Reliance Jio Might Extend Its Offer Till June But Will Charge Rs. 100!

Reliance Jio Might Extend Its Offer Till June But Will Charge Rs. 100! Posted: 20 Jan 2017 05:29 AM PST As if it is not enough to run free offers for 6 months, Reliance Jio is considering extending it free offer until 30 June 2016. The current offer from Jio, the ‘Happy New Year Offer’ will expire on 31 March 2017, post which it has planned to charge for its 4G services and had also announced its lucrative 4G tariff plans too. However, it looks like Reliance Jio needs some more time for optimizing its network, sorting out call failures, and improving its coverage and capacity. Mukesh Ambani recently announced another investment of Rs. 30,000 crores into Reliance Jio, which would take the total capital invested in Jio to Rs. 2,01,000 crores. Technically, any telecom operator cannot extend a promotional offer beyond 90 days so Jio would announce a new offer before the expiry of ‘Happy New Year Offer. This new offer would be valid from 1 April to 30 June 2017 and would cost Rs. 100 for data while voice will remain free. This New Offer Would Be Like An Acid Test For Jio It is always easy to attract people to try out your products for free, but the real achievement is when the users would want to pay for your services. So this new offer which would hopefully be announced soon would act as an acid test for Reliance Jio. The test would not only give an indication about the stickiness of Jio customers but would also paint a clear picture as to why 72.4 million subscribers are using its services. Are they only there for enjoying the free services, or do they really like them? In its quarterly results, Reliance Industries had disclosed that Jio’s current debt is Rs. 49,000 crores plus the deferred spectrum payment liability of Rs. 21,000 to the government. Other Telcos Are Putting Up A Stronger Defense Against Jio Even though Jio’s tariff plans are the best-in-class offering huge amount of data plus the free voice calls, the incumbents are also launching new tariff plans to stay in the game. Given the fact that Jio’s generous data benefits might poach the subscribers of existing telecom operators, Vodafone India was the first to react by launchings its truly unlimited data pack offering unrestricted 3G/4G internet @ Rs. 16 per hour under the SuperHour pack. Vodafone also announced unlimited voice calls @ Rs. 7/hour to any Vodafone number. Now, following Vodafone’s suit, Idea Cellular has also announced similar unlimited hourly data pack offering 3G/4G internet access at Rs. 22/hour. Airtel is also expected to announce a similar pack soon. When all these competitively priced data/voice plans are available, the mobile subscribers will find few reasons to make the shift to Reliance Jio. This, in turn, would force Jio to revise its plans for retaining its competitive edge, which would lead to very affordable 4G packs, at least in the short-run. If you are an Idea customer, then kindly check the availability of this pack for your number with the customer care before proceeding. Do tell us how much data did you consume using this pack so we can arrive at a very low cost per GB. ;) courtesy of : trak

How GST Will Impact Startups in India The long awaited constitutional amendment to Goods and Services Tax (GST) finally sees the light of the day. Given that the businesses in our country face several hurdles in dealing with 29 states, 7 union territories and of course the central government, the uniform tax structure is definitely something to cheer about. GST is deemed to benefit the businesses of all sizes and nature, startups too can expect to look forward to better times ahead. Currently, India is home to 4200 startups and the third largest startup ecosystem in the world, registering a growth of 40% year-on-year. GST will further boost the positive sentiment around the startup industry in India in many ways. Simpler taxation Adhering to different taxation regulations in different states makes the taxation process more complex and burdensome. GST will simplify it by integrating all indirect taxes, making one single tax to be paid by everyone. The tax calculations will be easier, thereby saving time and energy for the startup entrepreneurs to focus on the core competencies of their business instead of tax paperwork. Simpler registration, easy to scale up VAT registration from the sales tax department is imperative to start a new business. But, a business operating in multiple states has to follow various procedures and pay different types of fees in each state. GST will bring uniformity, simplification and a centralized registration for companies. With GST, entrepreneurs need to get a just single license, and they are all set to do business in multiple states, as long as they pay the taxes. This will pave way for startups to launch, expand or scale their business smoothly. Higher exemption from taxes As per the current taxation laws in most states, VAT is applied uniformly to businesses with a turnover higher than INR 5 lakh. To lower the tax rates, businesses with a revenue of INR 10 lakh to INR 50 lakh can opt for the VAT Composition Scheme. But this scheme has various terms & conditions attached to it, and is not suitable for every business. However, with the implementation of GST, businesses with revenue less than INR 10 lakh will be exempted from GST; and businesses with turnover INR 10 lakh up to INR 50 lakh will be taxed at lower rates. This will not only reduce the tax burdens for startups, but also help them to invest the money saved on taxes, back in the business. Improvement in logistics efficiency The seamless movement of goods and a common market across the nation will result in greater efficiencies in logistics, which is currently a major pain point for startups for two reasons. One, state border checks delay the movement of goods transport vehicles, resulting in delayed deliveries and enhanced product cost to the end-customer. Second, since the large companies have well-defined infrastructure and logistic facilities in place, they tend to stock – transfer their goods to other states and manage to avoid paying taxes on interstate commercial transport. On the contrary, startups neither have logistics nor funds to stock-transfer. So, they procure goods through interstate sales, on which they are liable to pay central sales tax. GST will eliminate such inefficiencies, making interstate movement of goods cheaper and less time consuming. As there will be an uninterrupted movement in supply chain, the costs associated with maintaining high stocks will also be reduced. According to CRISIL analysis, GST can reduce the logistics cost for the companies producing non-bulk goods by as much as 20%. This includes all goods besides the primary bulk commodities transported by railways – iron ore, coal, steel, cement, fertilizers, food grains, etc. BUT….GST is not flawless…..There’s also a piece of bad news for startups GST can potentially build up an extra burden on startups in the manufacturing sector or with a lesser turnover. According to the existing excise laws, a manufacturing business with a turnover less than INR 1.50 crore is exempted from paying any duty. After GST comes into force, this turnover limit could be reduced to INR 25 lakh, which may kill several startups. The e-commerce startups will bear the brunt as well. The TCS (Tax Collection at Source) guidelines of GST state that e-commerce companies will have to file quarterly as well as monthly returns and collect the taxesfrom sales made on the portal. This will increase documentation and administration cost, the burden of which will eventually pass on to customers in the form of higher prices of the products. Food prices may spike initially after GST implementation, resulting in inflation. There is also a lack of clarity as to whether mandi tax is included or not in GST. Such discrepancies will affect food startups. The GST is also yet to specify what would be the GST rate. The clear picture will emerge only after that. But, in spite of its current drawbacks, GST is the most friendly tax reform ever in the India. It seeks to bring transparency, simplicity and efficiency in the way businesses operate and government levies taxes. Startups should hope for bright, clear skies as far as GST is concerned. courtesy of :Trak

English Should Be Made Compulsory In All Schools From Class 6th Onwards – Govt. Panel On Education

English Should Be Made Compulsory In All Schools From Class 6th Onwards – Govt. Panel On Education

15 Jan 2017 09:23 PM PST

English Should Be Compulsory In India?

In one of the strongest ever pitch for reforming educational standards in India, a Govt. panel has suggested that English should be made compulsory in all schools, and every student from class 6th onwards should study English as a compulsory subject.

Besides, the panel has recommended that atleast one English language school should exist in every block of the country. There are 6612 blocks in the country, and this single step has the potential to revolutionize education in the country.
The panel which has recommended these suggestions comprised of a group of Secretaries and was named as ‘Group on Education & Social Development’. They put major emphasis on education of English and Science, as they said that English should be made “a compulsory subject in all schools from class 6th onwards” and “at least one English medium school (be set up) in every block along with Science education facility in a radius of 5 kms”.
Can English Improve Lives Of Indians?
In August, 2015, we published a report which stated that 97% of Engineers in India cannot speak English, and as a result, 80% of all Engineers are unemployable as software engineers. This report created massive uproar, as Engineers claimed that English cannot be the sole criteria for judging their capability.
However, the fact of the matter is, English is right now a Universal language, and majority of higher education is in English. Software industry relies on English language, so is Services, ITeS and other computer related industries.
The panel has rightly understood the fact if Indian youth wants to compete against global powers, then they need to study and master over the English language.
The State of English Right Now
As of now, the study of English and other languages is guided by the Three Language Formula as laid down in the National Policy on Education (Parliamentary Resolution) of 1968. As per this ‘formula’, students of Central Board of Secondary Education-affiliated schools need to learn English in their first eight years, meanwhile for students of class 9th to 12th, there is an option to choose between English and Hindi.
Besides, the formula suggests study of English, Hindi and a ‘modern Indian language’ in Hindi speaking states, and study of English, Hindi and a regional language in non-Hindi speaking states.
Way back in 2011, we had reported that proficiency of English speaking among Indians is lower than that of Chinese. However, at the same time, India has one of the largest English speaking population in the World.
English As Compulsory Subject – Political Implications
RSS, which has been the ideological force behind the political decisions of BJP, has been recommending Hindi as the compulsory subject, and had suggested removal of English as a subject from Govt. schools.
RSS-affiliated Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN) had last year sent a proposal to Ministry of Human Resource Development, requesting that Hindi should be made the medium of teaching from elementary to higher levels, and English should be not be compulsory at any level.
Thus, there is a clear political opposition to the study of English, and it would be interesting to observe how Govt. responds to the suggestions of the high level panel, which wants English language to be the compulsory subject.
Do you believe that making English can solve problems for India? Should English be made compulsory for all students? Do let us know by commenting right here.
Image Source: GG2.net

Reliance Jio to Bring 4G VoLTE Phones at Rs. 999

Reliance Jio to Bring 4G VoLTE Phones at Rs. 999 Posted: 12 Jan 2017 03:38 AM PST After disrupting the telecom market in India with their incredible offers of free calls, free Internet and free SMS, Reliance Jio has now set their aim to disrupt smartphone market as well. As per unconfirmed reports, Reliance Jio will soon offer 4G VoLTE enabled ‘feature phones’ which will offer free voice calls along with cheap 4G data as they are VoLTE based. However, it is not clear whether these cheap feature phones will be enabled to browse the Internet like other smartphones or not. Reliance Jio’s Hardware Disruption This Time As per available reports, there would be two models of low-cost 4G phones by Jio: Rs 999 and Rs 1500. Currently, Reliance Lyf Flame 3 is the cheapest 4G smartphone offered by Jio, which is priced at Rs 2,999. Hence, in a way, Jio will break their own price barrier when it comes to selling 4G phones. Some of the features which this low-cost 4G VoLTE feature phone by Jio shall have: Front and rear cameras Bundled with apps such as Jio Chat, Live TV, On-Demand entertainment Can push for Jio Money wallet Free voice calls based on VoLTE Will work with the available 4G data plans being offered by Jio In case normal browsing of Internet is not allowed, then the user will have to use only Jio apps for their daily needs. Thus, in a way, Jio will form their own closed ecosystem of the Internet and its services. Which Segment Will It Target? Jio’s low-cost 4G feature phones will most probably target those users who are still buying feature phones, and are wary of buying high price smartphones, forget 4G VoLTE based phones. As per some market analysts, the branding and advertisement campaign would be delicately targeted only towards feature phone users. Hence, there would be no impact on the smartphone market per se. And based on the current trends, it seems a logical and valid business proposition. Because in 2016, feature phones’ market share were projected to be more than 50% of the overall phones sold in India. Thus, there are more feature phones sold than smartphones, and precisely this is the reason that Jio wants to target this segment. Do you think that Jio’s low-cost 4G VolTE smartphones can make a dent in the phone market in India? Do let us know by commenting right here. courtesy of : Trak

Paytm Has Just Created Millions Of PoS Across India With A Single Move; Every Paytm User Can Now Accept Card Based Payments

Paytm Has Just Created Millions Of PoS Across India With A Single Move; Every Paytm User Can Now Accept Card Based Payments Paytm has just created millions of Point of Sales (PoS) across the nation, with one strategic move. Now, anyone with a merchant account with Paytm can receive payments via debit card/ credit card, which means that digital payments have been super-simplified and scaled beyond imagination. This is certainly one of the masterstrokes by Paytm for encouraging even more digital transactions and a good move towards an absolute cashless economy. Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, “India needs a very innovating mobile pos machine and Paytm has already been accepted by many merchants. By extending our merchant network to all other payment networks, we are enabling digital payments to a very large number of Indians.” How Will It Work? Suppose you visit a local grocery shop to purchase few items and the shop-keeper has a Paytm account. Now, there can be two scenarios: Either you also have a Paytm account, which means that you can simply transfer the amount. Or, you don’t have a Paytm account, but have debit/credit card to make the payment. In this case, the merchant can accept your debit/credit card via his Paytm app, and complete the payment. This is how it will work: Step 1: The merchant raises the bill, and gives you his phone wherein you enter your debit/credit card number Step 2: The customer receives an OTP on his mobile number Step 3: Enter the OTP inside merchant’s Paytm app Step 4: Payment complete Till December 31, there would be no fees for such card based transactions on merchant’s Paytm app. The new version of the app has been updated, and under ‘Accept Payment’ tab, merchants can receive payments from cards issued by Rupay, Visa, MasterCard and Maestro. Big Boost For Cashless Economy There are around 150 million users of Paytm, and almost 1.5 million merchants registered with the. With one single step, these 1.5 million merchants can now accept debit and credit based payments, thereby transforming into a live PoS, instantly. Besides, RBI has recently increased the limit for merchants to Rs 50,000 per month, which means that they can send upto Rs 50,000 from Paytm app to the bank, without KYC. This, along with PoS transformation means that merchants would now prefer Paytm mode of accepting payments (both from credit/debit card or peer-to-peer money transfer). Merchants can register with Paytm by visiting here. Paytm is expecting atleast 10-15 million more merchant accounts after this decision to convert apps into PoS. We will keep you updated as more details come in. courtesy of ; TRAK

LinkedIn Signs MoU with HRD ministry, Makes it Easier for Students to Find Jobs

LinkedIn Signs MoU with HRD ministry, Makes it Easier for Students to Find Jobs

LinkedIn has been trying to make an impression in the Indian job industry with a slew of services like the Placements and Starter Pack. The Indian job market is not very straight forward, and competing companies like Naukri.com and Timesjobs already have a strong user base.

To take on such services, LinkedIn has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) with the Human Resource Development Ministry to create and market more job opportunities for students across India.

LinkedIn has its own Jobs portal where companies and recruiters can post their company openings. Job seekers can also directly apply through their LinkedIn profiles, making it easier for the seekers and cutting down time on creating CVs.

Millions of students graduate every year, and number of jobs available in the market are relatively low. Also, a lot of students get misguided after graduation and pursue something they are not fit for, due to shortage of opportunities. Through this MoU, the Placements product will be adopted by all Indian colleges affiliated with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Akshay Kothari, Head of Product – LinkedIn India, said “Our objective with Placements is to help India’s best talent get access to job opportunities, regardless of their location. With this partnership, we are excited to see our vision quickly become a reality.”

LinkedIn Placements provides an equal opportunity to all students, regardless of their location or college, through an online assessment test, which gives them access to thousands of openings in 35 top corporates in the country. This test is standardized across campuses and does not have any conditions and filters.

The service has already received a lot of interest from students and job seekers, with 1.2 million job applications in less than 2 months. Placements also makes it a tad easier for fresh graduates to apply to dream companies, that were out of reach earlier.

Will AICTE be able to help students?

The main issue with colleges in India is infrastructure and adherence to guidelines. AICTE might direct all the affiliated colleges to start this Placements service immediately, but the infrastructure and the processes will make it painfully long for students.

Especially right now, when the market is at its high, providing this opportunity to students will make it extremely competitive and beneficial for the companies. However, a lot of colleges lack proper conditions to allow their students to even take the test.

Another issue is the quality of education. The top colleges in India have better quality of education, giving them an advantage over the lesser known colleges. In the end, the more educated the student, the easier it is to get placed in these top companies.

The best solution would be to combine Placements with Khan Academy or Coursera to allow students to prepare and compete with everyone around India. This will ensure everyone is at par for an exam that is the same across different colleges.

courtesy of: trak

Airtel Might Offer Cheaper Voice Calls In Future, But Not Free

Airtel Might Offer Cheaper Voice Calls In Future, But Not Free Posted: 03 Nov 2016 07:57 AM PDT India’s leading telecom operator- Airtel has rubbished the possibilities of offering free voice calls for lifetime even though the new entrant, Reliance Jio is aiming to capture market share with its free voice offering. Airtel Might Offer Cheaper Voice Calls but not free unlike Reliance Jio It is worth noting that, as of now the telecom operators get about 80% of their revenue from voice, so moving to free voice business models might not be so easy for the incumbents. Reliance Jio on the other hand, is banking on the revenue generated from its data packs for sustenance and market penetration, as data has higher profitability than voice. Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO, India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel, mentioned the telecom sector as “brutally competitive market” and said that the competitors kept Airtel at it toes, but it never got “obsessed” with them. Since Jio is a new entrant into the immensely competitive telecom market, it is bound to have ‘market penetration’ as its pricing strategy which will erode the margin of the incumbents. “If the question is are you going to see price erosion…I think given that you have a new entrant on the horizon, yes, you will see some price erosion. Because that is the game new entrant will play,” said Vittal. Jio is offering free voice and data to its subscribers under its ‘Welcome Offer’, valid till 31 December 2016, for those who get a Jio SIM before 3 December. Post that, the users would still be able to make free voice calls for life as long as they are subscribed to any of the Jio’s tariff plans. It is worth noting that as a result of this free data offering, Jio’s average data speed has dropped considerably. Airtel is also offering unlimited voice calls on its Infinity pack priced at Rs. 999 but it is not offering it for free. A telecom operator needs to make money from one way or the other. If it is making good amount of money from one offering then it can offer the other at a reduced rate or may be for free. “There will be a large number of customers who are on basic feature phones and low end smartphones who will want to buy services differently. They will want to de-couple voice and data. Equally, there will be a set of market where they will want (it) bundled…If a guy is not paying for data at all, he will pay for something,” Vittal added. Airtel also made it clear that it will not be offering standalone free voice plans. “If you are only buying voice, how will one do that?” Vittal explained. It doesn’t come as a surprise to us as offering very affordable free voice plans won’t make sense for any telecom operator. Jio might be able to pull it off, by the economies of scale and with a huge base of loyal customers subscribed to monthly packs starting from Rs. 149 and above. As we earlier reported, Airtel is also upgrading its LTE network to VoLTE, so we can expect to see VoLTE voice packs priced very competitively, but certainly not for free.