More Indians prefer short vacations, mobile bookings

MUMBAI: For the Indian traveller, a defining characteristic of 2014 was that domestic air ticket sale offers, few and hard to come by in the last few years, went perennial this year. The ever-present advance purchase discount fare offers brought on a new found ease in netting a bargain. And one of the outcomes was that more and more Indians took to tracking airfares and booking short holidays on the go, that is, using mobile phone apps.

"The year witnessed a robust traveller sentiment - airfares were quite affordable on longer advance purchase windows, mobile bookings were incentivized heavily to promote the platform and overall economic indicators looked up. Travellers preferred multiple, short vacations this year," said Rajesh Magow, co-founder and CEO-India, makemytrip, online travel portal.

For Sharat Dhall, president, yatra, an online travel portal, 2014 was the year of long weekends as they saw a huge amount of short-haul travel concentrated around these weekends. "Nearly 50% of our domestic holiday bookings this year happened for the shorter breaks. Most of our weekend packages to destinations close to metros were sold out during these periods which led us to increase our inventory and provide more options to last-minute travellers," Dhall said.



Rajeev Kale, president and COO, MICE, Thomas Cook India said they witnessed a spike in customers who plan short-haul vacations to explore domestic destinations- closer home. "For instance, for Mumbaikars, domestic destinations like the Konkan, Aurangabad, Goa, Daman, Mount Abu, Gujarat etc hold strong allure as quick getaways. Our domestic teams have reported a significant increase of over 35% in bookings to a diverse range of domestic favorites like Coorg, Hampi, Pondicherry, Goa, Konkan, Shimla, Manali, Darjeeling, Digha, Gangtok," said Kale. Neelu Singh, COO, ezeego1, an online travel portal said: "Interest in exploring newer destinations and advance holiday planning have certainly been the two key highlights of 2014."

But the most exciting trend this year according to Dhall was the emergence of the mobile as a significant channel for browsing and booking travel. "We saw close to 30% of our bookings and 40% of our traffic coming via the mobile website and mobile applications. We anticipate in the next few years 50% of our total bookings will come from the mobile platform," Dhall said.

Another trend was the increase in number of Indians who look for more personalised and unique travel experiences. Karan Anand, head, relationships, Cox and Kings said: "The key takeaway for 2014 was the rise in adventure travel and themes based travel products such as culinary holidays, marine tours, expedition cruises etc." Kale said: "For today's Indian consumer, travel is increasingly an exploration of non-traditional offbeat experiences."

As for popular outbound destinations, Thailand continued to be the favorite with Indians, followed by Singapore and Malaysia.

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Trust among Malaysians can make the country a better place.

Zan Azlee wonders if trust can create a better civil society in Malaysia.

If people could trust each other more, then society can be much happier. It wasn’t just trust amongst neighbours and friends, but also trust towards police, government and other institutions.

Apparently, if 10 per cent more people felt they could count on others, then a more positive life satisfaction would be achieved, compared to giving everyone a 50 per cent pay raise.

This was a study conducted by economics Professor John Helliwel from the University of British Columbia, as told by author, Charles Montgomery, in his book Happy City.

This is interesting because it shows that at the end of the day, if you wanted to have a contented and matured society, money really doesn’t play much of an important role.

Now this isn’t exactly a new concept. Helliwell is actually just continuing the thought processes of many different thinkers and intellectuals over the centuries.

Greek philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle always related happiness to the development of society, which eventually led to the Greek concept of eudaimonia.

Eudaumonia, which came about during the glory days of the city of Athens, promoted the idea that personal and societal growth was dependant on public and civic-mindedness.

In the city of Athens, everyone (those who were full citizens and not slaves!) had a voice with which they could express their thoughts on state policies. Everyone participated.

There were large open air theatres where society could gather to have discourse, debate and even heated arguments with one another on how best to improve their lives.

Now, as the tabling of the national budget is about to happen in parliament, a lot of how the quality of life in Malaysia starts to focus around finance and money.

Of course, there is no denying that money and wealth does play an important role in happiness and contentment. But, obviously from the statistics, it isn’t the main thing.

When people are allowed to participate in civil society and given the responsibility to construct the structure that he will live in and live by, it gives them a greater sense of belonging and pride.

But in order for this to truly happen, there needs to  be trust. Friends and neighbours need to trust each other. Citizens need to trust their government and government needs to trust it’s citizens.

Trust that they will be responsible, matured, thoughtful and compassionate. At the end of the day, there needs to be trust that every single person in the country only wants what is best for society.

But then again, even in the greatest Greek city of Athens, their best thinkers and intellectuals were sometimes considered a threat to civil society.

Even Socrates, who was very vocal about youths being a part of civil society, was eventually sentenced to death due to his thoughts and ideas.

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Advertisment expenditure in India may grow 12% in 2015: ZenithOptimedia

KOLKATA: Advertisement expenditure in India can grow 12% to Rs 40,307 crore in 2015 if the current positive consumer and business sentiment holds, according to ForithOptimedia global ad spend forecast. 

This growth will be fuelled by print at 12%, TV at 10% and online and mobile at 25%. Other media are expected to grow between 5% and 10%. 

At the beginning of 2014, the agency had forecast that the Indian advertisement market would grow 10.7%. It is now expected to end the year with at least 10% growth. 

The report categorises India as one of the fast-track Asian markets along with China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. According to it, these economies are growing rapidly as they adopt western technology and practices, while benefiting from the rapid inflow of funds from investors hoping to tap into this growth. 

The Asian advertising market appeared less affected by the 2009 downturn -ad expenditure grew by 7.4% that year -and since then has grown strongly. It is expected to end 2014 with 10.1% growth, and the report predicts that this market will grow by 10-11% a year for the period 2015 to 2017. 

"It has been just over six months of the newly elected government led by PM Narendra Modi. The government seems to have captured the collective consciousness of the country," said Anupriya Acharya, Group CEO, ZenithOptimedia Group. 

"Thus we enter 2015 with a strongly positive consumer and business sentiment, albeit recognising that consistent onground delivery and reforms will be needed to keep this sentiment up. Hence, cautious optimism, though with way more optimism than same time last year, is still the right expression", she added. 

The agency expects consumption to continue to pick up, with passenger car and utility vehicle sales turning positive, credit card spending on the rise, loans for durables growing.From an advertisement expenditure point of view, fast-moving consumer goods will continue their dominance, but given the weak monsoons, some categories might stay flat or have slow growth, Acharya said 

High growth is expected from telecom, e-commerce, mobile phones, cars and two-wheelers, retail, realty and the BFSI (banking, financial services and institutions) sector.

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India to see its first fish hospital in.

India’s first hospital to treat abnormalities and diseases in fish is set to come up in Kolkata by mid-2015

The hospital will have 50 glass aquariums, 25 circular water tanks, each with a capacity of 500 litres, to admit and treat diseased fish. (Image source: Gölin Doorneweerd/sxc.hu)

T J Abraham, senior scientist, spearheading the project told news agency PTI that the work has already started on the project.

He said that nearly 60-65 kinds of disease and abnormality were found in fish in India and the one reason why West Bengal slipped from the number one position in fish production was due to the fact that 10-20 per cent of them died of diseases.

“Such hospitals are quite common in foreign countries,” Abraham, a senior fish microbiologist with the West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences, said.

The institute will not only help fish farmers increase yield by reducing the number of fish deaths, but will also ensure that people will consume healthy fish.

The hospital will have 50 glass aquariums, 25 circular water tanks, each with a capacity of 500 litres, to admit and treat diseased fish.

The hospital will also have a separate well-equipped pathological lab to diagnose various fish diseases.

He said that the diseased fish would be kept in aquariums for observation and after ascertaining the disease/ abnormality, medicines and tips would be provided to the growers.

The hospital, which is funded by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, under the Union Ministry of Agriculture, has a budget of US$815,321.

Abraham said that the hospital would document diseases affecting fish in West Bengal to be forwarded to the World Animal Health Organisation, Paris, of which India is a member.

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Indian Smartphone Market Fastest Growing In Asia-Pac. Logs 27% Quarterly Growth

The smartphone market in India grew at a phenomenal rate of 27% over the last three months according to latest figures released by International Data Corporation (IDC). Infact, India registered the highest quarterly growth rate among all other emerging markets in the Asia/ Pacific region, thanks to the festive season which pushed up the demand for new devices, taking it to never before levels.

Growth Rate – Smartphones Vs Feature Phones

The smartphone market share has increased by 3% over the last three months, obviously at the cost of feature phones, which inversely came down by 3%

While the overall quarterly growth rate for the region was put at 3%, the fact that Indian market grew by 27% over the same period shows how rapidly the Indians are gearing up themselves and how internet penetration in the region will see an upsurge owing to that.

Annual Growth – Smartphones Vs Feature Phones

Smartphone penetration in the Asian pacific region is on the rise. The percentage of smartphone users among those who owned a mobile has increased from 19% in Q3 2013 to 32% in Q3 2014-a very healthy growth rate of 13% while the sale of feature phones has fallen. Only 68% mobile owners now own a feature device, as compared to 81% of them a year back.

Total Units Sold in Q3 2014

A total of 72.5 million mobile phones were sold during the Q3 2014, of which 23.3 mn were smartphones while 49.2 mn were feature phones. Only 12.8 million units had been sold over the corresponding period of CY2013.

That represents a 15% quarterly growth and 9% annual growth rate in the smartphone market.

Preferred Screen Size 4.5- 5.5 Inches

IDC also found devices with 4.5-5.5 inch screens to be the most popular, while the sale of phablets (phones with 5.5-6.99 inch screens) almost stagnated. Only 6% of the smartphone buyers showed love for gadgets with screens larger than 5.5 inches.

However, Kiran Kumar from IDC India believes that the phablet market will pick up once again after the 4G services are rolled out in 2015. With high speed internet, consumers might prefer to view content over larger screens.

Market Share of Smartphone Vendors in India

Though Samsung sits pretty at the top of the table when talking of smartphone vendor share in the country (with a sizeable 24% share of the market), the Indian brand Micromax is catching up with the Korean manufacturer by making rapid strides.

Not only is the growth rate of devices shipped by Samsung during Q3 2014 below the industry average, their nearest rival Micromax has come too close for comfort with a 20% hold over the market. They, incidentally, have grown from 18% to 20%.

Lava has emerged as the third largest smartphone vendor in India with two brands- Lava and Xolo both registering a healthy growth in their market share.

Karbonn continues to be popular for those looking for smartphones priced below $100 while Motorola also staging a comeback in the mobile market with the second generation of their handsets getting a good response.

Market Forecast

The huge increase in demand for smartphones over the last three months was largely due to increased spending and the Indian choosing to splurge over the festive season. It is highly unlikely that the smartphone market will continue to grow at the same rate as the last quarter in the coming months as well.

“With positive consumer sentiments and low levels of inflation, consumers will have more money to spend. The majority of the smartphone users change their phones within 12 to 24 months. With 44 million units shipped in CY2013 and the current market scenario hinting at 80 million plus shipments in CY2014, we have a big chunk of end-user market which is awaiting refresh,” said Karan Thakkar Senior Market Analyst at IDC India.

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Indian Software Market Grows 10.7 Percent in H1 2014: IDC

Political  stability and improving economic sentiments have helped the software market in India grow by 10.7 percent in January-June 2014 period as compared to first half of previous year, research firm IDC said Monday.

The formation of a stable NDA government resulted in some amount of positivity in the market which reflected in IT investments by major verticals like banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), retail, manufacturing and e-commerce, IDC said in a statement.

The period also saw few of the big vendors closing major deals which were in the pipeline since early 2013 but did not materialise owing to economic and political uncertainties, it added.

Though IDC did not disclose the size of the market in the first half of 2014, it had pegged the Indian IT software market at Rs. 10,913 crores in January-June 2013 period.

IDC expects the software market to grow at a stable pace in the next five years (2014-2018) with a healthy CAGR of 10.5 percent.

Some of the areas which are expected to witness software uptake are mobile application development & mobile device management, security software, system software, analytics and engineering applications, IDC said.

In the January-June 2014 period, Microsoft led with 31.8 percent share of the software vendor market, followed by Oracle at 12 percent, SAP (6.5 percent), IBM (5.5 percent) and Synopsys (4.2 percent).

BFSI, manufacturing and communication & media were the top verticals which invested in upgrades and new licenses.

Some of the sectors to watch out for in future include entertainment, retail, e-commerce, education and hospitality, IDC said.

"There has been a shift in the mindset of users across these industries. IT investments are now made not only for process improvements but also for growing business opportunities and improving customer experience," it added.

Some of the solutions which were readily accepted across verticals included customer analytics, mobile solutions, cloud solutions, customer management solutions, omni-channel management systems, data loss prevention etc.

Government initiatives like Mobile Seva, Digital India, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and the likes will be instrumental in triggering adoption of software solutions in the coming years, IDC said.

Launch of various schemes and policies is expected to catalyse software uptake by manufacturing, retail, travel & tourism and BFSI in the coming 2-3 years, it added.

"Large as well as SMB (small and medium business) customers are looking at ways to curb their capital expenditure and are keen to embark on the cloud journey," IDC India Senior Market Analyst (Software) Shweta Baidya said.

This has led the vendors to make their licensing policies more flexible and easier so that existing customers could smoothly transition to a cloud environment, she added.

There has also been a rise in adoption of open source software, especially among the SMB segment which is shying away from blocking its capital on expensive proprietary software.

Small and co-operative banks, retail and telecommunication sectors are looking at customised solutions based on open source platform for greater flexibility and cost reduction, it said.

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More sectors in China opened to foreign investment

China has proposed cutting by more than half the number of sectors restricted or off limits to foreign investors.

After one month for soliciting opinions, the new guidelines will be submitted to the State Council and are expected to come into force by the end of the year, said Wang Dong, deputy director general of the Department of Foreign Capital and Overseas Investment under the National Development and Reform Commission.

The new draft, which is posted on the NDRC website, decreases the number of restricted sectors from 79 to 35.

Sectors with reduced restrictions include steel, ethylene, refining, papermaking, coal chemical equipment, automotive electronics, lifting appliances, electric transmission and transformation equipment, branch railway lines, subways, international ocean shipping, e-commerce, finance companies and chain stores, according to officials at the NDRC.

"The new version of the catalogue will further facilitate foreign investment, and it shows our strong commitment to opening up and optimizing the investment environment for foreign investors," Wang said.

In addition, the number of sectors currently limited to joint ventures and partnerships has been cut from 43 to 11, while those requiring a majority Chinese investment have been cut from 44 to 22.

The requirement of having a Chinese investment has been cancelled in sectors such as papermaking enterprises, automotive electronics and yacht design and manufacturing, according to the NDRC.

Zhang Jianping, senior researcher at the Institute for International Economic Research under the NDRC, said the latest changes have been made against a backdrop that more cities might open free trade zones similar to the one in Shanghai.

Wang said the move will better emphasize the market's role.

Modern agriculture, high technology, advanced manufacturing, energy efficiency and environmental protection, new energy and modern service industries are encouraged, he said.

From January to September, the value of China's foreign direct investment decreased by 1.4 percent to $87.3 billion from the same period the year before.

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53% Indians hooked to internet every hour, beat global average

Fifty-three per cent of Indians are connected to the internet every waking hour, which is higher than the global average of 51 per cent, a new international study has found.

“The continuous online connectivity is becoming a phenomenon in India with 53 per cent of respondents in the country saying they are connected to the internet every waking hour,” said the study conducted by the London-based AT Kearney Global Research.

“That is higher than 51 per cent global average, 36 per cent in China and 39 per cent in Japan,” said the study titled “Connected Consumers Are Not Created Equal: A Global Perspective.”

The study covered 10 countries involving 10,000 respondents in July 2014.

The results of the study found that continuous connectivity is having a big impact on online retail in the country with social networks becoming a major influencing factor.

“97 per cent of the respondents from India said they have a Facebook account with 77 per cent saying they logged in to the social network daily,” said the study.

According to the study, there are three key motivations for Indian people to be continuously connected to internet.

First is interpersonal connection in which 94 per cent of respondents said that connecting with other people is a key motivation for going online.

This factor is the highest among Indian respondents.

Second factor, according to the study, is self-expression, which is sharing opinions with others through the internet.

The study says this factor is particularly strong in emerging markets and places where offline self-expression is limited.

In India 88 per cent of respondents cited this as a factor for staying connected to the internet.

It is a big motivator in China as well where 89 per cent cited it as a reason to be connected to the internet compared to the global average of 62 per cent.

The third motivation is access to services or products and making purchases online.

On this front, 92 per cent of the Indian respondents said th

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