Plastic surgery industry set to become world's 3rd largest

A doctor prepares a patient for breast-enhancement surgery at a hospital in Hefei, Anhui province, in July. (Photo/China Daily)

China's cosmetic surgery industry will be valued at 400 billion yuan ($62.6 billion) by the end of this year and is expected to double in size to 800 billion yuan by 2019.

If growth continues as expected, China will be the world's third largest market after the United States and Brazil by 2019, according to the latest industry trend report.

The report, issued by the China Association of Plastics and Aesthetics on Monday, found that more than seven million Chinese people, mostly women, went under the knife in the name of beauty last year. Roughly 60,000 of them chose to go to South Korea.

Ten percent more foreigners have come to China for plastic surgery year-on-year for the past five years, although a great number of Chinese also traveled abroad, mostly to South Korea, the report found.

"Cosmetic procedures have grown incredibly in China as an increasing number of women go under the knife to get ahead," said Chen Yuzhe, a CAPA member, at the launch.

"With deeper pockets and enhanced awareness, there will be more room for the industry to grow here."

In the past decade, the industry has increased in China by 30 percent each year on average, said the report. The most popular procedures include those on the eyes and nose, such as double eyelid surgery and nasal bridge augmentation, breast enhancements and liposuction.

Worldwide, breast enlargement is the most popular procedure, but not in China.

For instance, the US records 300,000 breast enhancements each year while in China 50,000 to 100,000 are performed, according to Du Xiaoyan, vice-secretary general of the association.

"Chinese women are more reluctant than Westerners to go for breast enhancements," Du said.

Chen pointed out that the China figure could be an underestimate as "some go to unqualified clinics so they are not on our radar".

China now has more than 10,000 plastic surgery clinics and the number is increasing by 30 percent each year, said the report.

However, due to a lack of regulations or strict management controls, unqualified practitioners also operate, leading to medical disputes and dangers to customers' health and safety, Du said.

She cautioned "beauty chasers", people going to South Korea for plastic surgery, since fewer than 3,000 of the more than 10,000 physicians performing plastic surgery in South Korea are authorized.

To help improve safety and quality control, CAPA plans to launch a data platform to collect and assess data from different institutions and track surgeries performed within the country, Du said.

 

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October sales in festive mode: PVs up 21%, M&CVs 23%, LCVs 6.83%, 2W 13%

The festive season has seen a heartening swing towards an upsurge in sales of passenger cars and scooters during the month of October 2015 with a growth of 21.80 percent and 36.80 percent respectively witnessed by the two segments with passenger vehicles growing at an overall 21.46 percent growth rate according to the latest SIAM data for the month.
The last couple of months have seen a recovery as per the industry sales numbers and SIAM is optimistic of the industry ending this financial year with a high single digit growth.
Sugato Sen, deputy director general of SIAM, who had earlier told Autocar Professional that the PV segment was likely to end with a growth ranging between 6-8 percent, is bullish that it could end between 8-10 percent seeing the return of positive market sentiments and decline in interest rates and fuel prices.
Between April-October, the overall auto industry grew 2.46 percent while PVs grew 8.51 percent with cars seeing a rise of 11.52 percent, utility vehicles flat at 0.94 percent and vans growing marginally at 1.38 percent.
Commercial vehicles, which are driven by commercial demand with purchases not affected by the festive season, rose 12.73 percent with M&HCVs up 23.97 percent. Vishnu Mathur, director general of SIAM, says that since last month even LCVs are showing an improvement and have turned positive in October at a growth of 6.83 percent after 29 months of declining fortunes. This is an indicator that the economy is showing an improvement and sales are starting to pick up. In the rural markets, motorcycle sales are still to pick up. CVs being dependent on investment cycles and movement of goods are showing a growth due to infrastructure development projects, while LCV sales fared better in October due to replacement demand by small time operators. Operators are making purchases after almost two years to replace old and ageing vehicles.
However, three-wheelers continued their decline at 8.47 percent during April-October with motorcycles de-growing at 2.57 percent and mopeds at 5.26 percent. Overall, the two-wheeler segment posted a marginal growth of 1.72 percent on the back of new scooter launches.
Exports grew 5.78 percent during this period with PVs rising 6.34 percent, CVs growing 17.95 percent with M&HCVs up 12.60 percent and LCVs growing at a higher 20.90 percent.
Three-wheelers saw an uptick of 18.59 percent while two-wheelers rose 3.22 percent.
During October, the auto industry grew 13.91 percent with PVs up 21.46 percent and CVs saw an uptick of 12.73 percent with M&HCVs growing 23.97 percent and LCVs 6.83 percent; three-wheelers showed a marginal improvement of 0.10 percent and two-wheelers grew 13.31 percent.
However, exports de-grew 5.56 percent with the highest decline registered by PVs at 21.83 percent, followed by the M&HCV segment at 15.54 percent, two-wheelers at 11.73 percent, three-wheelers at 8.85 percent. LCV exports however grew at 5.71 percent.
The industry body maintains that the recent election results in Bihar will not impact the growth of the auto industry as the current growth momentum that is being experienced by the industry is despite any major reforms having taken place in the country. Being a state election it will not impact central government policies.

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India among 5 fastest-growing markets with 275 million new air passengers

India’s airlines are expected to post a lower combined loss of $550-550 million in the year to 31 March, down from the June estimates of $680-750 million, according to consulting firm Capa India in its India outlook report released in October. Photo: Bloomberg

Mumbai: India is among the five fastest-growing aviation markets globally with 275 million new passengers and will displace the UK as the third largest in 2026.
India has bounced back from a subdued 2014, and is seeing a strong increase in domestic frequencies, according to International Air Transport Association (IATA), a lobby group that represents nearly 260 airlines, comprising 83% of global air traffic.
“The five fastest-increasing markets in terms of additional passengers per year over the forecast period will be China (758 million new passengers for a total of 1.196 billion), the US (523 million for a total of 1.156 billion), India (275 million for a total of 378 million), Indonesia (132 million for a total of 219 million) and Brazil (104 million for a total of 202 million),” IATA data showed on Thursday.
In terms of routes, Asian, South American and African destinations will see the fastest growth, reflecting economic and demographic growth in those markets, IATA said.
“Indonesia-East Timor will be the fastest growing route, at 13.9%, followed by India-Hong Kong (10.4%), within Honduras (10.3%), within Pakistan (9.9%) and United Arab Emirates-Ethiopia (9.5%),” it said.
Globally, China is expected to overtake the US as the world’s largest passenger market (defined by traffic to, from and within) by 2026. It will account for some 1.19 billion passengers, 758 million more than 2014 with an average annual growth rate of 5.2%.
India will displace the UK as the third-largest market in 2026, with Indonesia rising to number five in the world, IATA noted as one of the key trends in the 10 largest air passenger markets.
“The demand for air transport continues to grow. There is much work to be done to prepare for the 7 billion passengers expected to take the skies in 2034,” said Tony Tyler, IATA’s director general and chief executive officer.
Incidentally, passengers carried by Indian airlines during January-October 2015 touched 66.06 million, against 55.06 million during the corresponding period the previous year, registering a growth of 19.96%, according to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
India’s airlines are expected to post a lower combined loss of $550-550 million in the year to 31 March, down from the June estimates of $680-750 million, according to consulting firm Capa India in its India outlook report released in October.
To cash in on the momentum in passenger demand, IndiGo, India’s largest domestic airline by passengers, confirmed an order to buy as many as 250 Airbus A320neo single-aisle jetliners last month. At the listed price, the order is worth $26.5 billion.
IndiGo has confirmed that robust passenger demand was one of factors that led to the confirmation.
In 2005, IndiGo placed an order for 100 A320s, all of which have been delivered.
Jet Airways (India) Ltd on 10 November said it will buy 75 fuel-efficient Boeing 737 MAX aircraft at a list price of $8 billion from Boeing Co., as India’s second-largest airline races to catch up with rivals who have previously ordered similar planes.
This is the single-largest aircraft order yet from Jet, which will start taking delivery of the planes from mid-2018.
Another listed airline, SpiceJet Ltd, is also considering placing a large aircraft order to capitalise on the boom in passenger growth.



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Automobile Industry in India

Introduction

The Indian auto industry is one of the largest in the world with an annual production of 23.37 million vehicles in FY 2014-15, following a growth of 8.68 per cent over the last year.
The automobile industry accounts for 7.1 per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
The Two Wheelers segment with 81 per cent market share is the leader of the Indian Automobile market owing to a growing middle class and a young population. Moreover, the growing interest of the companies in exploring the rural markets further aided the growth of the sector. The overall Passenger Vehicle (PV) segment has 13 per cent market share.
India is also a prominent auto exporter and has strong export growth expectations for the near future. In FY 2014-15, automobile exports grew by 15 per cent over the last year. In addition, several initiatives by the Government of India and the major automobile players in the Indian market are expected to make India a leader in the Two Wheeler (2W) and Four Wheeler (4W) market in the world by 2020.

Market Size

The industry produced a total 14.25 million vehicles including PVs, commercial vehicles (CVs), three wheelers (3W) and 2W in April-October 2015 as against 13.83 in April-October 2014, registering a marginal growth of 3.07 per cent year-on-year.
The sales of PVs grew by 8.51 per cent in April-October 2015 over the same period last year. The overall CVs segment registered a growth of 8.02 per cent in April-October 2015 as compared to same period last year. Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs) registered very strong growth of 32.3 per cent while sales of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) reduced by 5.24 per cent during April-October 2015 year-on-year.
In April-October 2015, overall automobile exports grew by 5.78 per cent. PVs, CVs, 3Ws and 2Ws registered growth of 6.34 per cent, 17.95 per cent, 18.59 per cent and 3.22 per cent respectively in April-October 2015 over April- October 2014.

Investments

In order to keep up with the growing demand, several auto makers have started investing heavily in various segments of the industry during the last few months. The industry has attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) worth US$ 13.48 billion during the period April 2000 to June 2015, according to data released by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP).
Some of the major investments and developments in the automobile sector in India are as follows:

• Global auto major Ford plans to manufacture in India two families of engines by 2017, a 2.2 litre diesel engine codenamed Panther, and a 1.2 litre petrol engine codenamed Dragon, which are expected to power 270,000 Ford vehicles globally.
• The world’s largest air bag suppliers Autoliv Inc, Takata Corp, TRW Automotive Inc and Toyoda Gosei Co are setting up plants and increasing capacity in India.
• General Motors plans to invest US$ 1 billion in India by 2020, mainly to increase the capacity at the Talegaon plant in Maharashtra from 130,000 units a year to 220,000 by 2025.
• US-based car maker Chrysler has planned to invest Rs 3,500 crore (US$ 525 million) in Maharashtra, to manufacture Jeep Grand Cherokee model.
• Mercedes Benz has decided to manufacture the GLA entry SUV in India. The company has doubled its India assembly capacity to 20,000 units per annum.
• Germany-based luxury car maker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG’s (BMW) local unit has announced to procure components from seven India-based auto parts makers.
• Mahindra Two Wheelers Limited (MTWL) acquired 51 per cent shares in France-based Peugeot Motorcycles (PMTC).

Government Initiatives

The Government of India encourages foreign investment in the automobile sector and allows 100 per cent FDI under the automatic route.
Some of the major initiatives taken by the Government of India are:

• Government of India aims to make automobiles manufacturing the main driver of ‘Make in India’ initiative, as it expects passenger vehicles market to triple to 9.4 million units by 2026, as highlighted in the Auto Mission Plan (AMP) 2016-26.
• In the Union budget of 2015-16, the Government has announced to provide credit of Rs 850,000 crore (US$ 127.5 billion) to farmers, which is expected to boost the tractors segment sales.
• The Government plans to promote eco-friendly cars in the country i.e. CNG based vehicle, hybrid vehicle, and electric vehicle and also made mandatory of 5 per cent ethanol blending in petrol.
• The government has formulated a Scheme for Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in India, under the National Electric Mobility Mission 2020 to encourage the progressive induction of reliable, affordable and efficient electric and hybrid vehicles in the country.
• The Automobile Mission Plan (AMP) for the period 2006–2016, designed by the government is aimed at accelerating and sustaining growth in this sector. Also, the well-established Regulatory Framework under the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, plays a part in providing a boost to this sector.

Road Ahead

India’s automotive industry is one of the most competitive in the world. It does not cover 100 per cent of technology or components required to make a car but it is giving a good 97 per cent, as highlighted by Mr Vicent Cobee, Corporate Vice-President, Nissan Motor’s Datsun.
Leading auto maker Maruti Suzuki expects Indian passenger car market to reach four million units by 2020, up from 1.97 million units in 2014-15.
The Indian automotive sector has the potential to generate up to US$ 300 billion in annual revenue by 2026, create 65 million additional jobs and contribute over 12 per cent to India’s Gross Domestic Product, as per the Automotive Mission Plan 2016-26 prepared jointly by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and government.
Exchange Rate Used: INR 1 = US$ 0.0151 as on November 15, 2015


                                       http://www.ibef.org/industry/india-automobiles.aspx



 

$3 billion of foreign capital in casinos, GDP up by 0.58%, research

VietNamNet Bridge - If foreign investment in the casino business increases by about $3 billion compared to the current level, Vietnam’s GDP will rise by 0.58% in the first year, according to research conducted by the Institute for Regional Sustainable Development (IRSD).

Illustrative image. Photo: Dan Tri

The research indicates that the gambling industry and legal casinos can bring about significant benefits, such as an increase in budget revenue, creation of employment and improvement of income of local workers, attraction of investment and tourists, strengthening of trade and reduction of flow of foreign currency.

According to the research, if foreign investment in the casino industry increases by about $3 billion compared to the current level, Vietnam’s GDP will increase by around 0.58%.

The researchers also said that sociological findings indicate changes in people's perceptions about the gambling industry and casinos, with 71% of respondents saying that if casinos are open to Vietnamese people, they will attract many players; 64.7% say the gambling industry will help increase budget revenue; 47.4% have a positive view on the creation of employment by the casino industry; and 46.2% say they will have a positive influence on investment attraction.

Dr. Nguyen Dinh Chuc, IRSD Deputy Head, said the research also indicates the possible social impact of this industry such as reduction of labor productivity, increase of organized crime and family problems, indebtedness, and bankruptcy. However, the social impact is not always negative, and international experience has shown successful control measures. 

In Vietnam, the gambling industry in general and casinos in particular are managed strictly. There are 64 lottery companies, eight casinos, two places for sports betting, and 43 centers of bonus electronic game in the country. Casinos and electronic gambling points are only open to foreigners.

As reported by the Ministry of Finance, last year the lottery business earned revenue of VND64 trillion, and paid taxes of approximately VND20 trillion. For casino business, revenue in 2014 reached VND1,379 billion and tax revenue was VND336 billion.

There are no official statistics for illegal gambling activities but according to reports from the Ministry of Public Security, 345 people were arrested last year for gambling, with the total money for gambling reaching more than VND10,000 billion.

IRSD’s survey in Tay Ninh province showed that on average about 200 Vietnamese people crossed the border to Cambodian casinos. The number increased to 700-800 people/day during the weekend.

Annual revenue of Cambodian casinos is estimated at around $250 million, and the majority of players are Vietnamese.

"Actually, gambling and casino management in the form of prohibition is becoming inefficient because it cannot help prevent illegal gambling activities and causes a budget deficit. Meanwhile, Vietnamese people are free to gamble in the casinos in Cambodia. It means that Vietnam still needs to manage all of the negative effects from operation of casinos but it does not earn any benefits," Chuc said.

Chuc said that, based on the findings, the researchers proposed that Vietnamese players would be allowed to participate in some types of gambling and bonus games in large-scale resorts in places located far away from densely populated urban areas.

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More foreign bankers to set foot in Vietnam

VietNamNet Bridge - The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), in which member countries will open up to 70 percent of their banks to foreign investors, is believed to pave the way for more and more bankers to seek business opportunities in Vietnam.

Dr. Can Van Luc from the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) believes that many new banks will join the Vietnamese market by the end of 2015 or early 2016.

Vietnam, a member of AEC, will have to accept foreign ownership ratio of up to 70 percent in Vietnamese banks, much higher than the ceiling foreign ownership ratio of 30 percent applied to bankers from other regions. 

The foreign ownership ratio will be a maximum of 49 percent in insurance and securities companies.

“This is why I strongly believe that more foreign banks will come to Vietnam in 2016,” Luc said.

The Vietnamese finance & banking market received one more foreign member when Public Bank Berhard (PBB) from Malaysia, a joint venture bank with BIDV, shifted to become a 100 percent foreign owned bank.

The PBB’s decision has raised the number of operational foreign banks in Vietnam to six. There are also 43 foreign bank branches and 49 foreign bank representative offices now operational in Vietnam.

Infornet quoted Ms. Nguyen Thuy Duong, Partner of Ernst & Young Vietnam (EY Vietnam) as saying that number of foreign banks in Vietnam will be increasing after AEC is established by the end of the year.

“Foreign bankers are eyeing the Vietnamese market and they are just awaiting the official admission tickets,” she said.

An analyst noted that South Korean and Indian banks are attempting to penetrate the Vietnamese market.

According to Luc, the 70 percent foreign ownership ratio principle will be valid as soon as AEC forms. However, with the ASEAN Minus X principle, some less developed economies would follow specific integration process, which means that Vietnam may not have to accept the maximum 70 percent foreign ownership immediately.

This means that Vietnam can open its banks step by step, by 40 percent, 50 percent or 60 percent, depending on the government’s negotiations.

In fact, many foreign bankers have been trying to “take a shortcut” to Vietnam by buying shares of Vietnamese operational banks. However, no successful deals have been reported recently. 

According to Luc, many negotiations failed because the involved parties could not reach agreements on business valuation. This is partially because Vietnam still lacks independent business valuation firms. 

Luc also said it was necessary to simplify administrative procedures, emphasizing that complicated procedures will discourage investors, who want to wrap up deals quickly to avoid missing opportunities.

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Pharma Sector's Struggle To Tighten Standards Paves Way For M&A Deals

India's smaller generic drugmakers, struggling to cope with a bruised reputation and tougher regulation in the United States, are under pressure to consider branching out to new, less-profitable markets or sell out to larger rivals.

Two years after its most high-profile regulatory setback to date in the United States - Ranbaxy's $500 million US fine for drug safety violations - India's $15 billion a year generic drug industry is still rebuilding its image in its biggest market.

Many of its top firms are facing sanctions at some of their factories, as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tightens checks and its approvals process.

Combined with government-mandated price controls on drugs at home, that is piling pressure on smaller players.

"If they want to have a presence globally, they have to make investments. If they can't, then they'll have to focus on other markets or scale back their ambition outside of India, and that's probably what will happen," said Subhanu Saxena, CEO of Cipla, India's fourth-largest drugmaker by revenue.

Ashok Anand, president of Hikal Ltd, a Mumbai-based drugmaker with a market value of $167 million, said some peers were putting themselves on the block.

"If they cannot deal with the stricter regulations, they might just prefer to sell out," he said.

Pressure on US sales has been felt across the Indian industry, with all drugmakers hit by delays in FDA approvals as the US safety body overhauls its review process. Growth in US revenue for drugmakers slowed to 14 per cent in the year to March 2015, less than half what it was in the year to March 2012, according to brokerage Edelweiss.

But for larger players who want to plug gaps or, for the likes of Glenmark and Aurobindo who aim to grow in theUnited States, this pressure has lowered prices and could pave the way for attractive deals, bankers said.

"Now that some of the smaller companies are reeling under intensive regulatory scrutiny and want to cash out on their investments, valuations would be much more realistic," said the head of India M&A at a large European bank in Mumbai.

Spending Spree
Indian manufacturers say they have spent millions in high-end testing equipment, improved training and have hired larger teams in quality control since Ranbaxy was fined for manipulating clinical data.

Some consultants estimate spending on compliance has more than doubled to reach about 6 to 7 per cent of sales for the larger companies.

But while the number of US export bans issued to Indian companies fell to eight in 2014 from 21 in 2013, according to FDA data, the agency continues to find manufacturing violations at the plants of some of the biggest drugmakers in the country, an indication of the pervasiveness of the problem.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Wockhardt, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Cadila Healthcare have all faced FDA rebukes over the past year.

Smaller firms Ipca and Aarti Drugs faced FDA bans on their plants this year.

These failures - which executives blame on India's "quick fix" culture and consultants blame on a failure to prioritise compliance - have clouded short-term growth prospects and added to pressure on smaller players, pushing some to look elsewhere.

"They can choose to be in lesser-regulated markets, such as Latin America, where there is a lot of demand. But they will have to live with much thinner margins," said the finance director of a small Indian drugmaker, who did not want to be named. "It's survival of the fittest."

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Home | Laptops | Laptops News Ethernet Switch, Router Market in India Sees 20 Percent Growth: IDC

The ethernet switch and router market in India has seen a 20 percent year-on-year growth, the International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Monday.

Calendar year 2014 was one of the best years for the networking market (local area network and wireless local area network included) in India with over 20 percent growth year on year, it said in a report released here, adding that a similar pattern is expected in 2015 which will draw boost from government initiatives and organisations willing to invest in future technologies.

"Government initiatives and increasing adoption of third platform by the enterprises is pushing the need for smart network solutions that can sustain the growth of unstructured network traffic. Upcoming verticals like e-commerce, healthcare and hospitality along with traditional ones are expected to drive future investments," said Gaurav Sharma, research manager, enterprise computing,IDC India.

The ethernet switch market clocked end-revenue of $124 million (roughly Rs. 787 crores) during the first quarter of 2015, with a slight decrease quarter on quarter (-0.8 percent) but an impressive growth of 15.1 percent year on year.

The router market stood at a total of $69.4 million (roughly Rs. 441 crores), dipping 13.6 percent year on year and three percent quarter on the quarter.

According to IDC, organisations are increasingly taking interest in the third platform technologies to leverage its benefits in workforce optimisation, supply chain, customer experience and efficient resource utilisation.

It also said that the IP-based security-surveillance market is also likely to take a faster route giving vendors, small or big, an opportunity to grow.

Further, the small and medium businesses (SMBs) are likely to offer similar growth to the market and the verticals, like any other traditional segment to benefit from mobility and network optimisation solutions, it added.

According to the report, Cisco retained its dominance in the switch and router market, increasing its revenue quarter on quarter as well as year on year

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Puma top global lifestyle brand in India

German sporting lifestyle major Puma has quietly emerged as the top international brand in India by revenue, upstaging its direct rivals like Adidas and fashion apparel names such as Benetton and Zara, according the regulatory filings.

BENGALURU: German sporting lifestyle major Puma has quietly emerged as the top international brand in India by revenue, upstaging its direct rivals like Adidas and fashion apparel names such as Benetton and Zara, according the regulatory filings.

The local operations of Puma SE, part of the French luxury goods conglomerate Kering now, reported domestic revenue of Rs 766 crore during the calendar year 2014, showed the company's filings with Registrar of Companies last week. This was ahead of Adidas (Rs 719 crore), Nike (Rs 624 crore), Benetton (Rs 594 crore), Levi's (Rs 599 crore) and Zara (Rs 580 crore) in FY14.

Puma follows calendar year for reporting business numbers, while most of the other brands like Benetton and Zara follow April-to-March financial year, and their latest numbers are not yet in public domain. A recent media report said Zara reported Rs 721 crore and Benetton is said to have clocked Rs 802 crore in FY15. Puma, growing at about 30% in the first six months, is on pace for Rs 900 crore revenue this calendar year. Puma will be marginally trailing homegrown Madura Fashion & Lifestyle's Louis Phillipe in the overall brand sweepstakes by company revenue.

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Vietnamese users prefer low-cost tablets: GfK

About 582,000 tablets were sold in Viet Nam in the first five months of the year, registering a 34 per cent year-on-year increase, GfK market research agency said.

Apple's iPad Mini Wifi 16GB with a 7.9 inch screen. Vietnamese customers have a high demand of low-cost small-screen tablets in the first five months of the year, GfK market research agency said. Photo thegioididong.com

In a report released on July 6, GfK said the growth was fuelled by high demands for low-cost small-screen tablets.

As many as 76 per cent of the tablets were priced lower than US$300, compared with 50 per cent during the same period last year. In the high-end segment, tablets costing more than $500 accounted for 14 per cent, compared with 29 per cent in the same period last year.

In the middle segment, tablets costing $300 to $500 comprised 11 per cent of the sold units, marking a 11 per cent year-on-year fall. The number of brands in the Vietnamese tablet market dropped from 56 to 49.

Customers preferred tablets with screens measuring 7.9 inches or smaller. Seven out of 10 tablets sold during the period were of this segment, higher than that in 2014.

GfK Vietnam Managing Director Tran Khoa Van said the tablet market would witness higher sales in the third quarter with many promotions to be offered on the occasion of the opening of the school year in September. He said the sales of tablets this year might reach about 1.9 million units.

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Chronic constipation affecting urban India's quality of life: Survey

• IANS, Kolkata
| 
• Updated: Jun 17, 2015 22:04 IST

FMT involves the delivery of stool from a healthy pre-screened donor to a person with gastrointestinal conditions associated with changes in the gut flora. (Shutterstock)

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Bhaskor Banerjee had a tough time dealing with it in Piku, but in reality, chronic constipation has significantly affected urban India's quality of life, a survey claimed on Wednesday.

Chronic constipation significantly impacts people's quality of life due to lack of sleep, and mental and physical stress, compared to those who do not have constipation, according to the "Gut-Health Survey".

It said 14% of India's urban population suffer from chronic constipation, an inability to pass stool for more than three times a week and for more than three months at a stretch.

The findings showed 60% of people with chronic constipation opted for home remedies as the most preferred treatment option for relief.

However, half the people who self-medicate eventually visited a doctor for cure, said the survey.

Irritability, lack of interest in work, mood swings, worry and embarrassment were the most common effects, noted among 3,500 individuals across six Indian cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Coimbatore.

The findings highlighted that incidence of constipation was higher in India than the worldwide average of 10%.

Leading causes for constipation were significantly higher frequency of eating non-vegetarian food, low water intake, snacking and eating fried, oily, spicy, junk and processed food.

The survey said: "Three out of four people with chronic constipation said it leads to other medical problems/complications with piles and haemorrhoids, ulcers, abdominal pain and anal fissures as the leading issues."

"While the relief to this nagging issue is easy, people with constipation generally try out multiple self-medication options and come to a doctor only after the issue has become chronic.

"Untreated constipation can lead to complications like faecal incontinence, haemorrhoids and anal fissures. Greater awareness, timely action, lifestyle modifications and eating right can help people lead a healthy and active life," said Jyoti Ranjan Mohapatra, consultant gastrointestinal and liver diseases, associated with Peerless/Apollo Hospital.

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Rural Indian children receive wrong treatments for deadly ailments: Study

DURHAM, NC - Few health care providers in rural India know the correct treatments for childhood diarrhea and pneumonia – two leading killers of young children worldwide. But even when they do, they rarely prescribe them properly, according to a new Duke University study.

Medical practitioners typically fail to prescribe lifesaving treatments such as oral rehydration salts (ORS). Instead, they typically prescribe unnecessary antibiotics or other potentially harmful drugs, said Manoj Mohanan, a professor in Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, and lead author of the study.

Diarrhea and pneumonia accounted for 24 percent of deaths among children 1 to 4 years old, totaling approximately 2 million deaths worldwide in 2011. Bihar, India – where the study was conducted – has an infant mortality rate of 55 per 1000 live births, the highest in the country.

“The Know-Do Gap in Quality of Health Care for Childhood Diarrhea and Pneumonia in Rural India” will be published online Feb. 16, 2015, by JAMA Pediatrics.

“We know from previous studies that providers in rural settings have little medical training and their knowledge of how to treat these two common and deadly ailments is low,” Mohanan said.

“Eighty percent in our study had no medical degree. But much of India’s rural population receives care from such untrained providers, and very few studies have been able to rigorously measure the gap between what providers know and what they do in practice.”

The study involved 340 health care providers. Researchers conducted “vignette” interviews with providers to assess how they would diagnose and treat a hypothetical case. Later, standardized patients – individuals who portrayed patients presenting the same symptoms as in the interviews – made unannounced visits. This strategy enabled researchers to measure the gap between what providers know and what they actually do – the “know-do” gap.

Providers exhibited low levels of knowledge about both diarrhea and pneumonia during the interviews and performed even worse in practice.

For example, for diarrhea, 72 percent of providers reported they would prescribe oral rehydration salts– a life-saving, low-cost and readily available intervention – but only 17 percent actually did so. Those who did prescribe ORS also added other unnecessary or harmful drugs.

In practice, none of the providers gave the correct treatment: only ORS, with or without zinc, and no other potentially harmful drugs. Instead, almost 72 percent of providers gave antibiotics or potentially harmful treatments without ORS.

“Massive over-prescription of antibiotics is a major contributor to rising antibiotic resistance worldwide,” Mohanan said. “Our ongoing studies aim to understand why providers who know they shouldn’t be prescribing antibiotics for conditions like simple diarrhea continue to do so.

“It clearly is not demand from patients alone, which is a common explanation, since none of our standardized patients asked for antibiotics but almost all of them got them,” he said.

Providers with formal medical training still had large gaps between what they knew and did, but were significantly less likely to prescribe harmful medical treatments.

“Our results show that in order to reduce child mortality, we need new strategies to improve diagnosis and treatment of these key childhood illnesses,” Mohanan said. “Our evidence on the gap between knowledge and practice suggests that training alone will be insufficient. We need to understand what incentives cause providers to diverge from proper diagnosis and treatment.”

Mohanan also holds appointments with the Duke Global Health Institute and the Department of Economics. His co-authors are Marcos Vera-Hernandez and Soledad Giardili of University College London; Veena Das of Johns Hopkins University; Jeremy D. Goldhaber-Fiebert of Stanford University School of Medicine; Tracy L. Rabin and Jeremy I. Schwartz of Yale School of Medicine; Sunil S. Raj of the Indian Institute of Public Health; and Aparna Seth of Sambodhi Research and Communications.

Funding for the study was provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the Bihar Evaluation of Social Franchising and Telemedicine (BEST) project.

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