If you think of any reality TV show having an equal number of lovers and haters it has to be Bigg Boss. The infamous TV reality show which is based on the UK TV show BIG Brother has been running 14 successful seasons in India so far. The show has a huge audience base and crazy fan following all thanks to its unique set up and Bollywood biggie Salman Khan as the host.
The show has been a viewers favorite for three things. The host Salman Khan, Bigg Bossâ voice and the house. This show is for entertainment purposes but never runs out of controversies. Be it Shilpa Shetty being bullied in BIG Brother or the nasty fights between Rashmi Desai and Siddharth Shukla in season 13.
The show has been shot in various locations with a few seasons in Karjat and Lonavala and the latest one was shot in Mumbai. The factor that attracts most of the viewers apart from the contestants is the Bigg Boss house. The Bigg Boss house has been remodeled several times for each season. This season has been special since the house had a new movie theatre, gym and spa which was accessible to the contestants only after accomplishing respective tasks.
The format had been similar to previous seasons except this time along with celebrities it had commoners too. For those of us who do not know what Bigg Boss is and how it works, the contestants are supposed to make their way through a number of days/episodes in the house to the finale without any source of entertainment like TV, laptops and even their phones. Every contestant aces the rounds on his or her own tactics and tries to avoid elimination. Contestant who has sustained all the episodes till the end wins the show.
The viewers might be finding it hard to believe as to why a celebrity would live in a house that has confined them away from their family and friends, has quarrels and conflicts all day long for three months. Take a hint.
Bigg Boss contestants are paid a handsome amount of money every week for being a part of the show. Let’s have a look on how much the show can afford to pay them in order to keep us entertained.
Including the wild card entries hereâs a full list of Housemates who were a part of BIGG BOSS 14 and how much were being paid every week throughout the show.
Rubina Dilaik, popularly known as the TV serial Bahu was crowned the winner of Bigg Boss season 14 and took home Rs 36 lakh. Rubina, along with the finalists, paid Rs 14 lakh from her prize money earlier in the show to make it to the top finalists. Singer Rahul Vaidya was announced as the runner up.
Rubina Dilaik – Bigg Boss 14 Winner
Bigg Boss – A Relief during Pandemic
Bigg Boss has a huge audience base since the inception of the show. It is safe to say that the number of viewers over the years have only grown. Analysts were worried because Bigg Boss had to fight for attention over the IPL matches starting soon during the same time. But creators were sure Bigg Boss would not be neglected as the overlap was insignificant.
Viewers have always wanted something fresh and entertaining from the industry, more so during the pandemic. Bigg boss has had more than 300 million viewers so far and each season, this number is going up.
While some viewers may find the show annoying to its very core, the others find it surprisingly entertaining. The quarrels, conflicts between the housemates, politics and tasks that are performed are the highlight of the show. While one half asks for it to be shunned permanently, the other half is all in for the drama and chaos.
The Indian Smartphone market is known to be the second largest smartphone market around the world according to the Counterpointâs market monitor. In 2019 alone the mobile phone shipment to India increased to 158 million with a 7% annual growth. This is because popularity of the good quality and mid-range smartphones provided by the Chinese phone companies. Many Indians are now supporting the boycott of Chinese products amidst the ongoing border tensions between the two countries. But despite the Anti-China sentiments, the Chinese brands dominated the Indian smartphone market with a market share of 75% in 2020.
Indian buyers have been partial to the foreign brands, especially to the Chinese and American brands like Samsung, Apple, Oneplus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiomi, Realme, etc in the smartphone market. Although with the current situation with the border issues between the two countries, the market is slowly seeing a shift with the home grown brands getting a chance to gain a better market share in the business. It also might be surprising to some people that they are already many Indian mobile phone companies like Micromax, Intex, Karbonn, Lava, etc, that disappeared because of the growing competition with the Chinese companies.
These Indian companies have a long history of coming out with good mobile phones, with good quality, build, stunning features, advanced technology and lower/affordable prices targeted especially at the local audience. Some of these brands have also achieved a lot of success when they first came out, but now are nowhere to be seen. The recent bans on Chinese apps by the government have made many Indians keen on using Made in India products, and this gives our Indian mobile companies the opportunity to make a comeback with new smartphones.
Recently, Micromax has announced that it will be coming up with new phones and reentering the smartphone market. Other companies like Lava, Intex and Karbonn have the potential to make a strong comeback, but have not come with anything yet. Below are the top 8 Indian smartphone companies that have the potential and could come back in the Indian smartphone market:
Micromax Informatics is a home grown multinational electronics company. Micromax specializes in making laptops, smartphones, tablets, LED televisions and other home appliances. The company is known for manufacturing products at a low cost less and making it affordable to the common man. The company was founded in 2000, by four college friends Mohit Sharma, Dewas and Rohit Patel and has its headquarters in Gurgaon, Haryana. Micromax was first established as an IT software company that focused on democratizing technology in order to compete with International players.
why Indian mobile companies failed
The company entered the market in 2008 and quickly became one of the most leading consumers electronics company including the 10thlargest mobile phone brands in the world. Micromax still faces a huge competition with the Chinese brand in the Indian market. Micromax is also popular because it has introduced low budget phones with innovative features, which is why the company made X1i phone which became the first telephone with a battery that lasts for a month. In 2014, it became the first Indian company to sell in Russia. The company has two main sectors which are Mobile handset that include feature phones and smartphones.
The second is Consumer electronics that include Air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machine and LED television. Micromax also owns YU Televentures, which sells mobile phones under the name of YU. By 2014, the company grew so popular that it got Hugh Jackman to be its ambassador. Micromax made it comeback in 2020 which a smart phone sub brand called IN. The company is now aims at expending its portfolio in the consumerâs electronics sector and targeting a wider target audience which are premium economy consumers.
Company Name
Micromax
Headquaters
Gurugoan, Haryana
Founded On
2000
CEO
Rahul Sharma
Employees
20,000
Annual Revenue
US $330 million
Products & Services
Smartphones, Tablets, Web browser, Air conditioner, LED TVs, laptops, power banks
Lava International is an Indian Smartphone company which also manufactures products like Television and Laptops. The company was founded by Hari Om Rai, Sunil Bhalla, Shailendra Nath Rai and Vishal Sehgal in 2009. The company is also headquartered in Noida of Uttar Pradesh. The multinational company has its operations in many countries such as India, China, Russia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan even launching some of its products in countries like Egypt and Africa. Similar to Micromax, Lava also focuses on making low budget or affordable devices.
The company that started out as a telecommunications venture was given the title of the Most trustworthy Brand in the CMR retail sentiment index in the year of 2018. The company also faced a big competition from the Chinese companies in the Indian smartphone market, making it get into financial problem in 2018 making it delay payments to vendors and employees. The company is also known to be having a facility in China which is specifically for the design and development of its products.
Logos of Indian mobile companies
The company now has a distribution model which is only single layer, which includes more than 900 distributors across the country. The company is now aiming to establish a mobile phone design centre and more manufacturing facilities in India. Lava was the first company to launch 4G enabled phone in India through its 4G Connect M14, in 2017. Lava has also launched Z1, Z2, Z4, Z6 and myZ in January 2021 which are the worldâs first customizable smartphone. It has also recently launched BeFIT Fitness brand.
Intex Technology is an Indian multinational company that manufactures budget friendly smartphones and gadgets. The company makes a wide variety of products such as Smartphones, PC, mobile accessories, LED Television, speakers, IT appliances and Home appliances. Intex was founded in 1996 and has its headquarters in New Delhi. The company was founded by Narendra Bansal who wanted the bridge the gap between the rich and the poor by reducing the digital divide between urban and rural.
The company also makes PCs and various products for computers like TFT – LCD Monitors, CRT monitors, Fax modems, keyboards, mouse, SMPS and UPS systems, headphones, DVD Players, MP3 players and many more. Intex was the first Indian company to launch the 3G sim enabled watch called the iRist. The company at a certain point was Indiaâs second largest mobile phone company by sales.
Intex is still producing devices and gadgets in other sectors but has not made new phones in a while especially since the rise of Chinese phones in the Indian market. The company began LED Television business in which it has seen a growth of over 150 %. Â The company now focuses on IT hardware and distributing electronic in India. It has also big names such as Madhuri Dixit and Kiccha Sudeep as its brand ambassadors and owns an IPL franchise from 2016 to 2017 known as Gujarat Lions.
Company Name
Intex Technology
Headquaters
New Delhi
Founded On
1996
CEO
Keshav Bansal
Employees
10,000
Annual Revenue
US $870 million
Products & Services
Smartphones, Tablets, mobile phones, washing machine, LED TVs, UPS, webcams, security cameras, refrigerators, ACs
Karbonn is an Indian company that manufactures smartphones, tablets and even mobile accessories. This smartphone company is a joint venture of the Jaina Group from Delhi and UTL Group from Bengaluru. The company came to existence in 2009 after being founded by Sudhir Hasija and Pardeep Jain and is headquartered in New Delhi, India. The companies sells its products in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, European Countries and Middle East.
Karbonn mobile have also collaborated with telecom companies like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Jio. Karbonn is also given the rank of being one of the most trusted brands in India. The company was created after the makerâs infamous deal with the Eros International Media Ltd for whom they had to manufacture about 500,000 merchandise Kochadaiyaan which is a upcoming movie of that time.
The company then collaborated with Hungama.com and have their app preinstalled in their phones. The company worked with Google and manufactured Karbonn Sparkle V which was one first android one phones in India. The company like other also faces competition from the Chinese brands and has also not launched any new models for a few years.
Company Name
Karbonn
Headquaters
New Delhi
Founded On
2009
CEO
Pardeep Jain
Employees
10,000
Annual Revenue
US $91 million
Products & Services
Smartphones, Tablets
India manufacturing phones
iBall Mobile
iBall is as India electronics company that manufactures a wide range of products such as smartphones, tablets, web camera, PC cabinets, earphones, desk sets, keyboards, headsets, speakers, pen drives, USB products, LED monitors, chargers, etc. The company was founded in 2001 by Anil Pararampuria and has its headquarters in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company also makes low budget smartphones, PC and tablets and its accessories.
iBall first started out by making computer mouse, but is known for its 2014 projects named Andi Udaan through which it made smartphones for blind women. The phone was designed in way that it had a SOS button behind the phone which made to create sounds and send automatic messages and calls to five contacts when it is pressed. In 2015 and 2016 iBall collaborated with Intel and Microsoft to launch the country most affordable Windows 10 laptop which is iBall CompBook at Rs 9,999.
Company Name
iBall Mobile
Headquaters
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Founded On
2001
CEO
Sandeep Parasrampuria
Employees
2,000
Annual Revenue
US $170 million
Products & Services
Smartphones, Tablets, mobile phones, speakers, laptops, routers, webcams, security cameras
Xolo is an Indian mobile phone company which is a subsidiary to Lava International. The company was in 2012 and is headquartered in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The company is known for its smartphones, tablets, laptops and accessories like power banks. Xolo is credited for being the first company that launched a smartphone (X900) with the Intel processor in India.
The company also aims in manufactures high quality smartphone with lower cost smartphones. It was the first Indian company to be the regional partner of the Liverpool FC. Xolo also launched a tablet named Xolo Win tablet and the first 4G enabled smartphone (LT900) in India in 2013.
It also credited for introducing the first dual camera phone in India. The Xolo Black made with the partnership with Flipkart, while the Xolo era series was made in partnership with Snapdeal. Xolo introduced a lot of new features like dual 4G sims and up to 512 GB of ram in its Xolo A500 phone which came out in 2013. The company has also recently developed its own unique UI for android phone known as Hive UI. Xolo ZX smartphone is the last phone the company in 2019.
Company Name
Xolo
Headquaters
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Founded On
2012
CEO
Vishal Sehgal
Employees
1,371
Products & Services
Smartphones, Tablets, Hive UI, Laptops
Lyf
Lyf or Reliance Lyf is a smartphone company that belongs to Reliance Jio which is a subsidiary of the Reliance Industries Limited. The company was founded in 2015 by Mukesh Ambani and is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The company started out by making affordable smartphones which was named after elements of nature such as LYF Water, LYF Earth, LYF Fire with free Jio sim cards.
This led it to becoming the fifth largest smartphone manufacturer and the second largest 4G LTE smartphone maker in 2016. The company also had partnered with Amazon and Grofers to deliver its phones. But after the short success the company stopped producing new phones.
YU Televentures is an Indian electronics company that is a subsidiary of Micromax Informatics and Cyanogen Inc. Yu was founded as a joint venture from the companies in 2014 and is headquartered in Gurgoan, Haryana. Micromaxâs Co-Founder Rahul Sharma is known to own 99% of stakes in YU. Some of the best models created by the company are YU Yunique 2, YU Yureka 2 and YU Ace. However YU was discontinued by Micromax as it was merged with the company.
Company Name
YU Televentures
Headquaters
Gurgoan, Haryana
Founded On
2014
Founder
Rahul Sharma
Products & Services
Smartphones, pocket printer, Power bank
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
What are the Top Indian mobile companies?
YU Televentures
Lyf
Xolo smartphone
iBall Mobile
Karbonn Mobiles
Micromax
Lava International
Intex
What are the Chinese companies dominating the Indian smartphones market?
The crypto ecosystem has been doing news rounds ever since the RBI proposed a ban on using or trading or holding Crypto currency in 2018. It was all cloudy for the crypto investors until recently when the Supreme court in 2020 quashed the ban on trading on virtual currencies.
RBI has been reluctant to let the crypto currencies co-exist in the Indian economic system. Crypto currency is a booming sector and has put so many miners on the map.
So why is RBI not allowing crypto trade in India? Will it ever oblige? How is crypto business coming along in India? We answer all these questions in this post. Read on to find out more.
In 2018, RBI issued a circular to take down crypto currencies from the Indian virtual trade. The Internet Mobile Association Industry- a non profit organization and a group of corporations dealing in crypto exchange platforms stood up against this circular in the Supreme court.
RBI, in a Financial Stability report, defined virtual currency as unregulated digital money which is controlled and issued by its developers and accepted by a specific community. RBI exercised its power to ban private digital currencies and their trade/circulation through any financial institution in India.
However, in March 2020, this circular was quashed by the Supreme court saying that though RBI has the authority to regulate virtual currencies, it was disproportionate to impose prohibition on trading of crypto and therefore, ultra vires the constitution.
According to the survey of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the government has issued over 122 crore Aadhar cards as of March 2020. That means it has covered 90% of the population and out of 110 crore bank accounts in India, 96 crore are linked to Aadhar.
This could be one of the reasons for banning crypto since it is rumored that RBI wants to launch a digital currency of its own and is sparing the competition. The said digital currency is to be called Lakshmi-named after the Goddess of wealth.
RBI has been pretty stringent with its ban on crypto. According to the âBanning of crypto currency and regulation of official digital currency bill 2019â , the draft sentences 10 years of prison to anyone who mines, circulates or holds private digital currencies. This sentence surpasses the 7 years of imprisonment for money laundering.
The Supreme Courtâs decree paved way for some relief as it states that virtual currencies are not legal tender but tradable commodities and lacks precise definition and the RBI circular has disproportionately invaded the investorsâ rights.
Crypto, especially Bitcoin seems to have come around with the retail investors in India. More than 5 million Indians have invested in Bitcoin.
Crypto is not just being used as exchange in restaurants, shopping, payments and insurance but has now become a prominent source of funding for start ups in India. Start ups are longingly looking at Initial Coin Offering (ICO) as fund raising options. But the situation is contemplating since the ban was announced.
Almost 30 to 40 start up companies from India have tried to pursue the ICOs. The ban has caused these companies to choose foreign jurisdiction and have raised funding from foreign investors.
The ban could bring uncertainty among the retail investors in India.
Nischal Shetty (CEO, WazirX) said – “Criminalizing digital tokens could destabilize existing businesses eroding the wealth of millions”
Crypto startups are developing slowly and steadily because of the regulatory reforms in India. Though India has been gaining exposure on the global front, the traditional methodology of the government seems to hold back a few areas such as the crypto economy. Despite this, there are a few Crypto startups which are propelling and being recognized.
CoinDCX
The Mumbai based startup provides users with various crypto based financial products. Users can buy and sell more than 100 coins instantly with INR.
Nuo
Nuo is a decentralized finance (DeFi) application that converges sellers and borrowers through smart contracts. Nuo network has also launched a new digital banking platform called Juno, which is built on top of Ethereum and depends on Nuo protocol for Nuo banking services.
WazirX
WazirX is the leading crypto exchange platform in India at present. It was the first exchange in India to introduce a native token called the WazirX token (WRX) which has resulted in significant growth of engagement on the platform.
Crypto companies WazirX and CoinDCX along with several others are running a hashtag campaign #IndiaWantsCrypto on twitter to raise awareness about the bill and its consequences. The campaign has already found support from several start-up founders and angel investors such as Sahil Lavingia, Rajiv Mantri and Balaji Srinivasan.
Crypto Ban – Opinions
The sovereign insists on not having private crypto currencies in the Indian ecosystem since it considers crypto as something that is foreign and threatens security of its citizens. Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey in an interview said that crypto currency is unconstitutional as it is produced outside India and cannot be treated as currency but a commodity.
Although the government might not completely impose a ban on crypto, the law intends to create a facilitative framework under the guidance of RBI, exceptions will be provided to promote the underlying technology of crypto currency and its uses. However, many of the retail investors think differently.
Ex CTO of Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, Balaji Srinivasan, an entrepreneur and an investor, believes that crypto ban is as bad as internet ban. In an interview he said that eventually in the coming years India will have to accept crypto as it already co existing in other countries as an alternative currency. India has great potential not just in terms of selling but also producing which makes it a strong contender amongst the developing nations.
Crypto Ban – FAQs
Why did RBI ban Cryptocurrency?
It is rumored that RBI wants to launch a digital currency of its own and is sparing the competition. The said digital currency is to be calledLakshmi-named after the Goddess of wealth.
What is Crypto Ban?
In 2018, RBI issued a circular to take down crypto currencies from the Indian virtual trade. According to the âBanning of crypto currency and regulation of official digital currency bill 2019â , the draft sentences 10 years of prison to anyone who mines, circulates or holds private digital currencies. This sentence surpasses the 7 years of imprisonment for money laundering.
What is #IndianWantsCrypto campaign?
Crypto companies WazirX and CoinDCX along with several others are running a hashtag campaign #IndiaWantsCrypto on twitter to raise awareness about the Crypto Ban bill and its consequences
Which are the major crypto startups in India?
Coin DCX, NUO, WazirX are some of the major crypto startups in India
In a series of tweets, the twitterati took a dig at the worldâs richest man, Elon Musk. The CEO of Tesla was targeted since Tesla skipped matching the 401(k) contribution straight for a third year. Twitter was divided in two parts, one in favor of Elon Musk and the other criticizing him for not doing the needful for the retirement funds of Teslaâs employees. The man in the spot, Musk noticed this tweet and answered that his employees have an option of buying company stocks and the company treats its employees as part owners.
We will be looking closely at how TESLA compensates its employees, how much is the company worth and how largely benefitted its employees actually are. Lets take a look at TESLA, the company.
TESLA is a company involved in transportation and energy businesses. It sells cars under its âTESLA Motorsâ division and stationary battery packs for home, commercial and utility-scale projects under its âTESLA Energyâ division.
The company is led by Elon Musk. he is the CEO, co-founder, Chairman and Product Architect.
TESLA has more net worth than all its rivals combined such as Fiat Chrysler ($20 billion), Ford ($24 billion), Ferrari ($32 billion), General Motors ($36 billion), BMW ($41 billion), Honda ($46 billion) and Volkswagen ($74 billion). TESLAâs cars are said to be the most valuable cars in the world.
TESLA is a giant with a market cap of $164 billion dollars and as of 2020 has 70,757 employees working for it.
Now why would a company like TESLA not be contributing to its employeesâ retirement fund? How does Tesla compensate its employees? How are Tesla employees becoming millionaires? We are about to find out. Let us first understand how Retirement funds are managed in the USA.
401(k) plan is a tax-advantaged, defined contribution retirement account provided by employers to their employees in the USA. It is named after a section of US Internal Revenue Code.
401(k) Retirement Plan
Employees can make contributions to the 401(k) accounts thorough automatic payroll withholding and their employers can match some, or all those contributions. These contributions are taxed after the employee withdraws the money, typically after retirement.
Employers who match their employee contributions use different formulas to calculate that match. A common example might be 50 cents or $1 for every dollar the employee contributes up to a certain percentage of salary. Financial advisors often recommend that employees try to contribute at least enough money to their 401(k) plans each to get the full employer match.
TESLA skipped matching the 401(k) contributions to the employee retirement fund consecutively for year three and twitter had its fair share of questions for Elon Musk. The TESLA CEO responded to the accusations on twitter saying that âEveryone at TESLA receives stock. My company is all Stock/Options, which I do not take off the table.â
Everyone at Tesla receives stock.
My comp is all stock/options, which I do not take off the table.
Elon Musk responded to the tweet accusing him of not matching the contributions to the employees retirement fund
It is not rare for tech companies to compensate their employees through stock options. However, TESLA is an automaker first, mixed with tech. Auto companies do not offer stock options for all employees throughout the organization.
TESLA offers its employees stocks options as compensation. With recent surge in the companyâs share prices, TESLA stocks are creating new millionaires. However, over the years TESLA has made salary cuts in various departments, especially sales.
With a recent surge in TESLA share price, (more than 200% this year alone) TESLAâs employees are compounding on their wealth. Here is a glance at TESLAâs top executives and how much of a stake they hold in the company.
Drew Baglino, Tesla SVP of Powertrain and Energy Engineering, holds 4,222 Tesla shares. His stake in the company is now worth more than $5.7 million. Baglino is one of the top engineers at Tesla where he gradually moved up the ranks during his 14-year tenure at the automaker.
Jerome Guillen, president of TESLA motors, holds 9,752 Tesla stocks worth over $13 million. Guillen has led several key programs at Tesla.
Zachary Kirkhorn, Teslaâs young CFO, owns 11,831 shares of Tesla, which are now worth over $16 million. Like Teslaâs stock, Kirkhorn had a meteoric rise of his own at Tesla. At 35, he is the youngest CFO in TESLA.
Of course, no one is getting richer than CEO Elon Musk as part of this incredible run. Musk owns 34,098,597 TSLA shares â making his stake in Tesla worth more than $46 billion.
Muskâs brother, Kimbal Musk, who is also on Teslaâs board, is significantly benefiting from the rise in Teslaâs stock price. He had 130,848 Tesla shares, which are now worth more than $175 million.
Other Tesla VPs, directors, and even managers are likely to benefit greatly from Teslaâs massive stock price increase â creating several new millionaires.
Several key engineers in batteries, manufacturing, and construction, especially the execs behind Gig factory Nevada, also received massive stock grants worth millions at the time. With the recent price run, employees who held onto their shares are now millionaires.
Tesla also awards performance-based equity bonuses, but those have been put on hold amid the coronavirus crisis. Therefore, employees who have been holding shares since last year are the ones benefiting the most from this recent TSLA run.
Although TESLAâs employees and executives have amassed great benefits through its price run, financial experts suggest that it is always better to have the employees compensated with access to retirement contributions. Since the stock market is volatile and unpredictable, the employees will benefit only until the stock prices go up. According to reports, TESLA has not been making great profits, but thanks to the price run in shares, no oneâs complaining. Having said that, not matching the employers contribution may be risky for the employees as it isn’t entirely compensatory to the average employee and without the inflated share price, they would be doomed.
FAQs
How many employees work at TESLA?
Currently, there are 70,757 employees working for TESLA (2021)
How does TESLA compensate its employees?
Along with added bonuses to the salary, TESLA offers its employees stock options as compensation.
Is TESLA coming to India?
Elon Musk confirmed that TESLA would be entering India by setting up a plant in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Gold has always been a safe harbor for investors. Low volatility makes it a reliable investment option. The glittering metal has a prominent place in the Indian households. Gold in India isnât just an investment but a tradition. It not only signifies wealth but also is a matter of prestige for many Indians. Indian festivities and weddings are incomplete without the exchange of gold. It has dominated equity and real estate investments as it has a lower exposure to risk and has comparatively better returns.
Gold prices are propelling downwards since the end of January 2021. Gold rates have hit a low in all the major cities in India. On the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), gold prices dropped by Rs 457 to hit Rs 46,390 per 10 gram, after the government announced a cut in the import duty on precious metals. Notably, the customs duty on gold and silver was reduced to 7.5%. So far, gold has witnessed a fall of more than 2%, and has dipped more than Rs 7000 from all time high in August last year. In the previous trade, the precious metal had closed at Rs 46,847 per 10 grams after a fall of Rs 661.
On the global front, gold prices decked to $1830 from $2200. Gold is traded against the US dollar. As the dollar gains, prices of gold reduce since gold becomes expensive in other currencies. Political and economic activities in the USA have paved way for the gains in value of US dollar. Gold prices and the US dollar are inversely proportional, because the yellow metal is dollar dominated. When the value of dollar increases compared to other currencies around the world, the price of gold tends to decrease in the US dollar terms. A falling dollar increases the value of currencies in other countries, including the prices of commodities like gold resulting in increase in the price of gold and vice versa.
Worldwide, gold is seen as a commodity with innate value. Gold remains, and will continue to remain precious due to its rarity and ability to create jewelry and other objects. It has also been an investment option for many investors. Unlike any other commodity, gold is largely influenced by the track run of the economy. Over the course of history, gold prices seem to counteract the fluctuations in an economic cycle.
Central Financial Systems and Gold
Global gold reserves have been recorded to 33,000 tons, almost one-fifth of the total amount of gold mined. In the last decade, many national banks have become net buyers of gold reserves.
Central banks have gold reserves for many reasons: to pacify risks, to hedge against inflation and promote economic stability. According to a report published by the World Gold Council, central banks have purchased 668 tons of gold in 2019.
The Central bank of America is said to have the largest gold reserve with 8,133 tons of gold in its vault, valued at $10.9 billion dollars. The Reserve Bank of India is ninth on the list of top central banks holding gold reserves. India has increased its Gold reserves by 22.7 tons in 2020 and as of today holds 668 tons of the yellow metal in its vaults.
As noted earlier, gold is dominated by the US dollar. A surge in the dollar keeps the gold rate lower and more controlled, while a weaker US dollar takes the gold price higher through increase in demand.
The amount of gold held by the central banks around the world also caters in determining the factors driving the gold prices. Every Central Financial system has gold vaults to protect itself from inflation and pacify losses if any. When central banks purchase gold, it affects the supply and demand of the countryâs economy resulting in changes that are inflationary in nature.
In 2019, 4400 tons of gold was demanded by the jewelry industry. Jewelry and industrial demands decide which way the gold prices go. India, China and the USA are the largest consumers of gold jewelry in terms of volume.
Jewelry accounts for highest demand for gold all around the world.
Most investors have turned to gold as an investment especially during times of economic recession, political instability or unrest due to global movements. Gold, compared to equity and real estate, is considered a much safer option in terms of returns.
Gold mining and extraction is an important factor in determining the prices of gold all over the world. China, Australia, USA and Russia are the major players that are actively involved in the mining process. Hazards faced by the miners makes it more challenging to acquire gold. These challenges add more cost to gold mining or production resulting in higher gold prices.
History of Gold rates in India
Gold has seen huge appreciation in its value and especially in India, this value is very significant since the country has a comprehensive political and economic history. The annual average price of gold (24carat gold per 10 grams) in 1964 was Rs 63.25. A few decades later in the 1990’s the price ranged from Rs 3,200 to Rs 4,400. In the early 2000’s, gold was trending at Rs 5,850. The next decade that is 2008 to 2016 saw gold prices range between Rs 12,800 to Rs 28,263. 2020 saw all time high in gold’s value at Rs 48,651.
How Pandemic has affected Gold prices?
The restrictions imposed by governments have caused temporary closures of mines. Lack of supply and transportation have an overall impact on the pricing. Among other world crises, Covid 19 has seen the largest surge in gold prices. After the first covid case in China, the annual demand rose by 38%. Following the Covid-19 crises, there is greater uncertainty in the global market and has propelled the gold prices.
The World Gold Council, with a purpose to stimulate and sustain the demand of gold, provides industry leadership and is the global authority on the gold market.
WGC is the market development organization for the gold industry and its purpose is to put gold as investment in the frontier. It strives to make gold mainstream against global, political and economic backdrops. The organization has launched a web tool called Qaurum, to help investors understand the drivers of goldâs performance. It specifically demonstrates how gold behaves in various macroeconomic regions.
Gold prices across India
Gold price in India today is Rs 47000 for 24 carat gold per 10 grams and Rs 46000 for 22 carat gold per 10 grams. This value varies across the countryâs major cities. Gold price (24 carat gold per 10 grams) in the country’s capital, Delhi, is Rs 56,020, in Bangalore and Hyderabad its Rs 48,290, and in Mumbai and Pune its Rs 47000. At the moment, Kerala has the lowest gold rate in India which is Rs 46,950.
Conclusion
Gold is a precious metal. It has emotional, cultural and financial value and people across the globe buy gold for different reasons. These reasons have been drawn from various socio-cultural factors, local and global market conditions and macroeconomic factors.
For centuries it has been a safe haven for developed and developing economies as a hedge against inflation. Economic and global crises have widely determined the prices of gold and will continue to do so. Financial experts believe that gold will remain investorsâ favorite and for the likes of the glittering metal, will surely appreciate in value.
FAQs
What is the present price of gold?
In India, the highest price of gold is Rs 47000 (24 carat gold per 10 grams) and lowest price is Rs 46,950. In the global market the price of gold is $1830 dollars.
Why gold prices are decreasing?
Gold prices depend on how the US dollar rallies in the global market. US dollar has gained in value and this has caused the decline in gold prices.
Is it a good time to buy gold now?
This is the right time to buy gold since prices have come down by Rs 7300 from its record high prices.
What will gold be worth in the next decade?
The World Bank predicts that gold prices will increase by 50% in the next 10 years.
What is the highest price of gold in history?
On August 7, 2020 gold hit its highest ever mark valued at $2,067.15. Later, during the Covid 19 pandemic it was valued at $2000 dollars.
One of the more popular methods of reputation marketing these days is guest posting. While guest posts are technically just regular posts on a different blog than yours, they can have a lot of benefits. Be it getting your brand mentioned on a different platform, or having quality backlinks to your website, Guest Posts make a lot of SEO contributions for your blogs or website. Most guest authors write such posts to embed backlinks, however, it also helps in connecting with your peers in the industry. This article will give you a better idea on how Guest Posts differ from PR significantly and how does guest posting help your business along with get an understanding on what are D0-follw links.
Know Why Guest Posting can help your business better than PR (Public Relations)
While guest posts are not much different from regular posts, there are certain guidelines and principles one must follow while writing a guest post, and here is a brief summary of the same.
While guest posts are written with a special attention to backlinks, the outbound links should be equally accentuated, and specially the anchor text.
When writing a guest post, give the viewers the best value for their time, and offer valuable insights and cover the topic extensively without looking vague.
Avoid guest articles or blogs on sites with a lot of guest content, since the backlinks don’t contribute much to the SEO to your own website or blog.
Write the blog or the article in a way that the readers would want to share them, hence increasing your viewership, as well as that of the guest platform.
Last and the most important one, proper research must be done while guest posting, as it is one of the ways you can establish your brand as one of the leading one’s in the industry.
Technically, all the links that you share in a blog and attach anchor text to are Do-follow links, unless modified to be no-follow links. All do-follow links act as votes of confidence telling the search engine of the quality of the article or blog.
No-follow links have a piece of code that restricts this action, and they do not count as votes for better SEO rankings. When it comes to code, the only attribute that differentiates do-follow and no-follow links is the ‘rel’ attribute, which does not exist with regular/do-follow links while it refers to a keyword ‘nofollow’ for the no-follow links.
Apart from your content reaching a wider audience, Guest Posting has a lot more to offer. Some of the important benefits of Guest Posting and Blogging are discussed below.
Guest Posting is a step beyond your personal network, and makes connecting with influencers relatively easy.
By writing for others’ blogs, you establish your own credibility, and viewers will recognize your brand and be more receptive.
Guest blogs and articles may contain one or more backlinks directing to your website, making a valuable contribution to the SEO of your own website.
Picking a relevant website for guest posting will help you connect with more people interested in your niche, and generate more leads.
You also receive insightful and valuable feedback from your peers and competitors in your community to enhance your strategy.
With guest posting, you also sharpen your marketing skills including content research, writing voice, and influencer outreach.
What is Public Relations and how does it help your business?
Public Relations (PR) is a professional assistance to a company, brand or an individual to help create a positive image and reputation of the concerned brand in the general public. This is achieved through paid or even unpaid communications, social media handles, and sometimes even personal engagement and campaigns. Public Relations is an important aspect in portraying a business or a brand in good light, and to expand its reach and audience.
Assuming that Guest Posting is just an extension of PR, owing to their strategic similarities is a common misconception. Contrastingly, Guest posting is very different, and a lot more convenient than PR, with a lot more benefits. Here are few reasons why Guest Posting should be your go to route for reputation marketing, and not the usual PR.
Guest Posting Vs Public Relations
Interacting with industry professionals, prospective customers, and an audience interested in your niche is what guest posting is all about, and that is what you need for brand recognition. PR isn’t of much help for getting the word out.
PR is more inclined to journalists, and places most of the control in the hands of journalism in contrast to guest posting, where you own the quill, and have the ability to methodically post interactive content.
With PR, there is no gist of competition and the campaign is mostly product/company centric. While it isn’t wrong, the objective of building a trusted brand that stands tall among its peers is not something PR is good at.
PR backlinks redirect viewers directly to the homepage of the concerned brand or company, exponentially depreciating its value. This deceases click through rates while increasing bounce rates. A better approach would be to add context to the content that you create, which is something you would often find in guest posts.
PR doesn’t display the part where your product excels, rather it tells a story. As much as the reader is interested in a good story, this doesn’t add value or credibility to the product. On the other hand, Guest Posting does exactly that, and even gets you an audience that is interested to read about your product.
PR and Guest Posting, while sometimes thought of as extensions of the same thing, are surprisingly quite different. Moreover, even the press releases, an integral part of PR, rolls out stories way different than what the readers actually need. But as much as they are different, in a way, good PR and Guest Posting complement one another, and when used efficiently, they can be quite an effective duo. However, the bottom line is, regular PR does not add the technical value to your product as much as a good guest post would, and neither it can encompass all the benefits that guest posting has to offer. And hence, decisively speaking, PR is not as effective and influential as a robust guest post, and does not possess the capabilities that a good guest post with do-follow links does.
Invented by software engineers Billy Markus & Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin is a cryptocurrency. It features the face of Shiba Innu dog from the “Doge” meme as its logo & name.
Discover all about the Story of Dogecoin in the article ahead…
Dogecoin is a form of crypto currency. It is a fun, new and rapidly growing form of digital/Crypto currency. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum are a few examples of Crypto currency. It is completely anonymous, decentralized and extremely secure.
Formation and History of Dogecoin
Invented by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin was intended to be a joke. Dogecoin features the face of Shiba Inu dog of the âdogeâ meme fame as its logo and namesake. It was introduced on December 6, 2013.
Dogecoin
Originally created as a joke, the inventors of Dogecoins wanted it to be a peer-to-peer digital currency which could amass a broader demographic than Bitcoin. On December 9, just 3 days later, the Dogecoin value jumped to 300% in value, rising from $0.00026 dollars to $0.00095.
Dogecoins – Headwinds
The growth occurred when the Bitcoin and other Crypto currencies swerved from Chinaâs decision of forbidding the Chinese banks investing into the Bitcoin market. This was their first major setback as Dogecoin value dropped drastically by 80%.
25th December called upon dooms as Dogecoins suffered a major theft. Millions of coins were stolen by hacking the crypto currency wallet platform, Dogewallet. This incident spurred a series of tweets and made Dogecoin the most talked about altcoin on Twitter at the time. The Dogecoin community started an initiative called âSave Dogemasâ to raise coins for people who lost them because of the theft. A month later enough money was donated to recover the losses. In 2015, one of the co-founders, Jackson Palmer walked out of the Crypto community.
Dogecoins – Breakthrough
In January 2015, the Doge community established a fundraiser to raise $50000 dollars for the Jamaican Bobsled team which had qualified for the Sochi Winter Olympics but could not afford to participate. Following this incident the Dogecoin and Bitcoin exchange rate rose by 50%.
Following the success of this fundraiser, the Dodge community continued raising funds for smaller charity events. They then set out to build a well in the river basin of Kenya. The Doge foundation led by Eric Nakagawa raised approximately $11,000 dollars. The donations were made by 4000 donors who donated 14,000,000 Dogecoins altogether.
On march 25,2014, the Dogecoin community raised 67.8 millionDogecoins to sponsor NASCAR driver Josh Wise. The car was named â98 Moonrocketâ and debuted at the Aarons 499 Series Cup Race.
Dogecoin and Reddit
Dogecoin boasts about a community of 1.1 million on the online social networking platform Reddit. Reddit has been quite a catalyst in the soaring popularity of Dogecoin. The GameStop stock squeeze catered to the increasing number in the Dogecoin community.
Discussion threads on Reddit noticed that certain hedge funds were shorting the stocks of GameStop. Shorting or Short-selling is when an investor borrows shares and immediately sells them, and then repurchases them at a lower price. The investor then pays the borrowed money and pockets the difference. The catch here is if the stock price goes up, the investor has to repurchase the stock at whatever the new market price is. Ratifying this fact, the members of this Reddit group began pumping the stocks of GameStop. The hedge funds lost billions and GameStop stock prices dropped drastically.
The losses were so great that these investors halted buying of these shares by reaching out to various trading platforms. Knowing that this was possible, the investors turned to Dogecoins. The shares were stopped from buying and Dogecoin value raised to an all time high of $0.08.
How is Dogecoin generated?
The creating process of crypto currency is called Mining. Crypto mining involves solving cryptographic equations. Crypto mining is achieved after validating data blocks and adding transaction records to a public ledger known as blockchain.
Dogecoin is based on a  similar algorithm as Bitcoin except it uses scrypt technology that means it cannot use SHA-256 mining equipment that Bitcoin uses, but uses FPGA and ASIC devices for mining instead.
Dogecoin vs Bitcoin
Dogecoin vs Bitcoin
In the battle of coins, Dogecoin seems to take the upper hand as it is termed inflationary and has no maximum limit. In the mining process of Bitcoin, miners solve the block every ten minutes to confirm transactions whereas in the case of Dogecoins, they solve this block in only one minute. That means there will be an abundant supply of Dogecoins in the future and we will never run out of them. Bitcoin on the other hand is deflationary as it has a maximum supply limit of 21 million.
Why is Dogecoin trending?
The Twitterati went crazy after the worldâs richest man Elon Musk tweeted about Dogecoin. His tweet read âOne word : Dogeâ and this led to a spike in the value of Dogecoin.
Elon Musk recently even bought Dogecoins for his son. International artist Snoop Dogg and singer Gene Simmons also posted tweets backing the use of Dogecoins. It has been talked about again as the Reddit thread âShitoshiStreetBetsâ is aiming to raise the value of crypto currencies.
Dogecoins can be used for shopping, trading physical and tangible items in exchange for Doge on online social media platforms like Reddit and Twitter. Doge has also been used to sell a house, in pornography and poker industries.
Dogecoins are available for trading on various trading platforms. Binance, VCC Exchange, Bkex, PARIBU and Kraken are said to be amongst the safest platforms to trade Dogecoins.
How to buy Dogecoin?
Dogecoins, like any other crypto currency can be bought through online trading platforms or the Dogewallet. In India, you can buy Dogecoins through BuyUcoin, Bitbns and Zebpay.
Future of Dogecoins
Investors have predicted that Dogecoins will progress at a gradual pace unless tweets from the elite business tycoons take them uphill. It was created as a joke and for fun and the millennials connect to it because they believe it represents a light-hearted tribute to the internet meme culture.
However, it has survived the so-called crypto winter since its inception seven years ago and has been buoyant in its growth. Although its creators might have given up the crypto community, Dogecoins are here to stay.
Dogecoin – FAQs
How to invest in Dogecoin?
Dogecoins, like any other crypto currency can be bought through online trading platforms or the Dogewallet. In India, you can buy Dogecoins through BuyUcoin, Bitbns and Zebpay.
What is Dogecoin?
Dogecoin is a form of cryptocurrency. It is a fun, new and rapidly growing form of digital/Cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum are a few examples of Crypto currency. It is completely anonymous, decentralized and extremely secure.
How is Dogecoin different from Bitcoin?
In the mining process of Bitcoin, miners solve the block every ten minutes to confirm transactions whereas in the case of Dogecoins, they solve this block in only one minute. That means there will be an abundant supply of Dogecoins in the future and we will never run out of them. Bitcoin on the other hand is deflationary as it has a maximum supply limit of 21 million.
How much is Dogecoin supply?
Circulating supply: 127 billion (113 billion coins have already been mined)
Who invented Dogecoin?
Dogecoin is Invented by software engineers Billy Markus & Jackson Palmer.
One of the most well-known rivalry in the technological industry is between Apple Inc and Microsoft Corporation. They are two of the largest companies in the world as both Apple and Microsoft have touched market capitalization value of $1.5 trillion in 2020. Both the companies have revolutionized the technological industry by providing us with two very different software applications and gadgets such as Mac and PC.
They are two of the most established companies when it comes to the production of computers. Both Apple and Microsoft are competitors even in different sectors of the industry like hardware devices like smartphone and PCs, advertising, making software’s, operating systems, etc. Apple main aim is to produce gadgets like iPhone, Mac, Apple watch , etc, while Microsoft focuses on making software  applications for different devices and giving license for their software services.
Which is why both the companies have different approaches to marketing strategies. Letâs put a light on some of the key points from the marketing strategies of both companies and check how you can implement them in your business.
Apple Inc is one of the most well known American corporation which is popular for creating unique designs and selling electronics, computer software and online services. The headquarters of people Inc is situated  in Cupertino, California. The company is credited for designing products such as Macintosh range of computers, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Mac, Apple watch, etc. The company is also know to make software such as iLife, the safari web browser, iOS and iTunes among others. Apple now operates in over 350 stores around the world and offers both software and hardware.
The success story of Apple
The success of Apple Inc. is solely because of the contributions made by the cofounder and entrepreneur, Steve Jobs who created good looking, easy to use products and the ability to create innovative products that consumerâs desire. The company was created during the unstable economic situation of the 1970âs. The company introduced Macintosh in 1984 after which it also got its widespread recognition because of its marketing and advertisements for its products. In 90âs after jobs resignation, apple lost a huge market share to its lower priced competitors Microsoft and Intel.
In 2000, when jobs returned and became the CEO, Apple gained it prominence after the launch of iMac and the Think different campaigns. In August 2011, Jobs resigned as CEO due to health issues, which led to Tim Cook becoming the new CEO. And the rest is history. Appleâs annual revenue for 2020 was $274.5 billion, making Apple Inc the worldâs most valuable company. As of January 2021, Apple has achieved the title of becoming the world’s largest PC vendor and also becoming the world’s fourth largest manufacturers of smartphones. Apple is now also the worldâs largest music retailer with iTunes.
Microsoft Corporation is an US based multinational technology company which is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. The company is known for manufacturing, licensing and selling softwareâs, consumer electronics, PCs, etc. Some of its well-recognized and popular contributions to the tech industry is Microsoft office suite, internet explorer, Xbox video game consoles and a variety of PCs. Microsoft is also one of the top five tech companies in the US that includes Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. In 2020 Microsoft became the 21st company in the Fortune 500 list.
The success story of Microsoft
The company was founded by Bill Gates in 1975 . The company was made from contributions of the ideas of two individuals Bill Gates and Paul Allen, as they were interested in computers and programming. The company rose to prominence in 80s with developments like Altair 8800, MS-DOS and the most popular Microsoft windows. Bill gates was then replaced by Steve Ballmer as the CEO in 2000. In the 90s the company made major acquisitions of Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011 and LinkedIn for $26.2 Billion in 2016.
Microsoft provides a vast range of products and service that are aimed at satisfying the customers on what they want in the software industry. In addition to this, the company has extended its operations in other sectors in order to enhance its competitive advantage. The company now offers a wide range of products, softwareâs and servers for its userâs desktops, laptops, tabs, gadgets and servers including internet search with Bing, cloud computing with Azure, mixed reality with Hololens and software development with visual studio.
The Target Audience of Apple and Microsoft
Apple Inc. has both software and hardware products and services, for software it has iCloud, iLife, iMessage, iMovie, iTunes, etc and for hardware it has iPhone, Macbook, iMac, Apple watch, iPad, etc. Which is why the apple has a vast array of target audience as it keeps expanding its market with every new product. Apple already has 1.5 billion users who fall under the age bracket of 22 to 55 years old. The male to female user ratio is 60.8% to 39.2% showing that it is expanding in the male market.
Apple also targets people with medium to high income individuals who live in metropolitan cities and are loyal to the brand. The occupation group of Apple users are considered to be students and young professionals to even managers and executives. Microsoft also has both software and hardware products and services. Everyone from the middle class house at least owns one Microsoft hardware or software that is because the target audience of Microsoft are people who donât necessarily have a high income.
Microsoft’s target audience age group range from 16 and older and from both urban and rural areas around the world. They also target young crowds that are usually students, employees and professionals and are loyal to the brand. Microsoft also uses the approach of STP which is Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning in order to bring about communications in marketing as it enables the company to make propositions their priority.
Appleâs marketing mix shows us how the company matches with its business activities to the conditions in the worldwide market for information technology, consumerâs electronics and online services. While Microsoftâs is known to be marketing mix that shows how rapid invention and innovation can be combined with effective approaches to maintain a strong share of the market. Here are the 4Ps (Products, Place, Promotion, Price) of both the companies.
The marketing mix of Apple
Product mix
Apples products mostly comprise of mostly of both hardware and software which involve information technology. Apple although has more hardware products and some of the well-known products are Mac products line, iPhone line, iPad line, iPod line Apple watches, Apple TV, while it software products are software of devices, accessories, cloud services, digital content, etc.
Microsoft on the other hand started out as a software developer and still continues to give it its first preferences. However this company has grown to include an  variety of products and services. Some of its products are providing different software to various devices, Apps, Xbox Video game consoles and entertainment.
Placement mix analyses the selection of appropriate places or venues that are used by the company to distribute its products. Apple Inc. placement involves apple owned locations and other parties that the company authorizes to distribute its products. Most of Apples distribution happens from Apple store locations, Company owned website and online stores for desktop and authorized sellers and lastly the telecommunication companies.
Microsoft tries to maximize its reach in the sectors of both computer hardware and software market. The company does its distribution on their official website, authorized sellers and Microsoft stores.
The marketing mix of Microsoft
Price mix
Apple uses two pricing strategy which are Freemium pricing strategy and premium pricing strategy. Â Apple uses premium pricing strategy to set high prices for its products which is why apple products are more expensive then android products, with this it maximizes profit margins.
In the freemium pricing case apple products are free but customers have to pay to access better features, for example the company offers free 5 GB iCloud storage but if the user wants more they can by purchasing. However Microsoft applies suitable pricing approaches like Market-oriented pricing strategy, Freemium pricing strategy similar to appleâs and Buy only what you use price strategy.
Promotional mix
Apple promotes its products in various ways to include different channels and parties. Apple also uses word of mouth, marketing campaigns and beautifully planned ad video that reaches out to their target audience. Microsoft aims on creating effective communication strategies and tactics which can be used to attract target audience. Both Apple and Microsoft uses tactics such as advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, personal selling and public relations to promote their products.
Apple is known to be the best companies when it comes to branding and tech marketing. They donât just market their products they try to market a brand identity. One of its main market strategies is to keep the products and marketing simple because they donât want to overwhelm their prospective customers with too many choices. Apple lets its products speak for themselves with their simplistic design and easy to understand descriptions and simple visuals.
One of Apple’s best marketing strategies is hyping its products and making a creative campaign. The other reasons are that they understand their target audience and try to reach out to them in the language they will understand which is done by simplifying the marketing process. One of the points of Apple’s tech marketing is that they know how to speak directly to their consumer. They also create brilliant video ads and billboards that showcases human needs and speaks to the customerâs human needs.
Microsoft on the other hand depends completely on showcasing its product effectiveness and usability. Microsoft spends a lot as it depends on B2B marketing that directly sells its products to the customers. Microsoft has also updated its marketing strategy which is now based upon customer feedback and market changes. In this day and age, Microsoft has somehow managed to develop not only its marketing but also its products in order to match the rapid rate of change in todayâs market.
Microsoftâs marketing strategy is to drive its enterprises business by creating cloud based solutions that will stick with its consumers. Microsoft uses a mix of demographic and behavior segmentation strategies to segments the market into different group with similar characteristics. Segmenting based on demographics is important for products like Operating systems and Office products which are applicable to everyone.
Apple has several competitive advantages over its competitors one of which is that it produces superior technological products with good OS and technology like iPhone, Macbook and iWatch making it a leader in the market space. Apple has also repeatedly taken the top spot for its brand equity and also has loyal customers. Apple has increased its revenue over the past years and also has high margins.
One of the major competitive advantages of Apple is the amount it spends on R&D, always thinking about the future of the company. Microsoft offers both software and hardware products and services, from Microsoft tablet to Xbox console games to even software. So one of the main competitive advantage that Microsoft has over its competitors is the strategy of making acquisitions. Microsoft has so far acquired companies like Hotmail, Skype and even Nokia.
Microsoft is a main competitor to apple because its operating system is installable on any PC or laptop and there is no hardware binding on the operating system which is a problem noticeable in Apple gadgets. It also has a vast product line and has worked upon TCO which is total cost of ownership so as to make the software easily and economically available to the customers.
Frequently Asked Questions â FAQs
What are some of the Appleâs products?
Apple products mostly comprise of mostly of both hardware and software  which are Mac products line, iPhone line, iPad line, iPod line Apple watches, Apple TV, while it software products are software of devices, accessories, cloud services, digital content, etc.
What are some of Microsoft products?
Microsoft also has software and hardware products and usually provides different software to various devices, Apps, Xbox Video game consoles and entertainment.
What is Apple’s marketing strategy?
Apple marking strategy involves keeping its products and ads simple, knowing their target audience and reaching out to them, getting good feedback, a well appreciated customer experience.
What is Microsoft’s marketing strategy?
Microsoft marketing strategy focuses on showcasing its product effectiveness and usability and implementing customer feedback to create user-friendly products at a reasonable price.
In the past few years, many online mutual fund investment portals like Niyo Money (Goalwise) and Scripbox have come about which have simplified the process of investing for individuals. This has been mainly beneficial for investors and now gone are the days where people donât have to go bank branches in order to be able to invest in Online Mutual Funds.
However, before you begin investing, you need to do research on which online mutual fund you want to invest in and think about the purpose of the investment and when you need the money back. Based on that, you need to know how much to invest in equity, how much in debt, and how all of this ties in with your financial goals in life. This article will help you choose a mutual fund platformaccording to your needs.
One of the key advantages of investing in a mutual fund is that each investor (even with a small investment) gets access to professional money management and expertise. Also, it would be very difficult for an investor to create a diversified portfolio of investments on his own with a small amount of money. With mutual funds, each investor participates proportionally in the return the scheme generates.
Each unit gets a proportional share of gain (or bears loss) from the fund. There is a portfolio report generated for each investor, which tracks all investments and the returns generated by the mutual fund. Investors can draw their money any time they want, also they can invest small amount.
Goalwise is an online wealth management platform that allows users to buy and invest in direct mutual funds. Goalwise headquarters is in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Goalwise has been a Subsidiary of Finnew Solutions Private Limited since July 2020. Goalwise has received a total of $1Million in funding. Goalwise main competition is Kuvera, Groww, and ETmoney.
Niyo Solutions acquired Goalwise in July 2020. The company plans to launch international and domestic stocks, Robo-advisory, and auto-invest products in the next few months. Now they have started offering zero commission investment.
It is a new age mutual fund investing platform which provides goal-based investing for investors looking to invest in direct mutual funds. With Goalwise one can easily set up SIPs or invest a large amount in the mutual funds chosen by its algorithms. If someone is a first-time investor looking to get started quickly as well as experienced investors looking for planning and automation.
The Goalwise app has features like automation in fund selection and switching, automation in asset allocation based on the goal time horizon. The app is also highly customization to suit the needs of every individual investor.
Company Name
Goalwise
Headquaters
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Founded On
2015
CEO
Swapnil Bhaskar
Annual Revenue
$1.2M
Sector
Consumer Finance & Credit Cards
Brief on Scripbox
Scripbox is an online platform that allows users to invest in mutual funds. Scripbox is headquarters in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The founder and CEO of Scripbox is Atul Shinghal, while the investors including Trusted Insight, Omidyar Network, and Accel Partners. Scripboxâs main competitors are FundsIndia, Fisdom, and Groww.
As of August 2019, Scripbox has 413.9 thousand fans on Facebook and 2.4 thousand followers on Twitter. Scripbox is a user-friendly app-based investment platform that makes investment completely hassle-free. One can start a SIP or make a one-time investment with the help of Scripbox. It is a great app for beginners as it also automates most of the investment process through its scientific and unbiased fund recommendation. It is the only app which has algorithm that reduces Long Term Capital Gain Tax at the time of withdrawal. Scripbox also generates capital gain tax statement that will us male tax return or annual IT return. Also they do not charge for services.
Company Name
Scripbox
Headquaters
Bengaluru, Karnataka
Founded On
2012
CEO
Atul Shinghal
Annual Revenue
$1.5M
Sector
Consumer Finance & Credit Cards
Direct Mutual Fund Investment
The mutual fund investment you do with the help of a broker or financial advisor includes an extra 1% which is paid to the broker or financial advisor. So some mutual fund plans are called regular plans. You should read about the expense ratio to learn how your broker, commission agent and distributor agent, and distributor make money when you invest in mutual funds.
With Goalwise, you will be investing only in direct mutual fund plans and will be earning an extra 1% on your overall investment. Scripbox however has an algorithm that creates a basket of ten mutual funds. The firm claims to make mutual fund investment simple and jargon-free for investors with no financial background. It also allows the customer can keep a check on their portfolio from their mobile or computer.
Types of investments provided by both Goalwise and scripbox
One of the challenges of mutual fund investing is to find the right mutual funds to invest in a lot of them are dependent on friends, network, and information on the web to find the right mutual fund. However, the bigger challenge is to know when to get out of a particular fund. Goalwise has a wide fund selection criteria and also tries to solve this problem by using data to suggest mutual funds.
When it comes to Scripbox it has more than 8000 choices in the market with seasoned investors which will give a tough time in deciding which to invest in. The Scripbox algorithms choose to perform mutual funds basis on their historical performance.
Goal Based Investing
Goal-based investing is one of the smartest ways to grow wealth and achieve all your life goals. A lot of the first time users are not aware of goal-based investing and they then focus on growing their money that is what Goalwise is known for as it is goal-based investing. When you tie up your investment with a goal, you are more likely to be happier.
Scripbox on the other side provides growth with the principle of safety. In scripbox money is first invested in liquid funds. A fixed portion from this is then invested each month in index funds. The benefits of this are:
Security and stability similar to FDs
Better taxation than FDs thanks to indexation
Better returns than FDs
Full flexibility to stop or withdraw anytime
Glide Path Strategy
The glide path formula is a methodology by which asset allocation is achieved as your portfolio changes every time. Letâs understand this with a simple example from Goalwise and Scripbox :
In Goalwise: One of your goals is to have 40 lakh for child education in the next 6 years. Based on your risk profile the initial investment will be 60% equity and 40% in debt instruments. All your SIP will be done to get exposure in the 60:40 ratio in the equity debt market.
By the final year, your exposure on Equity: Debt ratio would be 0:100%. This is to ensure your investment is safe from market volatility and you receive your goal amount, despite the market going down. Goalwise automates this process and makes it easier for you to maintain asset allocation based on your goal time frame.
Whereas at Scripbox they have a practical action plan in place to create your childâs college education fund. In Scripbox it starts out with the right Financial Goal where they will help you estimate the amount you will need for your goals taking inflation into consideration. After that, they will create a customized financial plan for your childâs college education.
This plan will be based on the type of college, start date, your current savings, and the potential increase in your income. It will then make the right investments by deciding on the right mix of investments that are suited for the customerâs goals and their personal preferences.
Ease to us
The best part about Goalwise apart from being free is, it requires only a one-time setup. It is a complete set it and forget it kind of system. You can revisit anytime and make changes if required. However, the best thing to do is to set it up once and keep investing.
With Scripbox it is one click investment where one can choose between SIP (systematic investment plan) and OTI (one-time investment) and invest in the recommended top mutual funds in India with a single click. You can stay on track with your investments and also inform you in case you need to change your selection.
Transfer Plans
In Scripbox if you want to invest a large amount in equity, If you want to invest a large amount in Equity, but also want to reduce the impact of volatility, this plan is ideal for you. Instead of keeping your large amount in your bank account, park it in liquid funds which grow 2-3% faster.
And most importantly it is flexible. You can stop, and restart, your STP at any time. In Scripbox the amount is fully invested into Liquid funds. Then, every month, a certain amount is moved from these Liquid funds into Equity funds.
The transfer plan in Goalwise allows you to switch from regular fund to direct fund. With Goalwise, you could track all your external investments and see which all regular funds you have invested in. Â You can also move all mutual funds investment to Goalwise.
So you decided to start using Goalwise and also move all your funds from other brokers/distributors to the Goalwise platform, you could do that with just a few clicks. If you ever feel you are stuck with your existing mutual fund advisor, a feature like this makes it easier for anyone to take control of their funds.
FAQ
Are the mutual funds picked by Goalwise and Scripbox always the most profitable ones?
Every fund selection process goes through underperformance. As these services use AI, the pick would be the most accurate one. But the stock market is highly volatile, nothing is predictable. There will be ups and downs in the short term.
What is mutual fund SIP?
A SIP or a Systematic Investment Plan allows an investor to invest a fixed amount regularly in a mutual fund scheme, typically an equity mutual fund scheme.
Which one is better Scripbox or Goalwise?
Goalwise provides you a goal-based investing and it takes no commission. There are no hidden charges and no account opening and managing charges as well. This means it is completely free. Other services like Scripbox use hidden charges to get money. So, Neo Money(Goalwise) is better.
How does wealth tech company make money?
They apply hidden charges, account opening, and managing charges. Also the premium plans.
The car sales in India in 2021 for the month of April and partial resumption of operations in May, the coronavirus pandemic coupled with the 18-month lockdown was a major pulldown for the Car Industry’s income for this monetary year. However, with the launch of Covid 19 vaccine the businesses have gradually increase pace as car manufacturers has notices a moderate growth of car sales in India, January 2021.
Moving forward, the restoration majorly is based upon the unfolding of the contagion. But OEMs are pinning their hopes on pent-up patron names for the easing of lockdown regulations and the imminent festive season. The dealers, have in a huge part dusted off its palms over the BS-IV inventory, besides a minimum quantity left stocked on the dealerships in containment zones of city cities.
Indiaâs biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) income fell throughout the segments. While mini automobiles mentioned a 40 % decline, income for compact automobiles. Homegrown automaker Tata Motors announced in April that it has resolved to record quarterly income data, each in wholesale and retail, as a substitute rather than following the enterprise exercise of sharing it on a month-to-month basis. The automaker as a consequence mentioned a 61% dip in home income at 14,571 devices in Q1FY21.
Passenger Vehicle Market Share- India
Shailesh Chandra, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit (PVBU), Tata Motors, supported a steeper healing of retail in car sales in June 2021.However, retail became extra potent than wholesales through 27%.The corporation additionally offered 328 EVs later in the area. For Hyundai, launches of Creta, Verna, Aura contributed to the growth inmodel wise car sales in India 2021. Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Hyundai continue to be the top three highest selling vehicle manufacturers in the country in January 2021 and car sales statistics of 2021.
Two-wheelers sales in India 2021
Worldâs biggest wheeler maker The Hero Moto Corp is now the top two wheeler manufacturer in India in January 2021. The company sold 4,67,776 units, while Honda comes at the second place  as it sales increase to 4,16,716 units with a 11.39% volume increase. TVS motor company is in the third places 2,05,216 units were sold with an increase of 25.89%. While Bajaj Auto has also announced that it has now sold 3,84,936 two wheelers in the month of January 2021. This is a direct growth of 16% in terms of overall two wheelers sales.
Indiaâs biggest business automobile producer Tata Motorsâ general CV income (domestic + exports) crashed 90% to 10,476 devices in Q1FY21 as in competition to 1,00,357 devices throughout the equal duration in FY20. As the United States moved to the unfastened up phase, all flowers started out out operations from the stop of car sales in May 2020 and ramped up manufacturing regularly as elements availability improved. Retails modified into 67% within the returned of wholesales due to the fact of negligible beginning stock on the sellers and muted name for.
Indian Automobile Market FY2020
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki is the India’s country’s car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki witnesses sales of 1,39,0002 units in January 2021 as compared to 1,39,844 unit sales in the same period last year with an 0.6% increase in sales. The top 2 key contributors for Maruti Suzuki in January 2020 were the Alto (18,260 units), Swift (17.180 units) and the Wagon R (17.165 units).
On the UV front, the Vitara Brezza bought 1,10,641 gadgets, down 30 % over FY2019. Maruti concluded its transition to BS6 shunning diesels, with the diesel-handiest Brezza receiving Suzukiâs 1.5-liter petrol in early February. Combined with the S-Cross, Ertiga, and XL6, Marutiâs basic UV portfolio noticed an 11% drop in income to 2,35,298 gadgets, but the decline become cushioned through manner of approach of a superb reaction to the Ertiga (90,543 gadgets, up 39 %).
Hyundai
Indiaâs second biggest carmaker in 2021 recorded a 11% declinein model wise car sales in India 2020. Hyundaiâs typical the front runners similar to the i20 (1,08,091 devices, down 23 %), the Grand i10 â which include the emblem new Nios â (99,592 devices, down 21 %), and the Creta (82,074 devices, down 34 %) couldnât get away the slump. The company however, has witnessed a healthy 23.8% growth with 52,005 unit sales in January 2021, which compared to January 2020 was only 42,002 unit sales. The top 3 cars sold by January 2021 the Creta with 12,284, Venue (11,779 units) and the Grand i10 at (10,865 units).
In the Fiscal year 2020 became tough for homegrown carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra due to the fact that it observed a 26 % decline in income. Volumes of its maximum seller, the Bolero, dropped 30 %, during the same time the Scorpio observed a 18 % decline.
In January 2021, Mahindra continues to grow significantly  as it has registered 4.8% growth in January 2021 with 20,498 unit sales as compared to 19,555 units sold in January  2020. The top three most sold Mahindra cars are Bolero (7,567 units), XUV300 (4,612 units) and last but not the least the Scorpio (4,083 units) are the main key contributors to the overall sales.
The automaker has simply released the BS6 Bolero, and has the BS6 Scorpio in the making, each of that could prop up numbers as quickly as income resume. The release of the XUV500 and the rollout of its new medallion petrol engine very own circle of relatives in FY2021 ought to assist generate buzz and momentum throughout the emblem.
Tata Motors
The company has recently witnessed 26,980 unit sales as compared to 13,893 unit sales of 2020. The company has grown 94.2% growth in January 2021. The top three sellers of Tata motors are Nexon with 8,225 units, the Altroz 7,378 units while the Tiago with 6,909 unit. What is not surprising is that Nexon has registered its highest ever sales milestone in India last month.
Abhishek Gupta
