India has today turned out to be a market of ‘middle-aged teenagers’. In a way, the Indian consumer is only 19 years old because that’s how long he has been exposed to the new world of consumption choices, post economic liberalisation.
Some days back, I received an email from a man in his early sixties asking for some post-retirement advice. Nothing remarkable about that, except that he had a problem that was the exact opposite of what you would conventionally expect from someone approaching retirement.
When Google started its famous e-mail service Gmail, its motto was “Search, don’t sort.” It helped the Internet giant to say this because every time someone searches for a mail or Web content, the intelligent software made by the company throws up relevant advertisements that help it make money, writes N Madhavan.
The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry seems to be on steroids, as far as new product developments are concerned, over the last five years.
Our work involves listening to consumers and we hear more and more consumers talk this language. Maybe not in those words, but in that sense. Tirthankar Dash writes.
A red sand boa is missing from Mumbai’s Byculla Zoo. Hindustan Times quotes zoo director Anil Anjankar as saying: “The snake has not been misplaced... this snake was stolen.”
Two weeks ago, my 20-month-old Nokia E71 suddenly gave up and crashed. It took me about a week to find my system back, with minor abrasions and damages.
Have you got a Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, Live or some other Web-based email account? Good. You have done some cloud computing, except that you probably did not know it. N Madhavan writes.
The Reserve Bank of India has said in a draft paper that the savings account interest rate should be deregulated. This rate is currently 3.5% and is the only interest rate offered by banks that is enforced across all banks.
The idea that one should re-plan one's investments in response to market conditions is built deeply into the received wisdom about how money is to be managed. Dhirendra kumar writes.
With commercial banks increasing their fixed deposit (FD) rates to double digits, a lot of citizens are moving towards this investment vehicle.
Gautam Chikermane writes.
India's Internet community is upset over a recent set of rules under the country's Information Technology Act of 2008 that aims to regulate content on the Web. N Madhavan writes.
Long ago I remember reading a beautiful story written by the famous writer Munshi Premchand. Roughly translated it was about a traditionally rich family in dire straits financially with a beautiful curtain. Puneet Mehrotra writes.
Communications and IT minister Kapil Sibal is said to be formulating a new information technology policy for India, with likely emphasis on two issues: the creation of software products on the one hand (as distinct from IT or IT-enabled from services) and making India a manufacturing hub (possibly with the focus on semiconductors). N Madhavan reports.
Averages can hide more than they reveal; generalisations tend to gloss over deeper issues. Yet, it would be safe to say that the typical Indian manager is resourceful, not daunted by challenges and carries the 'can-do' spirit. Nitin Paranjape writes.