The much-hyped Goods and Services Tax (GST), after years of stagnation and lack of political consensus, was finally passed in the upper house of the Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, on 4th August this year, almost a decade after it was first introduced in the Lok Sabha in the year 2006-07. It is the biggest indirect tax reform post economic liberalization of 1991. The economists say, a double-digit...
In India retailing of jewellery is undertaken in various small and large jewellery shops. Whether the retailer is a large shop in metropolitan areas or a smaller rural shop, the adoption of Software and IT both for back office operations or for business growth, is almost negligible. Why has the change not occurred? On September 22nd 2013 at Royal Orchid Central, Bangalore, some of the most...
The last date to apply for this bootcamp has been extended to 16th August especially for Product Nation subscribers. TiE-IQ Bootcamp is a no contract and free 60-day bootcamp where the participating startups will have an opportunity to create products, launch companies and walk away with their spoils and a lot of learning. This first edition of the TiE-IQ Bootcamp is restricted to B2B technology...
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. ― Winston Churchill Small and Medium Sized Businesses (SMBs), the growth engine of India, are on the threshold of a tremendous opportunity. Globalization of trade and the rapid proliferation of computing and communication technologies are affording them a platform to expand their reach to...
(Post 1 of a series on quick research and usability techniques. Start-up’s can use these techniques fairly easily to connect to and understand their end users better, as well as maintain usability standards on their products.) ProductNation in collaboration with a few like-minded design professionals, recently put together an informal forum for designers, engineers, product managers &...
No one is sure of their exact number, but a census of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) done a few years ago estimated that there are 26 million small and medium enterprises in India. It is well known that this market is fragmented and price-sensitive and, hence, large companies have tried to tailor products and services to target this market. But, is that enough? Take a look at the...
In the Speaker Lounge at NPC12, I asked Bob Wright what new he saw at the conclave this year. He said this year he sees Indian Product owners solving problems that Indian Business Owners are facing. This SMB market in India is lying legs-wide-apart – only money can be made here. Here are 3 industries that I believe are fertile grounds in India: 1. Diagnostics – Data that allows the...
You can read the Part 1 of the 3 series interview here. Shoaib Ahmed, President of Tally Solutions, began his career as a retail software developer in the early 90s. Formerly the Founder-Director of Vedha Automations Pvt.Ltd, Mr. Ahmed was responsible for developing Shoper, a market-leading retail business solution — and the first of its kind in India to bring in barcoding to the retail...
