Zinnov, a global management consulting and strategy firm, have released a sequel to its 2016 report on the Domain Name Industry in India, titled, State of the Domain Name Industry in India. The released report is aimed at tracking the Domain Name Industry in India as it is an integral element of the growing Internet ecosystem in the country.
In 2017, the domain name industry in India has grown by 7.1% YoY as compared to 0.9% globally, taking the total industry count to 5.3 million in India versus 332 million globally, as of December 2017. Detailing the findings, the report threw up a few surprising numbers
48% of the total registered domain names in India are used for creating a website,
9-11% of them are used for professional emails,
about 9% of the domains are utilized for creating mobile-enabled websites.
Additionally, the study by Zinnov, when aiming to understand the awareness and adoption of domain names among 200 SMBs across 3 Indian cities, discovered that 75% of the SMBs bought a domain name based on their ‘Company Name, while 85% of the SMBs used digital payment methods [Debit/Credit cards/Net Banking] to purchase the domain names. Over 70% of the SMBs showed a preference for .com over other TLDs. The major reasons for this preference are trust, global standards, and a professional image.
Speaking about the report, Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov,said
Technology continues to be one of the major transformative factors driving the Indian economy. Initiatives led by the Indian government to improve the digital infrastructure and hasten adoption of digital services, coupled with increasing Internet user base and a flourishing base of technology-enabled SMBs, have helped India witness a faster growth in domain name adoption. This has helped India outpace the world in domain name growth over the last few years. With evolving customer mindset and increasing awareness levels about domain names among SMBs, more and more businesses are going online, thus offering a huge untapped opportunity.
In terms of the geographical spread, the study further revealed that the Indian states with a high penetration of Internet users indicate a higher domain name adoption. Maharashtra, Delhi/NCR, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, emerged as the top states, being home to over 50% of the registered domain name business in India.
NXP India, a world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, organized the TechStreams TechSummit, a panel discussion on Electric Vehicles- The Game Changer of Future Automobiles. The summit saw participation from eminent automobile industry leaders. NXP’s TechStreams is a knowledge sharing platform that includes events, such as the TechTalk, TechConference, TechTutorial, and Tech Summit to promote the spirit of innovation. In essence, TechStreams is a fusion of four technological streams – Security, New Semiconductor Process Technologies, Emerging Domains and High-Performance Analog Signals and RF Designs.
The Panel discussion was a part of the Emerging Domains stream and focused on Electric Vehicles: The game changer of future automobiles. Some of India’s most valued dignitaries attended the discussion that aimed at debating the role and the future of electric vehicles and their disruptive potential for the automobile industry. The day-long event was divided into two panels that witnessed participation from industry experts, such as Sirish Batchu, Head – Advanced Technology, Mahindra Electric Mobility, Subodh Gajare, Senior Solutions Architect, Cisco, Amit Gupta, Group CEO – Automotive Business, Hero Motors, Vikram Gulati, Country Head & Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Arun Malhotra, former MD, Nissan, Mohit Arora, Associate Director, Supplier Solutions – India, IHS Markit – Automotive, Atul Arya, Head Energy Systems, Panasonic, Kaushik Madhavan, Director, Automotive & Transportation, Frost & Sullivan and Peeyush Asati, Founder & Managing Director, Vecmocon.
Speaking on the EVs space, Sanjay Gupta, Vice President & India Country Manager, NXP India said
Globally, the EV segment is growing at a double digit every year. It is important to equip the EVs of future with the right technology and infrastructure to fill up the potential that it brings along for nations in general and auto makers specifically. The growth of the EV market presents a massive innovation opportunity around battery, charging and connectivity technologies that will drive newer business models. This process has also been driven in India with an attempt to gradually control pollution, cut oil imports and compete for a slice of the expanding global EV market.
Sanjay Gupta, Vice President & India Country Manager, NXP India
The discussions revolved around the global success stories to drive India as a big market for EVs during the current times and the coming decade followed by the innovations in EVs to ride the future. It was also debated that the India still faces some challenges to EVs while there is immense potential and opportunities to grow the industry from internal combustion engine vehicles to zero emission vehicles. The major hurdle in the way of successful implementation of EV is the charging infrastructure and government’s ambitious plans for a mass scale shift to Electric Vehicles [EVs] will bring electric vehicles on Indian roads in the coming future.
Panel Discussion on Electric Vehicles – The game changer of future automobiles
Here is a glimpse of what the leaders had to say during the summit
Amit Gupta, President & CEO – Group Automotive Business, Hero Motors said
It’s no rocket science that electric vehicles are the future. Modern advances in electric technology are making electric powered vehicles closer to mainstream reality than they ever were. If the progress continues at the current pace, the conventional internal combustion engine powered vehicles may soon go extinct. In terms of the Indian society, a push for the adoption of electric vehicles is the need of the hour. We, at hero are completely prepared for the future and our working along with our partner Hewland, UK on e-transmission from design to cost for OEMs in EU.
EV technology in India is at the inflection point. The Indian Government has to play the role of a catalyst in terms of a clear roadmap, investment in EV infrastructure and subsidy to the final users to kick start it.
When asked about EV policy for India and what we can take/learn from other countries, Mohit Arora, Associate Director, Supplier Solutions – India, IHS Markit – Automotive responded
When we look at EV penetration strategies globally it boils down to ‘every nation to its own’ thereby implying that there is no set formula on policy that India can pick or borrow. Every nation has to adopt policies according to one’s own strengths and weaknesses in line with the entire EV ecosystem. For India, at the moment, our government is in the drafting phase seeking inputs from different nodal agencies and other stake holders.
Subodh Gajare, Senior Solutions Architect, CISCO, said
There will be a few disruptive trends for the future of urban mobility with AI and autonomous cars shaping new business models. Electrification of vehicles will demand innovation in battery and storage technologies for mass adoption.
About NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors N.V. enables secure connections and infrastructure for a smarter world, advancing solutions that make lives easier, better and safer. As the world leader in secure connectivity solutions for embedded applications, NXP is driving innovation in the secure connected vehicle, end-to-end security & privacy and smart connected solutions markets. Built on more than 60 years of combined experience and expertise, the company has 31,000 employees in more than 33 countries and posted revenue of $9.5 billion in 2016. For more information, please visit NXP
Brigade REAP, the first accelerator in Asia with focus on Real Estate, has now successfully on-boarded Cohort Four. With over 80 start-ups having applied to the program, 11 Start-ups were shortlisted out of which 5 were inducted into the program after a rigorous selection process.
The Start-ups inducted into the program, will under-go thorough mentorship and training for a period of 4~5 months after which they will be handed over to the industry for consumption of their products or services.
Speaking on this occasion, Nirupa Shankar, Director, Brigade REAP, said
We are excited with the innovation and technology that emerging startups are bringing to the table. At REAP, we focus on mentoring these start-ups to make them industry ready so that it is easy for the industry to adopt their technology, be it a product or service. Our goal is to improve the efficiency of the real estate industry through technology.
The startups inducted into the Program are:
Aerologiks – An automated, intelligent & stable drone services and data solutions company, operating to provide valuable insights about ongoing construction projects. For more information, please visit Aerologiks
Clairco – A B2B SaaS company that does air quality monitoring and management for indoor spaces on a real-time basis. For more information, please visit Clairco
R2 Promise – A technology company working towards changing the waste disposal process from Waste Management to Resource management. For more information, please visit R2 Promise.
Renewate – A tech tool which is first of its kind in India that focuses on renovations, refurbishment and remodeling of all residential renovation needs. For more information, please visit Renewate.
Smarter Dharma – A company that focuses on sustainable building design that provides holistic and technical solutions to help builders adopt holistic sustainability. For more information, please visit Smarter Dharma
About Brigade REAP
Brigade REAP is focused on technology startups whose end product/service is applicable to Real Estate be it Residential Commercial or Hospitality projects. The sectors range from IoT, Nano Technology, Cleantech and Renewable energy, Logistics and Visual Computing. The program is mentored by John Kuruvilla, Chief Mentor for the program and Apul Nahata, Mentor-in-Residence and has a stellar line up of mentors and advisors.
Mankind’s quest for Artificial Intelligence [AI] has driven development from times immemorial. It dates back to the architectural astronomy instruments in India to Abacus of Mesopotamia; from mechanical triggering of medieval cannons in China to the emergence of the big World Wide Web; and finally to the 21st century when Internet of Things [IoT], Blockchain, Robotics and AI are finally a reality. It’s a marvel to construe that machines of today can actually learn, improve over a period of time with an in-built self learning capability.
AI not only refers to a specific software algorithm but a broad spectrum of capabilities of machines that have cognitive functions, which include speech recognition, machine translation, file reading from a machine, fraud detection prediction, learning and predicting trends and natural language processing. A recent report suggests that globally over $1 trillion of today’s financial services cost structure could be replaced by machine learning and AI.
Financial institutions worldwide have always been at the forefront of adopting new technology. Closer home, in India, recent reports published by Accenture suggest that around 83% of Indian bankers believe that AI will work alongside humans in the next two years, which is higher than the global average of 79%.
Lets delve deeper into how AI in set to transform Banking and Insurance of the future. Focus on the how AI would be integrated into BFSI, the many benefits and use-cases to substantiate how the ecosystem would evolve.
Customer Service Chatbots
Smart virtual agents or chatbots elevate the customer experience to a new level by providing real time round the clock service with natural language to perform day to day transaction. They anticipate customers unique transaction needs and recommend the right insurance policy or right portfolio for investment in fraction of a second, with quick ability to deep dive into the data models. This gives customer personalized services experience and increased customer satisfaction.
Customer & Business Audio Bots
A case in point, is a customer greeted by EVA from Emirates NBD [leading bank in UAE], a audio bot. This is a new face of banking where audio bots are taking over in a quick and efficient way to provide information. Bots can run query much faster and provide results to the customer objectively, without any emotions attached to it.
There is a growing demand for audio bots within businesses. In a typical scenario, a CEO can be remotely assisted by an audio bot to provide him sales performance data of a branch or a zone, provide instant details about top performers, top claims paid or on business forecast for the year.
Virtual assistants can manage the low-value activities of advisors, such as lead management, scheduling, planning, licensing, etc., enabling them to focus on building skills and providing value-added services.
Companies have transformed from conventional password and I-pin methods to voice recognition with the help of voice prints to automate the process. Face recognition to ascertain account credentials are becoming a norm.
Customer Insights and Risk Management
Risk management is one of the largest opportunity for leveraging the full potential of AI. Using AI in Banking it is possible to sieve through different data sources such as credit scores, financial data, spending patterns help to determine risk scores of a customer, based on his or her nationality, occupation, salary range, experience, industry and credit history. Moreover, AI can be used to reduce the strain of regulatory compliance and to overhaul the way banks/insurers detect financial crimes and frauds.
Similarly in Insurance, risk scores can be very helpful in underwriting policy and adjudicating claims for a individual on basis of various parameters. It could be based on data models during the on-boarding of a customer, agent or a claim risk propensity can be calculated and early warning signals can be triggered.
AI systems can be used to perform research, aggregate, refine and present required information to underwriters, allowing them to focus on core underwriting activities.
In summary, the benefits of AI
Enhance operational efficiency, improve time-to-market, enable a more intelligent way to sell and service, and more. During the last five years, industrial use of AI – in terms of interest, investment, ideation and implementation – has risen exponentially.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. This can be validated through how a leading health insurance startup leveraged AI by using data and software to build clinical profiles of people to identify gaps in care. These gaps in care were filled with visits and free choice of doctors for patients to avoid costly hospital stays.
Similarly, a life insurance startup used AI to generate quotes for accident death claims which simplified sign-up in less than 2 minutes. There are several such instances that fortify AI as a technology that would revolutionize businesses and the world at large.
About the author
Snehal Desai is the Global Sales Head – Insurance at 3i Infotech Ltd. More details about him can be found here
In its mission to bridge the digital gender divide in rural India and empower women through digital literacy, Google India and Tata Trusts announced reaching the halfway mark, with 150,000 villages, under its Internet Saathi program. The program has contributed towards bridging the digital gender divide in rural India [female to male ratio from 1 in 10 in 2015 to 3 in 10 in 2017], and has benefited over 15M women in 13 states, the program has expanded to cover four new states – Goa, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Telangana.
The ‘Internet Saathi’ programme focuses on educating women to use the internet, who then impart training to other women in their community and neighboring villages. The program has motivated many enterprising women, who are now using the internet, to find new opportunities – be it Vandana Potdar from Karandi, Pune who helped start a community owned Potato chips business or Shital from Sangli, Maharashtra, who helped her son prepare and clear the Science Olympiad exam, by finding study modules on the Internet or Padmavati who set-up an lemongrass oil production unit in Guntur and learnt the various manufacturing techniques using the internet, or hundreds and thousands of other women.
The program will cover over 10,500 villages, spread across the four new states – Goa, Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Telangana, and will train around 1000 Saathis.
Ganga, an Internet Saathi from Vallabhipur, Telangana said
I am very excited to be teaching my fellow village women about the wonders of the Internet. I have found the convenience of online payments through various apps and feel it can be beneficial for others too.
Rehana Begum, an Internet Saathi from Goa said
Learning new things is always interesting and with this program I am able to make my wish come true. I am excited to help my fellow villagers as many of them are always on the lookout for different government schemes they are eligible for. Access to information on the Internet will make things so convenient for them.
Talking about the initiative, Sapna Chadha, Director of Marketing, Southeast Asia & India, Google said
It has been an incredible journey, and reaching the halfway milestone, together with TATA Trusts and the women across rural India is a testimony of the beliefs and efforts of our saathis, who opted for change, and embraced the program to improve their lives. In the last three years, the program has not only contributed to improving the digital gender ratio but has become a major force of change in rural India – inspiring millions of women, their families to embrace the change and gain from the Internet in ways that we couldn’t even imagine.
We are really proud of this achievement. This wouldn’t have been possible without the most important stakeholders, the women themselves – the vehicles of transformation. They have shown a great amount of enthusiasm and keenness to learn, despite many challenges. Keeping the momentum of this initiative, we will be continuing our outreach in the next 150,000 villages to improve digital literacy and create sustainable livelihood opportunities for women in rural India.
Launched as a pilot in 2015 along with Tata Trusts, the program has successfully reached the length and breadth of the country today, and has a network of 48000 Internet Saathis, who are spread across the villages of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Goa, Karnataka, and Telangana.
The best way to deal with a financial crisis is by borrowing from external sources. Many banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies [NBFCs] offer loans at competitive interest rates and flexible repayment schemes. Due to the numerous features and benefits offered, loans have become a popular option among the masses.
An increasing number of individuals are now opting for personal loans. Such loans, also known as unsecured loans, are obtained without the need for collateral. You are required to repay the principal amount along with the specified interest over a period of time, known as the tenure. The installments paid over the loan tenure are known as Equated Monthly Installments [EMIs].
Following are some basic features and benefits of an unsecured loan.
High borrowing amount
Flexible repayment options
Competitive interest rates
Minimal paperwork
Quick loan disbursal
Online approval
Uses of an unsecured loan
Banks and NBFCs do not question the purpose of borrowing such a loan and hence you may use a personal loan for any purpose you seem fit. You may use the amount received to cover emergency medical expenses or may use it to cover your wedding expenses. You may also use such a loan to pursue your further education, to cover expenses related to a domestic or international holiday, to consolidate debt, or to renovate your home, among others. Such a loan is also useful for repairing your vehicle, making down payment for a new home, or for starting a new business venture.
Eligibility criteria
The eligibility criteria for applying for such a loan vary from lender to lender. However, the basic criteria remain the same. Applicants need to be Indian residents and in the age group of 21 to 58 years. Applicants may be employed at public companies, Multi-National Companies [MNCs], or private companies. It is also mandatory to have a basic educational qualification, that of a graduate. Financial institutions also require applicants to have a minimum net monthly salary, say around INR 20,000, with a minimum work experience of one year.
Documentation required
Upon fulfilling the eligibility criteria, you may submit your application at the bank of your choice. Along with the application form, it is necessary to provide supporting documents such as identity proof, residence proof, age proof, signature proof, photograph, and ownership proof. Banks also mandate the submission of income details and bank account statements. You may display the originals for verification and may submit self-attested copies.
A personal loan offers relief from your cash crunch. Instead of tapping into your life savings, you may borrow such a loan to cover contingencies or any other financial obligation. By doing so, you may meet your expenses without any financial strain. You may systematically repay your EMIs and budget your finances accordingly.
COMIO Smartphone, India’s emerging mid-segment brand, recognized as ‘The Most Promising Brand‘ by The Economic Times is all set to conquer the market with the launch of its flagship smartphone, the COMIO X1 Note. Competitively priced at INR 9,999, the X1 Note boasts of flawless slim ID design with a stylish mirror finish back cover in two colour variants- royal blue and sunrise gold. With the launch of the COMIO X1 Note, the brand will be available pan-India.
The device has a dual rear camera with 13MP + 5MP AF with Flash and front camera with 8MP. A photographer’s delight, the handset comes bundled with a set of camera modes like portrait/ bokeh, beauty, panorama, social and night mode. Designed to enjoy high definition to the fullest, the smartphone comes with a 6-inch full view FHD+ 2.5D curved display. The 4G-VoLTE dual SIM smartphone is powered by a 1.45 GHz quad-core processor and has a 2,900 mAh battery.
We are excited to announce the launch of COMIO X1 Note as it marks our expansion into a pan-India brand. The response we have received from our consumers, retailers and distributors has been tremendous, encouraging us to deliver a product such as COMIO X1 Note, which is one of the best offerings from the brand in the sub-10,000 price segment.
The COMIO X1 Note provides an integrated solution comprising of advanced camera quality, better speed, security features, stylish design and value-added services all-in-one, ensuring an enhanced user experience.
Features of COMIO X1 Note
Android O – Android Oreo picture-in-picture [multiple apps], smarter battery, 2x faster interface, over 60 new emojis
A smarter way to unlock your smartphone with Face Unlock feature
Secure your smartphone the smartest way with the Intruder Selfie feature
Explore magic with the Finger Print sensor: pick calls, unlock device in 0.15 seconds, click pictures, access apps
More memory, more space, more fun – 3 GB RAM + 32 GB ROM, expandable upto 128 GB
Never miss a buzz with a Notification LED, nor your favourite conversations with Auto Call Recording feature and Auto Call Back Reminder
Personalise your smartphone your way with the Dual Account app
Font Application feature with access different stylish fonts and supported with 22 regional languages
Pop-up touch featureallows user to use the apps with less number of clicks
WPS Officeapp to view all kind of documents with ease
COMIO support – Specially designed after-sales support comprising of 1 year + 100 days warranty, one-time screen breakage warranty, 30-day replacement, a special buy back and upgrade offer allowing you to upgrade your old smartphone. The COMIO upgrade offer allows you an assured 40% return on your old COMIO phone [not more than 12 months old] which will be given if you want to upgrade you existing COMIO phone. Applicable through Comio only.
Indian Influencer Marketing company, Chatterbox, has unveiled its latest technology-backed solution with Chtrbox. With advanced Machine Learning, smart-data driven influencer-search, proprietary matching algorithms, gamified mission modules, real-time performance tracking & more, Chtrbox now offers complete end-to-end solutions that make Influencer Marketing more automated, intelligent & cost effective for brands & agencies.
Today, brands are shooting in the dark when it comes to knowing which influencers to tap. Influencer marketing is the fastest growing marketing approach being favored by brands, but a majority of brand budgets for it are not spent efficiently. There is a rising class of new influencers, from which there is very little past performance-data.
While the Chatterbox team helps brands craft their influencer strategy, the Chtrbox platform now offers brands over 150K mega to micro influencers with deep data to make the right selection, enables push-campaigns and missions to relevant influencers to get their word out & get the biggest bang for their buck.
Speaking on the launch, Pranay Swarup, Co-Founder & CEO, Chatterbox stated
While brands leverage the human intelligence & authentic chatter of social media influencers, Chtrbox.com leverages artificial intelligence at its very best to ensure brands find the right influencers first. With the rise of social media content consumption in India, Chtrbox.com’s access to 150,000+ influencers with a cumulative followership of 3.5 billion is all set to further elevate the emerging industry.
Chtrbox.com’s engine has analysed more than 24 million content pieces by top & emerging influencers, across categories & geographies. For each content piece, our proprietary technology allocates a unique score basis its context & performance, generating every influencer’s Social Media Value. This helps identify the relevant influencers with the best ROI.
Influencer marketing is nothing but Word of Mouth 2.0 in our digitally advanced & ever-so-connected world. Today it’s not just a celebrity, but a social media star, your college mates, colleagues & family members that you listen to the most. Chtrbox.com helps brands & agencies construct & optimize this very piece, and let’s data validate gut-calls.
About Chatterbox
Chatterbox has been set up by Roshan Abbas [MD, Encompass], Gaurav Kapur [Media Personality], Rohit Raj & Varun Duggirala [Founders of the Glitch, now part of WPP] & Pranay Swarup [previously, Co-founder of Letsintern.com], with this aim to combine the power of people & technology to build a data-led storytelling solution for brands. Chatterbox has already managed successful campaigns for 52 of India’s top brands, such as P&G, Flipkart, Hike, Nokia, Godrej, OnePlus, Puma, and Reliance. For more information, please visit Chtrbox
