Make Crores-Pay Lakhs, Ather's Rising Demand, and NHRC Seeks Report

Anyone who shops online regularly has probably encountered this: the final price is higher than the one shown initially, an add-on has already been selected, or declining an offer requires clicking through language designed to make the user uncomfortable. The government has been regulating these practices since 2023, and the CCPA has now begun fining companies for them.

The action covers Zepto, Physics Wallah, FirstCry, PharmEasy, McAfee and SpiceJet. Zepto received the highest penalty, ₹7 lakh, for drip pricing and adding its Pass membership to customer baskets. Physics Wallah was fined ₹5 lakh for a pre-selected ₹10 donation. FirstCry was penalised for adding GST at checkout despite displaying prices as tax-inclusive, while PharmEasy was pulled up for automatically adding its PLUS membership.

The problem is the size of the fines. Zepto generated ₹22,624 crore in operating revenue in FY26. A ₹7 lakh penalty is about 0.0003% of that. Physics Wallah’s case is even clearer. Its pre-selected donation reportedly collected ₹2.47 crore from more than 21 lakh users between February 2024 and December 2025. The penalty was ₹5 lakh.

That arithmetic explains why dark patterns remain attractive. A few rupees from one transaction means little. Across millions of transactions, it becomes meaningful revenue. Datum Intelligence estimates that Indian consumers lose ₹25,000–28,000 crore annually through hidden fees, basket sneaking, false urgency and similar practices.

Self-regulation has also shown its limits. Companies were asked to audit their interfaces, yet some platforms that completed those audits later appeared in enforcement action. The company benefiting from the design is being asked to certify that the design is fair.

Other markets impose heavier consequences. European rules allow serious violations to attract penalties linked to global turnover, while US regulators have pursued settlements worth hundreds of millions or billions of dollars when deceptive interfaces affect many consumers.

India does not need a massive fine for every bad checkout page. But penalties should bear some relationship to the money earned, users affected or company size.

Otherwise, the calculation remains simple: make crores from better conversion, remove the feature when caught, and treat the fine as another operating expense.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

“Ye Toh Breaking News Hai”: Ather's Demand Outpaces Capacity

Ather Energy said monthly pre-orders have crossed 50,000, while it retailed around 30,000 units per month in Q1 FY27 due to capacity constraints.

Dealer inventory has fallen to just three days, and some dealers have stopped taking fresh bookings. The company is speeding up capacity expansion while also gearing up to launch a more affordable scooter.

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“Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi”: NHRC Seeks Report On Cab Aggregator Overcharging

The NHRC has asked the Delhi government to submit a report within two weeks over allegations that app-based cab and auto aggregators are charging passengers more than the government-notified fares.

The move puts ride-hailing platforms under the scanner as commuters question surge pricing, while drivers are already grappling with falling payouts and rising operating costs.

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“Meri Laathi Meri Bhains”: Zostel Withdraws Latest Delhi HC Plea In OYO Dispute

Zostel has withdrawn its Delhi HC plea seeking a review of OYO’s IPO disclosures after the court noted that SEBI would consider its complaints anyway, since the draft IPO papers are yet to be cleared.

The move adds another twist to the decade-old OYO-Zostel dispute, which began with the failed acquisition of Zostel’s budget hotel business Zo Rooms.

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“Hume Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyaar”: GalaxEye Acquires Spacecraft Engineering Startup StarOps

GalaxEye has acquired Bengaluru-based StarOps to strengthen its in-house satellite engineering capabilities and expand its indigenous space-tech stack.

The deal adds qualified satellite bus platforms, proprietary subsystems and other spacecraft technologies across multiple weight classes.

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“Apun Bhi AI Karega”: Cars24 Launches Enterprise AI Company Deployment Inc

Cars24 has launched Deployment Inc, an enterprise AI venture with a $5 Mn investment to help businesses move AI projects from pilots to production.

The startup will use forward-deployed engineering teams to integrate frontier AI models into workflows across sectors like BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing and logistics.

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“Boss Level Upgrade”: Aye Finance Elevates Four Senior Executives

NBFC Aye Finance has elevated four senior leaders to chief-level roles, including Ankur Sharma as CHRO and Piyush Maheshwari as Chief Credit and Operations Officer.

Akash Purswani has become Chief Collection Officer, while Sovan Satyaprakash has been appointed Chief Strategy and Investor Relations Officer.

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1. Aum Ventures has marked the Rs 225 Cr first close of its Rs 750 Cr India Innovation Fund II, focused on pre-seed and seed-stage deeptech startups.
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2. Bakingo has raised ₹100 Cr in a Series B round from existing investor Faering Capital, nearly three years after its last $16 Mn fundraise.

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