Business
Cloud reduces turnaround time essential for dynamic business like ours: Zomato CTO

As the quick-commerce growth story takes shape in India, Zomato, which just acquired Blinkit for about $568 million, feels that quick commerce is a natural extension of its food delivery business.
India’s quick commerce market is all set to witness 15 times growth by 2025, reaching a market size of nearly $5.5 billion, according to reports.
The total addressable market for quick commerce in India stands at $45 billion, and urban areas are driving this market on the back of mid-high-income households.
Gunjan Patidar, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Zomato, told IANS that when it comes to online ordering, faster turnaround time leads to a better customer experience and improves customer retention and here, a flexible and scalable Cloud reduces the overall turnaround time, which is essential for a dynamic business like theirs.
Here are the excerpts from the interview:
Q: There has been a mixed reaction to Zomato’s newly announced 10-minute delivery model. What is the strategic thinking behind this? Also, tell us more about the underlying technology that will make this possible.
A: We have witnessed that a faster turnaround time leads to a better customer experience and improves customer retention. It’s simple, you order food when you’re hungry, so it makes much more sense to get it as quickly as possible.
The underlying technology that enables us to deliver within 10-minutes is more or less what we already do in online ordering. The real game-changer is the process at the back. Time optimisation happens at our finishing stations through both technology and operational speed. Please note that no time optimisation occurs on the road, and the delivery partners aren’t informed of whether it is a 10-minute or 30-minute delivery.
Further, no incentive is provided for timely deliveries, and neither are the delivery partners penalised for late deliveries.
Q: The recent ‘pure tech’ IPOs have failed to impress public market investors. Even globally, high growth US tech stocks are stumbling (e.g. DoorDash). What are the secular tailwinds, key upcoming business initiatives etc. which should keep us upbeat about Zomato’s growth prospects?
A: As an organisation, we focus more on long-term initiatives than worrying about what’s the current sentiment. Even during the most critical of times, more than half of our engineers are working on projects that will change the course of Zomato in upcoming years. Coming to the current situation, we feel it’s more like a global phenomenon rather than something particular to Zomato or other tech companies. It’s a market sentiment and part of a regular business cycle. It’s not the first time and won’t be the last. Every time this happens, the market takes some time to correct itself, and things eventually fall back in place.
Our long-term initiatives are customer-centric, wherein we are currently focusing on Hyperpure growth, and deeper penetration in the cities we already operate in, to name some.
Q: How are you managing to attract and retain top talent?
A: While hiring and retaining the best engineers is still challenging, Zomato has always found the right pool. One of the reasons why we’re able to do this is because we focus more on vision than skills. While skills are essential, what distinguishes great engineers from the good is how aligned they are with the organisation’s vision. And it’s something that we gauge when we are hiring for our engineering and product teams. Our idea is to get onboard the candidates who feel connected with Zomato’s mission and vision. These people are excited to change the food industry for the better, want to play a pivotal role in where we are heading, and are keen to build something that will make people’s lives easier and better.
We also highly emphasise on-the-job learning wherein they can always learn new skills that not only help in doing the current job better but also prepare them for the future. While these things help get the right kinds of people, the culture makes people stay. Getting to work on various projects at once (be it dining or food delivery or Hyperpure) or working in an open environment empowers people in many ways. For Zomans, it’s more about qualitative growth than quantitative one.
Q: How are you using AI/ML, data analytics etc. to serve the customer better?
A: Food delivery is a high-frequency business wherein we are constantly working with multi-layered problems, for example, predicting food preparation time or estimated time of arrival. Another is balancing the demand and supply of delivery partners, especially during monsoons or festivals. Since the supply of delivery partners can be unpredictable, it becomes one of the crucial problems for our data science team. Besides these, we use machine learning to personalise our customer experiences to improve their overall experience.
For example, predicting what customers may like based on their order history or which restaurants we should recommend on the homepage or how items can be prioritised on the search page is done via data science teams.
Q: Tell us about your journey on the cloud? What has cloud technology allowed you to do that you couldn’t do before?
A: We have been using cloud technology for a long time. We started this in 2014 when we first hosted our data on Amazon Web Services (AWS). It reduces the overall turnaround time, which is essential for a dynamic business like ours.
For instance, traffic may be very different at one hour of the day from the other or during special occasions like New Year’s Eve or monsoon. All these patterns are significantly different from each other, and having a cloud enables us to be flexible and optimize basis the need. It also helps in saving a tremendous cost as we don’t have to use the peak capacity every time. We can reduce it during nighttime when there are fewer orders and scale up when the demand is high.
Q: What are the qualities that make you stay ahead of the curve as a CTO?
A: One of the founding principles is to stay connected to the technical landscape, say what the different kinds of tools and technologies teams use across departments. Then, one is being aware of the pain points and arranging or offering solutions to the team faster. One should also stay ahead of the current ecosystem. One should be mindful of conversations in the market, how work cultures are evolving, what tools are being used that enhance efficiency, and what new tech innovations are happening across the globe.
You also must be on top of the organisation’s pulse at any time, what different teams are working upon, the kind of developments they have made in the last few months and the upcoming projects. We keep doing regular catch-ups or organising group events like team lunches, showcases, and off-sites to build better team morale, management and coordination.
National
Bengal Police unnecessarily creating panic over Ram Navami: BJP

Kolkata, April 2: A senior leader of BJP from West Bengal, on Wednesday, accused the West Bengal Police of creating unnecessary panic among common people over the forthcoming Ram Navami festival.
BJP’s former national vice-president and former party Lok Sabha member Dilip Ghosh said that the decision of the police authorities to cancel the leaves of all cops, except for emergency reasons, from April 2-9 was unnecessary.
“Such panic-driven decisions are prompted only during Hindu festivals. The police should take care of those who create trouble. Hindus are well organised and they perform their religious rituals peacefully. Lakhs of people participate in Durga Puja, and no tension is created. It has become a habit of the ruling party to create tension and panic,” Ghosh said.
He also said that the chances of untoward incidents over the Ram Navami processions will not be there if the police strictly handle those who want to create tension on the occasion.
Last week, two senior officials of West Bengal Police told media persons that they have got specific intelligence inputs on some vested interests trying to instigate violence in the coming days, especially targeting the forthcoming Ram Navami festival.
“There are plans to instigate people through different posters or posts. The police are on alert. There might be attempts to instigate tension among people from different communities, especially focusing on the occasion of Ram Navami. We requested people not to get instigated. There is no need to worry. But at the same time, we also request people to alert the local police in case they notice any suspicious activities in their respective areas,” said Additional Director General (South Bengal) Supratim Sarkar on March 29.
Recently, there were reports of communal clashes from Mothabari in Malda district.
Recently, the Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal, Suvendu Adhikari, said at least 2,000 rallies, big and small combined, will be brought out on the occasion of Ram Navami this year.
He also said that participants at the rallies on Ram Navami this year will be double compared to last year.
“Ram Navami will be celebrated this year in a major way. I will be there on the streets on that day. Last year, around 50 lakh Hindus were on the streets to participate in rallies on the occasion of Ram Navami. Last year, there were 1,000 rallies. This year there will be 2,000 rallies and around one crore Hindus will participate in those rallies this year,” he claimed.
International
Man rescued in Myanmar’s Nay Pyi Taw five days after earthquake

Yangon, April 2: A 26-year-old hotel staff member was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed hotel building in Myanmar’s Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday, five days after the 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the country, according to the State Administration Council’s information team.
Two people were trapped under the debris, and rescue teams from the Myanmar Fire Services Department and Turkey successfully pulled one survivor to safety, the information team said.
The operation at the hotel began at around 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, and the man was rescued by approximately 00:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday, it said.
Efforts are ongoing to locate and rescue the remaining trapped individuals, media reported.
The death toll from the 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar has risen to 2,719, with approximately 4,521 people injured and 441 others still missing, said the country’s Prime Minister Min Aung Hlaing.
Meanwhile, Aung Hlaing, head of Myanmar’s junta, rejected ceasefire proposals from Ethnic Armed Organisations (EAOs) and declared a continuation of military operations.
This move directly affects humanitarian efforts as the casualties from the devastating earthquake escalate.
“Some ethnic armed groups may not be actively engaging in battles right now, but they are gathering and training in preparation for attacks. Since this is a form of aggression, the military will continue necessary defence operations,” Hlaing said during a fundraising event in Naypyidaw on Tuesday.
A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake, followed by a 6.4 magnitude aftershock minutes later, struck Myanmar’s Mandalay region on Friday, causing massive casualties and damage.
Myanmar announced on Monday a week-long mourning period following the earthquake that struck the nation and wrought widespread destruction.
As the earthquake left entire communities in ruins, reports suggest that concerns have arisen about the potential for Myanmar’s military junta to direct humanitarian funds to affected areas. It is stated that supplies are driven to the areas the junta favours rather than those most in need of help.
The United Nations and international aid organisations are struggling to respond to the devastating earthquake, which destroyed several cities such as Mandalay, Sagaing, and Naypyitaw, and displaced tens of thousands of people. The hospitals are trying to cope with the high influx of patients.
However, the United Nations, the US, India, the European Union, and several other nations and international organisations have sent aid and rescue efforts for earthquake victims in Myanmar.
The Indian Army and Navy mobilised their resources with unwavering resolve, providing both immediate rescue support and long-term aid to the affected communities.
National
Maha govt transfers seven bureaucrats in a minor reshuffle

Mumbai, April 2: In a minor reshuffle, the Maharashtra government on Wednesday transferred seven bureaucrats.
Nishi Pandey, an IAS officer of the 2001 batch, has been posted as Managing Director of Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation.
Laxminarayan Mishra, an IAS officer of the 2012 batch, has been posted as Joint Managing Director of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
Bharat Bastewad, an IAS officer of the 2013 batch and CEO of Raigad Zilla Parishad, has been appointed Commissioner of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme at Nagpur.
Indurani Jakhar, an IAS officer of the 2016 batch, who is the Municipal Commissioner of Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corporation, has been posted as Collector, Palghar district.
Vasumana Pant, an IAS officer of the 2017 batch, who is Director General, VANAMATI, Nagpur, has been posted as Additional Municipal Commissioner, Nagpur Municipal Corporation.
Vaishnavi B, an IAS officer of the 2019 batch, who is Chief Executive Officer, Akola Zilla Parishad, has been posted as Additional Municipal Commissioner, Nagpur Municipal Corporation.
Neha Bhosle, an IAS officer of the 2020 batch, has been posted as Chief Executive Officer, Raigad Zilla Parishad.
Earlier, on March 25, the state government transferred five IAS officers.
The state government posted B. H. Palawe, an IAS officer of the 2013 batch, who is Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Palghar, as the Managing Director, Maharashtra State Financial Corporation, Mumbai.
Manoj Ranade, an IAS officer of the 2014 batch and the Director of Municipal Administration, Mumbai, was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Palghar.
Shubham Gupta, an IAS officer of the 2019 batch and the Municipal Commissioner of Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad City Municipal Corporation, was posted as Member Secretary, Vidarbha Statutory Development Board, Nagpur.
Anjali Ramesh, an IAS officer of the 2020 batch, after transfer of cadre from Madhya Pradesh, was appointed Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Parishad, Hindoli.
Zenith Chandra Deonthula, an IAS officer of the 2022 batch, who is Assistant Collector, Varora Sub-Division, Chandrapur, was posted as Project Officer, ITDP, Kinwat, and Assistant Collector, Kinwat Sub-Division, Nanded.
-
Crime3 years ago
Class 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra6 months ago
Mumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra6 months ago
Mumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra6 months ago
False photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News6 months ago
Ministry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Crime6 months ago
Baba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report
-
Maharashtra5 months ago
Maharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News6 months ago
J&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface