Ecommerce companies competing for the first place of India’s $13 million business are concerned about the heavy costs in shipment through air and they some how want to reduce the expenditure by improving on road and rail facilities.
Flipkart, India’s largest domestic e-tailer , and the main competitor for global companies like Amazon . com and ebay Inc are generally widening their particular supplier networks by developing their logistics infrastructure in order to maintain their first place in this race. They are even shrinking delivery times to nine hours.
More than 200 million internet users definitely add more potential to Indian ecommerce industry. Indian ecommerce market is expected to reach $6 billion in 2015. E commerce industry in other emerging markets are growing than India, and the slow pace may be due to various reasons like COD, cash burn rate, poor supply chains, poor online security, tax structure and logistics.
Complex geography, different terrains and lack of knowledge of the logistics companies are creating obstacles in the further advancement of these e commerce companies. There are few companies who have even started regional warehouses and one company has tied up with Indian Postal Service to reach far off places.
Flipkart, Jabong, Amazon have even started their own shipping arms. Raising up a delivery network for e-commerce business is very complicated in India where millions of customers are across more than 100,000 post codes. Big logistics firms like Blue Dart, Aramex etc have already started in ecommerce and are regularly used by e commerce companies.
Monday 29 December 2014
Thursday 11 December 2014
Disruptive Innovations in CES 2014
The Consumer Electronic Show had many new devices but the below five technologies were counted as the most successful disruptive innovations in 2014. There was a dip in the cost of technologies and existing products were updated.
Embedded sensors became more affordable because microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), including magnetometers and accelerometers became very cheap and putting embedded sensors into any product became very easy. As they become cheaper we may be able to find embedded sensors in things which we use in daily life like clothing and electronic equipments.
For example, Kolibree, the electronic brush company in France claims that they can outsmart dentists and their goal is to ensure personal dental hygiene. Kolibree is the first connected electric toothbrush, equipped with vibrating technology to make brushing more effective. Its sensors interact with mobile apps for adults and children to make brushing a hygienic experience.
Wearables, are supposed to bring revolutionary changes into healthcare industry for the ageing population. Wearable like 9solutionsIPCS, which is a wireless Bluetooth and SaaS based real time locating system, which works within a cell phone, is for those employees who are stationed alone and require medical attention at workplace. Wearables were at the third place.
Alternative energy technologies got the fourth place, which is popular because they are cost-effective and they work even without cables and plugs. C-Max Solar Energi by Ford can be charged by solar panels on the roof of the vehicle. Portable energy devices are embedded into devices like mobiles chargers even into the tablet and smart phones.
Driverless vehicles were also among successful disruptive innovations and some of those cars even have the command to take kids to school and bring them back. Not only on- road vehicles, drones are creating history in Denmark where drones are used as ambulances to reach heart attack patients. Mercedes’ automated vehicle was one among the driverless vehicles series and it relies on miniature cameras positioned around the vehicle, which can manage traffic lights, intersections, pedestrians and other vehicles.
Friday 26 September 2014
Alibaba Vs Amazon
What will be the next strategy of Amazon and how are they going to execute it? That was the discussion when Alibaba came up with its triumphant $21.8 billion initial public offer proclaiming themselves as the most valuable ecommerce company in the world. During the first day of trading Alibaba was much ahead of Amazon and eBay combined. Alibaba’s e-commerce business includes wholesale, retail, group buying, and payments. . In the last 6 months they have invested $8 billion in startup firms and even entering into the US and European markets.
Alibaba doesn’t have a warehouse; they don’t sell directly, they just give an open marketplace for the sellers. Sellers include small business owners and big brands where they sell their products through the site- in short Alibaba connect sellers and buyers. This method is totally against the traditional retailing, but has helped them to get more profit than Amazon with a margin of 40% with $2 billion of earnings in the first quarter.
Amazon follows traditional retailing that is like a managed market space with massive warehouses, direct selling where the biggest brands sell directly. They provide a direct service and have a good track of customer service. In order to provide good service Amazon is forced to manage immense investments in infrastructure and greater number of workforce for a less amount of profit.
Both giants are designed for their home markets so they still have an upper hand in their home turfs and entry to the different region may not be easy especially for Amazon. Alibaba has a good mastery over the Chinese regulations and they know the pulse of the Chinese market. However, they don’t have the vast network and delivery systems like Amazon. The trust Amazon gained through cloud infrastructure, logistics services are a strong base for them and Alibaba will have to find their own solution to compete with that.
Amazon will have more work in the Chinese market since the market is’nt fully tapped, and one in with a good chance only if they are in sync with the regulations. In order to build the brands they may require more presence in the market by local acquisitions. At the same time Alibaba may have to reduce their rate of acquisitions and concentrate on logistics, cloud services, and on the USP s of Amazon.
Alibaba doesn’t have a warehouse; they don’t sell directly, they just give an open marketplace for the sellers. Sellers include small business owners and big brands where they sell their products through the site- in short Alibaba connect sellers and buyers. This method is totally against the traditional retailing, but has helped them to get more profit than Amazon with a margin of 40% with $2 billion of earnings in the first quarter.
Amazon follows traditional retailing that is like a managed market space with massive warehouses, direct selling where the biggest brands sell directly. They provide a direct service and have a good track of customer service. In order to provide good service Amazon is forced to manage immense investments in infrastructure and greater number of workforce for a less amount of profit.
Both giants are designed for their home markets so they still have an upper hand in their home turfs and entry to the different region may not be easy especially for Amazon. Alibaba has a good mastery over the Chinese regulations and they know the pulse of the Chinese market. However, they don’t have the vast network and delivery systems like Amazon. The trust Amazon gained through cloud infrastructure, logistics services are a strong base for them and Alibaba will have to find their own solution to compete with that.
Amazon will have more work in the Chinese market since the market is’nt fully tapped, and one in with a good chance only if they are in sync with the regulations. In order to build the brands they may require more presence in the market by local acquisitions. At the same time Alibaba may have to reduce their rate of acquisitions and concentrate on logistics, cloud services, and on the USP s of Amazon.
Wednesday 10 September 2014
Scottish Referendum in September 2014
The Scotts will decide whether they have to continue as a part of Great Britain on September 2014. When whole of Scotland goes for referendum on September 18, the Westminster will be in a sure dilemma about the future policies, if the Scotts vote yes for a separate country. Starting from shifting the Falsane Naval base now in Scotland, to the Olympic team who always bring more medals because of the Scottish talent.
The war for identity started in the 14th century, continued till 1707 when Scotland finally united with Britain making Great Britain. Then onwards Scotts were not truly happy with the various policies adopted by the UK government, which mostly favored Wales and England. This dissatisfaction was triggered by the favoritism of late PM Ms Margaret Thatcher, who gets the maximum credit for uniting Scotts with her policies, especially for Poll Tax in 1989 and thus being the most hated person among the Scotts.
This tax was a kind of community charge introduced by Tories (Conservative Party) who strongly advocated British Unionism, which was led by Ms Thatcher. She introduced this tax in Scotland as a trial run before imposing it in England and Wales. The Scotts still feel that they were treated as guinea pigs. Her policies on ship building, steel working and coal mining which were against Scottish interests added to the hatred against her.
Scotts are very confident about their oil reserves which were mishandled by Tories and want the control on the natural resources back. The Brits are against Scotts using Pound as their currency and even Sterling is not advisable since it may ruin the Scottish financial industry. Euro is permissible if the EU admits Scotland as the member of the EU. The regulations will be strict and how far a new country would be able to admit to that will be a question.
Future of the Scottish MP s will be at stake in the forthcoming general election in May 2015, since the official separation will take place only by March 2016. Another debate is on whether David Cameron will resign if the Scotland votes yes. Would Scotland continue with BBC or would they start SBC and how would Scottish companies listed in London react? Another big question will be whether Queen will remain as the Queen of Scotland.
The war for identity started in the 14th century, continued till 1707 when Scotland finally united with Britain making Great Britain. Then onwards Scotts were not truly happy with the various policies adopted by the UK government, which mostly favored Wales and England. This dissatisfaction was triggered by the favoritism of late PM Ms Margaret Thatcher, who gets the maximum credit for uniting Scotts with her policies, especially for Poll Tax in 1989 and thus being the most hated person among the Scotts.
This tax was a kind of community charge introduced by Tories (Conservative Party) who strongly advocated British Unionism, which was led by Ms Thatcher. She introduced this tax in Scotland as a trial run before imposing it in England and Wales. The Scotts still feel that they were treated as guinea pigs. Her policies on ship building, steel working and coal mining which were against Scottish interests added to the hatred against her.
Scotts are very confident about their oil reserves which were mishandled by Tories and want the control on the natural resources back. The Brits are against Scotts using Pound as their currency and even Sterling is not advisable since it may ruin the Scottish financial industry. Euro is permissible if the EU admits Scotland as the member of the EU. The regulations will be strict and how far a new country would be able to admit to that will be a question.
Future of the Scottish MP s will be at stake in the forthcoming general election in May 2015, since the official separation will take place only by March 2016. Another debate is on whether David Cameron will resign if the Scotland votes yes. Would Scotland continue with BBC or would they start SBC and how would Scottish companies listed in London react? Another big question will be whether Queen will remain as the Queen of Scotland.
Tuesday 19 August 2014
Re branding as a New Trend
Proactive Re Branding happens when a company is looking to reach an expected goal, especially when the growth has to be from the international market. The consolidation of the existing products and services is done for the consistency and also to save the money. This movement can appeal the audiences, and bring back the relevancy of the company.
Reactive Re Branding happens when companies are looking for a particular event to happen like M&A, Negative Image, Legal issues, and major competition from other companies. For obvious reasons many bigger brands has embraced this technique which has helped them in increasing their brand value.
J Crew, the American retailer company started in 1947, and which was very popular and successful, was facing crisis during 2003, and the company started its re branding efforts by appointing a new CEO, who was well experienced with brand ‘ Gap”. J Crew, as an initial step started off with a new catalogue which J Crew never had. Same time they re launched their most neglected men’s wear section, by giving a new place.
Burberry which was considered as a brand for hooligans and hippies had a very negative image worldwide with their strange colors and designs. Some public places, even banned people with this brand. On re branding Burberry as a popular brand, the products were redesigned with modern and popular trends and got Hollywood celebrities as endorsers. Now the company is even opening branches in China. This UK based luxury fashion house paved its way to be a super brand by timely re branding methods.
While FedEx, were the innovator of overnight deliveries and computer tracking method, its competitor UPS was looking at the different ways to reach ahead of FedEx. UPS started its re branding strategies by re-writing their slogan, ‘’Moving at the speed of business" with "What can brown do for you?" Their income doubled within one year than that of FedEx, UPS recently converted their slogan to be a global one ‘’ We Heart Logistics”. With just a slogan and innovative ad methods UPS, the company started in 1907, with its base in the US, has become one of the world’s most admired brands.
Reactive Re Branding happens when companies are looking for a particular event to happen like M&A, Negative Image, Legal issues, and major competition from other companies. For obvious reasons many bigger brands has embraced this technique which has helped them in increasing their brand value.
J Crew, the American retailer company started in 1947, and which was very popular and successful, was facing crisis during 2003, and the company started its re branding efforts by appointing a new CEO, who was well experienced with brand ‘ Gap”. J Crew, as an initial step started off with a new catalogue which J Crew never had. Same time they re launched their most neglected men’s wear section, by giving a new place.
Burberry which was considered as a brand for hooligans and hippies had a very negative image worldwide with their strange colors and designs. Some public places, even banned people with this brand. On re branding Burberry as a popular brand, the products were redesigned with modern and popular trends and got Hollywood celebrities as endorsers. Now the company is even opening branches in China. This UK based luxury fashion house paved its way to be a super brand by timely re branding methods.
While FedEx, were the innovator of overnight deliveries and computer tracking method, its competitor UPS was looking at the different ways to reach ahead of FedEx. UPS started its re branding strategies by re-writing their slogan, ‘’Moving at the speed of business" with "What can brown do for you?" Their income doubled within one year than that of FedEx, UPS recently converted their slogan to be a global one ‘’ We Heart Logistics”. With just a slogan and innovative ad methods UPS, the company started in 1907, with its base in the US, has become one of the world’s most admired brands.
Thursday 7 August 2014
The Wearable Gadgets in Finance Domain
Wearable gadgets are capturing all sectors of industry and finance sector is slowly adopting these gadgets.. The e trend in finance domain started with calculator, now it is Google Glass, and its companion app My Glass, Smart Watches, interactive t-shirts , washable ear phones in hood, USB necklaces, USB cufflinks, Fuel bands, iWallets, and Bluetooth Gloves are few in this series.
Gadgets which are making maximum changes in finance domain maybe the smart glasses for eg Google glass. There are few European banks which are making their accounts viewable through Google glass for their customers. Westpac’s New Zealand office is even developing their on app for the customers. The company is looking for an app which gives their client a peripheral vision which will be like a real time experience.
The smart watches are no less in using advanced technology, they send alert signals according to the changes in share market and they can also used in checking bank accounts. Wearable are chosen over other machines since, computing can be offloaded without any restrictions, and the energy consumption level is very low.
A professor in University of London has created a ring, which has the capability to receive message from the internet. An app connected with the ring will give the details of big data as well. Various alerts from the internet will be sent to the ring which can be sensed by the customer.
Transaction through wearable can be the most secure method since the main inputs will be the heartbeat, pulse, fingerprints, and even the DNA samples, which is unique for all and which can serve as highly secure passwords. The wearable can deliver the message to the right person and that too within no time, this is important in case of reminders and alerts. Alerts like EMI date, credit card dues, and interest rates all can be received by the customers on time.
Wearable are very popular among the fitness freaks but it seems like the gadgets will conquer all sectors as the total revenue on these gadgets , worldwide, has grown to $1.6bn this year, and it is anticipated to be increasing to $5bn by 2016.
Gadgets which are making maximum changes in finance domain maybe the smart glasses for eg Google glass. There are few European banks which are making their accounts viewable through Google glass for their customers. Westpac’s New Zealand office is even developing their on app for the customers. The company is looking for an app which gives their client a peripheral vision which will be like a real time experience.
The smart watches are no less in using advanced technology, they send alert signals according to the changes in share market and they can also used in checking bank accounts. Wearable are chosen over other machines since, computing can be offloaded without any restrictions, and the energy consumption level is very low.
A professor in University of London has created a ring, which has the capability to receive message from the internet. An app connected with the ring will give the details of big data as well. Various alerts from the internet will be sent to the ring which can be sensed by the customer.
Transaction through wearable can be the most secure method since the main inputs will be the heartbeat, pulse, fingerprints, and even the DNA samples, which is unique for all and which can serve as highly secure passwords. The wearable can deliver the message to the right person and that too within no time, this is important in case of reminders and alerts. Alerts like EMI date, credit card dues, and interest rates all can be received by the customers on time.
Wearable are very popular among the fitness freaks but it seems like the gadgets will conquer all sectors as the total revenue on these gadgets , worldwide, has grown to $1.6bn this year, and it is anticipated to be increasing to $5bn by 2016.
Thursday 17 July 2014
The Threat of a Darknet Economy
This year the State of Colorado gained world’s attention when it became world’s first state –licensed place for marijuana business. Drug business across the world is growing every year causing greater threat to the entire humanity. In 2012 itself around 1, 90000 deaths were reported due to drug abuse, that too between the age group 15-64. Another alarming data is that, in the same year nearly 324 million people in 15-64 age groups used one at least illicit drug once.
Around 39 million people have regular drug usage and having physical and psychological problems while only one in six of them have an access to medical facilities. The number of people who injects the drug will come around 13 million, which is 0.64% of the population aged 15-64. One amazing fact is that most of the drug users are from Eastern and South- Eastern Europe.
It is very shocking to know that 14% of the drug addicts are infected with HIV due to the use of shared syringes. Majority of such HIV patients are from South-West Asia and Eastern and South- Eastern Europe. More than half of these drug addicts are infected with Hepatitis C also. Prevention services are on the progress to reduce the threat and prevent the HIV, few of the components of these services are Needle and Syringe Programs, Opioid Substitution Therapy, HIV testing and counseling and Antiretroviral Therapy.
The list of problem drug includes Opiates and Opioids, Cocaine and Cannabis since these drugs cause majority of deaths related to drug addiction. Afghanistan, the country which is the major producer of opium poppy cultivation, started more cultivation in more geographical area and Myanmar is the next country which produces maximum opium. Opium is cultivated in 3, 00000 hectares of land all around the world. Even though the strict laws against drug business have reduced the scope of drug business in European markets, smuggling is very frequent in Pakistan, Middle East Africa to Europe.
Rate of seizures are also increasing all over the world, with that the price of drugs are becoming cheaper and they are more available. Due to this synthetic drugs are also available in the market. Darknet which is the drug economy is booming through the virtual market places, Silk Road, which the most prominent drug selling site, has around 14,000 drugs listed in their website and the whole Darknet drug economy has listed 75% of drugs. Even after the seizures this web market places function and if one is forced to closed down today then another interface pops up fast , maybe for a reassurance for its loyal buyers.
Around 39 million people have regular drug usage and having physical and psychological problems while only one in six of them have an access to medical facilities. The number of people who injects the drug will come around 13 million, which is 0.64% of the population aged 15-64. One amazing fact is that most of the drug users are from Eastern and South- Eastern Europe.
It is very shocking to know that 14% of the drug addicts are infected with HIV due to the use of shared syringes. Majority of such HIV patients are from South-West Asia and Eastern and South- Eastern Europe. More than half of these drug addicts are infected with Hepatitis C also. Prevention services are on the progress to reduce the threat and prevent the HIV, few of the components of these services are Needle and Syringe Programs, Opioid Substitution Therapy, HIV testing and counseling and Antiretroviral Therapy.
The list of problem drug includes Opiates and Opioids, Cocaine and Cannabis since these drugs cause majority of deaths related to drug addiction. Afghanistan, the country which is the major producer of opium poppy cultivation, started more cultivation in more geographical area and Myanmar is the next country which produces maximum opium. Opium is cultivated in 3, 00000 hectares of land all around the world. Even though the strict laws against drug business have reduced the scope of drug business in European markets, smuggling is very frequent in Pakistan, Middle East Africa to Europe.
Rate of seizures are also increasing all over the world, with that the price of drugs are becoming cheaper and they are more available. Due to this synthetic drugs are also available in the market. Darknet which is the drug economy is booming through the virtual market places, Silk Road, which the most prominent drug selling site, has around 14,000 drugs listed in their website and the whole Darknet drug economy has listed 75% of drugs. Even after the seizures this web market places function and if one is forced to closed down today then another interface pops up fast , maybe for a reassurance for its loyal buyers.
Tuesday 1 July 2014
When Economy Switches to Sharing
Is the concept of Sharing Economy an answer to economic inequality? Under this shared economy the access to the products and services are shared between the consumers even though the ownership is limited. This opens a new array of opportunities for the sellers and the buyers. When assets and services are digitally available then there is no reason for this new trend to not gain popularity.
Pioneered by eBay in 1995, as a peer to peer auction model, sharing economy or collaborative consumption started off with lot of inadequacies due to the lack of full-fledged support system during those days. The service offered by them was only for an auction of apparels.
Starting from bartering, bike sharing, book swapping to seed swap, share taxi, virtual currency, all are shared in this mode of collaborative consumption. Collaborative lifestyles, product service systems and redistribution channels make this sharing economy lively and innovative.
AirBnB, an online home rental marketplace for individuals, which started off in 2008 has about 500,000 listings in 33,000 cities and 192 companies by now. This website provides home owners to rent out their home for business meetings for short –term stays, which is a unique opportunity for the business networking. This is a kind of broker model; AirBnB provides market, customer support, payment handling and $1 million in insurance for hosts, and take a 3% cut from the renter and 6% to 111% cut from the tenant. This amount totally depends on the price of the property.
UberDriver, a San Francisco based transportation networking company, builds mobile apps to connect passengers and drivers, for ridesharing services. They use cars like Lincoln Town Cars, Cadillac Escalades, BMW 7 Series, and Mercedes-Benz S550 sedans and more. . Lyft is another app with same kind of services. RelayRides give an opportunity for car owners to rent their car. SideCar also works in the same pattern.
Parking Panda gives the customers an opportunity to search the parking spaces and even to rent them out.. The customers can even choose the spot to park.
TaskRabbit, which is an online market place for sharing tasks within the neighborhood, this is also a bidding site where users come and post their task and the amount they are willing to pay when the task is done. The owner of TaskRabbit started this when she found she is too busy to even buy dog food. For each task TaskRabbit cut 12% previously on a sliding 12-20% scale depending on total price. Other services like DogVacay for dog care, Rentoid , where you can rent anything, Liquid, AvisBudgetGroup, GetAround and NeighbourGoods.
Pioneered by eBay in 1995, as a peer to peer auction model, sharing economy or collaborative consumption started off with lot of inadequacies due to the lack of full-fledged support system during those days. The service offered by them was only for an auction of apparels.
Starting from bartering, bike sharing, book swapping to seed swap, share taxi, virtual currency, all are shared in this mode of collaborative consumption. Collaborative lifestyles, product service systems and redistribution channels make this sharing economy lively and innovative.
AirBnB, an online home rental marketplace for individuals, which started off in 2008 has about 500,000 listings in 33,000 cities and 192 companies by now. This website provides home owners to rent out their home for business meetings for short –term stays, which is a unique opportunity for the business networking. This is a kind of broker model; AirBnB provides market, customer support, payment handling and $1 million in insurance for hosts, and take a 3% cut from the renter and 6% to 111% cut from the tenant. This amount totally depends on the price of the property.
UberDriver, a San Francisco based transportation networking company, builds mobile apps to connect passengers and drivers, for ridesharing services. They use cars like Lincoln Town Cars, Cadillac Escalades, BMW 7 Series, and Mercedes-Benz S550 sedans and more. . Lyft is another app with same kind of services. RelayRides give an opportunity for car owners to rent their car. SideCar also works in the same pattern.
Parking Panda gives the customers an opportunity to search the parking spaces and even to rent them out.. The customers can even choose the spot to park.
TaskRabbit, which is an online market place for sharing tasks within the neighborhood, this is also a bidding site where users come and post their task and the amount they are willing to pay when the task is done. The owner of TaskRabbit started this when she found she is too busy to even buy dog food. For each task TaskRabbit cut 12% previously on a sliding 12-20% scale depending on total price. Other services like DogVacay for dog care, Rentoid , where you can rent anything, Liquid, AvisBudgetGroup, GetAround and NeighbourGoods.
Thursday 19 June 2014
The New Era of Biometric Systems
Digital mug shots, iris scan, and DNA reports are more extensively used by various governments these days to locate criminals and preventing crimes. Earlier the main method of identifying a criminal was strictly restricted to finger prints which are a main piece of forensic evidence. During the Afgan war the US expanded its biometric methods in preventing the crimes.
History of biometric technology dates back to 14th century, in China. Barros, who was exploring China, found that the Chinese merchants were stamping children's palm prints and footprints on paper with ink so as to differentiate between young kids. This could be the most primitive known cases of biometrics in use and is still being used today.
Fingerprints identification, is the talebearer, which the bomb makers and thieves mainly leav behind. There are millions of finger print database with many defense agencies like FBI, now they are preparing the database of facial recognition algorithms, iris match technology and DNA reports. Multi model biometric which is a combination of two models like facial recognition plus finger print are also under development which can give maximum accuracy.
There are gadgets working with biometric technology like Apple iPhone which can be unlocked with a finger print, android users can even unlock their phone with a glance. Schools, hospitals, and colleges are also using biometric technology since it can reduce the risk of password getting hacked or lost same time it can undermine the privacy as well.
Biometrics is also important for the planned ‘ePass’ for citizens of the European Union (EU). Biometric systems are unique, cannot be shared or is never lost .
History of biometric technology dates back to 14th century, in China. Barros, who was exploring China, found that the Chinese merchants were stamping children's palm prints and footprints on paper with ink so as to differentiate between young kids. This could be the most primitive known cases of biometrics in use and is still being used today.
Fingerprints identification, is the talebearer, which the bomb makers and thieves mainly leav behind. There are millions of finger print database with many defense agencies like FBI, now they are preparing the database of facial recognition algorithms, iris match technology and DNA reports. Multi model biometric which is a combination of two models like facial recognition plus finger print are also under development which can give maximum accuracy.
There are gadgets working with biometric technology like Apple iPhone which can be unlocked with a finger print, android users can even unlock their phone with a glance. Schools, hospitals, and colleges are also using biometric technology since it can reduce the risk of password getting hacked or lost same time it can undermine the privacy as well.
Biometrics is also important for the planned ‘ePass’ for citizens of the European Union (EU). Biometric systems are unique, cannot be shared or is never lost .
Tuesday 27 May 2014
Drones: A Friend or a Foe?
Drones, generally known as UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) are widely used in military operations since 2000. Austrians started this trend by using pilot less balloons in the war against City of Venice in 1849. Drones are not only used for military purposes, but also for non military purposes like natural disaster management, without endangering human life, supervising big real estate properties, for aerial coverage by motion picture teams, professional photographers and even by the farmers who don’t employ many workers.
In the west drone usage is limited to police patrolling, oil pipe inspection, tracking illegal immigrants and intelligence gathering. Drone industry is growing rapidly from $5.2 billion annually to $11.6 billion. According to the claims of Teal Group Corporation, a US aerospace consultancy, UAV industry will be a big industry within the next ten years. Their statistical report says that there will be 50 medium –altitudes, long endurance ( MALE) UAVs, 60 navy UAV s , 70 air force tactical UAVSs , and 980 mini-UAVs in the US within the time frame of next 10 years.
Looking at the increasing importance of UAV, HAL has started UAV production and has sold 35 UAV s which can fly a distance of 100 km at an altitude of 6.5 kms. Private companies are also stared off their UAV production, Idea Forge, a private company in Mumbai has made a drone ‘’ Netra” weighs less than 1.5 kg and flies 100kms at an altitude of 6.5 kms. There are many classes of UAV s HALE (High Altitude, Long Endurance) and MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance). HALE flies above 30,000 ft and MALE upto 30,000ft. Among military drones it is MQ-1 Predator is the best known drone, with a wingspan of 55 feet, and 27 ft long which can reach up to the speed of 135 kmph.International Civil Aviation Organization is framing new set of codes to permit UAV s to fly internationally.
Even though the importance of drones are unquestionably growing, there are a lot of questions arising about the misuse of this weapon. They can be used to invade the privacy; they can be used as a tool to commit robbery especially when big companies like WalMart and Amazon are planning to use them for product delivery purposes. Again the pollution issue when thousands of drones flying around us. Despite of all these a restaurant is Mumbai is using drones to deliver pizza!
In the west drone usage is limited to police patrolling, oil pipe inspection, tracking illegal immigrants and intelligence gathering. Drone industry is growing rapidly from $5.2 billion annually to $11.6 billion. According to the claims of Teal Group Corporation, a US aerospace consultancy, UAV industry will be a big industry within the next ten years. Their statistical report says that there will be 50 medium –altitudes, long endurance ( MALE) UAVs, 60 navy UAV s , 70 air force tactical UAVSs , and 980 mini-UAVs in the US within the time frame of next 10 years.
Looking at the increasing importance of UAV, HAL has started UAV production and has sold 35 UAV s which can fly a distance of 100 km at an altitude of 6.5 kms. Private companies are also stared off their UAV production, Idea Forge, a private company in Mumbai has made a drone ‘’ Netra” weighs less than 1.5 kg and flies 100kms at an altitude of 6.5 kms. There are many classes of UAV s HALE (High Altitude, Long Endurance) and MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance). HALE flies above 30,000 ft and MALE upto 30,000ft. Among military drones it is MQ-1 Predator is the best known drone, with a wingspan of 55 feet, and 27 ft long which can reach up to the speed of 135 kmph.International Civil Aviation Organization is framing new set of codes to permit UAV s to fly internationally.
Even though the importance of drones are unquestionably growing, there are a lot of questions arising about the misuse of this weapon. They can be used to invade the privacy; they can be used as a tool to commit robbery especially when big companies like WalMart and Amazon are planning to use them for product delivery purposes. Again the pollution issue when thousands of drones flying around us. Despite of all these a restaurant is Mumbai is using drones to deliver pizza!
Thursday 8 May 2014
The Tale and the Sale of The Male Beauty Brands
It is not just buying a shaving cream or a deodorant, but much more than that. The revolutionary rise in the demand for male cosmetics got kick started in 2004 after Emami launched their new range of fairness products for men in 2004.
The male skincare segment is expected to grow annually by 25% on the base of skin whitening creams. Brands which dominate this market are Emami's Fair & Handsome and HUL's Fair & Lovely Max Fairness. Dabur's Oxylife creme bleach which claims a triple action system will also look to tap this market with the oxygen releasing formula which will enhance men’s beauty. Instant fairness is highlighted during the commercials unlike other whitening creams which give results after a few weeks that’s what Emami claims.
The Garnier Men range had an early start in the male skincare product segment. " Launched in 2009, today Garnier have a market share of 27.7% in the men's skincare market. The potential of the segment is in converting male consumers of women's skincare products to use products developed specifically for men. Deodorants market grew by 46% - and the main players are HUL, Godrej, and Nivea among many other smaller brands.
Ever since, FMCG brands of various stripes have been eagerly hopping on the bandwagon, even the smaller brands are also jostling with the biggies. The male cosmetic and grooming market in India is expected to grow by a CAGR of 12% to reach Rs 5,200 crore by 2016,
Wednesday 16 April 2014
An Incredible M&A
The second largest acquisition Indian pharmaceutical industry, SunPharma’s $4 billion acquisition of Ranbaxy is making a lot of buzz in the world. What this acquisition is pointing towards? The size of the deal is greater than anyone’s imagination so there will be a great deal of hope invested by SunPharma founder Mr Dilip Sanghvi in this acquisition.
Through this SunPharma has emerged as India’s most valuable company in the pharmaceutical segment. SunPharma was started 20 years back with a capital of 5 lakh made crores within a short time span. Not only that, SunPharma became the fifth largest pharmaceutical company in the world, through this deal, which specializes in speciality generic medicine. This is obviously a great victory for a company which started off with a single manufacturing unit in 1983, which grew so big that they started operating in 65 countries. With this move their revenue will be almost double to $4.3 million
Lets think about the global impacts of this acquisition. India will be regaining its reputation as the provider for quality and affordable medicines. The SunPharma- Ranbaxy association will help to form a formidable generic power house, which will make an impact in world’s pharmaceutical industry.
Having effectively managed compliance issues at Caraco Pharmaceuticals, subsidiary of SunPharma in the US, SunPharma is known for the efficient administrative service. They have managed the compliance issues successfully than Ranbaxy. The track records of SunPharma and Ranbaxy in the US market is strong to reinstate the lost faith in Indiann Pharma industry. Mr Dilip is known for his administerial skills while handling Israeli based Taro Pharmaceuticals.
Another possibility which came up through this acquisition is that, without getting enthangled in the FDI policies Indian companies can work well through M&A s. The strategy of M& A has cleared all the hassles of red tapism and given a fresh life to the MNC s as well as other companies also.
Tuesday 15 April 2014
Barra and Her Woes Embedded in a Conspiracy Theory
It is not science fiction story, but a naked truth that 2.6 million cars were recalled by GM for faulty ignition switches, which resulted in13 deaths and more than 40 crashed. Well, it was no less than a mystery. At the end GM’s CEO Ms Marry Barra could be declared as a scapegoat and she maybe forced to take charge of all the mishap and it looks very unfortunate for the first ever women CEO of any automobile maker, having recently took the charge.
In a dramatic movement GM's CEO, Dan Akerson was appointed as the Vice Chairman of a relatively small private equity form Carlyle Group, from where he came to GM. His stepping down from GM’s CEO post was on the personal grounds though.
Was it because he was aware that the recall issue is going to come up and he did not want get crucified? He served GM through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy and even was in the leadership when GM released an IPO. Was it because that GM hired a female CEO, or the misconception that a female CEO will easily come out clean? Ms Barra had to go through severe questionnaire session by the female senators during the Congressional sessions.
Beyond doubts, Akerson’s stepping down raises eyebrows, even though the conspiracy theory is with plenty of loopholes. His public comments proved that he had severe anger and opposition on Ms Barra becoming his successor. Ms Barra had strong opponents for CEO post and that means that many of them were not aware that the disaster is near.
In the midst of all these woes, Barra is emerging as a winner by her right moves and she even did a public apology, Surprising fact is that she learned the technical issue behind the faulty ignition switches only after becoming the CEO. She has been heavily supported by the public and even became a public face for GM. She held public meetings VC s, and even went out to meet the victim’s family.
She has hired former US Attorney, Anton Valukas in order to conduct an enquiry and other efficient attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who is handling the funds of 9/11 and Boston bombing victims, for a possible compensation.
Her challenges are not yet over, now she has to get through the order to park all faulty cars until they are fixed. Her contention will be to prove the parking unnecessary. The reimbursement issues will be another heavy task. Finally Barra has to face Congress to explain what went wrong and what her action plan is to support her company as well as the clients. And of course that is not going to bean easy thing.
In a dramatic movement GM's CEO, Dan Akerson was appointed as the Vice Chairman of a relatively small private equity form Carlyle Group, from where he came to GM. His stepping down from GM’s CEO post was on the personal grounds though.
Was it because he was aware that the recall issue is going to come up and he did not want get crucified? He served GM through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy and even was in the leadership when GM released an IPO. Was it because that GM hired a female CEO, or the misconception that a female CEO will easily come out clean? Ms Barra had to go through severe questionnaire session by the female senators during the Congressional sessions.
Beyond doubts, Akerson’s stepping down raises eyebrows, even though the conspiracy theory is with plenty of loopholes. His public comments proved that he had severe anger and opposition on Ms Barra becoming his successor. Ms Barra had strong opponents for CEO post and that means that many of them were not aware that the disaster is near.
In the midst of all these woes, Barra is emerging as a winner by her right moves and she even did a public apology, Surprising fact is that she learned the technical issue behind the faulty ignition switches only after becoming the CEO. She has been heavily supported by the public and even became a public face for GM. She held public meetings VC s, and even went out to meet the victim’s family.
She has hired former US Attorney, Anton Valukas in order to conduct an enquiry and other efficient attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who is handling the funds of 9/11 and Boston bombing victims, for a possible compensation.
Her challenges are not yet over, now she has to get through the order to park all faulty cars until they are fixed. Her contention will be to prove the parking unnecessary. The reimbursement issues will be another heavy task. Finally Barra has to face Congress to explain what went wrong and what her action plan is to support her company as well as the clients. And of course that is not going to bean easy thing.
Friday 4 April 2014
An Analysis on Mobile Money
Mobile money is definitely a proven currency exchanging system that enables consumers to transfer money easily as a text message. Cell phones, by using call time credit, become a mobile phone debit charge cards. "It is safer and less expensive when you transfer cash than traditional options which are sluggish and expensive. Its progress in the market will certainly depend on regulating authorities recognizing this particular potential
These days, while people may have mobile , yet they might not have a bank account – this can make cell phones an immediate avenue to help nearly 1 / 2 the actual world’s unbanked people. The idea of branchless banking is grown ever since the technology sector has had a boom. In the midst of all these technological advancements the idea of branchless banking is raising many questions like
• How far this can be useful for the poor people?
• Is it cost effective?
• Can this technology meet all the requirements of the people?
Various Branchless Banking Services across the World are
• M-Pesa
• Banco Postal
• Bradesco
• Caixa Economica
• Wing Money
• MTN Mobile Money
• Orange Money
• EKO
• FINO
• Zap
• Easypaisa
• GCash
• Smart Money
• WIZZIT
Why Poor Economies Choose More for Mobile Money
Getting a bank account is not easy in most of the countries. In India many documents are required, some people are blacklisted by the banks, getting bank accounts are sometimes costlier, some banks are yet to open a branch in rural areas and the time and effort behind getting a bank account is very huge. Most of the poor population prefers informal lending despite the huge interest rates. The number of women who don’t have a bank account is high in almost all countries.
Mobile Money in Indian Scenario
FINO PayTech Limited
It is the biggest business correspondence service in India mainly serving the underprivileged by providing financial services like savings, deposits, insurance, EBT schemes and remittance across India? They have reached out to 522 districts all over India. FINO just isn't a bank, but rather a technology as well as a function provider . Started in 2006, FINO is promoted by more than 20 banks in India.
EKO
EKO works for ICICI, SBI and Yes Bank, mainly serves the migrants for their banking needs. It provides micro insurance policies of Bharti Axa as well. They have around 6000 transactions per day within their 700 networks. They operate via retailers through out these places.
Even though the sector has various challenges like deploying an efficient distribution network, customer acquisition and regulatory methods, the idea mobile money is advancing especially among the poor people in all economies.
These days, while people may have mobile , yet they might not have a bank account – this can make cell phones an immediate avenue to help nearly 1 / 2 the actual world’s unbanked people. The idea of branchless banking is grown ever since the technology sector has had a boom. In the midst of all these technological advancements the idea of branchless banking is raising many questions like
• How far this can be useful for the poor people?
• Is it cost effective?
• Can this technology meet all the requirements of the people?
Various Branchless Banking Services across the World are
• M-Pesa
• Banco Postal
• Bradesco
• Caixa Economica
• Wing Money
• MTN Mobile Money
• Orange Money
• EKO
• FINO
• Zap
• Easypaisa
• GCash
• Smart Money
• WIZZIT
Why Poor Economies Choose More for Mobile Money
Getting a bank account is not easy in most of the countries. In India many documents are required, some people are blacklisted by the banks, getting bank accounts are sometimes costlier, some banks are yet to open a branch in rural areas and the time and effort behind getting a bank account is very huge. Most of the poor population prefers informal lending despite the huge interest rates. The number of women who don’t have a bank account is high in almost all countries.
Mobile Money in Indian Scenario
FINO PayTech Limited
It is the biggest business correspondence service in India mainly serving the underprivileged by providing financial services like savings, deposits, insurance, EBT schemes and remittance across India? They have reached out to 522 districts all over India. FINO just isn't a bank, but rather a technology as well as a function provider . Started in 2006, FINO is promoted by more than 20 banks in India.
EKO
EKO works for ICICI, SBI and Yes Bank, mainly serves the migrants for their banking needs. It provides micro insurance policies of Bharti Axa as well. They have around 6000 transactions per day within their 700 networks. They operate via retailers through out these places.
Even though the sector has various challenges like deploying an efficient distribution network, customer acquisition and regulatory methods, the idea mobile money is advancing especially among the poor people in all economies.
Monday 24 March 2014
Future Trends in eCommerce
Sales through the internet, has changed the pre existed business patterns despite the geographical barriers. Whether it is C2C, B2B or B2C, eCommerce is flourishing day by day and gives a promising outlook in the coming years. The eCommerce wave is stronger than when they had started in 1995, gained much base by overcoming the IT downturn in 2000. From mere online travel booking and matrimonial sites, eCommerce has grown tremendously with refined methodologies making eCommerce more and more attractive.
Trends in eCommerce industry are changing and competitors are looking for any method which makes their business more profitable and practical for the consumers. Below listed are the few trends which will dominate the eCommerce industry in 2014
Big Data Analytics
Next time when you take part in a survey and mark your responses, your personal traits may get recorded at the backend, by which the surveyor company can use this data either for their existing promotion or to create a new product. Facebook is an ideal example for Big Data, which could uncover hidden patterns from the timeline posts and identify the status of the relationship.! Netflix and Comcast have entered into a partnership agreement where Netflix subscribers opting for Comcast Internet services gets better quality video.
In eCommerce, the structured data and unstructured data are both taken for increasing conversions. Structured data are mainly with fields of data such as name, address, preferences, gender and age and unstructured data are likes, tweets, clicks, videos etc. Walmart collects more than 2.5 pet bytes of data every hour from its customer transactions. A pet byte is one quadrillion bytes, or equal to 20 million, worth of text. An exabyte is 1,000 times of that, or equal to one billion gigabytes. The data ican be used for pricing, predictive analytics, better customer service, and to manage the supply chain.
Multichannel Shopping
Advanced technology paved the way for multi channel shopping through various devices like, Smart phones, PCs, tablets, laptops and iPad. In India the number of internet users is expected to increase by 300 million, which in turn look very promising for the business. The expected growth in online transaction is 40 million by 2016.
Innovative Customer Service Methods
Most of the e commerce sites are providing 24*7 supports via chat, mail and call; it was not a multi dimensional customer service earlier. COD, a recent technique adopted by the Indian online retailers helped them in getting more returns than the old method of payment at the time of buying. Some eCommerce retailers even give online guidance for the purchase. There will be more deals and offers in the coming days.
New Shipping Solutions
Shipping is critical for any online retailers and they are bringing up innovative ideas to ensure fast delivery. Online retailers like Jabong and Flipkart have their own logistics services that have definitely increased their acceptance. Many local stores are offering next day delivery in the US and UK.
Advertisements Through Mobiles
Mobile advertising shall increase, as the online retailers are spending more on mobile ads. Video ads, SMS are mainly used by large retailers where small retailers stick on to traditional ads. Most online retailers are trying PPC and CPC. Ads are also possible as blogs, tweets and communities.
Personalized Products
In 2014, 3D display of the products shall take over the traditional photo display, through that customers can identify what they exactly want in the product. GiantSlike Nike, BMW's mini cooper has generated business from allowing their customers to design their product online. Online retailers have already plugged into this technology where small retailers may find difficult to get resources to venture into this.
Thursday 13 March 2014
Socially Yours
When Mr. Dave Caroll posted his music video "United Breaks Guitars" on YouTube he never thought that his video will ever cause a damage of $180bn to the United Airlines Company. This famous musician from Canada was flying to Nebraska on United Airlines, and was very angry and hurt when the baggage handlers of the airline broke his Taylor Guitar worth $30, 000. His claims for the compensation was rejected by the airline company, stating that his case was not in compliance with the company's compensation policies. The video went viral and after the fourth day around 1.5 million people watched it, 2000 tweets, 777 blogs were based on that incident and 339 online portals reported this incident. The company lost around 10% of its market cap.
The Taylor Guitar Company reaped benefits through this video and they offered props for the next 2 music videos in this series. And that's the power of social media and these days customers are using this platform extensively for discussions.
The customer may not be a true King, but their convenience matters a lot and that's why the banking industry is eagerly adopting the social media platform for better customer services. Banks have become more conversation oriented than being, a pragmatic approach in a highly regulated industry. Are the customers reaping benefit of their banks' Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts and if they do, then how?
Wells Fargo, is on social media since 2006, is the first largest financial institution to use the social media platform. They found it promising and have two Facebook pages, many blogs, and four Twitter accounts and even have a YouTube channel.
Moven Bank, a New York based mobile banking company, they connect with their customers through social media. Moven even has a plug-in to transfer money to their customers Facebook friends! Moven which was listed in the Top ten coolest brands in banking is using the social media successfully than any other financial institution. Their customers can even open an account via their FB page, they are rewarded for their referrals, and for the time spend on Moven's social media page. Moven is planning to charge $5.95 monthly for the debit card use, but those customers who have brought in a referral account will be waived from those fees.
Barclays uses their social media accounts for product promotion, CSR activities, to get feedback, job postings, etc. HSBC has a separate FB page for students where they handle queries from students.
Consumers are willing to spend more on social media to get improved services if, the services are better, then more than 65% of the US customers are ready to give their personal info in social media. Globally, 7 out of 10 customers of the banks are willing to take up the help of virtual technology. Even though data theft is a big threat, consumers are ready to trust their banks for better services. According to a recent Cisco survey, 88% of the bankers believe that customers are ready to reap the benefit of virtual banking, 58% of the bankers believe that they can give more personal services and 63% of consumers are ready to meet a financial advisor online!
The Taylor Guitar Company reaped benefits through this video and they offered props for the next 2 music videos in this series. And that's the power of social media and these days customers are using this platform extensively for discussions.
The customer may not be a true King, but their convenience matters a lot and that's why the banking industry is eagerly adopting the social media platform for better customer services. Banks have become more conversation oriented than being, a pragmatic approach in a highly regulated industry. Are the customers reaping benefit of their banks' Facebook, Twitter and other social media accounts and if they do, then how?
Wells Fargo, is on social media since 2006, is the first largest financial institution to use the social media platform. They found it promising and have two Facebook pages, many blogs, and four Twitter accounts and even have a YouTube channel.
Moven Bank, a New York based mobile banking company, they connect with their customers through social media. Moven even has a plug-in to transfer money to their customers Facebook friends! Moven which was listed in the Top ten coolest brands in banking is using the social media successfully than any other financial institution. Their customers can even open an account via their FB page, they are rewarded for their referrals, and for the time spend on Moven's social media page. Moven is planning to charge $5.95 monthly for the debit card use, but those customers who have brought in a referral account will be waived from those fees.
Barclays uses their social media accounts for product promotion, CSR activities, to get feedback, job postings, etc. HSBC has a separate FB page for students where they handle queries from students.
Consumers are willing to spend more on social media to get improved services if, the services are better, then more than 65% of the US customers are ready to give their personal info in social media. Globally, 7 out of 10 customers of the banks are willing to take up the help of virtual technology. Even though data theft is a big threat, consumers are ready to trust their banks for better services. According to a recent Cisco survey, 88% of the bankers believe that customers are ready to reap the benefit of virtual banking, 58% of the bankers believe that they can give more personal services and 63% of consumers are ready to meet a financial advisor online!
Thursday 27 February 2014
Crowdfunding : A new method to Raise Capital
Cake Notice, a small food store in South California raised capital through a crowd funding site Small Knot , to start its retail operations and they received more than what they expected. The request was for $2500 and they got $2620! This is not a single case, Ouya a game console got much more than what they expected, they got $8.6 million. In 2008, for the US presidential election campaign the fund raised by Mr Obama was mainly through these crowd funding platforms.
The crowd funding may be a relatively new phenomenon, but it is growing like wildfire later it got immense reception in the US and UK. In the earlier model, people used to pledge their money for startups that too, with no expectation in return. The contribution model has been reverted to Donation model, Lending model and Investment model these days and will be surely subjected to further changes in the future.
In the Lending model, there are terms and conditions where the creators have to follow strictly as in typical lending. The expectation of repayment is present in this model. The Lending model can take the form of a traditional lending agreement and a simple loan.
The Donation model is purely donating money by individuals and they hold no expectation of returns. The contributors are thanked by rewards and small incentives.
In Investment model it is just like a standard equity investment, where the investor gets equity or share of the project. This could be a security investment model or revenue sharing model.
Raising capital was once purely traditional, but with the launch of more and more crowd funding sites it became easier for millions who wanted to shape up their business and there are successful startups who even used social media platforms to raise their capital. In India a film maker raised 51 lakh just through FB.
The crowd funding may be a relatively new phenomenon, but it is growing like wildfire later it got immense reception in the US and UK. In the earlier model, people used to pledge their money for startups that too, with no expectation in return. The contribution model has been reverted to Donation model, Lending model and Investment model these days and will be surely subjected to further changes in the future.
In the Lending model, there are terms and conditions where the creators have to follow strictly as in typical lending. The expectation of repayment is present in this model. The Lending model can take the form of a traditional lending agreement and a simple loan.
The Donation model is purely donating money by individuals and they hold no expectation of returns. The contributors are thanked by rewards and small incentives.
In Investment model it is just like a standard equity investment, where the investor gets equity or share of the project. This could be a security investment model or revenue sharing model.
Raising capital was once purely traditional, but with the launch of more and more crowd funding sites it became easier for millions who wanted to shape up their business and there are successful startups who even used social media platforms to raise their capital. In India a film maker raised 51 lakh just through FB.
Tuesday 18 February 2014
The Sino- Indian Gold War
It is not a surprise that China has outgrown India in its gold consumption in 2013, as they consumed 1,066 tonnes of gold, while Indian consumption was only 975 tones. Blame it on the curbs from Indian government just to keep the Current Account Deficit on track which led to the decrease in gold consumption by 10 % which was a 13% up from the consumption in 2012.
The CAD (Current Account Deficit) was on record high at $88.2 billion which is 4.8% of the GDP in the last fiscal term. Various curbs like a hike in import duty on gold to 10% and making 20% of the imported gold available to exporters, gold business in India is facing seasonal obstacles in making profit.
The central bank is strictly following the 20/80 principle on import which can be described as, when a nominated bank import 100 kg pure gold, 20% of that consignment should be given to the exporters and 80% will be in the domestic market. In order to bring down the consumption, nominated banks and import agents were restricted to distribute gold only to entities engaged in jewelry business and to those bullion sellers who are supplying gold to jewelers.
These steps has obviously resulted in decreasing the CAD, and the finance minister is hopeful about the exports that it will reach $326 billion in 2013-2014, which was $304.5 billion in 2012-2013. The restrictions were imposed in July 2013 since then the CAD has narrowed to$29.6 billion ie, 3.1% of GDP.
The curbs are enticing gold smugglers all around India and the records say that smuggling is about 20 to 30 tonnes a month, precisely speaking in the month of May alone around 162 tonnes was smuggled. Smugglers are frequently changing their techniques including people swallowing gold capsules and this month one person was caught swallowing 54 lakh worth gold in the capsule form! Those who were left unnoticed are more.
The high smuggling rate may not have convinced the RBI and finance ministry to ease the restrictions; they are actively looking at improved CAD. The ease in restriction is a necessity and this may take place by elections on May. The easing of 20/80 strategy can bring more gold in the domestic market
China, currently the top buyer of gold is working on the strategies which in turn create more suppliers. Recently Chinese government approved a gold trade fund and even import license for foreign banks. While India makes buying gold difficult China makes it easy. While Indian gold consumption raised by 13% Chinese consumption was on a high of 32% in 2013! China is even moving to keep gold price in their local currency(Renminbi) in international market, where as India does not even have a clear gold policy. Even Indian Finance Minister in his interim budget has strongly advocated curbs saying they are mandatory of a healthy economy.
The CAD (Current Account Deficit) was on record high at $88.2 billion which is 4.8% of the GDP in the last fiscal term. Various curbs like a hike in import duty on gold to 10% and making 20% of the imported gold available to exporters, gold business in India is facing seasonal obstacles in making profit.
The central bank is strictly following the 20/80 principle on import which can be described as, when a nominated bank import 100 kg pure gold, 20% of that consignment should be given to the exporters and 80% will be in the domestic market. In order to bring down the consumption, nominated banks and import agents were restricted to distribute gold only to entities engaged in jewelry business and to those bullion sellers who are supplying gold to jewelers.
These steps has obviously resulted in decreasing the CAD, and the finance minister is hopeful about the exports that it will reach $326 billion in 2013-2014, which was $304.5 billion in 2012-2013. The restrictions were imposed in July 2013 since then the CAD has narrowed to$29.6 billion ie, 3.1% of GDP.
The curbs are enticing gold smugglers all around India and the records say that smuggling is about 20 to 30 tonnes a month, precisely speaking in the month of May alone around 162 tonnes was smuggled. Smugglers are frequently changing their techniques including people swallowing gold capsules and this month one person was caught swallowing 54 lakh worth gold in the capsule form! Those who were left unnoticed are more.
The high smuggling rate may not have convinced the RBI and finance ministry to ease the restrictions; they are actively looking at improved CAD. The ease in restriction is a necessity and this may take place by elections on May. The easing of 20/80 strategy can bring more gold in the domestic market
China, currently the top buyer of gold is working on the strategies which in turn create more suppliers. Recently Chinese government approved a gold trade fund and even import license for foreign banks. While India makes buying gold difficult China makes it easy. While Indian gold consumption raised by 13% Chinese consumption was on a high of 32% in 2013! China is even moving to keep gold price in their local currency(Renminbi) in international market, where as India does not even have a clear gold policy. Even Indian Finance Minister in his interim budget has strongly advocated curbs saying they are mandatory of a healthy economy.
Wednesday 12 February 2014
M-pesa For the Rural Poor
M-pesa For the Rural Poor
M-Pesa may not be a interesting subject for the rich and developed countries but it is highly popular as a micro financing service from the mobile service providers, Vodacom and Safaricom in African countries especially in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana. The number of M-pesa customers in Kenya itself is more than 18 million this shows the popularity of M-pesa.
Heavy processing fees, service charges and interest rates levied by the commercial banks makes their service unavailable for the poor African population so M-pesa was the necessity of those millions. M-pesa was developed by the Kenyans with the support of Department of International Development, a UK agency in 2003. This has truly benefited rural population of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana who doesn’t even have bank accounts and this scales up to around 79% of entire African population.
Establishment of M-pesa was easy due to the fact that there are more than 500 million mobile phone users in African countries and in Uganda alone there are more than 10 million mobile phone users.
How M-pesa Works?
It is so easy that anyone can register to the M-pesa network through an M pesa agent and they are available in every nook and corner of these African countries. Soon after the registration the service provider would send an updated menu to the phone. Then the customer has to give money to the M-pesa agent and he will load it. It is just like storing money in your mobile and sending it as a text to the recipient’s phone and he can take the money from his local M-pesa hub. Most of the banking and telecom transactions could be done using this service. Just few clicks on the mobile and the money is send to any part of the country that too within no time. The popularity is such that 11% of Kenya’s GDP is transferred through M-pesa alone. You can even withdraw money from ATM without an ATM card. M-pesa is for
• Cashless transactions
• Money Transfer
• Bill Payments
• Airtime Purchase
• Bank Transactions
M-pesa in Various Countries
MobileMoney in Uganda
MobileMoney was launched by MTN Uganda in 2009 has grown to have 600000 customers within that year. Their marketing techniques helped them to acquire 1.9 million customers till 2013. MTN Uganda covers 80% of the country and this made MobileMoney available everywhere. Additionally, Grameen Foundation which is a micro financing agency in Uganda even lends smart phones on lease and this obviously add into the number of mobile phone users.
M-pesa in South Africa
Owing to the strict banking regulations in South Africa , M-pesa is not functioning well even it launched in 2010 with the partnership of NetBank and Vodacom. Despite the people without a bank account exceed 13 million, M-pesa has not got popularity yet so the partners are redesigning the product and planning new marketing strategies.
M-pesa Afghanistan
Amidst the Taliban threats M-pesa has gained such popularity that the police department started distributing salaries through this service. Launched in 2008 by Vodafone and partner company Roshan, the primary mobile provider, M-pesa even put an end the ghost police servants who were looting the salary of government officers. Finding this service every efficient, Afgan government is making use of this service for other financial transactions
M-paisa India
Indian version of M-pesa, M-Paisa was launched in 2011 by Vodafone and HDFC, has not started as a full-fledged service yet. In 2013 Vodafone partnered with ICICI also.
Conclusion
M-pesa seem to have great scope in poor countries where rural population is high. In Africa where electricity consumption is just 4% of the global electricity consumption, advance banking techniques like mobile banking, or online banking including having own PC is a distant dream for laymen.
M-Pesa may not be a interesting subject for the rich and developed countries but it is highly popular as a micro financing service from the mobile service providers, Vodacom and Safaricom in African countries especially in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana. The number of M-pesa customers in Kenya itself is more than 18 million this shows the popularity of M-pesa.
Heavy processing fees, service charges and interest rates levied by the commercial banks makes their service unavailable for the poor African population so M-pesa was the necessity of those millions. M-pesa was developed by the Kenyans with the support of Department of International Development, a UK agency in 2003. This has truly benefited rural population of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana who doesn’t even have bank accounts and this scales up to around 79% of entire African population.
Establishment of M-pesa was easy due to the fact that there are more than 500 million mobile phone users in African countries and in Uganda alone there are more than 10 million mobile phone users.
How M-pesa Works?
It is so easy that anyone can register to the M-pesa network through an M pesa agent and they are available in every nook and corner of these African countries. Soon after the registration the service provider would send an updated menu to the phone. Then the customer has to give money to the M-pesa agent and he will load it. It is just like storing money in your mobile and sending it as a text to the recipient’s phone and he can take the money from his local M-pesa hub. Most of the banking and telecom transactions could be done using this service. Just few clicks on the mobile and the money is send to any part of the country that too within no time. The popularity is such that 11% of Kenya’s GDP is transferred through M-pesa alone. You can even withdraw money from ATM without an ATM card. M-pesa is for
• Cashless transactions
• Money Transfer
• Bill Payments
• Airtime Purchase
• Bank Transactions
M-pesa in Various Countries
MobileMoney in Uganda
MobileMoney was launched by MTN Uganda in 2009 has grown to have 600000 customers within that year. Their marketing techniques helped them to acquire 1.9 million customers till 2013. MTN Uganda covers 80% of the country and this made MobileMoney available everywhere. Additionally, Grameen Foundation which is a micro financing agency in Uganda even lends smart phones on lease and this obviously add into the number of mobile phone users.
M-pesa in South Africa
Owing to the strict banking regulations in South Africa , M-pesa is not functioning well even it launched in 2010 with the partnership of NetBank and Vodacom. Despite the people without a bank account exceed 13 million, M-pesa has not got popularity yet so the partners are redesigning the product and planning new marketing strategies.
M-pesa Afghanistan
Amidst the Taliban threats M-pesa has gained such popularity that the police department started distributing salaries through this service. Launched in 2008 by Vodafone and partner company Roshan, the primary mobile provider, M-pesa even put an end the ghost police servants who were looting the salary of government officers. Finding this service every efficient, Afgan government is making use of this service for other financial transactions
M-paisa India
Indian version of M-pesa, M-Paisa was launched in 2011 by Vodafone and HDFC, has not started as a full-fledged service yet. In 2013 Vodafone partnered with ICICI also.
Conclusion
M-pesa seem to have great scope in poor countries where rural population is high. In Africa where electricity consumption is just 4% of the global electricity consumption, advance banking techniques like mobile banking, or online banking including having own PC is a distant dream for laymen.
Tuesday 4 February 2014
CSR in India an Overview
The European and American model of CSR may not match up with the quality and efficiency of Indian CSR policies; this is the confidence of the makers of Indian CSR policies. CSR has been well defined under section 135 of Companies Act which was passed in 2013. This act is all about bringing up corporate governance and strengthening corporate regulations.
The purpose of the CSR bill is to create a supportive environment, which allows corporates to strengthen their efficiency and to develop business policies, in order to connect between business and the communities with the focus in erasing our socio, economic and political issues and thus strengthening the society with the partnership of government and NGO s.
Section 135 says companies with net worth of Rs. 500 Cr or turnover of Rs. 1000 Cr or net profit of Rs. 5 Cr should have a mandatory CSR spend of 2 % of PBT. The various activities promoted should be focused on eradication of poverty, promoting education, promoting gender equality, women empowerment, reducing infant mortality and improving maternal health, prevention of diseases, protecting environment, and increasing employment opportunities etc.
In the US, CSR policies are rooted in 1920 s Community Chest Movement which was a part of Progressive Era from 1870s to 1920s. In this period number of millionaires in the US grew and started contributing to social purposes. CSR got its modern outlook in 1980. Current CSR model have a vivid structure and management.
•In the 2/3 of the companies identify corporate philanthropy and CSR within the corporate structure
•Corporate philanthropy and CSR is divided into corporate communications, Marketing and HR
•HR department channels the employ involvement programs
The Corporate Foundation Board includes the senior management including the CEO and the process can be centralized, decentralized or hybrid. The coordination will be through committee and supervision will be through the senior management.
The CSR initiatives in India are almost identified as a philanthropic, but it has moved from there to various levels of community building and institutional advancement. Schedule 7 of the Companies Acts details about the CSR initiatives and directs companies to focus on community development and CSR policies should go beyond mere community development and philanthropy. The focus should be on the work done with the profit after the profit is made.
The purpose of the CSR bill is to create a supportive environment, which allows corporates to strengthen their efficiency and to develop business policies, in order to connect between business and the communities with the focus in erasing our socio, economic and political issues and thus strengthening the society with the partnership of government and NGO s.
Section 135 says companies with net worth of Rs. 500 Cr or turnover of Rs. 1000 Cr or net profit of Rs. 5 Cr should have a mandatory CSR spend of 2 % of PBT. The various activities promoted should be focused on eradication of poverty, promoting education, promoting gender equality, women empowerment, reducing infant mortality and improving maternal health, prevention of diseases, protecting environment, and increasing employment opportunities etc.
In the US, CSR policies are rooted in 1920 s Community Chest Movement which was a part of Progressive Era from 1870s to 1920s. In this period number of millionaires in the US grew and started contributing to social purposes. CSR got its modern outlook in 1980. Current CSR model have a vivid structure and management.
•In the 2/3 of the companies identify corporate philanthropy and CSR within the corporate structure
•Corporate philanthropy and CSR is divided into corporate communications, Marketing and HR
•HR department channels the employ involvement programs
The Corporate Foundation Board includes the senior management including the CEO and the process can be centralized, decentralized or hybrid. The coordination will be through committee and supervision will be through the senior management.
The CSR initiatives in India are almost identified as a philanthropic, but it has moved from there to various levels of community building and institutional advancement. Schedule 7 of the Companies Acts details about the CSR initiatives and directs companies to focus on community development and CSR policies should go beyond mere community development and philanthropy. The focus should be on the work done with the profit after the profit is made.
Thursday 23 January 2014
After a Bloomberg Poll
Will 2014 be a great year for investments? Do the investors truly believe that 2014 will be the best year since 2009? Let’s take a look at the poll results on various indicators discussed in this survey. About the economies 72% of the global investors have the confidence that the US economy is improving. In that, 22% think the US economy is stable and 6% say it is deteriorating. Global investors are not hopeful about Chinese and Brazilian economy. It's not a surprise when 21% of the global investors opined that they don’t have any idea about Brazilian economy.
Which are the main factors going to drive the US economy in 2014? Is it the increased oil and gas production or more companies investing due to the rise in confidence? Whether the growth in the job market will act as a catalyst? Or the improvement in real-estate and auto industry? The increase in the US population will demand more houses. In the US one birth happens in every 8 seconds, a death in every 12 seconds, and one international migrant in every 40 seconds. In 2012 the US population was around 313 million and in 2013 it’s 315 million. Consumer spending will increase, but the borrowing could be on the lesser side.
Now when we talk about the Brazil, the October 2013 riots may be an ugly chapter which Brazilians may forget. It was the outcome of the corrupt political system, failing health care, ineffective educational system and raising expenditures. Finance minister, Guido Mantega is very much hopeful about the Brazilian economy in 2014. He claims that Brazil has overcome primary fiscal surplus target.
The target was 73 billion reals but they claim they have achieved 75 billion reais in 2013. The reais went down by 13% in 2013, got an appreciation of 0.4% to 2.3 / USD till Jan 5th. He agrees that the trade surplus was lowest in the last 13 years that is $2.56 billion. Brazil expects a 4% advance in 2014. This Latin American country has faith in oil exports, higher tax receipts and support for infrastructure, natural resources and transport.
In this Global poll no one doubted the opportunities in the US, 4% global investors who participated in the survey thinks that US economy will grow by 6%, 3% of them believe the growth will be of 40% and 2% says it will 44% and 2% believes the growth will be less than 8%. That time will prove.
Which are the main factors going to drive the US economy in 2014? Is it the increased oil and gas production or more companies investing due to the rise in confidence? Whether the growth in the job market will act as a catalyst? Or the improvement in real-estate and auto industry? The increase in the US population will demand more houses. In the US one birth happens in every 8 seconds, a death in every 12 seconds, and one international migrant in every 40 seconds. In 2012 the US population was around 313 million and in 2013 it’s 315 million. Consumer spending will increase, but the borrowing could be on the lesser side.
Now when we talk about the Brazil, the October 2013 riots may be an ugly chapter which Brazilians may forget. It was the outcome of the corrupt political system, failing health care, ineffective educational system and raising expenditures. Finance minister, Guido Mantega is very much hopeful about the Brazilian economy in 2014. He claims that Brazil has overcome primary fiscal surplus target.
The target was 73 billion reals but they claim they have achieved 75 billion reais in 2013. The reais went down by 13% in 2013, got an appreciation of 0.4% to 2.3 / USD till Jan 5th. He agrees that the trade surplus was lowest in the last 13 years that is $2.56 billion. Brazil expects a 4% advance in 2014. This Latin American country has faith in oil exports, higher tax receipts and support for infrastructure, natural resources and transport.
In this Global poll no one doubted the opportunities in the US, 4% global investors who participated in the survey thinks that US economy will grow by 6%, 3% of them believe the growth will be of 40% and 2% says it will 44% and 2% believes the growth will be less than 8%. That time will prove.
Thursday 9 January 2014
Will the Brent Crude Really Come Down in 2014?
Brent Crude price showed the lowest of this month which is $106.77 and may go down to $80/barrel according to the Saxo Bank prediction. Will price determinants, supply and demand and market sentiment work in favor of Brent Crude? The report says no. If no the why? Experts looks at the increase production from Saudi and rising non conventional method of oil extraction.
EIA, Energy Information Administration expects production from non-OPEC countries would grow to around 2million year on year. The oil production from Libya, Iran are supposed to rise as the civil unrest and other restrictions imposed are getting eased. Among the futures traders, hedge fund short position, increased supply of the US shale oil, and solved transportation issues also will contribute to the rein on the climbing oil prices.
The advanced technology used by the US has helped them in extracting more oil from shale rock ie Kerogen oil. Even though production of shale oil is highly underestimated by the market, it will become prominent in the future. This will result in bringing down oil prices
Now the question is whether the increased production will challenge the Russian
dominance. Currently Russia is the largest oil and gas producer and their position can be in a question since the Russian technology on il extraction is still not at par with the US. The US produces 22 million barrels while there is no such authentic data on Russian oil production other than report from Moscow which says Russia produces around 21 barrels/ day.
EIA, Energy Information Administration expects production from non-OPEC countries would grow to around 2million year on year. The oil production from Libya, Iran are supposed to rise as the civil unrest and other restrictions imposed are getting eased. Among the futures traders, hedge fund short position, increased supply of the US shale oil, and solved transportation issues also will contribute to the rein on the climbing oil prices.
The advanced technology used by the US has helped them in extracting more oil from shale rock ie Kerogen oil. Even though production of shale oil is highly underestimated by the market, it will become prominent in the future. This will result in bringing down oil prices
Now the question is whether the increased production will challenge the Russian
dominance. Currently Russia is the largest oil and gas producer and their position can be in a question since the Russian technology on il extraction is still not at par with the US. The US produces 22 million barrels while there is no such authentic data on Russian oil production other than report from Moscow which says Russia produces around 21 barrels/ day.
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