India’s Retail Revolution

hi, if you find this massage is interesting, share with your फ्रिएंड्स India’s Retail Revolution: Question 2 Filed under: Business, Retail — Prashant @ 5:12 am How much lower are prices because of the new retailers? Are clothes and shoes at the malls and new retail stores in India much more expensive than in the United States? It seems that way, to me at least. For instance, during my last visit to Chennai, I bought a pair of Reebok sneakers having left my original pair back home in the US. This darn pair cost me Rs $125 (Rs 5,000) at the Reebok store in India, whereas the exact same pair cost me just $80 in the US. Around this time, a relative gifted me a shirt from ColorPlus. This shirt cost Rs $63 (Rs 2,500) versus $40 (if that) for an identical shirt in the US. I’ve experienced this “sticker shock” every time I’ve visited a store in India over the last two years. Questions1) What is your experience of prices in India vis-a-vis other countries, especially South East Asia and East Asia? 2) If prices are high in India, what’s the reason: a) Brand licensing fees: This might hold for Reebok or Levi’s but certainly not for ColorPlus or Indian brands. b) Real estate prices/ high rents: Perhaps. However, my guess is that while real estate prices in India have shot up recently, on average, retail space in the US is still more expensive than India. Besides, if rental costs were such a big component of costs, wouldn’t this create a huge opportunity for catalog/ online retailers? c) Import duties/ tariffs: Hmm? I thought these clothes & shoes were made in India. I’ve bought shirts, trousers and suits in the US that were made in India, which cost me 50% to 70% of what they’d cost me in India. d) Something else? Caveats:1) The only malls/ stores I’ve visited in India have been in Mumbai (Crossroads/ Vama/ some shops in Colaba & Fountain) and Chennai (City Centre/ Spencers/ Westside and a few others). In other words, my knowledge is limited and completely based on sporadic anecdotal evidence. 2) I don’t know much about prices for groceries - vegetables, fruits, grains — which is Reliance’s (initial) target, I think. Comments (42) December 25, 2007 India’s Retail Revolution: Question 1 Filed under: Basic Questions, Business, Labour market, Retail — Prashant @ 3:10 am How many jobs have the new retailers actually created? The Wall Street Journal, in an article last month, writes that jobs in India’s booming retail industry are a ticket out of the slums for many. The article, titled Humble Jobs at the Mall Are Lifting Legions of Indians Out of Poverty and told from the viewpoint of three employees of Pantaloon in Mumbai, goes on to say that Such basic sales jobs, unremarkable and often derided in the West, are providing careers, confidence, and a shot at entering the consumer class to millions (emphasis mine) of impoverished young men and women across India. As their ranks swell, these children of slum dwellers, servants, sweepers and others low on the socioeconomic totem pole are forming a new stratum of workers. They are likely to play an important role in determining the future of the world’s second-most-populous nation.….Firm data are hard to come by, but available statistics and anecdotal evidence suggest an explosion in service jobs. Over the next three years, says the Images Group, a research and consulting group in India, the retail sector will create more than 2.5 million new jobs in the country. India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. says it will hire close to 500,000 people to staff its new chain of supermarkets. Pantaloon Retail Ltd., India’s largest retailer with annual sales of around $1 billion, hires more than 500 people a month. [link - subscription required] The story seems very encouraging. However, I’m a tad puzzled at the evidence — it’s rather slender and the three data points don’t jell. Data point # 1: Pantaloon, India’s biggest retailer is adding 500 people a month (extrapolating, that makes it 18,000 over the next three years. An assumption, here) Data point # 2: Reliance will add 500,000 new employees. Data point #3: The Images Group forecasts 2.5 million new jobs in retail over the next three years. This might seem like a quibble, but are we to believe that a) Reliance will add 83 times more employees than Pantaloon — 500,000 vs 18,000 b) Pantaloon, India’s biggest retailer will add only 0.72% of the new hires — 18,000 out of a total of 2.5 million, or c) Reliance alone, with 500,000 new employees, will contribute 20% of the new jobs? Q) Any hard data available regarding employment growth in India’s retail sector? Update: Earlier posts on India’s retail industry– Protect The Chain But At What Cost– Kirana Will Still Rule– The Better, Faster Road To Development– The Wrong Behind– A Nation Of Self-Employed– More Bang For the Government Buck– FDI In Single Brand Retail– Rice, Roads And Regulations Comments (20)

The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur

hi, if you find this massage is interesting, share with your The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur Filed under: Business — Arjun Swarup @ 5:16 pm In an interesting article on Forbes titled ‘The Smartest Unknown Indian Entrepreneur’ , Sramana Mitra profiles Sridhar Vembu, the founder and CEO of an Indian firm called AdventNet. The firm today, is a ‘100%, bootstrapped, $40-millio-a-year revenue business that sends $ 1 million to the bank every month in profits’. The whole piece is worth a detailed read, but two points stand out. The first one is this: “We hire young professionals whom others disregard,” Vembu says. “We don’t look at colleges, degrees or grades. Not everyone in India comes from a socio-economic background to get the opportunity to go to a top-ranking engineering school, but many are really smart regardless. “We even go to poor high schools, and hire those kids who are bright but are not going to college due to pressure to start making money right away,” Vembu continues. “They need to support their families. We train them, and in nine months, they produce at the level of college grads. Their resumes are not as marketable, but I tell you, these kids can code just as well as the rest. Often, better.” (Emphasis mine). The second one is this: Vembu has a very exciting opportunity ahead of him. What the Chinese have done in manufacturing, he is showing that the Indians can do in software: undercut U.S. and European software makers dramatically. Not in information technology services. Not by body shopping. Vembu has done something few Indian entrepreneurs have been able to achieve–build a true “product” company out of India. This is not a head count-based business model (Emphasis mine). The first point is interesting, as it shows that the skilled manpower shortage, which is an issue many entrepreneurs (including IEB founder Prashant Kothari) have written about, could have some solutions, although a nine month investment from an employer is significant. The second one also shows that the general media meme of that all India is doing is capitalizing on low cost labour advantages to run body shops, and not building enough ‘brands’ or ‘product’ firms, might not be true(even if it were true to large extent till a few years back) .

Power of compounding

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Power of compounding

Submitted by Stalin E on Mon, 16/06/2008 - 23:17.

power of compounding and starting investment early can be well expresed by the following story...

Jack and Jill were twins, and both got their first job at the age of 20. Both wished plenty from their life and started splurging on expensive luxuries. Jack deferred his decision for an investment account for the time being. Jill, however, acted on her father’s advice and started saving a token amount of Rs 1,000 per month (cumulative amount Rs 12,000 per year) in a diversified mutual fund. The next 10 years were fun for both, as they were living life to the fullest. Jack never started his investment account and Jill never cared to increase her investments from the meager Rs 12,000 per annum.

Accumulation phase

Ten years later, it was time to take stock. Jack, obviously, had nothing to show. Jill’s investment, on the other hand, had returned at the rate of 15% pa and her total investment of Rs 1,20,000 (Rs 12000 x 10 years) has grown to Rs 2,43,645.

Jill was not impressed with the amount at all. She decided to discontinue her investment plan. She, however, decided to leave her accumulated investment alone in the same fund.

Jack, on the other hand, decided it was time to start investing. He opened an account with the same diversified mutual fund Jill was investing in and started contributing Rs 12,000 pa.

After 30 years, it was time for both Jack and Jill to retire.

Jill had never touched her corpus, but she hadn’t bothered to put in fresh money either. This meant her invested corpus still stood at Rs 1,20,000. Jack, on his part, had invested Rs 3,60,000 (Rs 12,000 x 30) over three decades.

Both had got an annual return of 15% on their investments.

Interestingly, at the end of 30 years, Jack had accumulated Rs 52.16 lakh, while Jill, who had saved for only 10 years, had Rs 1.06 crore. Retirement phase

The accumulation phase was over now and both were in the retirement phase.

Both wished to play safe and shifted their corpuses to investment accounts that were less risky, but offered an assured return of 9% pa.

Both assumed they would live till 100. They would withdraw a level amount at the beginning of every year for the next 40 years to meet their expenses such that, assuming both survived till 100, nothing would be left for their successors.

Calculations threw up even more shocking figures. Though Jill started with 100% more retirement corpus compared with Jack, she could actually withdraw a sum of Rs 13.75 lakh pa, which was 300% more than what Jack could (Rs 4.44 lakh pa).

Summing up from the age of 60 till 100, Jill would have withdrawn Rs 5.50 crore (13.75 lakh x 40 years), while Jack would have taken only Rs 1.77 crore (4.44 lakh x 40 years).

Analysis:

Early investments pay you more.

Even it is a small amount start saving as earlier as possible.

Working to a financial plan early in life sure is a paying proposition. What say?

10 Tips for Better Health!!

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10 Tips for Better Health!!

1. "Eat it, it's good for you." - Listen to your mother and eat breakfast every morning. People who eat breakfast regularly are 5 times less likely to put on weight.

2. "How do you know you don't like it, if you haven't tasted it?" – Remember to add fish to your diet. The omega 3's found in cold water fish can cut your risk of heart disease and decrease symptoms of depression.

3. "I can't believe you can sleep in this filth!" - Get plenty of rest. People who sleep less than 7 hours a night on average are 2½ times more likely to die prematurely.

4. "You can say just about anything about anyone, as long as you "bless their heart" somewhere in the sentence." -Remembering those social skills come in handy when meeting new friends. Elderly people who are more involved in communal activities live longer and have less medical problems.

5. "If you're going kill each other, do it outside" - Get outdoors and experience nature. It raises brain serotonin (the feel-good hormone). It's easy, start with a daily walk.

6. "Don't put that in your mouth, you don't know where it's been." – Brush your teeth and floss already. Studies have shown that practicing good dental hygiene can add 6.4 years to your life.

7. "You WILL eat it, and you WILL like it!" - Eat your vegetables, your mother was right, again - bless her soul(or heart!). Fruits and vegetables are chock full of good things - fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Remember fiber keeps things moving.

8. "Why didn't you go before we left the house?"- Another of life's mysteries. Remember peeing is good, so drink lots of water. For every ounce of coffee or soda pop you consume, ½ ounce of water is siphoned from your tissues.

9. "Why? Because I said so, that's why!" - Need to think about the logic of that one? Maybe a little meditation is in order. Take time for quiet reflection and prayer-- it is shown to reduce stress and lower blood pressure.

10. "A little soap & water never killed anybody." - Wash your hands. Yup, we are channeling mom, again. By frequently washing your hands you wash away germs that you have picked up from other people, or from contaminated surfaces, or from animals and animal waste. One of the most common ways people catch colds is by rubbing their nose or their eyes after their hands have been contaminated with the cold virus.

Friday, April 4, 2008

Mobiles can be cancerous than smoking!!

A new study by an Indian-origin neurosurgeon has shown that cell phone use could kill more people than smoking, because of its possible association with brain cancer. Dr Vini Khurana, a staff specialist neurosurgeon at the Canberra Hospital and an associate professor of neurosurgery at the Australian National University, said heavy usage of mobile phones might turn out to be a greater threat to human health than smoking and even asbestos. To support his finding, Khurana conducted a 15-month 'critical review' of the link between mobile phones and malignant brain tumours, and said that using mobiles for more than 10 years could result in more than double the risk of brain cancer.

In order to curb this danger, he has urged for 'immediate and decisive steps' by industry and governments to reduce people's exposure to invisible electromagnetic radiation emitted by handsets. He has also asked to begin a 'solid scientific study' observing heavy mobile phone users for a period of at least 10-15 years. 'It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking, and directly concerns all of us, particularly the younger generation, including very young children,' the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Khurana, as saying.

However, he added that it is not that smoking was better for people than using mobile phones, but mobile-phone related health issues were a lot more dangerous and affected a far greater number of people.

He pointed out that currently there were 3 billion mobile phone users worldwide, and the number is growing with each passing day. In fact, people started using them as young as three. He underlined that mobile phone radiation could result in heating up the side of the head or potentially thermoelectrically interact with the brain, while Bluetooth devices and 'unshielded' headsets could 'convert the user's head into an effective, potentially self-harming antenna'. Khurana indicated that there had been increased reports of brain tumours linked with heavy and prolonged mobile phone use, particularly on the same side as the person's 'preferred ear' for making calls. However, Chris Althaus, chief executive of the industry body, the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association, rejected Khurana's conclusions, saying handsets were designed, built and tested to comply with strict science-based guidelines. He also pointed out to a 2000 World Health Organisation fact sheet, which said no recent reviews had concluded that exposure to the radiofrequency fields from mobile phones and their base stations caused any adverse health consequences. But this was denied by WHO, saying that there were 'gaps in knowledge' that required further research to better assess health risks, which would take several years to complete. Even Khurana said that the WHO fact sheet was irrelevant in this instance because 'most of the worrisome data has been surfacing in the last 12-24 months'.

Another fact sheet on the NSW Cancer Council's website said stressed for further research as not much was known on the long-term effects of electromagnetic field exposure. Khurana said there is a time-gap of 10-20 years between the starting of regular mobile phone usage to the diagnosis of a malignant solid brain tumour. And the link between mobile phones and brain tumours had not yet been 'definitively proven' because widespread mobile phone usage started in the mid-1980s and solid tumours might take several years to form. 'In the years 2008-2012, we will have reached the appropriate length of follow-up time to begin to definitively observe the impact of this global technology on brain tumour incidence rates,' said Khurana. However, he stressed that there was already enough evidence to warrant industry and governments taking immediate action to reduce mobile phone users' exposure to electromagnetic radiation and inform them of potential dangers. 'Worldwide availability and use of appropriately shielded cell phones and hands-free devices including headsets, increased use of landlines and pagers instead of current mobile and cell phones, and restricted use of cellular and cordless phones among children and adults alike are likely to limit the effects of this physically invisible danger,' said Khurana.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Reducing Weight Naturally

In ayurveda, Charak Samhita describes eight different types of bodies that are disease prone. Out of these, the obese body is described as the one afflicted with the most diseases and troubles. Obesity is the condition or physical state of the body when excessive deposition of fat takes place in the adipose tissue. Extra fat puts a strain on the heart, kidneys, liver and the joints such as the hips, knees and ankles and thus, overweight people are susceptible to several diseases like coronary thrombosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis, gout, liver and gall bladder disorders. Chief cause of obesity is overeating, irregular eating habits and not following the rules of eating or mixing non-compatible food items in one meal. To decrease weight and get rid of obesity three things must be kept in mind:

>>Controlling eating habits. >>Regular exercise. >>Avoiding the causes of weight gain. Diet recommended to lose weight >>Early morning Juice of half a lemon mixed in a glass of warm water and a teaspoon of honey. >>Breakfast Wheat or Mung bean sprouts and a cup of skimmed milk. >>Midmorning A glass of orange, pineapple or carrot juice. >>Lunch >Salad of raw vegetables such as carrot, beet, cucumber, cabbage, tomatoes. Steamed or boiled vegetables. >Whole grain bread or whole wheat chapatis (Indian bread) and a glass of buttermilk. >Roasted cumin seeds, green coriander leaves, a little salt and some grated ginger mixed in the buttermilk. >>Mid-afternoon Coconut water >Dry fruits >Lemon tea Fresh vegetable soup >>Dinner >Whole grain bread or chapatis >Steamed vegetables >Seasonal fruits except banana and apple. Home Remedies for Losing Weight .Increase the quantity of fruits and vegetables and low calorie foods. .Avoid intake of too much salt as it may be a factor for increasing body weight. .Milk products like cheese, butter etc. and non-vegetarian foods should be avoided as they are rich in fat. .Mint is very beneficial in losing weight. A chutney of green mint with some simple spices can be taken with meals. Mint tea also helps. .Spices like dry ginger, cinnamon, black pepper etc. are good for loosing weight and can be used in a number of ways. .Regular intake of carrot juice. .Avoid rice and potato, which contain a lot of carbohydrates. Among cereals wheat is good. .Vegetables like bitter gourd (Karela), and bitter variety of drumstick are useful in loosing weight. .Honey is an excellent home remedy for obesity. It mobilizes the extra deposited fat in the body allowing it to be utilized as energy for normal functions. Dosage: One should start with small quantity of about 10 grams or a tablespoon, taken with hot water early in the morning. A teaspoonful of fresh lemon juice may also be added. .Fasting on honey and lime- juice is highly beneficial in the treatment of obesity without the loss of energy and appetite. For this, mix one teaspoon of fresh honey with the juice of half a lime in a glass of lukewarm water. Dosage: Take several times a day at regular intervals. .Raw or cooked cabbage inhibits the conversion of sugar and other carbohydrates into fat. Hence, it is of great value in weight reduction. .Exercise is an important part of any weight reduction plan. It helps to use up calories stored in body as fat. .Walking is the best exercise to begin with and may be followed by running, swimming or rowing. .The gum of Commiphora Mukul called 'guggulu' is the drug of choice for the treatment of obesity. Preparation of Home Remedies According to ayurveda home remedies are prepared in the same way and with the same purpose as other ayurvedic medicines. The main aim is to obtain the maximum therapeutic benefit while making it palatable. Some common methods of preparing home remedies are: >Juice The juice may be taken from the fresh leaves, flowers or stems of the herb. The part of the herb used should be crushed or ground in a mortar and pestle, to make a paste. This paste should be put in a piece of cloth and squeezed to take out the juice. Dosage: One to two tablespoons twice a day. >Powder Dried herbs are used for powders. The herbs are usually dried in a cool, shady and well-ventilated place, although some herbs are dried in direct sunlight. The herbs are then ground into a fine powder and stored in a dry, airtight bottle. The powder may be taken with water, or if specified, with milk or honey. Dosage: Half to one teaspoon twice a day. >Decoction A decoction is prepared by boiling the herb in water (ratio: 1 part herb to 16 parts water). The herbs are broken into pieces and soaked in water overnight. This mixture is then boiled until it reduces to one quarter of the original volume. It is then filtered and stored in a glass bottle. Dosage: One to two tablespoons twice a day. >>Infusion Herbs are soaked in water to make an infusion (ratio: 1 part herb to 8 parts water). Hot infusions result from adding herbs to hot water, or gently heating but not boiling the mixture. This is strained and taken internally. Herbal teas are forms of hot infusions. Cold infusions are made from soaking the herb overnight. Honey can be added. Dosage: half to one cup once or twice day. >>Paste A paste can be made from either fresh or dried herbs. The flowers, roots, stems, leaves or bark are ground and mixed with water. Pastes are mainly used for external application, in cases of cuts, burns and swellings. The paste should be thick enough to be applied in a layer to the skin. >>Tablets The herbs should be first dried separately and then mixed together in a powder form, in fixed proportions. Water or herbal juice can be added to this powder to make a paste, from which tablets of a specific size or weight are made. Tablets remain potent longer than juices, powders, pastes or decoctions. Dosage: 1 or 2 tablets twice a day. >>Medicated ghee and oil Ghee is cooked with herbal juices, decoctions or pastes. The ghee should be heated with the herbal mixture at a moderate, controlled temperature. High temperatures can easily burn the ghee or oil, destroying its effectiveness. Medicated ghee and oils are either used internally or massaged externally. Dosage: Half to one tablespoon.