Infibeam announces support for net neutrality

India's largest e-commerce company,Infibeam has come out to support net neutrality and is against all biased Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country.

The principle that Internet internet service providers (ISPs), should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source is net neutrality. ISPs cannot be biased as it is every consumer's right to equal internet access, who is paying for data, for any website or mobile app, according to a press release by Infibeam.  

Being the most talked about debate in current times, Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, stated in a recent report that he will be given a report by “a committee headed by senior government officials of the ministry" on the spectrum of  "net neutrality objective, its benefits, advantages and limitations including the regulatory and technical issues".

Infibeam said it is strongly against discrimination and hoped that the telecom regulator, TRAI will take actions against ISPs not giving neutral internet access to all Indian consumers.

In support  of net neutrality, a group of  digital rights champions, have initiated the savetheinternet.in campaign and announced that ,60,000 emails were sent out to the TRAI website. Meanwhile, TRAI has released a 110-page document asking pro-neutrality supporters to answer a 20 questions form and inviting comments from users and companies, before the deadline, May 24.

FDA files case against Snapdeal CEO for selling prescription drugs

The state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched criminal proceedings against e-commerce portal Snapdeal.com on the charge of selling prescription drugs, despite being issued a warning in April. According to the law, it's illegal to sell drugs – online or otherwise – that require prescription by qualified doctor as indiscriminate use of such medicines can be very harmful.

An FIR has been registered by the Panvel police against Kunal Bahl, CEO of Snapdeal, and other directors. If proven guilty, the persons named could face a maximum of five years behind bars. The company said it was cooperating with the FDA and had taken off the medicines from its list.

The action against Snapdeal came following a complaint by a consumer who had ordered Vigora tablets, which contain sildenafil citrate – popularly known as Viagra, and Ascoril Expectorant through the site.

FDA first conducted a raid in the firm's Goregaon premises. "A list of 45 drugs was procured and a notice was served to the website to delist the identified products from the internet," said state FDA commissioner Dr Harshdeep Kamble.

The list accessed by dna revealed that all sorts of medicines – allopathic and ayurvedic – were being sold online. The drugs claimed to provide relief from mental stress and enhance memory. Other drugs claimed to help regulate menstrual cycle. There were drugs sold as sex stimulants, capsules for enlargement of penis and breasts. Amongst those tackling diseases, the list included drugs that claimed to treat infertility, erectile dysfunction. Some herbal concoctions were shown as capable of burning fat and controlling blood sugar.

Even after assuring that the list of drugs would be taken off the website, the company allegedly continued with their online sale. It was then an FDA official ordered emergency contraceptive pills I-Pill and Unwanted-72 tablets through the website.

"One strip of Unwanted-72 consisting of three pills and one strip of I-Pill consisting of one tablet was delivered at the FDA official's home on April 24, after the order was placed on Snapdeal. The invoice was received by the official in the name of a Gujarat-based distributor, who had supplied the medicines," said Kamble.

The officer said that up to 150 licensed wholesalers and distributors in Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat and other states are under scanner for tying up with online websites to supply medicines.

"Consumers place orders through internet via websites like Snapdeal, Pharmease, ChemistOnline or Shopclues for medicines. Emails are sent to wholesale or retail chemist suppliers based in India across states by the website to procure the drugs. As soon as orders are received, the Indian suppliers procure the cheapest available drugs from domestic pharma companies. The medicines are then couriered to customers," said Kamble.

"As soon as the medicine reaches the consumer, the website releases payment for the drugs to the distributors after claiming its commission," he said.

Snapdeal spokesperson said, "In this matter, we are assisting the FDA team in this investigation and we will continue to do so. We have already delisted the products and said sellers and also stopped payment, in addition to providing all information to the FDA team as required by them."

"Though we invest significantly in educating sellers on engaging in fair and safe sales on the platform and consequences of selling inappropriate products, at times sellers end up listing such products. Upon being notified of any such products, we delist the products and take appropriate action against such seller," the spokesperson said.

Other websites like Shopclues.com, Pharmease.com, Chemistonline.com are being checked for similarly selling drugs. "In fact online sale of medicines is ten percent cheaper than the retail market price. Such incentives and discounts are offered to consumers to lure them into buying drugs online," said an FDA official.

Snapdeal quells speculation of listing on overseas exchange

India’s second-largest e-commerce player Snapdeal has decided to list on domestic bourses. This comes after months of widespread speculation that the Delhi-based e-commerce giant may go for an overseas listing to raise funds.

However, the company has not fixed any timeline for the listing exercise.

In an interaction with FE, Kunal Bahl, CEO of Snapdeal, said, “Whenever we go for a listing we will go for an India listing. Ours is an Indian company, we have Indian employees, Indian buyers and Indian sellers. I want every single employee of Snapdeal to own its shares.”

Speculation that Snapdeal would go for a US listing got fuelled after its mentor company, Alibaba, went for a US listing instead of going public on Chinese exchanges.

The listing would help Snapdeal raise significant capital. In its last round, when its raised $627 million, Snapdeal was estimated to be valued at close to $4 billion.

Two years back, Snapdeal shifted to the Oracle financial auditing system. Bahl says it was complex in the beginning, but now they have gotten used to it. The new auditing system allows better transparency on the company’s financial structure. It also allows better revenue predictability. Like all listed companies, Snapdeal gives a quarterly revenue outlook to investors.

“Every quarter we give it to the board. When we started doing this we were 20% off the mark, but now we are pretty accurate: 5% here and there,” said Bahl.

Company officials confirmed that Snapdeal closed 2014-15 at a gross merchandise value of $3 billion. GMV is not actual revenue, but the total billable amount that the company does. In the next 5-6 years, even on a conservative basis, Bahl expects Snapdeal to do $30-billion business.

Snapdeal is the largest pure-play marketplace in the country with 100,000 sellers. Recently, it acquired
mobile payments platform Freecharge to boost its play in the online commerce game, which would help it get into online mobile recharge, utility and other bill payments. With this acquisition, Bahl says it has got almost the same market share as its arch rival Flipkart.

Meanwhile, Bahl is also looking at reducing costs. Snapdeal’s operations are spread across multiple offices in Okhla.

The company recently leased a property in Gurgaon to consolidate all its offices. The drive, Bahl expects, will reduce rentals by 20-25%.

Snapdeal appoints former Airtel exec as customer head

Snapdeal has appointed former Bharti Airtel executive Jayant Sood as its chief customer experience officer (CCO) in yet another senior-level hiring in the last one week. Sood in his new role will be responsible for the company’s customer service operations and for delivering ‘world-class’ experience to customers.

“Snapdeal has seen unprecedented growth in the last three years and is undoubtedly the fastest growing e-commerce company in the country. We are on the road to build world-class customer service operations at Snapdeal that will lay the foundation for best-in-class customer experience,” said Jayant Sood.

Sood spent 20 years of his career at American Express before joining Bharti Airtel as chief service officer. He is experienced in leading and managing large-scale operations delivery, business transformation, finance and accounting, change management and customer experience both within India and across international markets.

What Sells A Sale?

When all were busy bashing Flipkart for its take on Airtel Zero and Net neutrality, it rolled out a television campaign around its category-based sales. In the TV commercials titled ‘Sale That Sells Itself’, the e-commerce giant plays on the idea that only an attractive discount can boost a sale and not any marketing campaign.

The ads, conceptualised by creative agency Dentsu Webchutney, show ad makers pitching ridiculous but hilarious ideas for the Flipkart sale to the marketing head, who for obvious reasons rejects them all saying, “Nothing can sell the sale, except the sale itself.” 

“A sale is a sale is a sale. However much we try to glorify it with marketing, it is the actual offers and range of products that will make the users click. The campaign simply takes that notion and spins it into a hilarious narrative,” says Omkar Sane, copy creative director at Dentsu Webchutney.

The campaign marks Flipkart’s first digital initiative as it plans to invite ideas from users to ‘#SellTheFlipkartSale’.

“This film celebrates the idea of this sale as a grand concept that can sell on its own without the conventional advertising pushes. We are sure that our customers will enjoy the ads that will be launched under this campaign,” says Shoumyan Biswas, senior director, marketing

E-commerce boom lures engineers back from Silicon Valley

fter losing top engineering talent for years to America's tech heartland of Silicon Valley, India is luring them back as an e-commerce boom sparks a thriving start-up culture, unprecedented pay, and perks including free healthcare for in-laws.

India's IT industry has long been seen as a back-office backwater, even by its own engineers who started moving abroad in their droves in the 1970s. That is now changing.

The e-commerce sector, led by companies such as Flipkart and Snapdeal, attracted more than $5 billion of investment last year, Morgan Stanley says, compared with less than $2 billion in 2013.

That growth is fuelling the hunt for talent to drive the next stage of expansion - for many, an initial public offering or a push into overseas markets.

"The appetite for finding engineering talent ... is great," said George Kaszacs of Silicon Valley-based headhunters Riviera Partners, who helps Indian startups scout for potential hires.

The number of returnees is small, but they represent a sign of the early emergence on the global stage of Indian upstarts. Indian companies such as Snapdeal, Inmobi and Zomato each say they have hired between a handful to as many as 20 people from Silicon Valley in the past five years.

India's biggest e-commerce company, Flipkart , recently hired two senior executives from Google Inc in California, both engineers of Indian origin, for its headquarters in Bengaluru in southern India.

Flipkart did not disclose their pay, but headhunters say remuneration packages can reach $1 million over 3-4 years.

Headhunter Kaszacs said several factors are drawing Indians back home, including the chance to join a fast-growing start-up. Joining bonuses, stock options and other perks were also helping.

The chance to live close to parents and other relatives is another factor drawing Indian executives back home - an important consideration in India's close knit family system.

For Tanmay Saksena, who heads online ordering at restaurant review website Zomato, similarities between the Indian and Silicon Valley start-up culture helped him decide to return after eight years away.

"Of course your base pay is not the main driver, it is equity and you join a start-up because you think it will do well," Saksena said.

Other executives moved for similar reasons, saying the chance to work for a thriving start-up offset the challenges of everyday living in India's chaotic cities.

In return, companies are going all out to make settling back as easy as can be.

InMobi, a mobile phone advertising platform, provides summer camps for kids and meetings where spouses can socialise with one another. It offers health insurance not just for employees and their spouse, but their in-laws too, which Abhay Singhal says is a big hit.

"One thing that unfortunately India does not have great answers to yet is the quality of living outside of work," Singhal, one of the founders of the company, said.

"The professional still has his days to spend in the office but the spouse and kids... that becomes a very big issue."

Snapdeal said in a couple of instances the company had even helped spouses search for jobs.

"There will be systemic issues everywhere," Punit Soni, who joined Flipkart from Google as its chief product officer, told Reuters in March.

"I took up the job because it was the most interesting thing I could do."