<ul><li>It has been two weeks since Rashi Rap took over the internet by storm.</li><li>What followed the rap was a hilarious meme fest and the song becoming a part of everyday conversation.</li><li>And now, to leverage the rising popularity, a brand has approached Kokila Ben for an advertisement. </li></ul>After a snippet from Star Plus’ Saath Nibhana Saathiya serial converted to a catchy song took the internet by storm, <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword> has roped in the protagonist, Kokilaben, to use her fandom and spread awareness about phishing scams. The serial’s popularity soared after music producer Yashraj Mukhate created a song around a scene from the show. It was followed by a hilarious meme fest and the song became a part of everyday conversations. Brands like Dunzo, Netflix, Tinder, Nearbuy were also quick to jump on the brandwagon. According to Star Plus, 36 million viewers watched Saath Nibhana Saathiya in that week. Despite its rerun after a decade, it became the 7th most-watched show in the category. So, Paytm decided to jump onto the ‘Kaun Tha’ trend by giving it a new twist. Its advertisement aims to inform consumers about imposters. Kokilaben gets a call from someone claiming to be a Paytm executive, calling to inform Kokilaben that her Paytm wallet has expired and to complete the KYC procedure, she would have to download another app. Before buying into the caller’s made-up scheme, Kokilaben asks herself, “Is it an executive or imposter?” She soon smells that there is something fishy and says, “Phone par jalsa tha.” (there was a fraudster on the phone). She urges consumers to beware of fraud calls, SMS on KYC Account Block or Contests. She also clarifies that Paytm can never be done by any other app. <div type="twitter" handle="Paytm" handlename="Paytm" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1300834212912803840/-V1Rz461_normal.jpg" favoritecount="5409" retweetcount="731" status="Agent tha? Executive tha? KAUN THA?! 🤔 https://t.co/mqqDExsPdJ" createdat="1600015036000" id="1305183777942056961"></div> Does this mean we will see more of Kokilaben in ads now? Only time will tell. But here is an example of leveraging a popular meme fest and using Moment Marketing right.

Paytm ropes in Kokilaben to leverage on ‘Rasode Mein Kaun Tha’ trend, to spread an important message

<keyword id="66" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi">Delhi</keyword> Chief Minister <keyword id="260213" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arvind-Kejriwal">Arvind Kejriwal</keyword> on Sunday wrote a letter to Prime Minister <keyword id="6354477" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi">Narendra Modi</keyword>, seeking the country's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna be given this year to all doctors, nurses and paramedics who served the people amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be a true homage to doctors who lost their lives, he said. In the letter to the prime minister, Kejriwal said this year's Bharat Ratna should be conferred upon doctors, nurses and paramedical staff. "Many doctors and nurses sacrificed their lives fighting Corona. If we honour them with Bharat Ratna, then it will be a true tribute to them. Lakhs of doctors and nurses served people selflessly without worrying about their lives and families. There can be no other better way (than honouring them with Bharat Ratna) to thank and honour them," he wrote in the letter in Hindi. He also stressed that, if needed, necessary changes should be made in rules so that the medical community can be awarded the highest civilian award. "If rules do not permit to confer Bharat Ratna on a group, then I request you to change rules. The entire country is grateful towards our doctors. Every citizen of the country will be happy if they (doctors) are honoured with Bharat Ratna," Kejriwal appealed to the PM in the letter. Earlier in the day, the chief minister also tweeted on the same matter. "The 'Indian Doctor' should receive Bharat Ratna this year. 'Indian Doctor' means all doctors, nurses and paramedics. It will be a true homage to all martyred doctors. It will be an honour of those who have been serving without caring for their lives and families. The whole country will be glad with this," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi. As many as 730 doctors have succumbed to coronavirus infection during the second wave, according to data available with the Indian Medical Association (IMA) in mid-June. Bihar saw the maximum number of 115 deaths, followed by Delhi at 109, <keyword id="6357713" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uttar-Pradesh">Uttar Pradesh</keyword> 79, West Bengal 62, Rajasthan 43, Jharkhand 39, and Andhra Pradesh 38, the data showed. According to the IMA, 748 doctors died in the first wave of the pandemic. The chief minister also participated in a programme through video conferencing where he reiterated his request to honour the Indian medical fraternity with Bharat Ratna to "commemorate" their hard work and service during the pandemic. "Giving Bharat Ratna to doctors and paramedics as a community will recognise the sacrifice of all the doctors and paramedic staff who had lost their lives on duty, along with paying homage to the departed souls," he said. The CM also highlighted the Delhi government's efforts to honour doctors and medical fraternity. He said the Delhi government tried its best to fix the system as much as possible in their capacity pointing out that it gave Rs 1 crore as 'Samman Rashi' to the families of those doctors and frontline workers whose lives were lost in the pandemic. "This is not a compensation but a way of thanking their service, and reinforcing that we care for them, the country stands with them, and the society stands with them," Kejriwal said. "A lot of doctors could not go to their homes after serving in COVID wards in order to protect their families from getting infected. To deal with this, we arranged for the best possible accommodations for them where they could stay while they were attending to COVID patients," the CM added. "I received an interesting message once. It read that all temples are shut during COVID because God is serving at hospitals wearing a white coat. It signifies the amount of love and respect doctors command. "They (doctors) were not getting any special benefits, extra payments or promotions, they weren't getting anything in exchange. Yet, they all did their best because of their love for humanity. We salute all these brave doctors, nurses and paramedics," Kejriwal added. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/google-is-working-on-a-new-app-to-let-you-store-your-medical-records/articleshow/84059948.cms">Google is working on a new app to let you store your medical records</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/battlegrounds-mobile-india-official-download-link-how-to-update-bgmi-rewards/articleshow/84058116.cms">Battlegrounds Mobile India launched officially – here’s how to update, claim rewards and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/failure-to-pivot-covid-19-blues-force-amazon-backed-shuttl-to-look-for-a-buyer/articleshow/84056797.cms">Failure to pivot, COVID-19 blues force Amazon-backed Shuttl to look for a buyer</a>

Arvind Kejriwal writes to PM Modi seeking Bharat Ratna for Indian doctors

After more than a year of intense political tangling, the <keyword id="43633" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-senate">US Senate</keyword> has passed a bill that lifts the existing per-country cap on the number of permanent-residency permits issued to legal immigrants, potentially paving the way for Indians waiting in decades-long lines to breathe easier. But there's a catch. Several, actually. It's the Senate vs House lawmakers' versioning problem. Aparna Bhatnagar, an Indian living in Stamford, Connecticut who's been in the "queue forever" places the developments in context. "This version has to reconcile with the previous version that the House passed. It's still a long way to go and by that time the new ruling party will take over. Let's wait and watch," she told IANS. The "previous version" that Bhatnagar refers to is the aFairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act' which passed the House of Representatives in 2019 - 365 to 65 votes. What passed the Senate late Wednesday night was a similar piece of legislation sponsored by Senator Mike Lee (Republican, Utah), not the exact one passed by the House. Senator Lee's state Utah, incidentally, is the new magnet for the nearshoring business model in the US. The Senate and the House bills will now have to be layered onto each other and a combo version will have to pass both the House and Senate before being sent over to the White House. Current US rules limit any one country to 7 per cent of all employment-based green cards. Indians make up more than 600,000 of those whose paperwork is approved but are waiting. The US State Department awards about 140,000 Green Cards a year but does not have caps on how many applications get approved each year - creating a demand supply asymmetry that puts millions of legal immigrants on a perpetual waitlist. "It is indeed a great decision by the Senate. Fingers crossed because the House has to pass the bill with the added amendments," Rashi Bhatnagar, an Atlanta resident told IANS. Anirban Das, who has been through the grind and began an advocacy group called Skilled Immigrants in America (SIIA), points to the coming challenges, in a tweet. "We need to work to get this passed in the House. I hope everyone can come together knowing this is the right thing to do." The swirling anxiety centers around the carve outs in the Senate version of the bill, coming from various Republican Senators opposed to the legislation in its current avatar. Sen. Rand Paul (Republican, Kentucky) has inserted provisions for nurses from the Philippines and is demanding new restrictions on firms that employ half of their workers on H1B visas. Sen. Rick Scott (Republican, Florida) added two more into the mix: A new limit for the next 10 years on the overall number of immigrants on H1B visas who can receive Green Cards and another which could slash immigration from China. "While I recognize the sincerity of all members and senators struggling to find solutions, unfortunately the provisions sent to the House by the Senate yesterday most likely make matters worse, not better," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, chairwoman of the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, who sponsored the House bill. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/sbis-mobile-banking-app-is-down-for-the-third-time-in-last-30-days/articleshow/79548953.cms">SBI’s mobile banking app is down for the third time in 30 days — digital services take a hit for the 25th time this year</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/ultratech-cements-5477-crore-expansion-plan-is-a-sign-that-birla-is-betting-on-a-faster-economic-recovery/articleshow/79549626.cms">UltraTech Cement's ₹5,477 crore expansion plan is a sign that Birla is betting on a faster economic recovery</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/banks/news/rbi-directs-hdfc-bank-to-suspend-its-digital-business-and-new-credit-cards-amid-rising-incidents-of-outages/articleshow/79542055.cms">RBI tells HDFC Bank to stop new digital launches and selling new credit cards after recent outages of online banking</a>

Indians hopeful as US Senate passes bill to lift cap on the number of Green Cards per country to clear massive backlog

<ul><li>This year, <keyword id="6378646" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="baisakhi">Baisakhi</keyword> falls on April 13, which is a Monday. </li><li>The harvest festival of Baisakhi marks the beginning of the solar year. </li><li>One of the most important festivals in Punjab, Baisakhi holds a special significance for the Sikh community.</li></ul>On April 13, 2020, the whole of Punjab and many parts of Northern India will gear up to celebrate the harvest festival of Baisakhi. On this joyful day, the farmers offer their prayers in thanks for a bountiful harvest of the Rabi crop. Baisakhi is also significant as it marks the founding of the Khalsa Panth community three hundred years ago by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Across the country, people celebrate the Baisakhi festival with a lot of fun, merriment and enthusiasm. Baisakhi in Punjab Punjab observes a state-wide holiday on the day of Baisakhi. Schools, colleges and offices remain closed to allow people to celebrate the event. Friends, relatives and neighbours exchange gifts among themselves. Businesses and offices also give away gifts to their employees. With all the gift-giving, there’s usually a surge in shopping ahead of the festival. The shops announce their annual sale offers and heavy discounts are offered on a wide range of items. Even the hotels announce huge discounts to lure in visitors from other states and countries who have come to either participate or observe the celebration of Baisakhi. Baisakhi and Sikhs The Sikh community celebrates Baisakhi by paying homage at Gurdwaras. They distribute offerings like Kada Prasad — a type of semolina halva made with equal portions of whole-wheat flour, clarified butter, and sugar — among the family members and friends. The tradition of Baisakhi was started in 1699 when the Panj Piaras or the ‘beloved five’ were the first five men to be baptised as Sikh and Guru Gobind Singh laid down the Panth Khalsa — the Order of the Pure Ones — according to scripture. Five individuals are chosen to represent the Panj Piaras and lead religious processions organized in the cities and provinces. Kar Sewa — volunteering to help at Gurdwaras — is an important highlight of the day. This act is considered as the expression of the modesty. In Gurdwaras, we can find the recitation of some passages from Guru Granth Sahib, kirtans and traditional songs. Baisakhi and farmers Punjab is rich in agriculture. Since Baisakhi commemorates the harvest season of the Rabi crops, it is a significant event for the farmers in the region. This festival is observed as a day of thanksgiving to the gods and natural elements that facilitated a bountiful harvest. Farmers visit the temples and Gurdwaras on this day wearing new clothes. Baisakhi fairs, bhangra and gidda are performances are common during this time in the state of Punjab. Baisakhi for Hindus and Buddhists Baisakhi marks the beginning of the solar calendar. On this day, the Sun enters the Mesh Rashi, the first one among the twelve zodiac signs. Therefore, this festival is also called as Mesh Sankranti. The other versions of Baisakhi are 'Naba Barsha' of Bengal, 'Rongali Bihu' of Assam, ‘Puthandu’ of Tamil Nadu, ‘Vaishakha’ of Bihar, and 'Pooram Vishu' of Kerala. These are all the variations of the Solar New Year celebrations across different parts of the country. The festival is highly significant for Hindus as well as Swami Dayanand Saraswati founded the Arya Samaj on this day in 1875. Baisakhi is a holy day for the Buddhists as they believe that Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism attained enlightenment or Nirvana on this day.

Know the significance of Baisakhi, the harvest festival of Punjab

New Delhi, Nov 14 () Alia Bhatt-backed StyleCracker on Thursday said US-based investor AMJ Ventures has invested USD 2 million (about Rs 14 crore) into the company.
 The fashion-tech start-up will use the funds towards building out further capabilities in machine learning and in strengthening its moat on the personalisation front, StyleCracker co-founder and Managing Director Dhimaan Shah said in a statement.
 "The funds will also be used to build a strong pan-India presence...StyleCracker has grown rapidly since inception at a CAGR of over 150 per cent and is on track to grow the business over 250 per cent this financial year, after its funding from AMJ Ventures," he added.
 The rapid growth is complemented by healthy economics with the company turning profitable at a unit economic level, he said.
 AMJ has previously invested in Indian start-ups like Avail Finance and Propelld. 
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* IAN Fund invests Rs 15 cr in Zypp
 IAN Fund on Thursday said it has invested Rs 15 crore in e-scooter micro-mobility start-up Zypp.
 IAN Fund led the pre series-A round with prominent IAN members also participating, a statement said.
 Based out of Gurugram, Zypp (earlier Mobycy) has a fleet of IoT-powered electric scooters that commuters can use to fulfill their daily micro-mobility needs within a range of 5 kilometers. Incorporated in August 2017, the company has over 50 employees. 
 "We will leverage the capital to scale by strengthening the fleet with 5,000 e-scooters within the next few months. We are also looking to expand our geographical footprint across NCR along with 5 other Indian cities, and then to South East Asia and Europe in the coming years," Zypp co-founder Rashi Agarwal said.
 Agarwal added that the company plans to have 20,000 scooters on the road by end of 2020.
**** 
* misters.in raises Rs 3.5 crore funding led by Sauce.vc, Rainforest Ventures and others 
 misters.in, a direct-to-customer men's health and wellness brand, on Thursday said it has raised Rs 3.5 crore as a part of its series B round of funding led by Sauce.vc, Rainforest Ventures and angel investors. 
 The company had raised Rs 2.54 crore in series A in August this year.
 "misters.in will utilise the capital raised to establish its strong footprint in the highly fragmented but massive men's health and wellness space, with a focus on high-quality products, science, and sensitivity," a statement said. SR RVK

AMJ Ventures invests USD 2 mn in Alia Bhatt-backed fashion-tech start-up StyleCracker

<ul><li>The outbreak of coronavirus has affected our daily routines. To ease our loneliness and boredom, we have turned to our furry companions who emerged as the brightest ray of light in our lives in the past two years.</li><li>As a result, India has seen an increase in pet adoption in the pandemic, with demand for dogs, cats, and other furry friends.</li><li>We speak to leading pet care brands in India to find out how this surge in adoption has translated into increased demand for pet food and care after the pandemic, how brands are increasing their marketing spends to leverage this demand, and a few trends that we can expect to see in the category as we move forward.</li></ul>Working from home has taken a toll on our mental health. Mounting uncertainty, work pressure and the physical stress of sitting in one position for hours has led to changes in our lifestyle and sleep patterns, which has added to the stress. However, for a fortunate few, our four-legged companions have been a bright, silver shining ray of light in our lives. Pets have provided a great source of comfort during these testing times and have rescued us from the uncertainty looming around. They have also helped foster a deeper connection between family members, pushed us to go out on a walk for some fresh air, put a smile on our faces by interrupting Zoom calls, and prepare for the big fight against COVID. As a result, India has seen an increase in pet adoption in the pandemic, with demand for dogs, cats and other furry friends as citizens looked for simple ways to ease loneliness and boredom. As per latest data shared by <a href="https://www.petex.in/petcaremarketinindia.htmlhttps://www.petex.in/petcaremarketinindia.html">Petex</a>, India is the fastest-growing pet care market in the world. After seeing a push due to the pandemic, it is expected to grow at 14% annually to become a $490 million (₹33000 million) market by 2022 and Pet food market alone is projected to cross $310 million (₹20000 million) by 2022. MARS Petcare currently generates $40 billion in annual sales globally and houses the biggest pet food and care brands like Whiskas, Pedigree, Royal Canin, Pet Partners, to mention a few, and has witnessed an upsurge in new customers after March 2020. In a Euromonitor research report from 2019, it was reported that MARS Petcare maintains its leadership through brand Pedigree in India. Telling us how the market has changed lately, Ganesh Ramani, Managing Director, <keyword id="12204844" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mars-petcare-india" source="Orion">MARS Petcare India</keyword> said, “During the pandemic, the brand saw an upsurge in pet parents entering the category. The demand for pet products towards the end of the year was much more than what the normal used to be during pre-COVID. The fact that pet parents have spent a lot more time with their pets during the lockdown and work from home phases, it led to parents indulging into a lot of products. Additionally, a lot more people, especially those who live alone, have adopted pets over the last few months. The brand has also encouraged the adoption of pets via various campaigns and activities under the Pedigree and Whiskas brands.” Petcare brand Supertails, which caters to all pet care needs, saw an increase in demand for vet consultations. It is doing more than 2000 consultations every month. Varun Sadana, Co-founder of Supertails, shared, “During the pandemic, people faced anxiety, depression, mental health issues and that was the period when pets played a crucial role in their life to get over the struggle. The pet adoption rate is above 10% with the GenZ contributing to the new pet parents population. At an overall level, the market has increased more than 20% CAGR in the last 2 years of the pandemic. Some brands like Purina have talked about 80%+ growth in the last year itself. Also, considering a large set of new pet parents are GenZ, there is a want of so much information and curiosity of being updated in pet parents. This is the first generation which is looking at pet parenthood rather than pet ownership. We expect the dog adoption rate to increase upwards of 15%.” Heads Up For Tails has witnessed a surge in demand for pet food and pet care products like grooming products, toys, walk accessories. Egro, it has been focusing on casting a wider net to attract more consumers. Rashi Sanon, Founder, Heads Up For Tails said, “We do have several new products planned to cater to customer demand. That being said, we also hope to expand our customer reach through new stores. Currently, we have 41 stores across the country, we have 8 more in the pipeline so we can connect with more pets and their families. Additionally, we’re focusing on building relevant content and an engaged community of pet people. We’re also keen on continuing product innovation alongside online growth and retail expansion.” To leverage this demand, pet care brands are leaving no stone unturned to reach out to pet parents through engaging content. They have increased their focus on e-commerce channels to expand their digital ‘paw-print’ and are spending more on digital media and TV to connect with paw-some parents. According to exclusive data shared by TAM AdEx with Ad and Media Insider, the animal feed category, which includes all kinds of animal food, saw an uptick in TV and digital spends. During July to September 2021, TV dominated the animal feed category in terms of ad insertions followed by digital and print. <div type="image" title="tam - animal care" msid="86617236" hostid="261"></div> TAM’s report further revealed that Pet Essentials, Mars International India and Hills Pet Nutrition were among the top three advertisers on digital media during April to June quarter of 2020 and 2021. Mars International also had a 29% share in print ads and 10% on TV from the overall animal feed sector in 2021. <div type="image" title="mars - ad share" msid="86617254" hostid="261"></div> Trends in Pet Care Category Pet care brands told us that pet parents are now asking and Googling for the right food and nutrition and parenting techniques and doing a lot for their pet’s overall wellness. “Pet parents are being more mindful of the kind of products they’re using for their pets. They’re asking more questions and learning more about the specific products and lifestyles their pets need. They’re certainly opting for products with more organic ingredients, products that are being made sustainably and so on,” said Sanon. Wiggles.in's Founder and CEO, Anushka Iyer, told us that pet parents are also looking for plant-based options now. "Wiggles.in predicts an upward surge in CBD-based products such as Pain Relief Therapy Oils and CBD infused treats to tackle pain management in senior pets since the global CBD pet products market is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 41.3% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2026. Immunity-boosting probiotic, gut-healthy strips that dissolve in the pet’s mouth are trending and disrupting the traditional pill-administering format, confirm veterinarians. Pet grooming products that include probiotics are evolving into an upcoming segment. Since 20% of the population is vegetarian in India, pet parents are insisting on vegan or plant-based pet food for their pets. Mental health in pets is gaining prominence, hence anxiety training in pets especially curated for anxious pets is leading. Pet insurance and cashless hospitalization, when it comes to injuries or accidents in pets, is a new category that prominent finance houses are delving into," said Iyer. As per Ramani, a lot of metro pet parents have moved to their native cities taking their pet along or adopting a pet in their hometown, which contributes to the rest of urban and smaller towns growing faster. This has pushed pet care brands to focus more on strengthening their presence across the country through e-commerce channels. “As a part of the changing buying behaviors observed during the pandemic, the brand also started distributing their products through grocery marketplaces like Amazon, Dunzo, Big Basket and Petshop online portals. While e-commerce continues to be a critical channel for the brand to bridge the distribution gap, Whiskas is also slowly expanding to new cities and markets across the country,” said he. Listing a few other trends that he is expecting to see in the pet care category in near future, Ramani added, “1. Increase in ownership of cats, adoption of street cats &amp; purchase of breed cats, 2. Increase in spends on MPF and additional discretionary spends on treats, 3. Significant increase in cat-friendly spaces, spa’s and other grooming products, and 4. Increase in activists supporting stray cats in terms of feeding, vaccinations, care, etc. Pet care brands also changed their marketing strategy to connect with consumers. Some people have reservations about adopting cats due to negative associations or superstitions, especially when it comes to caring and nurturing felines. Whiskas’ launched a new campaign that aimed at educating cat parents to reinforce how cats are cute and curious, not with any of the vile, stereotypical and unfavorable qualities associated with them. Supertails, on the other hand, is now preparing for a campaign for world rabies day, considering India is the largest country affected by rabies. As these newly-adopted pet babies during the pandemic grow bigger, their food requirements will also increase. Experts are, therefore, hoping to see a prolonged demand for pet adoption, food, care and nutrition and are looking at using the right marketing tools to further encourage pet adoption and the right amount of care.

As more people adopt furry companions in India, pet care brands are upping their marketing game and expanding their e-commerce presence to connect with consumers

<ul><li>According to a meta analysis of 100+ MMMs conducted by Nielsen across multiple categories, it was concluded that YouTube now delivers 4.8X greater <keyword id="564674" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Effectiveness">effectiveness</keyword> than TV and impacts incremental sales.</li><li>YouTube in India now reaches over 325 million 18+ unique viewers month on month.</li><li>There's a fundamental shift in viewing habits with 2 out of 3 Indians saying that they would rather give up TV than YouTube for a month. </li></ul>At its annual event Brandcast, YouTube announced that the platform now delivers 4.8X greater effectiveness than TV and directly impacts sales according to Nielsen's analysis. YouTube in India now reaches over 325 million 18+ unique viewers month on month, as per Comscore (May 2020). Underlining the content revolution that is unfolding in the country, YouTube shared that authentic and personable creators are churning out rich and even more diverse content categories like learning and education, platform gaming, food recipes, farming and beauty across regional Indian languages. In his keynote, <keyword id="7694" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sanjay-Gupta">Sanjay Gupta</keyword>, Country Head &amp; Vice President, Google India, said, “India is seeing its biggest content revolution and there is a fundamental shift in viewing habits with 2 out of 3 Indians saying that they would rather give up TV than YouTube for a month. Online video today is not just about entertainment but also experiences and learning and YouTube is playing the role of a catalyst in bringing this change. Everyday, millions of Indians are coming to YouTube to express their unique passions and create content that is more personal, helpful and accessible. YouTube today caters to the personal interest of a billion Indians across genres, languages, geographies and age groups, making YouTube the #1 platform for accessing videos in regional languages with Hindi leading the charts followed by Tamil, Telugu, Kannada &amp; Bengali and others.” With over 2,500 creator channels now reaching over one million subscribers, YouTube has seen over 45% growth in overall watchtime in July compared to last year for the same period (Comscore). YouTube shared that watchtime of Platform gaming videos in India grew by 2x as compared to Q2 2019 and baking videos grew by 3x during the same duration. And with YouTube becoming an everyday destination for learning and education in India, Wifistudy with over 12 million subscribers and over 1.5 billion views is now amongst the most popular education channels in Asia Pacific by subscribers. YouTube also shared how this content revolution has just not resulted in growth for creators, but today both large and small advertisers are leveraging the platform to drive business results and create unique collaborations with YouTube creators helping brands get better returns over TV. According to a meta analysis of 100+ MMMs conducted by Nielsen across multiple categories, it was concluded that YouTube now delivers 4.8X greater effectiveness than TV and impacts incremental sales. Talking about it’s recent campaign on YouTube, Rashi Goel, Director Marketing and Consumer Communications, Nestle India Ltd. shared how they tapped into consumer interest in recipes that were easy to cook at home during the lockdown. “We worked with the Google team to combine the power of brand Maggi, the trust and engagement enjoyed by YouTube creators and the reach of YouTube. We did a channel takeover of the top 106 food channels on YouTube in India and the results exceeded expectations, reaching over 120mn unique users at the precise moment when food was top of mind for them.” Speaking about how <keyword id="51757" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TIMES-INTERNET">Times Internet</keyword> leverages YouTube, <keyword id="419256" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Satyan-Gajwani">Satyan Gajwani</keyword>, Vice Chairman of Times Internet, said, “We have gone from using YouTube as a digital equivalent of TV to drive brand awareness in the past to now using YouTube’s growing reach to serve our marketing goals across the funnel - s from driving customer awareness to building brands, and even moving the needle on key conversion metrics across our businesses Last year, we used YouTube to drive viewership of our new show called “Queen” on MX Player, we reached over 78 Mn unique viewers who ended up spending 600 Mn minutes watching the showWe have also tapped into the learning focused audiences on YouTube for live classes on Gradeup, our test preparation platform. For ETMoney, we collaborated with YouTube creators to drive interest in personal finance and as a result reached over 22 million people using the content created with YouTube creators, and our brand searches grew by over 160% after the campaign.” Concluding his remarks, Sanjay Gupta, added, “We are thrilled to see that with our strong reach across the country and high levels of engagement across an unparalleled variety of content, along with the ability to personalize at scale, YouTube today delivers more value to businesses than ever before.” Source: <ul><li>2 out of 3 Indians saying that they would rather give up TV than YouTube for a month - Google/Insight Strategy Group, Consumers &amp; Video Consumption Research, IN, Aug 2019, n=1000 Online video viewers</li><li>YouTube the #1 platform for accessing videos in regional languages with Hindi leading the charts followed by Tamil, Telugu, Kannada &amp; Bengali and others - Google/Kantar, Video Landscape Research, IN, Sep 2019, n=6278 Online video viewers</li><li>YouTube delivers 4.8X greater effectiveness than TV - Commissioned Nielsen MMM meta-analysis, 2016-2018. YouTube effectiveness was 9.87 compared to TV effectiveness of 2.06. Base: A list of studies selected and compiled by Nielsen, consisting of all available CPG studies completed in 2016-2018 that contain YouTube, Other Digital and TV results. This list includes 108 studies for India Brands across the Total CPG category.Incremental offline retail sales measured for TV represents average across all TV broadcasters. Effectiveness is defined as total incremental sales per 1,000 impressions. Studies were excluded if either channel had fewer than 500 impressions. The Effectiveness numbers in the claim are impression-weighted averages across all studies for each channel.</li><li>YouTube had greater incremental sales per impression than TV in 93% of MMMs that measured YouTube, Other Digital and TV in 2016-2018. Commissioned Nielsen MMM meta-analysis, 2016-2018. Base: A list of studies selected and compiled by Nielsen, consisting of all available CPG studies completed in 2016-2018 that contain YouTube, Other Digital and TV results. This list includes 103 studies for India Brands across the Total CPG category.Incremental offline retail sales measured for TV represents average across all TV broadcasters. Effectiveness is defined as total incremental sales per 1,000 impressions. Studies were excluded if either channel had fewer than 500 impressions.</li></ul>

2 out of 3 Indians say they would rather give up TV than YouTube for a month: Sanjay Gupta, Google India

Those days are long gone when people used to save their salaries for home, car, medical, retirement, etc. This is the age to spend. 
 
Millennials are not waiting for the future and are splurging. Be it travel, buying luxury items or treating themselves with fancy things, millennials are not shying away from spending and think saving for future is not their “cup of tea”. 
 
"Today the average age of an Indian is 25 and they've entered the workforce with a mobile phone in their hand. As their awareness increases, so does their disposable income and aspirations - they want to earn more and at a younger age,” said Rashi Menda, Founder, Zapyle. 
 
Millennials don’t believe in working for the future and are more of passion-driven. 
 
The digital age has also given millennials a lot of options to splurge on. When it comes to fashion, millennials want to look the best and are not batting an eyelid before spending on luxury wear. 
 
Around 80% of millennials in India spend almost Rs1,990 per month when shopping online. Around half of all Indians spend Rs 500 to Rs 2,500 on clothes each month. As per Zapyle, 75% of Indians with a household income of Rs15 lakhs or more spend Rs 1,500 or more per month on clothes. 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

Millennials don’t believe in working for the future. Here’s what they are spending on the most

There are two kinds of people. One who are making kidney jokes regarding the new <keyword id="57315" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhones">iPhones</keyword> and others who are eagerly waiting to lay their hands on <keyword id="6388494" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhone-7">iPhone 7</keyword> and iPhone 7 Phones. If you belong to the second category, you can now pre-order the new iPhones. 
 The new <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword>’s iPhones can be pre-booked on the company’s official website or at Most <keyword id="3651244" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IWorld">IWorld</keyword> stores, Apple's Premium Resellers in Northern India. <keyword id="152045" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Unicorn">Unicorn</keyword>, Apple’s Premium Partner in India, is accepting pre-orders for the two new iPhones too. To book an iPhone, an advance payment of rs 5,000 is to be done. 
 One of the distributors for Apple in India, <keyword id="3650090" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="beetel-teletech-ltd">Beetel Teletech Ltd</keyword>, said it will start deliveries of the two phones at 7pm on October 7. However, sales person at both IWorld and Unicorn said that their stores will start selling the smartphones at 12 am sharp on October 7. Another Apple distributor Rashi Peripherals too has announced that it will start selling the latest iPhones from October 7 in India. 
 
However, the company has so far not disclosed the time when it will start sales at its 1,000 locations across the country. The company will be launching its devices in India in its third phase. 
 
Apple has not yet revealed the complete pricing details of its new smartphones in India. The company, however, just said that the price of the iPhones will start at Rs 60,000 in the country. 
 
This is likely to be the price of the base iPhone 7 model with 32GB internal storage. 
 
The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7+ will be coming in 32GB, 128GB and 256GB storage variants. Ttthe color variants include Silver, Gold, Rose Gold, Black and Jet Black. Of these, the Jet Black colour variant comes only in 128GB and 256GB variants. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Pre-orders
for iPhone 7 and iPhone 7
plus begin. Read
on to know other details

Mendy Levy was born in 2003 in Canada to parents who were members of <a href="https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/extradition-of-senior-lev-tahor-leaders-to-us-from-guatemala-approved-683635">Lev Tahor</a>, <a href="https://mishpacha.com/aching-hearts/">an extremist Jewish cult</a> founded in the 1980s. Shunned by members of other Jewish groups and facing a kidnapping scandal, its leader Shlomo Helbrans had moved <keyword id="12484346" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="lev-tahor" source="Orion">Lev Tahor</keyword> to Canada in the 1990s. Helbrans then moved the group to Guatemala in 2014, in the wake of <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/11/27/quebec_judge_orders_children_from_jewish_sect_be_placed_in_foster_care.html">child abuse investigations in Quebec</a>.Levy escaped the group in 2018 and now splits his time between Canada and New York. Shlomo Helbrans drowned in Guatemala in 2017. US authorities arrested his son, Nachman Helbrans, and other Lev Tahor leaders in late 2018 and 2021. They're currently on trial in federal court in New York on <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1387911/download">kidnapping and fraud charges</a>, to which they've pleaded not guilty. Lawyers for Helbrans and other leaders didn't respond to Insider's requests for comment.The remainder of Lev Tahor, which numbers an estimated 250 <keyword id="11985997" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="people" source="Orion">people</keyword>, continues to live in Guatemala and has been <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/guatemala-blocks-extremist-ultra-orthodox-sect-heading-to-iran-through-mexico/">unsuccessfully trying to move to Iran</a>.Here, Mendy, now 18, tells Jacob Shamsian about growing up in Lev Tahor and how he decided to leave.Lev Tahor is about total control. You can't do anything without permission. And if they ask you to do something, you have to do it.There was one woman who was allergic to sesame seeds, used in tahina. One evening around Sukkot, in fall 2017, in Guatemala, the rabbi wanted to test her faith and told her to eat it. She told him she could die, but after fighting over it, he kept instructing her to eat it anyway.Two hours later, she died. As she was suffering from the allergic reaction, they didn't let her call an ambulance. They don't allow doctors in Lev Tahor without the rabbi's permission. They told us to trust the rabbi.They didn't want to bury her. They said she would be alive again, she's going to wake up. After four in the morning, they finally buried her. The rabbi said she died because she didn't have faith in him.Is that <keyword id="11925126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="religion" source="Orion">religion</keyword>? That's horrific. That wouldn't happen in any of the Jewish communities around here - <a href="https://www.jta.org/2021/06/09/ny/in-brooklyns-hipster-williamsburg-neighborhood-hasidic-jews-are-the-real-counterculture">Williamsburg</a>, <a href="https://www.jta.org/2011/06/06/united-states/in-new-york-shtetl-where-arson-attack-occurred-the-rebbes-word-is-law">New Square</a>. That wouldn't happen. It's only Lev Tahor.They don't want people to see the outside world. No one is able to go anywhere without the leader's permission. That's how my father died. He got an infection, and my mother told me and my older brothers to go to the leader and ask if he could get a doctor. The doctor said he had to go to the hospital, but the rabbi said no. My father wasn't eating, he wasn't walking. He got sicker and sicker over a week and a half. And that's how it ended. He died on October 25, 2016.Maybe they wanted to kill him. I don't know why. Maybe they were afraid he was going to leave the community, because my father already said once he was considering leaving. Maybe they just wanted to show you can't.<h2>The rabbis dictated how we spent every hour of the day</h2>It begins when you wake up.You wake up at 5:30 in the morning every day. First thing you do, you come to shul (synagogue). From shul, one of the rabbis takes all the boys together. We go up the river in the mountains every day and go in the cold water. There's snakes in the water as well. We found a lot of snakes. The rabbis stand and watch everyone go into <a href="https://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/1541/jewish/The-Mikvah.htm">the mikvah</a> (ritual immersion in the water). Once they finish, they make sure everyone goes back to shul. When we arrive in shul, we sit down and they tell us to think about God. Think about God for half an hour.Now, that's a beautiful thing. But if they're making you think about God in a controlled way, then you don't want to think about God.<div type="image" title="Mendy Levy Lev Tahor" height="3000" width="4000" msid="87569348" hostid="261"></div>Once that's over, everyone has to put on <a href="https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1918251/jewish/What-Are-Tefillin.htm">tefillin</a>. For three hours, you can't take them off. Shacharis (the morning prayer) is three hours, minimum.After shacharis, one of the rabbis comes into the shul and gives a class. For most of the rest of the day, you're in shul and you have to learn. Shlomo Hebrans, the head rabbi of Lev Tahor, wrote his own books. You have to study them. You have to know it by heart. And if you don't, you get consequences.Every other Jewish book is excluded. It's the chumash (five books of Moses) and their own studies, that's it. No other outside studies. They don't learn Talmud. They don't teach <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/rabbi-shlomo-yitzchaki-rashi">Rashi</a>. They literally burn every Jewish book that has a symbol of Chabad.<div type="image" title="Lev Tahor children" height="2630" width="3507" msid="87569352" hostid="261"></div>Education is not a question. Nothing, and I mean nothing. We didn't even know what the word "science" meant. We didn't speak a word of English. No reading. If you write "ABC" in Lev Tahor, you get a punishment. We don't know what Trump is. We don't know what Biden is. I barely knew what the Holocaust was at the time. No iPhone, no computers, nothing like that unless you were one of the leaders.It's a cult. No other Jewish community is like this. The rabbi who started Lev Tahor was a genius. He was able to brainwash and control a few hundred people for years, and people would believe him and follow his society. They made us look at the outside world like it was the worst and we're the only ones who are the best. They made us believe Lev Tahor is the only authentic form of <keyword id="12345344" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="judaism" source="Orion">Judaism</keyword> in the world, and that it's better to die than to leave.The rabbi's speech every morning sometimes lasts six or seven hours. I used to not eat breakfast or lunch every day, since the speech could easily last until night.Lev Tahor claims a lot of food isn't kosher. They don't eat fish. They don't eat milk. They don't eat eggs. They don't eat any protein. No mangoes. No grapes. They only eat fruit and vegetables and bread. Bread only if you go to the field and you cut the seeds and you mill them with the machines. You get bread if you're lucky.So you go home, eat breakfast for half an hour, and come back. Then you study for a couple of hours until Mincha (the afternoon prayer) and Maariv (the evening prayer), which are another two hours.After that, you sit down again, you learn some more, and you go home for supper, which is just vegetable soup. Then you come back to shul and you learn until 10, 11 o'clock at night.<h2>Leaders used physical and mental <keyword id="12020915" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="abuse" source="Orion">abuse</keyword> to keep children in line</h2>There are about 15 leaders who are actually controlling the whole community. You're talking about 60 families, around 300 people.I was physically abused, mentally abused. There's the hitting, the beating up. If someone says a lie - even a small child - they would take hot pepper, the powder, and make them swallow it. After getting hit or beaten, you had to kiss the hand of whoever just hit you and thank him.People are not allowed to share love with their parents. There's no connection, physical or mental, with parents. Meaning if a father or a mother would hug a child in Lev Tahor, and the leaders figured it out, they would take away the kids and place them in one of their houses or in a different house.<div type="image" title="lev tahor guatemala" height="1673" width="2230" msid="87569354" hostid="261"></div> <div type="image" title="lev tahor guatemala" height="2342" width="3122" msid="87569357" hostid="261"></div>Why? Because they want everyone to believe, listen, and trust only them. If a leader hits you, they don't want you to go to your mother crying. So they cut off the connection between you and your parents.I told the FBI: "You should know every day that you're not taking action on this case and the community, there are people who want to commit suicide because they can't bear another day of going through the same pain." They wake up and they get hit, they get tortured, and just can't live through another day like that.I had a nervous breakdown not long after we all moved to Guatemala in 2014. My brain just stopped working because of all this pain. I was thinking of committing suicide. I just exploded.I was in the hospital for about half a year. Until then, I didn't understand the things around me were wrong. Most kids wouldn't understand it was wrong.But in the hospital, I started thinking differently. I got a different perspective from everyone else in the cult. It was then I started thinking about how I could leave Lev Tahor.<h2>I plotted my escape when the rabbis told me to marry a 12-year-old girl</h2>When the rabbi gives his talks to the communities, he's making new rules. In order for the whole community to be brainwashed, he has to make sure it sinks in so that a lot of people could say: "I actually agree with this law, I actually agree with this new rule. That's what God wants, right?"So he has to be smart, to fill your brain. He has to talk a lot. If we started doing things one way, he might say "I've looked in and I see it's actually not kosher." That's how he plays with people's brains.<div type="image" title="Lev Tahor children" height="3264" width="4352" msid="87569360" hostid="261"></div>In Guatemala, Lev Tahor was <a href="https://mishpacha.com/aching-hearts/">getting worse and worse</a>. When Shlomo Helbrans died in 2017, his son Nachman took over. He gave even worse speeches. And he made worse rules.The craziest thing was the law where he said everyone has to get married at 12 years old, 13 years old.That was the main reason I said, "enough is enough." I was 15 years old. They wanted to force me to marry a 12-year-old girl, who was also my first cousin. I didn't want to and she didn't want to, so I had to get myself out of there.I told the rabbi I was OK with marriage, but I started planning my escape. In 2018, I went to the Canadian embassy in Guatemala. I had to wait several months for a passport, and they put me in different places in Guatemala. Eventually, on October 14, 2018, I flew to Canada and was taken in by child protective services.<h2>Adjusting to life outside Lev Tahor took a lot of time and therapy</h2>I didn't have a real home for about a year. I was placed with four or five different families. And once, when they didn't have a family for me, I was put in a group home. I was there for four or five months. And then, in January of this year, I was adopted by a Chabad couple in Montreal. Lavi and Bryndel Klein gave me a home.When I came out of Lev Tahor, I had to go for help. I was damaged. I didn't always have the support I needed. I needed to work hard to figure things out.The only people who helped me to be able to survive was the Orthodox community. I could've been in a very bad place once I left Lev Tahor. Life was so different, I had a hard time processing it all. I could have just committed suicide, turned to drugs. If not for the Orthodox community helping me, I wouldn't be here.Now, I feel like I could take on anything. If anything happens, whatever challenges, I wouldn't feel it as much because I'm used to it. I've been through worse.I'm now speaking English, been working on it for two years. In Lev Tahor, we spoke Yiddish and Hebrew and a little bit of Spanish when we got to Guatemala.My life has changed a lot. Lavi and Bryndel have been helping me with education, catching me up in the world, helping me with my future. I didn't know 4+4. They invested a lot of time in school and education and therapy. Teaching me life skills, how the world works.I'm trying different things. I borrowed someone's camera and became inspired to become a photographer. <a href="https://instagram.com/mendy_levy_photography/">I do a lot of family pictures and portraits</a>.The first family I stayed with in Guatemala had a keyboard. I started using it for hours a day. Slowly and slowly, I taught myself how to play. I never got lessons. Now I play at big events. People like my music. I did a wedding recently.<a href="https://instagram.com/mendy.levy">I post about my story a lot on Instagram</a>. People always message me. They tell me, "you changed my life, I've seen your story." People tell me they have questions about God a lot. But once they see my story, they would say like, "What are these questions? Look at Mendy Levy!"People ask me how they can deal with parents, sometimes abusive parents, or deal with bullying, people making fun of them, or not having confidence.<div type="image" title="mendy levy brother" height="1333" width="1778" msid="87569361" hostid="261"></div>I try to inspire them with confidence. If someone was making fun of me, let him do that. I'm sorry he's having a bad day that he has nothing better to do. If that makes him happy, let him be happy with that. But me, I don't let anyone get me stuck, get me down. Unless someone's going to hack my Instagram.I have seven brothers and three sisters. My family is still in Guatemala. It could be that my mother is not alive. I don't know that information. I literally don't know. No one knows any information from inside. It's just so closed. There are no phones. But what I do know is I have one brother out in Israel. He works in a pharmacy. I was able to meet with him for the first time since leaving Lev Tahor in October.People <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/.premium-who-is-the-jewish-taliban-1.5263269">have called Lev Tahor the "Jewish Taliban."</a> When I was asked about that nickname, I said I didn't know what the Taliban was. Growing up, I didn't know about the war in Afghanistan. 9/11? I heard something about it, but I didn't know exactly what it meant.That was my life. And there are still a lot of things I'm learning every single day.

I fled an extremist Jewish cult in Guatemala when I was 15 years old. I grew up with virtually no education and wasn't allowed to show love to my parents.

It is time to dress up in bright, vibrant colours and look shiny and blingy as the festive season has already kicked in and Diwali is also round the corner. 
 Everyone has started scanning through the <keyword id="25009" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="latest-fashion-trends">latest fashion trends</keyword> to try out different styles and look trendy yet traditional. 
 
This festive season also, don’t shy away from experimenting with new fashion trends. And this time, it is all about mix and match of modern cuts with traditional wear. 
 
“A beautiful amalgamation of traditional craftsmanship and modern tailored cuts is in fad. Unconventional silhouettes such as a tie-die kurta, dhoti set from designers like Anjali Jani are perfect for this festive season,” said Rashi Menda, Founder &amp; CEO, Zapyle, which is an online portal for luxury fashion. 
 
Once you have decided on what to wear, don’t miss out on teaming it with accessories that can take your fashion quotient a notch higher. 
 
Here are 6 looks that Menda has recommended this festival season and are latest fashion trends 
 
When in doubt, sparkle 
 
Flaunt sequins and mirror work to add an Indian touch to your outfit. Any ensemble that allows you to bring out the bling this season is a good choice, and is sure to make heads turn. “But don’t go overboard with the sparkle. Try to balance the look out by choosing an outfit in soft pastel colours like mint green or baby blue. Keep the accessories simple and subtle and let the sequins on your outfit do the talking,” suggests Menda. 
 
Pink &amp; Green Net Lehenga 
 
If you have a wedding to attend this festive season, keep that red saree aside. A heavily embellished two toned pink and green lehenga with double layered net skirt, net dupatta and mirror work and embroidery all over, is both colourful and dressy and will work for you. 
 
Keep it casual 
 
The season has multiple festivals so you can try a different look every time. “Wear earthy and light absorbing shades for casual ethic looks and experiment with stunning statement accessories,” says Menda. 
 
You can pair embroidered Gujarati-style kurti with tie dye dhoti pants, that is great for daily wear as well. Accessorize with flashy kadas, maang tikas, jhumkas and kamar bands and you’re good to go. 
 
 
 
Cream Jacket Top &amp; Dhoti Set 
 
 
 
For a super traditional yet modern look, this cream-coloured, Chinese-collared embroidered backless jacket top coupled with matching flowy dhoti pants and dupatta is perfect for day or evening wear. 
 
Tradition with a twist 
 
Lehengas and anarkalis with intricate embroidery and embellishments are an excellent way to instantly look graceful and traditional. If you're looking for something heavier for evening festivities, this traditional floral jacket embellished with thread work and mirror work, and worn over a red net anarkali, is just the outfit. Bonus: You won’t need to spend too much time deciding footwear and accessories, because the outfit is the showstopper. 
 
Floral Jacket Anarkali 
 
 
Opting for a modern ensemble on one of the nine days injects some fun and also gives you a break from heavy-duty dressing. How fun does introducing a crop top into the traditional mix sound? Also, try out crop top and kurti with pants set.

This festive season, try these 5 stunning looks that are in fashion

In a bid to double <keyword id="6354606" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iPhone">iPhone</keyword> sales in the next three years, <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword> has signed up a partnership with Delhi-based <keyword id="2733165" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Optiemus-Group">Optiemus Group</keyword>, a leading phone distributor in the country who also sells <keyword id="10591" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Samsung">Samsung</keyword> and HTC smart phones. 
 As per an Economic Times report, Apple is planning to sign some more deals in continuation as Optiemus itself is the fifth distributor after Redington, <keyword id="325300" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ingram-Micro">Ingram Micro</keyword>, Rashi Peripherals and Brightstar. 
 
"Since shipment figures are one of the indicators of success in the smart phone industry, any new distributor Apple appoints will lead to an instant surge in shipments, which will help it to achieve the target fixed by headquarters and will also lead to a significant jump in retail reach," an industry executive told ET. 
 
Apple is aiming for the sales of two million iPhones in India in this (October-September) fiscal year after notching up one million last year. In the seven months ended April 30, the company sold a million iPhones in India. Another executive said Apple India had been under pressure since Samsung has become more aggressive and wants to ensure that volume sales grow at twice the existing pace. 
 
"Apple's distributors are now reaching out to even local consumer electronic dealers and mobile phone stores for stocking iPhones and setting up dedicated space in such stores," he said. 
 When ET wrote an email sent to the company (Apple) seeking . Attempts to reach Optiemus Group promoter <keyword id="88971" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashok-Gupta">Ashok Gupta</keyword> on his mobile were unsuccessful. While Apple has been a longtime leader in the Rs 30,000-plus Indian smart phone market, South Korean rival Samsung overtook the American firm in January- April quarter, as per the latest data from market tracker Counterpoint Research. Samsung's renewed vigor stems from the success of its latest flagship Galaxy S6, S6 Edge and Note Edge. 
 
By value, Apple is the number two brand in the overall Indian smart phone market after Samsung. By volume, Apple ranked lower with a share of about 2%, compared with market leader Samsung at 28% followed by Micromax at 15%.

Know about Apple’s new strategy to knock Samsung out of competition in India

The <keyword id="6360189" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Union-Budget">Union Budget</keyword> 2017-18 was the most crucial one with soaring expectations from the government to put forward populist policies that included revamping the tax structure and implementation of Goods and <keyword id="645517" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="services-tax">Services Tax</keyword>. 
 One of the key announcements made in the domain of financial sector was the decision to do away with the <keyword id="62529" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Foreign-Investment-Promotion-Board">Foreign Investment Promotion Board</keyword> (<keyword id="6360345" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="FIPB">FIPB</keyword>). 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/uber-partners-with-reliance-jio/articleshow/57254320.cms">ALSO READ: Uber partners with Reliance JIO to allow payments with JIO Money</a> 
 
FIPB had come into existence under the Prime Minister's Office in the wake of the economic liberalization drive of the early 1990s. The scrapping of FIPB to ease the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment can be regarded as a forward-looking approach, as it envisages foreign companies to invest in the country with ease. 
 
The elimination of FIPB will see only 10% of the foreign investment approvals go to the Board while 90% done via the automatic route. The latest move will delegate more powers to the regulators or to the individual ministries or departments that require government approval. 
 Currently, FIPB offers single-window clearance for applications on FDI in India that are under the approval route. The <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> also announced that further liberalization of the FDI policy is under consideration and necessary announcements will be made in due course. 
 
This shows the government’s commitment to eradicating red-tapism and boost foreign investment in the country. The government has further taken up a number of reforms to liberalize the FDI regime. Over the past two years, the Centre liberalized 15 sectors for FDI along with some sweeping amendments introduced to the FDI policy in seven sectors, including civil aviation, defense, and pharmaceuticals. With the chances of more FDI money being infused into start-ups, this move is bound to promote new ventures in several underserved sectors of the economy. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/booking-com-is-providing-startups-in-tourism-sector-a-chance-to-go-to-amsterdam/articleshow/57253587.cms">ALSO READ: Booking.com is Providing Startups in Tourism Sector a chance to go to Amsterdam</a> 
 
The Centre has also laid emphasis on a cashless economy and the government’s decision to demonetize high-denomination currency notes on November 8, 2016, has made people shift to e-wallets and other payment options in a massive way. Several e-commerce companies have benefitted due to the shift towards cashless payments, and, the government believes that with greater digitization comes higher GDP growth. 
 In a bid to promote cashless transactions, The <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance">Finance</keyword> Minister’s host of measures such as exempting miniature point of sale (POS) and micro-POS machines from countervailing duty (<keyword id="6358127" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="CVD">CVD</keyword>) and special additional duty (SAD) will prove beneficial to several e-commerce companies. 
 
The FM’s proposal for start-ups to avail a three-year tax holiday in the first seven years of their operations has come as a relief for several new and upcoming e-commerce entities. This will be a welcome move for start-ups set up post-March 31, 2016, as they will now be able to enjoy tax benefits. E-commerce companies can make the most of the tax relief, as they will be able to allocate these funds in adopting newer technologies, hiring skilled resources, implanting newer strategies, etc. This will also enable e-commerce companies to create more job opportunities and strengthen their core teams. 
 
On the other hand, while the industry expected the elimination of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT), the FM has allowed carrying forward MAT up to a period of 15 years instead of 10 years at present. While this decision has not gone down well with all the entrepreneurs, the extended carry forward of MAT credit will enable companies to offset their future tax liabilities once the profit-linked investments are phased out. 
 The tax-reduction revenues for companies with a turnover of up to Rs 50 crore to 25% from an earlier 30% will be beneficial to 6.67 lakh companies in India. This will prove to be a big relief to the emerging e-commerce companies. However, certain quarters found the lack of mention of Angel Tax for early-stage startups in the <keyword id="6358021" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="budget">Budget</keyword> disappointing and many expressed their concerns that the Budget is being less inclusive even within the start-up ecosystem with financial services given greater priority over other sectors. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/snapdeals-shopo-shuts-down-roposo-kraftly-see-surge-in-sellers/articleshow/57208653.cms">ALSO READ: Snapdeal's Shopo Shuts Down; Roposo, Kraftly See Surge In Sellers</a> 
​ 
Overall, the budget sends out a message to investors that India anticipates a rapid growth. The liberal FDI policies, removal of FIPB, a host of tax measures along with initiatives proposed to build a digital India shows that the government is poised to reignite the country’s growth engine and run a stable race in an increasingly uncertain economy. 
 
This article was originally authored by Rashi Menda, CEO &amp; Founder, Zapyle

Liberalization in the FDI policy to favor several e-commerce companies in India

In a bid to achieve greater price parity in online and offline trading of smartphones, rivals Samsung and Apple have come out with first-of-its-kind concrete steps, which will also stress on the importance of online retailing for both of them. 
 In the new move, Samsung has tied up with Amazon and <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> to set up a ‘brand store’ on their websites. Under this, only authorised sellers would be able to offer the product at prices fixed by the Korean company. This will prevent any lucrative discounts. 
 
As per the senior executives with the cellphone trade, now unauthorised sellers won't be able to offer Samsung products on these websites. 
 Snapdeal refused to comment on the association with Samsung. An <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> spokesperson told Economic Times the Samsung store is a brand experience page and merchandising initiative whereby it showcases the breadth of Samsung's selection. "Through such initiatives, we partner with brands to engage with their and our customers," the spokesperson said. 
 
Meanwhile, Apple has now decided to allow retailers to buy its products from any of its four distributors-Ingram Micro, Redington, Rashi Peripherals and Brightstar-which earlier was not the case. 
 The move came after offline retailers complained that online sellers were getting phones from Apple's designated distributors at lower prices. Now, <keyword id="481409" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Apple-India">Apple India</keyword> has informed its offline retailers that they are free to negotiate margins with distributors and can sell the products at a lower price, matching online if they want. 
 
"Even though all such communication by Apple India officials to retailers is done verbally, the big chains are already buying from distributors who offer best price," one of the executives told Economic Times. 
 
As per market tracker Counterpoint Research senior analyst Tarun Pathak, these were the first steps initiated by Apple and Samsung to tap eCommerce market in the country by working on traditional distribution lines. 
 
"Both the brands were losing sales to online-only smartphone brands at a time when e-Commerce already contributes 15% of smartphone sales in India and expected to double this year," Pathak told the financial daily. 
 
As per ET, some 115 million smartphones are expected to be sold in India in 2015. 
 
As per Chief Executive Officer of a leading mobilephone retal chain, Apple has adopted a push-back mechanism to sway offline retailers which complained about pricing disparity with ecommerce, adding that through this Apple signalled that the company was serious about not curbing online sales in any way. 
 
"Apple is not that fussy about online discounting in India as it used to be," he said. 
 
Coming to Samsung's initiative, another senior executive with an electronics chain said after blacklisting online sellers that were not maintaining pricing of the products, Samsung’s latest move will allow it to tap online shoppers without disturbing offline retailers and also give a legitimate stamp to handsets sold through Amazon and Snapdeal. 
 
Industry officials informed ET that the Korean company was also in talks with Flipkart to set up a similar online brand store and may include other eCommerce firms too. 
 A <keyword id="107877" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Samsung-India">Samsung India</keyword> spokesperson said all channel partners contribute to its market share growth and the company regularly monitors developments in both the online and offline retail spaces. 
 
(Image: Reuters)

Great discounts for Apple and Samsung products could be a thing of the past now!

<ul><li>Zomato's ₹ 9,375 crore initial public offering (IPO) opens for subscription today.</li><li>We take a close look at Zomato’s marketing strategy, which has helped the brand grow leaps and bounds in 13 years and none of its success would have been possible without its witty campaigns.</li></ul>With the online food delivery market at the cusp of evolution, Zomato signs for its initial public offering (IPO) today. All eyes are on Zomato, afterall it is India’s first-ever foodtech brand to go public. The <keyword id="9029084" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="zomato-IPO">Zomato IPO</keyword> will also be the second largest share sale after the ₹ 10,355 crore IPO from SBI Cards and Payment Services last year. The huge buzz and anticipation reflected in this tweet by Zomato. <div type="twitter" handle="zomato" handlename="zomato" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1100268333352525826/IkyIXuZ4_normal.png" favoritecount="7644" retweetcount="513" status="mereko to aisa dhak dhak horela hai" createdat="1626233503000" id="1415151999713120261"></div> The global FoodTech giant that we know today, started as a small discovery and review platform Foodiebay in 2008 and today, it is a multinational company with its presence across 16 countries. Before launching Foodiebay, Zomato’s co-founder Deepinder Goyal had already experienced failure in this category with his earlier online food delivery platform named foodlet.com. He got together with Pankaj Chaddah, who left four years ago, and started Zomato. By the end of 2008, Zomato became Delhi’s largest online directory of restaurants. Zomato has grown leaps and bounds since 2008 and none of this would have been possible withouts its robust marketing strategy. It hasn’t just served us good food, it has also kept us well-entertained with its engaging marketing strategy across all platforms. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Twitter" text="Twitter">Twitter</cmsannotation> It has kept its messaging simple and relatable that often elicits a huge response from the audience. According to Talkwaker, Zomato’s Twitter account adopts a tone that is frivolous, witty and sometimes even counter intuitive. It often asks a question on Twitter to engage with its audience. <div type="twitter" handle="zomato" handlename="zomato" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1100268333352525826/IkyIXuZ4_normal.png" favoritecount="571" retweetcount="17" status="suggest a local dish from your area that everyone should try" createdat="1623912535000" id="1405417153130483714"></div> Today, it has 1.4 million followers on Twitter. With this one tweet, Zomato started a trend and many brands jumped onto the bandwagon. <div type="twitter" handle="zomatoin" handlename="zomato india" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1309450648287506432/Z0myUNLs_normal.jpg" favoritecount="19395" retweetcount="3680" status="Guys, kabhi kabhi ghar ka khana bhi kha lena chahiye" createdat="1562143050000" id="1146337153674174465"></div> From PUBG’s ban to when Rashi-ben put an empty cooker on the Rasoda, Zomato’s always the first brand to be a part of social media trends. <div type="twitter" handle="zomatoin" handlename="zomato india" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1309450648287506432/Z0myUNLs_normal.jpg" favoritecount="16520" retweetcount="1477" status="khali cooker gas par chadhane se acha hai order hi kar lo" createdat="1598161603000" id="1297409918094344194"></div> <div type="twitter" handle="navdhad" handlename="ND" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1410995976618217472/USdeIJn0_normal.jpg" favoritecount="252" retweetcount="32" status="Someone sent me this and I can’t even. Well done @ZomatoIN. 😂😂 https://t.co/UI2P4L0bga" createdat="1599057108000" id="1301165938713059328"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Zomato’s email marketing strategy" text="Zomato’s email marketing strategy">Zomato’s email marketing strategy</cmsannotation> Zomato’s marketing strategy is refreshing and relatable. It tries to leverage humour whenever, wherever possible. While email marketing seems like a dying phenomenon, Zomato has proven time and again that if you do it right, consumers click and order. Food-tech firm Zomato is known for its powerful visuals, bold colours and humour. It is that one brand whose emails you don’t want to unsubscribe to. Its email marketing is based on food insights and eating behaviour. During the lockdown, parents were quite skeptical about ordering food online. So, Zomato reached out to its mailer base with a smart, witty solution or cheat-sheet. <div type="image" title="zomato cheat sheet" msid="84435508" hostid="261"></div> Zomato once imagined what Biryani’s curriculum vitae would look like and won our hearts. <div type="image" title="Zomato biryani mailer" msid="84435494" hostid="261"></div> It often sends topical emails as well. <div type="image" title="zomato guddu bhaiya" msid="84435553" hostid="261"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Zomato’s Out-of-home marketing" text="Zomato’s Out-of-home marketing">Zomato’s Out-of-home marketing</cmsannotation> Experts often say that pictures do well on billboards but Zomato has proved them wrong time and again. It always sticks to its brand colors and it is easy to spot a Zomato ad even between heavily crowded Mumbai streets from a distance away <div type="image" title="Zomato billboards" msid="84435408" hostid="261"></div> Even if you are Indiranagar ka gunda, you would stop your vehicle to read these billboards for a good laugh. <div type="image" title="Zomatos-Outdoor-Ads-Are-Going-Viral-And-They-Are-Totally-Killing-It-1280x720" msid="84435389" hostid="261"></div> How to make you laugh and salivate at the same time? Zomato knows it well. <div type="image" title="best-zomato-ads-6" msid="84435414" hostid="261"></div> <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Zomato’s best marketing campaigns" text="Zomato’s best marketing campaigns">Zomato’s best marketing campaigns</cmsannotation> When it turned a bad advertisement into one of the most talked-about marketing campaigns In September 2020, after consumers felt tired of watching Zomato’s YouTube and TV ads, a few of them took to social media platforms to make fun of the brand for its Butter Chicken ad. However, Zomato took this criticism in its stride and came up with a rather smart idea that not only helped it come up with some fun campaign ideas, it also helped win brownie points with its consumers. The food-tech firm has admitted that its “YouTube ads suck!” and opened the floor for consumers to send in their entries for a creative ad. Apart from the novelty of the idea of crowdsourcing an ad, the fact that Zomato admitted that it is as tired of watching its Youtube ad as its consumer, made Zomato win a lot of hearts for its honesty. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Zomato also gave ₹25,00,000 to the winner of this marketing contest. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Video"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> It isn’t just humour, Zomato knows how to bring about social change as well. On Women’s day in 2020, Zomato released an ad featuring PV Sindhu’s dad cooking. With the hashtag #SoWhatIfIDontCook, the brand celebrated women for their skills and work other than cooking, unlike that expected of an ‘ideal’ woman. It reminded the audience that cooking is a choice, not a woman’s ‘duty.’ <div type="Youtube" id="P_5g0Jp2x2c" title="Cooking is her choice, not her duty - Women's Day | Zomato" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/P_5g0Jp2x2c/mqdefault.jpg"></div> It has also tried to keep its employees and delivery partners first with various campaigns. <div type="javascript" title="Instagram" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[ ]]></cdata></div> Humour can be a powerful tool to get your point across and from various pop culture references to punning their way into our inboxes, Zomato has done it all. *All images embedded in this article were downloaded from Zomato's Twitter handle*

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