One of the most whinned topic in the Internet industry in India is its ‘penetration’. I have mentioned in several posts of my blog that many localities in Bangalore don’t have wired broadband service. The service of USB data cards are just about ok, I use it only if I have to, else prefer to postpone my work.
One of the reasons for not having internet service in Tier-1 cities is because of the classic last mile problem. Govts don’t give permission to dig the roads, telcos find it expensive to lay cables to each house.
In June 2010 Govt of India raised Rs 38,300 crore from the auction of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum. BWA is a good solution to increase the reach of internet in India, especially in Tier-2 towns. This topic is of great interest to me because it will increase the consumption of Indian languages on the internet.
I was excited to read about Zylog‘s launch of Wireless broadband services in few cities of India. According to a report on Telecom Tiger,
* Wi5 Broadband, an initiative by Zylog, is a high-speed fixed wireless broadband connection which will offer various unlimited download internet plans starting from Rs.499 with speeds ranging from 256 kbps to 1Mbps
* Zylog Wi5 has already established its presence in over 150 towns and cities across India
* Zylog has invested Rs 90 crore in our Wi5 services in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab and Goa region.
* 73 per cent of our presence is in underserved small towns while the rest is in cities. During the current fiscal (2011-12), the company plans to add another 110 small towns and 40 cities
This is good to hear, I haven’t used any such service till now. Would like to try it out though.
Power Shortage
One of the other problems India faces is shortage of power. These towns may get internet services but may not have regular power to use their PCs. Yes, India will go nuclear but not anytime soon, will take few decades.
Just last week I heard from our colleagues in Tamil Nadu that the power situation was very bad (not just the political power but ‘electricity power’). They have power cuts of 8 hours in Chennai and in other parts of the state as high as 12-14 hours. They get power every 2 hours which is not enough to charge your UPS.
When I hear these incidents I tell myself – when it comes to basic infrastructure, most of us (including me) who are in Tier-1 cities don’t know the realities just outside their own city.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Petrol Price hike: Have you changed your lifestyle?
We in India are getting used to hike in petrol/gas prices. It is hurting to the huge Indian middle class but we have to start facing reality. Just few days ago I saw a report which said we can expect yet another hike of Rs 5/litre.
Gas prices have been increasing in US too. Nielsen reports on how this hike has effect people in US and Canada,
* Trip compression continues to dominate as a key strategy for 67 percent of households looking to save on high gas prices.
* Nearly half of consumers (46%) in US will continue to seek lower priced gas stations and eat out less (45%) and over one-third (36%) will shop closer to home to offset high prices at the pump.
* 12 percent say they are buying larger economy sizes (buying wholesale)
* More and more savvy shoppers are taking advantage of incentive programs linked to grocery spending to buy gas. 28 percent of consumers say they are using their grocery shopper loyalty cards to save up to 10, 20 and 30 cents on a gallon of gas by redeeming points at participating gas stations. (this will never happen in India)
* With four out of six households saying they are combining errands to reduce their driving and control their gas spending
* Gas prices in Canada have increased 30 percent in the past year, which is costing the average household an additional $73 per month for a monthly outlay of $300.
* The current average price in Canada for regular gasoline is $1.31 per litre, which is 30 percent higher than comparable U.S. prices
* One in five households (21%) in US say they are reducing spending to a great degree. 86% of Canadians indicate that rising gas prices are impacting driving and shopping habits – a 31 percent increase since 2010.
* When prices exceed $1.75 per litre, the monthly gas bill will actually exceed the grocery bill
* Rising gas prices mean consumers are likely to opt for more stay-at-home activities. More than half (55%) of Canadians say they plan to do more things at home.
* One-third of households will consider grocery home delivery (32%), shop close to home (31%), seek out low-priced gas stations (31%), use lower grades of gas (31%) and 14 percent will eat out less often.
* Overall consumer shopping trips are down.
* One coping mechanism to minimize drive time is using a carpool, which is being deployed by 24 percent of households.
* One in five (21%) plan to buy less expensive brands, 17 percent intend to purchase larger pack sizes, 15 percent will look for savings at warehouse club outlets, 12 percent say they will combine errands/trips, 11 percent aim to stock up the pantry and 4 percent are determined to save by using more coupons.
Unlike in India, gas prices keep varying between gas stations in US and Canada. People find the cheapest gas station in their area from sites like GasBuddy.
Car Pooling
Car pooling is one way to save on your petrol bill but I feel we are not that open to car pooling in India. Few sites are out there for car pooling, haven’t seen any of them rocking. I car pool during weekends with friends but can’t see that happening for my work.
Looking for a carpool/bike partner? Check out click.in.
Public Transportation
Except for Mumbai, not sure in which city in Bangalore public transportation is good. Bangalore has lovely Volvo buses though. I am looking forward to using Metro in Bangalore.
In India luckily we have small shops (“kirani” shop as we call in Karnataka) all around the house. We usually walk up to these shops, except for the monthly groceries.
When the price rises, I hear people whinning about it but later just forget about it. Their traveling habits rarely change.
Gas prices have been increasing in US too. Nielsen reports on how this hike has effect people in US and Canada,
* Trip compression continues to dominate as a key strategy for 67 percent of households looking to save on high gas prices.
* Nearly half of consumers (46%) in US will continue to seek lower priced gas stations and eat out less (45%) and over one-third (36%) will shop closer to home to offset high prices at the pump.
* 12 percent say they are buying larger economy sizes (buying wholesale)
* More and more savvy shoppers are taking advantage of incentive programs linked to grocery spending to buy gas. 28 percent of consumers say they are using their grocery shopper loyalty cards to save up to 10, 20 and 30 cents on a gallon of gas by redeeming points at participating gas stations. (this will never happen in India)
* With four out of six households saying they are combining errands to reduce their driving and control their gas spending
* Gas prices in Canada have increased 30 percent in the past year, which is costing the average household an additional $73 per month for a monthly outlay of $300.
* The current average price in Canada for regular gasoline is $1.31 per litre, which is 30 percent higher than comparable U.S. prices
* One in five households (21%) in US say they are reducing spending to a great degree. 86% of Canadians indicate that rising gas prices are impacting driving and shopping habits – a 31 percent increase since 2010.
* When prices exceed $1.75 per litre, the monthly gas bill will actually exceed the grocery bill
* Rising gas prices mean consumers are likely to opt for more stay-at-home activities. More than half (55%) of Canadians say they plan to do more things at home.
* One-third of households will consider grocery home delivery (32%), shop close to home (31%), seek out low-priced gas stations (31%), use lower grades of gas (31%) and 14 percent will eat out less often.
* Overall consumer shopping trips are down.
* One coping mechanism to minimize drive time is using a carpool, which is being deployed by 24 percent of households.
* One in five (21%) plan to buy less expensive brands, 17 percent intend to purchase larger pack sizes, 15 percent will look for savings at warehouse club outlets, 12 percent say they will combine errands/trips, 11 percent aim to stock up the pantry and 4 percent are determined to save by using more coupons.
Unlike in India, gas prices keep varying between gas stations in US and Canada. People find the cheapest gas station in their area from sites like GasBuddy.
Car Pooling
Car pooling is one way to save on your petrol bill but I feel we are not that open to car pooling in India. Few sites are out there for car pooling, haven’t seen any of them rocking. I car pool during weekends with friends but can’t see that happening for my work.
Looking for a carpool/bike partner? Check out click.in.
Public Transportation
Except for Mumbai, not sure in which city in Bangalore public transportation is good. Bangalore has lovely Volvo buses though. I am looking forward to using Metro in Bangalore.
In India luckily we have small shops (“kirani” shop as we call in Karnataka) all around the house. We usually walk up to these shops, except for the monthly groceries.
When the price rises, I hear people whinning about it but later just forget about it. Their traveling habits rarely change.
Posted in internet | No Comments » What did your ‘lunch box’ look like in school days?
Last weekend I had the pleasure of watching “Stanley Ka Dabba” with family. I had read the reviews of this movie and wanted to make sure my kid watched some quality movie with us.
The producer/director of this movie, Amole Gupte, is a man with immense talent. It is easy to make movies which have lot of masala/spice but to make a movie out of ‘lunch box/dabba’ is very creative.
Nearly every scene in the movie is about what a child brings to eat at school (except for the main character who rarely brings food to school). The kids in the classroom are very cute (especially the Mehra boy who brings a huge lunch box everyday). It was nice to see kids got along in that class, there was no concept of making fun of a poor boy. They were there for each other at every juncture of the school year.
Amole Gupte’s performance in ‘Phas Gaye Re Obama‘ was outstanding. I do hope at least one of his movies gets some National Award.
Some highlights of ‘tiffin dabba’ from my school days
* When you open the lid, each one would quickly scan what the other classmate had brought to eat.
* During my school days we use to share the food but not that often.
* In fact a few of my friends would “cover” their lunch box (as seen in the photo!).
* We never had those jazzy tiffin boxes you get today. We had those plastic boxes which were surely not ‘leak proof’.
* Always took home made food to school, never had those snacks/junk food during those days.
The producer/director of this movie, Amole Gupte, is a man with immense talent. It is easy to make movies which have lot of masala/spice but to make a movie out of ‘lunch box/dabba’ is very creative.
Nearly every scene in the movie is about what a child brings to eat at school (except for the main character who rarely brings food to school). The kids in the classroom are very cute (especially the Mehra boy who brings a huge lunch box everyday). It was nice to see kids got along in that class, there was no concept of making fun of a poor boy. They were there for each other at every juncture of the school year.
Amole Gupte’s performance in ‘Phas Gaye Re Obama‘ was outstanding. I do hope at least one of his movies gets some National Award.
Some highlights of ‘tiffin dabba’ from my school days
* When you open the lid, each one would quickly scan what the other classmate had brought to eat.
* During my school days we use to share the food but not that often.
* In fact a few of my friends would “cover” their lunch box (as seen in the photo!).
* We never had those jazzy tiffin boxes you get today. We had those plastic boxes which were surely not ‘leak proof’.
* Always took home made food to school, never had those snacks/junk food during those days.
Internet traffic to grow 7 fold by 2015, Asia to be growth centre
According to Asia Will Become the New Center of the Internet (and the Press Release), North America will not be the highest source of web traffic. The report talks about generator of web traffic, i.e. the users. Would be interesting to know what would be their source of information? Would they consume content relevant to their region or would they continue to consume content from US (HuffPost, Youtube).
China, South Korea, Japan would be the important contributors to web traffic from Asia. India doesn’t figure in the list. Not good.
When it comes to data transfer, we hear about Giga and Terabytes. As the consumption keeps increasing terabytes won’t fit the bill. You will hear about petabytes (1000 terabytes), zettabytes (1 billion terabytes).
Few points from that report,
* Internet traffic will grow seven-fold between 2010 and 2015 to reach roughly 1.2 zettabytes globally, and by 2015
* Total global traffic will reach 1.2 million petabytes — or roughly 1.2 zettabytes
* 50% of the traffic would be from videos.
* Cloud applications (especially backup apps) will contribute significantly to web traffic.
* China is expected to have 670 million Internet uses by 2015.
* Asia, not North America, will be the dominant region with a 42% share by 2015
While I don’t have access to the entire report, India doesn’t seem to figure anywhere. I still believe WiMax (wireless broadband) and not 3G will contribute to the growth of internet penetration in India.
We already see a phenomenal increase in consumption of videos in India (courtesy teens). This will only grow further.
Hosting/bandwidth costs in India have to fall by a great extent (at least by 50%). Majority of Indian content portals need to be hosted in India and not outside India. That would help the user experience which will translate to increase in consumption of web content from India.
Few internet statistics related numbers from India (source: Google, March 2011),
* India is the 3rd biggest Internet market globally
* Over 100 million internet user base
* The market has grown 20 times during 2005-2010
* 40 million people in India access the Internet from work
* 30 million access net from cyber cafes
* 11 million households have a broadband connection
* 40 million access internet from their mobile phones
China, South Korea, Japan would be the important contributors to web traffic from Asia. India doesn’t figure in the list. Not good.
When it comes to data transfer, we hear about Giga and Terabytes. As the consumption keeps increasing terabytes won’t fit the bill. You will hear about petabytes (1000 terabytes), zettabytes (1 billion terabytes).
Few points from that report,
* Internet traffic will grow seven-fold between 2010 and 2015 to reach roughly 1.2 zettabytes globally, and by 2015
* Total global traffic will reach 1.2 million petabytes — or roughly 1.2 zettabytes
* 50% of the traffic would be from videos.
* Cloud applications (especially backup apps) will contribute significantly to web traffic.
* China is expected to have 670 million Internet uses by 2015.
* Asia, not North America, will be the dominant region with a 42% share by 2015
While I don’t have access to the entire report, India doesn’t seem to figure anywhere. I still believe WiMax (wireless broadband) and not 3G will contribute to the growth of internet penetration in India.
We already see a phenomenal increase in consumption of videos in India (courtesy teens). This will only grow further.
Hosting/bandwidth costs in India have to fall by a great extent (at least by 50%). Majority of Indian content portals need to be hosted in India and not outside India. That would help the user experience which will translate to increase in consumption of web content from India.
Few internet statistics related numbers from India (source: Google, March 2011),
* India is the 3rd biggest Internet market globally
* Over 100 million internet user base
* The market has grown 20 times during 2005-2010
* 40 million people in India access the Internet from work
* 30 million access net from cyber cafes
* 11 million households have a broadband connection
* 40 million access internet from their mobile phones
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Siraj Ud Daulah captures Calcutta
The Battle of Plassey
As the East India Company grew in size so did its lust for power. The decline of the Mughal empire and the rise of regional provinces like Bengal, presented the Company an opportunity for political interference. In 1740, Nawab Alivardi Khan of Bengal became practically independent. In 1756, his death led to a power struggle between his widow Ghasiti Begum and grandson Siraj Ud Daulah who became the Nawab of Bengal.
The company's support for Ghasiti Begum earned it the wrath of Siraj. The Company also started fortifying the Fort William without the Nawab's permission. On 20th June 1756, Siraj attacked and took over Fort William. Many of the English prisoners, who were imprisoned in a tiny room, died. This is often portrayed as the Black Hole of Calcutta. Many believe that the incident has been greatly exaggerated to suit the purpose of the Company.
The Company Fights back
The company sent in relief troops from Fort St. George of the Madras headquarters. The troops led by Robert Clive and Admiral Watson retook Calcutta on 2nd January, 1757. The treaty of Alinagar was signed between the Nawab and the Company.
However Clive's military ambitions were on the ascendancy. His troops captured the French settlement of Chandernagore. He tempted Siraj's uncle Mir Jafar to ally with him in exchange for the Nawab's position. On 23rd June, 1757, the Company troops marched against Siraj. Betrayed by his own men Siraj was defeated in the Battle of Plassey, which is said to have lasted only a few hours. He was soon assassinated in his capital Murshidabad. From being traders, the Company turned kingmakers in Bengal and Mir Jafar was installed as the new Nawab. Clive got his pound of flesh from the Nawab in terms of 234,000 pounds and was awarded an annual salary of 30,000 pounds per year. This made him one of the richest Britons in the world. The company also secure rights over a large area south of Calcutta. Construction of a new Fort William was started and was completed in 16 years in 1773. These events led to the rise of Calcutta and the decline of Murshidabad.
As the East India Company grew in size so did its lust for power. The decline of the Mughal empire and the rise of regional provinces like Bengal, presented the Company an opportunity for political interference. In 1740, Nawab Alivardi Khan of Bengal became practically independent. In 1756, his death led to a power struggle between his widow Ghasiti Begum and grandson Siraj Ud Daulah who became the Nawab of Bengal.
The company's support for Ghasiti Begum earned it the wrath of Siraj. The Company also started fortifying the Fort William without the Nawab's permission. On 20th June 1756, Siraj attacked and took over Fort William. Many of the English prisoners, who were imprisoned in a tiny room, died. This is often portrayed as the Black Hole of Calcutta. Many believe that the incident has been greatly exaggerated to suit the purpose of the Company.
The Company Fights back
The company sent in relief troops from Fort St. George of the Madras headquarters. The troops led by Robert Clive and Admiral Watson retook Calcutta on 2nd January, 1757. The treaty of Alinagar was signed between the Nawab and the Company.
However Clive's military ambitions were on the ascendancy. His troops captured the French settlement of Chandernagore. He tempted Siraj's uncle Mir Jafar to ally with him in exchange for the Nawab's position. On 23rd June, 1757, the Company troops marched against Siraj. Betrayed by his own men Siraj was defeated in the Battle of Plassey, which is said to have lasted only a few hours. He was soon assassinated in his capital Murshidabad. From being traders, the Company turned kingmakers in Bengal and Mir Jafar was installed as the new Nawab. Clive got his pound of flesh from the Nawab in terms of 234,000 pounds and was awarded an annual salary of 30,000 pounds per year. This made him one of the richest Britons in the world. The company also secure rights over a large area south of Calcutta. Construction of a new Fort William was started and was completed in 16 years in 1773. These events led to the rise of Calcutta and the decline of Murshidabad.
Humayun�s Rule
Humayun�s Rule
Babur was succeeded by his eldest son Humayun. Humayun failed in asserting a strong monarchical authority. He inherited a freshly won empire with a host of troubles; the Afghan nobles, the Rajputs and worst of all, his three treacherous brothers. They caused numerous problems for him. Following his father's advice, Humayun treated his brothers kindly and appointed them to high positions. Kamran was appointed as the Governor of Kabul, Kandhar and later even Punjab. Askari was the Governor of Sambhal, and Hindal the Governor of Alwar. In return, his brothers hindered him at every step and betrayed him in his hour of need. All of them coveted the throne. This was a curse that each successful Mughal king had to deal with. Humayun almost lost the empire his father had fought so hard to bequeath him. In the first ten years of his rule, he faced so many challenges not only from his younger brothers but also from the Afghan General Sher Shah Suri who had served under Babur. Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun in the battles of Chausa and Kanauj in 1540. This defeat was the first setback to the infant Mughal Empire. He lived the next 15 years of his life, from 1540 to 1555, self-exiled in Persia. Later on, with the help of the King of Persia, he captured Kabul and Kandhar. He was finally able to re-ascend the throne at Delhi and Agra after defeating Sikandar Suri. After recovering his throne, Humayun devoted himself to the affairs of the kingdom and towards improving the system of government. He laid the foundation of the Mughal style of painting. Later on, during the reign of Akbar, a fusion of Persian and Indian style of painting took place.
Humayun's Architectural Legacy:
Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb, Delhi (1528-36)
Imam Zamin's Tomb, Delhi (1537)
Hasan Khan's Tomb, Sasaram (c. 1535)
Sher Shah's Tomb, Sasaram (c. 1540)
Purana Qila, Delhi (c. 1530-45)
Qala-i-Kuhna Masjid, Delhi (1541)
Sher Mandal, Delhi (c. 1541)
Gate of Sher Shah's Wall, Delhi (1540s)
Salimgarh, Delhi (1546)
Isa Khan's Mosque and Tomb, Delhi (1547)
Sabz Burj, Nila Gumbad, Delhi
Bu Halima's Garden, Delhi
Unfortunately, after recovering his empire, Humayun was not destined to rule for long. In January 1556, he met his tragic end by slipping from the famous building known as Din Panah.
Humayun only just managed to regain his father's territories before his death and the accession of his 13 year old son, Akbar, whose 49 year reign laid the foundation of empire, and the development of a new style of architecture.
Babur was succeeded by his eldest son Humayun. Humayun failed in asserting a strong monarchical authority. He inherited a freshly won empire with a host of troubles; the Afghan nobles, the Rajputs and worst of all, his three treacherous brothers. They caused numerous problems for him. Following his father's advice, Humayun treated his brothers kindly and appointed them to high positions. Kamran was appointed as the Governor of Kabul, Kandhar and later even Punjab. Askari was the Governor of Sambhal, and Hindal the Governor of Alwar. In return, his brothers hindered him at every step and betrayed him in his hour of need. All of them coveted the throne. This was a curse that each successful Mughal king had to deal with. Humayun almost lost the empire his father had fought so hard to bequeath him. In the first ten years of his rule, he faced so many challenges not only from his younger brothers but also from the Afghan General Sher Shah Suri who had served under Babur. Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun in the battles of Chausa and Kanauj in 1540. This defeat was the first setback to the infant Mughal Empire. He lived the next 15 years of his life, from 1540 to 1555, self-exiled in Persia. Later on, with the help of the King of Persia, he captured Kabul and Kandhar. He was finally able to re-ascend the throne at Delhi and Agra after defeating Sikandar Suri. After recovering his throne, Humayun devoted himself to the affairs of the kingdom and towards improving the system of government. He laid the foundation of the Mughal style of painting. Later on, during the reign of Akbar, a fusion of Persian and Indian style of painting took place.
Humayun's Architectural Legacy:
Jamali Kamali Mosque and Tomb, Delhi (1528-36)
Imam Zamin's Tomb, Delhi (1537)
Hasan Khan's Tomb, Sasaram (c. 1535)
Sher Shah's Tomb, Sasaram (c. 1540)
Purana Qila, Delhi (c. 1530-45)
Qala-i-Kuhna Masjid, Delhi (1541)
Sher Mandal, Delhi (c. 1541)
Gate of Sher Shah's Wall, Delhi (1540s)
Salimgarh, Delhi (1546)
Isa Khan's Mosque and Tomb, Delhi (1547)
Sabz Burj, Nila Gumbad, Delhi
Bu Halima's Garden, Delhi
Unfortunately, after recovering his empire, Humayun was not destined to rule for long. In January 1556, he met his tragic end by slipping from the famous building known as Din Panah.
Humayun only just managed to regain his father's territories before his death and the accession of his 13 year old son, Akbar, whose 49 year reign laid the foundation of empire, and the development of a new style of architecture.
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