Demystifying Modi- A marketing perspective

The General Elections of 2014 have officially gone down as the biggest democratic exercise globally and the mandate has been an epic one for India. For the first time since 1984, a national party has the majority to form the government on its own and based on some indicatives, possibly the first time after 1972, a national leader selected by the people out of choice rather than the lack of it.

Yes, the BJP has emerged absolutely dominant across 5 states and enjoys over 80% votes in 5 others and the credit for this should go down to the grass root party workers. But for holding over 200 public addresses, inspiring and infusing enthusiasm in the party workers and building himself as a force to reckon with; it will be a complete three act dominated by Narendra Modi.

Leaving the debate whether brand Modi won the election or was it anything else to the political experts, I am only going to apply basic marketing principles to the success and place forth a simple perspective.

Give the people what they want: The very definition of marketing is focussed towards the needs of people. One factor India has been missing for a long time has been a strong and decisive central leadership. Possibly Indira Gandhi was the last known exponent of this trade and it reflected her resounding re-election in 1972; all thanks to her transformation from the ‘moom ki gudiya’ to the lady behind the victory in the Bangladesh liberation war.

Beyond elections have been just a series of counter actions and replacements to previous governments but never based on leadership. Morarji led coalition in 1977 an outcome of public dissent against the Indira governance. The re-election of Mrs Gandhi was due to the failure of the Janta Party. Rajiv Gandhi in 1984 got a massive sympathy wave, VP Singh in 1989, succeeded on the misdeeds of Rajiv, Chandrashekhar was a stop-gap and Narshimha Rao in 1991 got the benefits of another sympathy wave for Rajiv.

The 13 day Vajpayee government in 1996 failed an absolute mandate, Deve Gowda and I K Gujral were again stop gap arrangements. Vajpayee managed a coalition finally in 1999, but it failed to be decisive as it was always held at ransom by its allies. Manmohan Singh in 2004 was a last minute socially acceptable alternative and in 2009 there were little or no alternatives.

Narendra Modi in 2014 was a sign of definite leadership put forth before the Indian electorate. Who will be the PM had a definitive answer for months leading up to the elections and it was the biggest thing to have worked. Critics, party members and even media has come out saying that in a record turnout voting exercise; Modi was instrumental in installing confidence in the minds of a voter to give up on their inertia and apathy towards the government and exercise their vote.

A robust product: As a 3^rd term CM of one of India’s most rapidly developing state, Modi had suitable credentials to back him as a leader with decision making abilities. Gujarat under Modi was becoming a model state. The biggest beneficiary of the Sardar Sarovar project, water had now reached desert regions of Kutch and combined with hydro and solar power projects on the Narmada canal, Gujarat was now a power surplus state.

From an economic perspective, the swift action for the shift of the Tata Nano project in Sanand with the record time approvals and land allocations was a demonstration of the commanding stature of Modi against other state governments. No one could make such a profound statement by getting the approval from Tata, the gold standard in Indian industry, for their dream project.

Modi has gradually developed as a mark of decisive, progressive and development led governance. This was a much higher product promise presented to the Indians in a long time.   

Power of promotion: Like most others who have risen through the ranks of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Modi has the mass appealing oratory skills that we seek in a leader. He had been a crowd puller with his well-articulated language and confident words.

In addition, the BJP left no stone unturned to build a nationwide campaign across every form of media. Apart from the effective use of social media, television interviews, radio ads, ground activities, rallies and even use of holographic at places- it was a complete and through media campaign.

Going places: Addressing 185 rallies in 45 days leading up to the final phase of elections is no mean feat; it averages to 4 rallies everyday across various parts of the country. To add to it, Modi never stayed over at any place post his address and made sure he was back in Gandhinagar every night. What this super human effort achieved was connecting to the last mile of voters and a gratification of sorts to every single person that the man has taken the effort to meet me in my town.

Multi- appeal positioning: Modi was remarkable positioned to appeal to every Indian in some or the other way to counter the political shortcomings on his resume. A 3^rd term CM with a reputation for global recognition towards good governance was the solution at hand for a country ridden by corruption and scams. For the corporate world, he was a morphine shot in the waiting to aid a crawling economy. His modest backgrounds echoed the sentiments of a commoner while his rise thought the RSS ranks was an encouragement to his party workers.

If religious fundamentalism was a stumbling block, the development model was a redeemer. If zero national experience was a flaw, his work under similar conditions in Gujarat was a strong point. If his age was a spot of concern as compared to other campaigners, his experience overruled the matters.

In an overall, there can be many more factors which we can draw; these were some prime in my opinion. The only hope I hold in my mind is for the faith rested by the voters on this one man leads him to make an incremental change to the lives of every Indian. 

Who moved my manpower?

I had a new guy join us in accounts recently and in a casual conversation I got know that his father owns and runs a workshop for two wheelers in the suburbs. I went ahead and asked him that did it never occur to him to join his father in his business. The reply- my father told me to get my hands greasy only if I failed with the pen. It is a dying trade and getting mechanics to work for you is difficult.

The answer was a familiar one considering most of my father’s friends were connected to the auto business in some or the other way. The one who was an expert in auto engineering had only two mechanics and one electrician handling all the work for an average 7 cars daily. A day when either was away meant he either had to send the car to another place or hold the job for the time being.

The other who managed the tin work was short on painters. The act of hammering a body part to shape was abandoned as there was no one available for the job. Cut- replace panel-weld-paint was the new mantra as it was less dependent on skilled labour availability.

All the three maintained one opinion; this was a result of acute shortage in people who wanted to work in these professions any more. They would rather like to while away time all day not doing anything. If someone did join in, they would spend a few months, get to learn on the job and set up their own shop with the limited know how. The result: they do a shoddy job and loses credibility for everyone.

Workers for such jobs are both local and migrants. The local usually comprised of the ones who did not wish to work unless they felt the job was up to a level they are happy with. They would rather prefer a job as a loader or cleaner in a mall. Why spend the whole day in smoke and greasy palms when they had the option to spend the day in AC to lift a few boxes or clean a lavatory once in a while? The migrants were not looking for long term jobs. They were all up for making the quick buck and spending 3 months in their native on agricultural jobs on their own land.

Bottom line- in an urban space there is work and odd jobs for the taking; the problem is there are few takers.

But this problem is not reserved to the urban landscape of India alone. A typical problem in Indian agriculture has been majority of the farm lands being small and which are not suited for use of large tractors, harvesters and mechanized farm equipment. As a result, most of the work has been majorly handled by farm labourers and landless farmers who toil in the slashing rains and sweltering heat. But in recent times, farm labour has become scarce and expensive.

A traditional woe I used to hear from in around my piece of land was that rapid industrialization offered better opportunities for the youth to earn better and throughout the year and it was eroding the agrarian labour force. What I recently also came to know from the news lines is a new giant has come up to disrupt the rural economy- NREGA.

Launched in 2005 by the government, the purpose of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was to facilitate small and landless farmers with employment opportunities during the months when agricultural activities are on a standstill. The government would engage the labourers for a minimum of 100 days per year in rural developmental activities within a radius of 5 Km (10% extra wages if they had to go beyond) for rural developmental activities like irrigation facilities, afforestation, all year access etc. Since the claim was towards creating jobs rather than build rural infrastructure, I felt this was something on lines of what Roosevelt has done post the depression in US.

As noble as the idea was, the news reports claimed that implementation of NREGA has been shoddy and planning and timing of the projects was not as per the season cycle for agriculture. (http://www.firstbiz.com/economy/bad-mnrega-jobs-planning-causing-farm-labour-shortage-panel-44231.html) With minimum wages of Rs 175 per day, NREGA was in effect siphoning off farm labour that otherwise worked for as low as Rs 80 with small farmers. This has given us two damaging results: rural labour becoming scarce and what is available is expensive. This in turn is hurting the agricultural produce.

And again, human nature has the power to defeat an ideology based government policy. NREGA offers employment and money to go around while Food Safety bill ensures there is something to eat at the end of the day- so why should one work? I found this report in another newspaper which further gave an insight into a small farmer’s plight. (http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-how-nrega-and-food-security-will-impact-poll-outcome-in-bihar-1984464)

I would like to refrain from making any sweeping statements here; but one thing is for sure- rural or urban, people have lost their pride and dignity in labour. If livelihood is being offered on a platter- the labourers will grab it wholeheartedly and leave their employer wonder who does my job now?

India Inc. versus Rest of the World

The Great Indian Political Tamasha, the general elections are over and as we await the results and the new political equations to take shape, there is a positive vibe created in the business arena. The stock markets are breaking into new highs every single day and the likelihood of a pro-growth and investment financial policy is building the new hope.

The biggest talk is around a change in the FDI policy and we are still in fear about 100% FDI in retail sector. Retail is a primary sector catering to the billion plus Indians directly and while it might be the most attractive area for FDI, India Inc. has fears that it has the potential to destroy the domestic retail segment.

Honestly, I find this as no threat at all and have complete faith in the enterprising attitude of Indians. Retail in India may get organised, supply chain may get streamlined and middle men may find it difficult. But increases in competition from both national and international players is likely to erode the margins and pass on benefits to the consumers. But will it destroy the mom-pop shops or the local baniya- unlike many I don’t think so.

Organised retail in India has been around for close to 15 years and has had little impact on the so called unorganised retailers. Pantaloons and Future group along with Spencer from the south might be credited with the first noticeable impact in modern retail in India, many others soon entered the arena. Today, along with Big Bazaar, More (Aditya Birla Group), Reliance Super Mart, Star Bazaar (Tata), D-Mart are all selling from groceries to clothing under the same roof. Competition is growing with e-retail has now entered every segment (even groceries).

But this has still not eroded the local baniya, vegetable vendor or clothing store. Yes, there is a change in buying behavior from the urban middle class who have changed to modern retail. But there are some factors which are very intrinsically Indian which have kept the local retailers alive. I sight these as a reason for closure of some of the Big Bazaar outlets and change over to KB’s and the end of Subhiksha retail and Truemart (a now defunct retail chain by Piramal).

So what differentiates Indian compared to the rest of the world in terms of buying behavior? Three simple rules: Indian customer appreciates being treated like a king, shown a variety of products with a recommendation from the sales guy and that opportunity to touch and feel product before they buy.

Let me pick a small example of buying a shirt to illustrate. What consideration goes into picking a shirt? Colour, pattern, design, size and pricing- mostly standard. But what about variety? How often do you leave a store in a mall saying I didn’t like anything and how often does it happen in a local store? Spell a desire for X style in Y colour in a Z size and if not available today, a local store will get it organised in a few hours or a day. If there is time- they would even customise.

The difference lies in the attitude. For a store in a mall or a super market; you are just one customer; for a local retailer, the attitude changes to a feeling of being the customer. The difference in salesmanship from someone in a mall to a Sindhi/Punjabi salesman in Gandhi Market is amazing. I challenge anyone to walk into a store in the market and walk out not having bought something they wanted.

Let us talk groceries now. Most of the local groceries in Mumbai are run by the Kutchi or Marwadi communities. Stories about how these people manage their business and finances are legendary. But apart from being a shrewd business oriented (and not stingy as shown in movies) and community driven set, they are also enterprising beyond imagination. Let me just illustrate how well they function by a live example.

Bhandarkar Road in the prime Deccan area in Pune once had an outlet of Spencers, Trumart and an assortment of local kirana stores. The advent of Marwadi run shops slowly entered the area and simply based on their enterprising attitude and range of products eliminated shops run by local Marathi people (Not a difficult task considering they are known for not so great customer outlook and pride for ‘We have no branches’).

The next they took over the organised market; armed with very simple tools- service hours of 6 am to 11pm and free home delivery in two hours- irrespective of order value. Trumart meanwhile lost the plot under management issues and exited the arena, leaving Spencers to wage a lone battle against the local stores. This too did not last long and today has resulted in a scenario where the entire road has nothing but two Marwadi grocery stores catering to them.

Bottom line; Indians engaged in the retail sector are culturally very strong and enterprising to be subdued by any form of retail invasion from rest of the world. If any, it will only inspire the existing organized retailers into improving their standards and offer better quality, pricing and service to the consumers.

The Terabyte Problem

I recently came across an online ad of an online retailer- Forget GB, welcome to TB; objective was very simple: push the sales for the external 1TB hard disk into high gear. Does it work- well if I cite personal examples, they do. I have one for the last 3 months, but to this day I have not stored a single file on it. The main reason is that I have another one of 320GB and even that is not utilized to the full.

I am at a loss to understand how I ended up this way. I upgraded my desktop (I still have one) to 500GB, have a laptop with the same, my father has two laptops with 320GB and 50GB at hand. What is now lacking is content to fill up all this space. My desktop is my active backup for all my media and has a mirror on the external. This also included taking data off DVDs which I burnt when I college.

Even then, at present I am facing a very peculiar problem which I never have faced before- a problem of plenty.

I take pride in the fact that I am amongst the generation which welcomed computers into Indian homes. Honestly, this also gave us a chance to be witness to changing data storage devices. My friend from childhood across the road had a Sinclair machine with a tape drive. We actually had to insert game on magnetic tapes to play. The somewhere in 1994, my brother got home a 5 1/4” floppy from his computer class which was like a prized possession. A year later we had a 286 at home and 3 1/2” floppies made their debut and I can say we lasted on 1.44MB data limitation till 2004. Sure the CDR and CDRW had arrived but USB pen drive was like a paradigm shift in portable data.

While in MBA, the minnows had 128 or 256MB pen drives and at that time, the Data Lord was my roomie with a 500GB HDD in 2006-07. But most of these Data Lords I have seen,  have a disorder of a compulsive type- they cannot survive without downloading; mostly movies. For them, pride runs in the fact that I have an unlimited high speed internet and movies and music spread across 3 to 4 external drives of terabyte capacities. What is a disaster though is most of these guys have no idea of what all they have and where. Worse is they have not even seen half of the stuff they have downloaded (my roomie was an exception here)- a colossal waste in my view of time and space resource.

One thing I have realized is that a lot of data space was lost in duplication of content. With me, the same movies existed in three different folders- Downloads, English and New Movies and as a backup also on some DVD which I had now completely lost track of. The same was also true for music; same songs under genres, artists and parts of folders that were exchanged between friends and family. My mission to clear out duplication resulted in deletion of unwanted archaic data as well as leaving me with load of space.

So bottom line- how much is enough? I really don’t know. But what I am sure of is that there is no use filling up terabyte space with movies, music and other stuff unless you go back to it time and again. Coz honestly most of it is not so rare and so unique that you will not find it again someday. 

Achievers from the bottom of the pyramid

In my blogs, I have often written about Indian retail and home grown brands which have made it big in this space. This time around, I feel I need to talk about brands which may not have a dominant national presence but have actually realigned market spaces in their own small way to challenge multinational and established brands.

If you are in any way connected with marketing, ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ is not a new phrase you might come across. In fact it is not new to begin with as its first recorded mention was by Roosevelt in 1932 as he unveiled plans for wide scale infrastructure and development projects in the shadow of the depression. The phrase again caught the wind in its sails when C K Pralhad and Stuart Hart proposed the market development strategy for the billions earning below $2 a day and found buyers at times when the urban demand was unable to drive the economy.

What is admirable though is that this concept was implemented in India far before the marketing strategy was proposed and the point where the company which implemented this stands today is a testimony to its success. Way back in 1980’s a then small company from Chennai with a manufacturing unit in Cuddalore run by C K Ranganathan started selling Chic shampoo in a sachet priced at 50p. The FMCG market in India at that point had big wigs like Hindustan Lever, P&G, TOMCO offering shampoo in bottles, while traditional herbs like shikakai and reetha were also prevalent.

Shampoo or a soapy emulsion have always been a part of the Indian personal care arena for two basic reasons: India is a tropical country making sweat and grime an everyday thing- not to forget the fact that use of oil in hair for nutrition is a tradition well entrenched. In both cases, removing the oil from the hair and scalp was a need irrespective of socio-economic class. The availability of shampoo at an affordable price, in traditional fragrances like jasmine and enriched with the goodness of natural extracts all helped it gain market share.

A huge part of the success was also the fact that in this market segment, brand did not matter as much as availability and affordability. So even when the FMCG giants took notice of the success through small packaging for tier 2 brands, Chic managed itself through aggressive promotions. Not just one time sale- it was about repeat purchasing to a level where actions become habits. Exchange 5 empty sachets for one free; this was like a boon for the buyers in respect for their loyalty. Also, since they were predominantly selling to women in southern India, roping in Arvind  Swamy for an ad was like a master stroke.

By 1993, Chic was not just No 1 in Southern India but also ruling the Pan-Indian rural markets. The company underwent changes right from its name; from Chic India Pvt Ltd to Beauty Cosmetics and finally settling in on Cavin  Kare in the late 90s. The company is now based out of Mumbai and has diversified into other personal products like hair oils, hair dyes along with a professional care range of them. But the company has also ventured into other verticals like pickles (Ruchi and Chinni), and most shockingly (for me at least) packaged farsan snacks (Garden) and dairy products (Cavin). I will confess, I have seen Ruchi pickles and Garden snacks in supermarkets but never knew that who owned them- Garden being an acquisition thanks to their established popularity in Mumbai.

Never the less, while I think of Garden snacks I feel the packaged snacks category cannot undermine the contribution of a certain Virani family (not from Saans bhi kabhi bahu thee fame J) which brought a radical change.

Chips and farsan have long existed in every part of India traditionally. The typical source for it was either homemade or bought from a reputed Surti  Farsan mart. There was nothing called branded farsan or chips until some like Simba or Uncle Chips tried some moves. But the landscape transformed around 1991 when PepsiCo (then Leher-Pepsi) got in Cheetos and Lays. But I believe even they realised that it was easy to enter the market with Indian taste rather than impose US palette.

But while farsan, sev-bhujia got picked up, a part neglected was the variety of nuts and pulses that formed a big part of the Indian choice. Rise up time for Balaji Wafers. The roots cannot be further modest as suppliers of namkeens and wafers to Aston Cinema in Rajkot. As demand grew, the family got into their own production. Growing from the city limits to the state, the company has a formidable distribution presence in western India- its boasts of availability at every few 100 meters. I don’t think they are off the reality. While competition is stiff in the chips category; Balaji has been monumental in the packed nuts and pulses coming back in vogue.

Balaji Wafers is an empire standing on quality product at affordable pricing. A  26 gms pack of Lays costs Rs 10, with Balaji, its 45 gms at Rs 10. At its defined price band, Balaji is something that a pan-vendor, cold drink house or even a wine shop is ready to stock. The biggest reason for the openness of this distribution channel is their customers are usually interlinked. A cheap and wholesome pack of farsan or chips goes over a smoke, a soft drink and definitely munches along with some beer.

Advertising- no; availability- yes; affordability- yes.  Lays builds the aspirations, Balaji fulfils it for the masses. Lays rides on the brand and value sales; Balaji fuels its growth on smaller margins but the volumes given by the pyramid bottom.

A small dipstick I did just gave me an insight that people now at times also ask for Balaji out of choice rather than chance. Reason: it is cheaper, tastier and more appealing to the palette than a pack of Lays or Bingo. As for availability in small towns; wafers was a term that got no response- but yes for Lays and was handed over a pack of Balaji. The first thought in my mind, wow- I wonder what the biggies from the Biz-schools are thinking at PepsiCo or ITC. 

The two above cases are just few of many where the rabbit has taken down the lions; but goes miles to say that it is not about the big budgets as much as business acumen that transforms into success.

General Elections- The great Indian Saga

It is deemed to be the largest political exercise on this planet involving close to a billion people. It might also be among the most expensive democratic exercise (cost us Rs 846.67 Crore in 2009) and practically a logistical nightmare. The great political tamasha called General Elections in India.

We live today in an age where communication and technology have transformed the coordination process; but I cannot even image the kind of pains Sukumar Sen, the first person to be the Election Commissioner in India, might have gone through. Holding elections in India in 1951-52 and 1957 might have been the most herculean task. A time when 85% of the 176 Mn age eligible voters were illiterate, a time when accessibility of some areas was almost impossible and designing a code of conduct, ballot papers, boxes and the procedures had no references. The worst of it all- registering 176 Mn voters onto a list.

A fitting tribute to his capabilities- Sen was also the Election Commissioner in Nepal and Sudan. Not to mention, there were a few votes cast with his name written on it by some in 1951- I feel people just felt that if one person can orchestrate a process so daunting; he can run a country as well.

Indian’s have always been starry eyed when it came to people they vote for. From the Thakur of a village to a religious head, a union leader to sportsmen, everyone has come under the democratic process at some point or the other. Film actors have a special mention here, as they have always portrayed larger than life characters. So if an MGR was campaigning, his words became the words of the god he played in his last super hit. This trend will only grow as I see it.

Electoral reforms have been coming in throughout the years beyond with change in the rules for political campaigning, propaganda and use of resources- but the Election Commissioner as a person rarely rose to a recognizable figure until almost 40 years after Sen. T N Seshan will possibly be always remembered as a man most responsible for cleaning up the election process- not to mention; feared by politicians and political parties alike. Seshan along with MS Gill and GVG Krishnamurthy was the trio who in my opinion could have also taken up against the Chicago mobs.

I did read that Gill and GVG were brought in by the government in power then to negate Seshan’s one man army by bringing in parallels- but together (along with all their internal disagreements) made the Election Commission a force to reckon with. Any irregularities in the election procedure, suspected malpractices or violations usually resulted in disqualification of the person or the result. The iron fist method was a remarkable success. Gill went on to succeed Seshan as the big boss and successfully brought in the Electronic Voting Machines- which now limit the possibilities of a booth capture or bogus voting to a fair extent. Not to mention, the counting process is now far more efficient and quicker.

One large and significant change that has come to the fore front of every election campaign has been spending of large sums of money on media campaigning. Penetration of radio and televisions across the country was very low till the 80's and the state run network only accessible to the ruling party. The traditional means of mass campaigning remained dominant with the megaphones on jeeps and last minute campaigning with car drop services for voters.

But advent of private television networks post 1991 firstly provided options to a wider array of options to the people. Add to it the rise of music videos and private albums- all contributed to use of new media in elections. It brought with it national debates on channels, opinion polls along with expert opinion panels.

By the time the 1996 elections came around, private media was well entrenched in India and I was also enriched with some understanding of the political parties and their policies. If media had anything to play, I got to see some of the political campaigning of the Rao government trying to push forth their development agenda and liberalization via a songs. What was funny in that song though, was seeing how the destitute couple was uplifted to their smiling glory by a government led by a leader whose frowns became a cartoonist delight.

The by-elections in 1999 were amazing for one reason- every political party had entire Video CD with songs in their praise and criticize the other. I still can’t get over “dauda dauda bhaaga bhaaga sa… Deve Gowda bhaaga bhaaga sa”, and attracting Bollywood singers and directors as the talent. Advertising agencies were running the political campaigns and public relation agencies wrote speeches, designed press releases and managing the public image of leaders to a level where even the dress they wore for a public appearance was orchestrated. Today I can listen to Modi adding in verses to Sukhvinder Singh's 'Saugandh mujhe iss mitti ki' almost 3 times an hour on radio and the 'Shiv Senaaaa' tune playing across Mumbai.  

Mobile phones as a medium of political campaigning came in dominance in 2004 with BJP having a pre-recorded message of Atal Behari Vajpayee playing out to every voter on a reliance network. In 2009, the UPA bought the rights for “Jai ho” and the NDA fought back in mocking them with “Bhay ho”… the latter failed miserably though.

Internet and social media has taken political campaigning to a whole new level. BJP and AAP are amongst the most prolific users of this media with dedicated teams working overnight. Youtube videos are helping voters excited. Websites are updated on daily basis and even a “Mann se hai Mulayam…” can become the talk of the town in minutes. Anything said in any form cannot miss the public eye and the person involved cannot get away saying he was misquoted.

Well, so the stage has been set for the next big saga to unfold… all that remains is how all the media and popularity transforms the political landscape of this country. 

Roti, Kapda aur Mobile

If I wanted to sum up the changing fabric of India over the last 20-25 years, this is what I would say.  While roti and kapda have been popular political slogans right from the 60’s as basic and essential needs for a population, mobiles have become a key requirement for people. And why not; calling rates in India are cheaper than in comparison to any place in the world, handsets and even smartphones are available within budget and tower penetration has been improving. One big reason for this is the advantage of a large population base; the numbers compensate for operating revenues.

Mobile phones have changed the way India has functioned over the last 20 years of its existence in India. It started off as a luxury which only the super-rich could afford. No ordinary Indian could afford a handset resembling a brick costing above Rs 5000 and paying Rs 16 the moment they said hello. But this was an era when number of networks were few and competition had not set in yet. Orange

The first winds of change came in from Reliance which came in with its captive low cost handsets and lowest calling rates for the day. They targeted corporates and roped in the biggest names with their massive employee strengths to come through with corporate offers that gave them scale as well as steady clientele.

The next boom came around early 2000s when Airtel was launched and came in with a sweeping offer of free SMS every month. This was revolutionary in terms that mobile phones unlike fixed lines were no longer for voice alone and SMS was the choice of communication which was most analogous to an internet messenger. And as always, even at times when a call would cost Rs 1, an SMS was free.

This coinciding with cheaper handsets entering the market which set the trend for mobile phone rising higher in the must have list. Finally, when TRAI scrapped the free SMS schemes and limited discounting, some felt was there scope to innovate beyond calls and SMS at 50p. Enter Tata Docomo and its game changer per second billing. In reality, this is not discounting at all… in fact this is expensive that what other players offered; but the perception of value won the game.

Running parallel to this was the handset market with Indian market flooded with low cost options through joint ventures with East Asian companies. Between 2008 and 2010; there were a total of 26 handset companies which entered India. Everyone had a phone; the maid, the watchman. The neighbourhood vegetable vendor now took orders on the mobile phone and delivered on the door step. You could now call a taxi cab as the driver had a phone. STD calls were now dropping as migrants could call their relatives in rural India at places where power and water may be a problem, but telephone networks were always present.

During this time, I used to avidly follow the blog of an ex-Nokia guy; Tomi Ahonen. In my view, he was among the first guys who had predicted how the mobile phone screen would be the next big thing. At first, the idea seemed a distant dream considering India was still in the WAP days with abysmal subscriptions. But how right he was. In the next few years, the personal space of the telephone screen was doubling faster than the traditional computers and with the advent of smart phones is almost looking to replace takeover the market completely. Mobile based internet access has been increasing ever since. Today there is more revenue being generated through mobile based internet services as compared SMS. Just a few numbers- 185Mn mobile internet users in India alone. It kind of justifies the reason why an internet platform like facebook has bought a small mobile social App like Whatsapp. 

Blackberry was considered a serious business phone until BBM became a college hangout. It was now a scenario where a business person carried a top of the line Blackberry and a collegian had a low end model with almost every functionality as the top end. Dedicated widgets for applications were a rage when launched. But all this was just a phase as we see it today.

The rules of the game have changed and the biggest game changer has been Android. The open software platform and Apps for android rendered Symbian as an ancient relic and Android, Windows and iOS became the mobile softwares by choice. Today, it is not surprising for me to find people from modest backgrounds flaunt a high end phone as a combined effort of low tariffs, cheaper handsets and a host of free Apps to cater to everyone. It is astonishing to find that globally, 24% of all internet access is through Android (phones and tablets), 18% is iOS (all devices including PC) and Windows is only 9% (all devices including PC).

Where will we go next is anyone’s guess. But one thing is for sure, what is the ordered of the day, will be a page in history soon. What Motorola and Nokia were once; Samsung and iPhone are today. Mobile technology is changing so rapidly that the jump from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5 has been about 6 months. Mobile phones are now a need and it won’t be long when nomophobia (phobia of having no mobile connectivity) will be as prevalent as common cold.