-
Rural telecom users price insensitive?
Read an interesting report in the ET today, based on some survey conducted by Credit Suisse. They survey found that the rural consumers are more quality consicous and less price sensitive. Hardly any of the polled users had switched operators basis call-rates. This is very interesting coz most of us (self included) had believed that…
-
Will TATA’s Nano command a premium
The much hyped release of Nano was a welcome change in these recession hit times. For once both the consumers and the manufacturers were speaking in highly positive tones. It prompted a strange discussion at my house. My dad feels the euphoria around Nano is so much that its booking delivery process would command a…
-
Organic farming – tough road ahead
I went on a trip to Sikkim, with a pal who works for organic farming certification in that state. And while I was doing my sightseeing, managed to enquire a bit about how organic farming is structured and marketed in the country. Quite an interesting case study it is. Organic farming involves complete dependency on…
-
Will anyone buy Satyam ?
Its been a not so great start to 2009 for India world over. The economic crisis just keeps getting worse. I had last written about a how the slowdown could be the right time for cherrypicking. But the Satyam story has made me wonder if the same really applies to competitive industries in the service…
-
Global slowdown- right time for cherrypicking?
Its known to the kid next door (a keen stamp collector) that its a good deal if a stamp which was worth five triangular stamps (in the network) is now available for just 2 ! In business language, its called “timing your buy” when the price is lower than the target or true value. So…
-
And Honda does it Again !
Honda has always been like the Intel of the automobile market. It has had a steady stream of products coming out of its shop which has meant that one time Honda owners stayed with them while looking for an upgrade or a replacement. The City platform has seen a steady stream of variants and so…
-
DTH Games begin- Elephants will win
The arrival of the telecom giant Airtel has made the DTH arena crowded and fun to watch. Not only was the Airtel’s teaser used by BIG TV, the offers from early entrants like Tata Sky Dish TV have seen a never before decibel levels. At stake is the current 6 million household market which is…
-
In the business of breaking (the) news…
I dont spend too much time infront of the idiot box, but I have been a witness to the news blitzkrieg that Indian consumers are forced to live with. With so many news channels, i usually end up pressing the “Up channel” button almost 20 times before I get out of the “breaking news” zone.…
-
Why Google launched Chrome ?
Google launched its very own Internet Browser- Chrome- and die hard fans apart, early experimenters also say- that its cool ! While the industry pundits discuss the features and the strategy behind launching of Chrome- i came up with my very own answer- as to why Google launched Chrome? And the answer lies in the…
-
Floods in Bihar- India’s lack of focus towards Infrastructure
The flooding of Kosi has brought to fore the apparent lack of focus government after government has had towards Infrastructure development. Lemme explain why. The Kosi it seems has been changing course every year that it flows above the danger mark- apparently due to high level of silt. The only water flow management in its…
-
Free Pricing takes toll on non-life insurers
Today’s ET had a front page article with the same headline “Free Pricing takes toll on non-life insurers” where it reported that the once lucrative Fire Insurance segment now makes private General Insurers bleed. Its an interesting and important development because it could well become the case study in What not to do in a…
-
TRAI on overdrive ! Telecom business to see a complete overhaul…
The last 7-10 days have been filled with a lot of action in the Telecom sector, and the regulatory authority TRAI seems to be at the centre of it all. Consider these: – 3G policy is launched – BSNL MTNL given a go-ahead for an early 3G launch – Net Telephony proposed by TRAI supported…
-
Kashmir : Business or Politics
Many keen observers of the J&K situation say that the current state of affairs has thrown the valley back by atleast a decade or so of development. It is also felt that the simple economics provided the means for the separatist movement to gain momentum again. Its been said that the Fruit growers saw an…
-
Killer Apps in motorbike industry
Was reading an article in the ET today, which talked about how Bajaj was trailing behind Hero Honda in the Motorcycle sales in the country. The article went on to identify the reason for the widening gap- Bajaj’s lack of focus in sub 125cc segment where the volumes are still high. While all this might…
-
3G now in India… immediate impacts on Telecom Sector
Today’s biz papers were all shouting out loud about the 3G telecom policy now finally being here. For the uninformed like me, it meant too much excitement about half a mark (thats how much of technology leap we would take by this costly migration from strong2.5G to 3G/strong ) on the score card… So I…
-
Economies around pilgrimage spots
I remember reading this short note about how Shirdi- the pilgrim destination for Sai Baba devotess- quickly evolved from a small-hamlet-nowhere-in-the-map to a prominent-travel-destination-within-Maharastra…. all within the author’s lifespan. The thought was re-inforced by a friend who visited Shirdi and got into a conversation with a cabbie there. The cabbie believed that this family was…
-
Card Spends and inflation
Was remembering my days in the bank when part of my job was to increase Credit card spends by manipulating credit lines for individual customers or clusters. My friend in the same team had a similar goal, but he could manipulate only the offers that were made available to our carded customers. While the role…
-
Fuel costs leading to Closed economies ?
Read a very interesting article yday- wherein the author built a case for changes he predicted in manufacturing services due to the increased crude prices. According to him the labour arbitrage opportunities that many companies/countries could exploit previously, would no longer be as profitable. Reason being that historically the increased shipping costs due to shifting…