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Blog posts : "General"

S-phone Shopping May Cross $40-mn

 

Online purchases made through mobile phones are steadily increasing in India and are likely to touch 40 million in 2016 from the current level of 30 million, reveals a ASSOCHAM and Grant Thornton joint study.

 

An additional 200 million Indians will access the internet in the next three years, with majority of them coming online through smartphones, according to a study on ‘Law & Technology: Evolving challenge as a result of fraud in E-commerce sector,’ jointly conducted by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Grant Thornton.

 

The study says online travel dominates the Indian E-Commerce market, while online travel contributes a smaller share to the global E-Commerce market. Online travel accounts for nearly 71% of the E-Commerce business in India. This business has grown at a CAGR of 32% between 2009 and 2013. E-tailing, on the other hand, accounts for only 8.7% of organized retail and a minuscule 0.3% of total retail sales. 

 

The percentage of working women in India grew 43% y-o-y in 2013, which constitutes 10% of the active online users in India. The women focused share of E-Commerce market will increase from 26% in 2013 to 35% in 2016, highlighted the ASSOCHAM and Grant Thornton joint study.

 

The maximum demand for online retail exists across 4,000-5,000 towns and cities in India, but there is no significant presence of physical retail in almost 95% of these locations. High real estate cost is one of the main reasons why organised retail is unable to expand at speeds expected earlier. 

 

Around 75% of Indian internet users are in the age group of 15 to 34 years. This category shops more than the remaining population. Peer pressure, rising aspirations with career growth, and fashion trends encourage this segment to shop more than any other category and India. This category, therefore, clearly enjoys a demographic dividend that favours the growth of the India E-Commerce sector.

 

A significantly low (19%) but fast-growing internet population of 243 million in 2014 is an indicator of the sector’s huge growth potential in India. This indicates the potential of internet use in India and as internet penetration increases, the potential of growth of the E-Commerce industry will also increase. 

 

The Indian E-Commerce market is estimated to grow at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 63% to reach ~USD 8.5 billion in CY 2016. Growth in the penetration levels of mobile and internet and increased consumer demand will drive this growth. 

 

India’s current dynamics are similar to what existed in China then– growing broadband penetration, acceptance of online marketplaces, and lack of physical retail infrastructure in many places.

 

The number of smartphone users in India is projected to exceed 200 million, ranking next to the US as the world’s second largest smartphone market by 2016 due to increasing penetration of affordable smart mobile devices in the country. 

 

With the growing number of smartphone users and major E-Commerce players, number of users relying on App-based platforms will eventually increase in the near future, noted the joint study.

 

The number of users making online transactions has also grown exponentially, and it is expected to increase from 11 million in 2011 to 38 million in 2015. Government of India’s plan to rebuild and modernise the Indian postal infrastructure and plan to implement Digital India will also affect the E-Commerce sector. 

 

Both of these projects will help in increasing the reach of E-Commerce players to generally non-serviceable areas, thereby boosting the growth prospects for their businesses. E-Commerce sector is set to maintain its growth trajectory driven by the stabilisation of the ecosystem and interest demonstrated by VC players, combined with support from the government.

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Reminiscence: From One President To Another

By President Pranab Mukherjee

I am deeply saddened by Dr. Kalam’s unexpected demise. He would have completed 84 years in October this year. There is only a four year difference between us. He was born in October 1931 and I was born in December 1935. 

My first interaction with Dr. Kalam was when he was Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri. After the Pokhran blasts, Prime Minister Vajpayee invited leaders of the Congress Party for a briefing. I, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and a couple of others were present. The technical aspects of the tests at Pokhran II was explained by Dr. Kalam through an impressive presentation. Vajpayeeji, Ministers and other political leaders analysed it from the political angle. 

I congratulated him when he received Bharat Ratna in November 1997 and when his name came up for Presidency. But, we had formal interaction only after 2004. I was Defence Minister in the UPA-I Government when he was President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. He asked me to support the Brahmos missile project. His direct encouragement resulted in the Brahmos being used by all the three services. Initially, it was a surface-to-surface missile. But now we have adapted it and there are surface-to-air, air-to-air, and naval versions. Dr. Kalam and his colleagues developed this indigenous cruise missile of India. Dr. Kalam’s contributions enhanced our defence capabilities. 

Dr. Kalam used to often write poetry. Sometimes, while paying respects to departed soldiers at Amar Jawan Jyoti, he would compose a poem and quietly pass it on to me. I received two/three poems like this. 

Our friendship developed because we had a common passion –books. He loved books and lived amongst them. His world revolved around books. Many years ago, I read in college a poem ‘My days among the dead are passed’. Dead here means authors who are no more. I am always surrounded by books. He too was always surrounded by books. Moreover, he was a prolific writer. This passion brought us together. When we met and the few times he came to see me, we would discuss books. What each one was reading or what he was writing. He chided me why do you not write? You read but your production is poor compared to your reading. Why don’t you write? 

After my becoming President, he visited me several times and we discussed many things. On his last visit, he presented me his book ‘Beyond 2020’. 

I was shocked when I heard the unexpected news of his demise. A sense of tremendous loss overwhelmed me. Dr. Kalam was always jovial but carried his years lightly. His mind was ever agile. He was humble but had a mighty mind. He was the people’s President during his tenure as President and will continue to remain so in the hearts of people after his demise. 

No President was ever loved so much. Jawaharlal Nehru received a great deal of love and affection from children and the people. After that, it has been Dr. Kalam. Watching Dr. Kalam enjoy the company of children and students, it seemed as if he was Nehru in another form.

@PIB

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M-com sales may hit $638 bn by 2018

 

Global e-Commerce sales made via mobile devices are expected to cross $638 billion by 2018, according to the joint study brought out by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte.

 

Currently, the availability of e-Commerce applications on various mobility devices is helping to drive sales and revenue. E-tailers like Flipkart, Amazone and Jabong now get 50% of their revenues from consumers shopping on their mobile phones. Predictive analytics is helping the e-tailers to provide better solutions in real-time enabling compelling user experience even on mobile screens, said Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM.

 

However, while shoppers want real-time, relevant, and personalized information and offers, retailers will need to surround this service with very strong privacy and security. Trust, transparency, and protecting customer information will be critical in retaining loyalty as mobile retailing becomes the norm, noted the joint study. 

 

Online commerce companies should enable all features from search-to-purchase on mobile apps, such as facilitating product research, price comparison, view ratings and reviews, and payment. 

 

The launch of wearables, such as Google Glass and Apple Watch, opens new opportunities for reaching out to customers. E-tailers would keep an eye on developments in this arena, although it might only be an urban phenomenon at the moment.

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Citizens to decide financing of smart cities

Given the challenges involved in developing 100 smart cities, only the capable cities will be chosen under the Smart Cities Mission through a two-stage competition. Citizens too would play an active role in deciding the financial of smart cities. This was indicated in the Operation Guidelines for Smart Cities Mission released by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi while launching the Mission. The selection criteria to be used in both the stages of competition was elaborated in the Guidelines.

 

In the Stage-1 of City Challenge Competition, each State and Union Territory will score all their cities  based on a set of criteria and nominate the top scorers as per the indicated number of potential smart cities for participation in the Stage-2 of competition. 

 

The 100 potential smart cities nominated by all the States and Union Territories based on Stage-1 criteria will prepare Smart City Plans which will be rigorously evaluated in the Stage-2 of the competition for prioritizing cities for financing. In the first round of this stage, 20 top scorers will be chosen for financing during this financial year.

 

The remaining would be asked to make up the deficiencies identified by the Apex Committee in the Ministry of Urban Development for participation in the next two rounds of competition. 40 cities each will be selected for financing during the next rounds of competition.

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Face-Off With Cyber Security Expert Sanjay Sahay (IPS)

The ubiquitous nature of cyber security demands emanate from the realty of an all dependent world of internet, literally anything under the sun directly or indirectly would fall under this mechanism.  Technology is racing to become mankind’s DNA in today’s knowledge-driven world. Transformation changes demand transformational answers. We have not only to match the hackers but to race ahead of them. Terrorism and cyber security happen to be the biggest challenges facing nations today. Countries need to gear up to deliver a safe and secure cyber world.

 

With this in mind, this multidisciplinary workshop titled Cyber Security - A Challenge to Mankind by Mr. Sanjay Sahay (IPS), ADGP, at Police Computer Wing, Govt. of Karnataka will talk on these issues that impact us. The talk will begin at 3.30 pm on June 17, 2015 at R V College of engineering, Bangalore. It is open to teaching faculty, computer & software professionals, senior managers of IT and other companies, research scholars, NGOs and anybody interested in the field of cyber security. This lecture has lots of takeaways which would enrich their professional life and career in the days to come. Nothing is complete with Cyber Security today.

 

This is part of an Experiential Learning Series (ELL) that was launched on May 19, 2012 with the noble intention to disseminate top class management learning to the teaching, student and practitioner’s fraternity.

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Micromax set to disrupt India’s 4G market

 

Disrupting the nascent 4G market with the best in class technology, Micromax has announced its endeavor to offer fast 4G LTE connectivity to the Indian consumers.

 

To build on to the leadership position in the Indian smartphone market, the company launched its flagship product Canvas Knight 2, the first in the range of 4G smartphones and showcased its upcoming 4G range.

 

The company has been consistently revolutionizing the 3G market since 2012 with the launch of some compelling affordable smartphones and aims to help the Indian consumers unlock the true potential of 4G with this new launch.

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Employees Using Macs at Tipping Point

As bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies continue to transform the way employees work worldwide, Macs in the workplace are becoming more common.

 

In fact, a 2014 survey of 376 IT professionals conducted by Dimensional Research found that user preference is the top reason given by IT administrators for supporting Macs. The survey also found that 66 percent of businesses are already using Macs today, and more than 70 percent officially support Macs as a company endpoint.

 

While many employees clearly prefer Macs, there are challenges from an IT perspective when it comes to file sharing, including compatibility, search performance issues, and a poor user experience.

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Trending...

Medical Travel Ind May Touch $ 32.5 bn

 

India is fast emerging as a preferred healthcare and medical destination across the globe. Growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 27%, the inflow of medical tourists in India is likely to cross 3.2 million in 2015. World class treatment and state of the art hospitals in India have created a very favourable atmosphere for patients with varying degrees of illness to avail the best facilities for their treatment.

 

The medical value travel industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing segment of tourism industry despite the global economic downturn. According to a FICCI-KPMG report, the global medical value travel industry was estimated at USD 10.5 billion in 2012. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.9% from 2013-19 to reach USD 32.5 billion in 2019.

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Jai Ho! Jaipur to be a Smart City

Jaipur will now embrace the benefits of connectivity and digitisation to transform itself into a Smart+Connected city. The Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) has chosen to develop smart city infrastructures that will improve the efficiency and quality of services received by its 3.5 million residents and over 40 million tourists who visit the city every year. With this launch, Jaipur becomes one of the first state capitals in India to showcase a comprehensive roadmap to become a world-class smart city.

JDA will set up the digital infrastructure to offer citizens amenities including connected transport, interactive kiosks, wireless broadband, safety and security services, traffic management and environmental updates. The organisation will install an urban platform of sensors which allows for the sharing of information, giving added value to citizens. JDA will also set up a Command and Control Centre as well as a Response Control Room to manage the city with greater efficiency and effectiveness.

The Digital India program of the government is focused on the digital empowerment of citizens, where infrastructure will be offered as a utility to every citizen, governance and services would be on demand, and citizens would be digitally empowered.

Cisco is on board for this transformative project and Cisco will help enable a city as historic as Jaipur become one of the first and most ambitious city-wide brownfield smart city projects in India. 

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Smart Cities Roll Out Plan on Track

India is at the cusp of urbanization development and the country is moving ahead on innovative and sustainable solutions. It is indeed heartening to see that India is embracing the global best practices in the management of its cities. The rollout of the Smart City initiative is a welcome step in this direction.

Since a Smart City initiative in any city would entail a host of sub components including transportation, responsive public services, infrastructure for employment, ICT, etc, it would be beyond the scope of any one organization to deliver seamlessly across these requirements

It is this context the National Mission on Smart Cities is creating an industry-led consortia, which could render the full range of services for the development of a Smart City, in which Hitachi India Ltd and Siemens Ltd have consented to be the lead industry partner for the Japanese and German consortium.

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Creating Smart Cities to Improve Quality of Life

As digital technologies become a more pervasive part of everyday life, there is a growing need to unlock consumer and industry value by removing barriers that prevent users from transporting and accessing their data—particularly their personal data and digital identities—while continuing to respect user privacy, according to a new combined World Economic Forum and Boston Consulting ReportExpanding Participation and Boosting Growth: The Infrastructure Needs of the Digital Economy.

 

The next five years are going to be critical for the future of internet and the required digital infrastructure. The world needs to address challenges of bringing the next 1 billion people online, creating a robust infrastructure for the expected explosion in demand and create forward looking policies and ecosystem that allow the dream of 30 billion people + Internet of Things (IoT) devices to be connected and ensure that we create smart cities to improve quality of life for existing urban inhabitants as well as the additional one billion people who are expected to move to urban centres by 2030.

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Mobiles outdo PCs in India in Net Access

The ways in which consumers use the Internet in India are changing. Mobile connections will increase from 60 to 70 percent in 2013 to 70 to 80 percent in 2018. A majority of Indians who embrace the Internet, particularly rural consumers, have bypassed the PC and are using mobile devices to get online on the go. Some 70 percent of rural users access the Internet from their mobile handsets, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report titled, Digital India: Insights for Marketers and Media Companies.

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If Content is King, Then Application is King Kong!

Content will become more vernacular as the user base diversifies and grows to include larger numbers of rural consumers. The use of vernacular content online is estimated to increase from 45 percent in 2013 to more than 60 percent in 2018, mirroring broadening consumption patterns in off-line media such as print and television.

Marketers have an opportunity to engage with consumers in new and powerful ways and to develop new offerings based on clearly identified user groups. Marketers that fully embrace the changes taking place can go even further and craft offerings that address the personal preferences of microsegments or even individuals, on the basis of data that defines their online behavior.

Consumption is becoming a shared experience for many. Social interaction, pictures, blogs, and videos are growing in importance. Websites and apps such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube are often the first destination for digital consumers.

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Indian Media Firms Lured by Digital Attraction

Social interaction, pictures, blogs, and videos are growing in importance. Websites and apps such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube are often the first destination for digital consumers.

The question for publishers and electronic-media companies alike is one of opportunity.  Can publishers translate off-line print dominance into digital attraction?

 

Can print and TV companies stake out digital territory with ancillary genres in the short term and core news genres in the long term so that they maintain loyalty and relevance with existing readers and viewers as well as attract new ones? Or, if they do not move quickly enough, will they cede audience to digital upstarts?

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India’s Growing Digital Market Means Big Changes for Media Cos

As Internet use spreads to more older people, rural residents and women, marketing and media companies face opportunities and challenges in evolving customer base, says a new report.

According to a report released by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Digital India: Insights for Marketers and Media Companies, there will be as many as 550 million connected consumers—40 percent of the population—in 2018. Equally significant are the changes taking place in who these consumers are and how they are using their devices. The report is based on two recent consumer surveys by BCG’s Center for Consumer and Customer Insight.

Content will become more vernacular as the user base diversifies and grows to include larger numbers of rural consumers. The use of vernacular content online is estimated to increase from 45 percent in 2013 to more than 60 percent in 2018, mirroring broadening consumption patterns in off-line media such as print and television.

Consumption is becoming a shared experience for many. Social interaction, pictures, blogs, and videos are growing in importance. Websites and apps such as Google, Facebook, and YouTube are often the first destination for digital consumers.

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Entire Bengaluru Metro to be ready by 2015

 

Bengaluru (Namma) Metro has reported a physical and financial progress of about 92 per cent. The entire network of 42.30 kms in Phase I will be completed in all respects by December this year, of which 38.30 kms would be operational for public service and the balance 4 kms would be ready for testing and commissioning.

 

Bengaluru Metro has a North-South corridor of 24.20 km between Puttenahalli and Nagasandra and East – West corridor of 18.10 km between Mysore Road and Baiyyappanahalli. Three Reaches with a total length of 17 km with 16 stations have so far been commissioned.

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Entire Bengaluru Metro to be ready by year end

Bengaluru (Namma) Metro has reported a physical and financial progress of about 92 per cent. The entire network of 42.30 kms in Phase I will be completed in all respects by December this year, of which 38.30 kms would be operational for public service and the balance 4 kms would be ready for testing and commissioning.

 

Madhusudhan Prasad, Secretary (UD) said this during the review on Friday last has asked the six Metros being implemented on 50:50 basis to ensure that there are no time and cost overruns. He said that infrastructure projects are top priority for the government and they are being monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office.

 

Bengaluru Metro has a North-South corridor of 24.20 km between Puttenahalli and Nagasandra and East – West corridor of 18.10 km between Mysore Road and Baiyyappanahalli. Three Reaches with a total length of 17 km with 16 stations have so far been commissioned.

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India's ‘Smart Cities’ Pitch at Hannover

One of the key challenges for India to grow at 9 to 10 per cent per annum is the challenge of urbanization. According to a recent study, India will have 700 million people getting in the process of urbanization by 2050 and therefore the challenge for India is to create two and a half Americas by 2050 and do it in a far more innovative and sustainable manner.

Urbanisation is now a global megatrend and by 2050, around 64% of the developing world and 86% of the developed world is expected to be urbanised. Rapid urbanisation is putting a strain on the infrastructure, environment and social fabric of cities. The new Indian government has taken cognizance of this accelerating expansion. Investments required to stabilize, augment as well as build a robust urban infrastructure are at the forefront of the government’s current agenda.

This sentiment was echoed in the inaugural address at a seminar on "Smart Cities - The Urban Challenge" by Amitabh Kant, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Government of India at the ongoing Hannover Fair.

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India Roars at Hannover Fair!

India as a Partner Country at the world's largest industrial fair world's largest industrial fair - Hannover Messe - reflects the new confidence in India. Altogether 15 states, 20 CEOs and 350 companies from India are participating in this fair.

India’s presence as a partner country says something else too. India will naturally pursue its goals on the strength of its own resources, skills and enterprise. But, it knows that it can be more successful when India partners with the world. For people in India, Germany is a valued partner; and, an enduring symbol of technology and innovation, quality and productivity.

Even more, India and Germany share a close and warm relationship. It goes back centuries, in the intellectual journey of German scholars. Through the passage of history, Indians and Germans have formed a relationship of mutual fascination and goodwill.

At the inauguration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi India invited Germany to a partner in making a new India.

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Hot Off The Press!

IAF to get additional Rafale strike power!

In order to plug the critical gap in the ‘operational necessity’ of the Indian Air Force (IAF), India will soon buy the 36 French Rafale jets in ‘fly-away condition.

The new development is besides the ongoing stalled negotiations between the two sides which had initially focused on 126 Rafales. The 36-jet order is manufacturer Dassault's biggest yet abroad -- estimated to be worth nearly four billion euros ($4.2 billion).

Negotiations to buy the planes kicked off in 2012 but had been bogged down over cost and New Delhi's insistence on assembling a portion of the high-tech planes in India.

This is bound to give IAF additional teeth to counter security threats.

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