Friday, 18th September ’20
Good afternoon, welcome to the weekend TMT. Is India moving towards another lockdown? Amid rise in COVID-19 cases in city, Mumbai Police restricts movement of people under Sec 144. This happens when the country is nearing daily Corona cases at around 1lakh. Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal resigns in protest over govt’s farm ordinances as Lok Sabha passes two contentious farm bills amid walkouts, resignation.
Hope TMT stays true to its spirit of latest, unfiltered news every morning. Here is a quote from Nelson Mandela to kickstart your day.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
MARKETS
Markets: Markets saw a bearish trend following correction in global peers amid no comments on stimulus measures by the US Federal Reserve. Traders are advised to maintain their focus on sectors, which are attracting buying interest, and plan their trades accordingly. Markets are expected to remain uncertain and investors are advised to remain cautious. IT and pharma continue to lead the pack. The fall in tech led to a fall in all major US market indices.
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
- Flipkart is preparing to tap the public markets as early as 2021, in the US or Singapore, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The ecommerce major may be valued at $50 billion, as per the report. The company’s current $25 billion was ascribed to it when it raised $1.2 billion investment led by Walmart in July.
- Byju’s acquires virtual simulations startup LabInApp. LabInApp uses technologies to make desktop and mobile games to create virtual simulations of science experiments, giving students an ability to gain practical knowledge in the absence of physical infrastructure.
- Alternative Protein Companies like Perfect Day, Impossible Foods, and a host of other startups that are developing replacements for animal farmed goods used in food, clothes, cosmetics, and chemicals have raised a whopping $1.5 billion through the first half of the year.
WHAT ELSE IS COOKING
- Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill passed in Lok Sabha to bring cooperative banks under RBI: Considering the deteriorating condition of cooperative banks in the country, Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed the Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020. The Bill proposes amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. With this new Bill, the central government aims to bring cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India.This move intends to improve the confidence in the cooperative banks and protect the interest of all the stakeholders in the long run.
- Marico joins other FMCG companies to launch ayurvedic products: Marico Ltd on Wednesday launched immunity-boosting products under its Saffola brand as the pandemic piques consumer interest in items with natural ingredients. The products under Saffola ImmuniVeda include a Saffola Kadha mix and Saffola turmeric milk mix, expanding the flagship cooking oil brand which also sells packaged oats, honey and gourmet foods.
- China puts up loudspeakers at Finger 4, play Punjabi songs for Indian troops: Chinese troops have set up loudspeakers that belt out Punjabi numbers at their forward posts! This comes in the wake of Indian troops setting up an around the clock observation at the dominating height near Finger 4, overlooking the positions of the People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese Army has put up loudspeakers under 24×7 constant watch by Indian soldiers and it is possible that the Chinese might be indulging in such drama to distract our troops or perhaps just relieve the pressure.
BUSINESS LOUNGE
There are many reasons why you could have a good or a bad credit score. But if you’re just entering the job market, you may end up with reliable income and a low limit on your credit card. X1 Card wants to solve that by setting limits based on your current and future income instead of your credit score.
X1 Card is built by Thrive, the company that created ThriveCash, a loan platform that lets you get a credit line based on offer letters for an upcoming summer internship or your first full-time job after college. You can then borrow as much as 25% of your total internship salary or 25% of your first three paychecks if it’s a full-time job.
Thrive’s founders, Deepak Rao and Siddharth Batra, came to the US to attend college. They arrived with little money but a lot of promise. With a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, Deepak and Sid graduated from Stanford, and went on to become product and engineering leaders at Twitter.
But it was not always easy, particularly without credit or full financial backing from their families. Thrive counts the who’s who of silicon valley as their board members – stalwarts like Max Levchin and David Sacks. The founders have picked a niche which should have many takers considering it’s vastly underserved.
Deepak says, “We reimagined the credit card from the ground up to have smarter limits, intelligent features, modern rewards and a new look.” The dynamic limit setting option – limit goes up when you get a new promotion let’s say – are features that might just be the disruption that this archaic industry needs.
TMT VARSITY
Defensive Marketing
In many industries, one particular company stands out as the leader, having the highest sales and the largest customer base. But whether they’re selling hamburgers, dish soap, or personal computers, their position as market leader can always be under threat.
New businesses and products constantly arise to challenge the reigning king, offering some alternative—better quality, lower price, some unique feature —to the product(s) currently dominating the market. How should the established leader respond?
Defensive marketing strategies refer to the actions of a market leader to protect its market share, profitability, product positioning, and mind share against an emerging competitor. If not undertaken, some amount of customers will leave the established business in favor of the competitor—who can even displace the market leader and rise to the top.
Google is the market leader in “cloud” technology services. To stay ahead of new competitors, the company actually attacks itself by producing new products that force their old ones into obsolescence. It thus presents a moving target for new competitors, who end up competing primarily against the old Google products.
Different defensive strategies must be used, and will vary depending upon the nature of the competitor’s attack. If the competitor’s product costs less, strategies will be focused on the price-sensitive customer. If the new product has a specific feature that attracts customers, a repositioning strategy might be used. The key is to identify the competitor’s strengths first, which customers those strengths are resonating with, and respond to that challenge.
Written by Kumar Sourav Mohanty, Akansh Bhatt, and Shashank Dobhal
Become Smarter in Just 5 minutes
Get a daily mail that makes reading the news enjoyable. Stay informed and entertained for free. (After Sign Up, you’ll receive a welcome mail within 5 minutes. If you don’t get it, check your promotions tab and move it to primary.)
FOLLOW US HERE