Over 50 Cr New Internet Users Across India During Next 5-8 Months

The number of Internet users in the country is expected to go up to 50 crore, from the present over 40 crore, in next 5-8 months, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said recently.

“The number of people using Internet has crossed 40 crore in the country at present. I am expecting this number to go up to 50 crore in next 5-8 months.

“According to our estimate, out of these, 70 per cent people are going to access Internet through mobile phones,” Prasad said here at an Indore Management Association function.

About 100 crore people, out of the population of India of nearly 125 crore, have mobile phones, the minister said, adding that every month, 20-35 lakh mobile users are added.

“The NDA government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is trying to awaken the efficiency and innovation in the public. We are constantly simplifying the government policies and procedures for good governance and development,” he said.

“Former Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government is known for construction of National Highways. The present Prime Minister Narendra Modi government will be known for setting up Information Highways,” Prasad said.

The Telecom and Information Technology Minister also said that there are about 95 crore Aadhar card holders in the country and the government has made the Aadhar card mandatory for reaping the benefits of many schemes to promote good governance.

If the Supreme Court gives nod, then the Aadhar card will be made mandatory for all government schemes, he added.

Prasad also said that the government is working towards connecting 2.50 lakh gram panchayats in the country through optical fibre network.

When all the gram panchayats would be linked through this network, then e-business, e-education, e-health and other projects could be started in villages, he added.

Agencies

Coolpad & Videocon Partner for Handsets Manufacturing in India

Chinese handset maker Coolpad said it has partnered Videocon to assemble its handsets in India, a move aimed at helping the company garner larger share in the strongly contested Indian smartphone market.

Coolpad, which forayed into India last year, is also looking at setting up its research and development (R&D) operations here to cater to the SAARC region.

"We have partnered Videocon to assemble our handsets in India. This will help us bring our products faster to our consumers... The plant in Aurangabad has a monthly capacity of 3 lakh units," Coolpad India CEO Syed Tajuddin told the media.

He added that it will at least be another 1-2 years before full-fledged manufacturing will be done in India.

"The target is to produce one million Made in India phones by H1 of 2016. Initially, around 15,000-20,000 devices will be imported from China and rest will be manufactured from India," he said.

Interestingly, Videocon also has its own line of smartphones selling in the Indian market.

Asked about the cost benefits of manufacturing in India, Tajuddin said the scale of operations in the country is still not comparable to China.

"However, the costs of manufacturing in China are going up and people are looking at India as the next big destination... Manufacturing in India is giving us about 5-6 per cent benefit which we will pass on to the consumers," he said.

Recently, many international players like Xiaomi, Gionee and Asus have set up assembly units in India. Handset makers are looking to tap the multi-billion dollar opportunity in India, which is one of the fastest growing markets globally.

According to research firm IDC, shipments in India grew 21.4 per cent year-on-year to 28.3 million units in the July- September 2015 quarter.

Samsung led the tally with 24 per cent share, followed by Micromax (16.7 per cent), Intex (10.8 per cent), Lenovo Group -- Lenovo and Motorola (9.5 per cent) and Lava (4.7 per cent).

Tajuddin said the company is eyeing five per cent share of the smartphone market in India.

Coolpad is also exploring plans of setting up a R&D unit in India.

"The discussions are on (within the company). India will cater to the entire SAARC region, this is a very important market for us. The centre would provide employment to 200-300 people at least," he said.

Coolpad today launched 'Note 3 Lite', which is being assembled in India.

Priced at Rs. 6,999, the handset will be available on e-commerce portal, Amazon.in through a flash model from January 28.

Equipped with a fingerprint sensor, the 4G-enabled Note 3 Lite has a 5-inch screen, 3GB RAM, 16GB storage (expandable up to 64 GB), 13MP rear and 5MP front cameras and 2,500 mAh battery.

Agencies

Now Book Mahindra KUV100 Through Flipkart Online Booking

Flipkart, India’s largest marketplace, has announced a first of its kind tie-up in the automobile industry with Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), India’s leading SUV manufacturer, to open online bookings for Mahindra’s much awaited SUV - KUV100, exclusively through Flipkart. The online bookings for the compact SUV will be open from mid-night of January 18^th, 2016. 

Anil Goteti, Vice President - Business, Flipkart said, "Online today is a must have strategy for all players to respond to the growing demand of their customers who are spread across different cities and towns in the country. First time in the automobile category, this exclusive tie-up will allow Mahindra access Flipkart’s extensive reach and network to connect with their customers and provide them the ease to book Mahindra KUV100 online.”

Flipkart launched Automobiles as a category last month with a vision to change the way vehicles are bought in India. The association with Mahindra is another step in that direction. The two entities have come together to deliver superior customer experience with assured in-a-month delivery. Flipkart currently also offers a wide range of automotive accessories as part of its endeavor to become a destination for all automotive needs.

Mahindra's much awaited compact SUV KUV100 (pronounced as KUV '1 double Oh'), has been conceptualized and developed with the aim of creating an entirely new category. The KUV100 is a compact SUV where 'K' stands for the 'kool' & trendy generation of youth, while UV represents an SUV. The numeric '100' represents the pecking order of the series which comes in below TUV300 and XUV500. With its aggressive styling and dominating SUV stance, the KUV100 remains true to the tough and rugged Mahindra DNA.

Speaking on the association with Flipkart, Veejay Ram Nakra, Senior Vice President, Sales & Customer Care, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, "We are happy to announce this tie-up with Flipkart, one of the pioneers in the e commerce category. Being two young brands, both KUV100 and Flipkart complement each other. This tie-up with Flipkart further reinforces our customer centric initiatives. With the ever increasing population of internet users, this was a step in the right direction for us, especially for brand KUV100 that targets the young and trendy. I am sure that this association will be mutually beneficial for both the companies. "

Designed in-house and engineered at Mahindra's world class research and development facility, the Mahindra Research Valley at Chennai, KUV100 will be powered by the world-class mFALCON, an all-new engine family with options of both petrol (mFALCON, G80) and diesel (mFALCON, D75). The mFALCON is a compact lightweight engine built to deliver peppy and high performance.

Targeted at the youth and first time car buyers, the KUV100 is contemporary to the core and truly stylized with best in class technologies.  An indigenously developed monocoque SUV, the KUV100 will have many firsts to its credit including the first ground up petrol engine offering from Mahindra. In fact, all research & development activities for this compact SUV were aligned with global standards of quality, technology, testing norms, regulations and emissions from the very start.

The KUV100 will be available in 7 exciting colors of Fiery Orange, Flamboyant Red, Dazzling Silver, Aquamarine, Pearl White, Designer Grey and Midnight Black

Idea Expands High-Speed 4G LTE Offering to 7 Telecom Circles

Idea Cellular, one of the largest Indian telecom operators, has announced the launch of its high speed 4G LTE services across four more states in India (three Telecom Circles) – Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. With this launch, the company has expanded its 4G LTE service footprint to 7 telecom service areas, including the 4 telecom circles of South India, namely Andhra Pradesh & Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu & Chennai, which were launched on 23^rd December 2015. Idea’s 4G LTE services will be available across 183 towns in these 7 telecom service areas by 31^st January 2016.

Major towns to be covered with Idea’s 4G LTE services at launch include the cities of Indore, Bhopal and Raipur in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh (MPCG), Chandigarh, Firozpur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Moga and Pathankot in Punjab, and Ambala, Karnal, Hissar, Panipat, Rohtak and Sonipat in Haryana. Other major towns including Gwalior, Jabalpur, Jalandhar, Muktsar, Patiala, Sangrur, Charkhidadri and Pinjore will follow by 31^st January 2016.

Idea Cellular is the leading mobile telecom service provider in MPCG, providing unmatchable coverage on 2G platform and an extensive network of 3G services across these two states. With this launch, Idea Cellular has become the first mobile telecom operator to offer latest 4G services in MPCG. The company’s world-class 4G services will rapidly expand to cover 84 towns includingAmbikapur, Anuppur, Bhilai, Bilaspur, Chhatarpur, Katni, Kawardha, Korba, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Rajnandgaon, Ratlam, Sagar, Satna, Sehore, Shahdol, Shivpuri, Ujjain and Vidisha by March 2016.

Announcing the expansion of 4G services Mr. Ambrish Jain, Deputy Managing Director, Idea Cellularsaid, “Since last week of December 2015, Idea has rapidly rolled out its high-speed 4G LTE network to cover 7 major markets in India. By March 2016, our services will extend to 3 more key markets namely, Maharashtra & Goa, North East and Orissa, and by June 2016, Idea’s 4G footprint will cover 750 cities across 10 telecom circles.”

Idea Cellular currently holds 1800 MHz 4G spectrum in these 10 Telecom circles which cover 50% of telecom market but over 60% of Idea’s gross revenue. Additionally, Idea has recently signed an agreement with Videocon Telecommunications Limited for acquiring ‘Right to Use’ 1800 MHz spectrum under ‘Spectrum Trading Agreement’ in two of its key telecom leadership markets of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh (West). Post completion of this transaction, 4G services will be extended to 12 service areas, covering 75% of Idea’s revenue base in the country.

According to Mr. Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular, “Idea customers with 4G devices in these 183 towns can now start experiencing superfast speeds by simply upgrading their existing SIM cards to new 4G SIM cards. The company is also offering attractive subscription plans to digital content including a wide range of the latest Music, Movies and Games. Idea has also partnered with leading handset manufacturers and e-commerce retailers for special data bundling offers on new 4G smartphones.”

Idea has 2.7 million 4G devices, nearly 4% of its subscriber base in these 7 telecom service areas, registered on its network. In comparison, on an All India basis, Idea has nearly 49.5 million customers owning 3G devices (approx. 29% of EoP) and over 6 million customers with 4G devices (approx. 4% of EoP).

Management Students from US, Norway Participates in Mehendi & Dandiya Dance Across India

A friendly cricket match followed by Mehendi and Dandiya night! Management students from USA, Norway and their counter parts from PES UP-India Management Programs performing to the Dandiya dance tunes with traditional attire. Hundreds of spectators including top executives from various Multi-National Companies (MNCs) and academicians were mesmerized by the traditional Dandiya dance which is associated with scenes of Holi, and Llila of Krishna and Radha at Vrindavan.

Last ten days were very unique for the 24 students from USA and Norway. As part of the Discover India programme, these 24 students visited historical and cultural cities of India beside visiting the corporate offices of various Multinational Companies. What added more colour to their Discover India tour was friendly Cricket match, Mehndi, Dandiya evening etc.

Discover India was a short term study program organised in association with PES Institutions and IUP-India Management Programs of the city. As part of this programme students from US and Norway visited between January 5 and 14.  All the students had educational, entertaining and exciting time in India on all nine days. As part of this initiative students visited world famous TajMahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, as well as many historic sites in world tourist places like Jaipur, Delhi, Bengaluru and Mysore. Beside visiting all these historical sites students also visited MNCs including Schneider,  Coca-Cola and TVS.  At Mysore city students visited the various places including world famous Mysore palace. At Bengaluru city they visited Chithrakala Parishat and Vidhana Soudha.

India touch: a friendly cricket match which is very new to the US and Norway students, Mehendi and Dandiya evening at PES Institutions added more colour to this 9 day programme.

At PES institutions, these students in traditional Indian attire participated in the Mehendi programme which was followed by a Dandiya performance by them. Students of IUP India MBA program also added more colour to this Dandiya night.

Symposium: as part of this Discover India event seminar on variety of topics including Indian economy, business and culture were held at PES Institutions which was followed by a panel discussion with Management of PES and IUP.

'My Personal Risk Advisor' Bangalore Hackathon on Jan 30-31, 2016

Swiss Re, in partnership with IBM, have announced its plan to host India’s first innovation hackathon event exclusively for the reinsurance industry. The two day event, scheduled on January 30-31, 2016 at Workbench Projects, Bangalore, aims to provide participants with an opportunity to develop user-based apps, utilizing data science, and harnessing cognitive technology from IBM Bluemix suite to address the growing needs of the insurance industry.

Themed "My Personal Risk Advisor", the purpose of the challenge is to enable individuals or small business owners to assess their total risk profile and learn about various product offerings. The hackathon is open to students and developer community – all those who aspire to design technology and aims to encourage developers to create innovative applications that can be integrated with digital solutions.

“The world, today, is rapidly changing and to keep pace with the risk landscape, we need to continually innovate around how we offer risk protection products,” said Alok Kumar, Managing Director, Swiss Re Bangalore. “Through this hackathon, we are creating an innovation platform that reinforces our long-standing commitment to bring out new and improved solutions that directly addresses real-world business challenges for the insurance industry,” he added.

An entry free competition, the hackathon is a team-based event. The participating teams will go through a shortlisting and selection process. Teams can register on the Swiss Re registration site and submit their idea, post which organizing team will notify the shortlisted entries. The last date for online registration is January 20, 2016. The winners will be rewarded with exciting cash prizes and also be considered for an exciting career placement at Swiss Re Bangalore office.

Rs 200 Crore Hospitality Sector Investment by Big Fish Ventures

With eyes firmly set on becoming a leader in the casual dining space, Big Fish ventures, a Delhi based start-up plans to open new outlets by raising around 200 crore rupees through venture capital funding. The start-up venture which caters to café dining and hangout segment of the market and runs premium dining lounges like Vault Café, Garam Dharam is mulling to launch new brands like Public connection, Oh My god (OMG), Junkyard, Three Peg Down over next 3 months.

With a host of brands in operation and new launches in the pipeline, Big Fish ventures indeed have ambitious plans in place as it aims to clock sales of over 50 crore in FY 15-16 and 150 crore in FY 16-17 respectively.

“Our vision is to become a super brand in Indian casual dining, café and lounge space. Unlike other brands who focus on creating single brand with standardized products, we aim to bring a cluster of concept based different brands across genres and large formats”, said Umang Tiwari, a veteran in Hospitality and founder of Big Fish ventures.

The company also plans to beef up their presence by increasing the total number of outlets to over 40 under different brands and by extending their presence across 8 cosmopolitan cities.

Underlining the future plans, Tiwari said, “Our team will create, build and operate over 40 outlets by FY 17-18 under brands created by us. Each outlet will be known for its prime location, unique concept, world class food quality and unforgettable service experience. Additionally, we plan invest over 200 crores in building our outlets and hope to register a gross sales of over 500 crores by FY 18-19,

“Big Fish will be present in 8 cosmopolitan cities of India and will be employing over 5000 people servicing over 6 lac orders per month across our outlets with daily gross transaction value, he added.”

The company has also roped in Nishant Singhal co-founder of  YouWeCan ventures along with cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

“We want to create an investment vehicle across cuisines and concepts in the restaurant and eating out space. Funds between 50 or 60 crore for the first eight stores are already in place and Big Fish intends to operate 8-10 large format stores of 5000-8000 square feet by the end of the year”, said Nishant Singhal who has joined Big Fish ventures as Chief Mentor.

“Big Fish venture will centrally manage key business processes like design, supply chain, logistics and quality control to optimise costs, he added.”

To address the issue of shortage of skilled manpower, biggest issue that mar the industry Big Fish ventures will employ and train 5000 professionals in various aspects of the job.

Tiwari said, “Dearth of skilled manpower is the biggest issue faced by our industry. We will set up Big Fish Academy to address this challenge and train team of 5000 professionals like Outlet managers, servicing staff, bar tenders and chefs”.

Big Fish ventures currently employs 500 employees. Big Fish will also bring all its outlets on a mobile application to provide seamless booking and payment experience to customers.