All Posts in Review

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Technology is having a far-fetched effect on every aspect of our lives, whether it is shopping, communication, transport, banking & finance, manufacturing, etc. Every sector is positively impacted with the advancements of technology including the ‘Education’ sector. When we talk about Education, the thing that comes to mind is school, books, rote learning, assignments, etc. but gradually schools are also embracing technology in order bring a fun & interactive flavor to the traditional learning approach.

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Before mobiles, computers, tablets, etc. became mainstream, students were primarily judged by their marks, but that could have also been achieved by doing rote learning. But now, kids have access to many more avenues from where they can acquire knowledge due to which the traditional learning approach has shifted from ‘Rote Learning‘ to ‘Application based (practical) learning‘. Traditional schools are definitely not going away, but the key-stakeholders in the education eco-system namely, students, teachers, parents, have come to realize that ‘The best learning can often be self-taught‘.

In the next 30 years, according to UNESCO more people worldwide will be graduating than since the beginning of history. Adding to this effect of technology on work, demography & explosion of population is changing the employment picture drastically.

– Sir Ken Robinson, Jan – 2007

To succeed in this new information-based and highly technological society, students need to develop their capabilities in STEM to levels much beyond what was considered acceptable in the past.

– National Science Foundation

STEM Education – Building new India

With fast changing times, STEM education & DIY based learning approach is gaining more popularity in the educational space. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. STEM education is gaining more popularity with each passing day and the specialty about STEM education is that these subjects are taught as cohesive subjects instead of  independent ones. Unlike the traditional class-room approach, where the flow of information is mainly one-way [from teacher to students], the STEM based approach follows hands-on and project-based approach. In a traditional learning approach, students compete with each other to get better grades which is a ‘competition based methodology’, whereas STEM follows ‘an amalgamation of competition-collaborative approach’.

It is more experimental, fosters learning, creativity as well as team-work. Since it is experimental, kids also get a chance to experience ‘failure’ which is an important step in the journey to success. Just like the industry is slowly shifting its direction to more DIY [Do It Yourself] and MOOC [Massive Open Online Courses] in order to ensure that working class employees are updated with the current trends, the STEM style of education also ensures that students get a chance to work on things that they like and collectively learn via the DIY method.

Western countries have acknowledged the importance of STEM education and have taken significant steps towards inclusion of STEM in their education system. At India level, ‘Atal Tinkering Lab‘ [ATL] program by Government of India is the first significant step in the direction of STEM education in India. Parents are also recognizing the need and engaging their child into various STEM programs such as robotics, electronics making etc.

As per a report by Indeed.com, India’s STEM talent sees shortage despite maximum graduates. The average level of shortage of skilled talent in India has risen from 6 per cent in January, 2014 to 12 per cent in January, 2018 in the STEM sector. Shift towards higher education will not only give a boost to STEM sector, but also help expand India’s contribution to the global talent pool.

Indeed’s data also indicates that job seekers in the age group of 21~25 show 12 per cent more interest in STEM jobs than in any other sector.

To summarize, whether STEM education can be integrated as a part of the main curriculum is a point of discussion, STEM definitely helps in nurturing our kids for the future & in the process make them employable [and not just educated] for jobs of the future. It also helps in creating talented innovators, scientists, engineers, etc. which is the need of the hour for a rapidly-developing country like India.

STEM Education – Challenges and Road Ahead

While STEM is important, schools or parents face number of challenges while implementing STEM via electronics, robotics and automation.

Just to name a few, need of skilled teacher/mentor, availability of right electronic components, risk posed by activities such as soldering, wiring etc. This could hinder limit school activates in STEM area.  Add to that compatibility of component and availability add to the difficulty.

Due to these factors, the Edtech sector has been grabbing attention from entrepreneurs as well as investors. Whether it is about online tutoring, MOOC, skill development, differentiated learning, test preparation, etc. ed-tech still provides a huge opportunity [Source]. MakerInMe Technologies, a Bengaluru based startup aims to create a dent in the STEM education market with it’s modularized electronic kits, also called as Cretile.

Cretile is a kit of modular Electronics, Robotic & IoT modular building block. Cretiles are like ‘LEGO’ of electronics/robotics world making an excellent tool for STEM Education. With its super-easy patent pending technology, one doesn’t need any wiring, soldering. To begin with, you do not need programming skills. You can connect Cretiles to each other like building blocks and they start to work.

Cretile has an exhaustive set of building blocks. With its 35+ building blocks You can create virtually unlimited combinations. Typically any kit claims a certain number of projects that can be done using it. With Cretile, you can build any number of projects. Your creativity shall decide what Cretile can do for you.

To help you get started, Cretiles has its own YouTube channel where a large number of projects are showcased. As a next step, Cretile also enables you to learn programming very easily. It comes with Arduino® based programmable block called ProLogic. To program this block, it provides an easy to use drag-n-drop programming environment. With it, child can easily learn to code without having to worry about syntax of a programming language.

Cretile projects need not restricted to the boundary of the box. It offers SmartSwitch with which you can control your home appliances too. e.g. If you want to switch ON a table lamp as soon as you enter the room, Cretile Motion sensor and SmartSwitch can do the job for you.

Some of the sample projects are listed below

  • Automatic Motion sensor based light control
  • Automatic night lamp using light sensor
  • Burglar Alarm
  • Switch ON/OFF appliance automatically after a certain time
  • Open the door and switch ON the light
  • Moisture sensor based irrigation system
  • Programmed irrigation
  • Operate any appliance e.g. Table Lamp with a TV Remote
  • Clap and operate an appliance

For college going students, Cretile is an excellent rapid IoT prototyping tool. Cretile is also being integrated to Android Development platforms.

Cretile APIs are integrated with MIT’s App Inventor. With App Inventor you can build Android Apps easily and quickly and control Cretile via these applications.

Summary

Cretile is an excellent STEM education tool that should be in the hands of every child. It offers numerous benefits over traditional making.

With Cretile, you get the following benefits-

  • Learner gets early results. This keeps the learner highly motivated.
  • Highly Reusable.
  • No hazard risk associated with soldering or wiring.
  • Programming skills are not essential.
  • Start with fun project and use it all the way for serious engineering projects.
  • With Cretile, we can Engage students in STEM education early in the cycle. With it, we can align their skills to industry step by step over the course of education.
  • Cretile addresses needs of all the age groups – the exact same product can be used right from middle-school students all the way up to engineers.

Most importantly it is also very affordable kit. The starter kit [Explorer Kit] is available on Amazon at just Rs. 2599/-, needless to say with excellent customer feedback.

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Few weeks back, we had covered the launch of the Comio X1 Note in Bengaluru. This is the Chinese smartphone manufacturer’s first foray in South India. We got a chance to use this latest smartphone from Comio for a couple of weeks and this is the detailed review of the Comio X1 Note.

Comio X1 Note : Overview

The Comio X1 Note is a Android Oreo based smart-phone with some additional enhancements from Comio, we would talk about it in the later part of the review. The device sports a 6 inches Full View FHD+ display with a pixel resolution of 2160*1080p. The screen density is 402 dpi.

Specifications

Display – 6-inch [2160*1080p] FHD+ display, 402 dpi
OS – Android Oreo, with minor enhancements from Comio
CPU – 1.4 GHz quad-core Mediatek MT8735 SoC, 3 GB RAM
Storage – 32 GB storage [with additional micro SD slot along with dual SIM slots]
Cameras – 13MP+5MP primary dual camera with auto focus, flash and 8MP front facing camera
Connectivity – Wi-Fi, 3G/4G LTE/2G, GPS, Bluetooth 4.0, USB OTG
Battery – 2,900 mAh
Dimensions – 16.2 x 0.8 x 7.6 cm
Weight – 168 grams

The Comio X1 Note is available in offline stores, as well as on Amazon. The smartphone comes in two different variants – Royal Blue & Sunrise Gold. Inside the box, you receive a back cover, charger, SIM removal kit, a pair of headphones, and a screen guard. We received the Sunrise Gold version for the review.

Comio X1 Note – Design

The X1 Note is around 6 inches tall and the display resolution is 2160*1080p. When ‘Note’ is tagged to any smartphone, consumers expect a big & tall display, with a battery with exceptional capacity. Though X1 Note has a huge display, the battery capacity is only 2900 mAh which might be a let-down for the phone.

Talking about the other aspects of the phone, the back cover is made of plastic but you would only come to know once you hold the phone in your hands. From the farther distance, the back cover might not give the plastic feel and would look like it has a metallic back. Since the back cover is very shiny and it is prone to scratches, hence it is recommended to use a back cover with the phone. Since the company is positioning this phone as its first flagship, this is a very good effort to give a premium look & feel to the device. Regarding the other aspects of design, there is the volume rocker on the left side, power button and the dual-SIM tray on the right side. There is a 3.5 mm audio jack along with a micro-USB charging port at the bottom.

As the target segment of the X1 Note might the smartphone-aspiring audience, they have retained the normal USB port instead of opting for the USB type-C charging port which has become a norm nowadays.

Comio X1 Note – Software, Display & other Specifications

Comio X1 Note – Software

As far the software is concerned, the X1 Note has Android 8.0 Oreo. There is very less bloatware on the phone [with only few additional apps like Xender, WPS Office] and the experience is more or less looks like a stock Android one. There is finger-print scanner on the back and it was very responsive. You can also opt for facial recognition to lock or unlock the phone. You can customize the Navigation Bar and opt for your preferred button layout. For ensuring the best possible after-sales service and simplying the service-centre discovery, the X1 Note comes with the ‘Comio Connect’ app which lets you find the nearest Comio Service centre.

‘Venus Broswer’ is the default browser on the X1 Note. It is the first Indian browser providing hyper-regional content covering majoring Indian states. It offers a Light Weight Web Platform for Smart Phones users with advanced functionalities like Browsing, App store and Services [Source]. Since there is limited on-board storage, having a browser like Venus that is light on memory and helps users to do majority of their tasks is a good addition to the phone. X1 Note also has a built-in call recorder and support for 22 Indian languages.

On the very first glance, the back side of the phone might look strikingly similar to the Moto G5/Moto G5 Plus as the rear-camera design & placement is somewhat identical to them. In terms of software features, the phone also has an ‘App-Cloner’ with which the user can have two instances of the same app in the RAM. However, the customization is limited since you can only clone Twitter, Facebook, FB Messenger and WhatsApp. This feature is not completely unique as it is already available in couple of competitor devices in the market.

Comio X1 Note – Display

As mentioned earlier, the display has a 18:9 aspect ratio and the colors look vibrant on the phone.he display is equipped with ‘MiraVision Tuning features‘ which is a set of engines to enhance the display picture quality. This interface allows for interactive tuning with real-time quality feedback, making it easy for users to tailor the picture quality based on their needs.

There are three picture modes – User Mode, Standard Mode & Vivid Mode. User Mode is for power users where you can do Basic Color Tuning [Contrast, Saturation & Change picture brightness], Advanced Tuning [Sharpness & Adjust colors according to temperature]. The viewing angles on the X1 Note are good and performing daily activities like reading e-mails, news etc. is a real pleasure on the X1 Note due to it’s excellent display quality. Though the readability is very good indoors, it falters a bit when taken outdoors, especially when it is sunny outside. Overall, the display looks good [if not great], especially when the price s taken into consideration.

Comio X1 Note – Hardware, Battery & Performance

The X1 Note has Mediatek 8735 processor under the hoods. The processor can be clocked to maximum frequency of 1.45 GHz and 4 ARM A53 cores in order to get the best possible performance with minimum drainage in battery. The MT 8735 is a slightly old processor of the Mediatek family but since the phone is priced handsomely at Rs. 9,999; this step could have been taken in order to reduce the BOM [Bill Of Material] cost. The review unit which we received had the Android security patch dated 5th March 2018. The battery capacity is 2900 mAh which is a slight let-down considering that there would be a good amount of consumption especially in the active use-cases!

The phone comes with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB ROM which can be expandable upto 128 GB via a micro-SD card. Out of 32 GB, around 8 GB was already utilized and 24 GB storage capacity was available. The performance is perfectly fine when couple of apps are kept open, but it might deteriorate and slowly it might become sluggish if you are playing games. In some of the scenarios, we could even see that the app-launch time was more, even though there were no apps running in the background. There are couple of ‘Battery-saving modes’ that might come-in handy when there is very less juice available on the phone. With average daily-useage, the battery on the phone lasted for close to around a day and the consumption is very high when the device is used for HD gaming or HD video viewing use-cases.

In a nutshell, the performance of the X1 Note is average and same is evident from it’s AnTuTu score of 42,524. However, from a user’s perspective we hope that in the future there would be many performance updates available for the phone 🙂

Comio X1 Note – Camera

The X1 Note comes with a 13MP+5MP primary dual camera with auto focus, flash and 8MP front facing camera. The camera has a in-built Image Stabilization. The camera is equipped with features like Auto Focus, Continuous Shot, Smile Shot & Face Detection.

The shots from the rear camera are of decent picture quality. The performance & photo-tuning of the rear-camera was much better when it was used in the HDR mode since in the normal mode, the sharpness of the objects deteriorated a lot and hence, HDR mode is preferred in case you want the best out of the rear camera. There are different filters like Aqua, Gorgeous, Calm, Movie, Sepia, Fresh, etc. in order to give some extra effects to the photos captured using the phone. During the camera testing, we did find some lag especially while taking burst shots. The camera performance can be termed as average since there are phones with much better camera features & performance in the same price range.

Some of the sample images are below

Comio X1 Note – Pricing & Verdict

There are some perks for being a Comio customer since the Comio X1 Note comes with 1 year+ 100 days extra warranty, 30 days replacement*, Buy-back offer*, Screen breakage warranty* and Upgrade offer* [* – More details on Comio.in]. Barring aside these benefits, the Comio X1 Note is competing with many other devices in the market with better specifications & performance that are available in the sub 10,000 price range. This would be the biggest challenge for Comio that has released its first flagship in the Comio X1 Note.

As far as pricing is concerned, both the variants – ‘Royal Blue’ & ‘Sunrise Gold’ are priced at Rs. 9,999. The Comio X1 Note in Royal Blue & Sunrise Gold are available online on Amazon.in here and here.

What are your thoughts on the Comio X1 Note, do leave your feedback in the comments section…

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Technology has a profound impact on our everyday lives and e-commerce & omnichannel retailing has changed the commerce industry for all the stake-holders involved in the eco-stem. Though it has changed the shopping experience and made things accessible on the click of a button, customers are still very sensitive about buying items related to sexual wellness. The topic of ‘sex’ is still considered a taboo [at least in tier-2, tier-3 cities] and not openly discussed, whether the discussion is in peer-groups, friends or family.

Image Source – Wellness

Digital Medium [blog, online videos, digital advertising, etc.] is playing a major role in breaking that barrier and here also online commerce is playing a pivotal role in that transformation. Unlike brick & mortar stores, products that are sold online are accessible anytime and companies use utmost care by using discrete packaging for shipping such products so that privacy is maintained. As a matter of fact, many brick & mortar pharmacies are now adopting the online route so that they can tap the burgeoning online market.

The other factor why pharmacies are joining the online bandwagon is because the pharmacy business is highly fragmented and this is where lies the opportunity. Startups as well as pharmacies are tapping this opportunity to create a mark in the online healthcare market, particularly the ‘Sexual Wellness Market in India’. Many customers are on the lookout for best sex capsule or sex power tablets for man and it would an awkward moment for anyone to purchase such products either from the medical store or from a supermarket, hence online medium works the best for purchasing such items.

Sexual wellness market in India

Sexual wellness is a term to describe products that are related to enhancement of sexual health and experience. As per a report by Reuters, the market in India is set to grow at a CAGR of 34.76% over the period 2014~2019. Horizontal e-commerce players have also shown tremendous interest in this sector and due to which they also have dedicated section on their site for this category.

However, it is the vertical e-commerce players as well pharmacies like Wellness Forever who have the expertise and tremendous knowledge about the customer-base [due to omnichannel mode of operations] have created a dent in the industry. The other advantage that brick & mortar pharmacies like Wellness Forever have over its online-only competitors [or the medical marketplaces] is that they already have expertise in logistics and can quickly deliver medicine’s [that are ordered online], if the customer is staying in close proximity of the pharmacy [something akin to the hyper-local model].

Wellness Forever – 24-hour online wellness & health store

Online shopping definitely brings convenience in customer’s hands, but when someone looks for medicines [especially in emergency cases], they might require the same [even at late in the night]. This is where Wellness Forever Lifestyle Chemists & Supermarket, a branded pharmacy chain present in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Kolhapur and other parts of Maharashtra have advantage over other online medical stores. They have expert staff that chooses the suitable combination of products that justify quality & price best suited to your needs.

Since they follow the omnichannel approach, by utilizing their 100+ stores in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Nashik, etc. for delivery; they can dispatch medicines, lifestyle products, best sexual wellness products like condoms, best sex tablets in India, sex toys, etc. in discrete and pristine condition. There are products in various categories – Sports Nutrition, Women’s Grooming, Women’s Hygiene & Intimate Care, Weight management, Pain relief, etc. from famous brands like Beardo, Omron, Durex, Little’s, etc. on a single platform thereby giving choice to its valued customer base.

With major e-commerce companies [irrespective of the sector of operation] taking the omnichannel route, specialists like Wellness Forever definitely have an upper hand as far as online medicine and sexual wellness is concerned. Do share your thoughts in the comments section…

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Technology has become an integral part of our every-day lives and it has helped to a huge extent in making our lives organized as well as simpler. In fact, it has reached to such a peak that we no longer have to step out to do shopping or for paying our bills or even for furniture shopping. Wearable’s, especially smart-watches or fitness bands are being increasingly used by many health-conscious Indians for monitoring their food intake, water intake, tracking calories burnt during a workout, etc.

However, monitoring the statistics but performing relevant actions based on those inputs would add more value to that data. Even though some wearables give data about the amount of water intake, still many of us [due to some reasons] take less water and even if we have water, we have no idea about the quality of water. This is where water purifier can play a vital role since it removes the impurities from water and makes sure that the water being consumed is pure, germs free and safe for consumption.

Let’s look into the technology being used by water purifiers and what exactly is an RO water purifier. Water Purifiers use a technology called Reverse Osmosis [RO] that is used to remove a majority of contaminants from water by pushing the water under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane while Ultraviolet [UV] water purification penetrates through harmful pathogens in your home’s water and eliminates their ability to reproduce. Drinking purified water is one of most essential things that keep us healthy and Livpure is playing a pivotal role in bringing safe, consumable and healthy water in consumer’s homes. As a matter of fact, Livpure has been game-changer in that industry with India’s first smart-touch RO, UV and UF Taste Enhancer and guess what, customers need not walk-in to their stores, they can order for a demo over an email or a phone call.

Drinking germ-free water and taking timely intake is one of the first measurements for living a healthy life since keeps you hydrated all the time and you can stay away from water-borne diseases like Dysentery, Cholera, Diarrhea, Typhoid, Trachoma [Eye Infection], etc. Many of these diseases are life-threatening and consuming germ-free water is the only solution to keep them away. As per a report, more than 80% of country’s surface water is polluted and hence every measure that to be taken in order to keep yourself [and your loved ones] hale and hearty.

Though there are many more brands in the market that sell water purifier and RO water purifier, you have to make the right decision in choosing the best one in the market. Unlike other electronic items like mobile phones, laptops, etc. that require service only when they go bad, after-sales-service is very important in case of water purifiers since they require proper maintenance so that you get pure water when required. Livpure is a well-known brand that has been in the market for many years and has a good after-sales support and their purifiers are available for personal & commercial use.

To summarize, always stay hydrated and consume pure water in order to keep yourself away from diseases. What purifier do you use, do leave your experience in the comments section…

|In: startups|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

There was a time when the basic necessities of mankind used to be Roti [Food], Kapda [Clothing] and Makaan [Shelter], but with fast-changing times, a fourth requirement has been added to the list i.e. Internet. Whether it is about buying clothing, electronics, ordering food or planning an outing with your near & dear ones, the fast penetrating medium of internet has made our lives simpler and important things accessible with a click of a button!

Image Source – Online Real Estate

Rise of online real-estate in India

One sector that has also changed significantly with this internet wave is the ‘Real Estate Sector’. The online real-estate market is expected to reach a staggering $180 billion by 2020. Implementation of government policies like Startup India, Housing For All and RERA [Real Estate Regulatory Authority] Bill have opened up new avenues for entrepreneurs as well as brought trust & focus on the housing sector in India. There was still a problem that had to be solved and the problem was how to enable the ‘buyers’ in a manner that they can choose the best interior decorators & designers to design their rooms or when consumers are looking for interior design for small spaces. This was a potential  ‘gap’ or an opportunity for entrepreneurs to help consumers in providing required architecture & design services in order to fulfill their dream of owning a dream home.

Fragmentation in the ‘Interior Decorator & Designer’ industry

Imagine that you have managed to purchase your dream home with your hard-earned money or as an entrepreneur you have managed to move to a bigger office space due to business expansion, the next hurdle that you might likely face is identifying the right interior decorator for getting the designing right for your home/office. There are slim chances of ‘easily’ shortlisting a well-qualified & experienced interior decorator for the task and implementing the same with minimal distress.

IDprop, a startup based in Ahmedabad is solving that problem and wants to make this entire experience friction-less and ensures that the humongous task of small space interior design, home and office is made easy for the end consumers.

Image Source – IDprop

IDprop – Disrupting the ‘Online Home & office interior design Market’ in India

IDprop is India’s fastest growing network of Home Improvement Professionals. IDprop has more than 11000+ professionals registered with them and has PAN India presence. As a customer who might be looking for furnishing the complete home; you get ‘verified’ options while looking out for interior decorators. Seller’s experience, expertise and recommendations are three major points on which they are evaluated, before they are on-boarded as a seller on the IDprop platform.

Since the sellers are rated for their work, there is transparency and a lower rating pushes the sellers to work on their mistakes & strive for providing a ‘WoW’ customer experience. Interior Decorators or Designers listed on their platform can get more leads for their business and get an opportunity to widen their customer base. As far as the funding is concerned, the Ahmedabad based startup is bootstrapped and is founded by a stellar team that has a vast experience in e-commerce, vendor management and technology. More details about the team can be found here.

IDprop – Conclusion

IDprop is creating real-value for all the stakeholders involved in the fragmented ‘home/office interior industry’ eco-system by bringing them on one single platform. Next time when you are looking to renovate or build interiors for new home/office or looking for small living room design ideas, expand your search horizon and turn to IDprop to narrow down your search…

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A very famous quote on investing says – ‘Risk & Rewards are two sides of the same coin’. This means that in most of the cases, higher the amount of risk involved chances of maximizing the returns are also very high! The investment portfolio of every person would differ since it is dependent on various factors like risk appetite, assets, liabilities, dependencies, etc. and hence, it becomes virtually impossible for any investment firm to cater to varied investment requirements of such a large audience.

Image Source – WealthApp

This is where emerging technologies like Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence can play a vital role in creating a tailor-made investment plan based on your long-term and short financial requirements. Machine Learning has already the paved way into the Fintech market, be it approving loans, documentation, managing assets, etc. Many Fintech startups are leveraging machine learning, AI, Chatbots and helping banking institutions to either enhance the existing banking experience or creating kick-ass products in the areas of wealth management, personal finance, customer service, etc.

When it comes to investing, there are different types of investors – Novice and seasoned investors. There are options for investing in FD, RD, Gold, etc. that are used for many years, are less risky and yield lesser returns. On the other hand, there are options like investing in stocks, equity markets, Gold bonds, etc that yield higher returns but the investor needs to have at least basic know-how about the markets. According to a report by Bloomberg, less than 1.5% of the Indian population invested in equity markets and only 2% of India’s household savings were exposed to equity.

Most of the investment firms reserved their advisory services for HNI’s, with none of them catering to the expanding retail investors and middle-income groups. This is where founders of Fintech startup WealthApp saw an opportunity and created WealthApp with a single aim to make goal-based investing easier by combining their wealth management expertise with the power of Machine Learning. In simple terms, WealthApp is an algorithm based, tech-driven investment platform created by seasoned finance professionals that help you create your ‘Perfect’ investment portfolio as per your requirements and risk appetite. We had earlier interviewed Gaurav Dhawan, Co-Founder of WealthApp and today we do a detailed review of the app w.r.t features, enhancements, competition, etc.

Note – Since it is an app related to finance, we have blurred out certain things that might be personal or related to my investment portfolio.

WealthApp: Changing the Investment Habit for ‘Better Financial Planning’

As mentioned earlier, investment in the equity markets is not very popular option amongst investors in India but that scene is changing rapidly! 60,000 new investors are investing in Mutual Funds and this is where fin-tech startups like WealthApp are acting as a change agent. WealthApp is using Machine Learning, AI and proprietary algorithms to invest, track, redeem, etc. in Mutual Funds owned by different AMC’s [Asset Management Company].

Apart from in-depth know-how about the Mutual Fund [MF] industry, another problem faced by investors is that in order to keep a track of their MF investment, they have to log on to the website of each AMC for checking the performance, invest in other MF’s from the same AMC, etc. WealthApp has tied-up with different AMC’s due to which investors can track their investments from AMC’s, invest in Mutual Funds from other popular AMC’s in a single window. As an investor, you have to create a profile on WealthApp, allow WealthApp to access your portfolio information from the corresponding AMC & you are done 🙂

With WealthApp, there is an end to the long winding process, paper work and emergence of proper guidance in investment methods by a team that has extensive experience in managing individual investment portfolios.

WealthApp: Goal-based investing, dedicated fund manager and more

Each one of us has short-term as well as long-term goals and ambitions like going for an overseas vacation, buying a house, overseas education, etc. and this is where ‘Goal-Based Investing’ plays a very crucial role. Goal-based investing aims to get around the drawback of the traditional investment approach, which generally focuses on outperforming the market while staying within the investor’s threshold for risk. Instead, it uses individual asset pools with an investment strategy that is tailored to the client’s specific goals [Source].

Goal-based investing: Once you create your profile on WealthApp, you would be recommended with relevant and personalized investment options based on your risk profile, goal & aspirations set by you. There is an automated and continuous monitoring, re-balancing of your portfolio according to changing market conditions so that you can maximize the returns on your investments!

Dedicated fund manager: Couple of months back when we interviewed Gaurav Dhawan, he raised a very valid point ‘Investors are interested to invest in Mutual Funds but most of them feel that MFs are difficult to understand’. This is where WealthApp wants to create a dent in order to drive investor’s interest in MFs. This is one of the primary reasons why every investor on WealthApp has a dedicated fund manager assigned to him/her. The fund manager would hand-hold you in the on-boarding process, efficiently managing your portfolio, guiding you to maximize returns and more…

Frictionless on-boarding process: The KYC is done in a paperless manner, you no longer to submit multiple paper documents for the on-boarding process 🙂 Since the platform runs on high-end machine learning algorithms, the entire advisory process is automated so that investors can get timely investment tips and latest updates on their investments.

Investment tips & Detailed reports: Once you have your account setup and records of your MF investments are imported on WealthApp, you start receiving personalized e-mailer based on your investment profile, goals and other important criteria that might impact your long-term & short-term investment goals!

Also if you want to make further investments, you need not go to the AMC’s website but can continue investing in MFs via WealthApp. At any point in time, you can download the performance reports of your investments.

The design of the app is very simple since there is a possibility that the app could be used by someone who is not well versed with mobile/technology but has good knowledge about MF’s, equity markets, etc.

WealthApp: Improvements, Competition…

WealthApp amalgamates technology [AI, Machine Learning] with finance/investing and makes lives of MF investors easy since now they no longer have to log-in to each & every AMC’s website where they have invested their funds! However, in many cases investing is a long-term strategy and hence, it becomes important that reports are very detailed. The reports should highlight the performance of any particular fund in a graphical representation so that that data dishes out much more information. As seen in the screenshot below, the reports of funds that an investor has invested in are not detailed and the overall format also needs some improvement.

There has been a meteoric rise in the fintech startup landscape in H1, H2 of 2017 with e-commerce, FinTech startups top Funding Charts in H1 2017 [Source]. Many of the fintech companies are leveraging Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Social Data Intelligence, Blockchain, etc. in order to solve critical business problems, including the one being solved by WealthApp. A fintech startup UpWardly is also leveraging Machine Learning to Upwardly, which facilitate goal-based investments in mutual funds.

WealthApp: Conclusion

Overall, WealthApp is a simple yet effective service from seasoned finance professionals that makes ‘goal-based investing’ easier. Even after you have downloaded the WealthApp application, there is still a human-touch to investing via your dedicated fund managers. Barring a few improvement areas, it is an app that a retail investor can use in order to test the waters of Mutual Fund Investing. If you are a seasoned investor, WealthApp solves the major hurdle of logging on-to individual AMC’s website for maintaining your investment portfolio.

You can download WealthApp for Android from here and WealthApp for iOS from here. If you are an existing user of WealthApp, do leave your feedback/experience in the comments section.

|In: Technology|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

One thing that makes Bengaluru [formerly Bangalore] unique from other cities in India is the awesome climate and the greenery, but that differentiation seems to be dwindling very fast. There was a time when you would not even need to switch on the fan even during summer, but lately the temperatures have been higher during winters as well. Huge amount of urbanization in the city [which could have resulted diminishing amount of greenery], rising population [due to the opportunities it provides to the IT engineers], increasing number of apartments [resulting in a concrete jungle] and Global Warming are some of the factors that have added woes to the rising temperature in the city.

Image Source – Orient Electric

Energy Savings – Need of the Hour

The scene is no different in other cities in South India where they experience a high amount of humidity, due to which the residents require Fans/Air Conditioners to be constantly running to keep themselves cool in the scorching summer. However, constant use of these equipments adds up to the overall electricity costs and since Air Conditioners require much higher voltage, they might not function when your house/flat is getting power from the generators. Though air coolers have become a source to maintain cool temperatures, they can never replace the age-old reliable ‘Fan’. It is a known fact that operating the ceiling fans could keep the room cool, but operating them at higher speeds results in more noise and disturbance. Higher speeds mean a significant increase in the power consumption.

Due to these factors and changing customer demands, the overall ceiling fan market is inching towards the super-efficient ceiling fans due to the push of Bureau Of Energy Efficiency, India [BEE] for super-efficient appliances in India. By saving some electricity by using smart appliances, we can do our bit in contributing to the noble initiative of Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana [SAUBHAGYA] that aims to connect thousands of villages with power.

Electric Fan Market in India

The electric fan market is broadly divided into the organized and unorganized category where the organized segment is largely dominated by the Indian companies where the unorganized segment is led by the Chinese competitors. The revenues for organized electric fan market are growing with a CAGR of 12.29% from the last five years.

Higher disposable incomes, increased availability of continuous power & a faster shift to the organized sector has propelled the electric fan market in India, with much of the growth has been through organized players now as consumers move towards branded and more technologically efficient fans [Source]. With the central government’s push towards ‘Electricity For All’, a significant amount of effort and money is spent in marketing & distribution by the companies to reach their every expanding rural customer base.

In terms of revenue share, South India is the largest market followed by the West and North. Due to this, companies in the Fan Market are making a conscious effort to listen to the changing market demands & consumer’s requirements, particularly in the Southern part of India.

Orient Electric, a significant player in the Ceiling Fans & Home Appliances category has some interesting findings on the customer’s needs in South India:

  • Major parts in South India have a huge amount of humidity where air-coolers do not work effectively, due to which there is an increasing demand for Table Wall Pedestal [TPW] fans along with the normal ceiling fan.
  • Though there is no load shedding in many parts of South India yet there is an increasing number of power cuts [especially during the rainy season and sometimes in the summer season as well].
  • TPW Fans that are available in the market provide high air-flow but also make a lot of noise causing disturbance. They also consume a huge amount of electricity.

Wind Pro Series – Fan with High Performance, Less Power Consumption

Based on the customer inputs mentioned above, one thing was clear that there was a pressing need for a TPW Fan that could deliver high air-flow with low-noise and consume less electricity than its existing counterparts. All these requirements needed to be achieved without compromising on the quality and reliability.

The answer to all these requirements is the recently launched ‘Wind Pro Series’ by Orient Electric.

Features Overview

  • The current breed of portable three blade high-speed fans available in the market may have higher RPM but give out lesser CMM of air with lesser thrust and come with lots of noise. To counter this problem, Orient Electric has launched its 5 blade Wind Pro range of portable fans which delivers 95 CMM of air delivery with high thrust and has far lesser sound levels and also consumes less power.
  • A unique combination of Motor and Impeller.
  • More Air thrust, 20% lesser power consumption and improved thermal overload protection that other High speed fans.
  • Refreshing white body with stellar looks.

Performance Overview

  • Wind-PRO has the highest air velocity or Air Thrust; it is 26% more than normal speed fan and 5% higher than a high-speed fan.
  • Air Delivery also is highest for Wind-Pro fan; it is higher by about 16% than normal speed fan and by about 4% higher than a high-speed fan.
  • In terms of power consumption, wind-PRO is 20% more efficient than a high-speed fan
  • In terms of noise as well, wind-PRO performs significantly better [around 9 dB less] than a high-speed fan.

Formats, Pricing, and Availability

The Wind Pro range of portable fans come in a table, stand and wall mounted versions and aptly provides a long-awaited solution for the consumers in southern India which is the key focus market for Orient Electric. Orient Wind Pro fans have a sweep of 400 mm and give an impressive air delivery of 95 CMM/5700 CMH and have oscillation & speed control. An important feature of Wind Pro fans is concentric winding which eliminates electrical imbalance at low and medium speed, thus reducing the motor noise. This is the first time that concentric winding is used in the Indian manufacturing sector.

Pricing for the new range of 5-Blade Wind-Pro fans starts at an MRP of Rs. 2,370. The fans are available at all leading outlets across India and can also be bought online at Orient Electric’s e-commerce portal

Orient Electric’s long-standing brand ambassador MS Dhoni features in the new campaign for Wind Pro fans emphasizing on high air thrust.

With Wind Pro series, the company plans to consolidate its portfolio and also strengthen its presence in South India. From a consumer’s perspective, it is a product that could beat the burning summer heat with something that is #SuperQuietSuperPowerful.

What is your take on the TPW market and the Wind Pro Series, do leave your feedback in the comments section.

|In: Books|Last Updated: | 0 Comments

Each one of us would have encountered situations that would have acted as a complete life-changer. Some of them would have brought the best out of you, whereas some could have shattered your life. The impact of the incident or situation would be of higher magnitude in case it involves the family members.

However, what happens if you come to know about some of the mysteries surrounded in your life. Well, your life would go completely topsy-turvy once you realize the same. ‘I Owed You One‘ by Doctor Madhu Vajpayee is one such novel that involves various emotions that a person has to go through when he is put under testing circumstances.

Today we review the book ‘I Owed You One’, a heartwarming story of love, duty, and courage.

I Owed You One: Trailer

Dev Khanna has it all before a mysterious letter shakes the very foundation he has built his life on. With beliefs challenged, he decides to close the chapter once for all. I Owed You One is the story of promises, triumphs, defeat, and of holding on and letting go.

About the Author: Dr. Madhu Vajpayee

Dr. Madhu Vajpayee studied her MBBS from KGMU, Lucknow and MD from AIIMS, New Delhi. The writer in her was born somewhere in those hospital corridors where she spent the last two decades of her life. After writing several scientific papers and chapters in books, I Owed You One is her second journey in the literary world, the first being Seeking Redemption. When not creating stories, she enjoys traveling and reading.

I Owed You One: Detailed Review

The central character of the novel is Dev Khanna, a chemical engineer based out of Australia. Dev is happily married to his wife Radhika and has an adorable son named Neel. He is very well to do and his life is progressing at a steady pace when suddenly he receives a mysterious letter from his hometown in India. What is inside the letter and how this small piece of paper changes so many lives is what is answered in the novel I Owed You One. The letter results in a series events of self-realization which form the crux of the story.

Though Dev is very well to do, he has attained this stature by facing a lot of difficulties. He had a troubled childhood where his father used to constantly ignore his mother and did not have any emotional bonding with her. Due to such bad behavior, Dev Khanna never shared a good rapport with his father. Such events leave a mark in his mind and would never leave him even when he leaves India for settling in Australia. The passing away of his mother has a deep-rooted impact on him since she had always been his pillar of support.

After fighting so many odds, Dev still does well on the professional front but these haunting personal memories never left him. The mysterious letter from India just acts as a trigger and this is where the story goes into flashback. He goes back to India and this is where starts a journey filled with emotions, anger, anxiety, etc.

All the characters namely Dev Khanna, his wife Radhika, son Neel, including the supporting cast of Mr. Goyal who is Dev’s host in India, driver Shahid have been etched with perfection. The story is written in a subtle manner and each character plays a pivotal role in the novel. As the story progresses, you can feel for Dev Khanna and start realizing his feelings. There are a lot of interesting quotes or one-liners about Dev’s bonding with his mother, his love for India, friendship, etc. The best quote in the book is

Even Phenomenal amount of wealth doesn’t guarantee any security against unhappiness

The storytelling by Dr. Madhu is spot-on with characters entering and exiting scenes at the right time. At around 258 pages long, I Owed You One is a fascinating read and sends a very important message that irrespective of the amount of wealth a person owns, he cannot buy true happiness!

Closing Thoughts

I Owed You One is a must-read novel if you looking for an interesting story with path-defining characters. The story is etched in a very beautiful manner where relationships are given primary importance.

Overall Rating – 4.5/5

You can purchase I Owed You One by Dr. Madhu Vajpayee by clicking on the link below

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