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  • How India is Boycotting Chinese products

    In this time of pandemic, China is pushing borders against India and other neighboring countries.China has a powerful and bigger weapon and that is Economy and that is why China is getting political. China is using its economy to dominate our neighbouring countries and thus it is becoming a superpower.

    It is the worst time for India to go on a war as our economy is down and this war
    couldn’t be won by money as China has its allies around us. It is helping our neighbouring countries in infrastructure and other projects but if no one uses them, it becomes difficult for these countries to pay back China. China also overstates his own bills and there comes China again and asks to handle the operations and takes control over these infrastructures so that it can use these bases as military base in times of war and be prepared. In case, the war is held, it will be from all the sides as we are surrounded by China’s allies. China has a military base in Africa and it is using it to threaten U.S. However, India is taking serious precautions to make China realise that it will impact their economy as well.

    Although this is not for the first time as the supporting stand of China towards
    Pakistan pot URI attack also led to a campaign to boycott Chinese products in India. However, this time, many social media influencers are coming up with several reasons to boycott Chinese products to spread awareness among Indian citizens. I would like to share some YouTube links which are helpful to understand the agenda of China for using Economy as a weapon against India:-
    SonamWangchuk

    Baba Ramdev

    These videos will also help in understanding the reasons to boycott Chinese products. There are many alternatives available for the Chinese apps and if we start using these alternative apps instead of the Chinese apps, it will affect the economy of China. As India is the biggest importer of Chinese goods and trade deficit of India with China is one of the biggest between two trading partners.
    A boycott is only possible if we start using alternatives from other countries or we become self-reliance as our honorable Prime minister wanted to say and import substitution can be done. If we will be able to boycott Chinese products completely then China will be in a situation where he will need to think twice before waging a war against any neighbouring countries. Our country now needs to manufacture products which are ‘Made in India’ but are ‘Made for the world’.

    Here are some examples, how Indians are totally depend on Chinese apps and using them continuously and on daily basis and these apps are the reason behind the growth of Chinese Economy:

    Apps that are Invested by China

    • Paytm
    • Byjus
    • Ola
    • Oyo
    • Swiggy
    • Zomato
    • Big basket

    Also Read: List of Popular Chinese Apps in India

    Chinese Mobile Apps in India

    • Tik-tok
    • UC browser
    • Pubg
    • Xender
    • Cam Scanner
    • Like

    Chinese Phone Companies

    • Xiaomi
    • OnePlus
    • Gionee
    • Oppo
    • Vivo
    • Huawei

    Essentials exported from China

    • Medicine ingredients
    • Solar products,
    • Semiconductors
    • Fertilizers
    • Machines

    According to facts provided by some news and personals, China is using the data from the Chinese invested apps and Chinese apps to gain information and also some information have been hacked by China through these apps as well.Recently a person from Vadodara Twitter account was hacked and the access point were seen as China. He stated that his account was synced with Pubg mobile and that might be the reason of hacking. China is a stakeholder in the company Tencent which has developed Pubg. Now this becomes more important to boycott these Chinese apps, to protect your data and information and also in order to support India so that China’s biggest weapon can be used against
    them.  

    Also Read: 10 Surprising Insights Of Chinese Apps And Their Alternatives

    NO MORE CHINA PRODUCTS:   POSSIBLE BOWL FOR INDIA ?  

    India is also trying their best to deal with China and make them taste their own medicine. They have reviewed the FDI so that Indian can’t Chinese puppet like our neighbouring countries. We are late but we are not in China’s trap and we have learnt the truth about China’s economy.

    Vocal For Local campaign

    Prime Minister Modi in his address to the nation on May 12, 2020 launched a ‘VOCAL  FOR LOCAL‘ campaign.  He urged the citizens of India to buy and promote local goods and brands.  The Prime Minister further said that global brands were once local but when people started supporting them they went global.

    It is known that India and China are the two fastest growing economies in the world and India is the largest importer of Chinese goods and services in the world.

    The trade deficit between India and China is the largest among the major trading partners.  It is interesting to note that India imports about seven times more from China than it exports.  India imports more than $ 50 billion worth of goods from China and exports $ 2.5 billion worth of goods to China.

    It is a known fact that Chinese products are very cheap compared to their Indian counterparts.  In addition, the Chinese government also provides subsidies to its exporters.  India spends around 9% on transportation, energy etc., but this cost is nil by the import duty imposed on China by India.  To avoid import duties, many Chinese companies use trans-shipment routes — sending goods to Bhutan and then India.

    Globalization has spread its roots so deep in our lives and the supply chain is so interconnected, the productions process is so complex that it is difficult to isolate one country and boycott it’s goods completely but as Mr. Sonam Wangchuk mentioned, systematic and phased boycott is possible. We can starts from stop using the Chinese software in a week and hardware in a year. We need to constantly make efforts to ease the business environment in India and bring out labour reforms and look for less expensive alternatives which will take time but it is the time to make some uncommon decisions that will impact our lives and will help Indian Economy and will impact Chinese Economy as well.

    The Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT)

    CAIT

    A traders’ organization, on Sunday expressed solidarity with the Ladakh-based educational reformer and visionary Sonam Wangchuk’s appeal to boycott Chinese goods.
    Tension between India and China, the man who inspired Bollywood blockbuster “3 Idiots”, has appealed and asked Indians to boycott all Chinese companies.
    In a tweet, the engineer-turned-education reformer asked people to boycott all Chinese products in Ladakh to stop Beijing’s “bullying” and to free 1.4 billion bonded labourers in the country.

    CAIT, which claims to represent seven crore merchants, said it had identified around 3,000 categories of heavily imported Chinese products “which should be immediately replaced by Indian products as good quality for such products Indian replacements are available “

    CAN INDIA REALLY BOYCOTT CHINESE PRODUCTS

    • India imports many raw materials as well as finished products like steel, minerals etc. from China.  When it comes to boycott imports from China, this can only be done in the case of finished goods but the import of raw materials from China cannot be stopped.
    • India also imports consumer durable like electrical appliances, mobile phones, cars etc.  Medicinal drugs like leprosy, antibiotics etc. from China.  In addition, the Chinese smartphone market accounts for $ 8 billion of India’s smartphone market (Lenovo, Oppo, Vivo, etc.).  If India planned to boycott Chinese products, India’s GDP would fall drastically.
    • After the launch of ‘Make in India‘ campaign by Prime Minister Modi, many Chinese companies have set up their units in India, employing hundreds of thousands of workers in India.  If India boycott Chinese products, these companies may face pressure from Chinese authorities to stop their production in India, leaving hundreds of workers unemployed.

    As mentioned above, India imports about seven times more from China than its exports.  If India plans to boycott Chinese products than find an alternative that can match the cost and availability is almost impossible.  Thus, India’s GDP can be contracted.

    5- It is interesting to note that almost every product we use has a little bit of China.  Smartphones, laptops, air conditioners, etc. which we use in our daily life, some parts are manufactured in China.

    We must understand that the present process of manufacturing is interlinked.  For example, a phone is made with the help of Chinese laborers and land, investment from a different country says that the US has made an innovation from Japan and can end the Made in India apps.  Every product has the same process when it comes to labor, investment, innovation, etc.  Thus, it can be concluded that each nation cannot be separated nor its good can be boycotted.

    Many countries in the world started boycotting products from various countries, but were unsuccessful due to the complex manufacturing process.  Some of them are listed below:

    1- In 1930, China tried to boycott all Japanese products to protest against the Japanese colony, but failed.

    2- In 2003, the US attempted to boycott French goods after 9/11 in protest of France’s refusal to send troops to Iraq but then failed.

    SO IS THERE ANY ALTERNATIVE?

    Sonam Wangchuk

    Recently, Sonam Wangchuk answered several questions on the boycott of Chinese products.  He said that the customer is king.  This means that consumers should stop using Chinese products.  He chanted a boycott of China’s software in a week, hardware in a year, finished and non-essential products in a year, and systemic boycott of essential products, raw materials, etc. in the coming years.

    We can also implement the import-substitution method in India to boycott Chinese products.  This means that the products we import from China can be manufactured in India, but in the short term this is impossible.

    The Indian government should reduce the rates at which loans are issued to Indian companies like China.  In addition, the government should provide infrastructure, services, etc. to prepare Indian companies to compete with China.  India may boycott Made in China products but in a systematic and planned manner as stated by Sonam Wangchuk.

  • 26 Unique Ways to Market Startups

    Good marketing makes the company look smart but great marketing makes the customer feel smart.

    The idea of getting into a startup is a big thought on its own. In order to start a startup, all your mind-mapping and imagination needs to come into a reality which can be quite intimidating and pressurizing, but it’s all about the start.

    Now time for a reality check, a startup doesn’t become a successful business overnight and you just can’t leave it on it own to grow. Once, someone said “having a product is just the half of a business, the other half is all about a good marketing”. Hence, marketing is the key to make your products, the talk of the town. So, here we have listed down few eccentric ways to market your startup. Let us see all the 26 unique ways to market startups.

    Unique Ways to Market Your Startup

    1) Word of Mouth

    Word of Mouth

    Word of mouth is an old school trick but it’s always effective. A news always reaches fast, when it travels through mouth. The news can be both positive and negative, because both ways people will take an interest. Hence, use this old trick to promote your startup.

    When, people start talking about something, other people get curious to know and try out the product/service.

    Hence for starters, this technique is a good to get customers attracted to the startup.

    2) Search Engine Optimization

    Everyone notices the one who’s is in the top, no offence but I am talking about our search engine results. We always check the first line which comes after search bar on Google. That’s the beauty of Search Engine optimization. It increases the quantity and quality of the traffic for your startup website.

    You want to get your start up on the top, focus on SEO. Hire a professional SEO expert and get it done, to maximize your traffic and get the attention you want for your startup. Make sure, you do it on the leading search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing etc to get people notice you.

    Also Read: Backlinks | The Key To Get Organic Traffic On Your Website

    3) Hoardings, Posters, Banners, Flyers and Graffiti arts

    Remember the days when a new movie or serial use to come and there was no craze of social media. In those times, hoardings, posters, banners used to come in handy. Everyone notices the big hoardings on road because how quirky, colorful and vibrant they are.

    So contact a advertisement company and get your startup on the big Billboard across your city. Spread across flyers nearby malls, roads and all the crowded places you can find. Paste posters like old school movie promotion, to attract people to actually notice the brand or product.

    Want to do more cool and attractive, then draw graffiti art related to your product and get people talking about it. Even though it’s an old trick but still it is very useful in nature for promotion.

    4) Offers, Stickers and Freebies

    Who doesn’t love a free thing or an offer, maybe God?

    Because us humans, we live for such crazy offers or free stuff. So entrepreneurs, here is your cue to win hearts and customers and a great way to promote your brand or startup. If you are a new startup or brand, then some cool offers on the product or some free stuff is the coolest trick you can use to grab the attention of the people to your startup.

    Give good offers and free stuff, to get customers and to have a great promotion of your app. Now, everyone loves a cute sticker with their product, and even if it’s a personalized  then its more wonderful. Hence, start giving away some personalized stickers with purchase and ask your customers to flaunt them over social media. This will give you an abundance of promotion.

    5) Social Media Marketing

    The key to success is in your hand. Thanks to Jio and other companies, we get plenty of internet to use and to search, browse etc. This is also a place for the grand promotion that you have been looking for, the social media marketing.

    Create your startup account on every social media handle and promote your products. Use your own your creative hashtags and ask people to use them. Hold photo /video contest for your followers and promise for gifts and offers in respective of such contest. Organize free giveaways for your customers and online family. You may have to spend here but you will be able to gather the attention of millions and millions of customers.

    Let me give you an example-

    Sofy, for their new product Sofy Cool Pad, they asked people to post a picture or to upload a picture of themselves, especially girls, describing how they keep cool in summers. There was also use of hashtags like #staycoolinsummers. Hence, it’s the best form of promotion in the current time period.

    Also Read: How To Use Instagram For Business

    6) Targeting a specific customer base and promotion based it

    Now, for a product like crib or diapers or feeding bottle, you cannot target kids of 10-15 because it will be of no use for them. It is very important to target a specific base of customers who are actually going to consume the product. Once, you target the customer base, create videos and animations which will attract the particular customer base and they will strive to  take a look into the product. This is also a smart way to spending your cash in the name of promotion.

    Keep the promotional stuff personalized and it should be encouraging the targeted customers to actually crave a look for the product.

    For example, A makeup enthusiasts will go for a product (foundation) which provides an airbrush look, so creating a video which shows such qualities of your new foundation will surely strike the mind if the make-up enthusiasts to go and look at your product.

    7) Launch a referral program

    What can be good than your regular customers promoting your product among their friends, family. Fascinating, isn’t it. So, for the purpose launch a referral program for your customers to refer your products production family, friends and relatives. Now, the question is, why your customers will do it?

    Treat them with exciting gifts once completing a set of targets. That is how you will be able to reach your product to vast members and your customers will be able to get some exciting gifts.

    Also Read: Everything to know about Referral Marketing that can Boost your Sales

    8) Colorful and electrifying Advertisements

    According to a recent report, our subconscious mind catches whatever is shown with lots of colour and vibrancy. That’s why invest in good advertising for your product or startup. Make it on social media, television and print media. The more number of times  people will see your ad, the more they will keep it in their minds and they will be drawn to your products. Hence, they will be trying and will be telling to other people to try it out. Two targets at one arrow, isn’t it?

    To make it more effective and attractive, hire a celebrity to be the spokesperson for your product because as humans we love to try what the celebrities are trying, hence seeing a celebrity in the ad which actually attract more customers to the startup

    Also, either make it emotional or super funny, don’t make it boring because people generally goes for these emotions and when portrayed properly, it can be a game changer for the marketing of your product.

    9) Start an exclusive beta

    We humans love what we can only have, not others. Using this mechanism, create a beta version of your product under your startup. As this will allow only a few user to use the product initially, it will surely create a buzz among people’s mind which is what is necessary for you. The people will wait to join the beta version making it a popular product and talk of the town. Also, make sure you are open to reviews from the customers who are using the beta version.

    As more good reviews from the standard customers, more and more people will be eager to use the version. Also, these reviews will work as a word of mouth for you. Hence, two forms of marketing under one

    For this reason focus on this exclusivity feature to attract customers and to promote the startup.

    10) Customer reviews and views

    People like if someone cares for them and wants their opinion , even if it is from their product company or service provider. Hence, ask your customers to provide you review and feedback about your startup and improvements related to it.

    This will show that you care for your customers and will create a positive impact on your customers. This will keep them interested in your company on a regular basis and will also fetch new customers for your company.

    11) Collaboration

    Tommy×Zendaya,  Jio×Saavn, Puma×Fenty. These are some of  the hottest collection and collaboration of the popular time. Collaboration is a big way to create buzz for your brand and if you are a startup then it’s the best thing you can do, to turn heads and to promote your startup everywhere.

    Try to get a collaboration with already established brand and its not going to be easy, so to reach up to that level start with another startup. Create a fresh collaboration and create fresh products and make it the talk of the town. This will surely turn up some heads towards your startup, giving you boost in your marketing strategy.

    12) Sponsoring an event

    Do you remember in awards shows and events, the MCs and anchors always start thanking the sponsors for sponsoring the event. That’s a great way to create promotion and marketing for your startup. Sponsoring an event not only gives you the liberty to get your name with shows but also gives you a huge platform to promote your brand.

    This trick is the Trump card of marketing, used by almost every startups, companies, brands. So, don’t hesitate from doing so and use the opportunity of sponsoring events. This will surely bring huge focus on your startup.

    Also Read: Why You Should Use Contests as a Marketing Tool To Generate Leads For Your Business

    13) Charity and Fundraising

    “People remember you for two things, to your good deeds  or  for your bad deeds, so the choice is yours”. We have always heard this statement from every elder in our life. So, for startups, doing the good deed is the key to grab a lot of good attention. Donate to good causes and flaunt that donation, to show people you actually care. This will give you the positive attention you want from people.

    Then, launch online fundraiser campaign for charity and encourage people to donate their. To make it more effective, promise the donors with discounts,  badges, stickers etc. This will do the good marketing for your startup, bringing the perfect reputation for your startup.

    14) Creating a regular customer base

    This is one of the most important eccentric ways to promote startup, Focus on creating a regular customer database for your startup and make sure, you are promoting your new launches with them on a regular basis. Give them newsletter, product booklets to show they still matter to your startup.

    Don’t become stupid here, as to grab new customers, you will ignore and forget about the old customer base of yours. You can actually engage them to your referral programs, reviews to keep them on the board. This will keep your customers base increasing, which is of course you want to do.

    Also Read: Best Marketing and Sales Tools

    15) Skywritting

    It is one of the most attractive marketing techniques that unlike traditional skywriting which uses one aircraft to write out a short message, digital skywriting uses a group of team of five aircrafts working together with onboard computer that regulates smoke output and spells out longer messages in a dot matrix style. The average cost may vary from $1500 to $2100 and may be used accordingly as per the funding available with the start-ups.

    16) Actively participate in trade shows

    To make your startup successful, you should focus on online as well as offline marketing strategies. Hence, you should attend the trade shows to acquire a loyal customer base. Participating in trade shows can be very beneficial for your startup because you can meet several other professionals and learn how they maximize their sales.

    17) Usage of emotions

    Emotion is a huge success in marketing. This emotion makes your concept lively. It is important not to focus on what you are providing people but how much they need what you give.

    Nobody wants to know who you are or what informational value you have but they want to know about how much you care for them.

    In UAE coca cola created the hello happiness booth which accepted bottle caps as currency to make a 3-min international call. It was made for the labourers who stayed away from their families in UAE and rarely were in touch with them.

    Also Read: Understanding Customer Sentiments Is Important For Marketing

    18) Befriending the imperfections

    It doesn’t hurt to show some reality and connect the audience with you. The more raw you can be with your product, the more people will get attracted to it. So, don’t hide from showing some imperfections, when it comes to printing your products in markets.

    The good example of such promotion strategy is was when Dove used 6 ordinary women’s instead of models in its ‘real beauty campaign’ of all different sizes and shapes to promote that every woman is beautiful and one should feel beautiful in their own skin.

    It also shows examples of ordinary women in its advertisement to show how their product is made for everyone. It was a huge success which increase their sales to about 700%.

    19) Email marketing

    So, every startup has one thing in common and that is email promotion. But what you have to really keep in mind is that don’t send those emails very frequently because it would irritate your customer and they would end up unsubscribing to them. Secondly, don’t email as a primary mail. Send it under promotional category because if they are actually interested they would open that up.

    As a startup I think every mail which a user receives must have some personalised welcome feel by the founder. They should feel happy after joining your platform.

    Also Read: Email writing for Engagement stage

    20) Campus Ambassador Program

    Ambassador program is one trending way of creating a hype of your brand amongst people; here a student from a particular institute will be the representative of that company in the particular institute. The various fields of study and learning ensure that no product is of “no use” to a student. So campus ambassador programs can be one of the better ways of branding your proposition, it’s just that you need to select the right institute for the right product, and obviously, the right Campus Ambassador.

    21) Campaign

    Creating a viral video won’t just cut it. You need something more than that because no matter how clever a video is, it might not take off with the consumers. What you need is a challenge to offer to the consumers. For example, Codecademy challenged its users to learn to code back in 2012 as their new year’s resolution and slowly that built its user base.

    Host twitter chats, polls etc. Build hype around your product that would get people attracted to your product. Going Beta is one option too. People love the idea of exclusivity. But be warned. This might severely backfire as well if your product does not have the appeal. Not everything is done through your marketing agency. If you fail to deliver on the mystery of exclusivity, then the same mouths that would spread positive words would work to tear you down, and that is not a road you want to go down.

    Also Read: Best Web Marketing Strategy For Your Startup

    22) Radio promotion

    Radio, it is a nostalgia for entertainment and media. As we are growing in terms of technology and development, we are leaning towards everything visual. Internet, videos etc have become important to us but the radio still has its customers in its pockets.

    There are people who still prefer radio because of its authenticity. Hence, for the regular radio junkies, you can actually take the way of radio promotion. Sponsor a radio event or programme or go for paid promotion. Either way, the purpose should be promotion of the product.

    23) Tie-ups with online wallets for cash referrals

    Come on, who doesn’t like some free money? And with the digitalisation on an incline, a few coupons can always charm your target audience.

    A lot of companies and brands give away digital wallet coupons so that more and more customers come back to access or purchase the product!

    This also creates an image of brand selflessness amongst the consumers and helps in making the brand a favourite brand amongst the market.

    24) Active participation in Trade shows and Popups

    To make your startup successful, you should focus on online as well as offline marketing strategies. Hence, you should attend the trade shows to acquire a loyal customer base.

    Participating in trade shows can be very beneficial for your startup because you can meet several other professionals and learn how they maximize their sales.You can have a pop-up in such trade shows. Pop-ups are small stores featuring your products. This trick is used by every big company.

    Open pop-ups and ask your customers to come and check your stores. To make it more interesting, give some offers and goodies on the products at the pop-ups.

    25) Innovative interactions

    Most of the start up products are millennial centric. And considering this, a very important thing to know is that the millennial do not like cliched branding strategies. They are attracted to anything that is quirky and different. Therefore, to establish a communicable bond with them, you have to be innovative.

    For example, a lot of companies are taking surveys through the Instagram stories by using their poll and ask a question feature.

    Also Read: This is How Podcasts Can Grow your Business Tremendously

    26) Handwritten notes

    A sweet little note you receive as soon as you open the package. How will you feel? Sweet isn’t it? This shows how the brand feels about the customers and wants to make them feel special. Hence, add a sweet handwritten notes to your products. This will make your customers feel special which will give you good reviews and the chances of them coming back will increase, for sure.

    Now these are some of the very popular tricks which you can use to promote your startup. In order to make your startup an effective one, it is very important that you actually focus on the marketing because without proper marketing, it is impossible for your product and startup  to reach the heights you want it. That is why a good startup is the one which has a good marketing strategy.

  • JIO Users Get Disney+Hotstar Subscription For One Year

    One of the super giant telecom industry of India, Reliance JIO, has announced a teaser saying that it is going to release a bundle offer with Disney +  Hotstar for free soon. The most important feature of this offer is- accessibility to one year subscription of Disney Plus Hotstar VIP for free. It is not the first time that JIO customers will be provided with an offer to get the yearly Disney + Hotstar subscription. Back in 2017, JIO had provided it’s users the Hotstar subscription where JIO subscribers can watch  Star TV Network channels  via Hotstar app for free.

    reliance gives Disney+Hotstar VIP for 1 year, COMING SOON
    teaser banner

    The new offer has been listed as ” coming soon”. Though they have provided the Hotstar Premium subscription earlier , however, this will be the first time that  JIO customers will get the annual Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription for Rs. 399 a year. It will bring access to Disney+  shows, movies and Kids content alongside exclusive Hotstar Specials and live sports including cricket, Premier League and Formula1.

    However, there is no clarity on whether the bundling subscription will be limited to specific plans or all plans can use them equally. The Telecom Operator has yet not informed about the launch but the teaser banner does mention that it is  “coming soon”.

    The Teaser banner was first reported by telecom focused “Only Tech”. But it’s sure that this will increase their user base.

    Over-Taking  Airtel

    JIO overtakes Airtel
    airtel

    It is clear that JIO is going to compete with Airtel soon. JIO appears to be taking on Airtel by offering similar Disney+Hotstar VIP benefits for prepaid users. Last month, Airtel brought the Rs. prepaid recharge plan with the Disney+Hotstar VIP subscription for a year. The plan also included 3GB high speed data and a valadity of 28 days.

    Also Read: Reliance to launch its own video conference platform Jio Meet to compete with Zoom, Google Meet

    Disney +  Hotstar

    Disney+ Hotstar is one of India’s largest premium video streaming platform. Disney plus Hotstar was recently launched which means that users don’t have to download a secondary app for Disney+ shows.  The app offers both free and premium video contents which include 50,000 hours of TV content and movies across 8 languages. It let’s you access to its vast library of movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic & kids shows such as Doraemon, Shinchan, Chacha Chaudhary and more. The Disney+  Hotstar premium subscription is priced at Rs 199 per month which brings all the exclusive and latest American television shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ and latest movies after they have been aired in America.

    disney+
    disney

    Is Hotstar Premium and VIP Same?

    NO, they are not same . The premium plan of hotstar is more expensive and gives you access to all the content on hotstar including Hollywood, and movies from across the world. It adds a special feature where you can change the language of the audio with subtitles whereas, VIP account doesn’t permit it.

    The Hotstar VIP plan is way cheaper than a premium account whuch is amost one-third of a Premium plan. A Disney+  Hotstar subscription is availaible at Rs.365/ a year, whereas a Disney+  Hotstar premium plan can be purchased at Rs.999/year. The Hotstar VIP account gives you access to all sports content which include TV movies and Shows.

    Also Read: Companies which Invested ₹ 67,194.75 Crore in Jio Platforms

    JIO  TV

    JioTV is a live streaming service app that offers access to more than 300 TV channels including 42 HD channels across languages and genres. On this app, a person can live-stream TV channels and watch episodes of TV shows, aired in the past 7 days. This partnership will bring Reliance Jio customers who are subscribed to JioTV services to get direct free access to Hotstar premium membership. This, in turn, allows Jio customers to access all the Star TV channels, other exclusive American TV Shows, and movies for free.

    JIO TV
    jio tv

    When the Internet becomes more and more affordable, then you need lots and lots of content to consume. That’s the case of high-speed 4G users, especially the users under Reliance Jio 4G preview offer. The upcoming Indian telecom operator Reliance Jio has partnered with Star India to offer free premium membership to popular video streaming service Hotstar via JioTV. This will bring a wide catalogue of Star TV channels along with exclusive Americal TV shows and movies for Jio customers.

    Also Read: Jio Revolutionised Telecommunication Industry

    Disney+ Hotstar
    DISNEY+ Hotstar

    How to get Hotstar Premium free with Jio?

    • Open up the JioTV app and tap on any Star TV channel.
    • You will be then redirected to Google Play Store/ iTunes to download the latest Disney+ Hotstar app.
    • If you are an existing user then you are provided with an option to upgrade or reinstall the Disney+ Hotstar app.
    • On upgrading, you will be asked to connect with your Jio account.
    • Once connected, you can use either the JioTV app or Hotstar app to watch Star TV channels and other TV shows. (clicking Star TV channels on JioTV app will automatically open up in Hotstar).
    • You can also use the Hotstar directly to watch all other premium TV shows and movies.

    According to a report, it is being said that Indian Telecom Operator is now diverging from Disney+  Hotstar and is offering free one year Amazon Prime membership worth INR999 to its JIO Fiber users.

    Though the company hasn’t made an official announcement but I think finally good days are coming . Whatever it’s going to be JIO users  will get some entertainment benefits from the telecom industry. JIO subscribers claimed of seeing a banner on My JIO App which states the activation one year Amazon Prime membership and that too free. Although the offer is valid for a year only and after this users have to get a paid subscription.

  • Explara – Helping Startups in Monetizing and Generating Audience for their Events!

    We keep hearing about the milestones and challenges that startups keep facing in their initial years. One of the most prominent ones is that creative entrepreneurs and businesses have to struggle a lot to monetize their events with also bringing the audience to these events.

    Therefore to empower these entrepreneurs to explore their endeavors and grow their business while taking it to the customers across the globe, Santosh Panda launched Explara in 2008. Explara helps creative entrepreneurs and small businesses to monetize from events, online selling, community, and crowdfunding.

    Explara – Company Highlights

    Startup Name Explara
    Headquarter Bengaluru, India
    Sector Online Ticketing, Event Promotion, SaaS
    Founders Ashok Kumar, Santosh Panda
    Founded 2008
    Legal Name Signure Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
    Website explara.com

    About Explara and How it Works
    Explara – Target Market Size
    Founders of Explara and team
    Explara – Startup Launch
    Explara – Startup Challenges
    Explara – Business Model and Revenue Model
    Explara – Competitors
    Explara – Funding and Investors
    Explara – Acquisitions and Mergers
    Explara – Growth
    Explara – Future Plans

    Check out this List of Top Startups in Bangalore | Best Bangalore Startups

    About Explara and How it Works

    Explara is a SaaS (Software as a Service) based platform that sells tickets in different event categories like sports, travel, and food, and has tied up multiple theatres and multiplexes in states such as Maharashtra and Gujarat. Explara is a great combination of an event platform combined with a me-too ticketing site which is a boon for event organizers.

    So ideally, Explara takes care of pre-event, event-day & post-event needs of the organizations. Cutting the long story short, it covers the end-to-end needs of an event and therefore becomes the go-to place for organizations that want to create mega-events.

    Explara has events majorly in:

    • Biz & tech
    • Learning & classes
    • Entertainment & shows
    • Sports & outdoor segments.

    Explara offers the following products:

    • Event Ticketing & Registration
    • Online Selling & Payment Solution
    • Crowdfunding & Donation
    • Community & Membership

    Explara’s Enterprise Products ranges in:

    • Event Management Cloud
    • Membership Cloud
    • Event Day Mobile App
    • Submission Software

    Explara – Target Market Size

    According to a RedSeer report, the online ticketing market in India has recorded quarterly revenue of $28 million.

    Moreover, RedSeer’s Online Ticket Market Updates states that 50% of the industry revenue has been coming from movies, with the next big contributor being events. Sporting events, concerts, and other live entertainment shows were the significant money-making aspects of the almost $330 million in revenue generated by the online ticketing industry in 2017.

    With the big guns relentlessly acquiring smaller competitors in this domain, according to Wikipedia, a CAGR of 20% is expected in the online ticketing industry by 2020. According to reports, the global online event ticketing market size is expected to reach USD 67.99 billion by 2025.

    Relevant read: BookMyShow – Saving You The Hassle Of Booking Entertainment Tickets

    Founders of Explara and team

    Explara is co-founded by Santosh Panda and Ashok Kumar.

    Co-founders of Explara
    Co-founders of Explara

    Santosh has an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School and is CEO and Co-founder of Explara. Before launching Explara which was formerly known as Ayojak, he was a member of the board of advisors of Target and was a Senior Software Engineer at eBay.

    Explara founder Santosh has a decade of diverse experience in the software industry in the UK, USA, Finland, and India. He has extensive experience in product development, consulting for FTSE 100 companies, and start-up companies across the globe. Some of the organizations for whom Santosh, owner of Explara, was involved in building products are BBC iPlayer, eBay UK, Cyclone Commerce, OnStation, William Hill, Spoke Software, and Vodafone.

    Ashok has an MBA from the University of Bradford. He is the co-founder and Vice President – Operations at Explara. Before Explara, he was a tech lead at MindTree Ltd.

    Explara – Startup Launch

    When Santosh launched Explara in 2008, he did see that this industry was an unorganized marketplace. But fortunately, it started through a supplier marketplace route. This means that the startup is offering a robust platform paired with a set of event ticketing/registration & management solutions to make it easy on the event organizers & promoters.

    Explara – Startup Challenges

    One of the biggest milestones that Explara faced was an intense competition. And to combat that and to engage more users on its platform, it has devoted consistent efforts and has been seen innovating in the existing features and also launching new and exciting features from time to time.

    Going along the same lines, Explara came up with a solution for solving the event discovery on the social horizon by launching a new feature called “Event Discovery Solution”. This new feature brings all the events at one platform of the users’ interest. Also, one such initiative in the past was when Explara had launched a feature called Community Solution platform.

    Also read: MeraEvents: Redefining Event Ticketing And Management

    Explara – Business Model and Revenue Model

    As we know, Explara is a cloud-hosted event solutions platform, it mainly focuses on four service areas namely event ticketing/registration, payment processing (online, offline), merchandise selling, event marketing, and logistics.

    Explara Logo, tagline
    Explara Logo

    Now, a user can create an account on the platform for free and organize free events at zilch cost. And if you’re wondering how does Explara make money? This is how. Explara charges a nominal fee applicable when the event organizer uses the platform for a paid event/conference/meet-up.

    Explara – Competitors

    The top competitors of Explara are Townscript, MeraEvents, BookMyShow, KyaZoonga, Nearify, Magnet, AllEvents.in and Events High.

    “There has been competition from the day we launched in 2009 to date. Our focus has been to remain focussed on customer needs and build to solve their pain points. We as an organization believe in the culture of heads down work-in-progress models. Hence we didn’t pay much attention to how competitors were doing”, said Santosh Panda, the founder of Explara.

    Also read: Online Marketplace for Venue Booking ‘VenueLook’ Forays into end-to-end Event Planning Services

    Explara – Funding and Investors

    Explara has raised a total of $486.4K in funding. Here is a list of all the funding rounds:

    Date Stage Amount Investors
    February 2013 Venture Round – HBS Alumni Angels, Srijan Capital, Blume Ventures, Rajan Anandan, Kishore Warrier
    November 2015 Seed Round $486.4K Hyderabad Angels, Ness Wadia

    The investors include Harvard Business School (HBS) Alumni Angels, Srijan Capital, Blume Ventures and angel investors including Google India MD Rajan Anandan, Kishore Warrier, businessman Ness Wadia, Singapore Angel Network and Hyderabad Angels.

    Explara – Acquisitions and Mergers

    In April 2015, Explara acquired IndianStage. It is an event ticketing platform for performing arts. With this, Explara was all set to add more cities to its kitty with access to the theatre and entertainment segments.

    Also read: BunnyBash- Making Event Hosting Effortless

    Explara – Growth

    • More than 20,000 suppliers
    • Serves 5000 events every month.
    • Handles more than 1,000 transactions a day
    • Has executed more than 50,000 events

    Explara – Future Plans

    “Our current focus is India, though we are digitally growing in other countries. We intend to serve India fully before we look for our physical business presence in other countries”, concluded Santosh Panda.

  • Amazon Eyeing Airtel For $2 Billion Deal To Fit Into India’s Telecom Market

    Amazon has made a huge impact on India’s market and is now eyeing for an entry into the Indian telecom industry. Reuters has reported that Amazon is trying to buy a 5% stake in Airtel, one of the leading telecom providers in the country. Airtel being the third largest Indian telecommunication provider can prove to be a game changer with the help of the US based e-commerce giant.

    American giants have started to invest in Indian based firms lately. They are focusing on taking the Indian telecom services to the next level. These investments will help Indian based telecom industries expand their business to different countries and create an international presence.

    Also Read: Amazon Experimenting In Food Delivery Services In India

    It can create a big impact in the market if believed to be true

    Deal At an Early Stage

    Although this deal is in its early stages, it’s a small step towards the globalization of India’s telecom industry. And it will surely help in boosting India’s economy. As more and more countries look for investing in India, the coronavirus pandemic being one of the catalysts, this news can be termed as the start of something good from an economic front, a change needed in this time of crisis.

    great competition in the Telecom Industry

    A Wave Of Competition In The Telecom Industry

    What makes this deal interesting is that it has come at the time when Indian telecom service providers are receiving investments from the big shots. Reliance Jio sold its stake of around $10 bn from several investors over the past few months. Investors like Facebook, General Atlantic ($869 Mn), Vista Equity Partners ($1.5 Bn), Silver Lake ($746 Mn), and KKR($1.5 Bn) have pumped cash in Reliance Jio, the market leader at the moment. The investment by Facebook in Reliance Jio has created a more competitive market in the telecom field.

    It can be a great revolution for telecom industry 

    Jio has always done something out of the box which allowed it to grow quickly. This has affected giants like Vodafone who have lost a significant share of Indian customers courtesy of Jio. Many have fallen into debt. The announcement of partnership with US based tech giants will change the playing field for all the competitors. An element of uncertainty looms in the air as no can guess what investment news is going to come next.

    Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi based funding company, has recently announced its intention of purchasing around 1.85 percent stake in Reliance Jio. Mukesh Ambani has confirmed this news.

    Also Read: Reliance Industries made Acquisitions worth $3 billion in past 3 years

    Google is trying to help Vodafone pare its debt, as talks of Google buying a 5% stake in Vodafone do the rounds. If the purchase happens, Vodafone can again become a valuable contender in the telecom market. Vodafone, once a top telecom service provider, is not doing well financially for some time now. To sustain itself, it’s imperative for Vodafone to get back in the competition.

    After the Amazon speculation, the share prices of Bharti Airtel have increased by 5.73% per share. Investors have seen happiness after a long time as the investment speculation is no less than a silver lining of hope.

    The deal is in nascent stages of discussion, and any change is possible at the moment since sources haven’t confirmed the news.

    A statement given by an Amazon spokeswoman said the company does “not offer comments on speculation of what it may or may not do in future.”

    Whereas Bharti Airtel said it will love to collaborate with the digital players around and accept their products, their content and their services provided to the customers. Bharti Airtel stated, “Beyond that there is no other activity to report.”

    Amazon And The Indian Market

    Amazon counts the Indian segment as one of its important growth markets and has a total investment of around $6.5 bn in the Indian e-commerce front. The US based company founded by Jeff Bezos in the recent years has developed a multi venture market in India by bringing voice controlled speaker called Alexa, video streaming site namely Amazon Prime Video, and cloud storage.

    Amazon is trying to capture different market opportunities around India and teaming up with the telecom industry players is a major step. Amazon has been a hit in India, becoming a household name.

    When Amazon was launched in India in February 2012 via its e-commerce site, it became an instant hit with the people. Indians started to prefer online marketing instead of going out and shopping. It attracted a large range of customers back then and became a major part of India’s revolutionized retail segment.

    In 2016, Amazon dived into India’s streaming industry and has created solid name for itself. Amazon Prime Video has been one of the best streaming platforms in India, and is a formidable competitor to Netflix and Hotstar. Amazon Prime Video is known for its awesome content wand has come up with tailor made Indian content to target audience of all age groups. The music streaming platform provided with the membership of Amazon Prime has only improved its reach. Providing membership to customers at low costs has assisted Amazon in creating a strong hold in India.

    With Amazon’s entry in the Indian telecom segment through Bharti Airtel, people can expect new enhancements at lower costs. If Airtel can succeed in leveraging Amazon’s capabilities, it can potentially seize a large number of Indians. It would be interesting to see the Indian telecom industry with the re-emergence of the market leaders.

  • Developing Entrepreneurial Mindset, Here is What it Takes!

    Having an entrepreneurial mindset differentiates a success and failure as an aspiring entrepreneur. One should be adaptable, yet decided, committed, yet OK with dissatisfaction, and a pioneer, yet a pessimist. Thus, it is important to know why and how to develop entrepreneurial mindset. By following some simple steps  and exercises, an  aspiring entrepreneur can develop entrepreneurial mindset.

    Regardless of whether entrepreneurs have a current business or are preparing to dispatch their own business, one of the most squeezing needs is the means by which to create and fortify the entrepreneurial attitude. Yes, constructing a business requires genuine work and exertion; however, it is best finished with a mentality that grasps the activity and hazard required in turning into particular supervisors for their own company.  This may seem like an aggressive assignment if an entrepreneur doesn’t have these qualities.

    Why should one Develop Entrepreneurial Mindset?

    Developing an entrepreneurial mindset is very important for a number of reasons. First, such mindset gives you ability to perform at higher levels, thus achieving more. Secondly, it will allow you to develop your business ideas to the fullest. With the help of entrepreneurial mindset, you will have a better chance at succeeding at finding the right idea. By developing entrepreneurial mindset initially, you prepare yourself to the fullest for your entrepreneurial journey later.

    Developing an entrepreneurial mindset not only helps you in the entrepreneurial journey but it also gives you the tools to excel in whatever you do. Even if you are still working for someone right now or in college, don’t ignore this if you have not begun your entrepreneurial journey. Lastly, when it comes time to execution, you can go full force and not have to worry about learning an entrepreneurial mindset and all the details of your new business.

    Also Read: Common Problems Entrepreneurs Face and The Truth About Startup Life

    How to Develop Entrepreneurial Mindset?

    Frequently, the descriptors portray a decent entrepreneur as forceful, pioneering, road keen and a daring individual, among numerous others traits. The test is in changing one’s state of mind to fit every one of these descriptive words. So here are a few tips to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.

    Have a Positive Attitude

    Having a positive attitude is not about la-la-land guarantees or keeping up a Pollyanna-ish state of mind. It is about observing things in context and surrounding things in a positive light.  The correct state of mind grasps challenges, continually searching for the lesson covered in the troubles.

    Be Unique

    Entrepreneurs grasp their uniqueness. As kids, people tended to need to mix in instead of being explicitly extraordinary. In any case, now it is proposed that entrepreneurs grasp their individuality. When people can commend what makes them and their organization unmistakable, they emerge from the group and separate from their rivals.

    entrepreneurial mindset definition
    Entrepreneur Thinking can generate New Results

    Have a Clear Mission

    The work and item ought to offer some incentive to others. People ought to have an unmistakable individual mission they use to manage their vocation choices. As an association, it’s critical to be mission-driven and unmistakably convey that mission both inside and remotely.

    Have Perseverance

    An Entrepreneur will be more than once subjected to dismissal and could likewise experience naysayers at all times. One ought to be resistant to reactions and figure out how to treat achievement and dismissal similarly.  
Dissatisfactions are hard to manage. But at the same time are opportunities to learn and retain the most. In the meantime, achievement ought to never give somebody an overwhelming head on their shoulders which can make them exceedingly stubborn and close to new and better thoughts.

    Pace Yourself

    Yes, entrepreneurs have a ton of work to finish, to achieve the highest point of that mountain, yet tolerance and persistence characterize fruitful business people. Entrepreneurs have to pace themselves as they move to monetary and business achievement. Inspiring one is a splendid quality; in any case it is unsustainable. It is beneficial to get ready for those circumstances when they will have to work requesting hours, however they should not characterize themselves by their capacity to do that and just that, or they’ll soon wear out.

    Stay Flexible

    The adventure to achievement is not straight and keeping in mind that it’s critical to concentrate on results, be adaptable on the procedure. Remaining agile on the adventure will help to adjust and be centered on autonomous effect. Be adaptable in techniques; react to the market and the clients.

    Build a Network

    Know the gifts on the group and in the system that can be of advantage to the association. Figuring out how to function more intelligently and not harder is a piece of being ingenious. Entrepreneurs don’t need to rethink the wheel unfailingly. Research and know the space and every one of the advantages that are accessible.

    Also Read: Must Read Startup Books for Entrepreneurs in 2020

    Take Ownership

    The last stride in making a real entrepreneurial attitude is taking proprietorship. Be the pioneer, possess the work and assume liability

  • Everything You Need to Know about Virtual Office

    A virtual office is a service that enables employees and business owners to work remotely by providing a range of business functions accessible through the internet. The virtual office concept has become a popular workspace solution for freelancers and entrepreneurs who work from home but want a professional-sounding business address for their company. It gives business owners all the benefits of a physical office without the expense of renting an actual office. A virtual business address can help to add credibility to a business, which makes it easier to successfully attract clients.

    What is a Virtual Office?
    Virtual Office Concept
    History of Virtual Office
    How Virtual Office works?
    Advantages of a Virtual Office
    Disadvantages of a Virtual Office

    What is a Virtual Office?

    A virtual office or virtual company refers to a company that may not have a fixed location yet functions as a unit to provide products and services to customers. It relies on the Internet heavily. Internet is used for document exchange, video conferencing for meetings and cell phones so employees can keep in touch. The office’s employees might work at home or in different cites and countries i.e. it involves working remotely.

    Essentially, a virtual office is a service which provides a business owner with an office address and telephone number, communication and administration services, and access to meeting rooms, all without the need for physical office space.

    Virtual Office Concept

    A virtual office is part of the flexible workspace industry that provides businesses with any combination of services, space or technology, without those businesses having the capital expenses of owning or leasing a traditional physical office.

    Due to the digital revolution, traditional working environment will never be the same. In many cases, work is no longer the place you go to, but rather the tools, skills, and devices you need to have to complete a task, no matter where your location is. Many startups, small firms, and solopreneurs(entrepreneur who works and runs their business alone) are discovering the benefits of virtual offices. For instance, it enables organisations to create and maintain a presence in a desirable location without the need to pay rent for an actual space.

    A virtual office can be defined as various work environments that can be accessed with the help of Internet and computer technology. Technically, you and your team can work from any corner of the world as long as you have an Internet connection, an app or a collaboration or conference tool needed for your work, that gives the same ultimate result as any physical office.

    The virtual office concept has a great scope in future. For instance, Covid-19 has made many employees unintentionally get used to work from home. This will give a great boost to the virtual offices in coming future.

    History of Virtual Office

    The virtual office concept has existed since the early 1980’s and has changed over the decades with technology. For example, a 1980’s virtual office included a fax service, now this has been replaced with a scan to email service, in which physical mail is scanned and emailed to the client. Even though virtual offices have been growing in popularity over the last few years, the idea has actually been around for several decades. There’s been an ongoing debate about who coined the term virtual office.

    According to an article published in 1982 in Infoworlds, John Markoff, a journalist,  first mentioned the term ‘virtual office. In the article, Markoff wrote that a virtual office would be built around a portable personal computer and local area network that would expand working horizons dramatically. Markoff also stated that in the future virtual offices, employees will no longer be constrained by computer equipment or geographic location. They would be free to travel or to interact with others while communicating information with right tools. The physical offices would not have the central importance it does today.

    Also Read: How to Manage Remote Teams?

    The first virtual offices were accurately installed in 1989 by Ralph Gregory in Boulder, Colorado. Ralph founded ‘The Virtual Office Inc’ because is first child was born and he wanted to be able to work from home and spend time with her.

    Also in 1989, after taking a business trip to Belgium, English billionaire businessman Mark Dixon founded his company Regus that provided clients with executive suites at affordable prices. Though the company went bankrupt in 2003, it was able to turn things around in less a year after receiving financing from a business parent. It is now a huge global company, listed on the American stock market.

    In 1990, the first Internet search engine was developed by McGill University. In 1991, the World Wide Web was released to the public. Also in the same year, the first webcam was developed at Cambridge University. In 1992, “Virtual Office” became a registered trademark for the first time when Richard Nissen registered the term with the UK’s Intellectual Property Office.

    The first Symbian phone, the touchscreen Ericsson R380 Smartphone was released in 2000. It combined a PDA with a mobile phone. In 2003, Skype was released to the public as conferencing tool that allowed free IP-based communications using microphone, webcam and instant messaging to individual consumers. Thus, the virtual offices started actually after this.

    Virtual Office meaning and benefits of virtual office
    In the last decade, trend of Virtual Office has increased due to Internet

    How Virtual Office works?

    If your work involves traveling to client locations or other places away from your home base, you should probably consider buying a laptop computer rather than a desktop system. With a laptop one can always have their files, documents with them. Instead of laptop, one can also use tablets, iPad, etc. as these are many lightweight models out there that are very powerful. Just make sure you get a good carrying case that has a shoulder strap and room for your hard copy documents. Similarly, printer, fax machine, scanner, and other necessary peripherals to make a while system.

    These Virtual offices operate as one unit to serve customers though do not exist physically. This type of set up is getting popular especially with startups and small businesses. The creation of web-based office productivity software and services, such as videoconferencing has helped drive the growth in virtual offices.

    A virtual office concept can also lead to greater productivity, as its services free workers from administrative tasks, as well as travel. Each employee can work from the location that is most convenient, and the business is not restricted to hiring employees who live locally.

    Also Read: 8 Tips to Stay Productive while Working Remotely

    Advantages of a Virtual Office

    • First of all, it saves the cost needed for the office space. The monthly cost of a virtual office is far less than that of a traditional physical office. After all, it has none of the maintenance and staff costs. A virtual office solution saves on overheads, as there is no need to rent physical space, buy equipment and furniture, or hire a receptionist.
    • With a virtual office solution, business owners get an address within a reputable area code that is equivalent to a physical office so this reassures clients that the business is legitimate. A virtual office can also be secured via a month-to-month lease, so there is greater flexibility if a user’s business changes.
    • As virtual office provides a mailing address, telephone answering, and videoconferencing services. Therefore, even small business can appear larger than it is. This is the reason why, it is so useful for startups and small scale businesses. It requires less management than the physical offices.
    • Working from home while using a virtual office address saves time and money that would otherwise be spent on a daily travel. It helps employees save their energy which is wasted in travelling. This helps them focus on work with more creativity.
    • Teams working virtually typically have the benefit of flexibility of working. So employees get more free time and flexibility. This helps maintain work-life balance in a better way.

    Disadvantages of a Virtual Office

    • Virtual connections lack the social interactivity of face-to-face contact. Some believe that a disadvantage to working from a virtual office is the lack of social interaction between employees. Because many nonverbal cues can be missed in emails, phone conversations and video conferences and also messages can easily be misinterpreted.
    • Coordinating meetings may prove difficult especially if employees are residing in different countries. So the scheduling a meeting might create a problem due to differences across several time zones. Finally, collaborations will lack spontaneity because they have to be planned precisely to coordinate schedules and time zones.
    • On the downside, a virtual office means no physical office space is available to work from on a daily basis. The service package you will get from a virtual office space may be a limited one. For example, many packages come with limited use of conference rooms or limited teleconferencing and videoconferencing services.
    • Another disadvantage of working from a from a virtual office is the distractions and sometimes lack of motivation. These can sometimes cause morale and productivity to decline. Hence, a person needs to have self-discipline and work best independently with little supervision.

  • 10 Things Company Must Do After Lockdown Gets Over

    History is a good indicator of our future. But only if we learn its lessons because it is important to understand that this pandemic is one which has changed our lives and businesses maybe for the better, in every area irrevocably. we are going to learn things that the company must do after this lockdown gets over as deep down its clear that  Corona has successfully taken over our lives.

    To get back to your 9 to 5, we should learn that there has to be a new normal and we have to adapt ourselves and the workplace to it. The Chain of lockdown has disrupted our work-life in a way we have never seen throughout the globe. And its seen that the majority of people around the world are working from home, daily wage workers and those in industries where remote working isn’t possible are facing the bad consequences of it.  Employees who have the privilege to work for home, the idea of going back to work in their company could be a little daunting and out of their current daily tasks.

    COVID-19 at workplace.
    corona at workplace

    Getting your businesses up and it should run smoothly simultaneously like earlier times could be like at your wit’s end for a company or business.

    The way companies do businesses has advanced over the last decade. We always knew that flexible home working, using digital technology, was possible. Some firms have been using Microsoft teams, Zoom and Skype to conduct online meetings for years. In my honest opinion, what COVID-19 has done is just shown to us that we no longer need expensive land space in premium-priced cities to be effective or efficient. the bonus of no travel, closed offices and buying essentials means shows that we are also helping the nature.

    Since COVID 19 has been a great leveler for everyone and its list of effects stands to be devastating.

    Also Read: Dealing with Biggest Issue of CoronaVirus

    it had affected our bodies, workplaces, and even the biggest of the world. Nobody expected it! That such a teensy weensy virus can make a big menace on such a large scale and so quickly, that we have to eventually change our lives, habits and daily rituals.

    For several years we have heard voices about the coming financial crisis, but the direction it came from makes our eyes wide open. Indices of major Stock Exchanges, such as Nasdaq, are falling even by 9% in a single day. Investors are panicking, Many make haste decisions have been made due to emotional toll. And now it’s so crystal clear that the world is struggling with a crisis, forcing us to make changes for which we were never prepared for as in-person, companies, or organizations.

    Output Of Major Industries  Reduced Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic:

    output of major industries have reduced due to corona virus
    effect of covid-19 on industries

    • Airlines and Hotel industry: between 70-75%

    • Auto and advanced industries: 50-60%

    • Construction and Real estate: 50%

    • Consumer and Retail: 20-25%

    • Chemicals: 15-20%

    • Textiles: 50%

    • Freight and Logistics: 40-45%

    • Metals and Mining: 35-40%

    • Oil and Gas: 20-25%

    • Power: 20-25%

    • Agriculture: 15%

    • IT services: 10-15%

    • Pharma: 10-15%

    • Telecom: 0-5%

    “Most industries will need to reactivate their entire supply chain, because the impact of Coronavirus was different in scale and timing in various countries across the world,” says Yogita Tulsiani, Co-founder, iXceed Solutions. “Leaders must, therefore, reassess their entire business system and plan for contingent actions to return their business to effective production at pace and scale,” says Tulsiani. “But the problem will become more complex as winter will bring new problems for many countries,” she says. “In my opinion, pay cuts, layoffs, deferring bonus in the payout, deferring salary payment is very much being implemented by many organizations,” she adds.

    Also Read: What New Innovations will Come after COVID-19 Pandemic?

    Now the biggest question is:  Can their company stand at par with its previous productivity and a return to rehiring and training  OR  Will more companies move towards remote working?

    COVID-19  in The Workplace

    Due to the proximity of employees in workplaces, employers must consider the risks posed by the virus and the legislative obligations as employers. On any day they run the risk of their employees, business associates, and even clients who are infected with the virus bringing it into the workplace.

    post covid-19 effects on companies 2020
    post corona effects on company

    Occupational Health and Safety Obligations of an Employer

    Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”) obliges every employer to take reasonable measures to provide and maintain a safe working environment that does not pose a risk to the health of its employees. This obliges the employer to:

    • take steps to eliminate or mitigate any hazard or potential hazard, before resorting to protective equipment;
    • provide information, instructions, training and supervision that may be necessary to ensure the health and safety of employees at work;
    • enforce such measures as may be necessary in the interests of health and safety.

    An employer is further prohibited from permitting a person to enter a workplace where the health and safety of such a person is at risk, in terms of the General Safety Regulations published under the OHSA.

    An employer may require its employees to undergo medical testing for COVID-19 where:

    • the employee has recently traveled to an area in which COVID-19 is prevalent; and/or

    • the employee has had recent contact with persons traveling from an area in which COVID-19 is prevalent; and/or

    • the employee exhibits symptoms consistent with the known symptoms of COVID-19.

    Also Read: 10 ways Startups should be Prepared for the Coronavirus Crisis

    The Following Factors that Workplaces need to consider:

    • Organizations need to track workforce productivity and the ability to work remotely in real-time
    • Companies need to make sure that the employees scale up key enablers
    • work protocols (roles and responsibilities, decision rights, issue management)
    • processes (communications, workflow)
    • technology (network bandwidth, virtual private network [VPN], collaboration tools, video conferences, security)
    • people management (health tracking and support)
    • Companies should establish periodic calls to employees to track deliverables and productivity

    Tips Company Should Deal with Pitching Demands

    plans for companies to meet demands after lockdown gets over
    plans for companies after lockdoen gets over
    • Encourage regular hand washing
    • Perform routine environmental cleaning
    • Encourage Sick Employees to Stay Home
    • Talk with Employees about Travel Plans
    • Increasing online penetration
    • Precautionary measures such as increasing store cleanings
    • Encouraging safe distancing among employees
    • Reopen offices with fewer employees
    • Not reopening underperforming workforce
    • Making a rooster plan so that alternative employees come to alternate days.
    • Taking  forced leave
    • Employer should  compel an employee, whom he reasonably suspects of having COVID-19, to medical testing
    • Employer should  dismiss an employee who has contracted COVID-19 based on medical incapacity
    • Sick leave entitlements

    Open Dialogue with Employees

    Employers need to know how to decrease the spread of acute illnesses like coronavirus and lower the impact of COVID-19 in their workplace and share plans with their employees.

    open dialogue with employees
    open communication

    Plans should identify and communicate their objectives, which may include one or more of the following:

    • reducing transmission among staff
    • protecting people who are at higher risk for adverse health complications
    • maintaining business operations
    • minimizing adverse effects on other entities in their supply chains

    It’s important, now, that whatever we do should include: virus severity, the impact of the virus on employees that at higher risk of infection, and possible increased number of employee absences.

    Go-To Tips for Employees Getting Back to Work After Lockdown

    • Energize the body
    • Ensure voluntary physical distancing
    • Take care of workplace safeguards (masks, sanitizer, etc.)
    • Maintain your aura
    • Conserve mental energy
    • Find meaning in work — societal, organizational/corporate, client/target, team, and personal
    • Focus on solutions
    • Set positive aspirations
    • Stay focussed
    • Build relationships
    Employees Getting Back to Work After Lockdown
    tips to deal with corona virus

    There’s a saying that the problem could be any big but it always comes with a solution and hence, it’s us who have to find it. For a company to bring on a new normal it has to work smartly. And, I don’t know if this could create a make-believe situation but there is a way:

    Remote Work — A New Way of Work

    Remote work stands not only for the benefits associated with the involvement of employees, their lower rotation, but also great potential for development. It’s an open-end opportunity to redefine what cooperation between a company and an employee is. How your team works depends more on them, and how you present them with priorities and goals can help them find the best solutions. The goals must be mutual, set, and specified. Thanks to this your team’s motivation to implement them will not decrease because they will know what they’re striving for. If people work together, aiming for one goal, they share responsibility for the project.

    Remote work is also an opportunity for other ways of accounting for work, not necessarily for hours worked, but for results. The times when you have to sit in the office to finish the required 8 hours full time are over. This also gives more and more opportunities for businesses that can optimize their costs. You don’t need to maintain an office, equipment, buy coffee, and take care of fruit Thursdays. Just invest in tools that facilitate online work, and there are more and more of them of high quality.

    Also Read: List Of Companies Hiring Amidst The Coronavirus Pandemic

    A study five years ago showed a 13% increase in productivity when working from home. The reasons stated were the reduced number of breaks and sick leave. Not only work from home, but work from anywhere in the world is gaining more and more votes. By giving employees more freedom, limiting negative practices such as micromanagement, we allow people to grow and release their potential. With greater freedom comes greater responsibility and with it even greater employee involvement in what they do. This is confirmed by the State of Remote Work 2019 report prepared by Owl Labs. According to it, mobile workers with a 13% higher probability won’t want to change jobs for the next 5 years. This is something worth investing in!

    Be ready for an operational shock!

    So, take care of them and prepare yourself to go back to work once the lockdown ends with a clear mind full of determination!

  • Growth and Evolution of Hacking Industry

    They’re smart. They know their code. They got the ardor to get into your system. The strengths and the backdoors, they know it all. Yes, we’re talking about the brilliant minded, cyber thrill seekers called Hackers. The term hacking, means to gain unauthorised access in someone’s computer or private network for some illicit purpose.

    Nowadays, the word “hacker” carries an excessively negative connotation, projecting  images of digital thieves intent on stealing identities and letting disruptive viruses loose into cyberspace.

    It wasn’t always the same. In fact, computer hackers were originally viewed by society as technology fanatics who wanted nothing more than to optimize, customize and improvise. Decades later, with the growth of viruses and cyber crime – the traditional hackers got stuck together with those of malicious purpose and the censure of hacking began.

    Curious as to how this evolution came to be? Let us now see the complete story behind the topic- Growth and Evolution of Hacking Industry.

    History of Hacking Industry
    Current Trends in Hacking Industry

    History of Hacking Industry

    Hacking originated from the term “phreaking” (hacking phone systems), in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Gaining access within networks was called “cracking.” The primary motive of hackers was to get into the phone system.

    1980s brought with it the personal computers. More people, businesses and governments adopted to them, and a whole new world of technology fascinated the hackers. They had a gala time playing around in this new tech realm, and simultaneously, discovering the loop holes in the network.

    The law responded swiftly. The emergence of cyber criminals was met in 1986 with the first legislation related to hacking, the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act but this didn’t stop these criminals.

    Initially,  hacking was primarily done to get the adrenaline rush—the computer equivalent of sky diving.But over time, these players realized that they could make money off of their skill. Why destroy a file, corrupt a program and play cat-and-mouse with the IT team when you can rip them off with a code? A black market began to surface.

    By 2003, Microsoft was offering money to hackers that could corrupt Windows. Ethical hacking took birth to discover vulnerabilities and fix them before an unethical hacker gets in.

    Also Read: How Anshul Saxena became a Cyber Hero after the Pulwama Attack

    Current Trends in Hacking Industry

    Hacking Industry

    When cybercrime takes place on a larger scale, like to a giant retailer, the damages value upto tens of millions for a single business.

    Hackers make use of  hardware and software to test how easily a computer network can be infiltrated. Vulnerabilities are sited at any one of a number of points, such as the Internet connection itself, the browser or the operating system of the user’s computer.

    A decade ago, hackers crashed computers, making the user instantly aware they were hacked. Nowadays, hackers leave no proof. How could they get your banking information if your computer is crashed?

    Instead, they inject a Trojan that waits, undetected, then springs into action when you begin online banking—transferring information to the hacker.

    By the mid 2000s hacking was carried by state sponsored hackers, organized criminals, hacktivists and cyber terrorists. Some political attacks like the interference by the Russians in the 2016 Presidential Election or the Stuxnet virus.

    Hacktivists groups use their fervour about certain beliefs and plot an attack against a group that they disagree with. For example, a hacktivist group known as “Anonymous”  attacked the Church of Scientology by flooding its servers with fake data requests. All they wanted was for the Scientology website to take down a video of Tom Cruise endorsing from their website.

    Most attackers hack for the money. They hack into system and demand large ransom payments to prevent information leak.

    There were 1,903 breaches disclosed and 1.9 billion exposed records in Q1 alone, according to RiskBased Security.

    Some repeated patterns that were traced are:

    1) Presence of Misconfigurations

    43% of data breaches linked misconfigurations analyzed by X-Force. That accounts for 990 million records lost.

    2) Phishing is still there

    29% of cybersecurity attacks used phishing, according to go X-For ce. About half of the latest phishing attacks involve hackers fiddling with business email.

    3) Coin-mining malware

    Cryptojacking(unauthorised use of someone else’s computer to mine cryptocurrency) attacks grew a surprising 450% last year, according to Proofpoint.

    4) Extortion as the new ransomware

    Includes credential theft, downloaders, and infected attachments. There has also been a significant surge in direct attempts to blackmail executives.

    5) Missing passwords

    Nearly three-quarters of the records lost in 2019 contained email addresses and passwords, per RiskBased Security. 10%  had credit card or social security numbers.

    6) Malicious domains

    About 10 million DNS requests to harmful sites are blocked each day, according to X-Force.

    7) SMS leads to malware

    Android malware named TimpDoor raised prominence in early 2019. When an attack starts, users are generally prompted to download a malicious app via SMS phishing, or “smishing,” according to McAfee. These apps install an unforeseen backdoor that gives hackers access to corporate and home networks.

    Current Market Size and Future Projection of Hacking Industry

    Hacking collectively called Cybercrime is a major threat to every organisation in the world, its effect on society is reflected in the Official 2019 Annual Cybercrime Report, announced by Cybersecurity Ventures.

    As per the report, it will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015 marking  the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history, risking the reason for innovation and investment.

    Cybercrime might triple the number of jobs to 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity positions by 2021 — which is up from 1 million in 2014 – and the cybersecurity unemployment rate will remain at 0%.

    The international cyber security market size was at USD 131.3 Billion in 2018 is expected to reach USD 289.8 Billion by 2026, according to fortune business insights.

    Global security spending on identity access management is accounted to reach 10.58 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. Spending on security services, the largest segment of the information security market, might reach 64.24 billion U.S. dollars in the same year as per Statistica report.

    Also Read: IT Services giant Cognizant Hit by ‘Maze’ Ransomware

    Conclusion

    Hacking trends are tricky to predict.With that said, there are a few ways you can innovate faster than hackers and respond to emerging threats in 2019 and beyond.

    *) Protect the endpoints

    Hardware weaknesses are common, means hackers can keep harvesting data in the easily. It should be kept in mind that the time to address device vulnerabilities is before data loss.

    *) Analyse human error

    Hackers sense vulnerability, and they target the weakest link in your network. Sophisticated social engineering as well as less-sophisticated blackmail attempts take place. Some user may click on spammy attachments, even after years of training.

    Awareness should be spread. Invest in smarter spam filters and devices that can quarantine and eliminate threats before they infect your network.

    *) Visibility is a security advantage

    Hackers love it when you make their job easy with an unprotected cloud database or printers protected with easy passwords. The solution is to install services that enable you to understand risks across multiple cloud environments and multi-vendor printers.

  • The Complete Analysis of Waste Management Industry

    The increase in industrialization, population and demand of consumer goods has resulted in an increase of the solid waste globally. According to World Bank in 2012, urban population produced about 1.3 billion tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) which is expected to grow to 2.2 billion tonnes in 2025. The costs for managing solid waste is expected to increase drastically in lower middle (four times) income countries such as India and Brazil among others and even higher in low income countries (five times) such as Kenya and Ghana among others. Thus there has been an urgent cry for the need to manage these solid wastes on a global scale. Many technological alternatives, economic instruments, and regulatory frameworks have been put to use to manage and sustainably control the waste from ruining the environment. Let us see the complete story behind the topic- The Complete Analysis of Waste Management Industry.

    Division of waste management market

    waste management

    The waste management market is broadly divided on the basis of:

    • Waste type,
    • service, and
    • region.

    Depending upon waste type, the market is classified into municipal waste, industrial waste, and hazardous waste. Since the last few years the municipal waste management segment had been ruling in terms of extracting the GDP of India and providing employment to the mass population.

    On the basis of service waste, there are the collection service waste from the sectors of transportation, collection, handling, storing as as well as the disposal service waste which includes the wastes from recycling, landfill and composting. This disposal segment of waste management has also been sharply dominating the global world where most of the waste management is required.

    Waste management based on region only refers to the various initiatives deployed by the various continents like Europe, North America, Asia and Australia where these countries compete with each other to reduce their volume of waste and become free of hazards.

    Factors that creates the demand for Waste management

    • Growth in urban population

    The urban population has been increasing at a tremendous rate since the last few decades. The UN estimates therefore report that nearly 55-57 percent of people in the world lived in urban areas in 2019. This population statistics goes on increasing at a drastic rate every year. With the increase in urbanisation, the immediate impact is upon the change in demand of these urbanised population. The need of industries which emit solid, liquid as well as gaseous waste pollute the environment from all aspects. With the inclusion of nuclear power there is also a risk of the radio active wastes emerging from these places.

    • Increased amount of waste generated

    As per the data released by the World Bank, in the year 2018, which says that- the global municipal solid waste generated in 2016 was 2.1 billion tons, and is expected to reach approximately 3.40 billion tons by 2050. Most of the highly developed nations such as America, Australia, South Africa, East Asia and China, release 270 million tons of waste each year. This is due to the increasing level of industrialisation and energy consumption per head within the countries.

    Also Read: Quantum Green – One Stop Solution for Effective Waste Management

    Which are the Target Markets?

    The target markets are those which produce the highest volume of solid waste per year. The list below shows the industries which produce the highest amount of waste and also the key ingredients within these wastes.

    1. Steel and Blast furnace

    2. Brine mud

    3. Copper slag

    4. Fly ash

    5. Kiln dust

    6. Cement plants

    7. Lime sludge

    8. Sugar, paper, fertilizer tanneries, soda ash, calcium carbide industries

    9. Mica scraper waste

    10. Phosphoric acid plant, Ammonium phosphate

    11. Coal mines

    12. Iron tailing

    13. Limestone wastes

    14.The medical industries

    1. The agro based industries

    waste administration as a imperative to your business

    • Legitimate Requirements: Industries have a legitimate cause and responsibility to ensure that they discard their waste and maintain the standard of the environment. Neglecting the environment could mean a shutdown of your business permanently
    • Rise in environmental awareness: With the rising consciousness among people, every individual has now to some extent been trying to reduce the amount of waste generated by themselves. This has triggered a growth opportunity for both the public as well as the private sectors in the market to undertake proactive measures to recycle Municipal Solid Waste and are conducting programs and spreading awareness for non-hazardous industrial waste management in order to reduce pollution and mitigate environmental hazards. The risk of untreated waste from medical sectors, chemical industries, plastics have been inducing long term effects to the physical body and spreading diseases worldwide. Thus, the need to manage solid waste is crucial and many industries are coming forward to undertake these challenges.
    • Human Health: If you do not take care of the health of your employees as well as your consumers, it would simply result in lower productivity. It has been noted by WHO that approximately 1 in 4 employees fall ill each week due to factors such as pollution, improper waste management in the neighbourhood or after consuming synthetic substance like fertilizers and insecticides which are sprayed at a huge rate on the crops. To maintain the health of your employees as well as yourself, it is important to undertake waste management.

    Challenges to Waste Management

    The following problems are generally encountered in cities and towns while dealing with industrial solid waste

    • There are no specific disposal sites where industries can dispose their waste;
    • Mostly, industries generating solid waste in city and town limits are of small scale nature and even do not seek consents of SPCBs/PCCs;
    • Industries are located in non-conforming areas and as a result they cause water and air pollution problems besides disposing solid waste.
    • Industrial estates located in city limits do not have adequate facilities so that industries can organise their collection, treatment and disposal of liquid and solid waste;
    • There is no regular interaction between urban local bodies and SPCBs/PCCs to deal such issues relating to treatment and disposal of waste and issuance of licenses in non-conforming areas.

    MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL SOLID WASTES-COORDINATION (SPCBs & LOCAL BODIES)

    Urban local bodies are constantly in the field and they are well aware of the local situation. They also know sources of waste generation and areas under their control. In order to organise proper collection, transportation and disposal of industrial solid waste, there is need to set up co-ordination between SPCBs, local bodies and industrial departments. Following guidelines are suggested to follow :

    1. Urban local bodies should identify the areas from where industrial solid waste is generated.
    2. Inventorisation of industries could be attempted through SPCBs or industries department for characterisation of wastes.
    3. SPCBs may take necessary actions for issuance of consents/Authorisations to the industries under relevant Acts and Rules.
    4. Urban local bodies may undertake collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste on cost recovery basis as per existing rules and may identify suitable sites for final treatment and disposal of industrial solid waste as per existing rules and regulations.

    These are some of the critical analysis of waste management industries, in today’s world where the blue planet is slowly turning brown, it is extremely vital that the Industries which value waste management and effective disposal come to power and reduce the negative effects from the environment.