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<ul><li><keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword>’s top IT sector companies have reduced their headcount by 75,000 in the last one year.</li><li>New GCCs setting-up operations in India might have hired a similar number of <keyword id="19913553" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tech" source="keywords">tech</keyword> talent, say experts.</li><li>Even with renewed hiring, IT sector hiring as a whole suffered even as software product company hiring went down in the last 12 months.</li><li>In 2024, hiring intent in the IT sector increased only 3%, even as overall hiring intent is at 19%, says Taggd. </li></ul>Headcount in the top IT services firms in India is down by 75,000 in the last one year. However, experts say that there is no large-scale furore over joblessness in the system due to the extensive hiring undertaken by global capability centers (GCCs). Many new GCCs are setting-up shop in India, which is giving a much-needed push to sluggish tech talent intake by IT services companies. Six out of eight IT bellwethers like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, LTI Mindtree, Cognizant and Tech Mahindra saw their headcount go down in the last 12 months, as per Xpheno, a staffing services company. HCL and LTTS however moderately added 2,400 and 1,600 people to their rolls. (See Table below). Top 8 IT cos headcount &amp; net additions as of Q3 FY24 <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Company </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Headcount </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">12-month net additions </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Wipro </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2,40,234 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-21,875 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Infosys </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3,22,663 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-24,182 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">TCS </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6,03,305 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-10,669 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">HCL </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2,24,756 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2,486 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">LTI Mindtree </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">82,471 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-3,991 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">LTTS </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,46,250 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-10,812 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cognizant </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3,47,700 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-7,600 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Total </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">19,90,677 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-75,000 </td></tr></tbody></table> Source: Xpheno With this degrowth, collective headcount of the cohort has dropped to nearly the levels seen in early 2022. “The calendar year of 2024 too has begun with a rollback of headcounts to a pre-two year level, in what is clearly a cycle of sustained adversities the IT services cohort is dealing with,” said Kamal <keyword id="20519296" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="karanth" source="keywords">Karanth</keyword>, co-founder of Xpheno. GCCs: The bright spot It’s not just IT services companies are cutting down hiring, job demand in software companies saw massive drop along with startups. But there is one bright spot in the tech market which is GCCs. “GCCs had recruited similar numbers (around 60,000) in the last one year, and that’s why we do not see a bloodbath on the streets. Around 100-110 GCCs set-up shop in India in the last two years, and 60 of them came in the last one year itself,” Karanth tells Business Insider India. GCCs are international companies which set-up shop in India, which takes care of activities like business support functions, back-office tasks, IT infrastructure and more. Since they kick-off operations, most of them hire anywhere between 500-2,000 people. GCCs have now become one of the six top sectors which hire tech talent that includes IT services companies, software product companies, startups, consulting firms and non-tech sectors which hire tech talent. GCCs, IT services and software product companies are the three sectors which hire techies in large numbers “Among the three, only GCCs will continue to hire in 2024, while IT services and software product companies will see at least two muted quarters ahead,” says Karanth. Going by their enthusiastic uptake of office spaces, they seem to be intent on hiring in large numbers. As per a Colliers report, office space uptake of around 30 mn square feet with large deals (of over 100,000 sq ft) have shown an impressive 24% annual growth in 2023. Almost 40% of the large deals in the top six cities have come from GCCs, particularly from technology and BFSI sectors. “More than half of the large GCC deals achieved closure in the last quarter of 2023, indicating renewed momentum in GCC activity in the country. Large pool of talent, cost-effective rentals, adequate Grade A developments and favorable office market ecosystem will continue to uphold India’s vantage positioning from a capability centre perspective,” said <keyword id="20454099" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vimal-nadar" source="keywords">Vimal Nadar</keyword>, senior director and head of research, Colliers India. Tech hiring to remain sluggish With only one of its sub-sectors keen on hiring, the IT sector’s recruitment outlook as a whole has come down. As per a report by Taggd, the IT sector’s hiring intent for 2024 increased by 3%. The overall hiring intent across all the sectors however increased 19% for the current calendar year. Job demand in the last 2 years <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sector </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jan 2022 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jan 2023 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jan 2024 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2-year change </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">IT services </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,29,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">65,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">50,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-35% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Software Product </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1,00,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">32,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">22,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-61% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Startups </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">44,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">15,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">12,000 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-73% </td></tr></tbody></table>Source: Xpheno The slowdown in IT hiring is pronounced in the earnings reports of recruitment firms as well. Info Edge which houses many internet-related businesses like <keyword id="20577913" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="naukri" source="keywords">Naukri</keyword>, 99acres.com etc saw its revenues from the recruitment grow only by 3.1% year-on-year in Q3 FY24 due to sluggishness in IT sector hiring. “While the non-IT hiring sector remained robust, the continued slowdown in IT hiring impacted Naukri's growth,” Hitesh Oberoi, managing director and CEO of Info Edge said in the press release. Most large IT sector companies are only expected to do replacement hiring for the next few quarters, with a dull outlook for most. The sector’s sluggish hiring will impact engineering graduates the most as fresher hiring will be impacted. “As many as 9 lakh engineering graduates pass out every year. They will see a major impact and see the biggest hit,” Karanth adds.

IT bellwethers slash headcount in FY24 but Indian techies find a home with GCCs

<ul><li>The India’s oldest internet company plans to raise ₹1875 crore by selling shares to qualified institutional investors. </li><li>The stock has grown by 70% since the lockdown began in March.</li><li>Eventually, the 11% growth in annual consolidated revenue was much better than estimates. </li></ul>Info Edge stocks jumped over 5% in early trade on Tuesday (June 23) after a sharp fall in quarterly and a plan to raise more money through new shares issued to qualified institutional investors. The $5 billion company, which runs <keyword id="218117" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Naukri-com">Naukri.com</keyword>, Jeevansaath.com, 99acres.com and Shiksha.com, continues to be one of India’s largest internet companies. Investors had feared the company to perform a lot worse. So much so that a 60% fall in profit was better than expectation. <div type="image" title="info edge share latest." msid="76525158" hostid="261"></div> Better than what analysts expected <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">InfoEdge </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FY20 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">JM Financial revenue estimate </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1272.7 crore </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Actual revenue </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1416.3 crore </td></tr></tbody></table> One of the better bets Internet businesses are being seen <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/markets/news/hcl-tech-infoedge-biocon-and-peers-safe-stocks-for-2020/articleshow/76523192.cms">as some of the safer bets</a> amidst the global recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. And InfoEdge is one of the big ones in that space. “We believe the crisis will expedite the offline to online transition of several small/large businesses that could help Info Edge deliver exceptional performance over the medium to long term due to its strong fundamentals and superior market positioning,” said the JM Financial report. Naukri’s India business, which makes for one-third of InfoEdge’s annual consolidated revenue, saw a year-on-year decline of collection by ₹14 crore in the fourth quarter of FY20 and it worsened in April with a decline of ₹26 crore as compared to the same month the previous year. But that was due to the lockdown. Just before that, Naukri was growing at 13% (year-on-year) until mid March, according to the company. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jan-March 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Revenue growth (YoY) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Profit growth (YoY) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Naukri.com </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">13.6% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10.2% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">99acres.com </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3.5% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Loss shrinks to a third </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Others </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-17.6% </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Loss has doubled </td></tr></tbody></table> And the promoters are cashing in. The company is set to raise ₹1875 crore through Qualified institutional placement i.e. selling new equity shares to big institutions. The internet company’s bid to raise funds through the unique method if successful will make it the <a href="https://www.livemint.com/news/india/info-edge-board-approves-raising-up-to-rs1-875-crore-through-qip-11592883581371.html">third company </a>(after Kotak Mahindra Bank and JM Financial) to raise capital through QIP since March this year. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/donald-trumps-h-1b-visa-ban-incites-a-sharp-reaction-from-indian-tech-company-like-wipro-tcs-infosys-tech-mahindra/articleshow/76524525.cms">Donald Trump's H-1B visa ban incites a sharp reaction from India's tech lobby</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/markets/news/hcl-tech-infoedge-biocon-and-peers-safe-stocks-for-2020/articleshow/76523192.cms">HCL Tech, InfoEdge, Biocon and their peers may be safe stocks to hide for the rest of 2020</a>

Here’s why Info Edge stocks rallied over 5% despite 60% fall in quarterly profit

<ul><li>InfoEdge’s net revenue grew to ₹316.6 crore from ₹265 crore in the same quarter previous year. </li><li>The revenue push came in from its <keyword id="6354553" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="real-estate">real estate</keyword> aggregator platform <keyword id="1336736" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="99acres">99acres</keyword>.com.</li></ul>One of India’s first internet companies InfoEdge reported a 19.5% jump in net revenues in the second quarter to ₹316.6 crore from ₹265 crore in the same quarter previous year, thanks to its real estate aggregator platform 99acres.com. “We continue to witness strong quarterly operational performance in terms of billing, revenue, total income and operating EBITDA growth, which are in high teens on year-on-year basis, supported by 99acres which grew over 20% in terms of billing and revenue during the quarter on a year-on-year basis,” said Chintan Thakkar, chief financial officer of InfoEdge. Thakkar spoke to Business Insider to share how the revenues on 99acres, in spite of an economic slowdown. “99acres has been consistently growing in the last six quarters. The last quarter we grew by 19%,” he said. The real estate aggregator business is divided into two parts – the first being the developers and businesses about new projects and the second one being resale retail. The second aspect has been the one to turn the story around for 99acres. “The growth could be because of the velocity of transactions – if there are more and more transactions in the market the business goes up. There are more green shoots around resale rental business and that is helping brokers with a good return on investment, which in turn helps our business,” said Thakkar. The company’s net profits also fell by 88% due to an exceptional item – impairment in a company called Meritnations due to gap in valuation. However, Thakkar informs us that there actually has been a 31.4% jump in profit margin. Along with 99acres.com, <keyword id="80004" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Info-Edge">Info Edge</keyword> is the parent company for popular sites like <keyword id="218117" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Naukri-com">Naukri.com</keyword>, JeevanSathi.com, and Shiksha.com. On the Naukri portal, they have over 60 million resumes, half a million recruiters and over 13-14 lakh applicants for jobs. The company also invests in startups and was also an early investor in the foodtech unicorn Zomato. Info Edge also recently invested ₹21 crore in edutech platform Adda247 and ₹5 crores in real estate startup Terralytics Analysis. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/naukri-jobs-is-using-artificial-intelligence-to-take-on-linkedin/articleshow/69751271.cms">An Indian internet company older than Google is using Artificial Intelligence to reinvent itself</a>

Info Edge’s revenues jump 19.5% on the back of increased transactions on 99acres

<ul><li>Its shares were down by 1.5% on Thursday.</li><li>In a regulatory filing, <keyword id="80004" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Info-Edge">Info Edge</keyword> shared that Naukri’s business was growing at a steady 13% until the lockdown happened. But ever since then, things have gone downhill. </li><li><keyword id="1336736" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="99acres">99acres</keyword> saw a year-on-year decline in collection of ₹18 Cr in Q4FY20 and ₹9 crore in April. The lockdown created a shortfall of ₹25-30 crore said the company. </li></ul>Info Edge’s stocks took a hit after the company revealed how the coronavirus pandemic has hit its subsidiaries – <keyword id="218117" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Naukri-com">Naukri.com</keyword>, 99acres. Its shares were down by 1.5% and were trading at ₹2,532 on Thursday. <div type="image" title="info edge shares." msid="76195610" hostid="261"></div> With the coronavirus pandemic tightening pockets across industries, there’s a looming jobs crisis where thousands of people have already been laid off and millions of jobs continue to be at risk. With this Naukri.com, which is one of India’s top jobs listings portal, has seen a blow to its business. In a regulatory filing, Info Edge shared that Naukri’s business was growing at a steady 13% until the lockdown happened. But ever since then, things have gone downhill. Naukri’s India business saw a year-on-year decline of collection by ₹14 crore in the fourth quarter of FY20 and it worsened in April with a decline of ₹26 crore as compared to the same month the previous year. “For Q4’20, pre-covid19 the growth was 13%, the lockdown slowed down the growth to zero, leading to a shortfall of collection of ₹40-44 crore (had the business grown at pre-covid growth rate),” said the company’s filing. But Info Edge’s hit didn’t just come from its jobs section but also the real estate platform – 99acres. The real estate portal saw a year-on-year decline of collection by ₹18 Cr in Q4FY20 and ₹9 crore in April. The lockdown created a shortfall of ₹25-30 crore said the company. While Naukri.com has always been the blockbuster property for Info Edge, the company had also been betting on real estate growth. “Most of the properties listed today are residential real estate. Today, we don’t do too much of rental, we don’t do anything in commercial – but these are very large opportunities. Inside the categories we are in, the opportunities are huge. Real estate is 10% of the GDP of any country, that’s how big real estate is,” Info Edge CEO Hitesh Oberoi had told Business Insider in February. Info Edge’s revenue stood at ₹320.5 crore for Q3FY20, up by 14% from the same quarter in the previous year. However, its matrimony listings portal Jeevan Sathi’s collections saw marginal growth – by ₹4 crore in Q4FY20 and ₹1 crore in April. Revenue from its education business Shiksha.com grew slightly to ₹13.2 crore in the fourth quarter, up from ₹12.8 crore in the same quarter the previous year. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-swiggy-dunzo-can-start-testing-drone-deliveries-as-india-starts-doling-out-permits/articleshow/76188887.cms">Zomato, Swiggy, Dunzo can start testing drone deliveries as India starts doling out permits</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zoomcar-ceo-says-people-wont-book-uber-or-ola-and-wont-buy-cars-soon/articleshow/76188254.cms">Zoomcar CEO is betting on people not taking Uber and Ola⁠— and not buying cars in a hurry</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/tiger-global-now-has-to-pay-tax-on-profit-from-sale-of-flipkart-stake-to-walmart-in-2018/articleshow/76170662.cms">Tiger Global now has to pay tax on profit from sale of Flipkart stake to Walmart in 2018</a>

Info Edge share price falls after company reveals dismal performance of Naukri.com and 99acres due to Covid19

<ul><li>In an interview with Business Insider, <keyword id="80004" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Info-Edge">Info Edge</keyword> CEO Hitesh Oberoi talks about how they are innovating at <keyword id="79563" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Naukri">Naukri</keyword> with Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.</li><li>Info Edge runs Naukri.com, JeevanSathi.com, 99acres.com, and Shiksha.com. </li><li>On the Naukri portal, they have over 60 million resumes, half a million recruiters and any given day, over 13-14 lakh applicants for <keyword id="11018" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jobs">jobs</keyword>.</li></ul>In 1997, before <keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword> came into being, an Indian internet company called Info Edge launched Naukri.com, which remained a hugely popular jobs portal for over a decade. However, the time has come now to upgrade itself for the next internet era and to take on the likes of LinkedIn, which have become successful in their own right. In an interview with Business Insider, Info Edge CEO Hitesh Oberoi spoke about how Naukri.com will evolve from being just a jobs portal to a careers platform and how they are working on the current big trend with Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Big Data. Building on the new trend Today, it’s the new trend that’s taking over the world by storm – technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data. And this one Naukri doesn’t want to pass out on. “The truth is every time you figure out these trends, they take your business to the new level. We are trying to invest substantially into these areas,” said Oberoi. Naukri’s clients – the recruiters have long had the problem of spam. For one job listing, there are thousands of applicants. And here’s where AI, ML and data science will take over. “We are sitting on tons of data. So much can be done, from matching applicants to jobs, user experience, giving them advice/suggestions, identifying hot skills – everything can be determined with AI and ML. We can transform Naukri from being a jobs portal to a careers platform,” said Oberoi. The Naukri portal has over 60 million resumes, half a million recruiters. On any given day, they have over 1.3-1.4 million jobs applicants use the site, according to the company. #Throwback The company that went public within 9 years of its formation, has survived all the big waves the internet industry has seen – Search, social networking and mobile. The internet as we know today has exploded over the past 20 years and has given birth to several different giant entities like the social media. But Info Edge came about when nobody understood what the internet was but the founders knew – jobs were the key. Over the years, Oberoi says there have been multiple waves that have hit the industry and each one brings with it a challenge as well as an opportunity. Discovering Search “When we there was no Google. In 2002, we launched a database product (which today is over 65% of our revenue) but didn’t exist when we got funded. We were trailing our competitors with respect to the number of CVs on our platform. Advertising in the newspaper wasn’t working for us,” said Oberoi. It was then that Google became big and suddenly a lot of traffic was out there. “We started search engine marketing in 2003. We were advertising on millions of keywords on Google, there was nobody else back then and it was a bidding model. We put all our resources on Google,” he said. And within two months, they were getting an extra 400 CVs a day. “That’s how we capitalized on the search wave,” he said. The networking era The next wave that hit them was the social media wave. LinkedIn, which was founded in 2002, jumped on the networking train and became a social media giant of its own. However, Naukri failed to work around it. “We were unable to figure out how to use it to our benefit. LinkedIn got there first. What you need to understand is that the trick lies in figuring it out before the others do,” said Oberoi. Going mobile Oberoi lists the next wave of internet revolution to be the mobile generation and this one he said they figured out fast and right. “We realised what works on the desktop doesn’t work on the mobile. Today, 80% of Naukri traffic comes from mobile and when it comes to Jeevan Saathi, it’s 90%,” he said. Other investments Info Edge also has other successful portals JeevanSathi.com (a matrimonials site), a real estate listings platform called 99acres.com, and education platform Shiksha.com. Over the years, they have been investing money into companies that can add on to their in-house businesses. Naukri had acquired consultancy firm Toostep in 2012, <keyword id="6357342" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hiring">hiring</keyword> startup Ambition Box two years ago, and in May 2019, it acquired rival iimjobs.com. And they have a plan through all of it. They want to use data to give insights to job seekers on how they can improve their prospects, to produce new products – an insight platforms for recruiters, to going beyond sourcing and building a holistic platform which includes shortlisting of candidates, scheduling interviews and more. They already have a product – Naukri Recruitment Management System. “Increasingly, all our investments are in the AI, ML space,” said Oberoi. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/automation-will-affect-women-the-most-in-the-indian-job-market-report/articleshow/69674101.cms">Automation will affect women the most in the Indian job market: Report</a>

An Indian internet company older than Google is using Artificial Intelligence to reinvent itself

<ul><li><keyword id="80004" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Info-Edge">Info Edge</keyword> runs recruitment services Naukri.com, real estate platform 99acres, education service Shiksha.com and matrimony portal Jeevansaathi.com.</li><li>The company saw its net revenue come down by 19% year-on-year for the second quarter of the current financial year. </li><li>For Info Edge, its businesses across verticals continue to suffer because of the pandemic.</li></ul>One of India’s oldest internet companies continues to bear the impact of the COVID pandemic. Info Edge, which runs recruitment services Naukri.com, real estate platform 99acres, education service Shiksha.com and matrimony portal Jeevansaathi.com, saw its net revenue come down by 19% year-on-year for the second quarter of the current financial year. Meanwhile, its operating EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) stood at ₹51.6 crore, down by 48.1% over the corresponding quarter in FY 2019-20. Its dismal performance in the second quarter also saw its share price taking a hit marginally during morning trade on November 11 – <keyword id="6673581" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Info-Edge-share-price">Info Edge share price</keyword> fell by 0.22%. <div type="image" title="info edge latest" msid="79163901" hostid="261"></div> This, despite, <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBCTV18Live/status/1326371238260977665?s=19">comments</a> from Hitesh Oberoi, CEO, Info Edge trying to highlight the upswing in some segments. Q2 was better than expected, he said. But he also admitted that the billings on Naukri.com was still just 80% of what it was a year ago. In fact, between September and October, the <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBCTV18Live/status/1326371238260977665?s=19">billings fell</a> for the recruitment portal. Naukri.com, which is one of India’s top jobs listings portal and also Info Edge’s cash cow, has seen a blow to its business as companies froze hirings during the pandemic as a cost saving measure. During the release of its JobSpeak index in September, the company had said that hiring activity was recovering slowly. “While the hiring is yet to touch last year levels and is down by 23% in Sept’20 versus Sept’19 but this is also a marked recovery from a 35%-60% decline that we have witnessed in the last few months,” Pawan Goyal, Chief Business Officer, Naukri.com had said then. However, in October 2020 the company reported that hirings remained flat as compared to September 2020. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Info Edge revenue from different verticals </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Quarter ended Sept 30, 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Quarter ended Sept 30, 2019 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Naukri.com </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹1874.13 mn </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹2311.99 mn </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">99acres </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹363.42 mn </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹570.12 mn </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Others </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹371.57 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹413.20 mn </td></tr></tbody></table> 99acres – Enquiries rising Meanwhile, for its real estate platform 99acres, Info Edge believes that recovery is on the cards in the third quarter of the current financial year. In a recent announcement, the company had said that 99acres.com has witnessed a 70% uptick in daily traffic in the third quarter as compared to the second. The company also said that in September, 99acres app downloads saw over 2000 installs per day. “The Jul-Sep 2020 quarter set the pace for the recovery of Indian residential real estate market. Post an initial lull in sales and new launches in the previous quarter, the current quarter came as a breather as sales resurged by almost 2.5 times of the pre-COVID levels,” Maneesh Upadhyaya, Chief Business Officer, 99acres.com had said in an earlier statement. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zomato-and-swiggy-have-never-been-this-close-to-making-profit-say-goldman-sachs-analysts/articleshow/79163334.cms">Zomato and Swiggy have never been this close to making profit, say Goldman Sachs analysts</a>

Info Edge earnings are proof that not all Internet businesses are immune to the COVID crash

New Delhi, Feb 12 () Info Edge (India) on Wednesday posted a consolidated loss of Rs 62.1 crore for the quarter ended December 2019. The company had posted consolidated profit of Rs 330 crore in the year-ago period, Info Edge (India) Ltd said in a filing to BSE. The consolidated income of the company, however, increased to Rs 359.7 crore in the October-December period, over Rs 323 crore in the year-ago period. Commenting on the results, the company's CFO Chintan Thakkar said, "We are pleased to witness yet another robust quarterly result containing double digit growth in all key matrices such as billing, revenue nd operating EBITDA on year-on-year basis. We continue to leverage our strong cash surplus position to invest in technology and branding." Info Edge (India) runs leading internet businesses Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com, 99acres.com and Shiksha.com. Shares of the company were trading at Rs 3,001.40 apiece, up 0.14 per cent from the previous close on BSE. SID ANSANS

Info Edge reports Q3 loss at Rs 62 crore

<ul><li>Indian staffing <keyword id="9374166" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="company-teamlease-services">company TeamLease Services</keyword> clocked a loss of ₹29.4 crore between January and March 2020, compared to a profit of ₹26 crore the same time last year. </li><li>This was largely due to a ₹49.6 crore one-time charge taken by the company to move to the new tax regime. </li><li>While the revenue has dipped 1% to ₹1,345 crore. </li><li>The announcement was made after market hours. Teamlease’ share price was up by 3.7% before the earnings were out. </li></ul>India's leading staffing company <keyword id="6381892" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TeamLease-Services">TeamLease Services</keyword> clocked a loss of ₹29.4 crore between January and March 2020, compared to a profit of ₹26 crore the same time last year. This was largely due to a ₹49.6 crore one-time charge taken by the company to move to the new tax regime. Without that, the profit for the quarter would have been ₹20.2 crore. While the revenue has dipped 1% to ₹1,345 crore. <div type="image" title="Teamlease" msid="76287958" hostid="261"></div> “We are currently going through unprecedented times and have thus far managed the situation reasonably well, whether it be in terms of connecting with our clients, employees and other stakeholders. We are optimistic at the prospects of growth reviving and do believe that the formal staffing industry would stand to gain from the economy opening up and simplification of labour laws,” said Ashok Reddy, MD at TeamLease Services. The announcement was made after market hours. Teamlease’ share price was up by 3.7% before the earnings were out. The lockdown impact On March 22, the Indian government announced a nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus and the businesses were required to shift to remote working setup overnight. Its business operations were impacted significantly, as India went into a complete lockdown mode. “The lockdowns and restrictions imposed on various activities due to COVID — 19 pandemic have posed significant challenges to all the businesses of TeamLeese and its Subsidiaries. The Company's operations were impacted substantially from 17" March 2020 till the third week of May 2020, when lockdown was gradually lifted. All offices were shut down during the period,” the company said in a statement earlier. <div type="image" title="Teamlease shares" msid="76287983" hostid="261"></div> The company acquired elearning platform SchoolGuru and regulatory technology solutions company Avantis to capitalise on the possibilities of growth spurred by the global pandemic. “We have utilized the lockdown period to be more efficient, the results of which should flow into the future,” Reddy added. Going forward, the company is connecting with its stakeholders to gauge the impact of the COVID situation. On June 4, TeamLease said that it is in talks with the policy makers so as to recommend mitigation policies. However, “these are very early days but the company expects normalcy to be achieved only after a quarter” or in fact, a couple of quarters. TeamLease added nearly 4,000 employees this financial year, taking the total employee count to 220,000 as on March 31, 2020. Its digital arm for hiring the staffing business contributed to 20% of the total hiring for the quarter, the company announced, adding that the hirings are expected to grow by 40% in the next three quarters. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/hiring-activity-dips-61-in-may-in-india-naukri-com/articleshow/76275012.cms">Hiring activity dips 61% in May in India: Naukri job survey</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/parle-g-clocked-record-sales-in-may-it-may-be-because-broke-and-starving-migrant-labourers-could-barely-afford-anything-else/articleshow/76280162.cms">Parle G clocked record sales in May⁠— it may be because broke and starving migrant labourers could barely afford anything else</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/the-top-equity-growth-mutual-funds-with-the-best-returns-in-the-last-3-years/slidelist/76278800.cms">The top equity growth mutual funds with the best returns in the last 3 years</a>

TeamLease, one of India’s top recruiting firms, swings to a loss as it moves to a new tax regime

Imagine right swiping your way to a…new job. Introducing Super, an app that lets job-seekers and companies to match, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Tinder&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Tinder</a> way. 
 
Basically, employers and candidates swipe through each other’s profiles and ‘like’ them by swiping right. If both the employer and the candidate ‘like’ each other’s profiles, the app connects them over email. This way, only interested parties can pursue relevant data of the other. The app also let users get a unique look inside offices and apply to the inspiring companies that are now hiring. The idea is incredibly simple. 
 
Based out of a Tech Park in Navi Mumbai, the company founded by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Nischal+Shetty&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Nischal Shetty</a> has over 500 thousand downloads till date. Funded by its own revenues, the company was first launched as a mobile resume builder which saw good traction from across the world. 
 
The platform currently has over 100 companies onboard like JustUnfollow, Webengage, Wingify, Helpshift, Flatchat, Zepo, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Haptik&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Haptik</a>, Grabhouse and so on. 
 
The app is completely free to use for both job seekers and companies. 
 The <keyword id="11018" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Jobs">jobs</keyword> market has seen a lot of disruption after the likes of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Naukri&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Naukri</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Monster&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Monster</a> made their presence felt. HackerRank and HackerEarth are working towards developing a talented pool of developers, the likes of SpringRole are working on referrals, and others like IIMJobs, MeraJob and AasaanJobs are nibbling away margins from the established job websites. 
 
Image credit: Super

This ‘Tinder for jobs’ app can help you get a better
package

<keyword id="1965749" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Internet-businesses">Internet businesses</keyword> in India seem to have reached a tipping point, going by the kind of <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> <keyword id="6362476" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="investments">investments</keyword> we have seen in the current financial year, starting from April 2013. Overall <keyword id="1664180" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Digital-commerce">digital commerce</keyword> has flourished worldwide throughout the calendar year and is expected to reach well over $1 trillion by the end of CY2013 (ending in December), according to MarketResearch. On the other hand, the <keyword id="35621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="e-commerce">e-commerce</keyword> market in India is growing at an average of 34% since 2009 and is expected to reach $13 billion by year-end, according to the recent KPMG-IAMAI (<keyword id="128625" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Internet-and-Mobile-Association-of-India">Internet and Mobile Association of India</keyword>) report e-Commerce Rhetoric, Reality and Opportunity. The e-tail sector is expected to grow at 59% a year and will account for one in every two e-commerce <keyword id="96567" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Transactions">transactions</keyword> by 2016, the report says. 
 
But the India story does not look too promising as a spate of consolidations and shutdowns took place – mostly due to lack of funds. In fact, an estimated 70-80% of e-commerce companies are in dire need of funds, as per the KPMG-IAMAI report. The fund crunch had hit the Indian firms hard and around 136 e-commerce start-ups had to shut shop between November 2012 and April 2013, says the news site NextBigWhat.com. 
 According to <keyword id="1981" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rahul-Khanna">Rahul Khanna</keyword>, managing director of <keyword id="218907" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Canaan-Partners-India">Canaan Partners India</keyword>, e-commerce in India requires very deep pockets and follow-on rounds are extremely crucial for growth. Unless companies can abide by this fundamental rule, they could be shutting down or another surge in <keyword id="73277" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="mergers-and-acquisitions">mergers and acquisitions</keyword> could happen. 
 However, some big-ticket investments from April onwards tend to indicate revival of investors’ confidence in Indian Internet companies. For a change, not all of the <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> has gone into typical B2C e-tailers. <keyword id="1990186" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Digital-ad-network">Digital ad network</keyword> <keyword id="169308" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Komli-Media">Komli Media</keyword>, data security solutions provider <keyword id="136146" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Druva-Software">Druva Software</keyword> and classifieds firm <keyword id="830092" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Zomato">Zomato</keyword> have also raised significant funding from local and global investors during the first three quarters (April-December) of the current financial year. Till November end, investments worth $635 million have flowed into India’s e-commerce sector, spread across 40 transactions, according to research firm Venture Intelligence. This pinpoints a sharp rise in total deal value from 2012, which saw transactions worth $433 million. 
 Does it mean VCs (or <keyword id="46876" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="PE">PE</keyword> investors, in some cases) investing in Indian initiatives now have bigger <keyword id="170907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="risk-appetite">risk appetite</keyword>? Or are they now mature enough to grow past the merchandise-oriented e-com investment culture? Well, not exactly. Since 2011, equity investors put in almost $1.2 billion into online product retail, says Venture Intelligence. And a large chunk of this funding went into just one company – <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>.com. Most of the <keyword id="47361" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="VC">VC</keyword> players are still playing safe and putting money into biggest Indian e-tailers like Flipkart, <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> and <keyword id="679005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Homeshop18">HomeShop18</keyword>. However, niche e-com players like Healthkart, LensKart and BabyOye have also raised $10-14 million in <keyword id="1042660" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="equity-financing">equity financing</keyword> this year. Here is a quick look at the 6 top-funded <keyword id="1990175" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Digital-businesses">digital businesses</keyword> of the year. 
 
1. Flipkart – tops the funding list: Six-year-old Flipkart, often touted as India’s <keyword id="18635" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Amazon">Amazon</keyword>, has topped the funding list till date and amassed around $550 million. In 2013, the Bangalore-based company raised $360 million in Series E, spread over two tranches, from a slew of investors including <keyword id="144381" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Accel-Partners">Accel Partners</keyword>, <keyword id="526777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tiger-Global">Tiger Global</keyword>, <keyword id="6356837" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Naspers">Naspers</keyword> of South Africa, <keyword id="1200999" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Iconiq-Capital">Iconiq Capital</keyword>, Belgium’s <keyword id="1898010" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sofina">Sofina</keyword>, US-based <keyword id="390562" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Morgan-Stanley-Investment-Management">Morgan Stanley Investment Management</keyword>, <keyword id="1990201" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dragoneer-Investment-Group">Dragoneer Investment Group</keyword> and <keyword id="1623313" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vulcan-Capital">Vulcan Capital</keyword> (founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen). 
 
The second tranche of $160 million valued Flipkart at over $1.6 billion, according to an Economic Times report. This is similar to its <keyword id="51393" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="valuation">valuation</keyword> in July when it raised the first tranche of $200 million. Interestingly, Flipkart is worth more than the total market cap of all 15 <keyword id="1990203" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Listed-retail-companies">listed retail companies</keyword>, including Future Retail, Shoppers Stop, etc. Among brand-led firms, Flipkart’s valuation is comparable with heavyweights such as P&amp;G India and Tata Global Beverages. The company may opt for an <keyword id="6354763" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="IPO">IPO</keyword> in a year, according to media reports. 
 Interestingly, <keyword id="1990166" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart-India-Pvt-Ltd">Flipkart India Pvt Ltd</keyword>, the wholesale business of India’s largest e-tailer Flipkart, reported a loss of Rs.281.7 crore in the year ended March 2013, compared to its loss of Rs 109.9 crore in the previous year. This is because the company has upped its spending significantly in a bid to increase its revenues, the same model followed by Amazon in the US. Flipkart’s revenues jumped fivefold to more than Rs 1,180 crore from Rs 204.8 crore in the previous year, but one wonders if the company can survive the fast and furious cash-burning (in spite of heavy funding) required to grab market share. 
 
2. Snapdeal – a growth story growing stronger: The Snapdeal story is almost similar. The online marketplace raised about $50 million in April this year from <keyword id="6357395" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="eBay">eBay</keyword>, Japan’s <keyword id="1634214" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Recruit-Co">Recruit Co</keyword>, <keyword id="131553" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Intel-Capital">Intel Capital</keyword>, <keyword id="1148513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Saama-Capital">Saama Capital</keyword>, <keyword id="1990205" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ru-Net-Ventures">ru-Net Ventures</keyword>, <keyword id="290936" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bessemer-Venture-Partners">Bessemer Venture Partners</keyword>, <keyword id="175881" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Nexus-Venture-Partners">Nexus Venture Partners</keyword> and <keyword id="590403" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indo-US-Venture-Partners">Indo-US Venture Partners</keyword> (now <keyword id="1397792" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kalaari-Capital">Kalaari Capital</keyword>). It is the first investment in India by Recruit, a $10 billion classifieds and human resources company. <keyword id="1179258" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Venky-Harinarayan">Venky Harinarayan</keyword> and <keyword id="726659" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anand-Rajaraman">Anand Rajaraman</keyword>, who co-founded the US-based Internet company <keyword id="124959" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Junglee">Junglee</keyword> that was bought over by Amazon in 1998, are also investors in the latest round, according to ET. The Delhi-based firm raised the money in two tranches, taking its total <keyword id="60356" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="fundraising">fundraising</keyword> to $103 million. Snapdeal has been valued at $600 million and is reportedly looking at a US listing in 1-2 years. 
 
3. HomeShop18 – on a roll: HomeShop18, the <keyword id="1990206" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Multimedia-retail-arm">multimedia retail arm</keyword> of <keyword id="1553596" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Network-18-Media-and-Investments">Network 18 Media and Investments</keyword> Ltd, got a follow-on round of $14 million in October this year from Korean firm <keyword id="1990167" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="GS-Home-Shopping-Inc-">GS Home Shopping Inc.</keyword>, as well as <keyword id="320882" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Network-18">Network 18</keyword> and <keyword id="154791" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hedge-fund-manager">hedge fund manager</keyword> <keyword id="1913242" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="OCP-Asia">OCP Asia</keyword>. The latest transaction values HomeShop18 at $360 million. Earlier in April, the company raised a $30 million round from OCP Asia and Network18. <keyword id="161314" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SAIF-Partners">SAIF Partners</keyword> is also an existing investor into the company. HomeShop18 has reportedly filed for an IPO on <keyword id="6357328" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="NASDAQ">NASDAQ</keyword>, hoping to raise around $100 million. 
 
4. Zomato – no speed limit here: This online &amp; mobile platform for <keyword id="1981663" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="restaurant-listing">restaurant listing</keyword>, search and review secured a Series D round of $37 million in November 2013 from <keyword id="122716" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sequoia-Capital">Sequoia Capital</keyword> and existing investor <keyword id="80004" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Info-Edge">Info Edge</keyword>, making it one of the largest investments in the <keyword id="6386251" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Consumer-Internet">consumer Internet</keyword> space till date. BSE-listed Info Edge, which owns the portal Naukri.com and other Internet businesses, is the biggest shareholder in Zomato and owns 50.1% stake on a fully converted and diluted basis. Gurgaon-based Zomato Media was set up in 2008 and raised a total of $53 million till date. The latest funding gave it an approximate valuation of $160 million. Zomato is now present in 40 cities across 11 countries and provides in-depth information about 197,000-plus restaurants. 
 Interestingly, online food ordering and table booking service <keyword id="1941832" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Justeat-in">JustEat.in</keyword> (originally started as <keyword id="1990211" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hungry-Zone">Hungry Zone</keyword> in 2006 but was later acquired by UK-based <keyword id="1980313" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Justeat">JustEat</keyword>) recently raised an undisclosed sum from global investment firm <keyword id="1990169" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Axon-Partners-Group">Axon Partners Group</keyword> and <keyword id="34499" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="private-equity">private equity</keyword> firm <keyword id="1990170" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Forum-Synergies-India">Forum Synergies India</keyword>. 
 
5. Komli Media – eyeing expansion: Mumbai-headquartered digital advertising firm Komli Media recently raised $30 million in a fifth round of funding, again from a clutch of investors including the <keyword id="139987" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="private-equity-fund">private equity fund</keyword> <keyword id="6580209" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Peepul-Capital">Peepul Capital</keyword> and existing investors <keyword id="260133" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Norwest-Venture-Partners">Norwest Venture Partners</keyword>, Nexus Venture Partners, <keyword id="309606" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Helion-Venture-Partners">Helion Venture Partners</keyword> and <keyword id="198743" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Draper-Fisher-Jurvetson">Draper Fisher Jurvetson</keyword>. With this round, Komli has now secured over $90 million in private equity <keyword id="47916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="invest">invest</keyword>ment. The company will use the funds to strengthen its position in the Asia-Pacific and invest further in technology, especially in data analytics, among other things. Since 2011, Komli has bought six companies. It now employs over 400 people and has 18 offices in India, Australia, New Zealand, South-east Asia, the Middle East, Hong Kong and North America. 
 
6. Druva Software – getting big: <keyword id="1990212" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Data-protection-software">Data protection software</keyword> provider Druva raised a third round funding of $25 million from <keyword id="6357722" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="silicon-valley">Silicon Valley</keyword> investment firm <keyword id="297685" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tenaya-Capital">Tenaya Capital</keyword> and existing investors <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword> Capital and Nexus Venture Partners. With this round, the company has received a total of $42 million in venture funding. Druva had secured $5 million from Sequoia back in 2010 and another $12 million from Nexus in 2011. The new funding will support continued R&amp;D, expanded global sales and marketing with focus on Belgium, Luxembourg, Australia and Singapore, and expansion of its cloud infrastructure to support new deployments by large enterprises. The latest deal values the five-year-old firm at around $120 million. 
 Druva’s flagship is its <keyword id="861914" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="InSync">inSync</keyword> platform, an integrated suite of endpoint data protection and governance solutions for enterprises. As of now, the company has 2,100 customers and protects 1.7 million endpoints across 76 countries. It has offices in Pune, California, the UK and Singapore, and boasts a client list including the <keyword id="57857" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="US-army">US Army</keyword>, <keyword id="6360409" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="NASA">NASA</keyword>, <keyword id="114355" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nikon">Nikon</keyword>, <keyword id="6358918" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Deloitte">Deloitte</keyword>, <keyword id="53186" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="PwC">PwC</keyword> and <keyword id="107096" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tesla">Tesla</keyword>, and universities such as <keyword id="33081" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Stanford">Stanford</keyword> and <keyword id="115229" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Berkeley">Berkeley</keyword>, among others.

These 6 Digital
Businesses Are Now Flush With VC Money

Is e-commerce 2.0 over in India? Going by the recent ripple of mergers and closures, impacted by an overall volatile economy, we often assume the worse. Investors’ loss of trust in the Indian ecosystem has become a litany for some time now but in spite of the downtime, a handful of Indian e-commerce firms have hit the headlines in 2013 for fast-paced growth and the big bucks they have managed to raise. Their operations vary widely – it can be as simple as business listing, as predictable as selling books and lifestyle items online or as unique as creating a whole new platform for a consumer requirement. But routine or innovative, these six Indian companies have gained both investors’ support and consumer trust that keep them going. Find out what’s making them tick while we bring you a tongue-in-cheek account of possible mergers &amp; acquisitions that may happen on their way. 
 
 
<keyword id="430602" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="JustDial">JustDial</keyword>: What’s next after a roaring listing business? 
Forget MakeMyTrip and its iconic NASDAQ listing – here is one success story just as good. Fresh from a mind-blowing IPO that was oversubscribed 12 times, this India-focused local business listing site has already entered online food ordering space and has some more projects in the pipeline. Of course, the Rs 950 crore IPO – a pure offer for sale in which founder VSS Mani and investors, including Tiger Global, Sequoia Capital and SAP Ventures, sold some 1.75 crore shares – is the largest on the Indian bourses this year and one of the biggest by an Indian Internet firm. 
 
However, the start-up had done its fair share of tight-rope walking earlier in the day. Since his first-ever business directory service AskMe failed in the early 90s, Mani made sure to make the next initiative failure-proof – taking one cautious step at a time (initially answering consumer queries over phone, then graduating to web queries and next moving on to mobile apps). Finally, India got its biggest business listings company, built from a paltry seed capital of Rs 50,000. And here is another interesting bit of information. Since 1999, Mani had taken six shots at the bourses and the last one has gone right home. 
 
Road ahead: What feels good about this start-up is that, JustDial is already up and about, looking at new businesses. In a recent media interview, Mani confirmed that the company would soon expand its online service range – diversifying into cab, movie ticket and doctor appointment booking. 
 
If consolidation happens: What if... search giant Google wants to focus more on India and requires a local partner that has scale and reach across multiple businesses? In fact, <keyword id="45395" type="CITY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Google-India">Google India</keyword> has already introduced Product Listing ads that will display features like product images, pricing and more, to highlight merchant offerings. Will it thrive more if JustDial comes on board? 
 
<keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword>: All about pivots, deals &amp; marketplace, but can it do a TaoBao? Talk about pivots and you have Kunal Bahl who has done it as many times as Robert Bruce and courted success. His business pivoted seven times as Bahl started by selling restaurant deal vouchers (and printed ones at that); came up with a daily deal site and finally pivoted to a zero-inventory, e-commerce marketplace just like Amazon, with a B2C (business to consumer) focus. That definitely makes it different from <keyword id="161767" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="eBay-India">eBay India</keyword> where the focus is C2C. Snapdeal claims to be doing it big – with 20 million registered users and around 14-15 million visitors each month, according to his recent interaction with AllThingsD. And a total funding of $114 million or so (eBay is an existing investor in the company as well) definitely speaks a lot in terms of investor confidence. Snapdeal is not profitable yet, but it is eyeing an annual GMV of $400 million this fiscal and wants to do a billion dollar in GMV by 2015. 
 
Road ahead: Media reports say Bahl is all set to do a TaoBao Mall (a dedicated B2C e-commerce marketplace run by China’s Alibaba Group) right here in India. The seasoned entrepreneur prefers to call the marketplace a vast product discovery platform with fast and furious growth and has recently introduced a customer protection service called TrustPay – a service that ensures 100% money-back guarantee in case of any issue with product quality, size or delivery. It also serves as a seller protection service against any kind of consumer fraud. Snapdeal’s agility to move ahead of the market could be its USP, especially now that it has started working on ad revenues, but can it really achieve the momentum and the scale in the Indian context? 
 
If consolidation happens: That eBay is one of the investors in Snapdeal is an interesting fact. If the company ever considers a readymade marketplace with a B2B focus, this will be a good deal. Then there is <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="40" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> who could be buying out all competition. But given a choice, would it buy <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> or Snapdeal? Well, your guess is as good as ours. 
 
Flipkart: Big bucks are rolling in, but is the business booming? 
Don’t shop, Flipkart it – that’s the new mantra of this prolific e-com player, founded by Sachin and Binny Bansal (they are not related). They started as a book e-tailer, but soon expanded into all possible categories – from fashion to fitness and accessories, gadgets &amp; electronics to home &amp; lifestyle products, baby care items, toys and more. The success mantra is simple – best pricing and speedy delivery, backed by a dedicated logistics team. Understandably, the traction is awesome – the company claims to have 10 million registered users and over 1 million unique visitors a day. 
 
Flipkart has recently raised a fifth round of funding worth $200 million from its existing investors – Tiger Global, Accel Partners, ICONIQ Capital and South African Internet company Naspers – taking the total funding to more than $380 million. But that doesn’t mean all is well in paradise. It has recently shut down some digital businesses like Flyte (a much-hyped MP3 store launched only a year ago) and cut down on a number of electronics categories. On the plus side, it has launched its own payment gateway called PayZippy, introduced a voice-based search on the site, started selling e-books and has come up with a marketplace where third party vendors can sell directly to consumers. Flipkart has also entered a deal with the US-based indie e-book distributor Smashwords, Inc., which gives it access to Smashwords’ eBook store – a catalogue of 2 lakh-plus vetted and formatted e-books from more than 60,000 authors and publishers. 
 
Road ahead: Ambitious, to say the least, especially after the Series E booster. Just like Snapdeal, this e-com biggie wants to reach an annual GMV of $1 billion by 2015 besides doubling up the number of sellers on the marketplace to 1,000 by the end of this year. Although Flipkart is constantly harping on global level hiring, the biggest chunk of the funds raised is bound to be spent on technology, supply chain and (don’t be shocked) product development. PayZippy could be just the beginning and going ahead, Flipkart may evolve into a technology enabler for offline businesses keen to have an online presence. Infibeam’s Build A Bazaar, SmartStore from BigFoot Retail and PayU India’s PayUPaisa are doing just the same, but Flipkart can actually do a PayUPaisa by integrating the proprietary payment gateway with the Web stores for additional revenues (just like PayUPaisa does). 
 
But it is the Smashwords deal that intrigues us most. According to Nielsen BookScan Retail Panel data, in 2013, Flipkart holds an average of 40-45% in terms of value when it comes to the organised books market in India and the company has plans to grow it substantially. If that happens, it will become the undisputed market leader in the books category – both online and offline. And before we forget, Flipkart may focus even more on private labels – it already markets a private label brand called Digiflip for digital accessories such as laptop bags and camera pouches. But the biggest challenge is to get over the few setbacks, bring back the positive drive and get ready for a much-anticipated IPO. 
 
If consolidation happens: A head-on between Snapdeal and Flipkart or Amazon and Flipkart will be extremely interesting. However, the company is not losing much sleep over the competition from existing marketplaces. Another possibility is Flipkart acquiring Tradus since they have a common investor in Naspers and such deals have taken place before. 
 
<keyword id="6388367" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jabong">Jabong</keyword>: Fashion e-tailing on a roll, but for how long? 
Shun the incremental and go for the leap, said Jack Welch of GE. And if there’s one online retailer in the fashion and lifestyle segment that has literally fallen for this mandate, it’s Jabong.com, the dark horse in the fiercely competitive Indian e-commerce space. In less than 20 months, the Rocket Internet-backed venture has banged into the top rung – the third most-visited online shopping site after Myntra.com and Flipkart.com, according to a recent report by comScore. Reasons for such eyeballs? Huge inventory, aggressive marketing, speedy delivery and best-in-class customer care (including third-party logistics services). The deep pockets of the Samwer brothers help it burn the cash left, right and centre, and around 50-60% of its sales are coming from small towns, its founder, Arun Chandra Mohan, said in a recent media interaction. 
 
Road ahead: Could be bleak, going by Rocket’s reputation of creating hype and disposing its assets at the earliest. Jabong claims to do around 14,000 orders a day (average ticket size not disclosed), but it is yet to hit profitability. The company is said to be experimenting with private labels, but does not seem to be pushing it big time in spite of potential big margins. Moreover, just like Flipkart, Jabong has also handed out the pink slips. At the end of the day, it has to find a viable business model and we hope that the third-party logistics can bring in some hard cash as e-tailing spreads across the country. 
 
If consolidation happens: A takeover bid, either by Myntra or by Flipkart, will definitely put the bidder on the top. However, Flipkart is an unlikely candidate as its late initiative to enter fashion and lifestyle space is yet to gain traction and scale. Of course, it is not lacking in funds, but considering that the firm has already launched a marketplace in April this year and facing some stiff competition from Amazon India and other desi e-com marketplaces, will it really invest in an inventory-led model? Myntra, on the other hand, could be game if it is seriously considering a No. 1 slot. Interestingly, Bangalore-based Myntra is one of the heaviest funded players in the e-commerce space and has raised around $64 million till date. It has also made some interesting acquisitions and a shot at a competitor might not be unlikely. 
 
Just Zomato it: You can’t find a spicier chunk of food business 
Is this online restaurant guide doing a Jabong in terms of fast and furious growth? Well, apparently, going by the latest report card. Just five years into the business, this Gurgaon-based firm has expanded to 28 cities across 8 countries (India, the UAE, Qatar, Sri Lanka, the UK, the Philippines, South Africa and New Zealand) – with listings of over 1,18,000 restaurants and 15 million monthly users (web and mobile). And it all happened because founder Deepinder Goyal, while working for Bain &amp; Co. in Delhi, decided to do something about easy access to food joints, rather than stomaching an overcrowded office cafeteria or flying blind to find nearby eateries. 
 
Zomato’s USP is its user-generated reviews (pretty stringent, going by the new parameters set up not too long ago). Moneywise, it is pretty well-funded. Info Edge (India) Ltd, which runs a string of consumer internet portals including the coveted job listing site Naukri.com, is the majority stakeholder in Zomato and invested around Rs 86.06 crore in the company. 
 
Road ahead: Next destinations are Brazil and Turkey, to say nothing of the recent tie-up it had with UK-based toptables for restaurant booking in London, Manchester and Birmingham. And for a change, this start-up has reached break-even in India and Dubai could be next on the cards. As of now, revenues roll in via ads, event ticketing and restaurant booking. 
 
If consolidation happens: If you are not on Zomato, you are not really there – that’s how the saying goes for restaurants. So the next logical step is to expand into restaurant booking (it has already done it in the UK) and online food ordering. Zomato has reportedly declined such expansion plans in India, but going by JustDial’s latest foray into the online food ordering space, a look at Foodpanda (India), a food ordering platform backed by Rocket Internet, or other homegrown restaurant reservation sites like TableGrabber.com, Dineout.co.in, PoshVine.com and Tablewalla.com may just work out well for Zomato.

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