Mobility Feb-2017

Mobility Monthly Magazine

February 2017

Issue 02

Volume 15

Pages 32

20

BEYOND TECHNOLOGY, BEYOND LIFESTYLE

www.mobilityindia.com

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CONTENTS

18

EDITORIAL

6

NEWS

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Editor Chief Editor Associate Editor (Tech,) Asst. Editor Art Director Creative Head Acct. & Finance Marketing Manager Marketing Executives

: : : : : : : : :

Swapan Roy Manoj Jha Jayanta Ghosh E.J. Jawahardatham Anit Kumar Karmendra Singh Negi Sandip Sarkar Tridip Dey Sujit Goswami, Pratap Biswas S. Dutt Raj Kumar

Circulation Manager

:

P. Biswas

Production

:

Ashish Ghosh Ashok Kumar Paul

System Manager

:

Ajay Biswas

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REVIEW

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Sub15K : Every brand is pushing hard to capture this price segment

SPECIAL STORY

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Industry Reactioins : Budget 2017

FEATURED

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Intex Technologies has been continuously increasing domestic manufacturing

INTERVIEW

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Kolkata: 105/12B, Dum Dum Road, Sil Colony, Kolkata-74 Contact: 09330922965; 09903392620 E-mail : roy@ mobilityindia.com Orissa: Saraswati Behera Building, Kharavella Nagar, 2nd Lane, Near Jyoti Nagar, Berhampur-760001 (Orissa) (India) Contact : Raj Kumar-09338410809, 09439263711 Email : info@mobilityindia.com ncn_reporter@yahoo.com

Mr Ajay Agarwal, Director and Ms. Komal Agarwal, Director-Marketing, Pebble

Mobility Monthly News Paper, Printed, Published & Owned by Swapan Roy at 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

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“Oxigen has a large footprint of 200,000 retail touch-points and serves over 150 million users in real-time”

Redg.Off.: 38-B / 56 Block, C. R. Park, New Delhi-110019 (India).

Branch Office: Mumbai: E-mail: roy@ mobilityindia.com

The father daughter bond that played to each other’s strengths and rocking the mobile accessories industry in India.

APPS

H.O.: Delhi / Editorial Office Roy Mediative A-23, 1st Floor, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-I, New Delhi-110020 (INDIA) Mob: 09810380882, 09811346846 Ph: 91-11-41602841, 65683896, 40536384-87

Printed at Pushpak Printer, C-96, Okhla Industrial Area-I, New Delhi-20. Retail selling price of a magazine copy Rs. 20/-. Annual subscription Rs. 240.

Editor

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edit@mobilityindia.com roy@ mobilityindia.com

Marketing

:

tridip@mobilityindia.com marketing@mobilityindia.com

Mr. Ankur Saxena CEO, Oxigen Wallet.

MOBILITY FEBRUARY 2017

Info

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info@mobilityindia.com

Subscribe

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subscription@ mobilityindia.com

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EDITORIAL

Union Budget 2017-18 Gives Special Push to Mobility & Telecom Industry The much awaited Budget 2017-18, the second budget from the new government at the center, is set to continue its focus up on Digitization, Make in India and Smart Cities, which will continue to push the mobility industry. The budget meets most of the expectations from the mobility, telecom and IT industry doyens, though there are a few concerns.

Swapan Roy roymobility@gmail.com

The newly announced exemptions on income tax of common people and well-rounded push towards digital payments are set to ultimately increase the buying capacity of the people, along with mobile phone utility. Under Make in India, many mobile phone manufacturers have already started their manufacturing and assembling units in India and the trend is expected to pick up momentum in the Financial Year 2017-18.

This budget is definitely an upturn in the journey of mobility industry in India.

Editor’s Choice

ASUS Zenfone 3S Max Zenfone 3S Max has a long-lasting 5000 mAh lithium-polymer battery. The smartphone has five selectable power modes to optimize performance and help extend the battery life further whether it is gaming, watching videos, or internet streaming/ browsing over WiFi and cellular data.

Featuring a 5.2 inch high-definition display, Zenfone 3S Max reflects ASUS’ design philosophy and is a perfect blend of looks and durability. Its premium crafted metal, aluminum-alloy body has a sandblasted matte finish, making it durable and reliable. The smartphone also features a 2.5D contoured glass, subtly rounded off at its edges, giving it a luxurious appeal and making it comfortable to hold. Zenfone 3S Max weighs only 175 grams and is 8.85mm thick at its sides.

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MOBILITY FEBRUARY 2017

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NEWS

VODAFONE BRINGS DIGITALLY-ENABLED CLASSROOMS TO 20 SCHOOLS

The Indian mobile services sector is actively contributing towards increasing India’s GDP by enabling access to information and education. These are the core building blocks of social and economic development. Education is an important pillar for the Digital India program and increased adoption of mobile phone correlates with direct access to the same. The government has introduced initiatives like e-education that relies on connectivity, mobile technologies including smartphones, mobile apps and internet services in far-flung areas where it may not be possible for teachers to be present in person or other resources may be limited.

Aligned to this vision of strategic focus on education, Vodafone Foundation and Pratham Education Foundation have come together to launch a new programme ‘Learning with Vodafone’. This new platform builds on the advances in mobile technology and brings it to classrooms, enabling greater access to learning.

ACER OPENS FIRST EXCLUSIVE STORE IN VIJAYAWADA

ACER the leading laptop and PC player in India, announced the expansion of its retail presence in South India with the inauguration of its exclusive Mall in Vijayawada. The store will be inaugurated by Mr. Bonda Uma Maheswara Rao TDP, Vijayawada Central MLA, one of the Key advisor and participant in IT development activities for Vijayawada and Andhra Pradesh Govt. The new store will open its doors to the public on 2nd February, 2017 at SMART IT ZONE Kasturibaipet – Vijayawada. This centrally located store will help Acer to take the retail store experience to a wide base of customers where they can get expert consultation from trained professionals for their PC hardware purchase. Having achieved a stronghold in metros, Acer is penetrating the length and breadth of the country to address the diverse computing needs of its customers. The new store will feature the company’s entire gamut of Laptops, Desktops, Monitors and Tablets.

STAQU COLLABORATES WITH INTEX

Gurgaon-based artificial intelligence startups announced its association with Intex. As part of the association, Staqu announced the launch of Vistoso, an AI-enabled Neural Graphic Technology transforming everyday images into artistic and classic portraits. Taking that a notch ahead, users can also order apparel and merchandises customized via same images, the orders being fulfilled by VistraPrint, providing finest quality printed products at affordable prices.

There has been an increase in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence for creative pursuits. Vistoso utilizes AI for creativity and is going to be integrated into the native camera of Intex, providing a filter for users to transform images in realtime. Instead of sharing these images on social media only, the association between three leading brands, enables users to also have the same images printed on cups, T-shirts, other merchandises, and apparels, with VistaPrint coming onboard as the printing partners.

MOBILITY FEBRUARY 2017

MICROSOFT ANNOUNCED ADD-INS FOR OUTLOOK ON IOS

Marking two years of Outlook Mobile, Microsoft has announced add-ins for Outlook on IOS. Microsoft has introduced Add-ins from Evernote, GIPHY, Nimble, Trello and Smartsheet along with Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Translator to help users be more productive even while on the go. The support will soon be extended to Android users. Here are some of the interesting features: • Transform inbox into a dobox with add-ins for Outlook • Translate the email from any language to preferred language • Access to the power of CRM, social intelligence, project management, collaboration and more • Use GIFs to congratulate a friend or co-worker, wish them a happy birthday, without leaving the inbox To make Outlook more productive, Microsoft has also opened the platform for the developers. With add-ins, developers can help Microsoft make Outlook even better by extending it with their own apps and services.

UNION BUDGET 2017-18’S DIGITIZATION & BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY FOCUS POSITIVE: ICRA

Harsh Jagnani, Sector Head & VP, ICRA Limited comments on the impact of Union Budget 2017-18 on the telecommunication sector “The budget has laid emphasis on promoting digital economy and improving broadband connectivity, especially in rural India.

These steps should increase the broadband penetration in the country and increase data usage, which has been the key focus for the telecom players.

The FY2017 RE for non-tax revenues from communication services has been lower by 20% than the BE, although ICRA estimates that the final amount may turn out to be lower than the RE by another 5-10%. The BE for FY2018 does not factor in any spectrum auction and is in line with our estimates.”

MICROSOFT SHOWCASES SUITE OF SOLUTIONS FOR MODERN COLLABORATION

Microsoft showcased Microsoft Teams, a new chat-based workspace that further enhances the collaboration capabilities in Microsoft Office 365, the cloud-based productivity offering with more than 85 million monthly active commercial users. Microsoft Teams brings together people, conversations, content and the tools teams need to collaborate.

Microsoft Teams joins the broadest and deepest portfolio of collaboration applications and services to help solve the diverse needs of people and organizations globally. As we’ve learned from our users, all groups have a diverse set of needs when it comes to working together. Office 365 is designed for the unique workstyle of every group and includes purposebuilt applications, all deeply integrated together. SharePoint provides intranets and content management solutions to more than 200,000 organizations and 190 million people.

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NEWS

PEBBLE SIGNS DEAL WITH NATIONAL DISTRIBUTION CHAIN INGRAM MICRO

Pebble announced a partnership with Ingram Micro, world’s largest technology distributor and a leading technology sales, marketing and logistics company. The partnership will give a further boost to Pebble’s existing market presence over 18 states in India. Through the partnership with Ingram Micro as its National Distributor, Pebble has started Pan-India operations on a large scale across various states and is soon to delve into LFRs and Modern Retail.

Pebble, one of the fastest growing brands in India, was launched in the year 2013. A leader in organizing and branding the highly cluttered unbranded Mobile Accessory Industry that had no clear quality standards until now, Pebble stays a step ahead by offering a blend of user friendly elegant design and top-notch quality products. Headquartered in Delhi, Pebble is part of a group of companies that has been leading provider of various power back-up devices and other electronic products for the past 16 years.

SNAPDEAL APPOINTS JASON KOTHARI AS CHIEF STRATEGY & INVESTMENT OFFICER

Snapdeal announced the appointment of Jason Kothari as its Chief Strategy & Investment Officer. He will work alongside co-founders, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, in this key leadership role and will be joining Snapdeal on January 16, 2017.

As Chief Strategy & Investment Officer for Snapdeal, Kothari’s responsibilities will include leading strategy; corporate development, including all investments and strategic partnerships; raising new capital for the Company; and portfolio management, overseeing companies Snapdeal wholly owns or has invested in. Kothari holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s The Wharton School and has also been an investor.

GCF APPOINTS COAI’S VIKRAM TIWATHIA TO ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Vikram Tiwathia, Deputy Director General of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), has been appointed to the Board of the Global Certification Forum as a non-executive director.Mr. Tiwathia has been serving as COAI’s Deputy Director General since 2010 and brings deep and wide-ranging experience of the Indian telecommunications sector to GCF. Previously he was Chief of Regulatory Relations for the Tata Teleservices and Chief Information Officer at the Confederation of Indian Industry. During a long and distinguished career in the Indian Army, Mr Tiwathia rose to the rank of Colonel leading a unit for operations and planning, a role which included responsibility for communications and IT.

MOBILITY FEBRUARY 2017

ASTTECS TO SHOWCASE LATEST ENTERPRISE TELECOM SOLUTIONS AT CONVERGENCE INDIA 2017

astTECS announced that the company will be showcasing an extensive portfolio of enterprise telecom and IP PBX solution at Convergence India 2017. *astTECS will be demonstrating Asterisk based innovative communication product & solutions and engage with partners and system integrators to share a wide range of futuristic & highly affordable business communication solutions. “The digital transformation in India is being fuelled by rapid innovation in technology space, empowering businesses and people. Convergence India offers an ideal platform and great opportunity to showcase technology, insights & knowledge, especially at a time when the industry is at the threshold of an exciting new journey, wherein next generation networks and collaborative disruption, together have created exciting times,” said Dr. Devasia Kurian, CEO, *astTECS.

CASHE & ANDROMEDA INK PARTNERSHIP DEAL

Aeries Financial Technologies Pvt. Ltd., a fin-tech company promoted by serial entrepreneur and private equity investor V. Raman Kumar, announced that CASHe, India’s fastest loan giving app for young salaried professionals, has entered into a strategic sales partnership with Andromeda India’s largest financial distributor. With this sales collaboration, the customers registered with Andromeda will now have easy access to instant short-term credit facility from CASHe through its multiple loan options ranging from Rs 5000 to Rs 100,000 payable over 15, 30 & 90 days. CASHe provides hasslefree loans with its app enabled documentation and loan disbursal/repayment process. Powered by its industry-first algorithm driven credit scoring platform, The Social Loan Quotient (SLQ), CASHe quickly determines a user’s credit worthiness by using multiple unique data points to arrive at a distinct credit profile of the customer.

MOBIKWIK HIRES EX LINE INDIA HEAD DAMAN SONI

Indian mobile wallet, MobiKwik, announced the appointment of Daman Soni as Vice President for Growth. In this new role, Daman will be heading the Growth function at MobiKwik and will be responsible for achieving the company’s user growth targets. He will also support the Marketing function at company. Speaking on the appointment, Bipin Preet Singh, Cofounder of MobiKwik said, “I have observed Daman’s professional growth over years and admire the wealth of knowledge he brings with him. His strength lies in his observation of deep insights and driving sustainable results from it. Having past entrepreneurial experience is another positive. We are very excited to have Daman as part of Team MobiKwik and look forward to leveraging his considerable industry experience as we expand our operations.”

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iBall LAUNCHES 4G (WITH VOLTE) 7” TABLET WITH 3GB RAM – IBALL SLIDE BRISK 4G2

iBall, announces the launch of its newest ‘iBall Slide Brisk 4G2’Tablet PC An extension to the very popular iBall Slide Snap 4G2, iBall Slide Brisk 4G2 is mightier and powerful than its predecessor, delivering Terrific Performance!17.78 cm (7 inch) IPS HD Screen, 64-bit Quad Core Processor and Mali – T720 GPU, 3GB RAM, 16GB inbuilt memory storage, further expandable upto 32 GB. Brisk 4G2 has a 2MP Front camera and 5MP AF Rear Camera with LED Flash, 4G2 with 3500mAh LiPolymer battery.

BRAINWAVZ AUDIO UNVEILS KRUDUL DUO EARPHONE ACCESSORY IN INDIA

Krudul Duo by Brainwavz, an earphone accessory made in two individual parts; Krudul Monitor and Krudul Vertical, used to store earphones in an inventive and creative way. Designed specifically as an earphone management system, the Krudul Duo allows convenient storage of earphones right by your monitor, desk space or workstation depending on which Krudul unit is used.

Made from die-cast aluminum, the Krudul Duo attaches onto surfaces using a 3M VHB, a strong doublesided acrylic foam tape making the Krudul Duo a trusty and dependable earphone hanging solution. Sold as a pair, both accessories are designed to keep your earphones safe and secure in a practical and convenient manner. A new and innovative accessory, Krudul Duo is the answer to earphone storage solutions to keep your earphones accessible and safe.

MOBILITY FEBRUARY 2017

ZTE LAUNCHES THE MUCH ANTICIPATED BLADE A2 PLUS IN AN EXCLUSIVE PARTNERSHIP WITH FLIPKART

ZTE launched its Blade A2 Plus mid-range premium smartphone device in India in an exclusive partnership with Flipkart. Designed to meet the needs of today’s smartphone users, Blade A2 Plus focuses on what matters most to users today, eye catching design, vivid full HD display and a high quality camera, all in the palm of one’s hand.

Flipkart being India’s largest e-commerce firm, brings the best-in-class devices to the users and gives them a comprehensive experience.

ASUS REPUBLIC OF GAMERS (ROG) UNVEILS STRIX GL553 COMPACT GAMING NOTEBOOK AT INDIAN GAMING SHOW (IGS)

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) announced the launch of its latest compact gaming powerhouse – ROG Strix GL553 in India. The ultralight gaming notebook was a part of the product line-up showcased at CES 2017. The 15.6-inch notebook features a distinct ASUS ROG gamer styling and is available at a starting price point of INR 94990. The company also plans to showcase the notebook at its Bangalore ROG Store launch scheduled later this month.GL553 delivers powerful gaming performance accelerated by a 7th Generation Intel Core i7 processor with discrete NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti/1050 graphics for flawless gaming visuals. GL553 also offers a gamer-friendly keyboard powered by ASUS Aura with four distinct lighting areas for incredible gaming experiences in the dark, up to 32GB DDR4 plus 30-key rollover and positive 2.5mm key travel. The Cooling Overboost feature offers flexible fan speeds for custom control and better system stability.

INTEX INTRODUCES AQUA AMAZE+ WITH ENHANCED DISPLAY QUALITY

Intex Technologies announced the launch of Aqua Amaze+ – a unique device that offers a perfect viewing quality on a smartphone screen. Designed with high definition IPS Display, this smartphone displays finer details of possible content, in more pixels that deliver a really high resolution experience. The smartphone is priced at INR 6,290/- and will be available at Intex retail stores. The smartphone also comes equipped with value added services and features that offer users a wide range of apps to explore while using a smartphone. This 4G VoLTE enabled smartphone comes with a spectacular screen size of 4.7inch HD IPS Display, which is brilliant and offers sharp viewing angles. The device is powered by a 1.3 GHz quad-core processor that ensures seamless multitasking along with a 1 GB RAM, 8 GB ROM and 64GB expandable memory.

The phone runs on Android 6.0 Marshmallow and weighs just 128 gms.

AIRTEL PAYMENTS BANK ROLLS OUT 360 DEGREE LAUNCH

Airtel Payments Bank, announced the roll out of a 360 degree launch campaign to showcase its digital banking offerings that offer customers a refreshing change from tra-

ditional banking. The campaign, based on the theme “Bank Hai Par Alag Hai”, highlights Airtel Payments Bank’s differentiated banking model that leverages the vast network of neighbourhood Airtel retail outlets, which take convenient digital banking closer to the customer.The campaign is based on customer insights regarding their day to day experience with traditional banking and brings to fore some of the most common challenges faced by them. Airtel Payments Bank, which is leading the creation of a new category of banking in India, is trying to address some of these challenges with its innovative approach.

AMBRANE INDIA ANNOUNCES AFFORDABLE AQ11 TABLET WITH 3G

Ambrane India one of the leading IT firms in computer peripherals, Mobile Accessories and power banks announces its newest ‘AQ 11 Tablet’, a value driven tablet which promises a dexterous performance both, in terms of features and applications, resulting in an unrivaled performing star. Equipped with host of features and easy to use interface, the tablet comes in a sleek and elegant design that is comfortable to use and extremely portable in nature delivering a Super smooth & Responsive Experience.

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SWIPE LAUNCHES ELITE POWER WITH 4000MAH BATTERY FOR JUST RS. 6,999/EXCLUSIVELY ON FLIPKART

Swipe ELITE Power comes with a massive 4000 mAh battery which is the key highlight. Swipe says that the 4000 mAh battery in ELITE Power provides 240 hours of standby time or 15 hours of 3G talk time or 13 hours of Wi-Fi web browsing.

It is a dual-SIM smartphone, supports 4G LTE & has a number of other compelling features that make it a must-buy, especially for the millennial with heavy smartphone usage.

The The 4G VoLTE-enabled smartphone draws processing power from the Qualcomm Snapdragon Quad Core Processor that supports fast downloads and uploads, stunning graphics and photos while ensuring a lag-free multi-tasking smartphone experience.

HONOR LAUNCHES IT DUAL LENS SWAGPHONE HONOR 6X

Honor, Huawei’s Smartphone e-brand for digital natives launched its much anticipated Honor 6X smartphone. Honor 6X is targeted towards the young uncom-

promisning consumers who want value based features like cutting edge dual lens camera, sturdy performance and extended battery life.

The smartphone has been priced at Rs 12,999 (3GB) and carries best in class features at the price point. Featuring a generous 5.5-inch full HD (1920*1080p) display.

MOBILITY FEBRUARY 2017

PORTRONICS ANNOUNCES “SEESAW” – A HD WIFI SURVEILLANCE CAMERA FOR HOME, SOHO & SMB MARKET

Portronics, a prominent leader in the innovative and portable digital product market, has launched a very compact, affordable, easy to use and attractive wifi HD Camera “SeeSaw” which also has a two-way audio capability. The HD WIFI Camera is ideal for Residential, Small to Medium-sized Business (SMB) and SOHO customers for their indoor surveillance security needs. With SeeSaw, remote monitoring your home, loved ones like young kids or elderly parents or pets, valuables, cars, offices, etc becomes very easy. You can view real-time video anytime from anywhere on your smart phone.

SeeSaw can help you remotely take timely action in-case of any unwarranted event, so you can peacefully work, away from home or from office.

DAIWA 40” SMART FULL HD TV – A PERFECT AMALGAMATION OF WORLD-CLASS FEATURES AND DESIGN INNOVATION AT RS 22,990

With innovation deeply embedded in its very DNA, DAIWA announces the launch of its new Full HD 40” Smart TV. Bespoke in terms of superiority, magnificence, aestheticism and functionality, the new TV is perfectly poised to be yet another show stopper from the company’s stable. DAIWA is a part of Videotex International Pvt. Ltd, a 32-year-old, premier LED Television ODM Company that manufactures for a majority of leading brands in the Indian market. The all new Full HD Daiwa 40” Smart TV comes with an A+ Grade, Zero-Brt Dot panel, FHD 1920*1080 screen resolution, Cinema Zoom Mode, 2HDMI and 2USB ports with SD card slot., multimedia connectivity, M.Cast, Wi-Fi, unique USB to USB data transfer, Smart Energy Saving Eco Vision, wireless headphone control, screen capture,Mouse Cruiser on Remote, high fidelity external speakers, HRDP tech equipped gaming system that guarantees quality,life-like colour and contrast.

V5PLUS, 20 MP DUAL FRONT CAMERA SMARTPHONE, LAUNCHED

In its endeavor to continue to transform the selfie experience and capture the imagination of the smartphone users, the premium global smartphone brand Vivo, launched its much-awaited flagship device, V5Plus with its first-ever 20MP dual front camera. V5Plus is a perfect amalgamation of cutting-edge technology, immaculate design and breakthrough innovation. Vivo V5Plus takes smartphone users on a seamless experiential journey with a better resolution display and a much powerful battery. V5Plus comes in gold colour, and is priced at Rs. 27,980.V5Plus is the first ever innovation from Vivo that offers dual front cameras for the Indian smartphone users. The perfect amalgamation of the two lenses i.e.

20 MP and 8 MP will ensure that a device captures the much-needed depth of field thus letting you capture your perfect selfie.

GENIUS ANNOUNCES MOBILE THEATER – MT-20 SPEAKERS

Genius announces its Mobile Theater MT-20 speakers which offer superb theater-like surround sound audio effect and with finest design and texture. With specially tuned high-quality 2.1

channel speakers, the MT-20 delivers 360-degree sounds with deep immersive bass for unrivalled movie theater!

With a full charge to MT-20, you can continuously watch more than 10 hours of movies without the need to recharge.

Dual-mode selection for either movie or crystal clear sound of music with a single click button allows you to setup the MT-20 for your listening experience. The MT-20 not only supports Bluetooth technology but also a 3.5mm AUX connector and TF-Card reader to play your favourite songs.

ADVANCE AVATAR OF NOTIFICATION SERVICE ‘DATARADIO’ LAUNCHED BY DATAMAIL

The remarkable DATAMAIL App which was designed under the ‘MAKE IN INDIA’ initative and to promote digitization has innovated to bring in a new feature. DATAMAIL which was innovated by one of the awarded Tech Innovator, Dr. Ajay Data, Founder and CEO of Data XGen Technologies Pvt Ltd, announced the launch of a unique product under the linguistic email services as ‘DATA RADIO’.

DataMail.Bharat is an email address service, which was launched about three moths ago in India including 8 Indian languages and has now launched yet another feature called Data Radio.

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Sub15K

Every brand is pushing hard to capture this price segment

This is the most demanding segment and with fierce competition, the companies have been forced to come up with very creative technological innovation and winning marketing strategies to gain.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 2017 ready

Redmi Note 4 is a successor to the widely acclaimed Redmi Note 3. Available in 3 variant starting from Rs 9999 (2GB RAM + 32GB Flash), Rs 10,999 (3GB RAM + 32GB Flash) and Rs 12,999 (4GB RAM + 64GB Flash). This is another great device from Xiaomi with high-end, premium metal design, excellent build quality – with fingerprint reader and very good battery life. The MIUI on top of Android works great.

Powered with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 SoC and 4GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage on the top variant makes it a great choice in this segment.The Redmi Note 4 is an intelligent upgrade for Xiaomi to keep its best selling product rolling in this category.

PRICE: Rs 9999- Rs 12,999 PROS: Battery Life, metal design, price CONS: Camera performance is average KEY FEATURES: • Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 with 14nm FinFET technology (Octa-core 2.0GHz) • 4100mAh high-density battery, 25% longer battery life than Redmi Note 3 • 13MP CMOS camera with PDAF, 5MP front camera • Premium metal body, anodised high-

Honor 6X

Sets a benchmark This is the best phone right now available in sub 15k segment. It gives everything you want from good body, great camera, epic battery life. It is an all round performer and perfect for Gen X who clicks more, calls more and surf more. One of the key highlight of Honor 6X is its innovative dual-lens rear camera which gives you a wide aperture range and gives you nice bokeh effect in pictures. The dual camera setup is first in this price range.The phone is exclusively on amazon through flash sale so you might just have to wait for your chance. The Honor 6X comes in three colors – gold, silver and gray.

PRICE: 12,999 (3GB) PROS: Superb camera, battery life, built, price CONS: Available through flash sales.

KEY FEATURES: • 5.5-inch, 1,920x1,080-pixel HD display (403ppi) • 12-megapixel and 2-megapixel rear cameras

MOBILITY FEBRUARY 2017

• 8-megapixel front-facing camera • Android 6.0 with Huawei’s EMUI 4.1 software • 3,340mAh battery • 2.1GHz octa-core Kirin 655 processor • Fingerprint sensor (no NFC or Android Pay) • microSD • Dual-SIM optional • 32GB and 64GB options (US gets 32GB model)

gloss aluminium lines • 5.5-inch Full HD display, dual SIM (Nano- and Micro-SIM) • LTE and VoLTE support • 4GB RAM + 64GB Flash, 3GB RAM + 32GB Flash, 2GB RAM + 32GB Flash • Up to 128GB microSD expandable storage • Rear fingerprint sensor • IR blaster • Available in Dark Grey, Gold and Black • MIUI 8 beta based on Android N will be available soon

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Dual Power Another great camera performer in this category that comes with Dual Rear Camera with the f/2.0 aperture. The Dual Camera is equipped with dual ISP, dual temperature flash, Four Core Algorithm and dual 6P lens. It also has a night mode feature that helps you to capture good night shots. Other features are very much similar to Le2, in this device they have used LeEco’s EUI instead of Coolpad’s CoolUI which makes it a much better package overall. So if you are looking for a good dual camera smartphone in budget category, and don’t want to wait for any flash sale device then the Cool1 is a good choice for you which is easily available on Amazon.

PRICE: Rs, 13,999/PROS: Dual Camera, Built, EUI, Availability CONS: Battery life, No expandable storage KEY FEATURES: • • • •

Android 6.0 Marshmallow with EUI 5.6 4000 mAh battery Snapdragon 652 Octa-Core 1.8 GHz Processor • dual 13 MP with f/2.0 aperture • 32 GB, 3 GB / 4 GB RAM

Zenfone 3S Max in India.

Long lasting

Powered by a 1.5GHz Octa-core 64-bit processor, high capacity 3GB RAM and 32GB internal memory, expandable up to 2TB, Zenfone 3S Max pushes the boundaries. It’s a very compact looking handset with 5.2inch HD IPS display along with a sleek Metal body and 2.5D contoured glass. It also has a 13MP PixelMaster rear camera with Phase Detection autofocus, and an 8MP front camera with 85° wide capture angle and a fingerprint sensor. The Zenfone 3S Max really is for heavy users and give you enough battery life, has the biggest battery you can get in a device of this class currently, but apart from that it gives you average performance. Also we have noticed heating issues while gaming. We think that the average camera performance and UI spoil the party for 3S.

PRICE: 14,999/PROS: Battery life CONS: Camera performance, Fingerprint scanner, UI KEY FEATURES: • 1.5GHz octa-core MediaTek MT6750 processor clubbed with Mali T860 GPU. • 3GB of RAM. • 32GB of internal memory expandable by up to 2TB. • 5.2-inch 720p IPS LCD display.

• 13-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture • 8-megapixel camera with an 85 degree wide angle for group selfies.

• Android 7.0 Nougat-based ZenUI 3.0.

• 5,000mAh battery.

ZTE Blade A2 Plus A Fresh Start

ZTE recently launched its new Blade A2 Plus in India in the mid range category.

They have aggressively priced this mid range phone which is now competing with all the established brands in this segment likes of Xiaomi, Asus, Lenovo and Honor.

The Blade A2 Plus comes with great features like, good battery, solid design and great overall aesthetics. No lags in day to day tasks, no heating issues while gaming, gives you reasonable camera performance, though some competitors gives better results then A2 Plus . But all in all we can say that this is a great budget device with good battery life and smooth performance. But as this is a fresh start for ZTE in this segment they have to work really hard to keep them going.

PRICE: Rs. 11,999/PROS: Battery life, Built, Availability CONS: Average camera performance KEY FEATURES: • Display: 5.5 inch 1080p

• • • • •

RAM: 4GB ROM: 32GB SoC: 1.5GHz MediaTek MT6750 Battery: 5000 mAh Operating System: Android Marshmallow with MiFavor 3.5 UI • Camera: 13MP rear, 8MP front

MOBILITY FEBRUARY 2017

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SPECIAL STORY

The much awaited Budget 2017-18 is out now. Mobility Industry is one of the segments in the industry which has been highly sensitive to the budget. This budget, second from the new government at the central government kept its focus up on Digitization, Make in India and Smart Cities, which will continue to push the mobility industry. The budget meets most of the expectation from the industry doyens, but there are a few concerns. Here are some comments from the industry stalwarts on the current budget.

Mr Jay Chen,

CEO, Huawei India “We at Huawei Telecommunications India are pleased to note that the current budget strongly supports the progressive vision of a Digital India set by Hon’ble Government. The allocation of INR 10,000 crore towards BharatNet will give an overall boost to broadband connectivity in the country. The success of the BHIM app and announcements related to its promotion, Aadhar based

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swipe machines, and tax exemption to those who use Aadhar based POS machines, will all help accelerate acceptance of digital payments. Furthermore, initiatives like ‘Digital Village’ and ‘Digi-Gaun’ will significantly extend the benefits of digitization to rural India and contribute to a Better Connected India” The industry feels, on the overall, it is pragmatic budget that is set boost sartups and Make in India. This budget is set to make Make in India a reality.

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Budget 2017 to offer incentives to start inflow towards design led manufacturing in place of assembly led manufacturing ecosystem. However, it seems like the government is not yet convinced towards adopting multiple layered incentives for localization, while increasing the duties on CBU (Completely built Units). Overall based on the information available from the budget the impact of the policies seem to be neutral for mobile/tablet industry, at best.

Mr Arvind R Vohra,

Mr Sudhir Kumar,

“We are positive, that the Government’s increased allocation and incentives in schemes like M-SIPS and EDF will provide the necessary push to the mobile and internet manufacturing economy .

Also the allocation of INR 10,000 crore in BharatNet provides the much needed boost for the penetration of Digital India into the rural segment, and for strengthening the consumptions of smartphones”

“The Union Budget 2017 carries significant prospects for manufacturing brands. The FM has included provisions meant to boost electronic manufacturing by promoting MSIPS and EDF. Such policies would further receive funds worth INR 745 crores in FY18, hence, promoting indigenous manufacturers and attracting innovation and technology prowess engineered by foreign countries. And while the manufacturing sector celebrates policy changes, we further appreciate the streamlined delivery of these products, via the GST bill. These announcements are further in sync with the overall emphasis on transitioning India into a digital economy, empowered with fast Internet access, cyber-security and access to smartphones. It is heartening to see the union budget for FY-2017 support the right to progress by shifting the focus back on to rural economy and agriculture; which truly resonates with our brand proposition. The provisions put forth in the budget are going to improve the buying capacity, digital lifestyles and affluence of the rural India and we at itel, welcome these changes and look forward to the promising year ahead.”

Country CEO & MD, Gionee India

Mr Akshay Dhoot, Head, Technology and Innovation, Videocon “We congratulate the Central Government for presenting a growth-conducive budget. The overall announcements seem to give a cohesive push to the holistic economic growth. We welcome the initiatives that will give further boost to Make in India in order to make our country a hub of electronic and tech manufacturing. This has been taken care of with announcements like incentivizing local electronic manufacturing up to Rs. 745 crore by enhancing special policies like Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS) and Electronic Development Fund (EDF). This move would definitely give more sops to domestic mobile handset makers. India is one of the fastest growing mobile markets in the world and it would further get boost from the newly formed trade infra export scheme.”

CEO, itel Mobile India

There has been a 2% increase in duties levied on import of PCBA in India, which will still reflect only on one part of the manufacturing cycle with focus on assembly of mobile handsets. On the other hand, providing attractive incentives for localization of design and R&D capabilities would have bolstered the ‘Make in India’ initiative, and driven more handset makers to introduce design led manufacturing in India.

Post demonetization government seems to be totally convinced towards digital payment adoption. There is one key development towards ‘Digital India’ program, where Government has decided to waive off all duties (SAD/ CVD, BCD) levied on mPOS systems.

This in turn will make the POS devices cheaper, leading to greater adoption of such devices even at the grass root level in the coming years and hence helping drive forward the mobile payments ecosystem. Considering the adoption of Aadhar based payment, government has also waived off duties from components such as IRIS scanner and fingerprint readers.”

Mr Rajiv Srivastava, MD, HP India

Mr Kuldeep Malik,

Country head - Corporate Sales International, MediaTek India “We were expecting the Financial

“The Union Budget 2017-18 is extremely positive for the common man, farmers, small and medium businesses and would drive significant growth in Indian economy. Government’s commitment to make taxation rate reasonable, tax administration fair and expand the tax base is the step taken in the right direction. The tax relief given by the

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Government for the middle class tax payers will definitely boost the purchasing power, thereby aiding the overall growth of the economy. The major tax relief given to the MSMEs and SMEs with an annual turnover of Rs. 50 crores, would enable them to invest in job creation, increase capital expenditure and explore their digital journey.

The strong emphasis laid on technology in almost all the development areas in the budget reaffirms that technology has been at the forefront of India’s recent economic growth and digital transformation. It has been recognized as an important enabler across initiatives ranging from agriculture to skill development to manufacturing and infrastructural development. The Government’s focus on making India a digital payment economy will definitely help companies like HP to contribute in technology adoption in rural and semi-urban areas, thereby bringing the Digital India’ vision closer to reality. We also welcome the Finance Minister’s commitment to introduce and implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) as per schedule and start GST awareness programme from April 1, 2017 for all stakeholders.”

Mr Arjun Bajaj,

open cell etc. in order to truly achieve the dream of MAKE in INDIA.

Mr Avneet Singh Marwah,

Director and CEO of Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd (Kodak TV India) “Union budget 2017 has taken a two pronged approach of addressing issues being faced by the rural economy and the corporate sector. First, the allocation of INR 23,000cr for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and INR 48,000 cr for MGNREGA will reenergize the rural economy with renewed investments and confidence. Second, the relief in the corporate tax structure for MSMEs (annual turnover less than INR 50 crore) reduced to 25% and individual tax payers (-5%) are small steps in the right direction. Third, reinforcing its commitment to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, the budget has earmarked INR 750 cr specifically to encourage domestic companies involved in electronic manufacturing.

Fourth, the political funding reforms announced today are commendable. It’s a massive step in the right direction by bringing in compliance in the otherwise chaotic political funding eco-system.

The only missing link in the budget was the lack of clarity on the GST rollout timelines and implementation process.”

CEO and Founder, Daiwa We thank the Indian government for including such incentives in the Union Budget. The announcement of INR 745 Cr for electronic manufacturing in the country is further going to attract global innovators to make India a hub for manufacturing tech and electronic products.

The same, in addition to the GST Bill, meant at streamlining taxes and costs, is surely going to boost up the morale of the electronic manufacturing industries.

However, the problem still does not get solved as we continue to import the material used in the manufacturing from neighboring countries, such as China.

The government must focus on bringing in the manufacturers of raw materials, i.e. different types of components, parts,

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Mr Rajiv Bhalla,

Managing Director, Barco India “We appreciate the deep-rooted changes introduced in the Union Bud-

get 2017. The budget further reflects the commitments of the Indian Government to truly promote digitalization in the country. This includes allocating INR 10,000 crore for Bharat Net Project which is dedicated to extending high-speed broadband, Wi-Fi hotspots and Fiber Optic network in India, especially to the rural landscapes, Gram Panchayats and more. Manufacturers of tech and electronic products will also receive a boost, following the announcement of Rs 745 crore funds allocation for the same. When viewed in the light of the upcoming GST bill, the entire budget caters to the unique needs of promoting digitalization in an emerging market.

Besides, the boost to digitalization is well supported with a host of infrastructural overhauls as well. We appreciate an allocation of INR 241,387 crores for transforming the transportation sector, including ships, rails, and roads.

Railways further have a development expenditure of INR 131,000 crores, out of which, the government will be providing INR 55,000 crores. These changes are going to have a transformational effect, positively influencing the advent of Smart Cities in India.”

Mr Kenny Ye,

GM--Overseas Business, Alibaba Mobile Business Group “It is a budget for the masses: Union Budget 2017-18 is a big relief for the common masses – from reduction in personal income tax to sops for affordable housing - the Finance Minister has announced various measures to benefit farmers and weaker sections of the society. On the corporate side, abolishing of FIPB is a bold step and further liberalization of FDI policy will cheer foreign investors. While last year’s auctions removed spectrum scarcity in the country, expansion of Bharat Net project will ensure high-speed broadband to 1.5 lakh gram panchayats via Wi-Fi. With increasing smartphone penetration and push for high-speed broadband connectivity in rural areas, a massive

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digital revolution is imminent in India.

Last, reduction of corporate tax for MSMEs is a welcome step but larger Indian conglomerates looking to compete with global peers will continue to find the tax rate challenging.”

should have been a dedicated focus on corporate tax and capital gains exemptions, to boost business growth amidst uncertain and volatile global economic conditions.

The addressal of MAT is a step in the right direction, with the current amendment to increase the tenure for usability of refunds from the current 10 years to 15 years, while laying emphasis on the eventual abolishment of this tax type.

The ongoing move toward GST too is a commendable effort, and we await the clarity promised from GST council on the move toward implementation.

Mr Sudip De,

Director, Doel International Pvt Ltd “We appreciate the announcements made in Union Budget 2017. The budget is an optimistic step by the government for all the industries, ranging from agriculture, infrastructure to corporate sectors.

Post demonetization, we were expecting a few initiatives to address the concerns faced by the common man by launching BHIM app and introducing Aadhar smart cards will positively help in digital transformation and driving India towards cashless economy. Thus, leading to:

We also welcome the move to improve the skilling of youth, as the next wave of business evolution will require an enhanced skillset, to meet the needs of a globalized and highly competitive business environment.

From the personal tax perspective, we expect that the reduction in the lowest tax slab from 10% to 5% for individuals in the tax bracket Rs 2.5 to 5 lakh, will boost employee satisfaction. Our employees can therefore enjoy higher ‘take-home’ salaries which will in some form ease the pressure on companies.”

• Greater transparency • Increased consistency • Higher GDP growth in the economy”

Mr Ajay Laddha,

Co-Founder, YMS Mobitech Pvt Ltd

Mr Prabhu Srinivasan,

Chief Strategy Officer, Intelenet Global Services “We perceive this Union Budget 2017-18 to be one that will bridge gaps, in the country’s efforts to enhance its growth momentum. While certain aspects of the budget, such as the thrust toward digitization and skill India are indeed well-received, we feel that there

The Union Budget has outlined all the right steps in line with the government’s central agenda of Transform, Energise and Clean India. The lower corporate tax announced will help small businesses become more competitive in the global market while reduction in personal income tax is a step in the right direction to boost the consumption cycle. Increasing number of years from 5 to 7 for tax holiday for startups is also a welcome step. Preempting spate of cashless transactions in the days ahead, announcement of a new payment regulatory board will help in realizing govt’s dream of a Digital Economy. Also, curb on cash transactions of over 3 lakhs will help to check the parallel economy.

Ms. Ambika Sharma Founder & MD, Pulp Strategy Communications

“The latest budget announcement holds great promise. I am particularly enthused by the hike in capital allocation for women skill development initiatives to INR 1.84 lakh crore for the 2017-18 fiscal year. This move will empower women across the country and help them in becoming active contributors in the country’s growth. The allocation of INR 10,000 crore for the BharatNet project is also promising, as it will bring high-speed internet connectivity to rural citizens in nearly 150,000 gram panchayats through Wi-Fi hotspots.

With nearly 70% of the country’s population living in rural and semi-urban geographies, the move will give the vision of a ‘Digital India’ a big boost.

On the business side, the reduction of corporate tax for MSMEs with annual turnover up to INR 50 crore to 25% is a very welcome move which is expected to benefit nearly 96% businesses in the industry. Given that corporate tax is one of the major expenses for the country’s MSMEs, the cut in tax rates will promote greater growth within the sector and will allow Indian businesses to become more competitive globally. Increasing the period for profit-linked deductions to three years out of seven years as against five years is also extremely positive news for the country’s entrepreneurial landscape. Since start-ups often do not generate any profits for the first few years of their operations, increasing the consideration period to seven years will benefit more start-ups and promote entrepreneurship across the country. The setting up of Payment Regulatory Board

by RBI to replace BPSS (Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems) as the regulator of electronic payments is also a promising development in the quest to become a less-cash and digital-first economy.”

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ity of bandwidth will help Indians adapt to the digital lifestyle and thus, will help in the growth of the entire ecosystem.

Additionally, the rebate in tax for people, especially the ones at the bottom of the pyramid will increase their inhand disposable income a part which will also be spent on mobility, data and entertainment, further working for the benefit of the OTT players.”

Mr Sanjay Joshi,

Mr J.A. Chowdary,

Country Manager at Edimax India “Edimax appreciates and welcomes the substantial Union Budget 2017 which has shown prodigious intent in keeping up the momentum of Make in India and Digital India missions. It will encourage people to adopt electronic mode of payments which lead to increased digitization and cashfree economy with inordinate transparency. Reduction in corporate taxes for MSMEs will bring ease of doing business and generate higher GDP in the economy.

A startling step taken by the government to contribute INR 10 lakh crore for BharatNet projects will strengthen the digital infrastructure in the rural areas. In addition, introducing Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) will certainly give encouragement to people who previously were scared of digital payments. All these major steps will help in develop a highly connected India.”

Mr Abhesh Verma, COO, nexGTV

“I welcome the budget and appreciate the clear commitment shown by the government towards fueling the growth of digital adaptation by focusing on underlying infrastructure. This is reflected in the availability of more spectrums and 10,000 crore worth of budget allocation for fiber optic laying beyond the already laid 155,000 km. The availabil-

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Advisor IT & Special Chief Secretary to Chief Minister, Government of Andhra Pradesh

Mr Sunil Khanna,

President & MD - India, Vertiv “We believe that the government has focused on creating an inclusive budget for a transparently governed country. It’s refreshing to see the government calling out digital economy as one of the major areas of focus as this will bring in a more transparent administration, enhancing finances for everyone. The move to incentivize merchants with rebates will accelerate the adoption of mobile and digital payment systems in India thus increasing the scope of financial services to the underbanked. Personally believe that this budget holds a lot of promise for skilling the youth in the country. This is something that various industry bodies including the CII, have always advocated. The fulfillment of the Bharat Net scheme along with schemes tailored for the MSME sector will help contribute to a viable and healthy start-up ecosystem.

The provision to support NABARD in digitizing 63,000 primary agro-operatives is a healthy move in order to penetrate rural sectors to achieve its goal of a Digital India. Considering the power deficit situation in the country, the proposal to feed 7000 railway stations with solar energy will help in reducing dependence on conventional energy sources. The almost 1/3rd increase in resource allocation towards Integrated Power Development Scheme and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna (from INR 7874 to 10635 crores) is also a step in the positive direction.”

“The transformative potential of Union Budget 2017 is enormous.

Thanks to the initiatives proposed in the Budget, next-generation Knowledge Service Hubs such as Fintech Valley, Andhra Pradesh can emerge as growth magnets and growth drivers for the Indian economy. The thrust provided to digital transactions will propel the Fintech sector forward; when combined with other initiatives that support tax compliance, digital infrastructure or even rural electrification – the overall outcomes for India can be transformative, to say the least. I am confident that the next-generation knowledge service hubs will also become the hubs for ideas and innovation, while attracting skills, capital and academic institutions documenting, researching, furthering and spreading the knowledge that is created. For us at Fintech Valley, Vizag, it is inspiring to contribute to the realization of such a future, which we are committed to!”

Mr Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO – Paytm

“It is a digital economy budget. Government has pushed the digital theme in every area of the budget. Every person from a small shop owner to consumer is pushed towards the digital economy.

Tax benefits and incentives to use digi-

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tal payments and extend loans based on a digital footprint will create a larger merchant ecosystem for digital payments.

Incentives for labor-intensive sectors including housing, farming and dairy will help SMEs to create new jobs. Focus and attention on bank NPAs, as well as increasing bank capitalization is a great step towards strengthening the financial system of the country. Finally, the income tax rate changes will encourage more people to report their incomes and create a larger tax net for the country. Overall, it is a great budget that will encourage people to move to the formal economy and derive benefits.”

Mr Tomas Pavel,

CMO, Home Credit India Pvt Ltd “The Finance Minister presented a carefully detailed plan to improve people’s spending power and also focused on the need of small traders and farmers. It is heartening to note that the Finance Minister has offered the biggest tax break to the lowest salaried bracket giving them more money in hand. The push towards digitalization of payments and formalizing the

credit market is a welcome step which will lead to more people coming under the legitimate financial system.”

Mr Pulkit Punj,

Director at AnG India Ltd “The Union Budget 2017-18 is favorable for the technology sector, small and medium sized enterprises significantly contributing to grow the Indian economy. The Government’s undertaking to make tax rates reasonable and expand tax base will be a boost for our businesses. The major tax relief given to the MSMEs and SMEs with an annual turnover of INR 50 crores, would enable them to invest in new technology, R&D and explore their digital journey. The ‘Make in India’ initiative will also bring in growth opportunities for local Industries and increase industry output. A considerable emphasis laid on technology in all the development areas and sectors assures us that technology will be at the forefront for India’s economic growth and digital transformation. This budget, has given a momentous push to infrastructure which will also act as an integrated approach to improve safety for the citizens.”

“Mobiles manufacturing in India deserves much more” CMR Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley while presenting Union Budget for 2017-18 announced a slew of measures to push important cogs of the economy. Electronics manufacturing in general and Mobile Phones in particular have become important contributors to the economy in recent years. Mobile phones have in fact gone beyond and are now being seen as the hub of the Digital Nation that India is in making.

As per CMR estimates, in 2017, of the 270 million (27 Cr) mobile handsets to be shipped, 200 million (20 Cr) will be made out of India. Also from the allocated INR 745 Cr incentives for electronics manufacturing in India, around 70% is likely to go to Mobile Handset manufacturing.

This means, as per the all time high allocation, government will incentivize INR 26% handset to be made out of India. Against this, at an average selling price of INR

5138, government collects revenues of INR 617 per handset by way of various duties and taxes. That is a whopping 24 times of the incentive allocated per handset.

CMR completely appreciates the fact that this is an all time high allocation and a defined one for the first time that brings in more clarity about what one can expect as incentives. However, the kind of fillip everybody wants for the mobile handset industry looking at the potential in this category of electronics, the incentive could have been more exciting and encouraging one.

Commenting on the incentives announced, Faisal Kawoosa, Principal Analyst for Telecom and ESDM at CMR, said, “Any incentive is welcome underlining the intent of the government, and the all time high allocation is a great indicator in that direction. However, looking at the potential as well as the success story the mobile phones have exhibited in very short span of time in India, an extra mile effort would have been ‘icing on the cake’.”

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FEATURED

INTEX

Technologies has been

continuously increasing domestic manufacturing They are now working on phase manufacturing plan (PMP) to have localisation of components used in the production of these mobile phones will also be manufactured in India.

In line with the Prime Minister’s Make in India policy, Intex Technologies has been continuously increasing domestic manufacturing. Intex has been manufacturing in India since 2004. The company is manufacturing about 2 million phones per month in India presently. Currently, they have 5 manufacturing facilities – 1 in Jammu , 1 in Baddi in HP and 3 facilities in Noida employing over 5000 people.

Jammu : Area - 51,000 sqft Computer Multimedia Speakers- Capacity 1.8 million annually.

Baddi : Area - 70,000 sq ft 1. Feature Phones – Annual Capacity 8 Million; 2. Mobile Battery 15 Million and Charger 8 Million (Annual Capacity) 3. LED TV 10,00,000 (Annual Capacity) Noida – Unit 1 1. Capacity – Annual capacity is 15 Million mobile Noida Unit – 2 (near Noida Unit 1) 1. Started operations in October 2015.

2. Area spread over 100,000 sq ft 3. Capacity – 20 million smartphones per annum Noida - Unit 3: Area - 50,000 sq ft 1. Started in April 2016 Chargers & Battery - 25million capacity Intex has set up a Mobile Cell and Battery Test Lab in Noida factory. The Lab is capable of testing as per UN 38.3 Transportation Standard. The UN 38.3 transportation standard regulates shipment of lithium and lithium-ion cells and batteries. Shipping generally requires certification that the cells or batteries pass this Testing standard. Tests include altitude simulation, thermal cycling, vibration, mechanical

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shock, external short-circuit, impact, overcharge and forced discharge. Intex has completed UN 38.3 testing hundreds of times.

Intex state-of-the-art lab test facilities include the latest environmental battery testing equipment needed to meet and exceed the testing requirements for a wide range of applications.

Our exceptional resources include: • Automated Battery Cyclers • Shock machine • Vibration machine • Low-pressure chambers • Thermal testing chambers • Abuse testing bunkers Adhering to strict quality standards, the Intex laboratory provides comprehensive regulatory compliance, safety, and performance testing.

FEATURED

TEST PROCEDURE Test cells and batteries are to be stored for at least six hours at a test temperature equal to 75 ± 2 °C. The maximum time interval between test temperature extremes is 30 minutes. This procedure is to be repeated 10 times, after which all test cells and batteries are to be stored for 24 hours at ambient temperature (20 ± 5 °C). For large cells and batteries the duration of exposure to the test temperature extremes should be at least 12 hours.

Cells and batteries meet this requirement if there is no mass loss, no leakage, no venting, no disassembly, no rupture and no fire and if the open circuit voltage of each test cell or battery after testing is not less than 90% of its voltage immediately prior to this procedure. The requirement relating to voltage is not applicable to test cells and batteries at fully discharged states.

INTEX LABORATORY FEATURES • Complete data acquisition, including video, for all performance and safety testing • Calibrated Equipment’s • Controlled-temperature environments • Customized or standard testing programs • Failure-mode analysis • Altitude test • Temperature cycling test • Vibration test • Shock test • Drop Test • Nail Penetration • Cycle life • Discharge rate • Duty cycle • Humidity test • Salt Test • Rate capability • Cell Capacity The Intex Lab is under process for BIS/IEC Safety test accreditation.

FUTURE PLANS

“Most of feature phone manufacturing is now localized and smartphones around 20-30 percent. We have also developed our design capabilities for our mobile batteries and as a branded company we are the only one who do battery manufacturing in India. We believe having a design center is not that important, we want to own the whole supply chain.”

Mr. Ashok Aggarwal, Head Operations,

Intex Technologies India Ltd.

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-

A massive facility spread over 20 Acres is coming up in Kasna, Greater Noida (UP), where all the Noida manufacturing capacity will be consolidated. This unit will have mobile manufacturing capacity of 35 million per annum.

Main products manufactured at Greater Noida will be mobile handsets, mobile accessories, LED TVs, washing machines.

Intex is working on phase manufacturing plan (PMP) to have localisation of components used in the production of these mobile phones will also be manufactured in India.

The target is to manufacture the complete unit of mobile phone including all its components like LCD, Touch phone, speaker, PCBs and Plastic in India in a year’s time.

Images are from our recently factory visit to Intex’s manufacturing facilities in Noida.

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The father daughter bond that played to each other’s strengths is rocking the mobile accessories industry in India.

Pebble is growing at an annual rate of 100% and is aiming to become the industry leader by 2018 with a projected annual turnover of over Rs. 100 crore in the mobile accessories industry.

Pebble was founded and driven by the father-and-daughter duo: Mr Ajay Aggarwal and his daughter Ms. Komal Agarwal.

Mr Ajay Agarwal, Director of Pebble is a stalwart with a long and in-depth experience in the electronics industry. In an interaction with Mobility Magazine, Ajay Agarwal and Komal Agarwal share Pebble’s vision and mission.

Mr Ajay Agarwal reveals, “No other brand in India in mobile accessories can disrupt our market share and brand, because we have a wide and varied product portfolio for mobile accessories, which few others in India have. The most important thing is that Pebble is specialized in mobile accessories, whereas for many other brands selling mobile accessories is a secondary business whereas other products such as mobile phones as their primary business. We are specialized in providing mobile accessories where we focus all our attention and resources. We do not see any noteworthy competition to our brand in the mobile accessories segment at present.”

Today, Pebble is the only brand in India that is well-placed and established across all the possible channels including General Trade (Retail stores), Modern Trade (Retail Chains), Online, In-Flight & Corporate Gifting. As a brand, the key philosophy of Pebble is ‘Convenience with Quality’ which is well reflected across all its products such as power banks, USB cables, Bluetooth speakers and others. For instance, Pebble power banks are among the most efficient in terms of output and quality, and sleekest in terms of design which makes them extremely portable and thus consumer-friendly.

Pebble has also won the award for the Most User-Friendly Power Bank Brand in India.

“We have been in the electronics market since 2000 with our state-of-the art manufacturing plant, design, R&D and QC departments in China, where we have been designing

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Mr Ajay Agarwal, Director and Ms. Komal Agarwal, Director-Marketing, Pebble and manufacturing UPS systems and supplying to the customers under our own brand name and also supplying to other OEM brands as an ODM. Though we source most of the mobile accessories from other proven manufacturers, our R&D, QC and technical teams and our own experience help us to get the best mobile accessory products designed and manufactured by our suppliers. In India, we are already one of the top providers of mobile accessories,” adds Mr Ajay Agarwal.

Ms. Komal Agarwal, Director--Marketing, Pebble, is a B.Tech graduate in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from NTU Singapore and MBA from IIM. Today, guided by the professional management of the Father and Daughter duo, Pebble is growing at an annual rate of 100% and is aiming to become the industry leader by 2018 with a projected annual turnover of over Rs. 100 crore in the mobile accessories industry.

Ms. Komal Agarwal shares, “I always had a determination to be different and not just another brick in the wall. After finishing my MBA at IIM, unlike others classmates who had the inclination to join some MNC or big corporate as employees, I chose to carry forward the legacy of my father by founding Pebble to provide reliable and premium mobile accessories with high quality and safety standards at an affordable price

INTERVIEW to the Indian customers. Our brand’s USPs include better look & feel of the product, advanced features and multiple & special functionalities. Next our products are ergonomically built to give the best comfort in addition to top-class features and functionalities. Our products deliver whatever we state or claim as features and specs. For example, many providers promise 10000 mAh capacity as a feature of their power banks, but actually their capacity may be only 6000 or 7000 mAh. In our case, we mention the actual performance and capacity while giving product specs. Others providers in the market rarely match our products when it comes to the look and feel, all at affordable prices. For instance, while carrying a power bank, customers do not want to carry a heavy brick; they want it to be as slim and light as possible with capacity as high as possible. This is what we exactly focus while designing our products and then, all our products are reasonably and affordably priced. And Pebble is one of the few brands to provide pick-and-drop 6-month replacement guarantee on all its products.”

Today Ms Komal Agarwal, being just 28-year young, energetic and dynamic, is aiming to take over more and more responsibilities from her father. With her professional education, dedication, determination, diligence and ability to deeply analyze customer needs, Komal wants to develop Pebble into No. 1 mobile accessories brand in India. Today, Pebble’s wide product portfolio includes entire range of mobile accessories starting from power banks, chargers, cables, charging cases, BT speakers, headphones, headsets, earphones, OTG pen drives, fitness bands to VR headsets, with more than 60 SKUs. These products are available online, at in-flight shopping and at retail stores across 18 states in India. Growing at a rate of 100% Y-O-Y, Pebble is all set to cross Rs. 100 crore annual turnover in mobile accessory industry by 2018. Pebble leads the market in organizing and branding in the highly cluttered unbranded Mobile Accessory Industry that has no clear quality standards until now.

While talking about challenges in the industry, Ms. Komal Agarwal reveals, “The biggest challenge at the moment in the accessories segment is the competition from the fake/ unbranded products in both offline and online channels. These fake products falsely claim to have state-of-the-art features

Today, Pebble’s extended product portfolio has 60 SKUs covering 10 new product categories. The brand has associations with The Mobile Store, one of the largest Mobileretail chains in India and with the in-flight shopping arm of Go Air and Air-Asia. Pebble has tied up with Ingram Micro, the world’s largest technology distributor and a leading technology sales, marketing and logistics company. The partnership with Ingram Micro as its National Distributor, Pebble has expanded its pan-India operations on a largescale across different states and will soon foray into LFRs and Modern Retail giving further boost to the Pebble’s presence.

Mr Ajay Agarwal adds, “We will continue to upgrade our existing products and add new products to the line with the latest technology and current customer preferences. We have been following this procedure since the inception of our company and we will continue to do so. Every quarter we review our product portfolio to ensure that they meet the latest requirements. BIS has improved conditions by limiting the grey market where low-quality and illegal products which are infused into the market.”

Pebble’s channel strategy includes extensive digital marketing campaigns across social media and e-commerce platforms and from time to time, creating strategic partnerships to increase brand visibility (for e.g. Pebble tied up with travel partners like Yatra, Makemytrip and RailYatri, to provide special offers on our travel accessories to their customers). On the other hand, Pebble is also into large-scale branding in more than 1000 retail stores for PoS push. The brand sponsors large-scale University Fests and Corporate Events to widen the target segment, regional ATL campaigns in print media and radio in Tier 1 & 2 cities and BTL campaigns across various malls in Tier 1 cities.

Ms. Komal Agarwal adds, “The mobile phone market is almost saturated with margins shrinking and there is little scope to maneuver. But accessories market still has a big scope and the positive conditions are expected to continue for 4 more years. Wireless products and power banks market in particular will continue to enjoy good scope for the coming years for which we have entire range of products. Next, corporate gifting seems to be one of the best markets, where we already have over 500 corporate customers. Customers

such as high mAh capacity of power banks, high output of speakers, etc. Thankfully, categories like power banks have been declared under BIS which has substantially helped in eliminating fake brands and products from the market. Our product portfolio is created based on customer needs and wants, the upcoming innovations and trends in technology and the market that we serve. For instance, the products that we offer at Airports/Airlines need to be more travel-friendly and multi-functional, whereas the online market demands more price-sensitive product range. Similarly, for corporate gifting, we need to innovate and create exciting product combos that would make excellent gifts.”

today want durable products and that is where our brand stands at the front. The BIS and the recent demonetization are further restricting the cash-based, black and unorganized mobile accessory market, offering increasing opportunities to the branded providers like us who operate in the white market.”

Pebble, founded in 2013 and based out of New Delhi, is a prominent mobile accessories brand in India. Within a short duration of 3 years, Pebble has emerged as a leader and has set new benchmarks in quality and functionality in the India’s mobile accessories market, which is otherwise cluttered with many unbranded and low-quality products.

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“Oxigen has a large footprint of 200,000 retail touch-points and serves over 150 million users in real-time”

Oxigen’s Mobile Wallet i.e “Oxigen Wallet” is India’s First Non-Bank Mobile Wallet, approved by RBI, enabled to make Instant Money Transfers, to nearly 100+ banks using NPCI’s Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). It also works on Financial Inclusion and is a Business Correspondent to India’s premier banks like SBI, RBL Bank and ICICI Bank. Oxigen’s PoS (Point of Sale Terminal) and the biometric scanner have excelled in providing services like eKYC and Money Transfer in urban and rural India.

Mr. Ankur Saxena CEO, Oxigen Wallet.

In an interaction with Mobility India Oxigen Wallet’s CEO Mr. Ankur Saxena shed some light on their contribution in the digital payment industry space.

What are the key benefit for consumer and businesses to opt for this services?

Mobile Wallets offer multiple benefits to consumers as well as merchants in terms of ease of usage, convenience of transaction, cost efficiency in operations and safety & security over other modes of payments. In current situation when cash availability is low, mobile wallets have proven to be one of the major tools of payments. Over the last three weeks since demonetization announcement, rise in daily average user of mobile wallets has seen 167% growth which clearly indicates that people are adopting to new ways to make cashless transactions.

How are you increasing your reach to facilitate each and every person in India?

We have a large task force, out on the ground, educating merchants and customers, to use the wallet, to enable smooth transactions. Be it a kirana store, your local vegetable vendor, your corner chemist, or salon, all are being acquired. The task in hand is really large, however the adoption is fast, as the merchants need a solution, just as the non-credit/debit card population of India.

The petrol companies like IOCL, HPCL and BPCL, as we speak, are in a pilot with Oxigen, to do both, cashless

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transactions, for fuel payments at petrol pumps, and also deploy the Oxigen Micro ATM at these points, to first help collect old notes on behalf of the Govt, and deposit into the Aadhaar linked bank accounts, and then in the future, use it as a Micro ATM. On the ecommerce front, where we hear about declining sales, due to lack of availability of cash for change – in COD payments & restricted reach with pin code based delivery of goods, to overcome that we have tied-up with eBay, to drive retail assisted e-commerce. Now people can order from a list of products on eBay using their debit, credit card, wallet or even by paying in cash at Oxigen retail touch points.

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What are the key challenges for you as more and more people are looking for such kind of services in this high time.

Primarily, the biggest challenge was to educate the potential users and then to gain their confidence. In the current scenario the awareness part is moving at a rapid pace and coupled with the need of cashless transaction, new users are joining the digital payment industry which is an encouraging sign. This development will help in overall growth of the industry. We are working tirelessly to ensure both – functional infrastructure as well as wide network of merchants.

We have also conceptualized new services like Micro ATM, which will provide services of Financial Inclusion, Merchant payments and Utility payments in single PoS device. The Micro ATM will also help in taking array of banking services to the rural populations in branchless fashion. Micro ATM is a device that allows consumers with Aadhaar linked accounts in any bank to transact from the remotest areas. With introduction of Micro ATM, we see huge potential in rural as well urban areas where bank branches are located far away.

How your product is unique from other similar services?

Currently, Oxigen has a large foot print of 200,000 retail touch points and serves over 150 million users in real time. We are making dual efforts of setting up Oxigen Micro ATMs to offer cash-in/cash-out to customer’s Aadhaar linked bank account including acceptance of bank notes, load money into Oxigen wallet, as well as actively acquiring more merchants to enable digital payments through Oxigen Wallet Mobile App download. We are running on ground and online campaigns to educate common man on how to use Oxigen wallet for digital payments.

Oxigen Micro ATMs will help people in depositing old currency of Rs. 500 and 1000, new money withdrawal from merchants, balance enquiry, mobile/data/dth recharges and money transfer to other bank accounts. These Micro Atm’s will also enable merchants to offer bill payment services through Bharat Bill payment system using cash or VISA/Rupay cards.

Through these Micro ATM’s/retail touch points one can also load their Oxigen Wallet using cash to use at merchant locations. Oxigen recently has also started accepting VISA debit and credit cards also along with RuPay cards at these Micro ATMs which are currently deployed at over 600 locations all over India for cashless transaction/payments.

Oxigen plans to deploy over 1 million Micro ATM’s in 3 to 4 years’ time.

Oxigen has also launched a unique ePoS system through which one can make payments through their debit, credit cards, online banking using Oxigen wallet app to all the associated and new merchants of Oxigen.

How are you building consumer trust?

For us, consumer trust matters more and we believe in providing reliable, secure and innovative financial solutions to our loyal users. We keep working to enhance their transaction experience which is of paramount importance for them. At the same time, we also work constantly to address any consumer complaints or queries regarding transaction on our digital payments platform. This aspect reflects in our ‘Code of Conduct’- Oxigen upholds the importance of a fair and transparent approach in everything it does, by adopting the highest standards of professionalism, honesty, integrity and ethical behavior in all its business processes and transactions. We have trained our staff to market our products and services on their own merits and shall not make unfair and misleading statements about competitors’ products and

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services. All these and many more principals that we follow account for building a loyal consumer base.

As more and more banks are coming with UPI technology, will it affect Mobile Wallet services?

UPI is an infrastructure on top of which end-user apps can build and implement the features offered by UPI. A mobile wallet on the other hand, is a digital form of wallet that you can use to make payments, transfer money, and perform most activities that you can with cash. UPI has very similar way of working as Mobile Wallets however the security concern which hold people back from using online banking or debit/

credit cards give advantage to the mobile wallets. Also, with our vast offline presence, we see very little impact of the UPI on our product. However, more than competition we see both working in a complementary way to achieve the common goal of taking India towards a cashless economy.

Security is also a key issue for consumers and businesses, how are you addressing that? Is user money and information is safe in your wallet services.

Oxigen Wallet uses bank grade security, having managed bank’s wallets, such as changing SIM from one phone to another triggers re-authentication through One Time Password, high level of encryption and above all, each Money Transfer transaction is authenticated with password to avoid misuse of wallet balance in case your mobile is accessed by someone for few minutes etc. This is supplemented with velocity checks on transactions limit of a newly created wallet with loading through payment gateway to reduce cyber fraud risks. Each transaction confirmation sms is sent through two independent sms gateway so that sms delay through telco congestion does not impact user experience and perceived security issue of not receiving transaction confirmation message.

Tell us about some tips to use mobile wallet services more effectively Mobile wallets are fully safe and secured and offer a vast range of convenience. To effectively use a mobile wallet one has to keep updating wallet and understand various features offered from time to time. Like Oxigen Wallet offers prepaid visa card, in app offline and online merchants to shop from facility apart from providing regular services like- recharges, bill payment, shopping, gift card creation, money transfer etc.

If one needs to send money to his family living in village, he/ she can use Oxigen wallet to do so even if one does not have Oxigen Wallet using the beneficiaries mobile number only.

One can also load Oxigen wallet using cash at any of the Oxigen retail touch points.

Date of Pub: 10th February, 2017 | Postal Dt.: 16th & 17th of same Month/ Posted at NDPSO

R.N.I. No. DELENG/2004/14198

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