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Search giant <keyword id="693389" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> is keen to promote the Indian SME segment and plans to get online some 50,000 <keyword id="6375845" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Small-and-medium-enterprises">small and medium enterprises</keyword> in <keyword id="6354766" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Gujarat">Gujarat</keyword>, by the end of 2014. As part of <keyword id="45395" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Google-India">Google India</keyword>’s national campaign called India, Get Your Business Online, this initiative will offer free websites and hosting services to Gujarat-based <keyword id="44779" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SMEs">SMEs</keyword>, in a bid to bridge the connectivity divide that hinders small businesses from accessing the global market. 
 Google India and HostGator are also involved in a special project in which the partners explored traditional industries like textile, jewellery and artefacts, located in the popular markets of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot. In addition to developing websites for 5,000 small businesses under this project, Google India also created <keyword id="97416" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Google-maps">Google Maps</keyword> listings and Google+ business pages for these firms. They can also make use of 24x7 customer support to manage their websites and get free online advertising credit that can be used on Google search to promote their businesses online. 
 Commenting on the project, <keyword id="249393" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rajan-Anandan">Rajan Anandan</keyword>, vice-president and managing director of Google India, said, “The initiative aims to boost the SME ecosystem by giving them a simple, effective and free platform to get their business online. We aim to get 50,000 SMEs online, which will dramatically change the business landscape and opportunities for SMEs in Gujarat. 
 
“Our research has shown that SMEs, who use the Internet, see revenue growth of 51% and raise in profits by 49%. Gujarat already represents 10% of the total Internet population in the country and houses many export-oriented businesses. By being present on the Internet, they can make the world their market and continue to boost the economy of the country,” he added.

Google India
Aims To Get 50,000 Gujarat SMEs Online

New Delhi, Dec 20 () Leading stock exchange NSE on Friday said it has entered into a pact with the Gujarat government to work jointly for the promotion and development of MSMEs (Micro Small and Medium Enterprises) in the state.
The MoU will address multiple avenues for MSMEs in terms of fund raising and understanding of hedging foreign exchange fluctuations for MSMEs engaged in imports and exports business, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) said in a statement.
 Apart from this, a fund is also being created by the state government on the NSE platform to encourage investors to invest in the fast-growing SMEs in the state.
 As part of the pact, the NSE said it will support the efforts of the Gujarat government in enhancing the financing opportunities for MSMEs, through listing on NSE's SME exchange platform, EMERGE.
 Besides, the exchange would handhold MSMEs through the process of listing, thereby empowering them to achieve their next level of growth.
The government has decided to support MSMEs financially by bearing a part of the expenses related to listing.
 Listing helps companies get better access to capital for expansion and growth and provides visibility to local companies at the national level.
 Further, the government and the NSE will also work jointly to promote the online digital bills receivable discounting platform.
 "The joint initiative between Gujarat government and the NSE will bring growth and development for MSMEs in the state. The Gujarat government and NSE, together are working towards making this funding available for MSMEs in the state," Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.
 The exchange said similar intent and policies have been introduced by Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
 "Gujarat has strong and robust business ecosystem comprising industrial clusters of Jamnagar, Baroda, Morbi, Bhavnagar and Rajkot. The MoU...is to support the efforts of the Government of Gujarat to facilitate the SMEs in enhancing their financing opportunities and help them catapult to the next level of growth," NSE MD and CEO Vikram Limaye said.
 NSE SME platform EMERGE has 205 companies listed currently and together raised Rs 3,192 crore. Of these, 64 firms are from Gujarat that garnered over Rs 900 crore. SP ANU
ANU

NSE joins hands with Gujarat govt to promote MSMEs

After 7 years of deliberation and a monumental 7-hour debate, the <keyword id="48510" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Rajya-Sabha">Rajya Sabha</keyword> finally cleared a constitutional amendment that possibly spells the most important economic reform since the Liberalization and Privatization reforms of 1991. The Goods and <keyword id="645517" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="services-tax">Services Tax</keyword> (GST) <keyword id="19032" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bill">Bill</keyword>, passed by the Rajya Sabha on August 3 and the <keyword id="6355187" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lok-Sabha">Lok Sabha</keyword> on August 8, is being hailed as the biggest tax reform since Independence. The implementation of the GST, planned for commencing in the next financial year (beginning April 1, 2017), now depends on the ratification by a majority of the Indian states within a month. 
 
The Current Tax Scenario 
 
Presently, companies pay taxes at different stages of production as well as being taxed separately by different government authorities. The two key problems with the current tax system can be understood by the points below: 
 
Causes double taxation 
 Unlike services, goods need to be manufactured before they are consumed. The manufacturer is required to pay an indirect tax to the <keyword id="6357307" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Central-Government">Central Government</keyword> when the goods leave the factory. The goods then reach the retail store, where they are bought by consumers. Here is where the State Government steps in and levies the value added tax (VAT) on consumption. So, the goods are taxed both at the factory gate as well as on purchase by the final consumer. 
 
Complicates tax norms across states 
 Different states have the power to levy different tax structures within their borders. The states treat goods coming from another state as an import and levy a tax on them. Let’s say a company has a factory in <keyword id="6354766" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gujarat">Gujarat</keyword>, but uses a component or material from <keyword id="6357713" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</keyword> to manufacture the final product. The company would need to bear the cost of the tax paid by the provider of the component or material to the UP state government. When the final product is ready, the company would be taxed at the factory gate by the Central Government. When the goods are bought by the consumer, tax would need to be paid to the Gujarat government. If, however, the goods are sold in another state, let’s say Delhi, the Gujarat government would treat it as an export and levy the central sales tax (CST). 
 
 
The Tax Revolution Called GST The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is the system by which a single tax would be levied on the supply of goods and services. <keyword id="3716470" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="all-central-and-state">All Central and State</keyword> level taxes on all goods and services would be subsumed within an integrated system of taxation. Thus, there would be an indirect tax levied uniformly across the country. 
 
The GST is a complete overhaul of the current tax system, impacting the tax structure, incidence, computation and payment as well as compliance, credit utilization, and reporting. 
 
The GST would replace all indirect taxes. Being a consumption-based tax system, the GST would reduce the cascading effect of tax (or double taxation) by levying taxes only where the consumption takes place. 
 
The current tax system creates borders within borders, creating obstacles in supply chains within the country. The implementation of the GST would streamline India’s fragmented tax system and unite all states into a singular market. 
 
The GST is also expected to make the tax base more comprehensive and the compliance burden less complex and less time consuming. 
 
Who Will Benefit from GST According to a research note published by <keyword id="48670" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Morgan-Stanley">Morgan Stanley</keyword>, four sectors that would benefit from the implementation of GST are: 
• Consumption (consumer goods and services) 
• Logistics companies • <keyword id="3716469" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="manufacturers-of-house">Manufacturers of house</keyword> building materials 
• Industrial manufacturing 
 
The GST will benefit traders who supply raw materials or components to factories across the company. Distributors with a network across various states and manufacturers with facilities in many states would also benefit immensely from the new tax regime. 
Implications for the SME Sector 
While the GST is expected to have a far-reaching impact across most businesses, small and medium enterprises would particularly benefit from the new tax regime. 
 
Eliminates the Cascading Impact of Taxes 
Under the current tax regime, large enterprises were managing their infrastructure to reduce the burden of double taxation and CST. On the contrary, SMEs typically lack the infrastructure resources and have been bearing the burden of taxes that accompany interstate sales. This increases the cost of the goods being offered by SMEs, leaving them less price competitive compared to large enterprises. 
 
The GST neutralizes these impacts by uniting all states into a single market and by eliminating the cascading impact of input taxes. 
 
Eases Documentation 
SMEs that are directly catering to customers and those that have e-commerce models would particularly benefit due to the ease of cross-border transactions. Each state requires a different set of documentation for businesses to conduct transactions, which create obstacles for businesses. This resulted in the need for dedicated resources to manage clearances which further added to the cost. The hassle involved can be entirely avoided with the implementation of GST. An e-commerce company or one that provides goods directly to consumers can now benefit from a smoother supply chain and logistics network across the country. 
 
Simplification of Tax Filing 
All taxes can be filed and paid online. While existing taxpayers would not have to register afresh under GST, new companies will have a simple application form that can be filled and submitted online for registration. 
 
Less Incentive for Tax Defaults 
With the elimination of the currently huge central excise tariff, the simplification of tax filing and payments as well as the removal of different documentation needs by various states, there would be less incentive for tax frauds. 
 
Although it has several advantages, GST has a drawback too. The threshold limit for tax exemption has been reduced from Rs.150 lakhs to Rs.25 lakhs, which would impact small businesses that were so far shielded from compliance requirements. This lowering of the tax exemption not only has a cost impact but a significant working capital implication as well. 
 
Impacting India’s Business Climate 
With the GST making it easier to conduct business and allowing the free movement of goods across the country, many SMEs would look to expanding to different states. SMEs will no longer be hindered by geographical restrictions and can optimize the opportunities to scale at a geometric rate without artificial hurdles. 
 
As mentioned earlier, the manufacturing sector will benefit from GST. However, there might be flux in the near future, as all the participants in the supply chain must be incorporated to pay taxes. If a supply chain participant isn’t registered, the benefits of GST will not be transferred down the chain. The flux is expected to be temporal in nature as gradually, GST will be advantageous in streamlining payment of taxes across the supply chain and eventually adding to the country’s GDP. 
 
The service sector might experience a hit, though, due to increased taxation. This sector will need to find a response mechanism to handle the slight inflation in taxes without impacting service delivery or customer satisfaction. Services, being intangible in nature, become hard to evaluate from a consumption perspective and any increase in cost might negatively impact the perception of value by the end consumer. That being said, this might be a minor blip in the longstanding effects that GST has on Services. Early resistance from end customers notwithstanding, the unification of taxes will eradicate ambiguity in taxation, which eventually benefits the consumer. 
 
The post has been originally authored by Gaurav Hinduja, Co-founder, <keyword id="2461194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Capital-Float">Capital Float</keyword>.

GST: Uniting a Fragmented India into One Market

Are you an entrepreneur struggling to accelerate your <keyword id="138263" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="startup">startup</keyword>? What are your biggest concerns: finding <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword>, lack of mentoring or missing enterprise connects? The help is now just a click away. Many big organisations are coming forward to help budding entrepreneurs propel their growth in the Indian market. This, by providing them everything they need: right from angel funding to accelerator and incubator support, mentorship from experts to a piece of the leading minds. 
 
This article would introduce you to organisations who can give wings to your ‘entrepreneurial dreams’. 
 
 
<a href="http://www.ciieindia.org/">Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE):</a> If you are looking for a one-stop-shop for funding, mentoring, and enterprise connect, CIIE is it. It was set up by IIM Ahmedabad with support from the Government of India. Since its inception, the group has been successfully fostering entrepreneurship through incubation, ecosystem development and academic initiatives. Its portfolio ventures have an impressive success rate and employ more than 1,000 people. Boasting of less than 5% mortality rate since 2008, the CIIE, along with its investee companies, has raised over Rs 125 crore till date. 
 
<a href="http://www.ediindia.org/">Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI):</a> Lucky are those, who can find mentors. But if you are still searching for one, get enrolled with EDI and you stand a sure-shot chance to find world’s best mentors who would guide you on the road to entrepreneurship. The EDI came into being in 1983, when the Industrial Development Bank of India, the apex financial institution, joined hands with Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI), Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI), and State Bank of India (SBI) to support the <keyword id="2493894" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Gujarat-Centre-for-Entrepreneurship">Gujarat Centre for Entrepreneurship</keyword> (CED). Since then, it has been facilitating emergence of competent first generation entrepreneurs and transition of existing SMEs into growth-oriented enterprises through entrepreneurship education, training, research &amp; institution building. As of March 31, 2014, the group has set up 9,591 micro enterprises, and trained over 17,567 micro entrepreneurs. 
 
<a href="http://iie.nic.in/">Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE):</a> India has the largest rural population; this explains why IIE was established in the year 1993 by the erstwhile Ministry of Industry, Government of India as an autonomous national institute. With focus on development of micro, small and medium enterprises, it undertakes several initiatives every year to achieve the following key objectives: promote and develop entrepreneurship; conduct research and provide consultancy for entrepreneurship development; provide consultancy and monitoring service to MSMEs/ potential entrepreneurs and enhance employability of participants; promote greater use of information technology in the activities/ functions of the IIE. Join and get trained by the best in the industry. 
 
<a href="http://10000startups.com/">NASSCOM 10,000 Startups:</a> This is one of the recent and latest startup initiatives by <keyword id="746972" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="National-Association-of-Software">National Association of Software</keyword> and Services Companies (<keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Nasscom">NASSCOM</keyword>), the trade association of Indian Information Technology and Business Process Outsourcing industry, which every enthusiastic entrepreneur should keep a tab on. The NASSCOM 10,000 program is created with the aim to enable thousands of entrepreneurs to start-up and grow their businesses. It has successfully launched three phases as of June 2014. Through this program, NASSCOM would be offering startups a substantial funding amount—ranging from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 2 crore—through leading angel investor networks of the country. The program has so far received 7000 applications, shortlisted 500 and impacted 150. Become a member and who knows, it might give your start-up the wings that it needs to succeed. 
 
Image: Thinkstock

Startup! Claim
Your F.A.M.E. (Funding. Acceleration. Mentoring. Enterprise Connect)

<ul><li>The <keyword id="829523" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-pc-market" source="Orion">Indian PC market</keyword> has reported a decline for the fourth consecutive quarter.</li><li>The PC market has declined by 15.3% year-on-year in Q2 2023.</li><li>The outlook is optimistic as import restrictions will begin in November.</li></ul> The Indian PC (personal computer) market has reported a decline for the fourth consecutive quarter, reporting a decline of over 15% year-on-year. In Q2 2023, the Indian PC market consisting of desktops, notebooks, and workstations shipped 3.2 million units. According to a report by International Data Corporation (IDC), while the Indian PC market reported a quarterly growth of 5.4%, there was a 15.3% year-on-year decline. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Decline across categories" comment="subhead" text="Decline across categories">Decline across categories</cmsannotation> Q2 2023 witnessed a decline across all segments. The notebook category which has the highest market share declined by 18.5% year-on-year, while the desktop category declined by 7% year-on-year. The consumer and the commercial segments also declined by 17% and 13.8% year-on-year respectively. While the premium notebooks category reported a 30.7% decline year-on-year, it grew by 39% in Q2 2023 compared to Q2 2022. “The India consumer PC segment has started showing signs of recovery as market sentiment is improving. Despite a YoY double-digit decline, it clocked a strong double-digit QoQ growth. PC vendors successfully ran college campaigns and got good traction,” said Bharath Shenoy, senior market analyst, IDC India. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Government-driven education segment grows" comment="subhead" text="Government-driven education segment grows">Government-driven education segment grows</cmsannotation> The government-driven education segment reported a growth of 43.7% due to orders from states like Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Companies with the highest market share" comment="subhead" text="Companies with the highest market share">Companies with the highest market share</cmsannotation> <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#000000;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Company </td><td style="border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#000000;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Q2 2023 market share </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#000000;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Q2 2022 market share </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">HP </td><td style="border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">31.1% </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">30.8% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Lenovo </td><td style="border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">16.2% </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">19.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Dell Technologies </td><td style="border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">15.3% </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">21.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Acer Group </td><td style="border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">11.4% </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8.9% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">ASUS </td><td style="border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7.2% </td><td style="border-right:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;border-top:solid #000000 0.6260872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;background-color:#d9d9d9;padding:0pt 5pt 0pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6.1% </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Source: IDC HP continues the PC market, occupying a 31.1% market share in Q2 2023, up from 30.8% in Q2 2022. Lenovo is second on the list with a 16.2% market share, down from 19.6% share in Q2 2023. Dell has reported a huge decline in market share at 15.3% in Q2 2023, down from 21.6% in Q2 2022. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Import restrictions may boost sales in Q3" comment="subhead" text="Import restrictions may boost sales in Q3">Import restrictions may boost sales in Q3</cmsannotation> While the sales have been sluggish in Q2 2023, analysts expect Q3 2023 to be better. One of the reasons for this is the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/india-puts-curbs-on-laptop-and-tablet-imports-heres-how-it-could-impact-you/articleshow/102430014.cms"> upcoming import restriction</a>, which will now come into effect from November 2023. “The PC market has been sluggish over the last few quarters as enterprises and SMEs have been delaying their PC procurement. However, with import restrictions expected to kick in from November, we expect vendors to push channel inventory in both the consumer and commercial segments,” said Navkendar Singh, associate vice president, devices research, IDC India, South Asia &amp; ANZ. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/india-crosses-the-2-billion-mark-in-its-journey-to-become-a-smartphone-manufacturing-powerhouse/articleshow/102760757.cms">India crosses the 2 billion mark in its journey to become a smartphone manufacturing powerhouse</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/gadgets/news/with-smartwatches-leading-the-pack-indian-wearables-market-grows-over-50-in-the-first-half-of-2023/articleshow/102638102.cms">With smartwatches leading the pack, Indian wearables market grows over 50% in the first half of 2023</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/auto-sales-slip-5-percent-in-july-companies-build-up-inventory-ahead-of-the-festive-season/articleshow/102494498.cms">As auto sales slip in July, dealers pin hopes on upcoming festive fervour</a>

Indian PC market declines for fourth consecutive quarter, reports 15% decline

<keyword id="6354504" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio" source="Orion">Reliance Jio</keyword> on Tuesday announced it has launched its high-speed 5G services in 20 cities across 11 states and Union Territories. They are Bongaigaon, North Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Tinsukia (Assam), Bhagalpur, Katihar (Bihar), Mormugao (Goa), Diu (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu), Gandhidham (Gujarat), Bokaro Steel City, Deoghar, Hazaribag (Jharkhand), Raichur (Karnataka), Satna (Madhya Pradesh), Chandrapur, Ichalkaranji (Maharashtra), Thoubal (Manipur), Faizabad, Firozabad, Muzaffarnagar (Uttar Pradesh). With the launch, <keyword id="6668253" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jio-5g" source="Orion">Jio 5G</keyword> services are now available in 277 cities. "We are proud to rollout <keyword id="2003276" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jio" source="Orion">Jio</keyword> True 5G services in these 20 cities across 11 states/UTs. With this launch, Jio users across 277 cities can enjoy the transformational benefits of Jio True 5G in the new year 2023," a Jio spokesperson said. "These newly launched True 5G cities are important tourism and commerce destinations as well as key education hubs of our country. With the launch of Jio's True 5G services, consumers of the region will not just get the best telecommunication network but will also get infinite growth opportunities in the areas of e-governance, education, automation, artificial intelligence, gaming, healthcare, agriculture, IT, and SMEs." Telecom service providers started providing high-speed 5G services in the country from October 2022 onwards. The government issued spectrum allocation letters to telecom service providers in August 2022, while asking them to prepare for the rollout of 5G services in the country. Department of Telecom had received total bids worth Rs 1.50 lakh crore from the 5G spectrum auction. What is 5G, and how is it different from the current 3G and 4G services? 5G is the fifth-generation mobile network capable of transmitting a large data set at a very rapid speed. In comparison to 3G and 4G, 5G has a very low latency which will enhance user experiences in various sectors. Low latency describes the efficiency to process a very high volume of data messages with a minimal delay. The 5G rollout is also expected to bring more development in remote data monitoring in sectors such as mining, warehousing, telemedicine, and manufacturing, among others. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/indian-banks-dream-run-could-soon-be-over-as-deposit-rates-start-catching-up-to-lending-rates/articleshow/98117219.cms">Indian banks’ dream run could soon be over as deposit rates start catching up to lending rates</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/how-to-compare-your-tax-liability-in-old-and-new-tax-regimes/articleshow/98116217.cms">How to compare your tax liability in old and new tax regimes</a>

Jio launches high-speed 5G services in 20 more cities

<ul><li>The <keyword id="6355729" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="data" source="Orion">data</keyword> center has been set up with an investment of around ₹1,500 crore and will see an additional investment of ₹5,000 crore in IT equipment. </li><li>Yotta also entered into an MoU with the UP government to invest ₹39,000 crore in a phased manner over 5-7 years. </li><li>“Data will be a $1 trillion dollar economy by 2025..Today, over 85% of <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>'s data is stored abroad. With this emerging data center, that is about to change," said Niranjan Hiranandani of the Hiranandani real estate development group.</li></ul> Hiranandani group’s wholly-owned subsidiary Yotta Infrastructure on Monday unveiled North India’s first hyperscale data center at its Greater Noida Data Center Park, in a boost to the region’s digital economy. Called Yotta D1, it was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh <keyword id="43254" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="yogi-adityanath" source="Orion">Yogi Adityanath</keyword> and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics &amp; IT. The data center has been set up with an investment of around ₹1,500 crore. Once fully functional, Yotta D1 building will see an additional investment of ₹5,000 crore in IT equipment, the company said in a press release. "When the data revolution began in India, Mumbai and Chennai were prime data storage centers. This is about to change with data centers now coming up in the Delhi NCR region as well. When you have a data center next to you, a lot of companies will be able to give lightning fast processing for data to local people, in turn boosting productivity," said Darshan Hiranandani, co-founder and chairman of Yotta Infrastructure. Yotta D1 is strategically located near the key business hubs of NCR, the company said. The company also entered into an MoU with the UP government to invest ₹39,000 crore in a phased manner over 5-7 years. The investment will go towards constructing the data center campus and procuring IT equipment and other hardware for Yotta customers. "Data will be a $1 trillion dollar economy by 2025 and this data center built in Greater Noida is the fastest-built data center globally. Today, over 85% of India's data is stored abroad. With this emerging data center, that is about to change," said Niranjan Hiranandani of the Hiranandani real estate development group. The data center inaugurated on Monday is spread across 20 acres. The Yotta Greater Noida Data Center Park will offer a total capacity of 30,000 racks, four dedicated fiber paths and an IT power capacity of 160 MW. In addition, the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the next two data center buildings – Yotta D2 &amp; D3, was also performed on Monday. Data centers go ‘local’ Sunil <keyword id="6356160" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="gupta" source="Orion">Gupta</keyword>, co-founder and CEO Yotta Infrastructure, said that India will need to build its data storage capacity at a pace which is 15 times more than the mature global data centers of the world. India has over 700 million active internet users, and has clocked in 9.3 billion UPI transactions in one quarter alone. "If someone in Delhi wants to watch a high-definition movie, they should not wait for data to come from the Mumbai data center," said Gupta, who is also known as India's Data Man. The 5,000 data racks in Yotta D1 building has the capacity for storing at least 60 lakh high-definition movies, the company said. "These data centers will have multiple-use cases. Customers from edtech, healthtech companies, SMEs, public sector units, state government initiatives like AYUSH, Aadhar, storage of passport data can tap into this resource," added Gupta. Launched three years ago, Yotta Infrastructure has built data centers in Powai and will be tapping into Thane and Panvel in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Gujarat and West Bengal in the coming years. It also aims to go international and is in talks with the government of Bangladesh, the company said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/here-are-some-features-users-want-elon-musk-to-add-to-twitter/articleshow/95200755.cms">From longer tweets to proper verification of users, here are some of the Twitter features we want Elon Musk to introduce</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/these-interesting-new-whatsapp-features-could-be-coming-soon-to-the-app/slidelist/95202260.cms">These interesting new WhatsApp features could be coming soon to the app</a>

Hiranandani Group unveils North India’s first hyperscale data center in boost to region’s digital economy

Maharashtra Chief Minister
Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday alleged that the Union budget
gives "step-motherly" treatment to the state and does not do
justice to Mumbai.
 The budget presented by finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman was far removed from reality, said Thackeray, a
former ally of the BJP.
 "It is deeply disappointing for Maharashtra. This
budget is unjust for Maharashtra and Mumbai which is the
country's growth engine," Thackeray said in a statement.
 It does not support development of basic amenities in
Mumbai and on-going metro projects in the megapolis, he said.
 "There is no mention of the suburban railway network
(in Mumbai) and development of proposed lines (on the Central
and Western Railway routes).
 "The budget gives no momentum to the development of
railway network in the state except for the mention of
projects announced earlier, such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad
Bullet Train," Thackeray said.
 He also raised a question over the Centre not
considering any site from "culturally rich" Maharashtra for
development as "iconic site".
 Sitharaman announced in the budget that Rakhigarhi
(Haryana), Hastinapur (Uttar Pradesh), Shivsagar (Assam),
Dholavira (Gujarat) and Adichanallur (Tamil Nadu) will be
developed as "iconic sites".
 "The step-motherly treatment given to Maharashtra has
become evident in the budget. The International Finance Centre
in Gujarat has been strengthened, while Mumbai, which makes
the highest contribution to the country's growth, has been
deliberately ignored," Thackeray said.
 The decision to divest a stake in LIC and possible
privatisation of the railways show the precarious state of the
economy, the chief minister said.
 The growth rate for the current fiscal is 5 per cent,
while in the economic survey for 2020-21 it is estimated at 6
to 6.5 per cent, he said.
 "This growth doesn't not have the potential to achieve
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dream of making India a USD 5
trillion economy nation," Thackeray said.
 He also dismissed the finance minister's claim that
the Goods and Services Tax gave a relief to the Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
 "The Small and Medium Enterprises have been bedevilled
by GST. People's purchasing power has decreased, impacting
small scale industries, which in turn has landed workers in
trouble.
 "There was a need to encourage employment-generating
industries. But no such steps were announced in the budget,"
Thackeray said.
 It made no substantial provisions for farmers, women
and children and disabled persons, he added.

Budget does injustice to Maharashtra, Mumbai: Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai, Mar 26 () Equity benchmarks surged for the third straight session on Thursday, logging their best three-day gains in years, after the government's much awaited stimulus measures for coronavirus lockdown-hit segments lifted sentiments. The BSE gauge Sensex surged 1,410.99 points or 4.94 per cent to settle at 29,946.77; while the NSE barometer Nifty sot up 323.60 points or 3.89 per cent to 8,641.45. After the worst-ever crash on Monday, the Sensex has recovered by 3,965.53 points or 15.26 per cent over the last three sessions. Likewise, the NSE Nifty has regained 1,031.20 points or 13.55 per cent in three days. On the Sensex chart, IndusInd Bank was the top gainer, rallying up to 46 per cent. Other winners were Bharti Airtel, L&amp;T, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, HUL and HDFC -- rising up to 10 per cent. On the other hand, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma and Reliance Industries closed with losses. All sectoral indices ended with gains with BSE telecom, capital goods, bankex, finance, realty and FMCG indices surging up to 10 per cent. The broader markets also gained momentum with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 3 per cent each. In an effort to cushion the economic blow of the 21-day lockdown in wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, Finance Minister Sitharaman announced a slew of measures worth Rs 1.70 lakh crore to help citizens survive the crisis. Paras Bothra, President of Equity Research, Ashika Stock Broking, said, "Domestic markets zoomed for the second day on the trot driven by optimism on USD 2 trillion package to US economy and also in anticipation of an economic package for the Indian economy. "Finance Minister indeed announced Rs 1,75,000 cr package for the poor and needy, however measures addressed to corporate or SMEs are still missing. Perhaps this will be followed by monetary stimulus by RBI along with forbearance on loan repayments." The Rs 1.70 lakh crore economic package involves free food grains and cooking gas to poor for the next three months, one-time doles to women and poor senior citizens, higher wages to workers and measures to boost liquidity of employees. The scheme will be implemented with immediate effect. "This is a package for lockdown impacted segments," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, adding that the government is prioritising. "Industry-specific measures are likely to be announced in the next package. This can go a long way in implementing the lockdown," he said. According to traders, volatility remained during the day as March derivatives contracts expired. The Indian rupee appreciated 57 paise to 75.37 against the US dollar in intra-day trade. In a positive news for India's fiscal health, the crude oil prices continued to trade below USD 30 a barrel amid steep fall in demand due to COVID-19 led lockdowns in major parts of the world. International oil benchmark, Brent crude futures fell 2.15 per cent to USD 26.80 per barrel. Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended significantly lower. Benchmarks in Europe were also trading in the red. The number of COVID-19 cases climbed to 649 in India and the death toll rose to 13, with one death reported each from Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, according to the Health Ministry. ANS MKJMKJ

Market clocks best 3-day rally in years as stimulus calms investor jitters amid lockdown

Indian <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ecommerce&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">e-commerce</a> companies such as <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flipkart</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=shopclues&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">ShopClues</a> are keeping a close eye on the roll out of the proposed <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=GST&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Good and Services Tax</a> (<keyword id="6354679" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST">GST</keyword>) Law as it may end up increasing compliance costs for them. 
 
The GST Bill states that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=online+marketplace&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">online marketplaces</a> will have to deduct taxes directly on the total sales made by merchants and pay it to the government. 
 
Presently, the companies first deduct their commissions and fees and then pass on the payments made by customers to sellers. 
 
Experts point out this clause may burden the online marketplaces with compliance cost, which may hurt both their and sellers' margins. 
 "A specific proposal in the draft law relating to tax collection at source will prove to be detrimental to lakhs of small and medium sellers who do business on ecommerce platforms. This clause, which is not applicable to offline sellers, will hurt the working capital requirement for these sellers as they work on small margins to provide affordable rates to consumers," <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> told ET. 
 "We are cautiously optimistic about it, especially in our context as the current draft does not address needs of marketplaces clearly. Unless the government puts a robust digital infrastructure in place, compliance will put undue pressure on small businesses and us. We also really hope that statelevel entry taxes and octroi taxes will be abolished enabling SMEs to service consumers from across their state more efficiently," Radhika Aggarwal, chief business officer at <keyword id="6357066" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ShopClues">ShopClues</keyword>, told ET. 
 Meanwhile, <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> firms expect GST to resolve their tax issue with state government such as Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat who are levying new taxes.

Indian online marketplaces are closely monitoring the GST bill as costs may rise up

Is <keyword id="2364818" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-commerce-3-0">e-commerce 3.0</keyword> only about business tweaks? Almost all experts will tell you that the new format of <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> is on its way, but nobody is quite sure what it is like. Some pinpoint it as online shopping, largely influenced by social media parameters, while others are betting big on the mobile impact. No doubt these are crucial indicators, but they only provide you a partial glimpse into the business-to-consumer (B2C) part of it. However, we need to take a more incisive look at the fast-evolving strategic context of e-commerce, which is throwing up some surprising trends that may affect the industry in the long run. Let us take a look at the recent happenings in the Indian e-commerce space to identify the most prominent trends and what they signify. 
	 
	 
	 
	1. Calibrated aggression for survival: That’s exactly what the much-anticipated cash-and-stock deal between <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> has taught us. Competition has been ironed out by strategic <keyword id="42411" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Merger">merger</keyword> in order to survive against global giants like <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>. Flipkart is not new to the game but co-founders Sachin and <keyword id="6364080" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Binny-Bansal">Binny Bansal</keyword> have not gone the LetsBuy way this time, for pretty predictable reasons (for your recap, Letsbuy.com was the electronics e-tailer that was acquired by Flipkart in February 2012 and shut down in May that year). 
	 Before the acquisition, the Myntra brand was way ahead of Flipkart as the <keyword id="2364834" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Biggest-India-fashion-e-tailer">biggest India fashion e-tailer</keyword>. While Flipkart required size to survive against the likes of Amazon, the bigger margins enjoyed by fashion e-tailing was an added icing to the cake (after all, fashion is expected to be the largest category in e-commerce over the next five years). So this time around, it was a calibrated aggression on Flipkart’s part and the merger, along with the much-talked-about <keyword id="2364826" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Management-autonomy">management autonomy</keyword> enjoyed by <keyword id="705865" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mukesh-Bansal">Mukesh Bansal</keyword>’s Myntra, will continue to work for two specific reasons. 
	 One is local competition, not only from <keyword id="6388367" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jabong">Jabong</keyword>, which is promoted by Berlin-based <keyword id="1965711" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rocket-Internet-GmbH">Rocket Internet GmbH</keyword> (a venture arm of the deep-pocketed Samwer brothers), but also from <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>.com, quite a veteran in the marketplace model. It is too early to assume that Jabong has missed the bus in stamping its dominance in the <keyword id="902070" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-com">e-com</keyword> space and the same applies to Snapdeal, which has recently raised $100 million and could be opting for an IPO in the next 18-24 months. Moreover, if India eases its <keyword id="44528" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FDI">FDI</keyword> policy further and allows <keyword id="2364830" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Foreign-e-commerce-companies">foreign e-commerce companies</keyword> to sell their products directly to Indian consumers (as of now, only marketplaces are allowed to do this), <keyword id="2364831" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Home-grown-e-commerce-firms">home-grown e-commerce firms</keyword> will require maximum <keyword id="573045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Customer-loyalty">customer loyalty</keyword> to stay in business and the likes of Myntra will play a key role in ensuring enhanced <keyword id="485911" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="brand-loyalty">brand loyalty</keyword>.
<div style="page-break-after: always;">
	&#xa0;</div>

	The way ahead: Similar mergers may happen soon and we may see some monopolistic polarisation in the e-commerce space. If branding and management autonomy can be retained in the same way it had been done in the <keyword id="2196490" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart-Myntra-deal">Flipkart-Myntra deal</keyword>, a Snapdeal-Jabong deal may very well be a possibility. On the other hand, Amazon may come up with a similar offer for Snapdeal (we don’t rule out <keyword id="161767" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="eBay-India">eBay India</keyword> either) and once again, we may witness the emergence of an e-commerce mega power in India. Also, in most of these deals, unequals could be gunning for merger-of-equals status, thus complicating the merger and acquisition operations. Ultimately, the <keyword id="2364839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Entry-barrier">entry barrier</keyword> will be too high for small or niche e-commerce sites and staying profitable will become a tough proposition. 
	 
	 
	 
	2. SME focus for marketplace growth: A couple of days ago, Flipkart announced tie-ups with two SME (small and medium enterprise) promotion bodies and signed MoUs with the Federation of Indian Micro and <keyword id="6375845" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Small-and-medium-enterprises">Small and Medium Enterprises</keyword> (<keyword id="174192" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FISME">FISME</keyword>) and the National Centre for Design and Product Development (<keyword id="2348217" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="NCDPD">NCDPD</keyword>). With this move, the Bangalore firm expects to create a powerful affiliation with 50,000 SMEs and artisans by helping them with data analytics, marketing and customer acquisition. The company is also holding talks with several <keyword id="533862" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manufacturing-clusters">manufacturing clusters</keyword> in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in a bid to attract more sellers on board and thus ensure strong growth for its marketplace model. 
	 
	As of now, Flipkart has about 3,000 sellers on board, mostly SMEs, and offers 15 million products across 70-plus categories. The company aims to grow the seller base to 12,000 by the end of the current fiscal, according to Economic Times. Myntra, too, has about 100 sellers on board and plans to increase this number to 1,000 by fiscal-end. However, this is too paltry a number, compared to the largest Chinese <keyword id="2049184" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="E-commerce-marketplace">e-commerce marketplace</keyword> <keyword id="302749" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Alibaba">Alibaba</keyword>.com that has about 20 lakh SMEs on board, but has less than 20,000 in India. 
	 As for other key players in India, here are some mindboggling numbers according to media reports. Snapdeal currently features about 500 categories, 100,000 sellers and more than 5 million products (excluding books and movies); eBay has 1.1 million product listings at any given point <keyword id="54921" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="spread">spread</keyword> across 2,000 categories and 45,000 sellers on board while Amazon has 15 million products from 5,000 sellers across 24 categories. Amazon has already opened two Fufillment Centers in India, enabling home-grown SMEs to get a scalable and robust national platform. Sellers opting for FBA (<keyword id="2023087" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Fulfillment-by-Amazon">Fulfillment By Amazon</keyword>) send their products to these ‘fulfillment centers’ and once an order is placed, Amazon packs and ships the order.
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	The way ahead: Right now, no one can possibly predict whether the death of the inventory-led e-commerce model is imminent. But one thing is pretty certain – e-commerce businesses need as many products and categories as possible to enhance customer engagement. However, that won’t be possible without growing their marketplaces and bringing on board a huge number of sellers. Hence, the <keyword id="2364811" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="SME-focus">SME focus</keyword> and <keyword id="6630005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="private-labels">private labels</keyword> are going to dominate e-commerce 3.0. 
	 
	 
	 
	3. VAS for better customer loyalty: In spite of a Mumbai firm delivering pizza on an experimental basis, civil/commercial drones à la <keyword id="2364850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon-Prime-Air-drones">Amazon Prime Air drones</keyword> are still not a reality in India (neither they are commercially ready in the US). However, Amazon, eBay, Flipkart and Snapdeal are trying their best to ensure ‘fastest possible’ delivery in the country. While <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> offers same-day and guaranteed one-day delivery, eBay is testing a 9-hour delivery model in Mumbai. 
	 Only recently, Flipkart has launched its annual subscription service called <keyword id="2230132" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart-First">Flipkart First</keyword>, offering a number of benefits including <keyword id="1591575" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="free-shipping">free shipping</keyword> for any purchase, free in-a-day guaranteed delivery, <keyword id="2364858" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Discounted-same-day-delivery">discounted same-day delivery</keyword>, 24×7 <keyword id="2364859" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Priority-customer-service">priority customer service</keyword> and more. This is similar to the lucrative logistics part of Amazon’s Prime subscription (currently not available in India), but Amazon offers a bigger service bouquet for its Prime subscribers, including access to songs, movies, TV shows and books. Flipkart, or any other Indian e-tailer for that matter, is yet to launch such extensive customer engagement programme, but the bait has been thrown by Flipkart and to some extent, by Snapdeal, which also offers free same-day delivery in certain regions and hopes to expand this service next year. 
	 
	The way ahead: Some experts feel that e-com businesses will soon curtail services like <keyword id="1972252" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Express-delivery">express delivery</keyword> and free shipping in order to generate more cash. High transportation costs and other logistics issues have been cited as the main culprits. But keeping in mind that <keyword id="758541" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon-Prime">Amazon Prime</keyword> works more as a <keyword id="1426078" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="loyalty-programme">loyalty programme</keyword> and less as a revenue-churner, fixing fickle customer loyalty may lie in developing these services. Now that Flipkart is going to market <keyword id="2364868" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Affordable-tablets">affordable tablets</keyword> under its <keyword id="2338688" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="DigiFlip">DigiFlip</keyword> label, the Indian e-commerce giant can very well experiment with some Prime-like services and craft user experience based on ‘All things Flipkart’ just as Amazon does with its affordable <keyword id="785825" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kindle-Fire">Kindle Fire</keyword>. If that happens and other companies follow suit, e-commerce 3.0 in India will evolve into an inclusive and exciting user experience. For now, let us wait and watch. 
	 
	Images: Thinkstock/Getty Images

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