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New Delhi, Jun 18 () Financial services platform Paytm on Thursday said it has set up its largest campus with over 5,000 seats in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, to accommodate its expanding team. "The company has taken up over 5.5 lakh sq ft of space comprising 21 floors spread across two towers in the newly set up office complex. Paytm plans to gradually shift all operations based in Delhi-NCR to this campus including the headquarters of One97 Communications," Paytm said in a statement. Paytm - which has had its headquarters in Noida for over two decades - said it is on track to shift to the new campus by December this year. The company will give up the leases of a total of 19 facilities across the country, out of which 16 are small regional sales offices, it added. "While the new campus will have over 5,000 seats, the company will follow all social distancing guidelines that the government would mandate when it shifts operations to the new complex by this year-end. All teams of Paytm would be housed on various floors of the same tower of the complex," it said. Paytm said it is also planning to take up over 1.5 lakh sq ft of office space in Bengaluru as it expands operations and teams of Paytm Mall, Paytm Money, Paytm Travel and other business units. The planned new campus will house Paytm's large engineering base the company is in the process of setting up, it added. "Paytm is a dynamic firm that is expanding at a rapid scale. While we have time to move into our biggest campus, we are streamlining some of our real estate spread across India. We will not extend the leases of some of our offices as our colleagues will continue working from home," Paytm Vice President Narendra Kumar said. Consolidating offices to one large campus would improve operational efficiency and further create synergies between various teams and processes, he added. SR RUJ RUJ

Paytm sets up new campus with 5,000 seats in Noida

<ul><li>Number of cases detected: 29 </li><li>Number of cases recovered: 3 </li><li>States where cases were detected: Kerala, Hyderabad Delhi, UP</li></ul>March 5, 10:30 am The group of 14 Italian tourists who tested positive for COVID-19 has been admitted to the Medanta hospital in Haryana. The hospital in a statement said, "Medanta has received, at the special request of the government, 14 asymptomatic persons suspected to have COVID-19. March 5, 08:30 am A Paytm, Gurugram office employee tested positive of <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword>, increasing the number of cases to 29 in India. The company said the employee recently travelled to Italy for a short vacation. Paytm’s Noida headquarters and Gurugram office will remain closed for the next few days in order to decontaminate the workplace. 06:00 pm As the number cases reported on Coronavirus rises, the demand for masks, sanitizers and gloves jumped by 316% in the last three months, according to Tradeindia.com, a B2B online marketplace. "Pharma industry players like Dettol and Pee Safe cited the rise in their manufacturing units as people are buying more N95 or surgical face masks to protect themselves from the threat of coronavirus," 'said Sandip Chhettri, COO of the platform. 03:00 pm Raheja Mindspace in Hyderabad's tech park was evacuated after the news that an employee was suspected of coronavirus, spread. 02:30 pm Union Minister for Health <keyword id="196226" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Harsh-Vardhan">Harsh Vardhan</keyword> in a press briefing today said there are 28 people infected with coronavirus in India, which includes a group of 16 Italian tourists and 12 Indians from Agra, Delhi and Telangana. 02:00 pm Retail giant <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amazon-web-services-cancels-mumbai-summit-due-to-coronavirus-concerns/articleshow/74473266.cms">Amazon's Cloud arm Amazon Web Services (AWS) on Wednesday announced</a> it has cancelled its flagship Summit in India owing to the growing new coronavirus concerns. AWS was scheduled to organise the summit in Mumbai from April 7-9. Coronavirus, which is spreading rapidly across the world, has infected more than 90,000 people around the globe. In total, 28 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in India so far, while three of them have recovered. Currently, India has two infected patients, one in New Delhi travelled from Italy, while the one from Telangana travelled from Dubai. The other include six people from Agra who got infected after coming in contact with the Delhi patient and a group of 17 tourists who travelled to Rajasthan and later Agra in Uttar Pradesh, which includes 16 Italians and an 1 Indian driver. However, the first tranche of Indians evacuated from Wuhan tested negative and were all released from quarantine at Manesar in Haryana, last <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coronavirus-indian-government-to-discharge-220-students-evacuated-from-wuhan-china/articleshow/74185359.cms">month</a>. The <keyword id="46535" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Health-ministry">Health Ministry</keyword>, in a press conference on March 2, assured all help and urged people to stay vigilant. Harsh Vardhan advised people to refrain from non-essential travel to Iran, Korea, China and Singapore. The ministry also released a new travel advisory for international travellers available on their <a href="https://mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/Consolidated%20Travel%20advisory%20to%20travelers%20Updated%2026-02-2020.pdfhttps://mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/Consolidated%20Travel%20advisory%20to%20travelers%20Updated%2026-02-2020.pdf">website</a>. The epidemic has spread over 65 countries now and has killed around 3,203 people.

Coronavirus: Paytm shuts down office, after employee tests positive

<ul><li>According to a Naukri JobSpeak report, jobs in information technology (IT) and IT-related areas are at an all-time high growth rate of 52% in May 2021.</li><li>As per job site Indeed, business analysts are becoming more popular across several sectors.</li><li>Business Insider has collated a few job openings for Business Analysts in various marquee companies.</li></ul>The hiring trend in India seems to be bouncing back after the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a Naukri JobSpeak report, jobs in information technology (IT) and IT-related areas are at an all-time high growth rate of 52% in May 2021, as compared to pre-COVID levels i.e., June 2019. As per job site Indeed, business analysts are becoming more popular across several sectors as organisations strive to grow and adapt to the new challenges while meeting the needs of their clients and customers. Business Insider has collated a few job openings for Business Analysts in various marquee companies. 1. <keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword> The US-based search engine giant is hiring Business Systems Analysts in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The candidate must have an experience of over 10 years in implementing vendor software or implementing supply chain applications with a bachelor’s degree in computer science/engineering/mathematics or related fields. Selected candidates will have to partner with the internal team to improve internal business processes by defining and implementing business solutions. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.google.com/about/careers/applications/packets/ed869393-c4ed-4dbf-9038-822010c34cdc/form">here</a>. 2.Paytm Digital payments platform Paytm is looking for a Business Analyst in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The candidate should have at least 2-5 years of experience as a business analyst or a data scientist and must be highly proficient in machine learning, algorithms and other statistical tools. The key responsibility of the selected candidate will be to design business strategies based on data findings and complete implementation and programme management. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://jobs.lever.co/paytm/480ee99b-97b6-4886-a189-45ce853d4e25">here</a>. 3. <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword> The multinational technology and e-commerce company is actively recruiting a Business Analyst in Hyderabad, Telangana. The candidate should have a relevant experience of three or more years as business analyst/data analyst or statistical analyst. The desired skills required for this position is proficiency in SQL, Python and related softwares. The candidate must have a bachelor’s/master’s degree in computer science/engineering/mathematics/statistics/finance. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://www.amazon.jobs/en-gb/jobs/1522086/business-analyst">here</a>. 4. Cognizant The multinational IT firm is looking for a Business Analyst across various locations — <a href="https://careers.cognizant.com/in/en/job/00042871561/Business-Analyst">Bangalore</a>, <a href="https://careers.cognizant.com/in/en/job/00041209775/Business-Analyst">Chennai</a> and <a href="https://careers.cognizant.com/in/en/job/00041767402/Business-Analyst">Hyderabad</a>. The candidate must have these desired skills in these areas — business scorecard, business services and business-to-consumer. 5. <keyword id="10875" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="IBM">IBM</keyword> The multinational technology company is hiring freshers for Business Analyst positions in Bangalore, Karnataka. The chosen candidate will participate in the ongoing projects related to data analysis of IBM as well as suppliers. Applicants must have a good knowledge about data modelling and advanced SQL. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://careers.ibm.com/job/13330682/business-information-analyst-bangalore-in/?codes=IBM_CareerWebSite">here</a>. 6. American Express The multinational financial services corporation is looking for a Business Analyst in Gurgaon, Haryana. The selected candidate will have to support the team in creating regulatory/governance reports and analyse, test these reports to draw inferences and gaps. The candidate must have at least 5 years of experience in the field of MIS and analytics. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://aexp.eightfold.ai/careers/?pid=8098568&amp;domain=aexp.com">here</a>. 7. Lenskart The eyewear retail chain is recruiting Business Analysts for its Faridabad office. Candidates with 1.5-5 years of experience with proficiency in tools such as SQL, advanced excel are preferred for this role. The candidate should have a master’s degree or a master’s in management (MBA) from tier 1 or 2 college in technology/economics. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://hiring.lenskart.com/o/business-analyst-analytics-faridabad">here</a>. 8. Barclays The British bank is hiring Business Analysts in Pune, Maharashtra. The selected candidates will be required to work on simple to medium complex projects with the team. The candidate should have at least 4-8 years of experience of working as a business analyst with good knowledge in the banking domain. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://search.jobs.barclays/job/pune/business-analyst/22545/8602438400">here</a>. 9.Gartner The international research and advisory company is seeking Technical Business Analysts for its Gurgaon office. The candidate needs at least 3-5 years of experience as technical business analyst/technical product owner and should be well versed with using tools such as Lucid, Chart, MS Visio, JIRA. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://jobs.gartner.com/job/gurgaon/technical-business-analyst/494/10659899520">here</a>. 10. Class Plus The edtech platform is actively recruiting a Business Analyst in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The candidate should have two years of experience in a high-growth startup. The selected candidate will have to provide in-depth analysis of problem statements fundamental to growth and synthesise the data to give actionable insights to influence strategy and growth. Interested candidates can apply <a href="https://in.linkedin.com/jobs/view/business-analyst-at-classplus-2656860914?utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&amp;utm_source=google_jobs_apply&amp;utm_medium=organic">here</a>. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/banking-jobs-hdfc-axis-icici-and-other-banks-are-hiring-across-the-country/articleshow/84666214.cms">Banking jobs: HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and more are hiring across the country for various roles</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/education/news/these-are-some-of-the-universities-that-offer-free-education-for-international-students/slidelist/84463712.cms">Planning to study abroad? These are some of the universities that offer a free education for international students</a>

Google, Amazon, IBM and many more are hiring business analysts across the country

At a time when the country is hankering for lower denomination currency notes amidst the chaos of currency demonetization, the tech savvy countrymen are breathing relief, all thanks to <keyword id="6357120" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PayTM">Paytm</keyword>. 
 Now the Noida based ecommerce platform specializing in recharge and payments has just acquired Delhi-based <keyword id="3393722" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shopsity">Shopsity</keyword> in a bid to strengthen its offline retail network. Shopsity follows an online-tooffline model that offers solutions to small retail stores. 
 
While there is no update on the transaction value, Paytm is creating seller-focussed services for its offline merchants. The company is in the process of acquiring merchants to accept payments and plans to go deeper and offer a more engaged platform for interacting with customers. 
 Shopsity co-founders <keyword id="2509279" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Danish-Ahmed">Danish Ahmed</keyword> and <keyword id="625133" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gaurav-Arya">Gaurav Arya</keyword> have joined Paytm's management and are actively working to strengthen seller services for the 8,00,000-strong offline sellers on the Paytm ecosystem. The acquisition will aid Paytm's targof reaching 4 million offline merchants by March 2017, the company claims. 
 “We are working to bring an entire suite of digital services to them,” <keyword id="3916" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ahmed">Ahmed</keyword> told the Economic Times. Shopsity was Ahmed's second venture after he quit as CEO of <keyword id="889290" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yebhi">Yebhi</keyword> in May 2015. "By integrating Shopsity's technology with our advanced seller services, we will be able to offer additional solutions to our family of small offline merchants. I am confident this acquisition will offer further momentum to online-to-offline,” said <keyword id="3723104" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Madhur-Deora">Madhur Deora</keyword>, chief financial officer at Paytm told the ET.

Paytm is just nailing the offline market with its recent acquisition of Shopsity

Chinese internet behemoth <keyword id="302749" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Alibaba">Alibaba</keyword>, which means to enter the domestic e-commerce market by early next year, has held discussions to acquire online marketplace <keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShopClues">ShopClues</keyword>, which is valued at over $1 billion. Alibaba needs to merge the Paytm, in which it has a stake, with the much bigger adversary ShopClues, as it is prospecting several securing targets to solidify an India entry against opponent Amazon, people acquainted with the matter said. 
 The Gurgaon-based ShopClues numbers <keyword id="6357968" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GIC">GIC</keyword> of Singapore, <keyword id="526777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tiger-Global">Tiger Global</keyword>, Nexus Venture Partners and Helion among its investors and has raised about $250 million till date. ShopClues is positioned as an online flea market, selling cheaper and generally unbranded merchandise to value shoppers. The organization, which is one among the top takeover targets in Indian e-commerce, is said to be reporting a revenue run-rate of $750 million based on the gross merchandise value of the products sold. 
 Investment bankers have taken multiple deal propositions to Alibaba in recent months. The Jack Ma-led Chinese goliath is hoping to sew up combination moves to challenge Amazon, which has already emerged as the nation's second-largest online marketplace and is seen threatening <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>'s leadership. This includes getting a significant stake in Flipkart and merging smaller Indian opponents with it, or scaling up investments in <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> in which it is currently a little shareholder. 
 
The media has speculated about Alibaba's interest in Flipkart, however these parleys have stalled over differences in valuations. Incidentally, Flipkart has likewise been rumored as a potential suitor for ShopClues since Tiger Global is a large regular investor in both. 
 Former <keyword id="188699" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Zynga">Zynga</keyword> and <keyword id="6363100" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Yahoo">Yahoo</keyword> executive K Guru Gowrappan, who has been mandated to graph Alibaba's development in Asian markets (excluding China), is driving the M&amp;A chats with the senior management of ShopClues, sources, said. Gowrappan, who joined Alibaba in November a year ago, is spending more time in India to finalize Alibaba's entry strategy. Sources said he was in regards to join the leading body of One 97 Communications, the parent of Paytm, and is working from the latter's offices in Noida. 
 
Sources cautioned that the discussions with ShopClues may not lead to an exchange. Alibaba could value ShopClues at around $1 billion however the organization's management is negotiating for a higher valuation. The up and coming Diwali festival season sales would determine the valuations of several Indian e-commerce companies which are in the M&amp;A ring currently. 
 
Meanwhile, Alibaba bunch, which holds around 40% stake in Paytm, has already started the process to separate the Noida-based organization's core payment business and the smaller commerce business into two separate entities. Alibaba is keen on moving the battling and money swallowing marketplace of Paytm into one of the larger blends it is seeking after in the nation. Paytm clearly sees its future as a payments organization and has attempted to locate a new investor or sell off the commerce in recent past.

Alibaba reportedly in talks to acquire Shopclues

<keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> is consistently being bandied as the next major growth market for all smartphone companies, but there is one company that’s really struggling to crack India. The company in question is the most valuable one in the world -- <keyword id="6354427" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="apple">Apple</keyword>. According to CounterPoint’s latest report, Apple’s market share has dropped to an all-time low in India, with its share of the smartphone market dropping to below 2%. The problem is a combination of the nature of the Indian smartphone consumer, Indian laws and Apple’s stubbornness. This quarter Xiaomi and Samsung have emerged as the defacto leaders with their combined market share in India pushing 30%. Samsung managed to regain its lead in India with a share of 29%, up from 24% in the previous quarter, as per a report by Canalys. Xiaomi also grew to 28% market share in the country. While Tim Cook has reiterated often that India is a key market for the Cupertino-based giant, Apple has hit a new low in India, which is clearly the most important smartphone market outside of China. Pricing doesn’t allow Apple to compete for market share in India The problem for the company is that India is primarily a sub Rs 15,000 market, while the cheapest <keyword id="6354606" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhone">iPhone</keyword> – the iPhone SE costs Rs 26,000, and runs three-year-old hardware. Apple doesn’t make cheap products because it doesn’t want to be perceived as a mass market smartphone brand. The Indian market is wildly different from the one in the United States, Europe and even China, which is Apple’s favourite market off-late. These markets are dominated by the operators and their contracts, where users can get the latest and greatest iPhone for about the same Rs 15,000 amount, put in as down payment. The space for phones that cost more than Rs 30,000 is just 4% of the Indian smartphone market. And that is commanded by OnePlus, followed by Samsung. Even if Apple were to get 100% market share in the premium space, it would still only command 4% of the market. Even when competing on price, older iPhones like the 6S and 7 lose out to newer phones from companies like OnePlus on both marketing and also technical capability. Indians tend to buy phones on the basis of specifications and even some of the newer models lose out to brands like OnePlus in the premium segment as the iPhone 6S and 7 models are perceived to be inferior. Hardware disadvantage Apple’s hardware disadvantage swells up when one talks about the cheapest iPhone models in this country. Apple simply doesn’t have a product in that price bracket, the sub-Rs 20,000 zone, and that’s the price point where the market for new smartphones is exploding. While the cheapest iPhone, the SE, costs Rs 26,000, it’s not the best selling iPhone here. It is the iPhone 6, which first popped up in 2014...and here we are in 2018. There are two reasons for this -- first, the iPhone 6 has a bigger screen (4.7-inch) which is more to the liking of Indian users; and second, design-wise, it’s not too dissimilar from the iPhone 8 which came out at the fag end of 2017. With the entry of Reliance Jio in India in late 2016, Indians have developed a voracious appetite for consuming video on the go. The iPhone SE, which uses the design of the iPhone 5 and 5S, has a rather small 4-inch screen. Newer phones like the Redmi Note 5 have much larger 5.99-inch screens. That’s a difference of 2-inches and considering mobile video, it's a huge one. The iPhone SE and iPhone 6, which are the two cheapest iPhones in India also have dated cameras. Nowadays, phones like the Honor 9 Lite and Redmi Note 5 Pro also offer dual cameras with an iPhone X-like bokeh mode -- something these older, cheaper iPhones can’t hope to match. Network conditions in India are often quite poor, connectivity wise, which results in smartphones consuming more battery. Apple’s iPhones have never been known for battery life. The most affordable iPhone in India (iPhone SE) has a meagre 1,624mAh battery, while phones half its price are pushing battery packs that are more than double the size. iPhones also don’t offer hardware features that are popular in emerging markets like ours. For instance, there is no support for dual SIM cards, and there is no support for expandable memory. With newer models like the iPhone 7, iPhone 8 and iPhone X, there isn’t even a headphone jack -- something competitors like Samsung and OnePlus are providing to customers in the premium segment. Apple hasn’t been able to push its design as a premium advantage either, as Chinese smartphone manufacturers have aped iPhone-like designs on almost all their phones. In fact, the design of the iPhone X has been democratised by Chinese smartphone makers. For instance, the iPhone X-style notch display can be found even on new phones like the Honor 9N that starts at just Rs 13,999 while offering dual cameras on not only the back but also for selfies, and also providing a battery that’s almost twice as big as the iPhone SE. Even their software is designed in a way that Android looks more like iOS. Android modifications from vendors like <keyword id="6357456" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="huawei">Huawei</keyword>, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo follow the same basic iOS-like design language. Software disadvantage It’s bad enough that many Android smartphone makers have designed their software to mimic the look and feel of iOS, but Apple’s problems are compounded by the fact that its own services perform poorly in India or are non-existent. Apple Maps is perhaps the biggest no-show. It doesn’t do turn-by-turn navigation in India and its mapping coverage is abysmal in the country. It is a matter of fact that Apple Maps can’t be used in India as a reliable tool for commuting. Apple Pay isn’t available in India at a time where digital payments are taking off in the country. Paytm and Google’s Tez payments systems are taking off in India massively. Samsung launched Samsung Pay in India last year. Apple Pay is dependent on NFC, while Samsung Pay uses a combination of NFC and magnetic secure transaction (MST), which mimics the magnetic signal a credit or debit card makes to a POS machine. Siri, on most days doesn’t understand the Indian accent as well as the Google Assistant, and nor can it do much. Heck, <keyword id="10387" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword>’s Cortana and Amazon’s Alexa do a better job and this is despite the fact that Apple was the first company to deploy a virtual assistant. While Apple’s services hobble on its own trophy -- the iPhone -- its competitors -- Google, Amazon and Microsoft have their services performing better on iOS. For mapping, most people use Google Maps. For search, Google Search becomes the default, and for productivity, Microsoft’s Office crushes Apple’s iWork apps. Rarely, you’re using Apple software on the iPhone in India. Even Apple Music, which is one of the rare examples of an Apple service doing well in the country, has been flanked by local competition like Ganna.com, Jio music, Wynk and Saavn. All of whom have a free tier. On older iPhones, Apple’s iOS updates have also crippled the experience of the iPhone. A couple of years ago, there used to be a strong argument in favour of the iPhone as it would perform well for over two years. Apple’s recent updates have made older iPhones inferior in comparison to newer Android phones that cost the same. Apple is addressing this issue in this year's iOS 12 update, which makes huge performance improvements to older iPhones, but it could be too little too late. The app store also doesn't make life easy for users as it demands a credit card for a user to even download free apps. That's not the case on the Google Play store. Apple has been late in localising services for India The larger issue here is that Apple isn’t localising its services for India in the way it has attempted to for China. This is indicative of the fact that Apple hasn’t taken the time or put enough resources behind localising its services for this country. Samsung and Huawei have R&amp;D centres in India customising services for the market. Xiaomi also prioritises and customises products for India. Apple opened an App Accelerator in Bangalore and a facility for Apple Maps in Hyderabad only in 2016. Google has had software and services being developed out of India since the mid-2000s, while Microsoft has been in India since the early 90’s. This has, in turn, inhibited Apple’s ability to quickly pivot. Its biggest competitor, Google, on a platform level, makes products for India. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said last year, “India shapes how we build products. If something works in India it will work globally.” And this philosophy can be seen in the customisations that Google has made to core services like Android, Maps, YouTube, Search and even payments. Its next billion division has made “Go” editions of Android, YouTube, Search and Maps, which are designed to work better on low power phones and poorer network conditions. They have even invested in KaiOS that powers feature phones like the Jio Phone creating its own versions of YouTube, Google Search and Assistant in India. For Apple to replicate its China success in India, it has to do a lot more than what it did in China. Even in China, Apple’s momentum has slowed so it has a steep slope to climb there as well. In China, Google and Amazon are almost non-existent. In India, they are big players. Apple isn’t able to compete with Google with regards to services. Most people use Google services which are part of all Android phones and one doesn’t need to buy a comparatively expensive iPhone to enjoy them. Apple and the Indian government: Frenemies? Apple hasn’t seen eye to eye with the Indian government for long. Apple expected concessions for manufacturing in India. It never made headway with that. While it lobbied for tax concessions -- brands like Xiaomi, Oppo and Huawei all got on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ programme which grants locally assembled phones some tax concessions. Only recently, Apple has started manufacturing both the iPhone SE and iPhone 6S in India. There are some reports that Apple has locked in a deal with one of its ODM vendors to manufacture even the iPhone X, but that’s not happening right now. The price variance between the iPhone X and the new Samsung Galaxy S9+ is quite startling. The iPhone X tops out at a whopping Rs 1,07,999 while the latest Galaxy S9+ tops out at Rs 69,000 for its top-end model in India. That’s almost a gap of Rs 40,000 which ironically is the cost of the 128GB model of the OnePlus 6 which is currently the best selling smartphone in the premium segment in this country. In the US, the iPhone X costs $1,149 which is around Rs 79,000 and the Galaxy S9+ costs $792 (around Rs 55,000). This points towards the fact that India is the most expensive place to purchase an iPhone and also the fact that Samsung’s phones have a huge price advantage in India that they don’t enjoy even in the US. And a lot of this is due to the fact that the S9+ is assembled in Samsung’s factory in Greater Noida (a satellite town outside New Delhi) which also happens to be the largest smartphone manufacturing plant in the world. The iPhone is further hobbled by the fact that it has an international warranty and India has a bubbling <keyword id="395545" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="grey-market">grey market</keyword>. It’s totally possible for someone to buy an imported iPhone for much lesser than the official price in India and still enjoy global warranty on the product. For years, Apple has been hoping to get permissions to set up its iconic Apple Stores in India. Indian law stipulates that single brand retail can only happen when products use 30% raw materials that are locally sourced -- that’s a hard problem to solve for Apple. That’s led to it selling its phones via resellers who often have discounted products to move inventory, thereby diluting Apple’s premium identity. In order to move more affordable iPhones, the Indian government has also rejected Apple’s plan for selling refurbished iPhones in India. More recently, Apple has been deadlocked in a stalemate with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in India over the installation of its spam reporting app on the iPhone. The telecom regulator has been reported to be taking extreme steps which could result in the iPhone being blocked from telecom networks in India if Apple doesn’t play ball, but that seems to be changing. An update in iOS 12 could possibly pave the way for an extension in the iMessage app for the TRAI to push out its spam reporting feature. The big takeaway is that Apple’s brand positioning makes its life hard enough in a market where feature phone sales are still growing, however, it hasn’t helped its own cause by not investing in India in a timely manner and also not adopting and partaking quickly enough in initiatives of the Indian government which has put it at a disadvantage with regards to lobbying.

You Searched For "paytm office in noida" and got 6 results

Paytm sets up new campus with 5,000 seats in Noida

PTI

Coronavirus: Paytm shuts down office, after employee tests positive

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Google, Amazon, IBM and many more are hiring business analysts across the country

Vaamanaa Sethi

Paytm is just nailing the offline market with its recent acquisition of Shopsity

BI India Bureau

Alibaba reportedly in talks to acquire Shopclues

Gaurav Sangwani

Here’s why the iPhone can’t compete in India

Sahil Mohan Gupta

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