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Two students, one of them from <keyword id="6354859" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT">IIT</keyword>, have launched a mobile <keyword id="235499" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="APP">app</keyword> which uses an unique algorithm to find out alternative routes for getting seats in train. 
 "There are some station-wise quotas for ticket booking. For example if you are booking a ticket from station A, it might show waiting list but when you book it from a previous station you might get the ticket. If you try to find out such stations manually it becomes tough but our app has automated this," the app's co-developer <keyword id="3245155" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Runal-Jaju">Runal Jaju</keyword> told PTI. 
 The '<keyword id="3245154" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ticket-Jugaad">Ticket Jugaad</keyword>' app is developed by second year <keyword id="6364832" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Kharagpur">IIT Kharagpur</keyword> student Jaju and his cousin Shubham Baldava, who studies in NIT Jamshedpur. 
 
Supported by Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT, the start-up won the first prize of Rs 1.5 lakh in IIT Kharagpur's Annual Global Business Model Competition recently. 
 
The app automatically finds available tickets starting from stations before or after the source station to provide passengers the maximum path that be covered with a confirmed ticket. 
 
The Railways allows passengers to board the train from a station which comes after the booking station. 
 
"What we do is to provide you with all the possible permutations and combinations to cover the maximum part of your journey," the 20-year-old engineering student said. 
 
Jaju said some ticket agents are experts in manually calculating such combinations to find seats but they charge a hefty fee from passengers. 
 
The app is not only free for download but charges nothing from the passengers for providing the service. 
 
The idea came from Jaju's personal experiences of travelling in between Kharagpur in West Bengal and his hometown of Aurangabad in Maharashtra. 
 
"When I went to the website to book tickets it showed waiting list while when I boarded the train it had few empty seats. They were left unutilised despite a huge demand and so I thought of solving this problem by using technology," Jaju said. 
 
He then contacted his cousin, a computer science student in NIT, who did the coding part for the app. 
 
Currently only on the Android platform, where it has seen more than 5000 downloads in a month's time, the student- entrepreneurs are now planning to launch it on website and Apple's iOS operating system as well. 
 
'Ticket Jugaad' has a tie up with online travel agency Cleartrip for booking tickets. 
 
"We will never have ads on our platform. To raise revenue we will try to get a license for booking the tickets from our app," he said adding that they are trying to expand their services gradually. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

IIT student builds app that will tackle wait-list woes in trains

Believe it or not, <keyword id="1640900" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Online-grocery">online grocery</keyword> shopping is a fad. In a country where department stores are still booming and people working with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/government-defines-the-word-start-up/articleshow/51089062.cms">MNC</a>s considering grocery shopping as their dose of weekend fun, online grocery isn’t something that Indians are really very serious about, unlike cab aggregators and movie ticket booking apps. 
 
Indians are jugaad-friendly. In a market crowded with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/government-defines-the-word-start-up/articleshow/51089062.cms">online grocery apps</a>, people tend to download apps, get their first order at maximum discount by using coupons and then simply uninstall the app from the device. They would install other apps for their next use. Unlike cab aggregation, app based grocery shopping is never a necessity to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/government-defines-the-word-start-up/articleshow/51089062.cms">urban Indians</a>. In each lane and bylane of any Indian city and suburb there is a grocery store selling the basic needs of bread, rice, pulses, milk and eggs. 
 
The online boom of grocery shopping started in the US some 15 years back and faded out by early 2000. One of the giants in the market Webvan that started in San Francisco met the same fate as their expenses got out of limit. 
 In last few months, there have been numerous deaths of online grocery providers. <keyword id="2809732" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="PepperTap">Peppertap</keyword> that raised USD 51 Million shut down after one and a half year of operation citing similar reason. 
 
Prem Kumar, Founder and CEO, SnapBizz has a point to make. “The consumer behaviour in the grocery online space is fairly different from other consumer goods spaces. The driving forces are merchandise and convenience, while the pillars are technology, merchandise and fulfilment.” 
 
“Since the grocery industry runs on a tight value chain, establishing unit metrics and profitability becomes a challenge,” Kumar said. 
There are two basic models in online grocery- a full service model and hyper local model. Full service models are the ones where they control the end to end value chain and deliver a good customer experience. The hyper local model depends on getting goods from local retailer and delivering it. The unit metrics does not stack up in this model. 
 
“The retailer has to pay 5 to 6%, when he hardly makes 8 to 10 % margin. In spite of doing this, the online grocers do not deliver the same customer experience as delivered by the retailer. Hence, the business model may look attractive in the beginning, but unable to sustain and fold,” Kumar added. 
 
We analyse what could have gone wrong with the online grocery start ups and here are the probable reasons. 
 
Marketing siphons a lot of money <keyword id="2057213" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Big-Basket">Big Basket</keyword> has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/government-defines-the-word-start-up/articleshow/51089062.cms">Shah Rukh Khan</a> as the brand ambassador. Then other online grocery brands like <keyword id="2466939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Grofers">Grofers</keyword> and ZopNow invest heavily on marketing, right from digital advertisements to billboards. This is again a hug expense. Firstly marginal profit and then monstrous expenses take a toll on the profit. 
 
Many retailers walk with the cherry of the cake 
Well, if Grofers or Big Basket is giving some benefit to the end consumers, often the small retailers start ordering milk, bread and cold drinks as these are the products where they make nominal profit. So as a result, the retailers re-re-selling the products. 
 
Marginal profits 
It’s a known fact in India that groceries aren’t profitable like gadgets. Selling 5 kg of sugar may give the retailer Rs 100 profit. It’s that tough. And then delivering the product at doorstep would result in more expenses. Before shutting down Peppertap, CEO Navneet Singh admitted that they were operating in negative margins per delivery, confirms a report by business website. 
 
Users look for better offers 
Many users tend to buy through apps only when they get <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/government-defines-the-word-start-up/articleshow/51089062.cms">discounts</a>. This isn’t something that the buyers are to be blamed for. Indian market has always been price sensitive and this ought to happen. 
 
Price sensitivity 
Indian consumers are quite money minded and sensitive to prices. It’s not they are misers but they love savings, When you buy at department stores you get to scrutinize various brands, quality and of course the prices. But online grocers don’t give the user the luxury to select. 
 
Inventory mismanagement 
 
 
While Big Basket is spending a lot in inventory and Grofers is letting you choose stores. Having an inventory is always the best option provided you have that much cash in hand. What happens when a customer refuses orders? Sellers aren’t taking it back. If you have an inventory and if the item isn’t perishable, you can still keep it in stock for next order. 
 
Last mile glitch 
The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/government-defines-the-word-start-up/articleshow/51089062.cms">warehouse</a> is super responsive and the pick up is superfast, but then the delivery guys slip and the whole smoothness are hampered. Generally the delivery guys get Rs 300 per day for working from 9 in the morning till 10 at night. No work results in no pay. You don’t really expect a 10 inch wide smile at 9PM carrying your 10 Kg of monthly grocery item. 
 
Moreover unlike Gurgaon, Greater Noida where the real estate boom has given rise to skyscrapers, it’s not everywhere in India where an address is easy to locate and deliver. Naturally the delivery get delayed. 
 
Arsh Singh, COO at Tookan suggests that routing optimization, real-time tracking, keeping customer notified make the grocery delivery management a lot better.

The truth behind why online grocery start ups are failing

India is a rich admixture of some of the world’s most brilliant, creative and technical minds, who have all the capabilities and potential to create the next Google or the next biggest innovation driven global company. 
 
India is a battery of venture capital firms, which are making a beeline to capitalize on the growth story but will creating a Google in India be a reality? May be, or maybe not. 
 
An eternal optimist would always search for the light at the end of the tunnel. An inveterate pessimist would see that as the light of an on-coming engine, while an unassuming realist would search for his torch light to make his way through the darkness. 
 
Sunny Side up 
 
Keen observers of the startup space in India fall under these three categories. As someone who heads a startup in the fin-tech space and serves as a mentor to upcoming startups, I am bound to don the hat of someone who sees developments in this space ‘Sunny side up’. The numbers justify optimism. With more than 4,200 new-age companies, India has overtaken Israel to grab the third position among global startup ecosystems, behind US and the UK. A report by NASSCOM, startups have created more than 80,000 jobs so far and can create 2,50,000 jobs if their number balloons to 11,500 by 2020. 
 
There has been no dearth of funding with VCCEdge data revealing the tripling of angel and seed investments from $30 million in Q3 CY2014 to $94 million in Q3 CY2015. Add to it, the ‘Startup India, Standup India’ slogan coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led to States like Telangana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka competing to develop startup policies and offer infrastructural support like that of incubators and co-working spaces. 
 
But the reality is… 
A study conducted by Kauffman Foundation in 2012-13 observed that 33.2% of co-founders of tech firms founded by immigrants in the US were Indians. While we take pride in the fact that the CEOs of global behemoths such as Google, Microsoft and MasterCard, among many others, are Indians who migrated to the US, we should really be asking ourselves if they would have reached the pinnacle of their career had they stayed in India and started something of their own. 
 
India is being ranked 130 out of 189 countries in the ease of doing business index which validates the quote by Chairman Google Eric Schmidt “Problem is not with Indians, but with India.” What are the ground hurdles that are resulting in a prospective Indian Google being nipped in the bud and a possible Brain Drain 2.0? 
 
The need for an Innovation Ecosystem 
It all starts with the education system, which has given birth to technical geniuses albeit via rote learning. It is a system that does not encourage failure which then seeps into societal norms of measuring success on the parameters of the education degrees one holds and the monthly salary that gets credited. Innovation needs minds that are receptive to knowledge and are unhindered by socio-economic constraints. 
 
Till the time this change in mindset comes about, college drop outs or those who sit out of B-school placements who venture into entrepreneurship to set up the Indian Google will continue to be seen as failures and this places a very high emotional burden if there is no family backing. 
 
Difficulties in setting up shop 
If an Indian Google were to open shop in India, the bureaucratic procedures from getting the company name registered, to the tax regulations, every procedure will take weeks when compared to a few hours in developed markets. All this administrative hassle is bound to consume at least 20% of founders’ time and efforts. 
 
Regulatory hurdles while raising money and doing business 
To raise various rounds of funding, co-founders of India’s Google would first need to get a Chartered Accountant or a Merchant Banker to issue a valuation certificate. The equity premium will be considered as income in the company and hence be made liable to pay income tax. And there is a clause that makes the promoter(s) liable to pay a fine of a minimum of Rs 2 crore or the investment amount; whichever is higher in the event of any inadvertent mistake is something that merits urgent attention. 
 
If venture capital is raised from investors abroad, the promoters have to contend with a host of RBI compliances, FEMA regulations besides the ROC regulations. They will not be allowed to communicate to the RBI directly, but go through authorized dealer bank. The RBI, however, can send them direct notices. 
 
For international sales, the company may opt for a set up in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) or Software Technology Park (STPI). If it chooses operations in an SEZ, every single foreign invoice will need to be reported to the SEZ along with full detailed paper work. For their domestic sales, the company runs the risk of being asked to invoice domestic clients in dollars, thereby throwing a spanner in the works and forcing it to either consider moving out of the SEZ or opening another unit for domestic sales. 
 
Difficulties in scaling up 
Like most early stage businesses, India’s Google will have to start with smaller clients who will ask for free trials, customizations and white labeling/exclusivity. It will be made to negotiate contracts at the lowest price until its differentiation is truly innovative and not replicated by fellow competitors. Failing which, it would take years for it to break even and step up to larger clients with a higher ticket size. 
 
No company can scale up without a pool of talented human resources. While it is easy to get cost efficient talent in India, it is a colossal task to hire and retain the best talent. While 12 million people join the workforce every year in India, a FICCI-E&amp;Y Survey (2011) revealed that it is only 25% who are considered “employable”, and possibly less than 1% may have what it takes to be at Google. 
 
With high rates of attrition in the technology space, India’s Google will need to ensure no employee takes away the company’s IP to a competitor. Given that such breaches are not very well defined in the legal system and that securing patents is a challenge (About 2.46 lakh patent applications and 5.32 lakh trademark registrations are pending with the government due to shortage of manpower), this is another loophole needs to be plugged. 
 
During the scale up of operations and businesses, the directors of growth stage firms are highly likely to be summoned by various authorities (Income Tax, etc.) for explanations of their profits, losses, which are likely to be all clean banking transactions. Such harassment is common and disheartening for most Indian entrepreneurs. 
 
Startup Act 
In an attempt to improve the ease of doing business for startups, there is talk of a 2-page Startup Act that will distill and simplify 22 different laws together. 
 
While I sincerely hope it works, I wonder why we have distinct 22 laws in the first place. Why don’t we simplify and rationalize the business environment for all? Is it even possible to distill 22 laws into 2 pages? 
 
In a nutshell 
All the above highlighted issues are a few examples of a complicated working environment in India. While our government campaigns worldwide for companies to come and “Make in India”, we are seeing many startups goaded by VCs to move their setup outside India to a country with a more predictable regulatory regime in order to parry the problems discussed above (example Flipkart, Grofers etc.). This coupled with public listings of Indian companies in foreign exchanges had led to a loss to India’s exchequer (example MakeMyTrip). 
 
The pessimist in me believes that even after 20 years, the search for India’s Google will not be successful. The optimist in me does sees the potential and promise in the regulatory reforms which are afoot, while the realist in me makes me see every day as an opportunity to ideate and create something new – with a bit of Jugaad, a step to create something cutting edge. 
 
As the saying goes, “it’s never as good as you want it to be, but never as bad as it seems”. 
 
(Kunal Nandwani is the Founder and CEO of uTrade Solutions)

You Searched For "Ticket Jugaad" and got 3 results

IIT student builds app that will tackle wait-list woes in trains

BI India Bureau

The truth behind why online grocery start ups are failing

Suchayan Mandal

Why a Google may never be founded in India

Kunal Nandwani

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