The COVID-19 has created such a big problem in the world that the people are not able to come outside from their houses. Either due to the govt. restrictions of lockdown or due to their own fear of corona virus, there is some or the other problem in the lives of the people. This pandemic has created such a worst situation that people are not even able to go on their work, even for earning a basic amount of livelihood. In such situation, the work from home has become the only and the ultimate choice for the people as well as for the companies and corporates which are not able to create a good business in this period of global lockdown. At this moment, it is visible in the market that many sectors are benefiting by work from home. Let us now analyse the complete report on work from home– effects on different sectors.
The Pros of Work From Home
Work from home means either no office or no big multi-storey office space. In other words, there will be no need of such a costly space having many other costly items and showpieces, which will be creating a good impression on your employees as well as on your clients. The company of different sectors are benifiting by work from home in a way that, they won’t have to pay for office space. If this is taken care by the companies then, they can save a big amount of renting cost. This saving can be used on the company itself or can be gives as an appraisal or a bonus to the employees. Not only this, the company will be having less burden on itself.
The company working in online sectors are benifiting by work from home don’t have to pay for the small expenses of the employees. This includes pay for office supplies and for office snacks. Such a amount of money can be reinvested in the company itself for its own betterment of the company.
For the employees, the work from home means the ability to work like a freelances which indicates; work with anyone in the world. Freelancing concept will become popular in this case and this will help in connecting top companies with the very best software developers from all around the world, as the employees will now work on their skills not on the packages of the companies.
The employees will be less likely to quit in the work from home situation as they will be going to pick only those projects, which suits their skill set. Not only this, the companies will be getting a contract employees which will be having a better skill set and can easily work on their requirements.
There will be no office politics, if there will be no offices. This will ultimately help the company to get the better output of the employees, if there is no grudges of the employees for the company or for the other employees. In this condition, the employee will be happy and will be having a free mind from all the bad thoughts for the companies or for their colleagues.
Sectors which are able to work in work from home
Online Teaching
Teaching Sector- Work from Home
The online teaching and training sector is highly benefited by the work from home initiative and is now on its peeks. Every school, college, training institute is going for the online education and is talking about shifting this education system online in-order to be on the safer side, if such situation comes in the future. Not only this many platforms which helps in learning a new skill is now working with their full potential to attract the customers to learn online. The major examples for this online learning are Byju’s, Unacademy, Udemy, EDX and many more. One of the Indian start-up named UpGrad, is providing you the chance to complete your post-graduation without going to college, just by studying online. No matter where you are, you can take admission in any of the integrated college and complete your online post-graduation degree.
The IT industry was on its boom before this pandemic and is showing no effects on it due to this global problems. The companies in IT sector are highly benefit from work from homeand are not having any problem working in their offices or while working from their houses. This is the only industry will is not feeling any type of problems and this industry can change the whole working ecosystem of the companies and their employees as now, many big, fortune companies are thinking of shifting their ecosystem to this work from home ecosystem. This industry consist of many types of businesses which are not having any type of effect, they are e-commerce, where people are now trying to order online rather going outside for any type of purchase. Second is the video conferencing platform which have helped in work from home to all the employee of different companies.
Freelancing is an evergreen sector which was not taken into consideration by most of the big companies but now, the companies are thinking about this sector as a highly beneficial at the time of work from home as this can help a company in many ways. There will be no problem if a company hires a freelancer as now a company can hire according to the skills required for a single project. They can hire on a limited period contract basis. No other types of expenses will be there in this case. In all it will be a win-win situation for both the sides i.e. for the employees as well as for a company.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlements systems in India. It is an initiative by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Bank Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Act, 2007, for creating a robust infrastructure in India for any kind of retail payments and settlements. Created with an intention to provide a fair infrastructure to the entire Indian Banking system, it is Not-for-Profit in nature and has made it possible to create payments both physically as well as electronically.
National Payments Corporation of India
Management Team
Under the non-Executive Chairmanship of Mr. Biswamohan Mahapatra, a veteran who has served 33 years at RBI, the organization is owned by a consortium of major banks. The Board of Directors consists of nominees from the Reserve Bank of India and from nine core promoter banks.
There are nine main promoter banks in India which are:
The corporation portfolio currently includes various services such as:
Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
Unified Payments Interface
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing, and merchant payments under a single hood. It also caters to the “Peer to Peer” collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience.
With the above context in mind, NPCI conducted a pilot launch with 21 member banks on 11th April 2016 by Dr. Raghuram G Rajan (ex-Governor of RBI) at Mumbai. Banks have now uploaded their UPI enabled Apps on Google Play store.
The Participants of the service include the payer, payee, remitter bank, beneficiary bank, NPCI, bank account holders, and merchants. Some examples of UPI apps that you may already be using are PayTm, BHIM, PhonePe, Axis Pay, and many more.
RuPay
RuPay
RuPay, which literally translates to Rupee and Payment merged together, is a domestic card scheme launched by NPCI in 2012 to fulfill the Reserve Bank Of India’s desire to have a domestic, open loop, and multilateral system of payments in India . In India, 90% of credit card transactions and almost all debit card transactions are domestic; however, the cost of transactions remained high due to the monopoly of foreign gateways like Visa and Mastercard.
RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions. NPCI maintains ties with Discover Financial to enable the card scheme to gain international acceptance.
Lower costs and affordability, customized product offering for Indian customers, interoperability between payment channels and products, and protection of information related to Indian consumers are just some of the advantages of RuPay as claimed by NPCI.
RuPay Contactless
It is a contact-less technology feature that allows cardholders to wave their card in front of contact-less payment terminals without the need to physically swipe or insert the card into a point-of-sale device. This is an EMV-compatible, “contactless” payment feature similar to Mastercard Contactless, Visa Contactless and the ExpressPay, using RFID technology. All three use the same symbol. Contactless can currently be used on transactions up to ₹2000.
RuPay Contactless
NPCI developed RuPay Contactless’s specifications are open standards, interoperable, scalable, and can be adopted by all card schemes. RuPay Contactless (Transit as well as Retail) offers the unique proposition of one card for all payments. This card can be used for transit payments (bus, metro,cab etc.), toll, parking, small value offline retail payments, as well as normal day to day retail payments.
One Card Many Benefits
Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)
Bharat Interface for Money
Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) is a mobile application that lets you make quick payment transactions using Unified Payment Interface (UPI). You can make instant bank-to-bank payments and Pay and collect money using your mobile number or Virtual Payment Address (UPI ID). More than 125 lakhs citizens have been using the BHIM app since 2017.
Unlike mobile wallets (PayTM, MobiKwik, mPesa, Airtel Money, etc) which hold money, the BHIM app is only a mechanism which transfers money between different bank accounts. Transactions on BHIM are instantaneous and can be done 24/7 including weekends and bank holidays.
Users can create their own QR code for a fixed amount of money, which is helpful in merchant-seller-buyer transactions. Users can also have more than one payment address. If the 12-digit Aadhaar number is listed as a payment ID, the BHIM app will not require any biometric authentication or prior registration with the bank or Unified Payment Interface (UPI).
At present, there is no charge for transactions from ₹1 to ₹1 lakh. The minimum transaction amount should not be less than ₹1. A maximum of 20 transactions are allowed in a day. Some bank might however levy a nominal charge as UPI or IMPS transfer fee. Currently the fund transfer limit has been set to a maximum of ₹20,000 per transaction, and a maximum of ₹40,000 per day.
The BHIM app currently supports 13 languages (including English), though there are 22 official languages of India (excluding English) under 8th Schedule of Constitution of India. In near future, BHIM App is expected to support all 22 official languages of India along with other regional languages which are spoken widely next to the scheduled languages.
Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) is an instant payment inter-bank electronic funds transfer system in India. IMPS offers an inter-bank electronic fund transfer service through mobile phones. Unlike NEFT and RTGS, the service is available 24/7 throughout the year including bank holidays.
In 2010, the NPCI initially carried out a pilot for the mobile payment system with 4 member banks (State Bank of India, Bank of India, Union Bank of India and ICICI Bank), and expanded it to include Yes Bank, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank later that year. IMPS was publicly launched on November 22, 2010. Currently, 53 commercial banks, 101 Rural/District/Urban and cooperative banks, and 24 PPIi have signed up for the IMPS service.
The participants of IMPS include the remitter (sender), beneficiary (receiver), banks, and National Financial Switch – NPCI.
You can avail the fund transfer service:
Using Mobile number & MMID (P2P).
Using Account number & IFS Code (P2A).
Using Aadhaar number (IMPS).
National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC)
National Electronic Toll Collection
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has developed the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) program to meet the electronic tolling requirements of the Indian market. It offers an interoperable nationwide toll payment solution including clearing house services for settlement and dispute management.
Interoperability, as it applies to National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) system, encompasses a common set of processes, business rules, and technical specifications which enable a customer to use FASTag as a payment mode on any of the toll plazas irrespective of who has acquired the toll plaza.
FASTag is a device that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for making toll payments directly while the vehicle is in motion. FASTag (RFID Tag) is affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle and enables a customer to make toll payments directly from the account which is linked to FASTag.
FASTag offers the convenience of cashless payment along with benefits like savings on fuel and time as the customer does not have to stop at the toll plaza. The program is currently live on 415+ toll plazas across the country. As per NHAI, FASTag has unlimited validity. 7.5% cashback offers were also provided to promote the use of FASTag. Dedicated Lanes at some toll plazas have been built for FASTag.
*99#
*99#
*99# service has been launched to take the banking services to every common man across the country. Banking customers can avail this service by dialing *99#, a “Common number across all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs)” on their mobile phones and transact through an interactive menu displayed on the mobile screen. Key services offered under *99# service include sending and receiving inter-bank account to account funds, balance enquiry, and setting/changing UPI PIN besides other services.
*99# service is currently offered by 41 leading banks and all GSM service providers. It can be accessed in 13 different languages including Hindi and English. *99# is a unique interoperable direct to consumer service that brings together diverse ecosystem partners such as Banks and TSPs (Telecom Service Providers).
It is a common technology platform developed by NPCI which allows banks and TSPs to seamlessly integrate with each other and provide banking services to customers at large over mobile phones (basic as well as smartphone).
Features of *99# service include:
Use of USSD as the access channel that works across all GSM handsets (smartphone or otherwise), making it reach the last mile user.
Supports menu-based applications that are easy to maneuver for the users.
Does not require data connectivity (works on signaling channel) and this makes it a high availability service.
Round the clock availability (works even on holidays).
Accessible through a common code (*99#) across all GSM operators and mobile handsets.
Additional channel for using BHIM app and a key catalyst for financial inclusion.
The Bharat bill payment system is a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) conceptualised system driven by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). It is a one-stop ecosystem for payment of all kinds of bills, thus providing an interoperable and accessible “Anytime Anywhere” bill payment service to Indian customers with certainty, reliability and safety of transactions.
Bharat Bill Pay has multiple modes of payment and provides instant confirmation of payment via an SMS or receipt. It offers myriad bill collection categories like electricity, telecom, DTH, gas, water bills etc. through a single window. In future, biller categories may be expanded to include insurance premium, mutual funds, school fees, institution fees, credit cards, local taxes, invoice payments, etc. An effective mechanism for handling consumer complaints has also been put in place to support consumers regarding any bill related problems in Bharat Bill Pay.
BHIM Aadhaar
BHIM Aadhaar
BHIM Aadhaar pay is an Aadhaar based payments interface which allows real time payments to merchants using the customer’s Aadhaar number and authenticating him or her through biometrics. BHIM Aadhaar Pay Merchant Incentive Scheme was effective from 1st April, 2017. The end date of BHIM Aadhaar Pay Merchant Incentive Scheme was 31st March, 2019.
Merchants can initiate transactions where customers pay money using their Aadhaar number and authenticate the transaction using their biometrics for the goods and services purchased. To be able to effect the same, the merchant should have an Android mobile with the BHIM Aadhaar app installed and a certified biometric scanner attached with the mobile phone/kiosk/tablet through a USB Port or with Micro-ATM/POS, mPOS. The customer and merchant should have their Aadhaar number linked to their bank accounts.
Merchant can view the transaction for its status, whether it was a successful transaction, pending transaction, or a failed transaction. Customers can pay using their Aadhaar number and biometrics at merchant locations where BHIM Aadhaar Pay is accepted.
The merchant enters the customer details and amount in his or her BHIM Aadhaar Pay App and the customer provides his biometrics on the Merchant App after selecting the bank.
Limit on Value of Transaction: The per transaction limit is Rs. 10,000 (as the maximum incentive is capped at Rs. 50 at 0.5% of the transaction value) The maximum incentive which can be earned by the merchant in a month is Rs.2000. The BHIM Aadhaar Pay enabled merchant will receive the incentive between one to seven days after the date of transactions (the merchant should check with their banks for further details).
During lockdown imposed due to COVID-19, video calling software is hugely popular at the moment especially Zoom has seen the boom in its usage. Now the world’s largest social network Facebook has released a new video conferencing tool Messenger Rooms that resembles Zoom.
Due to lockdown and restrictions, many companies have asked their employees to work from home. We can say that Zoom rules the working from home video group chat kingdom right now as millions of people are relying on Zoom during the Coronavirus pandemic. Facebook wants more of the video calling market and hence has introduced a new tool called Messenger Rooms.
The feature will allow up to 50 people to participate in a video chat through a link. It lets you video chat with multiple people through Messenger even if you don’t have a social media account. Facebook says participants do not need to be Facebook users to access the feature. This could help the company compete with popular videoconferencing app Zoom during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The reason behind Zoom’s success was the requirement for businesses looking to keep connected and working with the maximum haste and minimum spend. But security and privacy was simply taken for granted by Zoom. One of the biggest security issues in Zoom is the increase in “Zoombombing” when uninvited attendees break into and disrupt your meeting. Thus, journalists, researchers and regulators have noticed its many security and privacy problems.
Taking security and privacy concerns for granted wasn’t a great idea after all. As a result, many users started looking out for other videoconferencing tool which can also ensure security & privacy concerns. Taking advantage of this situation, Facebook must have taken the decision to launch Messenger Rooms.
All about Messenger Rooms
As explained by Facebook in a blog post, Messenger Rooms is not a separate app but rather a feature that can be launched from the existing Facebook or Messenger apps. And users can play around with virtual backgrounds too, like Zoom app.
On Friday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a live broadcast, “ Messenger Rooms allows your friends and family to drop in at any time. Video presence isn’t just about calling someone. It’s starting to be a fundamental building block of a private social platform with lots of different use cases.”
More than 700 million accounts participate in voice and video calls every day on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. Facebook said that the number of group video calls has gone up by more than 10 times in some cases since the coronavirus outbreak began.
Mark Zuckerberg said, ” I know that this is a challenging period for so many of us around the world. My hope is that we can make a difference during this time and in the months ahead.”
Facebook said that it would soon be adding Messenger Rooms integration to Instagram, WhatsApp, and the Portal video caller too. So users can jump into a video chat from whatever app or device they happen to be on.
In many countries, video calling on Messenger and WhatsApp more than doubled and views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos increased significantly in March when the lockdowns and social distancing came into practice globally. way of keeping in touch with friends and family while we’re all shut up and separated indoors.
Comparing both apps, in social distancing times, Zoom allows up to 100 people to join a free video meeting from the comfort of their homes. But Zoom has put limit of 40 minutes on free calling. While, Facebook has announced Messenger Rooms that will allow group video calls of up to 50 people with no time limit.
How to use Messenger Rooms?
People can create a room right from Messenger or Facebook and invite anyone to join the video call even if they don’t have a Facebook account. In Facebook Messenger Rooms, the users can also post links in their News Feed or in Groups or event pages. All you need to do is create a Room by clicking on a video icon on Facebook Messenger.
When you create a room, you choose who can see and join it. You can remove people from the call. Users can also lock a room if they don’t want anyone else to enter. If your friends or communities create rooms that are open to you, you’ll see them on Facebook so you can find things to do and people to hang out with. You can join video calls through a phone or computer.
Facebook has given many controls to Host
What about Privacy?
Facebook says it has added a number of privacy features to secure Rooms unlike Zoom. The person who creates a room has the authority to let people join and must be present in order to initiate a call. The room creator can remove guests, and the room automatically locks for that person when he or she leaves.
If your colleagues or friends create a room that is open for you, you will see them at the top of your news feed. The room can be limited to the members of the group or else anyone with the link can be allowed in. You can control who sees the room.
Those who have been previously blocked on Facebook won’t be able to see the feature or join in. Additionally, people can report a group video chat for violating Facebook’s rules. Facebook has assured that it does not view or listen to calls. Facebook clarified that room calls are not end-to-end encrypted.
Stan Chudnovsky, Facebook’s vice president of Messenger explained, ” We don’t view or listen to your calls, and the person who creates the room controls who can join, who sees the room, and if the room is locked or unlocked to new guests.”
Difference between Messenger Rooms and regular video calling on Facebook
Facebook already has video calling feature in its Messenger app. There are several differences between Messenger Rooms and regular calling on Facebook. In messenger rooms, participants do not compulsorily need a Facebook account to join a video call created in Messenger Rooms.
Like Zoom app, users can lock a room once everyone has joined in so that no one else can join. Only the person who created a room can grant permission to let someone join the video call. If you’ve blocked someone on Facebook or Messenger, they won’t be able to join a call. These features cannit be seen in regular Facebook video calling.
Facebook is also adding new augmented reality effects in Messenger Rooms. It would include 14 camera filters to brighten your space and your face. Facebook is also introducing 360-degree backgroundsso users can feel like they’re somewhere else like the beach, space, etc. while they video chat. Users can play with AR effects like bunny ears and new AI-powered features like immersive 360 backgrounds and mood lighting.
Facebook plans to add an option in Facebook Dating feature that makes it easier to meet and start new conversations with people who share your interests. This feature will be integrated within the main social network so that users can invite people to video chat in Messenger.
When will Messenger Rooms be available?
Facebook said it will be releasing out Messenger Rooms in selected countries this week before expanding globally. Other countries will get Rooms in the coming weeks. The social network didn’t specify which countries will get the new feature first.
The release of the new tool Messenger Rooms is part of Facebook’s efforts around video presence which he defined as the ability to feel like you’re connected to someone live over video.
The company has also been expanding features for Facebook Live which is a tool people have been using more during the pandemic to work out, cook or attend religious services virtually. Facebook said it will bring back a tool that allows users to add another person to a live video.
Instagram will now let you comment on live videos on your desktop and it also will make it possible to save your videos to IGTV so people can watch them after 24 hours. Facebook also plans to introduce a feature that’ll let you broadcast a live video from Facebook Portal to Facebook Pages and Groups.
WhatsApp Group Calls will now be able to host a maximum of eight people instead of four. During lockdowns, views of Facebook Live and Instagram Live videos have also increased significantly in March. Facebook’s Live With video will allow people streaming a live video to invite another person to participate alongside them.
Paytm is now booming huge potential in e-commerce platform, offering online payments, Recharges, flight booking, Railway tickets, movie tickets, etc. So, people look for coupons to get some extra discounts. Hence, here is the list of websites to check for paytm offers.
Cashkaro.com
Cashkaro.com is the one of top-rated India’s no 1 cashback and coupons website. Save cashback on leading Indian and international brands, cashback partners like myntra, Flipkart, snap deal, Jabong, and more than 500+ partners. All you need to just log in through cashkaro.com, search offers and click on to regarding offers and it will redirect you to the respective website and apply the coupons and get cashback.
CashKaro
Grabon.in
Grabon.in is India’s top 250 coupons website. They are offering coupons, promos, offers from many partnered e-commerce websites like Paytm, bookmyshow, freecharge, Domino’s, OYO Rooms and more. Presently, they have 3474 merchants associated.
Coupondunia is the destination for deals, discounts, coupons from top Indian ecommerce websites like amazon, Flipkart, etc. Coupondunia bring smart savings as a cashback offers from favorite websites. Their goal is to make savings smartly in a wide range of products from various sites like myntra, jabong, food, dining, travel, etc. As they stated that India is believing in saving smartly online and look into saving on their favorite website.
Coupondunia
Promocodeclub.com
Promocodeclub.com is India’s biggest promo codes coupons website which offers all kind of Recharges offers, eBay.in coupons, deals, discounts, and more. Recharges include like paytm, freecharge, mobiKwik, etc. They are now 200th Rank in India.
Promocodeclub
Coupons.oneindia.com
Coupons.oneindia is India’s all in one local language news portal, they are offering coupons as the feed to get to know about deals, discounts from various e-commerce platform.
Couponraja.in is the website offering updated coupon codes and promotional codes. They collaborate with 1000+ retailers. All you need to do is buy from favourite website and add coupons from couponraja to get benefited cashback offers, deals, discounts etc. Today Couponraja.in provides coupons worth over 100 lakhs in the industry.
Couponraja
Coupondekho.co.in
Coupondekho is the one of the largest web portal offering cashback, coupons deals, and discounts on wide range of merchants including amazon.in, flipkart.com, snapdeal.com and more. They provides coupons for 1000+ brands in India.
Coupondekho
Gopaisa.com
Gopaisa is the cashback and coupons website providing coupons for extensive range of products and services. Gopaisa offers cashback through several retailers. You just need to browse products and gopaisa will redirect you to the merchant’s website and apply cashback coupons and add it to savings.
Couponhaat.in is the India’s leading coupons deals portal. They are offering best deals at affordable prices from the online eCommerce merchants. They also feature freebies, and discounted coupons. Couponhaat provides unique coupons for the savings that cashback offers to users.
Couponhaat
Couponrani.com
Couponrani is India’s leading coupon website that helps online shoppers in saving more through shopping. Couponrani provides exclusively coupons, deals, cashback offers to users. They started their service from 2012. Couponrani merchants includes eCommerce platforms like amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and recharge offers like paytm, freecharge and more.
India has gone through a rapid digital transformation over the last few years. After coming of Jio into existence in the Indian ecosystem. This contribution in the Indian market has increased the use of smartphone and internet with a great pace and it has grown exponentially. Now, Jio has collaborated with a social media giant Facebook, making it the world’s largest made by any technology company in the world. Let us read the key aspects of Jio-Facebook Partnership.
Highlights of Jio-Facebook Partnership
Jio-Facebook Partnership
The Facebook Inc. is the world’s largest social media company. The company has announced that it has invested $5.7 billion for a 9.99% stake as a minority investor in India’s Reliance Jio Platforms in the nation’s most valued firm, Reliance Industries which is the biggest telecom operator in the country with more than 370 million subscribers giving its services in all the sectors of telecom operations.
Jio was valued at $65.95 billion at the pre-money valuation period. This makes Facebook- the social giant, the largest minority shareholder in the Indian telecom network by bidding for nearly 10% of the stakes in Reliance Jio telecom subsidiary platform.
The Jio-Facebook Partnership will work in the direction of bringing together JioMart, which will be an e-commerce business retail platform which will be providing all types of facilities under a single platform using the technologies and data of both the companies. Some of the experts are also saying that, this can be the nation’s largest retail chain, with the integration of WhatsApp as this messaging platform is having a biggest market with more than 400 million users. WhatsApp is also the most popular smartphone app in India.
The Reliance Jio-Facebook Partnership wants to replicate the USP of Wechat in India by creating an all-in one, multi-utility platform named as ’JioMart’.
WeChat is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, mobile payment app and social media platform developed by Tancent. It was first released in 2011, and gained so much popularity that it became one of the world’s largest standalone mobile apps in 2018, with over 1 billion monthly active users. Due to exponential increase in the popularity, WeChat has been described as China’s “app for everything” and a “super app” because of its multiple range of functions under a same console roof.
The JioMart platform will be having all the payment facility and E-commerce of Jio itself, who is having all its platform ready to use eg:- Ajio, JioMoney. The company is going to integrate WhatsApp facility for completing any type of purchasing with the help of WhatsApp payments option. All the other facilities which are not provided by them, will be provided with the integration of retailers of those special services. This specially include, the kirana-retailor, which will be helping them to complete their all-facility-single-platform-hub. So, in this way, this collaboration is going to replicate the model of WeChat in India.
Other Investment of Facebook in India
This is not the first time when Facebook has made any investment in India. From the past, it has been seen that the Facebook has made some investment in some of the other tech start-ups. Some of these startups consist of edutech and social commerce reseller platform.
The social commerce reseller platform, Meesho has been funded by Facebook with around $20-25 million. It is a platform where people act themselves as a seller by just listing it on their digital-social groups, in other words a drop-shipping business in your local group.
The edutech startup Byju’s has been funded by Facebook with around $50 million. This startup works on the interactive way of providing education of students from primary classes to all the competitive exams.
The edutech startup Unacademy has been funded by Facebook with around $110 million. This startup provides the best teachers for all types of competitive exams and provides a focus on detailed study while sitting in any corner of the country
These funded startups are: Byju’s, Unacademy and Meesho. Though exact amounts of investment is not disclosed in these cases but, it is a well-known fact that the Facebook is just trying to integrate every type of business platform with the widely used messaging app i.e. Whatsapp. This will help Facebook in getting the data of the people, which can help Facebook to run a suitable ads for it, according to the needs and requirements of the people which can become a potential customers of different other businesses via Facebook ads marketplace.
The coronavirus outbreak has affected all aspects of human life in the last two months. The deadly COVID-19 has affected around 3 million people worldwide. Many governments have taken steps such as lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19. A large number of people have turned towards buying insurance from insurance companies for their safety.
Unsurprisingly, the novel coronavirus has left no sector unaffected. And the financial sector and the insurance industry are no exception. In some cases, insurers have started taking action to protect their businesses that left many consumers in dilemma. While others in the insurance industry are being forced into action for the customers’ benefit by the governments’ emergency responses to the virus.
Policybazaarhas revealed that it has seen a growth of nearly 25-30 percent in both health and life insurance sales during the lockdown period. It also expects a 30-40 percentgrowth can be witnessed in the online insurance segment. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance says it has seen a 45 percent jump in new online business logins during this period of restrictions.
At the same time, dissatisfaction among customers has increased as businesses and consumers realize that many basic policies do not cover the impacts of a global pandemic and are publicly expressing their worry. This situation is largely due to customers not fully understanding insurance coverage but also partly due to insurers using legalese and long, complicated terms and conditions.
Many businesses, event managers, and restaurants are claiming their insurance due to losses they are going through. But many firms are unwilling to accept their claim. These people buy insurance based on which policy is the cheapest and such low quality policies rarely cover unexpected or unusual events like global pandemics.
As insurers try to deal with an increased volume of claims and customer queries, they face increasing calls in the press and on social media to help individuals and businesses who suddenly find themselves in serious trouble. It is worsening the situation, resulting in long wait times for responses and further customer dissatisfaction.
What is experts’ take on insurance policies?
Industry experts say that the claim settlement process for covid-19 related cases will remain the same as other illnesses. Apart from hospitalization charges, most health insurance policies will also cover post-hospitalization expenses incurred during the recovery period.
Mayank Bathwal, CEO of Aditya Birla Health Insurance, said, “This is not the first time of a virus outbreak. There have been Ebola, Zika, Nipah in the past, and coronavirus is just another one such outbreak. A health insurance policy covers all types of infections and coronavirus will also be included. Anyone who is hospitalized for 24 hours as a result of coronavirus will get coverage.”
Reliance General Insurance stated, “Since COVID-19 is a new disease and does not come under pre-existing disease, it will be covered under your base policy. Hence, the insured will be provided with all the covers, including in-patient treatment, pre and post hospitalization, and other test and diagnosis on coronavirus related coverage.”
Edelweiss General Insurance said, “We have decided to cover hospitalization for not only those who have a confirmed diagnosis but also those who have been quarantined in specific facilities identified by the government. The coverage amount is up to the sum insured under the policy. For the quarantined patients, the health policy ensures coverage for the entire period of quarantine with up to 100% of the claim amount being paid against quarantine and detection charges.”
A global pandemic is considered as the biggest, unfathomable risk to the insurance industry. Thus, most of the insurance companies seem to have taken little action to deal with such outbreaks. Customers may perceive that these firms are large organisations out for themselves but there are enormous risks to insurance businesses, the scale of which we have rarely seen before.
Insurers and re-insurers are losing out on huge exposure as major events across the globe get cancelled. For instance, Munich Re, a German Reinsurance company, is tied to the Olympic games which has already been postponed. It’s a big dent for a huge firm like Munich Re but is manageable given the coffers of such large scale players in the insurance industry. But for smaller firms that specialize in event insurance and offer communicable disease cover, the ongoing cancellation of events of all sizes might lead to permanent closure.
Due to collapse of individual life and health insurance, life insurance companies could be particularly hard hit by the combination of falling stock markets and increasing claims. Paying out on policies will be a huge loss to both insurers and re-insurers. It’s serious, unprecedented losses we’re talking about here.
Additionally,the failure of many global businesses like the airlines industry (one of the earliest casualties) and hospitality chains is likely to follow. Firms of this size are more likely to have comprehensive cover. So having to pay out on policies that include contagious disease cover will add more to the ongoing burden on the insurance industry.
The pandemic is incredibly serious for the insurance industry. Around $3oo million is expected to be paid out in COVID-19 related claims, the majority of which will be for cancellation cover. This might increase depending on the government’s directives and strategies to cope with the testing times.
IRDAI has asked people to read terms carefully before claiming any Insurance
How insurance companies are dealing with the situation
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) had issued guidelines for health insurers asking to accelerate coronavirus related claims settlement in case of hospitalization. IRDAI has already asked health insurance companies to offer medical coverage for coronavirus infection in India. The Life Insurance Council also said the clause of ‘force majeure’ will not apply in case of COVID-19 death claims.
The regulator has also instructed insurance companies to design specific health policies covering the treatment cost of COVID-19 which includes the medical expenses needed during the quarantine period. Some insurers have already introduced the same.
On the other hand, seeing business opportunity amid the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, insurance companies have started offering policies specific to COVID-19 and are partnering with digital payment service providers to increase the sales of such plans.
Bharti AXA General Insurance has tied up with Airtel Payments Bank to launch two health insurance plans. One offers a large amount of Rs 25,000 and another with daily benefits starting at Rs 500 per day to provide protection from COVID-19.
Similarly, in partnership with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, Flipkart Online Services owned PhonePe launched a coronavirus hospitalization insurance policy called “Corona Care”. The policy is priced at Rs 156 with an insurance cover of Rs 50,000 for a person under 55 years of age, and the cover is applicable at any hospital offering coronavirus treatment.
Other insurance companies like Star Health Insurance and Edelweiss General Insurance have also come up with exclusive insurance policies for COVID-19. In fact, Edelweiss General Insurance has extended hospitalization coverage to quarantined cases that have not even been diagnosed positive.
Some insurers are also offering products to cover expenses, including treatment during quarantine period. The terms of claim settlement by these companies vary and a buyer must read the document carefully before purchasing an insurance plan.
During the dengue outbreak, several insurance companies came up with policies to protect from vector-borne diseases. There are many existing health insurance plans in the market which provide protection from the COVID-19 disease.
In fact, most of these insurance companies offering specific polices for coronavirus are not asking their potential customers to go for medical check up. Instead they are making sure that their consumers do not have coronavirus-like symptoms.
Conclusion
Though some insurance policies don’t have the clause of covering pandemics and epidemics, industry experts believe all companies will have to comply to IRDAI’s strict directive. The regulatory directive is so clear that claims reported under Covid-19 should be reviewed thoroughly before rejecting any claim.
This is a worldwide emergency and any claims related to coronavirus should not be rejected. The policies should not have pandemic exclusion. Moreover, it is advised that policyholders check with their insurers about the terms and conditions of the policy to avoid hassles at the time of making claims.
It’s a fact too obvious that your professional relationship plays a significant role when it comes to client interaction and optimizing the work process. Let’s just say, healthy work relationships are a two-way affair: the client benefits from your skills and you, in turn, receive appraisals, remuneration, and referrals. The understanding between the recruiter and the worker is the glue that binds the project and leads to the required results. 90% of your clients will want to work with you again if you have curate a formidable professional relationship. This article is on how to build, improvise and work towards a better relationship with your clients, especially as a freelancer.
The need for healthy work relationships
As a freelancer, it is necessary (not to mention beneficial) to build healthy relationships with your clients since your existence depends on networking and client interaction. A good relationship can also lead to recommendations and great feedback, helping you land another freelancing gig.
How you can build and improve your work relationships
For most freelancers, building a positive work relationship is a key part of the business. Why? Well, a strong and positive image leads to good work ethics which in turn leads to transparency and good outcome. Can you guess the most important aspect of building a good relationship? Mentioned below are some factors necessary for curating a healthy relationship with your clients.
how to build professional relationship with client
Ways to build a healthy relationship with your clients
Observe how you communicate
Communication can be overtly underrated when you are busy paying attention to finding jobs, your client’s requirements, and the assignment at hand. And yet, the art of presenting information adds significant weightage to how you engage with your client during the project and after.
But effective communication isn’t a daunting task. Most clients simply look for freelancers who are open, have a positive approach towards the client’s suggestions, carry themselves professionally, and maintain an easy-to-approach aura around them. This way, you can build healthy work relationships.
Few Tips To Follow
Be positive in your approach towards the client.
Maintain an easy correspondence so that the client need not reach out to you again and again by themselves.
Be professional in your conduct. It is a valued quality.
Be open to client suggestions and discuss your views to root out any communication gap.
We do realize how important it is for you to bag that big project. But being dishonest with your credentials is not the right solution. Lying on your freelancing portfolio is an act frowned upon within professional circles besides destroying your credibility on the freelancing platform. You tend to lose out on some vital clients. What is the solution? Making the best of your genuine experiences and work samples and presenting it in the best manner possible. This helps you to have better professional relationship with your client.
Few Tips To Follow
Be honest with your work credentials, even if they are sparse.
Looking for variety in your freelance jobs helps you gain experience and diversify your portfolio.
Be transparent while informing your client about your previous work experiences and skills. Alternatively, be confident of your ability to learn and improve if you lack a certain skill. Honesty is an asset that is appreciated everywhere.
Your work matters a lot
Your client is paying you for your work after all. Therefore, honest work, responsibility, and client satisfaction are imperative to build your professional relationship. It is hard and takes time but the valuable work experience and networking is worth the efforts!
Few Tips To Follow
Be honest with your skills, work samples, and experiences.
Listen to what your clients say. Ask questions to get their views and lay out your own opinion.
Find ways to improvise on your own. Your client’s not going to run after you to slip in every minute detail. A good research on your own about the business as well as the client is a great option.
You can improve your professional relationship with the client by paying attention. Yes, we aren’t bluffing here. Something as simple as keeping a note of everything your client suggests can reveal a lot about your client’s preference, his or her aspirations, and goals regarding the job which need to be achieved.
Few Tips To Follow
Talk to them in their language.
Take constant notes whenever and wherever needed to let them know you are listening. Also, respect the demands of the job at hand.
Maintain eye contact. We are not talking about a staring contest. Rather, a constant, warm gaze with slight nodding from time to time shows that you are listening and respect what the client has to say.
Research to have a clear knowledge of your goals and requirements for completing the undertaken assignment. Research also gives you a good grasp over them. If you are a freelancer, you already know about the role good research plays in your work. This helps in improving your professional relationship with the client. So what exactly are we asking you to do?
Start by having sound knowledge of your employee, his or her credentials, vision and goals, the assignment you are expected to work on, and the background details of your client’s company.
Few Tips To Follow
Do your homework every time you set out to meet your client. Make a list of all the points that need to be discussed during the meeting and accumulate some understanding before you head out. This way, you can understand your client better and be prepared to take up his or her questions.
If you are a beginner, then research about your work or project, how you can do the work more efficiently, and what other freelancers use to perform similar work.
Once you obtain work, especially content writing, research about the topic before you start. You will have solid knowledge about that topic. This goes a long way in maintaining healthy work relationships.
Share your knowledge
Share your knowledge
You want to build a good and healthy relationship with your clients and the foundation of every professional relationship is trust. To build trust with your clients, you need to share the knowledge you have; this will not only demonstrate your expertise but also show how serious you are about the job. When you get a job, prioritize it and put in your maximum efforts.
Few Tips To Follow
Ask questions to your client and find the optimal solution.
Share your domain knowledge along with your experience in that niche.
Tell the clients how you can improve their business with your skills.
Your positive impact helps build trust.
Conclusion
Every relation starts with professional and effective communication. So keep working on your communication skills. Whenever you get negative feedback, don’t fret over it. Instead, learn from it and move on with a smile. Your hard work and honesty will bring in more customers, thereby establishing and strengthening professional relationships with your clients.
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HiGrocer India offers wide range of Comfort Food Products. HiGrocer enable every retailer to compete with organized giants and e-commerce, by their Last Minute SKU range of Quality Products Chained by Technology.
HiGrocer has a mission to partner with millions of retailers (by becoming their Trusted Brand and Supply chain partner) making it the biggest and quickest go-to-market channel for products and services. They are focussing on solutions for the grocery online end-to-end management system.
In India, the rate of urbanization has increased to a considerable level since the 2009 census, as per the United Nations (UN) World Urbanization Prospects 2018 report. There has been a noteworthy change in the eating habit in Metropolitan Cities. Due to the fast-paced life in urban cities, about 79% of the urban people prefer to have ready-to-eat food in their regular meal.
The reasons behind the increase in the use of comfort food in urban cities are the steep rise in income, the standard of living and convenience. Mostly, in a small family where both husband and wife are working, they prefer having ready-to-eat food for their children. It has become the most favorite and convenient part of their meal.
The Indian middle class is growing and so is their buying capacity and demands. They love to try on new products that come in the market. They prefer premium products; explore comfort food in the ready-to-make mobile SKU and easy-to-eat category.
Rural India provides a great opportunity for the comfort food and beverages industry. As almost 65% of the total Indian population lives in the rural region. They are attracted to food products of urban cities. The buying capacity of rural households has also increased in recent years due to benefits from investment in infrastructure and rising wages.
How was HiGrocer Started?
It was somewhere in mid 2018 when we brainstormed of creating our own Consumer Product Company. Once the calling was clear we left our respective erstwhile FMCG Leadership roles to commenced with our calling in the Business.
We did dipstick understanding on the sub industry we would like to cater in FMCG with a criteria of continual offtake, counters with higher ticket and demand oriented category; Food which is ever evolving and innovating was an obvious choice of offering.
Our Product Categorization is an outcome of this focused Customer Segmentation, Secondary being the Unorganized retailers which has become Last minute consumer Shopping Hub because of organised players amidst our Primary Audience which being the Urban consumers aged between 16 to 40 yrs their Fast changing urban lifestyle resulted into the growing demand of Comfort Foods.
Our Agenda is going National, hence at planning stage itself we brainstormed the possible scale of Operations and Solution towards it. Thinking about the same we developed Integration of SaaS Technology in our business enables market access concept whereby a product can be directly delivered to the retailer’s shop from the manufacturer’s factory through our SalesMax & Delhi mechanisms without having to go through the multiple layers of marketing, thereby providing an efficient & effective Supply Chain system.
Around mid 2019 we entered One market with our first RTE Product – Idli dosa batter ‘Ayyappa’, since then we have been growing in terms of Product offering and Shelfing Counters.
Thereby, Our Go To Market Business Model brings Scalability, Flexibility, Empowers Retailers & Building Brands.
HiGrocer – Product/Services
Helping Unorganized Retailers in FMCG with Accessibility, Affordability and Assistance in more Earning Power.
HiGrocer India as marketer offers wide ranges of Comfort Food Products. As our name suggests we are catering to neighbourhood grocers to answer consumers’ thirst for premium quality and Last Minute SKU Products, as the Urban Indians aged 16 to 40 years are part of fast changing urban lifestyle constitutes the major segment of this market. They spend over 40 percent of their income on food, are ready to experiment, and are willing to pay a premium for better quality, variety, and taste. We under the Name of HiGrocer India cater to these Indians, with our Last Minute Range of Products and its SKU.
Currently we have 10 Products across 3 categories and 3 Brands, we pivoted with our Idli Dosa Batter ‘Ayyappa’ and gained momentum for other range of products across categories i.e Frozen Snacks and Staples.
We commenced with Batter as it is a daily need product which gives us accessibility with retailers thereby build relation which makes shelfing of our other products easy and faster.
Founders of HiGrocer and team
Dharit Parikh & Aniket Sharma, both are qualified and respect each other domain experts of being an IIM graduate with 15 years of work-ex expert in Sales & Marking & other being CA with 9 years in work experience, managing Finance and Products, respectively. We have a team of 20+ and with each Delivery Centre Opening we will add 10 more in each. Even in Field staff we seek entrepreneurship skills, thereby the culture at HiGrocer is competitive, enabler and proactive.
HiGrocer – Name, Tagline, and Logo
Our Business Model is a basket Approach hence Commanding Shelf at the Counters we are present especially at the Kirana Stores. Therefore, We wanted a name which Resonates Trust with Casual atmosphere, thereby ‘Hi’ build friendliness in the conversation and because we in the Consumer product Food business ‘Grocer’ stands for ‘Grocery’ which resonates Trust.
Secondly, We are Consistent, Respects Boundaries, Show Gratitude and Don’t compromise in maintaining relations are the characteristics we would like to be known for.
Hence, A friendly neighborhood Grocer is ‘HiGrocer’ as a name builds, under the affirmation of Quality Assurance and at Best Price, which makes out Tagline Quality Bhi, Daam Bhi.
On our Logo thereby the word has cautiously been written in 2 different fonts and Red is the color of passion, strength, sensitivity, etc. also gets easily identified in the clutter.
HiGrocer – Business Model and Revenue Model
We are in the Consumer Product Business, building consumer Brands is what we endeavour for long run, the path to that is the journey we are crafting with our Business Operations
We have our own plant for one of our category of products and for the rest we do Contract Manufacturing. As we are a firm believr of Basket Approach with a Concept of Shared resource in FMCG to create the most advanced Sales and Distribution model which gives maximum retail coverage which is Marketed by HiGrocer
We do the Retail tie-ups and ensure product placement, our tie-ups with retailers are made with a committed shelf space or gondola space named “HiGrocer”, and we have a dedicated planogram for the shelf and Trade commission bundled in each every sales made.
Our Partnered Products are warehoused in vicinity directly from the manufacturers factory and delivered to the retailer shop tethered by our Technology Platform of SalesMax & DelHi mechanism without having to go through the multiple layers of Marketing, thereby providing an efficient & effective Supply Chain system.
HiGrocer – Startup Launch
Around mid 2019 we entered One market with our first RTE Product – Idli dosa batter ‘Ayyappa’, we categorically chose this as an entry product as it gives us leverage of providing Regular service and build Relation with retailers being a new entry this was very important for us.
Today, we are serving almost 2000 Retailers in a single market. We have 10 Products to offer across 2 Categories and 3 Brands (Idli Dosa Batter, Frozen Foods and Staples). Our Go To Market Business Model brings Scalability | Flexibility | Empowering Retailers | Building Brands.
HiGrocer – User Acquisition and Growth
As HiGrocer, We are providing Shelf of Hi Quality Premium products with On the GO SKU range, which enhances Customer Needs & Retailers Greed. Our tie-ups with retailers are made with a committed shelf space or gondola space named “HiGrocer – Quality Bhi, Dam Bhi”, and we have a dedicated planogram for the shelf. Idea is to build HiGrocer as a Trusted brand amidst Consumers as we will market all products as ‘Products from HiGrocer’, which Promises Quality and Price. We have and will always have a Basket Approach in building a dedicated HiGrocer Shelf at the Neighborhood Stores. All at the palm reach as we are chained with Technology, which will enable us to keep our operation cost at marginal and enhance off-takes.
So By the end of Half a Decade existence as per our plans we will have a bank of more then 50 SKU’s across 6 Categories trailing each with a minimum existence of 3 years. We, at the end of 60 months would have our market penetration across 25 cities mix of Metros, Tier 1 and Semi Urban spread over 50k retailers.
HiGrocer – Startup Challenges
We are living in a Demand Centric world, which makes our Future with Opportunity; India is the world’s fifth- largest consumer economy by 2025, up from the current 12th position.
Secondly we are Acing Products and Brand builder in an organized way catering via unorganized market, support to them will generate Push and our Media Marketing will generate SOV and Demand.
Our Challenges are with the Competition and we have a plan for that, we have identified our competition below in 2 parts:
Branded Consumer Products
This is a Direct Competition. They do Contract Manufacturing of their Products and retail it across Shops, with traditional way of Distribution thereby offering minimum margin to retailers and shelving because of Advertising Demand. At HiGrocer, We have multiple advantages in our Trade We Work on Delivery Centre Model (from manufacturer to our warehouse directly), which gives miss to traditional channels of Distribution, and our Ready stock Delivery to retailers ensures regular Service and Product Shelving. Thereby, we offer almost 2- 3 times of the current market margins, with similar high quality Product, as we miss traditional distribution
Non-branded Consumer Products
This is a Indirect Competition. They Supply Retailers in loose form, which is either/or, repacked under retailers brand or sold as it is. We work on Delivery Centre Model, which gives miss, to traditional channels of Distribution. Our Ready stock Delivery to retailers ensures regular Service and Product Shelving likewise to our non- branded product suppliers.
Margin: We offer similar margins, with high quality Product bundled with Brand Assurance, which is lacking by non-branded suppliers.
HiGrocer – Future Plans
We are currently retailing in approx. 2000 stores with 10 Products, 3 Brands, 2 Categories, By the end of Half a Decade existence as per our plans we will have a bank of more then 80 SKU’s across 6 Categories trailing each with a minimum existence of 3 years. We, at the end of 60 months would have our market penetration across 15 cities mix of Metros, Tier1 and Semi Urban spread over 50k retailers.
Also, by the Decade of existence apart from our respective Brands, HiGrocer would also be a Trusted brand name as all our products are marketed as Products From Higrocer. Which would unfold the potential of future Business integrations and Cross Selling’s.
HiGrocer – Funding and Investors
We are Bootstrapped company and have decent runway with us, though we are in talking terms with few VC’s who shown Faith and Interest in HiGrocer, we will come back to you on this space soon.
The lockdown due to COVID-19 has created a big problem for all the start-ups and companies. This has led to a situation where companies are now fighting with a big cash crunches and one of the way to survive in this situation is either layoffs or cut down in the salaries of the employees. Udaan is one of the company which is dealing with the same situation. The company has laid off many of their contract workers. Let us see the complete story behind the Udaan layoff.
Story Behind Udaan Layoff
Story Behind Udaan Layoff
Udaan is a B2B e-commerce platform which provides a wholesale product solutions to different vendors in all categories. The start-up has fired thousands of its staff members; this week which worked over the contract basis with the start-up. One of the fired employee has started in the reports while talking to the news agency that, the message related to their landed was landed in emails respective emails starting 23rd April through 24th April. The Udaan layoff consist of the employees in sales, credit, collection team, and the delivery team whose lives have been impacted by the decision my by this start-up company.
Employees working in the start-up were issued termination letters without any prior notice or any other type of communication stating any type of layoff. As per an employee, over 200 employees have been terminated from their jobs and that too being fired with immediate effect, but the other sources tells that, this number could be around thousands, across Udaan’s pan India operations.
The terminated employees will be be given 1 month gross salary along with payment of all dues till 24th April 2020. Employees will continue to have a secure medical insurance coverage for 3 months post separation i.e. till July.
The udaan app enables users i.e. their potential customers or the buyers, to access to real insights into active trends and provides them many other premium B2B trade features in a single platform. The platform has enabled small and medium business owners to use the power of technology to nurture and scale their businesses without any type of tensions or problems while doing a business.
The countrywide lockdown has further stretched the burden over our survival as well as on the Indian start-ups. Companies are going for different types of cost-cutting measures in order to survive in this difficult period of time. Several companies have done their several job cuts are already done, people have been declared on temporary leave while others have been asked to take pay cuts in-order to retain their jobs. And this will not stop till the time this lockdown comes to its end, there can be another wave of layoffs expected in the next few months by the market analyst.Some of the status of different companies are:-
In the social commerce sector, startups like Meesho, Shop101 have let go of employees due to cash crunch.
Tech startup unicorns like Grofers, BlackBuck etc have also laid off employees due to many internal reasons which are not disclosed.
OYO Hotels and Homes has now asked its employees to accept 25% salary deduction effective for April-July 2020 payroll as there is no business in the market due to the present problems and it looks to overcome the impact on revenue from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Logistics tech unicorn BlackBuck is said to laying off around 200 employees as the transport sector faces massive disruption due to the lockdown and will be going to revive after the end of this global lockdown.
Meesho has laid off around 200 employees. About 40% of the company’s key account managers, all business relationship managers and about 30-40% of the business development team have been laid off due to this problematic situation due to COVID-19.
The COVID-19 pandemic has become a big problem for all the people of the world. This has led to the situation that people are not able to go outside not even for earning money for their basic livelihood due to complete global lockdown. The govt. has asked the people to work from home. In order to work in this lockdown situation, the people are using different online conference platforms, which are able to connect all the employees together at their respective houses.
One of the successful app in this lockdown situation is the ‘Zoom app’, which is used by the people, the most in this stressful situation. But due to many privacy problems, the app is able to create problems for itself by just creating many alternative for itself. One of such platform, which have gained popularity because of this Zoom problems is the ‘Say Namaste‘ conferencing platform. Let us discuss in detail about it.
Working USP of Say Namaste Platform
Say Namaste– An alternative of Zoom app.
‘Say Namaste‘ is not actually an app, whereas it is an online tool or in other words an online platform which can be easily accessible through your trusted web browser. This conferencing platform is provided by a private company based Mumbai named ‘Inscripts’ who has introduced ‘Say Namaste‘ video conferencing platform who got this opportunity after looking at cyber vulnerability in the very popular video conferencing app- Zoom app. ‘Say Namaste‘ is using open source techniques. These include making availability of end-to-end encryption like WhatsApp which works best with this service without affecting performance and any privacy concerns.
The ‘Say Namaste‘ platform is also backed by the Indian Government cautioned also cautioned the cyber and privacy problems against the use of the popular video calling app Zoom. The video conferencing platform- ‘Say Namaste‘ is currently available in Beta mode and is going under all the test to make the platform more secure to use without any tension of any privacy and other cyber problems.
Key Differentiating Points of Say Namaste Platform
Say Namaste– A Privacy Protected Platform
On giving interview to a channel, the CEO of the company says that he doesn’t wants to work like “an all-purpose communications suite” but focus on highly interactive and easy to use interface who can be easily used by their customers.
The use of ‘Say Namaste‘ platform is highly easily as any user for now, just needs to create a meeting link using a randomly generated 10-digit ID and four-digit password and other users can join the session without any problem with the help of meeting link. Like the feature in Zoom, there is no ‘waiting room’ and on a single moment of time only one person can joins the meeting one by one.
At the present moment, ‘Say Namaste‘ can support 25 callers at once but the company’s aim is to reach 100 callers limit per session. Besides video-calling, the platform also supports screen sharing, file sharing and text chats i.e. all the features which are supported by all the well-known conferencing apps for making an all-in-one multi-utility app. Anuj Garg, the co-founder and the CEO of Inscripts says that ‘Say Namaste‘ app is still under ta testing and has garnered over 500,000 users within a few days and they will be able to provide the stable version within a upcoming small portion of time.
