Before the industrial revolution, women were effectively excluded from well-paid high-status occupations. This was due to the lack of access that women had to higher education. A case in point was Cambridge university which only fully validated degrees for women in late 1947.
The change has long been coming and the largest growth has happened in the 20th century. The labour market shifted as more women sought higher education and entered the workforce.
Specialized higher professions saw women becoming doctors, lawyers and scientists and carving out long-term and successful careers for themselves. It has been a boon for the industrial society as governments realized that women in the workforce contributed to a higher GDP by increasing the labour supply in the country.
The 2001 World Bank report titled âEngendering Developmentâ clearly states the connection between womenâs involvement in the economy and the resultant growth â
âWhile disparities in basic rights; in schooling, credit, and jobs; or in the ability to participate in public life take their most direct toll on women and girls, the full costs of gender inequality ultimately harm everyoneâŚignoring gender disparities comes at a great costâto people’s well-being and to countries’ abilities to grow sustainably, to govern effectively, and thus reduce poverty.â
There are a wide number of economic, social and cultural variables that impact gender distribution in a different occupation, within a particular region or country or even in a society as a whole.
As a result of gender clustering, women and men often participate in economic sectors in sharply different proportions. Professions which are demanding physically or require physical strength are, traditionally, considered male-centric. Recently, this view seems to be shifting, albeit slowly.
The Delivery Service Industry
This is a part of the service industry and does exactly what it says. It delivers everything from mails, packages, food etc for commercial and consumer use by road, ship and air.
There are deliveries via specialized networks as well â e.g., pipelines for liquid goods and power grids for electrical power. It is a fundamental necessity of trade and commerce. Like every other industry, the delivery service industry has also seen changes over the years, and more so in the post-pandemic world.
Delivery Agents
Typically, it has been considered a male domain job, until recently. Challenges such as longer schedules, lack of adequate restrooms, unavailability to own vehicles, incomplete documentation and the risks associated with visiting strangers and communicating with them have hitherto kept women from taking up such jobs. The industry has a dismal 1% of its total delivery agents as females.
What is Changing?
Paradigms are shifting. Ideologies are changing. And ground realities are changing. Delivery companies are facing higher attrition. According to one estimate by a staffing solutions company, the delivery industry has a very high attrition rate of almost 8% per month.
There is a rush to hire women delivery agents at Indiaâs leading online delivery companies. There are several reasons for this demand.
There is a need to rapidly ramp up manpower.
Women have a better retention rate.
Women are seen as more efficient and disciplined.
Women are also highly focused.
There is a demand to improve diversity numbers.
The Companies That Are Empowering Women Delivery Riders
Ecom Express
Ecom Express Female Delivery Agents
Ecom Express has about 2000 women working at its delivery hubs and about 100 women are in active delivery roles. The company currently has women-delivery facilities in Delhi, Ludhiana and Jaipur and aims at starting ten new all-women centres in the country this year.
The Chief People Officer of Ecom Express, Saurabh Deep Singla says â âHiring women riders is one of our several efforts to strengthen the participation of women in the workforce. We hire women not just to improve diversity numbers but because their retention rate is higher. Women associates are sincere, diligent and highly focused and they are also very efficient.â
Shadowfax Technologies
Shadowfax Technologies Female Delivery Agents
Shadowfax Technologies is another delivery company that works with online marketplaces like Flipkart and BigBasket and employs around 6500 female delivery partners. This constitutes approximately 60% of its entire workforce.
Says Abhishek Bansal, the CEO of Shadowfax Technologies â âWe are witnessing a growing demand for women as delivery partners with a considerable increase month-on-month across tier-1 and tier-2 cities and intend to grow this multifold. The entire hyperlocal delivery segment is contributing significantly to the increase in demand.â
Swiggy
Swiggy Female Delivery Agents
Swiggy is another company that is taking an active interest in attracting female delivery agents to its last-mile fleet.
It is allowing delivery by bicycles for short distances. The food delivery startup is exploring partnering with electric mobility partners to facilitate electric cycles and bikes for rent.
Swiggy currently has 22% of its female delivery agents delivering on bicycles. Mihir Shah, Vice-President of Operations says â âSeveral women either lack access to personal motor vehicles or donât have a driverâs license.â
The Friendly Changes in the Delivery industry
Although delivery companies have realized the importance and value of including female delivery agents, there is a need to make some drastic changes in policy in-house, to make the eco-system more women-friendly. Some steps implemented by the companies to attract more women to join their workforce are,
Access to hygienic restrooms.
Allowing menstrual leave.
Various safety measures to safeguard its female delivery agents.
Providing safety training.
Designing and implementing SOS alert System.
Conclusion
Women are ready, able and willing to take on such roles. It is the industry at large that has to overcome its gender bias. It is the industry that has to create a working atmosphere that is women-friendly. It is the industry that stands to gain maximum but making these shifts and allowing women within its folds.
FAQs
Why are female delivery agents scarce?
Lack of adequate restrooms, unavailability to own vehicles, incomplete documentation and the risks associated with visiting strangers and communicating with them are some of the reasons why there are fewer women riders.
How are companies encouraging women riders to join their delivery fleet?
As many women lack their own vehicles, Swiggy is allowing delivery by bicycles for short-distance orders.
It is the combined use of computer hardware, software and educational theory to enhance, engage and individualised classroom learning. Edtech refers to the industry of companies that create educational technology.
Edtechâs growth can be attributed to the potential scalability for individualised learning. IoT devices are being acknowledged and appreciated for their ability to create digital classrooms, no matter where the student is.
Blockchain tools are assisting teachers in grading tests and holding students responsible for their work. Edtech tools are changing the very core of what constituted classrooms in the past.
The last two years have seen monumental growth in the Edtech industry fuelled by a need to continue education during the harsh lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. Edtech fulfils a variety of purposes in the education field.
Improved student outcomes.
Enhanced individualized education.
Reduces the teaching burden on instructors.
Better engagement with the students.
Accessible long-distance learning.
Gamification of learning inducing fun.
Accommodation of multiple learning styles.
Instant feedback to teachers.
Encourages collaboration.
Why Is Edtech Under Government Scanner?
The Department of Consumer Affairs has taken a very serious note of the complaints they have received over the aggressive misselling of courses by Edtech companies like Byjuâs, Vedantu, UpGrad, Unacademy, Great Learning, WhiteHat Jr and a few other edtech startups.
The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), in its annual complaint report, shows that the education sector has emerged as the largest violator of the advertising code between April 2021 and March 2022. The ASCI has stated that nearly 33% of the total complaints that it has received in this time period pertaining to the Edtech sector.
It also highlighted that these complaints were not a new development, considering several Edtech startups have lately been under the consumer radar for misleading advertisements. A case in point was the case between Pradeep Poonia and WhiteHat Jr. in 2020-2021.
Pradeep Ponia on LinkedIn
The limelight on the Edtech sector has also been highlighted by the UGC (University Grants Commission) issuing a diktat to higher education institutes to withdraw any degree or diploma programs that are offered in partnerships with Edtech companies.
On Friday, the government issued a warning to the Edtech companies, clearly stating that it will be forced to bring stringent guidelines to curb unfair trade practices and encourage better transparency.
What Steps Should an Edtech Company Take To Comply With the Government?
In absence of self-regulation by the Edtech companies, the government has warned of stringent regulations to address the below-mentioned agenda :
Curb misleading advertisements.
Upholding consumer interests across the system.
Deal with blatant disregard for existing guidelines and regulations.
Maintain robust checkpoints that align with consumer interest.
Address the high cost of education through Edtech companies and make it more affordable.
Challenges Faced by Edtech Companies
The Edtech industry witnessed a boom in 2020, thanks to the lockdowns bringing the face-to-face ways of teaching to a standstill. It has helped to modernize an industry that was deeply traditional and reserved.
The opportunities and potential for growth of Edtech are limitless. However, it also offers some big challenges.
Survival in a highly competitive market
This industry is tough and unforgiving due to the very fluid nature of technology. Constant upgrades and newer technological advances mean the industry has to not only keep up with it but also has to pitch a very unique value proposition to its subscribers.
A new entrant needs a new value proposition and an older player needs to adapt consistently to keep their value propositions relevant and unique over time.
Building partnerships with a traditional industry
This is probably the biggest challenge of them all. To earn the trust of an industry that is as traditional as it is old. Validation of claims of adding value needs strong documentation support.
Being Relevant in an ever-changing world of technology
This means staying on top of every new technological advance that occurs in this sector and also making it relevant to the existing business model. This is as time-consuming as it is costly. A necessary evil tool for survival.
An audience-grabbing market strategy
The first step is to make a product to fit the market. Then reach out to the target audience. Of course, the biggest consideration is the price of the product. And the last and most relevant is getting and keeping customers.
Managing fears about data collection and security
While the world has moved online, the fears of data collection and security are very real. These fears, sometimes, rule the decision-making process and have to be successfully addressed.
Communication Flow
The communication gap between the company and its target audience has to be properly addressed. The target audience and their differences have to be understood and the communication technology has to be designed accordingly.
User activation and usage
The only way to retain the customers year after year is to encourage user engagement, spark their interest and continually remind them of the product’s value. The app has to be easy to use and easily accessible. This requires constant software updates and regular customer communication.
Managing retention
This is possible through a high level of customer service, offering different levels to cover beginners, intermediate and higher levels of educational material, and offering a customized learning path to suit a customerâs need.
Conclusion
While the Edtech industry saw a great boom during the pandemic lockdowns, now the schools have reopened. There is also a dearth of funding options due to a slowing economy and the looming threat of an economic crisis. Â
All this is leading to massive layoffs within the sector and shutdowns of a few startups. Now, the edtech industry is facing government scrutiny and ire. Presently, it looks like the USD 3 billion market is in a spot of trouble.
However, with the vastness of the world and the opportunities that this sector of education has opened up, it is clear, that while it may undergo some changes, it is here to stay.
FAQs
Why are Edtech companies under the government scanner?
The government has concerns over the complaints regarding misleading advertisements by edtech firms in India.
What is the future of EdTech companies?
As per a report, the edtech industry will reach $4 billion by 2025.
Why do EdTech startups fail?
Edtech startups spend huge amounts of money on advertising and gaining customers but they fail to make money from their business models.
Forbes is a media and publishing firm based in the United States, formed in 1917. The company regularly covers business, technology, financial markets, financial planning, sports, and various other issues. It also publishes a magazine with the same name, eight times a year, and has a readership of 5.8 million as of spring 2020.
Forbes is most well-known for its lists, which include rankings of billionaires, top 30 under 30, universities, celebrities, and self-made women, to mention a few. Former Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes leads the organization.
CEO Mike Federle has revealed Forbes’ new business plan. According to Mike, it is built on an audience and business scale with 150 million individuals. With the focus on direct-to-consumer conversion, this investment [the SPAC] will allow the company to design bespoke products that address these distinct business cohorts.
In other words, they are focusing on trying to convert the regular subscribers into buying additional material like educational products, etc.
The company now wants to utilize its proprietary technology stack and analytics to convert readers into long-term, engaged platform users, including memberships and recurring subscriptions to premium content and highly targeted product offerings.
What is the Revenue of Forbes?
Forbes Logo
Forbes is excellent at estimating how much other people are worth, their global wealthy list of billionaires is currently updated in real-time and is a beautiful resource for those interested in such matters.
The total value of the combined company is projected to be $630 million. When Hong Kong-based investor group Integrated Whale Media Investments bought a controlling stake in Forbes in 2014, it was valued at $475 million.
In 2020, it generated $163 million in sales, with the expectation of about $193 million in 2021. However, the revenue for the year 2021 saw a rise of 40% to $259 million as compared to $185 million in 2020 and the net income stood at $38 million. This figure was beyond the expectations of the company.
Forbes Figures of 2021
The revenue for the fourth quarter of 2021, increased 51% year-over-year to $94 million, driven by contributions across Media and Consumer businesses. The net income was $18 million during this period compared to a net income of $10 million for the same period in 2020.
The revenue for the year 2021 saw a rise of 40% to $259 million as compared to $185 million in 2020 and the net income stood at $38 million.
The adjusted EBITDA saw an increase of 86% to $60 million in 2021 compared to the adjusted EBITDA of $33 million for the previous year.
Every month, Forbes reaches more than 150 million people across all platforms â online, on social, through Live and virtual events, and through video and print. Forbes aims to use the content it publishes to introduce consumer-focused paid products to increase consumer revenue.
How does Forbes Make Money?
Single Purchases
When the company started initially, its model was based on the fact that they were providing information that was verified and well researched. It was released eight times a year, so people were more intrigued.
Subscription Model
The subscription model is the most important way of revenue for the company. The company tried to make fixed customers when selling physical copies. Although when they shifted to the online platform, they followed a similar pattern. This way, they kept providing customers with daily information.
Advertising Revenue
Forbes Advertising Examples
It is an example of a traditional revenue model. Companies buy advertising space on your site or magazine, also known as the advertising business model. Organizations express their intended content in text or visual format in the purchased advertising space. Companies pay you to promote their ads using standard advertising space for a price in the magazine, pay-per-click (PPC), pay-per-view (PPV), and other agreed-upon strategies online.
Live Events
Live events have become a significant source of revenue. Forbes hosted more than 60 events worldwide in 2018, including marquee events like the Under 30 Summit, which debuted in Europe this year with an event in Amsterdam. The CMO Summit, which also extended into Europe, and the Women’s Summit are two other important events. Forbes will also host an Under 30 Global Women’s Summit in 2019.
Promotion through Earned Media
Individuals and firms recognized on a Forbes Ranking, Cover Story, or other feature can repurpose the content for use on their owned and sponsored media platforms to highlight their excellent publicity and industry leadership. Billboards, print ads, banner ads, social media displays, television ads, and so on are examples of these.
Licenses
Forbes also has 40 licensing agreements worldwide, including China, India, and Russia. The Forbes School of Business, an MBA program in collaboration with online Ashford University, and a Learn at Forbes online skills-training platform are other licenses. Because it is an annual annuity, the licensing company is almost profit-driven. Budget year after year, it was understood that the license agreement requires a minimum payment. In certain circumstances, it’s a one-time payment combined with a revenue share or an equity investment.
Is Forbes a Profitable Business?
Forbes is not required to declare profits because it is a private enterprise. However, Federle said in a December 2018 interview with Digiday that it had its most lucrative year since its inception. He wouldn’t give a particular sales amount but said overall revenues were up more than 18% year over year, with profits up to 42%.
After the difficulties in trading during the pandemic in 2020, the company’s growth shifted towards profitability in 2021. The company claims a net income of $19.5 million for year-to-date 2021, compared to a net loss of $2.8 million for the same period in 2020.
Conclusion
In brief, Forbes is a company that has built a reputable brand in itself. Forbes has traditionally made money from subscriptions, single purchases, and advertising revenue. However, profiting from this paradigm is becoming increasingly complex and the entire media sector is affected.
Forbes’ current income strategy entails increasing live events and utilizing its brand and readership to create scalable products. The revenue potential is being addressed in areas such as education and eCommerce.
FAQs
What is Forbes’s Business Model?
Forbes is focusing on trying to convert the regular subscribers into buying additional material like educational products, etc. The company now wants to utilize its proprietary technology stack and analytics to convert readers into long-term.
How does Forbes make money?
Forbes makes money through the Subscription model, Single purchases, Advertising revenue, Live events, Promotion through earned media, Licenses, etc.
How much does the Forbes website make?
Forbes website estimated revenue is more than $48 Million. And it has a daily income of more than $44,000.
Who is the CEO of Forbes?
Steve Forbes, Mike Federle, and Michael Perlis are the CEOs of Forbes.
Deloitte is a large professional services network. It was considered the 3rd largest privately owned company in the United States in 2020 by Forbes. In FY2021, the company generated a revenue of US $50.2 billion. Over the years, Deloitte has widened its reach globally and boosted its revenue continuously.
But, what exactly is the business and revenue model of Deloitte that has made it the biggest financial firm in the world? Read this article till the end to find answers to this question.
If you are living under a rock, let me tell you Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited which is popularly called Deloitte is one of the âBig Fourâ accounting firms which is headquartered in London. The ‘Big Four’ is a nickname that is given to the four largest accounting firms in the United States. Deloitte offers audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, AI and analytics, cloud, tax, and legal services.
Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), and Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) are the other three accounting firms. Deloitte operates in more than 150 countries. In 2021, Deloitte had a total of 3,45,374 working employees.
William Welch Deloitte, a British accountant, founded this company in London in 1845. The company further made its footprints in the United States in 1890. In 1972, the company merged with Haskins & Sells and formed Deloitte Haskins & Sells. Later, in 1989 the firm merged with Touche Ross in the US to form Deloitte & Touch. In 1993, the firm was renamed Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu which is now popularly known as Deloitte.
Deloitte provides its financial and legal services to Fortune 500 companies. But, the firm also provides its services to small and medium-sized companies and even startups. The firm’s major client base is in the American division.
Apart from the traditional accounting and audit services, the firm also focuses on internal auditing, IT control assurance, and Media and Advertising Assurance. In FY2021, audit and assurance services resulted in a 6.1% increase in their revenue.
Deloitte auditing services are more than just numbers. The company evaluates the relationships with your technology priorities, capital investments, inventory on hand, workforce, and growth strategies. This helps Deloitte in bringing valuable insights that connect with your brand vision.
The firm explains where your company stands and how you can grow in the future. Working with Deloitte means that your company will get access to an experienced and highly skilled group of people that will provide you with deep insights. The firm uses cutting-edge modern auditing technology to deliver the most accurate results.
Consulting
The firm offers consulting in the following areas:
Strategy
Analytics and M&A
Customer and Marketing
Core Business Operations
Human Capital
Enterprise Technology and Performance
The consulting team of Deloitte not only answers all your complex questions but gives you actionable strategies that boost your revenue and disrupts the market. According to Deloitte, the most important aspect of any business is people. So, the team will give you strategies that elevate your customerâs experience. It will make sure that your core operations are working smoothly. Their strategies will make technology your friend.
Financial Advisory
Risk & Financial Advisory
Deloitte offers corporate finance services which include:
Commercial and personal bankruptcy
Advisory
Mergers & acquisitions
Forensics
e-discovery
Document review
Capital projects consulting
Valuation
The highly skilled professionals will tell you the potential risks and opportunities for your business. The firm uses cutting-edge technology like cognitive intelligence, analytics, and robotic process automation to solve complex problems.
Risk Advisory
Risk advisory at Deloitte help you in evaluating the following risks:
Strategic and reputation risk
Regulatory risk
Project risk
Cyber risk
Enterprise risk management
Information security and privacy
Data quality and integrity
Business continuity management and sustainability
The firm will help you in understanding the risk so that your company reaches its full potential.
Tax and Legal Services
Tax and Legal Services in Deloitte include increasing the net asset value of the company, handling international tax activities, reducing the tax liabilities, undertaking the transfer pricing, and implementing tax computer systems.
Specialists help private companies understand and plan effective business and tax strategies that help the company respond to the evolving market conditions.
Artificial Intelligence and Analytics
Deloitte’s artificial intelligence and analytics services reveal all the hidden relationships from all the data. Using the helpful insights the team will help you in implementing the right strategy at the right time using the advanced technology. The team will help you improve your outcomes in key areas of your business which will ultimately boost your revenue.
Deloitte takes your data to the next level using the latest cloud-enabled platforms and big data architectures. The robotic and intelligent automation team will implement automated processes to make accurate decisions and judgments and find new ways to expand your business. AI insights and engagement tools will generate highly actionable predictions and insights using the data.
What Makes Deloitte Stand Out in the Market?
The four things which make Deloitte stand out in the market are their constant drive for innovation, highly skilled professionals, number of employees, and emphasis on making the customer experience more powerful.
All their services revolve around finding creative solutions for their clients. To push the boundaries of innovation the firm has set up five innovation centers:
Deloitte U.S. Center for the Edge
Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions
Deloitte Center for Financial Services
Deloitte Center for Health Solutions
Deloitte Center for Regulatory Strategies
The firm knows that if they have a huge workforce of highly skilled professionals they would be able to target a huge number of companies. Among the âBig Fourâ Deloitte has the largest number of employees: 3,45,374.
How Does Deloitte Make Money?
As you saw above, the business model of Deloitte revolves around these 5 services: audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, AI, and analytics. They offer these premium services to Fortune 500 companies and earn huge revenue. Consulting is one of the major business units of Deloitte, accounting for 40% of total revenues in 2021.
Half of their revenue comes from North and South America. In 2020, the financial giant generated 25.3 billion U.S. dollars from its Americas division. Deloitte has understood that its major client base is in the American region. To serve these clients the firm hired a lot of employees:156,000. Revenue from the Asia Pacific and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) regions accounts for 25 billion U.S. dollars.
If you see the business model of Deloitte closely you will understand that they provide a range of financial and legal services instead of just focusing on one service. This helps the company in earning a huge amount of profit. Most importantly, Deloitte has understood that the only way to thrive in the market is to constantly innovate.
So, what did you learn from the business and revenue model of Deloitte? Hire specialized employees that have the courage to take risks. Remember, if you don’t have talented employees you will never succeed. Try to diversify your services. Always provide quality service to your clients and help them grow because if your clients make profits you will also make profits. You should always look for ways to innovate because this is the one thing that will help you grow.
FAQs
What is the core business of Deloitte?
The core business of Deloitte revolves around audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, AI and analytics, cloud, tax, and legal services. Deloitte provides innovative solutions to their clients using advanced technology.
Why is Deloitte so successful?
Deloitte is successful because of its wide range of financial and legal innovative solutions, advanced technology, and a huge number of employees. Among the Big Four companies, Deloitte has the largest number of employees: 3,45,374. Their dominance in the American division is another reason why the company is still thriving in the market. In 2020, Deloitte generated 25.3 billion U.S. dollars from the American division.
The budding idea of office spaces that took shape in the last decade was reimagined with the advent of the pandemic in March 2020. The hitherto notion of offline offices was expanded to virtual spaces where only a good internet connection was a prerequisite.
Interestingly, after office spaces entered into a hybrid model, many startups mushroomed taking advantage of virtual spaces over physical spaces. This article will look into these aspects that have strengthened the popularity of online office spaces.
Human resources are the prime factor that drives any business forward. When ideas and plans are worked out together, it leads to the efficient usage of technology and raw materials.
When a business is limited to physical offices, the proximity of employees to the office is an important factor. In many cases, companies, especially startups are forced to compromise on recruitment just because of the incompatibility of locations of the parties involved.
The prevalence of virtual offices has made a positive intervention in that regard. Companies with a virtual office now have the liberty to employ the best talents from anywhere in the world without location, transportation and accommodation becoming a problem.
Many startups have made use of this benefit extensively during the time of the pandemic. This benefit has worked both ways as employees who otherwise had concerns with travel and accommodation were now able to get better opportunities as virtual offices thrived.
2. Heightened Productivity
Studies have shown that employees work better remotely in virtual spaces than in physical offices. According to a study by Stanford University, working from home has increased the productivity of employees by 13% as the number of calls per minute increases owing to quiet work environments.
A similar study cites that 70% of people prefer hybrid meetings and work from home. Studies have also shown that since virtual offices cut the time spent on commutes and breaks, employee efficiency has also increased tremendously.
3. Democratic Space
It is a fact that certain places give specific facilities to the entities there. The reason why companies spent a fortune in setting up their offices in cities like Bangalore and Mumbai is due to the competitive edge that these places will give to the business. However, virtual spaces have been successful to a great extent in reducing the unequal opportunities that physical offices provide for various enterprises.
Virtual offices mean that the organisation functions online. At a time when a business has become chiefly an online affair, there is nothing that an infrastructural facility at a specific location can add to the well-being of the company.
Irrespective of where you are based, virtual offices provide an equal pedestal for all the competents in the market where the only criteria of growth become performance.
4. Easier Expansion
As virtual spaces waves off the burden of location and infrastructure, it becomes easier for companies to expand their business into newer places. All they would need is the technological backup and entrepreneurial vision to sustain in a new location.
When compared to the traditional methods of expansion, virtual spaces allow a cost-effective, hassle-free and stress-free expansion. Even if the companies have the financial reserves and other necessary resources to set up a new office, it will only be wise, to begin with, a virtual office before expanding physically so as to understand the feasibility that the business in the new location would bring.
5. Environment Friendly
One of the biggest advantage that virtual spaces bring to the table is that it is environmentally innocuous. In fact, all of its benefits boil down to this major advantage.
At a time when air pollution and land management are becoming grave concerns, the popularity of virtual office spaces will help significantly reduce the contribution of the business world to environmental degradation.
Virtual spaces not only reduce the contribution of physical spaces in polluting the environment but also cuts down the carbon footprint of each and every employee of the organisation.
The amount of difference that online office spaces can make is very significant in the face of humanity. At a time when the business world is trying to develop sustainable ways of doing business, prioritising virtual offices will be a great initiative.
6. Short-Term Commitments
Unlike physical office spaces, the companies are no longer required to enter into long-term contracts with real estate owners for office spaces. Most of the software services that support the functionalities of virtual office space are based on a monthly subscription or an ad-hoc basis. It gives the owners the flexibility to opt for better options more often. Such short-term commitments also mean that the companies need to pay for what they use and only for the time they need.
7. Better Business Support
There is no doubt in the fact that virtual spaces have made work easier. It also has the additional advantage of the tremendous amount of technical and business support that companies receive through these spaces.
There are a plethora of other companies that specifically work for helping others set up their virtual office spaces to such an extent that such assistance cannot be found in a physical office. Co-working spaces and meeting rooms are two recent examples of such support. It helps companies focus solely on their business.
8. Cost Cutting
Virtual offices cut down the cost that companies have to spend on office spaces to a great extent. At a time when only physical office spaces were prominent, a large part of their revenue goes to the maintenance of infrastructure which includes rent. It further takes a financial toll on the company if these offices are in prime locations like Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune or Delhi.
Virtual spaces, in that regard, are a big relief to the company as it only demands a technologically sound office space which in many cases is relegated to an efficient communication platform and Google services.
Apart from that, virtual spaces also give the liberty to the companies to longer provide allowances for transportation for their employees. Thus, virtual spaces play a significant role in reducing the overall expenses of the company. In fact, such spaces have given an impetus to a lot of startups which would have never rolled out in the first place if they had to set up an offline office.
Conclusion
As the world inches into a global village with advanced technologies reimagining businesses by the minute, the possibilities of virtual offices have become abundant. If utilised properly it can even be a feasible alternative to physical office spaces. However, depending on the nature of businesses the opportunities that virtual spaces offer will differ.
FAQs
What is a virtual office?
A virtual office is a space with a physical address but it is less expensive than maintaining a traditional office.
Is a virtual office a good idea?
Yes, a virtual office is great for small businesses. It also boosts productivity among employees as they don’t have to travel to the physical office.
How do I start a virtual office?
Focus on communication, invest in the right tools, hire the right people, and make sure you establish a proper organisational structure.
Talking about scams and frauds by businesses or companies has become a fad in today’s times. The list is going only upward while the innocents are being looted, it has become imperative to stay updated and informed regarding a company or business.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, USA mentions that fraudulent opportunities mostly occur in the top 10 categories in its database reports of consumers complaining about fraud activities.
In India, fraudsters are tough to avoid. With many unemployed job seekers, the list of fake companies in India is long. This act of swindling is growing at an enormous rate with high risk in our digitally enabled world.
To think of frauds, the use of the internet has given birth to many security challenges that people tend to get trapped in. Over the years, India has seen many corporate frauds that left a deep wound in the confidence of many investors. Companies like Satyam, Kingfisher Airlines, DHFL, and YES Bank are some of the big corporate frauds the country has witnessed.
These scam artists are sophisticated as they exactly know how, whom, and where to target customers. In terms of investing in any business, consumers need to look for proper information and must know their rights. If a business has no information available, then that should be treated as a red flag for not pursuing it further.
While keeping in view these corporate frauds, there must be an awareness program for identifying fraud companies. Until there are certain programs available, you can always cross-check a company on your own.
In this article, we have curated some tips on how to identify a fraudulent business or company.
Specific things to look out for in a company to know if they are real are as follows:
Check Whether the Company Is Registered by Visiting the MCA Website
In India, for a company to be licensed, they need to register itself with the Registrar of Companies. MCA is the short form for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which is a government-regulated online portal containing the details of all the companies that have been incorporated in India.
On this website, you can check for the registration number of a company, what type of a company is, the date of incorporation, and other such details.
Check Out if the Company Has a Website and Look For Other Details on Their Site
Even if the company has a website, try to get a closer look at the address and contact number. Every website has a ‘contact’ page, where the address and a telephone number will be given to get in touch with them.
Try calling them with the number provided and search on Google maps to verify it is an actual office and not a fake one. However, you should also keep in mind that phone numbers are super easy to fake, so depending only on this fact can never give a piece of accurate information about the company.
If the company says ‘local business’ on its website, try to search in other cities to see if they are running their operation in other localities. If they happen to show the same website in other areas as well, know that they are not right. These businesses usually have copied templates with many broken hyperlinks.
Check for Wrong Spelling and Grammar
Spelling and grammar are the two most important things that will impress anyone. Make sure you go through every detail given on the website, and if you notice unsatisfactory English sentences and wrong spelling, then it is time for you not to indulge with them. Inaccurate sentence formation clearly shows there is something wrong, and you should investigate further before coming to a final decision.
Check for Their Privacy Policy
Another thing you can look for in a company to be legitimate is by reading their privacy policy carefully. Read about their history that will give a brief about how long the company is in operation.
Even if they have a privacy policy read through their mission and vision statement and look for anything suspicious. Reading through their privacy policy will also allow you to give information about their registered business address and other details which you can check on the MCA website.
Check for Their Customer Testimonials and Reviews
Feedbacks or reviews are the best way to find out about a company. The reviews can reflect different people’s opinions and provide you with a concrete overall idea about the company.
Check if the Company Accept Payments
If you are trying to get employed by that company, remember they will never ask you to pay cash or any sort of payment. Other than this, if you are paying for any service, it is important to see how the company accepts payments.
They should accept payments through secure methods and not through shady and insecure methods like paper cheques or cash. Consider looking into payment methods from which you can your money back if things go wrong or if their product or service does not give you satisfactory results.
Conclusion
Scams are a part of the system, and we must accept that incidents like these are inevitable. It can be safe to say companies and the government, in general, must lay down a strong foundation system that keeps a close watch on such activities.
A substantial system with regular monitoring, a robust recruitment process by companies, and launching awareness programs for the public are the kind of things we desperately need.
The above-mentioned points are some of the factors through, which you can check a business’s lawfulness, but it is always better to trust your instincts if you feel something is wrong with the company.
FAQs
How do you know if a company is legit or not?
Check the trademark of the company, check their business on MCA, look for any grammatical errors, and check out the company privacy policy.
How do businesses identify and control fraud?
Many businesses develop a strategy against fraud, protect their businesses from cyber attacks, and know the customers in and out.
In the matter of a few years, India is seeing tremendous growth of startups and unicorns. If we talk about the growth of startups, it is not something that has happened overnight. Due to the lack of proper funding and investor network, the startup culture in India took its own sweet time to grow.
Although, the concept began over four decades ago. Through those years, there have been significant numbers of many industries, which have restored the Indian economy. It is now that the idea of a startup has garnered a lot of attention. The world of startups and unicorns is not just in the USA anymore.
Today, India is number three in terms of having the highest number of startups. In 2020, when the world came to a standstill because of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, indeed there were tensions around but in reality, it has accelerated the growth of startups not only in India but around the world.
Recently, Google announced that they have launched a platform called ‘Google Startup School India” to help around 10,000 startups in India, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Before we dig into what is Google Startup school, let’s first understand what a startup actually is.
A startup is a company that is in its beginning and development stage. It is started in order to provide unique solutions to problems that have never been solved before or to provide much better solutions to recreate in a more efficient manner for the already existing problems.
Earlier, the idea of startup was linked to Silicon Valley in the U.S as we all saw the peak of many startups like Facebook, Microsoft, and many others. As a result of globalisation, and privatisation, the dynamics have changed in India, when the government encouraged people to set up their own businesses. This day, Bangalore in India is the startup hub.
What Is Google Startup School?
In 2011, Google launched a program called Google for Startups. The idea behind this initiative is to partner up with local startup communities to help them by providing tools and workshops for the local startup companies. They also have Google Campus, which is a co-working space for young tech entrepreneurs.
Google for Startups Website
On July 6, 2022, Google made an announcement of its new program called Startup School India (SSI) as a part of the Google for Startups initiative intending to build a systematic curriculum to help 10,000 startups in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in the country.
This initiative by Google Startup School is a nine-week virtual platform where investors, successful entrepreneurs, and programmers from across the startup ecosystem will join together for discussions and sharing of ideas.
Google’s main focus is to reach out to the huge network of startups in India through this ambition. Google saw the potential of Indian startups as the country homes nearly 70,000 startups. Not in cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, or Mumbai, there are fast-growing companies in cities like Ahmedabad, Jaipur, and Indore too.
According to survey experts, 90% of startups fail in their first five years all because of a lack of knowledge, unorganised cash flow, lack of leadership, and insufficient funding.
Response of Indian Entrepreneurs to Google Startup School
Some Indian entrepreneurs think that this initiative will be a good start for many Indian startups. Hear their thoughts about this:
Rahul Garg, Founder of Moglix says,
“Startup enterprises in India have been known to be innovative and nimble-footed in responding to business challenges. This is testified by the fact that Indian startup enterprises have filed 6000 patent applications in the United States, thus representing 60% of the total patent applications in the country. The combination of intellectual power, original thinking, creative application, and technology, as well as a fertile economic ground to experiment in a market full of problems and opportunities, has resulted in considerable growth of these businesses, with many of them turning into Unicorns. The Google Startup School will provide an avenue to entrepreneurs to come out of their closet and look for opportunities.â
Varun Alagh, Co-founder of Mamaearth says,
“Google has always believed in giving back to the startup ecosystem and this initiative lives the spirit. After working with thousands of startups they truly understand the need gaps which their Startup School initiative aims to bridge.â
The said programme will feature various instructional modules on how to shape an effective strategy, road mapping to building apps for users in India, and such. Besides these modules, the agenda will also provide opportunities for founders to have an understanding from discussions given in the platform as to what makes an effective founder and creator and much more.
The Agenda of the Google Startup School Initiative: Why Is It Happening Now?
India is booming with young entrepreneurs, which is why Google is here to offer these entrepreneurs the technical skills to build a startup. They aim to train 10,000 startups in small cities.
With the help of this programme, the participants can develop their entrepreneurial skills and professional skills, and boost their confidence which will ultimately allow them to perform the role of a manager in a better way and increase their earning potential as well.
The course will provide hands-on training and projects for startup founders. They will be equipped with tools and workshops that are needed for them to succeed in creating a tech startup. The programme will be led by many Google experts, founders, and VCs, who will share their knowledge and experience through live classes.
How Can You Be a Part of the Google Startup School?
If you are a budding entrepreneur from tier 2 and tier 3 city, who is looking for knowledge on how to start a tech company, then this course is for you.
You can simply register on their website by signing up with your Gmail account. You can sign up for any specific event of your choice. After successful registration, you will receive an email confirmation with all the details about the event.
Google Startup School India
Although the course is open to everyone, it is mainly focused on startup founders only with an exclusive space where they can interact and ask relevant questions.
Conclusion
India has many talented minds but the gap between them in reaching their goals is hindered because of a lack of meaningful guidance. Google’s initiative is going to fill the gap and act as a bridge for them by training them at an early stage so that they can be a better version of the entrepreneur they want, that our country is looking for and deserves to have.
FAQs
Does Google invest in startups?
Yes, Google has a venture capital investment arm, Google Ventures which has invested in 500 companies.
What does Google for startups do?
Google for startups helps entrepreneurs meet the right people and supports thriving startups to grow.
Bharti Airtel is a public limited company commonly known as Airtel. It is an Indian telecom company, which is currently operating its business across South Asia, Africa, and the Channel Islands. It provides GSM in all the countries including 2G and 3G services. Due to its operations in more than 18 countries, Airtel is currently known as the 3rd largest mobile network operator across the globe with over a billion users and the 2nd largest mobile network operator in India. Â
Bharti Airtel’s Indian Customer Base, as of March 31, 2020, looked like this –
283.7 million Mobile Services
2.4 million homes
16.6 million Digital TV Services
Along with being one of Indiaâs largest integrated telecom providers in India, Airtel is also famously ranked by Millward Brown and WPP plc in the first-ever Brandz ranking as the most valuable brand. At the end of September 2020, Airtel had around 440 Mn customers across its operations. It was known as the 3rd largest cellular service provider in India after beating China Unicomwith 303 million subscribers, when reported back in August 2015.
Along with the telephony network that Airtel provides, where the company offers prepaid and postpaid networks, it also offers broadband and DTH services for its customers. It also acts as a carrier for national and international long distances communication services. The company has a submarine cable landing station in Chennai which connects the submarine cable between Chennai and Singapore. One of the other services provided by Airtel is the Airtel Money (commerce platform in collaboration with Infosys).
Airtel is also hailed as the first Telco to launch Multiplex in Metaverse, a milestone it achieved when it unveiled Metaverse multiplex on the PartyNite Metaverse platform, which is the first Metaverse multiplex in India.
On this note, let’s look at this StartupTalky Bharti Airtel company profile, which brings the Airtel case study, competitions, Bharti Airtel subsidiaries, products, Airtel employees, Airtel telecom founded in, Airtel net worth, hiring culture, policies, Airtel’s history, Airtel’s customer base, achievements, and more.
The name “Airtel” is something that is not only popular in India but has been a buzzword since the company was founded back in 1995. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, Bharti Airtel is a multinational telecommunication company with roots in the Indian subcontinent, which currently serves users of over 18 countries. The telecom giant has provided 2G, 3G, 4G+ and 4G LTE networks, fixed-line broadband connections, and voice services, which are based on the country of operation. Besides, it has also launched the Volte service.
The Bharti Airtel company outsources all of its business operations except marketing, sales, and finance and is often credited with being the pioneer of such a business model. Besides, many of today’s telecom service providers also look up to Airtel for the same, which are now working on similar business models. Besides, Airtel is also hailed as the pioneer of the minutes’ factory model of low-cost and high volumes. The equipment that Airtel uses are provided for and maintained by companies like Ericsson, Huawei, and Nokia Networks. On the other hand, its IT support is provided by Amdocs.
A Brief History of Bharti Airtel
The Airtel founder, Sunil Mittal had primarily set up his business Bharti Overseas Trading Company in 1980, which was an import enterprise where he dealt with generators and more. Then he saw a push-button phone in Taiwan in 1984, seeing that he eventually started to assemble similar phones. Focusing on the same, he founded Bharti Telecom Limited in the early 1990s. Though he started with manufacturing fax machines, cordless phones, and other telecom gear, he soon discovered that the Indian government was inviting bids for mobile telephony in 1992, and Sunil was successful in bidding for one of the four mobile phone network licensed auctioned.
He later went for collaborating with the French telecom group Vivendi, which eventually agreed to do business with him in spite of Mr Mittal being a small timer at that time. This led him to launch his cellular services in Delhi in 1995. Thus, Bharti Cellular Limited was formed to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel. In 1996, cellular service extended to Himachal Pradesh. In 1999, the Bharti Enterprise went on to acquire control of JT holdings and extended cellular operations to Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Then, in 2000, Bharti acquired control over Skycell communications in Chennai.
In 2001, the company acquired control of the Spice cell in Kolkata. Next, the company got listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange. In 2003, all the cellular phone operations of the company were summed up under the single brand of Airtel. Airtel then acquired control over Hexcom and entered Rajasthan in 2005. It then extended its network all across India in 2005 and launched its first international mobile network in Sri Lanka.
It was under the direction of the company’s Founder, Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal that the company became very successful and within a few years, AirTel turned into the first telecom company to cross the 2-million mobile subscriber mark.
On 13th February 2008, Bharti Airtel Limited, the leading telecommunication company in India, crossed the 60 million customer mark. The wireless segment constituted 96% of BAL total customer base. The valuation of BAL then stood at $40 billion in 2008. BA was the fastest in the world and added 8 million customers in 2008. This puts Bharti Airtel among the top telecom companies in the world. Its next target was to reach 100 million mark by 2010. This was also crossed by the company. Airtel is currently standing with a subscriber base of around 354.40 million subscribers in 2021.
Airtel’s actual name was Bharti Cellular Limited (BCL), the company which later began to offer cellular services under the brand name AirTel.
“AISI AZADI AUR KAHANâ is one of the prominent taglines adopted by Airtel.
Airtel logo
Bharti Airtel – Mission and Vision
“Hunger to win customers for life” is the mission of Airtel.
“Our vision is to enrich the lives of our customers. Our obsession is to win customers for life through an exceptional experience.” – says the Vision statement of the brand.
Bharti Airtel as The Market Champion
Airtel strives to align its HR strategies with its corporate strategy. The HR team makes sure to see if the organization teams have the same attitude that would help employees realize the vision of the company. The company emphasizes recruiting young people with an average age of 26 years. This is done because the company wants to bring in young entrants and would them as per the business organization and at the same time, enhance their interaction and creativity.
Senior management was advised by the HR management as they are encouraged to put forward their views openly in order, to play a more proactive role in team-building efforts. This was further augmented by a reward and recognition system along with a strong training program. As a part of the planning process, the entire organization is measured on five performance parameters, which includes its financial performance, profitability, market share, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction.
Bharti Airtel – Growth
Bharti Airtel has grown hugely throughout the years in the telecommunication sector. The company is currently spread across 18+ different countries including those in South Asia, Africa, and the Channel Islands. Building a big name for itself, Airtel is currently known as the second-largest mobile network in India along with being the second-largest mobile network in the world.
Along with offering an efficient mobile network, Airtel also brings a wide array of products and services to its customers:
Broadband
Digital television
Banking
Business
Android-based tablet
Airtel unveiled on June 14, 2022, it’s first, which is, in fact, India’s first Metaverse platform on the PartyNite Metaverse platform. Xstream multiplex, which Airtel launched, is designed as a 20-screen platform and will be an extension of Airtelâs Xstream Premium offering. Such a platform will leverage the content library of Airtel and will offer many more layers of engagement, thereby allowing the users to interact on the PartyNite Metaverse. This new Airtel multiplex will offer a sampling of the original shows and movies in many other languages along with those in English and Hindi.
Airtel and Jio, it seems, are quite locked together to gain market share in India. According to the TRAI data for April 2022, Jio held a 35.5% market share in the wireless telecom market of the country whereas Airtel was positioned at the second spot with a market share that equalled 31.61%. Â
Google has picked up a minor and non-controlling 1.28% stake in Airtel for $700 mn, as per the reports dated July 1, 2022. The deal comes after around 5 months since it was proposed. This deal is part of the larger Google For India Digitisation Fund, which the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai, announced in July 2020. The tech behemoth also said then that it would keep an additional $300 mn worth of funds for potential multi-year commercial agreements with Airtel. This investment in Bharti Airtel marks the second Google investment in India. The first was when Google invested $4.5 bn in Jio in 2020, picking up a 7.73% stake in the company. This investment from Google will help both Airtel and Google to ramp up the telcoâs enterprise cloud solutions, which are being operated currently with Amazon. The deal would also help both parties to work unitedly to create an array of affordable Android devices in partnership with the device manufacturers. Moreover, the deal would also help them develop 5G use cases specific to India and create multiple network solutions. The shares of Airtel were allocated on July 14, 2022, when Bharti Airtel approved the allotment of more than 71.17 crore shares to Google at an issue price of Rs 734, which includes a premium of Rs 729 per equity share. In the conclusion of this, Google’s stakes in Airtel stand at 1.20% of the total post-equity shares or 1.17% of the telecom company on a fully-diluted basis.
Airtel Financials and Revenues
The average revenue per user of Airtel rose to Rs 178 crore in the January-March quarter of 2022. This rise was mainly due to the strong user additions, higher tariffs, and one-time gains. The consolidated net profits of Airtel increased by 164% to become Rs 2008 crore in FY22.
Bharti Airtel- Service Rule and Regulation of Employees
In Airtel, you are an at-will employee, this means you are working at your own will without any force or pressure before you join the company. You must sign terms and condition agreement that will state the corporate governance of the company which is:
Employees must report to their superiors and maintain disciplinary work.
All employees will be paid monthly by cheque procedure.
In case of leave, employees must draft a detailed application mentioning the reason for leave.
A lunch break of 1 Hour will be provided.
Bharti Airtel- Promotion Policy and Wage Structure
AirTel engages a policy under which an employee gets his/her due promotion in the organization, which is a reward for an excellent performance. Under the rules that govern the promotion, AirTel states that the employee must have successfully completed 6 months to be eligible for promotion in Airtel. The internal application process is carried out and all the previous records are checked and the performance is analyzed.
The internal relationship between different jobs and wages helps the firm to decide its wage structure. 60% of its employees have a variable pay structure where they get paid according to the work done. The company considers factors such as performance and maintains internal equity to ensure people at the same level are paid for the same amount of work.
The success story of Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel – Training and Development of Employees
Airtel has a vast pool of human resources that are upgraded from time to time in terms of leadership and technical skills through various outsourced and in-house training and development activities such as process and project management skills and technical skills. By providing world-class resources and combined efforts by Airtel many employees are being trained to become future leaders. The company’s HR is continuously working on launching various initiatives like on-job training, programmed learning, simulated development, and computed-based training.
The on-job training is where a person learns a job actually doing it. Every employee from the mailroom, from a clerk to the CEO, gets job training when they join the company. Informal learning is used as 80% of the employees learn on the job they learn not through informal training, including performing their jobs on a daily basis in collaboration with their colleagues.
The company provides a job instruction training program that takes place every month in Airtel in which a logical sequence of steps is taught step by step. On a quarterly basis programmed learning is followed by Airtel in which self-learning methods consist of Presenting questions, facts, or problems to the learner and allowing the person to respond.
Application â In Airtel existing openings are monitored and accordingly position procedures are being carried out matching candidates’ profiles and areas of interest.
Screening â Matching of the profile is done by the company with respect to its requirements and needs.
Assessment â An aptitude test is required for the job of the front line sales. For considering the middle and senior-level job occupational personality questionnaire was done.
Interviewâ Airtel takes 1 to 3 rounds for the interview process. Then the final appointment letter is being offered with the companyâs terms & conditions memo, which every employee must sign.
Airtel has an incentive pay scheme managers often use two terms synonymously incentive plan for the employees that are applicable to sales over the target achieved. Merit pay as incentives is generally done by the company for excellent performance by the employee in the last term of his/her employment. The other non-monetary incentives include Employee recognition, Gifts, Special events, merchandise incentives, and free training programs.
When it comes to the benefits, they are indirect financial and non-financial payments employees receive for continuing their employment. They include things like health and life insurance pensions, time off with pay, and child care assistance. Â The company also provides Life and Health insurance for families and dependents. Different types of leaves like study leave, extraordinary leave, petrol allowance, and family holidays.
Along with helping the employees on many different fronts, Airtel also cares for others as well, especially the startups of today.
Airtel Launches Startup Accelerator Program to Support Startups
Bharti Airtel (âAirtelâ), Indiaâs largest integrated telecommunications company, announced the launch of its Startup Accelerator Program on October 25, 2019, to support the growth of early-stage Indian tech startups. With the advent of its Start-up Accelerator Program, Airtel aims to support the creation of a vibrant startup ecosystem that contributes to âDigital Indiaâ.
Through Airtelâs Startup Accelerator, early startups get access to Airtelâs online and offline distribution network, deep market understanding, and ecosystem of global strategic partners. In addition, Airtel has also developed strong in-house capabilities around machine learning and artificial intelligence, which could be leveraged to aid the growth of startups. Furthermore, startups also get access to advisory services from Airtelâs executive team.
Vahan was the first to join Airtel Startup Accelerator. Airtel announced the induction of Bengaluru-based tech startup Vahan into its Startup Accelerator Program. Airtel will acquire a stake in Vahan and partner with them in building a significant scale to achieve their vision of enabling jobs for the next billion internet users. Founded in 2016 and backed by Y Combinator and Khosla Ventures, Vahan leverages advanced Artificial Intelligence to match job seekers with employers inside messaging apps such as Whatsapp. It is focused on finding blue collar jobs for millions of young Indians in Delivery, Driving, Retail, BFSI, BPO and Hospitality sectors with companies such as Zomato, Swiggy and Dunzo as clients.
Today, early stage startups in India have some very exciting ideas but face multiple challenges in scaling up. With Airtelâs scale and digital capabilities around distribution and payments, we have the potential to drive accelerated growth of emerging startups that are solving hard problems. The team at Vahan is doing some incredible work to bring jobs to millions of people through AI based technology. We are excited to partner with them on this vision.
Madhav Krishna, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Vahan, said: â
Airtel will be a key partner for us as we look to solve a hard problem for Bharat. Most blue-collar job seekers are unaware of the opportunities that exist in the market, especially new-age on-demand jobs. Airtelâs distribution channels will help us reach the very depths of the country and in turn, help millions of Indians take control of their economic destiny. We are incredibly excited about this partnership.
Bharti Airtel – Partnerships
Bharti Airtel has seen a considerable number of partnerships and collaborations to date. Some of them are mentioned below:
Bharti Airtel partnered with Apollo Hospitals and Cisco on April 28, 2022, in order to help in the development of state-of-the-art ambulances that will be equipped with Airtel 5G.
The company partnered with Mavenir for open radio access network-based 5G field trials. The first Open RAN-based 5G NSA validation was done on April 5, 2022.
Airtel and Tech Mahindra partnered together to “build and market innovative solutions for Indiaâs digital economy by bringing together their core strengths”, said an Airtel PR dated March 31, 2022.
A PR rolled out by Airtel on December 14, 2021, stated that the company partnered with Capgemini to announce 5G-based enterprise-grade solutions to the Indian market.
Bharti Airtel and TCS collaborated to build a 5G-based remote working technology using robotics on December 2, 2021.
BlueJeans – Bharti partnered with Verizon to launch BlueJeans, a video conferencing platform like JioMeet. The platform can accommodate 50,000 attendees and is simple and intuitive to use. With the launch of BlueJeans, Airtel and Verizon tend to provide a safer video conferencing experience to the customers. Hans Vestberg, Chief Executive Officer of Verizon, said during a virtual press conference that the data of all the customers will be hosted in India and stored within the data centres all over India. The per-call costs have also been dropped to INR 0.50. It is also having the Airtel Auto Bridge feature, which allows users to benefit from an unlimited calling feature within the National/International range. This new feature also consists of HD video calling with Dolby voice support. It also allows users to schedule, join or host the meets with the one-click feature. With the involvement of âSmart Meetingsâ feature in BlueJeans it will allow the user to get hold of the important points and assign certain actions to the people. They are also trying to add certain packages for the enterprises in the upcoming days. Vittal said in a statement, âWe will have three kinds of packages for our consumers one for large enterprise, the second one for medium, and the third for tiny or small business. We will reveal packages for BlueJeans over the next few days.â The company is also sure that the prices will be competitive. Airtel has been a new entry in the video conferencing sector shortly after the launch of JioMeet by Reliance Jio. Players from the telecom Industry entering the video conferencing sector will be interesting. It is making a great competitive market in this industry. BlueJeans was founded by Krish Ramakrishnan and Alagu Periyannan, in India only. The first prototype was tested back in 2009 and 2012 in Pune at the company’s research and department centre. However, Verizon, in May 2020, tried to acquire it and give it a boost. It will be interesting to see how things go in the upcoming days and brings us interesting content.
Some of the major achievements and milestones earned by Bharti Airtel are listed below –
AirtelThanks App was recognized as one of the most innovative mobile application in the prestigious ET Telecom Awards 2020.
Airtel won four awards in each category of Video Experience, Games Experience, Voice App Experience and Download Speed Experience in the Open Signal Report in September 2020, for the second time in a row.
Airtel Xstream Fiber won the Best Broadband Service Provider in ET Telecom Awards 2020.
Airtel Business won the âBest Partnershipâ award at Telecoms World Middle East Awards 2019 for partnering with Telecom Egypt.
Airtel Business won 3 prestigious awards at Global Carrier Awards 2019, namely, Best Global Wholesale Carrier â Voice, Best Voice Service Innovation â Emerging Markets and Best Security Solution.
Airtel Finance shared services team has bagged the coveted Digital Initiative Award by HDFC bank in the Large Customer Category.
Airtel Business has been awarded as the âEnterprise Data Service Provider of the Yearâ and the âEnterprise Telecom Service Provider of the Yearâ in the large enterprise segment at the Frost and Sullivan ICT Awards
App Annie ranked Wynk Music as Indiaâs #1 music streaming app in terms of Daily Active Users in October 2019.
And the list goes on & on…
Bharti Airtel – Future Plans
Bharti Airtel is currently planning to launch its 5G services in the country. The Union Cabinet earlier gave its nod for the auction of 72 GHz of 5G spectrum, which is planned to be conducted in July 2022.
Recommendations
Bharti Airtel is currently doing incredibly well in recent times it is expected with same quality services and has the prospective to overtake Chinaâs Unicom in a few years making Airtel one of the world leaders when it comes to being a world leader in telecommunication. This is possible because of the companyâs expansion in African and Asian countries making it a global company. Â Airtel also has good relations with its business partners like Ericsson, Siemens, and IBM.
The company has strong HR policies that help in maintaining its corporate governance structure. The profit and assets are also increasing at a considerably good rate, making its turnover cross $643.25 bn. Good customer schemes and support services make Airtel capture a major chunk of the competitive market.
FAQs
What is the difference between Airtel and Bharti Airtel?
Bharti Airtel and Airtel are the same company, a subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises.
The Bretton Woods agreement made the US Dollar the official leader of the Worldâs reserve currency supported by the worldâs largest gold reserves. This was after the Second World War. Even today the USD is one of the worldâs strongest currencies. The Dollar bill as we know it today was printed in 1914. Even today, the central banks of various countries, including India, hold almost 60% of their reserves in USD.
In simple terms, the value of any currency increases with an increase in the demand for it and decreases with the decrease in demand for it. On the global stage, the force of currencies is determined by central banks. However, the demand for the said currency is determined by the demand for the goods and services produced by the country.
The same rule applies to foreign exchange requests. The higher the demand for foreign exchange, the more currency falls.
Why the Indian Rupee Is Falling Against the Dollar?
In the post-Covid world of 2022, India has seen a steady decline in the value of INR against the dollar. It is imperative to understand that the Indian Rupee has steadily downgraded against the dollar for several decades. One of the key reasons for this has been the rising inflation affecting the Indian Economy.
Currently, the Indian Rupee is valued at around INR 79 to 1 USD. The last couple of weeks has seen the Indian Rupee reach an all-time low value of INR 79 against 1 USD. There are several reasons for this steep decline, some domestic as well.
One of the key reasons for this decline is the pullout of FIIs in an uncertain global market. Added to this are the geopolitical uncertainties due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
This has led to investors retreating from emerging markets like India to the safety net of the USD. According to the latest figures, the Foreign Portfolio Investor outflow is to the tune of 2.11 Lac Crore.
Reasons domestic in nature include the steep price rise in crude oil. Added to this pressure is the elevated cost of edible oil again due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. In light of the fact that most of Indiaâs crude oil and edible oil requirements are imported, this elevated price will continue to put pressure on the Indian Rupee.
The Indian Rupee’s performance has been backed into a corner. Worsening terms of trade on the global platform, geo-political instability, FIIs foreign institutional investor outflow and the crowning glory â RBIâs FOREX stance. However, the scenario is not as grim as it looks on the outside.
On the Global Stage, the Indian currency has held up against the dollar a far sight better than some other counterparts. This showcases a light at the fast-approaching end of the tunnel.
US Dollar to Indian Rupee Exchange Rate
What Does the Future Hold for Indian Rupee?
The effects of the war in the short term will be seen in the upcoming quarter which might continue to put pressure on the Indian Rupee. In the short-term future, the Indian Rupee may settle down between INR 77 to INR 79 against 1 USD. However, there are many reasons to look forward to a strengthening INR in the global markets in the future. Â
First and foremost is the fact that the RBI has a comfortable FOREX reserve. Even though the Indian current deficit is well over 90 billion USD, this reserve would help prevent further weakening of the Indian Rupee against the USD.
While the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill for a few months, it also triggered companies to relook at their internationally located manufacturing units, most of them based in China.
The overall unfriendly policies of the Chinese Government have also prompted most manufacturing companies to start looking at alternative emerging markets like India and Indonesia to set up their plants. This is also likely to attract FIIs back into the country and increase their investment portfolios
As the Indian economy strengthens with the domestic financial markets edge towards a bull run, the signs are all there, that even though the immediate future is slightly bleak, there is every reason to hope for a fantastic recovery of the Indian Rupee against the USD.
FAQs
What are the reasons for the decrease in rupee value?
Rising crude oil prices, rising import costs and the Russia-Ukraine war are some of the reasons for the fall in the rupee against the us dollar.
What happens when the rupee falls against the dollar?
If the rupee faals against the dollar the cost of raw materials will increase which will be passed on to the consumers so the cost of products will also increase.
Recently Zomato, the food delivery app, came under the direct line of fire, when one of its users took to social media to highlight the higher rates of restaurant food on its app.
Rahul Kabra, a LinkedIn user, posted an image of a Zomato order bill and an offline bill of the same order from the same restaurant, The Momo Factory, in Mumbai. The difference in the amount of the two bills was glaringly obvious. His caption read – âI am doing an apple to apple comparison to online vs offline order.
Here is what I noticed â Cost for offline order â INR 512. Cost for Zomato order â INR 690 (after applied discount of INR 75). Cost escalation 34.76% per order at INR 178 = (690-512)/512.â Â
Furthering his grievance, Kabra added, “Assuming Zomato brings visibility and more orders to the food service provider, should it charge such a high price? I think there is a need to cap this cost escalation which should be implemented by the government so as to make this a win-win for all stakeholders.”
Rahulâs LinkedIn feed became viral in a short span of time, drawing various reactions from people. Some have come out in support of his observation, stating that food delivery apps take undue advantage of the time constraints of their customers. Others have categorically asked Rahul Kabra to compare the notional cost of time and money were he to go and pick up these orders himself.
The attention that his feed drew also prompted Zomato to respond. “Hi Rahul, Zomato being an intermediary platform between a customer and a restaurant, does not have any control over the prices implemented by the restaurant partners on our platform. That said, we have conveyed your feedback to the restaurant partner and have requested them to look into this.”
It remains true that food ordered through delivery apps costs higher than the same food ordered through restaurants directly. Let’s look at how much food delivery apps like Zomato and Swiggy charge and their impact on restaurants.
Food delivery apps came into existence a little over a decade ago. Their aim? To bridge the gap between the restaurants and customers who wished to order instead of physically visiting the restaurant.
Most restaurants, a decade ago, did not have their own delivery options available. Food delivery apps not only filled this gap but also increased the restaurantâs area of service and added a level of sophistication, professional vibe and expediency to a delivery service.
Their main advantages were â
Increased convenience to customers and merchants.
Ease of use for customers as no waiting time for ordering.
Wide variety of choices for restaurants and food.
Digital Payment options.
Increased level of sanitization â e.g., delivery executive wearing gloves and masks.
Easy exposure to new customers.
Better customer data.
Greater reach for restaurants.
Contactless delivery â especially in the post pandemic world.
Over time, as the food business has evolved, so have the delivery apps. Now various delivery apps have a special category offering healthy meal options.
How Much Do the Food Delivery Apps Charge?
The menu pricing of any restaurant covers its own cost plus a certain percentage of profits. What it does not cover are the costs incurred when partnering with delivery apps.
Currently, Indian Laws do not have any provision which puts a cap on what the food delivery app can charge its partner restaurant. What this essentially means, is that Food delivery apps can charge whatever commission they want under the guise of business costs.
At present, according to various available data and verbal confirmations from restaurateurs, food delivery apps in India are charging anywhere between 25%-30% commission for every order that a restaurant receives. It also charges a certain percentage to the end customer as a delivery fee.
Of course, the food delivery apps are essentially a business model with a bottom line need for turning profitable. Â There is a cost involved in running such a business.
Running and maintaining an office.
Salaries of all employees
Time and labour cost of ground delivery staff.
Fuel costs
Cost incurred maintaining a round the clock customer support staff.
Recurring costs of maintaining the apps and many more.
The food delivery app model works by charging a partnership fee from the restaurant as well as charging a delivery fee from the customer. In addition, its revenue model also includes paid listings and sponsored advertisements.
Impact of Food Delivery App Charges on Restaurants
With the level of commission that these apps charge, restaurants are left with little choice but to increase the food cost on their app menu to cover costs.
Additionally, food apps also, sometimes, coerce their partner restaurants to offer large discounts which put pressure on their bottom line. Currently, most of this heat is felt by small restaurant operators.
The food delivery app business had already been growing quickly before the COVID-19 Pandemic. The post-pandemic world has seen it growing in demand every day as more and more people prefer to order online rather than visiting the restaurant of choice. Â
This has caused a level of disruption to small food business operators, who do not have their own delivery service. With the high fees charged by these delivery apps, the basic question that arises for these businesses is that of profitability.
Future of Food Delivery Apps
The food industry is the same as all the others â ease, quality, speed, efficiency and price rule customer decisions. Even before the pandemic, restaurants realized the need and benefits of a food delivery app.
Since its inception, the food delivery business has grown by leaps and bounds and the post-pandemic world has contributed to its exponential growth.
The food delivery business in India is set to double by 2025, estimated to an approximate valuation of USD 13 billion. The chief reason for this is the largely underpenetrated Indian market compared to other countries like the USA.
Conclusion
As always, there are two sides to any story. Â And this particular dilemma is not immune to it. Â As much as restaurateurs realize the importance and need of food delivery business models, if the current pressure and constraint of fees and commissions continue, they might be forced to look at other options. Â Concurrently, the bigger brand restaurants are capable of setting up their own delivery options, which might put further pressure on the existing food delivery businesses and their profitability.
It might be time to amend laws and introduce a ceiling to the commissions and fees that the food delivery businesses can charge their partners. Â This will not only bring stability to the business itself but will also allow restaurateurs room to reduce their online menu costs while upholding profitability.
FAQs
How much do Zomato and Swiggy charge to restaurants?
Zomato and Swiggy usually charge around 18 to 25% commission to restaurants on every order.
How is the delivery charge calculated by food delivery apps?
The labour costs, total distance and vehicle costs are some of the costs that are calculated by food delivery apps.
