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Nashik (Maharashtra) [India], May 24 (ANI): Actor <keyword id="478412" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nitesh-pandey" source="Orion">Nitesh Pandey</keyword>, who was best known for his role as <keyword id="960950" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="dheeraj-kapoor" source="Orion">Dheeraj Kapoor</keyword> in <keyword id="5026" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rupali-ganguly" source="Orion">Rupali Ganguly</keyword>'s famous TV drama '<keyword id="15588" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="anupamaa" source="Orion">Anupamaa</keyword>' was found dead at a hotel in Nashik, the police said. According to Mumbai police, Nitesh was found dead at a hotel in Igatpuri, Nashik in Maharashtra. "Prima facie, the cause of death seems to be a heart attack," the officials said. They said that a police team is present at the hotel and an investigation has started. "Hotel staff and people close to him are being questioned and a post-mortem report is awaited," the police said while adding that further investigation into the matter is underway. More details are awaited. The actor was known for working in TV shows such as '<keyword id="17504173" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="manzilein-apapani" source="Orion">Manzilein ApApani</keyword>', 'Astitva...Ek Prem Kahani', 'Saaya', 'Justajoo' and 'Durgesh Nandini' and in films including 'Om Shanti Om', '<keyword id="29320" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="khosla-ka-ghosla" source="Orion">Khosla Ka Ghosla</keyword>', 'Badhaai Do', '<keyword id="853887" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shaadi-ke-side-effects" source="Orion">Shaadi Ke Side Effects</keyword>', and 'Rangoon'. He also worked in theatre shows Pandey like 'Aastha' and 'Misal Pav'. Indeed, his passing away has created a vacuum. Recently TV industry also witnessed the loss of Aditya Singh Rajput and <keyword id="1759792" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vaibhavi-upadhyay" source="Orion">Vaibhavi Upadhyay</keyword>. (ANI)

Khosla ka Ghosla and Anupamaa actor Nitesh Pandey found dead at Nashik hotel

Here’s the New Year’s first <keyword id="1636016" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="rom-com">rom-com</keyword> that should have hit the theatre on the Valentine’s Day. But the Farhan Akhtar-Vidya Balan starrer has arrived exactly two weeks late and you can’t even call it a hit, in spite of a decent opening. The lead duo rocks, of course, and <keyword id="303" type="POSITION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Director">director</keyword> <keyword id="27707" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Saket-Chaudhary">Saket Chaudhary</keyword> does his best to bring back the impish charm of his directorial debut, <keyword id="27579" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Pyaar-Ke-Side-Effects">Pyaar Ke Side Effects</keyword>. Nonetheless, the (pseudo) sequel, <keyword id="853887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shaadi-Ke-Side-Effects">Shaadi Ke Side Effects</keyword> (<keyword id="1575401" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="SKSE">SKSE</keyword>), lacks the earlier spice and spunk, at least during the second half. The new movie has a new star cast as well – Farhan &amp; Vidya as <keyword id="66282" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sid">Sid</keyword> &amp; <keyword id="13161" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Trisha">Trisha</keyword> instead of <keyword id="2097200" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="PKSE">PKSE</keyword>’s <keyword id="3194" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Rahul-Bose">Rahul Bose</keyword> and <keyword id="6363209" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mallika-Sherawat">Mallika Sherawat</keyword>. And it could be one big reason that makes the difference here. <keyword id="5015" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Farhan-Akhtar">Farhan Akhtar</keyword> is quite brilliant as Sid and Vidya remains irresistible, but not in the same way the ‘other’ Trisha pulled it off. 
 
Predictably, Shaadi Ke Side Effects saw a somewhat slow start at the <keyword id="827271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Domestic-Box-Office">domestic box office</keyword>, netting a little over Rs 5 crore on the opening day (February 28). But collections went up dramatically during the first weekend and the movie netted around Rs 21.5 crore at home after Day 3 as most of the circuits saw 40% or more growth. Overall occupancy was 60-65% but some of the major multiplex chains saw even 70-80% occupancy in the evening shows over the weekend However, earnings slumped on the crucial Day 4 (Monday, March 3) to Rs 4 crore, according to industry estimates. 
 That’s definitely a roller-coaster ride at the <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="box-office">box office</keyword>, but not without reasons. For once, the inconsistency in <keyword id="182563" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="BO">BO</keyword> collections seems to replicate the movie’s roller-coaster performance – a mature <keyword id="6359193" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Comedy">comedy</keyword> in the beginning that gradually loses its ‘cool’ and gets totally clichéd and utterly predictable at the end. 
 
To begin with, you have Farhan Akhtar (Sid), a married man caught in the baby trap after a lot of scotch and a passionate night. As usual, it is wife Trisha (Vidya) who dotes on the baby and leaves her job to raise it, but hubby is not ready yet to accept the catastrophe. Interestingly, if Sid was commitment-phobic in PKSE, here we find a man who is literally struggling to keep his happiness, self-confidence and sanity intact – a much tougher task than before. So he starts leading a dual life – reliving (not very convincingly) his carefree days and weaving a string of white lies (as sagaciously advised by brother-in-law and the ‘perfect dad’ <keyword id="17416" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ram-Kapoor">Ram Kapoor</keyword>) to appease a nagging wife. 
 
The situation gets pretty taut emotionally and also tougher, thanks to the demands of baby care (remember those scenes from Heyy Babyy?). But every incident turns out to be incredibly funny and Farhan keeps the comedy sparkling till the end. His perfect comic timings, hilarious jokes, sardonic voiceovers and the interplay between family and freewheeling cause some laughter riot and give us a rocking time. More so, because they are so everyday kind of humour and happenings, so relatable yet so quirky. Even in terms of comic scores, Vidya complements Farhan while their poignant on-screen chemistry holds together a near-absent storyline and a weak script. 
 But beneath these layers of breezy fun, there are glimpses of a disturbing reality that Chaudhary decides to keep out of the frame. The growing lack of communication between Sid &amp; Trisha, the <keyword id="23666" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="stress">stress</keyword> of motherhood or the painful efforts the two make/don’t make to come to terms with reality could have thrown open a plethora of possibilities and held the centre stage at the end. 
 Instead, we get some <keyword id="2097209" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-histrionics">Bollywood histrionics</keyword> – stereotype characters that look like caricatures, some gross gender politics (why should Farhan have all the attention, one wonders), superficial confrontations and rapid reconciliations. It almost looks like Chaudhary has a rulebook for ‘turning happy marriages into happy parenting’ up his sleeves and scripted the later part of the movie accordingly. And that makes Shaadi Ke Side Effects an average, humdrum rom-com that could have been a brilliant black comedy with uneasy questions disrupting the free flow of laughter. 
 
<keyword id="6362021" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Anuradha">Anuradha</keyword>: A tear-jerker without impact Here is one <keyword id="2097210" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-drama">Bollywood drama</keyword> that should be left severely alone unless you want to watch a paragon of virtue suffering for nothing and enduring it all. Directed by <keyword id="1092477" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Raju-Mavani">Raju Mavani</keyword>, the movie features two debut actors in the lead roles – <keyword id="2973" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rahul-Jain">Rahul Jain</keyword> and <keyword id="2036044" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Disha-Choudhary">Disha Choudhary</keyword>. But that’s where the novelty ends. Disha, an ideal daughter, wife and sister, is the good old weeping bahu oppressed by mom-in-law as she demands dowry and snubbed by sis-in-law (<keyword id="4469" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Hrishita-Bhatt">Hrishita Bhatt</keyword>) who displays loads of filmy depravity. But unlike other ‘woman-centric’ movies of the 80s and 90s, there’s no unique storyline here or strong characters who can be a role model of sorts. So the output is, once again, too clichéd to be palatable. We have not got the box office numbers yet but some industry insiders peg it at Rs 25 lakh on the opening day (February 28) and further updates are awaited. Meanwhile, get ready for the upcoming Friday that will usher in loads of thrill, excitement and fun in the form of <keyword id="1523830" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gulaab-Gang">Gulaab Gang</keyword>, <keyword id="1952335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Total-Siyapaa">Total Siyapaa</keyword> and <keyword id="6377522" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="queen">Queen</keyword>. 
 
Image: Indiatimes

Box Office: Shaadi Ke Side Effects Fails To
Hit A High Note; Anuradha Just A Shoddy Tear-jerker

<keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> has finally come up with a fun-filled, breezy rom-com that features the Gen Y with a genuine frankness and without the traditional trappings of a boy-meets-girl story. But this time, the man is from the North, the woman is from the South and the cultural clashes, strongly upheld by the two pairs of in-laws, nearly ruin the relationship. Inspired by <keyword id="6390428" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Chetan-Bhagat">Chetan Bhagat</keyword>’s best-selling novel, <keyword id="694041" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="2-States-The-Story-of-My-Marriage">2 States: The Story of My Marriage</keyword>, the Arjun Kapoor-Alia Bhatt-starrer <keyword id="72970" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="2-States">2 States</keyword> sparkles on-screen (at least during the first half) and has made a big bang at the <keyword id="827271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Domestic-Box-Office">domestic box office</keyword>, collecting around Rs 38 crore nett over its debut weekend. The first Monday (Day 4, April 21) did not disappoint either and earnings stood at around Rs 6 crore, as per Koimoi. Total <keyword id="1996079" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Overseas-collections">overseas collections</keyword> during the first weekend amounted to an estimated Rs 13.66 crore. 
 
“2 States has a FANTABULOUS weekend. Friday Rs 12.42 crore, Saturday 12.13 crore, Sunday 13.51 crore. Total: Rs 38.06 crore nett. SUPER HIT,” tweeted trade analyst Taran Adarsh. According to <keyword id="255727" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Box-Office-India">Box Office India</keyword>, the film has emerged as the biggest hit of 2014 and has the potential to be the first Super Hit film of the year, depending on how well it can sustain over the next 10 days or so. 
 
Other two releases of the week include <keyword id="1135108" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dekh-Tamasha-Dekh">Dekh Tamasha Dekh</keyword>, a brutally honest and vitriolic political <keyword id="1462374" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Satire">satire</keyword> directed by theatre icon Feroz Abbas Khan (of Tumhari Amrita fame), and <keyword id="1167288" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lucky-Kabootar">Lucky Kabootar</keyword>, a <keyword id="24069" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="romantic-comedy">romantic comedy</keyword> starring <keyword id="1364986" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Eijaaz-Khan">Eijaaz Khan</keyword> and <keyword id="3212" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kulraj-Randhawa">Kulraj Randhawa</keyword>. The latter, directed by <keyword id="1660883" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shammi-Chhabra">Shammi Chhabra</keyword>, has been released after too many delays and depicts how <keyword id="6369280" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Lucky">Lucky</keyword> (Eijaaz) ends up marrying the Plain Jane <keyword id="1734" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Laxmi">Laxmi</keyword> (Kulraj), instead of the glam babe <keyword id="190428" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kammo">Kammo</keyword> (<keyword id="33221" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shraddha-Das">Shraddha Das</keyword>). But for both the movies, the collections are hardly notable, thanks to very little promotion and near-zero hype. While Lucky Kabootar collected a little over Rs 1 crore in the first two days (Sunday and Monday numbers are still <keyword id="6357415" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="missing">missing</keyword>), Dekh Tamasha Dekh garnered around Rs 4.7 crore during the same time span. But we will take a closer look at these two after decoding the tremendous <keyword id="25892" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="box-office">box office</keyword> success of 2 States. 
 
 
 With the <keyword id="6364416" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Good-Friday">Good Friday</keyword> fervour adding to its charm, <keyword id="2208706" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Abhishek-Varman-directed">Abhishek Varman-directed</keyword> 2 States saw 50-60% occupancy at multiplexes on the first day and also did well in the mass belt. Till date, the best performers are Mumbai and Mysore, with Mumbai amassing over Rs 13 crore nett and Mysore collecting around Rs 3 crore nett. The movie’s opening is the second biggest ever for a non-star-cast film after <keyword id="6621270" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Grand-Masti">Grand Masti</keyword> (2013). <keyword id="127336" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bhaag-Milkha-Bhaag">Bhaag Milkha Bhaag</keyword> (2013), <keyword id="549195" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Student-of-the-Year">Student Of The Year</keyword> (2012) and <keyword id="1710502" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shuddh-Desi-Romance">Shuddh Desi Romance</keyword> (2013) are the next in order after 2 States. 2 States is also one of the highest grossers of 2014 and has already surpassed the lifetime collections of some noted <keyword id="569603" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood-flicks">Bollywood flicks</keyword> including <keyword id="1520199" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Hasee-Toh-Phasee">Hasee Toh Phasee</keyword>, <keyword id="853887" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shaadi-Ke-Side-Effects">Shaadi Ke Side Effects</keyword>, <keyword id="6354768" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Highway">Highway</keyword> and <keyword id="1434830" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Yaariyan">Yaariyan</keyword>. That is definitely good news for producers <keyword id="27326" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sajid-Nadiadwala">Sajid Nadiadwala</keyword> and <keyword id="3778" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Karan-Johar">Karan Johar</keyword>. 
 Going by its <keyword id="1996031" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Box-office-performance">box office performance</keyword>, 2 States seems to have done a commendable job, with <keyword id="6354526" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Alia-Bhatt">Alia Bhatt</keyword> (<keyword id="2204646" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ananya-Swaminathan">Ananya Swaminathan</keyword>) and <keyword id="114453" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Arjun-Kapoor">Arjun Kapoor</keyword> (<keyword id="2204645" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Krish-Malhotra">Krish Malhotra</keyword>) showing a rare on-screen chemistry that rocks and sizzles. The young people meet at the <keyword id="6429635" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIM-Ahmedabad">IIM-Ahmedabad</keyword> campus and fall in love, but it is, by no means, a campus romance as harsh social realities await them outside. And the movie, too, stumbles at that point as we are led to <keyword id="122267" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="orthodox">orthodox</keyword> households (Krish is a <keyword id="5105" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Punjabi">Punjabi</keyword> lad and Ananya is a <keyword id="6356629" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="tamil">Tamil</keyword> lass from Chennai as all of you must know by now), instead of modern abodes housing millennial open culture, and two pairs of stereotype Bollywood parents. The rest of the struggles and tribulations faced by the young lovers follow the beaten path until the final-and-inevitable reconciliation that makes everyone happy. 
 
Interestingly, Bhagat’s work has managed to ward off the cliché that lies inherent in cultural clashes and generation gaps. However, the movie has an overdose of everything although it manages to retain some kind of charm that will keep you hooked. As Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV so rightly pointed out, “2 States is a <keyword id="2208734" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cross-culture-love-story">cross-culture love story</keyword> that strives to be sweet, funny and emotionally wrenching all at once. It is occasionally funny and sweet in parts all right, but the <keyword id="1204454" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="family-drama">family drama</keyword> at the film’s core has a severely stultified feel… It sets out to be a slice-of-life drama about a real couple grappling with the politics of <keyword id="2208729" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Inter-community-marriage">inter-community marriage</keyword>, but it fails to generate enough energy and warmth to draw the audience into a tight clinch.” 
 
In stark contrast to 2 States, Dekh Tamasha Dekh (starring <keyword id="317266" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vinay-Jain">Vinay Jain</keyword>, <keyword id="2218" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Satish-Kaushik">Satish Kaushik</keyword> and <keyword id="1559" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="tanvi-azmi">Tanvi Azmi</keyword>) is based on a true story and ruthlessly reveals a nation’s <keyword id="2208740" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Political-hypocrisy">political hypocrisy</keyword> and <keyword id="877158" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Communal-Disharmony">communal disharmony</keyword> with the help of its twin tools – satire and <keyword id="424300" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Irony">irony</keyword>. Too many human elements are woven here in a complex tapestry, but the very core of <keyword id="6355987" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="violence">violence</keyword>, <keyword id="6388475" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="tragedy">tragedy</keyword> and hopelessness would hit us hard and keep us wondering about the multi-layered reality we are compelled to confront every day. Although not a typical art house film, this movie is meant for a niche audience and offers a <keyword id="2208742" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gripping-tale">gripping tale</keyword> of the <keyword id="911828" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="dark-forces">dark forces</keyword> that we are not likely to forget in a hurry. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

Box Office: 2 States Raking
In Big Bucks; Dekh Tamasha Dekh Offers A Gripping Tale

“Ye le beta, humare khaandani sone ke gehne. Ise girvi rakhva de, shayad kuch paise aa jaye ghar main.” How many times have we seen similar dialogues repeat itself in Bollywood films of the 70s and 80s—abject poverty and a frail-looking old mother pleading to her son to pawn the family’s heirloom gold ornaments to a jeweller, all to get a few bucks? Well, if you’d ask that son in 2024, he’d rather hit the loan button on his <keyword id="105386" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Demat-account" source="Orion">Demat account</keyword> than pawn his mother’s gold jewellery. Given how Indians are rapidly resorting to taking loans against their investments in shares and mutual funds, these might as well be a cherished family heirloom in today’s time. Fair warning though; it's not as if gold and loans against it are going down in India’s lending scene. It's very much the opposite, shining brighter than ever! The secured loan category is having its time in the spotlight, and people are certainly looking beyond land and property to get their hands on some extra monies! But what is funding the steep rise behind these loans? And are they as failsafe and secure as they’re made out to be? We decode for you in this week’s Simply Put. <h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">The great Indian pawning party</h2>Pawning one’s gold has been, by far, the OG Indian financial move to get a loan. That continues well into 2024, and apparently, more so when India decides to wed and celebrate! Data from <keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="RBI" source="Orion">RBI</keyword> suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024. It looks like Gold took the motto of rise and shine too seriously! Table 1: Growth in gold loans <table class="redcator-table-advance" style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.6em; box-shadow: none; width: 468pt; font-family: Merriweather; table-layout: fixed; padding-bottom: 10px !important; background-image: inherit !important; background-position: inherit !important; background-size: inherit !important; background-repeat: inherit !important; background-attachment: inherit !important; background-origin: inherit !important; background-clip: inherit !important;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">Amount (In Rs crore) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">September 2022 </td><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">85,009 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">March 2023 </td><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">89,370 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">September 2023 </td><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">97,426 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">March 2024 </td><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">1,02,562 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">September 2024 </td><td style="border-width: 1pt; border-style: solid; border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 5pt; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: top; overflow: hidden; overflow-wrap: break-word;">1,47,081 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Source: RBI data While the world continues to be riled up in multiple geopolitical crises in 2024, gold has been making merry of these tough times. Thus far this year, <keyword id="3886593" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="domestic-gold" source="Orion">domestic gold</keyword> prices have grown by 23%, outperforming benchmark indices like Nifty and Sensex by a mile, which have gone up by 9.85% and 8.86%, respectively. The growth in gold loan disbursal rates month on month this year could also put Nifty and Sensex’s growth to shame. In just September 2024, gold loans grew an astounding 51%, up from 40.9% in August, 30.5% in June, and just 14.8% in March. <h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Hey, wait up for me, says LAS</h2>In lockstep with the elder, gold loan sibling, advances against shares and bonds have also been inching up since 2022. Data from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notes that as of September 2022, the outstanding quantum of loans that were taken against shares (LAS) and bonds stood at Rs 7,397.94 crores. This inched up to Rs 7,764 crore in September 2023. Come 2024, and it looked like this was LAS’ time to shine. Loans swiftly skyrocketed, with outstanding loans in this category going up from Rs 8,492 crore in March 2022 to a staggering Rs 9,546 crore at the end of September 2024. Naturally, the smoke of LAS has its fire in the record inflows that Indians are pouring into the stock market and mutual funds month on month. Per AMFI (<keyword id="134904" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Association-of-Mutual-Funds-in-India" source="Orion">Association of Mutual Funds in India</keyword>), the net AUM (assets under management) of India’s mutual fund industry grew to Rs 67,25,614.61 crores in October 2024, up from Rs 67,09,259.24 crores in September 2024. Even the number of retail mutual fund folios, which include equity, hybrid, and solution-oriented mutual funds, burgeoned to 17,23,52,296 in October, as compared to 16,81,61,366 in September. The same goes for stock investments in India, where the number of new demat accounts that are added every month just simply refuses to climb down. As of last month, total demat accounts in the country stood at 17.9 crore, which is more than the entire population of full-fledged nations like Japan (12.45 crore), Russia (14.38 crore), and Bangladesh (17.3 crore). In fact, since February this year, the monthly growth of LAS has been hitting double digits. From 11.3% in March to 21.6% in May to 26.8% in August, growth in LAS has been exceptional, hitting 22.9% in September this year. For context, monthly growth in the LAS segment was at a mere 5% in September 2023. <h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">What's driving the growth?</h2>It's a win-win for both the bank and the customer. Customers love them because LAS is available at a lower interest rate compared to unsecured personal loans. You can get a loan at an interest rate of anywhere between 9 and 12% by pledging your gold, MF units, or shares. Compare this to over 10-28% rates, which is the range where unsecured personal loans charge interest. Banks love <keyword id="827883" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Secured-Loans" source="Orion">secured loans</keyword> since they are well-secured. In case you default on paying back, the bank can sell off your gold, shares, or mutual fund units to recover the amount. This takes a lot of stress off the banks, which are already dealing with secured loans’ riskier sibling-<keyword id="947940" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unsecured-lending" source="Orion">unsecured lending</keyword>. High NPAs (non-performing assets) and non-payments in the unsecured borrowing space have already put RBI on red alert, which is why the apex bank is tightening the screws on unsecured lending, which was well on its way to becoming a ticking time bomb. As a result, credit growth has moderated to 12.8% YoY in October, as against the 19.3% rise recorded in the year-ago period. Yet it's not like the banks won't feel the heat. Analysts at Nomura note that <keyword id="23954457" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="personal-loan-delinquencies" source="Orion">personal loan delinquencies</keyword> in India that have been overdue by over 90 days rose to 5.1% in the last financial year, as opposed to just 3.9% in the year prior. <h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">How does it work?</h2>Both these loans work on a similar principle: Your <keyword id="857141" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="loan-amount" source="Orion">loan amount</keyword> is equal to a certain percentage of the actual market value of your asset. This is known as the LTV (loan-to-value ratio). In the case of gold and debt mutual funds, RBI mandates that this LTV be about 75-80%. So, for every Rs 100 of gold or debt mutual fund unit you pledge, your maximum loan amount cannot exceed Rs 80. If you pledge gold, which has a market value of Rs 10 lakh, you can take a loan of up to Rs 8,00,000. In the case of shares and mutual fund units, this limit is set at 50%. So, your shares worth Rs 5,00,000 can only get you a loan worth Rs 2,50,000. But the bright side? You can continue earning returns on your investments and pay interest only on the amount you use, since this loan works as an overdraft facility. <h2 style="margin-bottom: 0.7em; line-height: 1.3; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 24px; background: 0px 0px; text-rendering: optimizelegibility;">Super safe, you say?</h2>Interest rates on both of these loans are very much dependent on the market value of the asset, which wildly fluctuates on a day-to-day basis. So, in case the value of your asset falls, you’ll have to keep a margin or more of the same asset in order to continue with the loan and maintain the LTV balance. Failure to do so could mean the bank can even sell off your asset. Says financial planner Nema Chaya Buch. “Yes, LAS offers easy availability of funds since these loans come with a lower interest rate as compared to personal loans. Also, you continue to earn average returns of 10–13% on your equity investments. But the downside is, in case of emergency, those pledged securities cannot be sold. Also, if the equity market goes down, then the bank may ask for additional collateral. Raghvendra Nath, MD, Ladderup Wealth Management notes that taking a LAS is best when the value of your securities has appreciated significantly. “This allows you to maximize the loan amount based on your collateral while also addressing financial needs without having to liquidate your investment portfolio. However, there are notable disadvantages to consider. The market risk is significant; a substantial decline in market value could lead to margin calls, which may incur fees and charges if there are delays or prepayments, ultimately increasing the effective cost of borrowing. Furthermore, failure to make timely payments could result in the loss of your assets.”. Umesh Mohanan, ED &amp; CEO, of Indel Money, cautions that one should have a sufficient quantity of gold to get the loan amount one wants. "According to the current RBI rules, the loan applicant/borrower can draw up to 75% of the total market value of the collateral/gold jewellery. So, always carry a sufficient quantity of gold based on one’s loan requirement. “The most important thing is that the valuation of the gold depends on the purity of the gold. If the borrower pledges gold with higher purity, such as 24 carats or 22 carats, he will get the maximum loan amount," he adds.

Secured Loans 2.0 — why more and more Indians are turning to gold, shares and mutual funds to get loans

<div type="image" title="Data from RBI suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024." msid="115250619" hostid="261" sizebytes="118350" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Data from RBI suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> “Ye le beta, humare khaandani sone ke gehne. Ise girvi rakhva de, shayad kuch paise aa jaye ghar main.” How many times have we seen similar dialogues repeat itself in Bollywood films of the 70s and 80s—abject poverty and a frail-looking old mother pleading to her son to pawn the family’s heirloom <keyword id="18712" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="gold" source="Orion">gold</keyword> ornaments to a jeweller, all to get a few bucks? Well, if you’d ask that son in 2024, he’d rather hit the loan button on his <keyword id="19977340" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="demat" source="keywords">Demat</keyword> account than pawn his mother’s gold jewellery. Given how Indians are rapidly resorting to taking loans against their investments in shares and mutual funds, these might as well be a cherished family heirloom in today’s time. Fair warning though; it's not as if gold and loans against it are going down in India’s lending scene. It's very much the opposite, shining brighter than ever! The secured loan category is having its time in the spotlight, and people are certainly looking beyond land and property to get their hands on some extra monies! But what is funding the steep rise behind these loans? And are they as failsafe and secure as they’re made out to be? We decode for you in this week’s Simply Put. <h2>The great Indian pawning party</h2>Pawning one’s gold has been, by far, the OG Indian financial move to get a loan. That continues well into 2024, and apparently, more so when India decides to wed and celebrate! Data from <keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi" source="keywords">RBI</keyword> suggests that the outstanding amount on gold loans has swelled from Rs 85,009 crore in September 2022 to Rs 1,47,081 crore in September 2024. It looks like Gold took the motto of rise and shine too seriously! Table 1: Growth in gold loans <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;" class="redcator-table-advance"></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;">Year </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;">Amount (In Rs 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;">September 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;">85,009 </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;">March 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;">89,370 </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;">September 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;">97,426 </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;">March 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;">1,02,562 </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;">September 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;">1,47,081 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> Source: RBI data While the world continues to be riled up in multiple geopolitical crises in 2024, gold has been making merry of these tough times. Thus far this year, domestic gold prices have grown by 23%, outperforming benchmark indices like Nifty and Sensex by a mile, which have gone up by 9.85% and 8.86%, respectively. The growth in gold loan disbursal rates month on month this year could also put Nifty and Sensex’s growth to shame. In just September 2024, gold loans grew an astounding 51%, up from 40.9% in August, 30.5% in June, and just 14.8% in March. <h2>Hey, wait up for me, says <keyword id="23953567" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="las" source="keywords">LAS</keyword></h2>In lockstep with the elder, gold loan sibling, advances against shares and bonds have also been inching up since 2022. Data from RBI (Reserve Bank of India) notes that as of September 2022, the outstanding quantum of loans that were taken against shares (LAS) and bonds stood at Rs 7,397.94 crores. This inched up to Rs 7,764 crore in September 2023. Come 2024, and it looked like this was LAS’ time to shine. Loans swiftly skyrocketed, with outstanding loans in this category going up from Rs 8,492 crore in March 2022 to a staggering Rs 9,546 crore at the end of September 2024. Naturally, the smoke of LAS has its fire in the record inflows that Indians are pouring into the stock market and mutual funds month on month. Per AMFI (<keyword id="20090034" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="association-of-mutual-funds" source="keywords">Association of Mutual Funds</keyword> in India), the net AUM (assets under management) of India’s mutual fund industry grew to Rs 67,25,614.61 crores in October 2024, up from Rs 67,09,259.24 crores in September 2024. Even the number of retail mutual fund folios, which include equity, hybrid, and solution-oriented mutual funds, burgeoned to 17,23,52,296 in October, as compared to 16,81,61,366 in September. The same goes for stock investments in India, where the number of new demat accounts that are added every month just simply refuses to climb down. As of last month, total demat accounts in the country stood at 17.9 crore, which is more than the entire population of full-fledged nations like Japan (12.45 crore), Russia (14.38 crore), and Bangladesh (17.3 crore). In fact, since February this year, the monthly growth of LAS has been hitting double digits. From 11.3% in March to 21.6% in May to 26.8% in August, growth in LAS has been exceptional, hitting 22.9% in September this year. For context, monthly growth in the LAS segment was at a mere 5% in September 2023. <h2>What's driving the growth?</h2>It's a win-win for both the bank and the customer. Customers love them because LAS is available at a lower interest rate compared to unsecured personal loans. You can get a loan at an interest rate of anywhere between 9 and 12% by pledging your gold, MF units, or shares. Compare this to over 10-28% rates, which is the range where unsecured personal loans charge interest. Banks love <keyword id="827883" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="secured-loans" source="Orion">secured loans</keyword> since they are well-secured. In case you default on paying back, the bank can sell off your gold, shares, or mutual fund units to recover the amount. This takes a lot of stress off the banks, which are already dealing with secured loans’ riskier sibling-unsecured lending. High NPAs (non-performing assets) and non-payments in the unsecured borrowing space have already put RBI on red alert, which is why the apex bank is tightening the screws on unsecured lending, which was well on its way to becoming a ticking time bomb. As a result, credit growth has moderated to 12.8% YoY in October, as against the 19.3% rise recorded in the year-ago period. Yet it's not like the banks won't feel the heat. Analysts at Nomura note that personal loan delinquencies in India that have been overdue by over 90 days rose to 5.1% in the last financial year, as opposed to just 3.9% in the year prior. <h2>How does it work?</h2>Both these loans work on a similar principle: Your loan amount is equal to a certain percentage of the actual market value of your asset. This is known as the <keyword id="20051485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ltv" source="keywords">LTV</keyword> (loan-to-value ratio). In the case of gold and debt mutual funds, RBI mandates that this LTV be about 75-80%. So, for every Rs 100 of gold or debt mutual fund unit you pledge, your maximum loan amount cannot exceed Rs 80. If you pledge gold, which has a market value of Rs 10 lakh, you can take a loan of up to Rs 8,00,000. In the case of shares and mutual fund units, this limit is set at 50%. So, your shares worth Rs 5,00,000 can only get you a loan worth Rs 2,50,000. But the bright side? You can continue earning returns on your investments and pay interest only on the amount you use, since this loan works as an overdraft facility. <h2>Super safe, you say?</h2>Interest rates on both of these loans are very much dependent on the market value of the asset, which wildly fluctuates on a day-to-day basis. So, in case the value of your asset falls, you’ll have to keep a margin or more of the same asset in order to continue with the loan and maintain the LTV balance. Failure to do so could mean the bank can even sell off your asset. Says financial planner Nema Chaya Buch. “Yes, LAS offers easy availability of funds since these loans come with a lower interest rate as compared to personal loans. Also, you continue to earn average returns of 10–13% on your equity investments. But the downside is, in case of emergency, those pledged securities cannot be sold. Also, if the equity market goes down, then the bank may ask for additional collateral. Raghvendra Nath, MD, Ladderup Wealth Management notes that taking a LAS is best when the value of your securities has appreciated significantly. “This allows you to maximize the loan amount based on your collateral while also addressing financial needs without having to liquidate your investment portfolio. However, there are notable disadvantages to consider. The market risk is significant; a substantial decline in market value could lead to margin calls, which may incur fees and charges if there are delays or prepayments, ultimately increasing the effective cost of borrowing. Furthermore, failure to make timely payments could result in the loss of your assets.”. Umesh Mohanan, ED &amp; CEO, of Indel Money, cautions that one should have a sufficient quantity of gold to get the loan amount one wants. "According to the current RBI rules, the loan applicant/borrower can draw up to 75% of the total market value of the collateral/gold jewellery. So, always carry a sufficient quantity of gold based on one’s loan requirement. “The most important thing is that the valuation of the gold depends on the purity of the gold. If the borrower pledges gold with higher purity, such as 24 carats or 22 carats, he will get the maximum loan amount," he adds.

Simply Put: Secured Loans 2.0 — why more and more Indians are turning to gold, shares and mutual funds to get loans

With the United Nations designating 2023 as the International Year of Millets at India's request, the superfood - millets - is going to be the talk of the world soon. And proactive star hotels and food companies in India have chalked out their plans to whip up new millet-based dishes for their customers. The industry officials are expecting sustained deliberations about the goodness of millets to start soon and extend throughout 2023. This will certainly have a positive rub-off effect on the demand for millet-based dishes, hotel and food company officials told IANS. "Now nobody can ignore millets. The focus for food product companies will be on how to milletise their products," S. Murugan Narayanaswamy, CEO, of Southern Health Foods P Ltd makes Manna brand food items. The Manna brand which gained prominence with cricketer Ashwin Ravichandran as brand ambassador has millet-based idli/dosa/upma/poha/kichadi/Pongal and rava dosa mixes. Generally, millets are small-grained, annual, warm-weather cereals belonging to the grass family. They are highly tolerant of drought and other extreme weather conditions and have a similar nutrient content to other major cereals. Mayank Kulshreshtha, Area Executive Chef of Southern Region, ITC Hotels &amp; Executive Chef of ITC Grand Chola told IANS. The millets commonly grown in India include Jowar (sorghum), Bajra (<keyword id="2136819" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pearl-millet" source="Orion">pearl millet</keyword>), ragi (finger <keyword id="9463" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="millet" source="Orion">millet</keyword>), Jhangora (barnyard millet), Barri (Proso or common millet), Kangni (foxtail/ Italian millet), Kodra (Kodo millet) and others, he said. The year 2023 will be a turnaround year with more consumers and companies opting for millets. The Atta product categories will see new offerings like oats atta, multigrain atta, nutrition bars and ready-to-cook packs. "Sales of millet-based products are expected to go up by 2.5 times. This is due to the creation of awareness about millets by the central and state governments, food companies promoting their products and the emergence of new categories based on millets," Narayanaswamy added. According to him, millet-based health drinks, breakfast cereals and noodles will grow. The breakfast cereals will turn into multigrain products with millets. While Southern Health is mulling an entry into the millet-noodles segment, the existing player the Mumbai-based Satvika Bio-Foods Private Ltd is expecting higher sales volumes within and outside India. "We have started exporting to Australia and the US. The big food products companies can no longer avoid the millet segment. And their entry will grow the market," Vinod Kumar, Founder and CEO of Satvika Bio-Foods told IANS. Terming noodles as a pan-India food now, Kumar said the overall noodles market size is about Rs 15,000 crore. Within that, the Atta noodles segment will be about Rs 500 crore. Though the Atta noodles segment is growing fast it will take a long time to grow to the size of the maida noodles market. Given this, the millet noodles segment is small but will log accelerated growth starting in 2023, Kumar said. Like millet noodles, there is millet pasta from Wholsum Foods under the brand Slurrp Farm. On the star hotels side, the 650-room meta ITC Grand Chola and beach resort Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort and Spa seems to have the first mover advantage having readied their special millet offerings to their guests. "Next year, we will have a focussed millet programme at our restaurants. We have incorporated millets in European dishes," Kulshreshtha of ITC Hotels said. According to him, the ITC Hotels as a group has enhanced millet offerings across the country. On October 14, ITC Hotels launched its millets programme on the Pavilion buffets. Some of the indicative breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets are: Pearl millet and Brown Rice Poha, Foxtail Millet and <keyword id="15256772" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="multigrain-loaf" source="Orion">Multigrain Loaf</keyword>, Amaranth, Ajwain and <keyword id="13011333" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rajma-tikki" source="Orion">Rajma Tikki</keyword>, Bajra Gosht Khichdi, Foxtail millet and Caponata Cannelloni with Roma Tomato Sauce, Amaranth and Jeera Poori, Pearl Millet and Wheat Sourdough, Sama and Brown Rice Kheer, Green Peas, Corn and Finger Millet Tartlet, Sama Murgh Pulao, Finger Millet Crepes with Wild Mushroom Onion and Feta, <keyword id="5951950" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="ragi-poori" source="Orion">Ragi Poori</keyword>, Baked Cheese Cake with Buckwheat Crumble, Finger Multi Farmer's Loaf, said Kulshreshtha. "Unlike other hotels, resorts have an advantage in making their guests try out new dishes. The guests come here for leisure with their family," R.Devakumar, Executive Chef, Sheraton Grand Chennai Resort and Spa told IANS. "At our buffet restaurants, we will encourage our guests to try out new millet-based dishes highlighting the health benefits. For example, the Kambu Koozh or Pearl Millet Porridge is good for the gut. Small portions will be served for the guests to taste," Devakumar said. As 51 per cent of the leisure guests come with their families, Devakumar said the children can also be encouraged to have millet-based food items. Devakumar said some of the millet-based items that will be offered throughout 2023 at the resort are: Ragi Paniyaram - Fermented finger Millet dumplings with organic coconut chutney; Kambu Koozh - Pearl millet porridge with probiotic buttermilk infusion and raw shallots; Bajra ke Roti - Pearl Millet soft bread served with garden greens; Foxtail Millet curd rice - mashed grain with curd and southern tempering, served with vadam, vathal and more melagai; Kezveragu &amp; Murungai Keerai Adai - Finger Millet and Drumstick leaf pancake, served with butter and jaggery. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/gautam-adani-puts-in-place-plan-to-take-group-valuation-to-1-trillion/articleshow/94857619.cms">Gautam Adani puts in place plan to take Group valuation to $1 trillion</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/wpi-inflation-eases-to-10-7-pc-in-sep/articleshow/94858376.cms">WPI inflation eases to 10.7 pc in Sep</a>

Ragi poori, Bajra poha and more - food cos, star hotels whip up millet meals

After the debacle known as Shaadi Ke Side Effects, Vidya Balan is all set to try her luck this Friday with Bobby Jasoos. And once again, it’s a film resting on her shoulders. Vidya will be seen playing a buddy detective in the film, who aspires to become the most popular detective in the city of Hyderabad. As Vidya gears up to entertain with her multiple avatars in the movie, let us take a look at the <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> stars who played detective on the silver screen in recent times. 
 
 
Image by Thinkstock.

8 Bollywood Sleuths Who Set Your Pulse Racing

<ul class="summary-list"><li>"<keyword id="13370006" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="everything-everywhere-all-at-once" source="Orion">Everything Everywhere All at Once</keyword>" is filled with breathtaking, original looks, especially for leads Evelyn and Jobu.</li><li>But costume designer Shirley Kurata told Insider that imagining the costumes was no small feat.</li><li>According to Kurata, one of the most difficult pieces to find for the film was an Elvis costume.</li></ul>At the center of the intricately layered multiverse in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" is a bagel — an everything bagel, to be exact. The film's tortured antagonist, Jobu Tupaki (Stephanie Hsu) created the "bagel" (which is more akin to a giant black hole than a vehicle for cream cheese, to be clear) after becoming despondent at the infinite nothingness she discovered in the multiverse. As Jobu explains to Evelyn (<keyword id="13646445" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="michelle-yeoh" source="Orion">Michelle Yeoh</keyword>), she then took every single thing from the multiverse and put it into the "bagel," leading to the ravenous black hole that Jobu is tempted to disappear into. Further cementing Jobu's point is her costume in the scene; she's clad in a futuristic white gown, with a large round of hair that resembles the very bagel she's preoccupied with. The costumes in "Everything Everywhere All at Once" are more than just clothes. Since most of the characters frequent different universes (through a process known as "verse jumping"), the clothing they wear is key to conveying the different iterations of each character, as well as placing the viewer in the numerous multiverses traversed throughout the film.In one scene, for instance, Evelyn is transported to a universe in which she's performing onstage as a famous Chinese opera singer, complete with intricately painted makeup and a sumptuous robe. In another, Evelyn is a famous <keyword id="11897475" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="movie" source="Orion">movie</keyword> star attending a contemporary film premiere in a chic floor-length gown. Jobu's looks are far more chaotic. As Kurata explained, Jobu's awareness of the multiverse (and subsequent nihilistic outlook) means that she's able to craft her outfits in her mind, paying little attention to the time or place she's currently in. Instead, Jobu has complete freedom to manipulate her reality, with clothes that reflect her unhinged attitude towards existence.Designing such intricate and meaningful costumes couldn't have been an easy task (Kurata said she created dozens of looks for Hsu and Yeoh alone), but Kurata's impeccable designing brings the characters — and the multiverse — to life in breathtaking detail. The costume designer spoke to Insider about working with the film's directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known collectively as the Daniels), the one costume that was surprisingly difficult to source, and which looks ultimately didn't make it until the final film.<div type="image" title="Michelle Yeoh in &quot;Everything Everywhere All at Once.&quot;" height="1857" width="2476" msid="91376724" hostid="261"></div>I'm sure you've heard this a ton by now, but the costumes in this film are really special. If you had to estimate, how many different looks would you say you created for Michelle and Stephanie?I should look at my continuity breakdown, 'cause it's been two years now. But I would say between the two of them, at least 40.That's crazy. What was your timeframe like for making these really unique and amazing looks?I had about a month and a half of prep before we started shooting. Which wasn't that much time, but fortunately, some of the bigger scenes — like the bagel universe and the movie star universe — we shot in like the last week of principal photography. So fortunately, while we were shooting in the IRS building, I was able to also prep all those scenes. Was there a costume or a look in particular that you really had trouble nailing down at all?There was a scene with Jobu, who performs <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hara-kiri">Hara-kiri</a> [ritual suicide by disembowelment with a sword, once practiced in Japan by samurai] on herself only to have candy come out of her instead of blood. We had a hard time doing it with practical effects, since the candy was lumpy, and it was hard to have it come out smoothly.I think we could've managed to make it work, but it would've taken numerous takes, which with the lockdown happening, we ended up scrapping it. The Daniels ended up doing the scene in a fully animated sequence.Were any of the outfits mentioned specifically in the script, or did the Daniels really just give you free reign to essentially design whatever you'd like? No, some of them were in the script, like the Elvis costume. And same with the luchador look.Then there were some that weren't in the script. They said they wanted something unique and interesting for Jobu, so we just discussed together, like, what are some interesting looks that she can do? And one of them was a K-pop star.Another one is when Jobu falls on the stairs. We kind of collectively came up with this idea of, we called it "jumbled Jobu." Like all her clothes just got mixed in the dryer or something, and now she's wearing it. So that one, I kind of freehand draped it, using different pieces from her other costumes and just existing pieces out in the world, and draped it on a mannequin.That look is so spectacular, and the K-pop one, that's the one with that Jeremy Scott teddy bear jacket, right? Yeah. I just have things in my kit, and I happened to have that Jeremy Scott jacket. I mentioned to them, 'I have this jacket, which I think could be kind of cool,' and they loved the fact that from the side, you can see the teddy bear heads. They were like, 'Oh yeah, that would be great. Let's form an outfit based around that.'There was the one scene where Evelyn dies, and then the credits roll. They just said they wanted something, because it's heavy scene, like maybe something a little bit more goth. So I suggested something like goth anime style, cause there's like the elegant Gothic Lolitas that like you see like in Harajuku and stuff. I wanted a look like that. Were there any other costumes that you were really excited about that didn't make it in the film's final cut?I don't think we cut too many looks, but there is a scene where [Jobu] is fighting Michelle, and I had this like Commes des Garçons jacket, and it had four sleeves. I put gloved hands in two of the sleeves, so that when she was fighting, the arms would swing around.You see it, but it's so quick.I think you have to like, re-watch it. And I was like, "Oh, I wish we'd seen that."Both of them had much more costumes scripted originally. In one scene that didn't make it into the final cut, they were at a baseball game. There was also a Wall Street banker look, and there was an Austrian mountainside musical look.<div type="image" title="Ke Huy Quan in &quot;Everything Everywhere All at Once.&quot;" height="1687" width="2250" msid="91376726" hostid="261"></div>How did you visually put all of these costumes together ahead of time?I didn't really sketch out that much. Maybe for like, the alpha jumpers, because I knew that those looks were going to be specific, and they kind of wanted it more of a dystopian vibe. A little more "Mad Max," so I ended up just getting military pieces and then reworking them into things for Alpha Waymond and the verse jumpers.Did you have trouble sourcing any particular garments for the costumes?The Elvis costume was pretty difficult, just because they exist, but some of them are just like terrible Halloween costumes. Building one from scratch would have just cost so much money and I knew that I probably needed at least doubles on it. I did find one that was in a much bigger size. And so I just bought this nicer quality one and shrunk it down, so we were able to make it work.That was that a little bit tricky. 'Cause I thought, "There's so many Elvis impersonators out there, I'm sure that there are nicer ones out in the world."<div type="image" title="Stephanie Hsu as Jobu Tupaki in &quot;Everything Everywhere All at Once.&quot;" height="1687" width="2250" msid="91376728" hostid="261"></div>What was your least favorite look that you worked on? If you have one. I don't know if I have one. Even the costumes in the regular taxes universe, they just seemed so suited to their character that that's why I like them. It's not something I would wear, or like even the actors. Like when Ke [Huy Quan, who plays Evelyn's husband Waymond] put on his polo shirt and khaki pants and fanny pack, he's like, "Oh my God, I would never wear this, but this is so perfect for Waymond."Even Jenny Slate's outfit, I didn't like that outfit, but it was so perfect for her character. I asked a friend, I was like, "If a woman walked in the store and she was kind of annoying, and kind of a Karen, what would you picture her wearing?" And he had said, "One of those like shirts with the cutouts, the cold shoulders." And I was like, "Yes, worn with like their workout leggings and some really bad wedge heels."What was your favorite look that you worked on?Probably Jobu's bagel universe costume. That surreal futuristic look that, that world.It was great to be able to come up with something unique and from my imagination. Some of these other looks were more like straightforward — like the opera universe, I wanted to use like a real classical Chinese opera costume. But with some of Jobu's, it was great to just pull things from my imagination and create. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity."Everything Everywhere All at Once" is currently playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.

'Everything Everywhere All at Once' costume designer reveals the disemboweling scene that had to be cut — and the hardest outfit she had to make for the film

The much-awaited Golden Kela Awards that honour the worst of Indian Cinema are back. This time around, they would be awarding the worst of <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> in 2014, and as always, have some out-of-the-box awards other than the best, we mean, Worst Actors Awards. 
 
The awards would be announced on March 14, 2015 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. 
 
Have a look at the list of nominees. 
 
Worst Actor (Male) 
 
· Arjun Kapoor for Gunday &amp; Everything Else 
· Saif Ali Khan for Humshakals 
· Salman Khan for Jai Ho &amp; Kick 
· Ajay Devgn for Action Jackson 
· Rani Mukerjee for Mardaani 
 
Worst Actor (Female) 
 
· Katrina Kaif for Bang Bang 
· Sonam Kapoor for everything she did 
· Sonakshi Sinha for Action Jackson, Lingaa and Holiday 
· Tamannah for Entertainment 
· Jacqueline Fernandes for Kick 
 
Worst Film 
 
· Kick 
· Bang Bang! 
· Action Jackson 
· Humshakals 
· Happy New Year 
 
Worst Director 
 
· Sajid Khan for Humshakals 
· Prabhu Deva for Action Jackson 
· Rohit Shetty for Singham Returns 
· Sajid Nadiadwala for Kick 
· Sohail Khan for Jai Ho 
· Siddharth Anand for Bang Bang! 
 
Most Irritating Song * Played Endlessly on Radio and TV 
 
· Blue Hai Paani Paani from Yaariyan 
· Yaar na Miley from Kick 
· Baby Doll from Ragini MMS 2 
· Galliyan from Ek Villain 
· Tu Mera from Bang Bang 
 
Most Atrocious Lyrics 
 
· Sameer for Caller Tune from Humshakals 
· Shabbir Ahmed for Ice Cream from The Xposé 
· Yo Yo Honey Singh for Blue hai Paani paani from Yaariyan 
· Vishal Dadlani for Tu Meri from Bang Bang! 
· Mayur Puri for Johnny Johnny from Entertainment 
 
Worst Debutante 
 
· Tiger Shroff for Heropanti 
· The Xposé Girls for The Xposé 
· Mishti &amp; Kartik Tiwari for Kaanchi 
· The Whole Cast &amp; Crew of Yaariyan for Yaariyan 
· Daisy Shah for Jai Ho 
 
Baawra Ho Gaya Hai Ke Award 
· Raj and DK for Happy Ending 
· Abhishek Sharma for Shaukeens 
· Nawazuddin for Kick 
· Ram Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan for Humshakals 
· Shashanka Ghosh for Khoobsurat 
 
RGV Ki Aag Award for the Most Pointless Remake/Sequel 
 
· Shaadi Ke Side Effects 
· Ragini MMS 2 
· Singham Returns 
· Bang Bang! 
· Khoobsurat 
· The Shaukeens 
· Bhoothnath Returns 
· Hate Story 2 
 
Why Are You Still Trying Award 
· Sonam Kapoor 
· Jackie Bhagnani 
· Himesh Reshammiya 
· Subhash Ghai 
· Ayushman Khurana 
· Yami Gautam 
 
Voting opens on February 18th, 2015 at <a href="http://www.goldenkela.com/" target="_blank">www.goldenkela.com</a>. 
 
“This just keeps getting better every year! Bollywood never ceases to amaze, and we at Golden Kela actually look forward to the bizarre imagination of some of our filmmakers!” says, Jatin Varma, Founder, Golden Kela Awards. “After having to sit through the excruciating screenings of the likes of Jai Ho, Humshakals, Action Jackson and “Xpose” amongst many others, we got to the fun part – having a good laugh and listing the nominations for the crappiest movies of the year!”, he went on to say.

Here Are The Nominees For The Golden Kela Awards 2015

<keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> actresses are having a gala time. Never ever in the history of <keyword id="4636" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Cinema">Indian cinema</keyword>, Indian actresses enjoyed power like they enjoy today. Women-oriented films are on the rise, and audiences accepting them whole-heartedly. Recent success of Queen testifies the fact. But who would be the queen of Bollywood in 2014—and get the coveted ‘Heroine No. 1’ title? Let’s take a look. 
	 
	 

	1. <keyword id="6354526" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Alia-Bhatt">Alia Bhatt</keyword> With three back to back hits in a year, Alia is on a roll. Her first release of the year was Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, which brought pride and appreciation her way. After this coming-of-age story, we saw Alia in 2 States next, where she enacted the role of a Tamilian to perfection. Alia’s third movie was Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya, where she was at the top of her act. 

	2. Kangana Ranaut

	Queen proved to be a game changer for Kangana Ranaut. This unconventional movie not only won her accolades for her powerful acting, but also changed contemporaries’ perception about her. 
 

	3. <keyword id="89958" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shraddha-Kapoor">Shraddha Kapoor</keyword> The Aashiqui 2 girl too had a great run at the Box Office this year. Her film, Ek Villain was a hit and she won appreciations from all corners for her brilliant performance. She will soon be seen enacting the role of a journalist in director Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. 
	 

	4. Vidya Balan

	Vidya appeared twice on screen this year. While her first movie, Shaadi Ke Side Effect failed to impress audience, Vidya managed to make up for the loss with Bobby Jaasoos. The story of an aspiring girl detective struck a chord with the audience and set cash registers ringing at the Box Office. 
	 

	5. Rani Mukherjee

	It won’t be wrong to call Rani Mukherjee’s Mardaani as the movie of the year. After a dud called Aiyya, Rani bounced back with this movie. She excelled in the role of Shivani, a crime branch inspector, and won accolades and adulation from all corners. Not just that, the film was declared tax free in some parts of the country. A Hero-ific act indeed!
 

	6. Priyanka Chopra

	Seems Priyanka Chopra will earn many awards and honours with Mary Kom, a film based on the life of Olympic legend. Critics and junta are going gaga about Priyanka’s performance that packs a punch and lots of power. A well-deserving name for the coveted number one title?
 

	7. Deepika Padukone

	Last year, she was the queen of Bollywood and delivered four back to back mega hits. However, this year Deepika seems to be in a relaxing mood and has only two movies in her kitty. First up is Homi Adjania’s Finding Fanny, where she is playing a Goan girl and next is Farah Khan’s multi-starrer Happy New Year. Will Deepika be able to replicate her last year’s success this year as well? Only time will tell.
 

	8. Parineeti Chopra

	After Hasee Toh Phasee, Parineeti will soon be seen playing a Hyderabadi girl in Daawat-E-Ishq. News is rife that Parineeti took formal training from actress Elaahe Hiptoola to get the deccani accent right. Hope her hard work pays off!
 

	9. Katrina Kaif

	After last year’s Dhoom 3, Katrina will be seen in Bang Bang next. In this much-awaited movie, the sexy lass would be seen romancing Hrithik Roshan and performing some kickass action. Will this bring Katrina back in the ‘number one’ game?

Alia, Kangana, Deepika: Who will be on Number 1?

<ul><li>Social media app TikTok is famous for many things but mostly for its crazy viral challenges. </li><li>With increasing users, more and more people are taking up new and interesting challenges. </li><li>From “TakTakTak” to “ILoveMyIndia”, here are the most popular challenges of 2019. </li></ul>Social media app TikTok is famous for many things but mostly for its crazy viral challenges. With increasing users, more and more people are taking up new and interesting challenges. And, its 200 million Indian users are entertaining and getting entertained in the process. “Several creators and entertainment's finest found success on TikTok with their unique takes on trending challenges,” said TikTok. From “TakTakTak” to “ILoveMyIndia”, here are the most popular challenges of 2019: #2ofMe Views: 5.4 billion 
 
 
 
 
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 ‘2 of me’ was the most viral challenge of the year. In the challenge, people show two sides of themselves — one that they express and one that they usually hide from people. #MyJourney Views: 5.3 billion 
 
 
 
 
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 People showed their life’s journey — right from birth to present — in five photographs using TikTok’s photo template. Celebrities who shared their life evolving moments were Siddharth Malhotra, Ritesh Deshmukh, <keyword id="6355846" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="madhuri-dixit">Madhuri Dixit</keyword> Nene, <keyword id="2342727" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Guru-Randhawa">Guru Randhawa</keyword>, <keyword id="836886" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sunny-Leone">Sunny Leone</keyword> and many more. The challenge went viral with more than a billion views in two days #ILoveMyIndia Views: 4.3 billion 
 
 
 
 
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 The “ILoveMyIndia” India challenge went viral on the Independence Day in 2019. Thousands of people participated in short videos with patriotic music in the background. They also added virtual tricolor, face colour effects. “73 years 29 States 23 Official Languages 1 Nation 1 Voice 1 India That defines Unity in Diversity. Let's show our National Integration by making videos using #ilovemyindia ! Happy 73rd Independence Day🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳” wrote TikTok. #TakTakTak Views: 2.2 billion 
 
 
 
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 People showed their surprising transformation using the “TakTakTak” challenge. Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandis and rapper Badshah’s short videos received as much as 2.5 million views each. #PlayCool Views: 1.8 billion 
 
 
 
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 The challenge was about the stark contrast between expectations and reality. People had to dress up a bit for the video and show as if they were going to do something great but ended up doing chores like washing utensils or cleaning tables. 
 <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="72949092" title="Holiday season is here and here’s where Indians are heading to celebrate Christmas and New Year" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

These are the top 5 challenges that went viral on TikTok in 2019

Ever since companies such as eBay and Google were founded, consumers have been experiencing the contribution of Internet in their daily lives. 
 Internet has touched almost all the industries and has transformed the world of scarcity to the world of abundance by organising the unorganised resources, delivering them at the right time and at the right price to consumers in need. Hypergrowth and appreciation in valuation of several <keyword id="476126" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="internet-companies">Internet companies</keyword> have made people curious to understand what is so special about these companies. 
 
Like nervous system is the control and communication system of a human body and has two main organs- brain and spinal cord, likewise, , the fastest growing Internet companies also have a nervous system with two main concepts --Multisided Platform and Crowdsourcing. 
 
Multisided Platforms: Platform is an intermediary that facilitates exchange of products and services between two (or more) user groups. User groups form sides of multisided platform and are attracted to the platform due to network effects. A network effect is a phenomenon that makes a platform more valuable when more people use it. 
 
When members in user group on one side get attracted towards members of user group on the other side, the network effect is called cross-sided network effect. For instance, patients (user group on one side) would prefer to go to a hospital (platform) that has more numbers of reputed doctors (user group on other side). When more members join a user group on one side and make that specific side stronger, then the network effect is called same-side network effect. In this case, hospital that has good doctors would be able to attract more good doctors and when more good doctors join a hospital, strength of hospital as a platform increases. 
 
Below is the list of a few traditional platforms that we have been using for decades, much before the age of Internet: 
<table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Platform</td>
			<td>
				Side 1</td>
			<td>
				Side 2</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Vegetable Markets</td>
			<td>
				Vegetable Hawkers</td>
			<td>
				Vegetable Buyers</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Consulting Firms</td>
			<td>
				Consultants</td>
			<td>
				Clients</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Hospitals</td>
			<td>
				Doctors</td>
			<td>
				Patients</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Publishers</td>
			<td>
				Writers</td>
			<td>
				Readers</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Taxi Stand, Bus Stand, Railway Platforms, Airports</td>
			<td>
				Transportation Mediums</td>
			<td>
				Travellers</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Matchmakers, Singles Clubs</td>
			<td>
				Boys</td>
			<td>
				Girls</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Shopping Malls</td>
			<td>
				Retailers</td>
			<td>
				Shoppers</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				News Papers</td>
			<td>
				Advertisers</td>
			<td>
				Readers</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Conferences</td>
			<td>
				Speakers</td>
			<td>
				Audience</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Stock Exchanges</td>
			<td>
				Companies that need to raise capital</td>
			<td>
				Investors</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Real Estate Brokers</td>
			<td>
				Builders</td>
			<td>
				Buyers</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 
 
Crowdsourcing: Crowdsourcing can also be seen as outsourcing to crowd. It is a process of getting ideas and work done through a crowd of people instead of full time resources hired for that particular work. For instance, in the famous quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati, contestants used to get few lifelines including audience poll. In this lifeline, participants outsource question to audience (crowd) and get their opinions on answers. Similarly, contests such as case study competitions and programming contests organised by corporates in business schools and engineering schools etc. are also the examples of crowdsourcing as students (external crowd) put in efforts to come up with multiple solutions for a given problem. 
 
When businesses add power of Internet with the concepts of multisided platform and crowdsourcing, they are able to scale up very fast, to aggregate supply from various sources, remove bottlenecks between demand and supply, provide transparency through reviews &amp; ratings and are able to provide niche products that not available locally. Now, let’s have a look at examples of Internet based platforms that are powered by crowdsourcing. 
 
<keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>: Uber is mobile Internet app that connects commuters with taxi drivers. Uber doesn’t own any taxi, crowd of taxi drivers register with Uber and Uber outsources the commuter’s requirement to one of the registered drivers. In this kind of model, both demand and supply side gets benefited by addition of more people in the respective groups. 
 
 
 
<keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword>: Facebook is an Internet based social networking site. Crowd of users joins Facebook to network with other users and get to know happenings in the life of people in their network. Users keep on generating content in the form of news, videos, pictures etc. that keeps other users engaged. As Facebook has over 1 billion users, it is a great platform for advertisers and developers to reach out to their targeted audience. 
 
 
 
Below is the list of a few Internet companies that are based on concept of multisided platform and crowdsourcing. 
<table align="center" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Company</td>
			<td>
				Platform Utility</td>
			<td>
				Sides</td>
			<td>
				Crowd</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Google</td>
			<td>
				Information Search</td>
			<td>
				· Advertisers 
				· Content Owners 
				· Web Searchers</td>
			<td>
				Websites: Google’s PageRank works by counting the number and quality of links to a page from other websites. 
				 </td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Facebook</td>
			<td>
				Social Networking</td>
			<td>
				· Advertisers 
				· Application Developers 
				· Users who want to connect with friends</td>
			<td>
				Users: Content on Facebook is generated by registered users.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Alibaba, eBay, &amp; Snapdeal</td>
			<td>
				Online Shopping</td>
			<td>
				· Sellers 
				· Buyers</td>
			<td>
				Sellers: Provide products. 
				Customers: Provide sellers’ reviews. 
				 </td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Uber &amp; Ola</td>
			<td>
				Local Transport</td>
			<td>
				· Taxi Drivers 
				· Commuters</td>
			<td>
				Taxi Drivers: Provide Taxis. 
				Customers: Provide drivers’ reviews. 
				 </td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Airbnb</td>
			<td>
				Accommodation</td>
			<td>
				· Accommodation Providers (Hosts) 
				· Travellers (Guests)</td>
			<td>
				Hosts : Provide Accommodation &amp; Reviews 
				Travellers: Provide Reviews. 
				 </td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				OLX &amp; Quikr</td>
			<td>
				Used Goods Exchange</td>
			<td>
				· Used Goods Sellers 
				· Used Goods Buyers</td>
			<td>
				Sellers: Provide products for sale.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Freecharge</td>
			<td>
				Online Recharge</td>
			<td>
				· Telecom &amp; DTH Operators 
				· Retailers (shopping coupon providers) 
				· Users looking for mobile phone, DTH, &amp; Data card recharge</td>
			<td>
				Telecom &amp; DTH operators: Provide recharge options. 
				Retailers: Provide shopping coupons. 
				 </td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Naukri</td>
			<td>
				Job Search</td>
			<td>
				· Recruiters 
				· Job Seekers</td>
			<td>
				Recruiters: Provide job requirements. 
				Job Seekers: Provide Resumes. 
				 </td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Zomato</td>
			<td>
				Restaurant Search</td>
			<td>
				· Restaurant Owners 
				· Customers</td>
			<td>
				Restaurant owners: Provide information on menu, location etc. 
				Customers: Provide reviews.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				JustDial</td>
			<td>
				 Local Service/Products Providers Search</td>
			<td>
				· Service Providers 
				· Prospective Customers</td>
			<td>
				Local service &amp; product providers.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				YouTube</td>
			<td>
				Video Sharing</td>
			<td>
				· Video Uploaders 
				· Video Watchers 
				· Advertisers</td>
			<td>
				Video Uploaders</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				LinkedIn</td>
			<td>
				Professional Networking</td>
			<td>
				· Advertisers 
				· Recruiters 
				· Professional Networkers 
				· Developers</td>
			<td>
				Users : Create profiles, write articles, share information etc.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Apple App Store</td>
			<td>
				Mobile Apps Distribution</td>
			<td>
				· App Developers 
				· Mobile Device Users</td>
			<td>
				App Developers: Provide Apps for downloading.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Shaadi</td>
			<td>
				Matrimony</td>
			<td>
				· Prospective Grooms 
				· Prospective Brides</td>
			<td>
				Users: Profiles on matrimony site are created by registered users.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>
				Coursera</td>
			<td>
				Education</td>
			<td>
				· Universities 
				· Course Students</td>
			<td>
				Universities: They create content &amp; provide courses.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>
 
Note: Based on interpretation and evolution of business model, a few of the above platforms may have more crowd sources &amp; sides. 
 
In these kinds of businesses, best performers or leaders capture huge market share and make it difficult for competitors to grow. But, to remain the market leader, companies have to put in a lot of efforts to gain credibility for their platforms and make users and crowd experience pleasant so that they don’t switch to competitor’s platforms. 
Orkut, the social networking platform owned by Google was very popular, but Facebook gained more credibility and eventually people switched from Orkut to Facebook. By providing proper user experience, Facebook has been able to retain its users and has been giving tough competition to Google+. Similarly, Google was not the first search engine in the market, but by providing better search results, it became the market leader and with time its competitors moved out of market. By maintaining its credibility and popularity, Google has been able to create barriers for new competitors. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

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Fast <keyword id="2842313" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Expanding-Markets">Expanding Markets</keyword> (<keyword id="63066" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Fem">FEM</keyword>), as a new unit of measure, are micro economic indicators which demonstrate the health of a nano economy, based on an exponential acceleration, over a prolonged period of time. These indicators are often hidden in the nuances of macro economic and regression analysis, as we have been doing, in the good old way of thinking where business opportunities are located. It is by looking at our current society in India, that we remind ourselves that Indians traditionally and culturally are known to have a sweet tooth. In the festival of Diwali, probably the biggest festival in the Indian calendar, a long-standing tradition is one of exchanging mithai, the Hindi word for sweets. 
 
Globalization may mean macro changes and yet the micro changes may have macro effects. In more recent times, the traditional mithai shops have taken a hit; Indians seem to be showing a departure in taste palates in favour of the more modern, neatly packed chocolate boxes. These sugary delights especially packaged for Diwali are available anywhere, in the price range of USD 1.5 to USD 100 and more, form the affordable to for the affluent. 
 While <keyword id="35050" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="gdp">GDP</keyword> rates in India have taken a hit in the last three years, and the current budget demonstrates even more concern on the ability to stick to a growing curve, or at least maintaining curve. But while the GDP dilemma is keeping policy makers awake at night, there is one industry, relatively new in its current scale, which is booming, and the growth story is far from complete. 
 
To put things in perspective, the chocolate industry is growing at a rate of nearly 3x that of GDP. Such spiralling high growth rates lead us to believe that the chocolate industry may in fact be a good example of FEM. 
 
Outline India, a research start-up focusing on field data collection within the socio–economic domain, took on this study under their guidance to explore if this was indeed the case, and the result can be summarized in the below infographics. 
 
 
 
India’s current chocolate consumption pattern suggests very low per capita levels of around 1.2 owing to few traditional players and high import tariffs on import of chocolates. This however, leaves ample scope in terms of change in domestic production and consumption rates. To bolster this argument, India’s hot and humid climate is conducive to cocoa production, key to the chocolate industry. As of 2011, India is also the largest milk producer in the world. With the middle class growing, average incomes rising and information asymmetry levels going down, consumers are more aware than ever before, about available choices to them. With more cultural exposure and an urge to appear more western in terms of behaviour and at par with the international consumer, levels of chocolate consumptions are rising, especially among urban Indians. Also cited are health reasons that favour chocolates over the more the more traditional Indian sweets. A majority of these savouries, house a higher number of calories and shorter shelf lives. No longer is chocolate considered a ‘luxury item’ or one meant only for ‘special occasions’. 
 
In terms of what may prove to be a dampener? On the supply side, there have been numerous hurdles; the most important being bad connectivity and infrastructure. As a solution, a majority of the chocolate factories sprung up on the outskirts of big city centres, which were also best entry points for producers. A keen effort is being made to improve supply side channels to ease distribution. For instance, breaking away from the traditional supermarkets and discount stores, the big names such as Ferrero Rocher and Mars are trying to integrate into the lives of the upper middle class Indians by becoming available at the more accessible and approachable grocery stores. Local producers like <keyword id="29464" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle">Parle</keyword> and <keyword id="6357073" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ITC">ITC</keyword> with expansive distribution network are targeting the lower middle class as well, with a wider range of offerings via their pre-existing mom and pop stores or Kirana shops distribution networks. 
 
While the chocolate industry grows at 15% annually, projections put the expected market size at USD 2.8 billion by 2015 and USD 3.2 billion by 2018. 
Current market penetration rates are as low as 6 to 7 % at household level and about 22% in cities. This leaves scope for much change. 
 
One of the best known ad campaigns in the industry by Cadbury read, “Khane ke baad kuch mitha ho jaaye” which translates to Grab something sweet after a meal, only this time, the company was pitching a chocolate, breaking into and away from the traditional Indian household mindset which correlates sweet with mithai. The big guns are going the extra mile to suit the Indian consumer; <keyword id="75190" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nestle">Nestle</keyword> for instance launched a sweeter version of dark chocolate in India. Kraft is looking to invest USD 400 million for cocoa production in India in this decade. GDP may not be the brightest piece of headlines in these days, but while the macro arena gets engaged on issues of aggregate nature, there are small, powerful and fast moving markets, which are creating an entirely new “indian” concept of growth. 
 
((Dr. Amit Kapoor is President and CEO of <keyword id="2773756" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="India-Council-on-Competitiveness-and-Honorary">India Council on Competitiveness and Honorary</keyword> Chairman of Institute for Competitiveness, India. He tweets @kautiliya and can be contacted at <a href="mailto:amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in">amit.kapoor@competitiveness.in</a>. The piece is co-authored with <keyword id="2842315" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mark-Esposito">Mark Esposito</keyword> and <keyword id="2842314" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Terence-Tse">Terence Tse</keyword>)

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