When the future seems bright

The NDA won the May-14 general election on the promise of ‘Acche Din Aane Wala Hai’(in English this is a promise of good times to come). Since then, despite the hiccups in between, the stock markets have cheered the pending economic rally. But what this post focusses on, is the positive employment outlook for the Indian digital natives of tomorrow. As a finance business partner at India’s number 1 telco , there are quite a few occasions necessitating travel into rural India. On these occasions, I noticed innovative uses for internet for purposes like educational videos to prepare for exams, getting weather forecasts to plan cropping/harvesting, agricultural prices to decide which mandi to sell from, and even stock trading/ecommerce ventures. The most interesting story however, was how the internet inspired people to think beyond the confines of their rural environment. For example, the rice farmer’s son in Salem who used his understanding of agriculture to try and do futures trading speculation on MCX, the artisans store on Snapdeal who can showcase their wares and fulfill orders seamless ly and end-end with the help of ecommerce fulfilment expertise, the web designer in Coimbatore who used the benefit of the powerful broadband connection at his home to  deliver work to clients securely and remotely, and the Bangalore based startup Zerodha which has made trading much more affordable for retail traders. All these are examples where one can use the power of technology and the internet to improve their economic condition. The Industrial revolution was the golden age of B2B, the IT age was that of B2C and now is the age of C2C. Sites like Ebay, Flipkart and Snapdeal have really democratized commerce and helped smaller traders harness the power of the global market. There were fears that the digital divide would increase  the gap between the rich and poor, and those with access and those without. But now that people have the power to dream and  are not accepting the status quo, it is hoped that the next generation will not join the ranks of the frustrated unemployed which started the Arabian spring/other discontent, but will instead believe in the power of capitalism and turn away from the Naxal/other secessionist movements. Equity and growth are going hand in hand with the social security measures proposed in the union budget and other measures for inclusive growth.

This is also having a trickle-down effect on the real estate sector where the power of technology is being harnessed to equip small agents with the same tools as that available to large companies like Knight and Frank. Housing.Com has an excellent technology interface, for example, which is rated as among the best in the world. In my view, they are at the right place in the right time, to capitalize on the impending surge in disposable income, as also the tendency of Indians to do comparison online. Housing.Com could not have existed and disrupted the real estate market even 5 years back, yet now it is joining the ranks of a Zomato, Flipkart, Ola Cabs and so on. For more, refer their site as below https://housing.com/lookup

In conclusion, lets hope that the impending digital boom will transform India’s economy faster.