology for software developers, has been working with startup Scrunch AI to analyze AI search traffic. Alex Rapp, Clerk's head of growth marketing, said that between January and June, the company saw a 9% increase in sign-ups for its platform coming from AI searches. Scrunch this year raised $4 million. It has more than 25 other customers and is working on a feature to help companies tailor the content, format and context of their websites for consumption by AI bots. 'Your website doesn't need to go away," co-founder Chris Andrew said. 'But 90% of its human traffic will." Write to Katherine Blunt at


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Himachal becomes first state to launch Aadhaar-based face authentication for ration distribution
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Shimla: Himachal Pradesh became the first state in the country to introduce Aadhaar-based face authentication (FaceAuth) for the distribution of ration to eligible beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS), officials said on now, authentication was carried out using either OTP-based or biometric methods. However, frequent challenges such as SMS delivery failures and biometric mismatches at the UIDAI end were causing inconvenience to the beneficiaries, Gokul Butail, Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister, said in a the launch of the FaceAuth mechanism, the process has now been streamlined and made more accessible, Butail noted, adding that, unlike traditional methods, this new facility uses a mobile camera via an app installed on the fair price shop (FPS) owner's smartphone, enabling direct facial authentication of beneficiaries."In a significant technological advancement, the department of Digital Technologies and Governance (DDTG), Himachal Pradesh, has introduced Aadhaar-based face authentication (FaceAuth) for the distribution of ration to eligible beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS)," Butail emphasised that this pioneering initiative underscores the state's commitment to leveraging digital technology for enhancing public service delivery and promoting inclusive access to essential new system is expected to improve the authentication success rate and reduce verification time, ensuring a faster and more efficient ration distribution process, the statement added.


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Why is Microsoft pulling out of Pakistan after 25 years: Reports
(Image via Getty Images) Microsoft has made the decision to shut down operations in Pakistan. It would end the 25-year-old presence of the company in Pakistan. The move comes as a surprise to Pakistan's local IT sector, where Microsoft, the tech giant played a key role in digital transformation. While no official statement has been released yet, industry experts are pointing to economic challenges and the shifting business strategies as possible reasons for the exit. Let us deep dive into these reasons. Why is Microsoft leaving Pakistan? Microsoft's exit follows some growing difficulties within Pakistan's business environment. The company that entered its market in 2000 kept its focus on the primary sale of office products and Azure, but had no engineering teams locally. As per reports, with just five local employees affected, the decision seems to be a part of a broad restructuring— Microsoft recently cut down 9,000 global jobs. Jawwad Rehman, a former Microsoft Executive, even hinted at some operational challenges through his LinkedIn post. He emphasized the struggles faced by Pakistani businesses. The economic instability of the country, including currency devaluation and the declining foreign investment, further and quite likely influenced this move. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Nhà tiền chế 2025: Lựa chọn nhà ở giá cả phải chăng (Xem ngay) Nomad's Notebook Nhấp vào đây Undo Microsoft would now be serving the company's Pakistani clients via regional offices and resellers. How does Microsoft's exit impact the Pakistani tech sector? The departure of Microsoft adds to concerns over Pakistan's ability to retain multinational companies. Over 55 startups shut down or have pivoted since 2021. Tech funding, too, dropped by 88% between 2022 and 2024. There's poor internet infrastructure, frequent power outages, and even a worsening business climate, which further pushed 1000s of tech professionals to seek better opportunities abroad. Despite it all, some companies, including Google, are investing in Pakistan. They have reportedly pledged $10.5 million for education and local Chromebook production. Such a contrast here highlights differing corporate strategies, with some of the firsts considering it as potential, while others are retreating. As for Pakistan, retaining tech players will now be crucial to stabilizing the struggling digital economy. What is next for Pakistan's IT industry? The Pakistani government plans to offer IT certifications from Google and Microsoft to 500,000 youth, even when Microsoft has scaled back. The experts warn that without addressing some core issues here, like policy stability and those infrastructural gaps, more issues can follow. Even widening gaps, with India, where Microsoft does have strong operations, underscore the urgency for reforms. As of now, Pakistani businesses that are reliant on Microsoft products will not face any disruptions as services will continue via partners. But the exit of Microsoft serves as a wake-up call for the policymakers to revive investor confidence before any more damage is done. For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.