Online banking scenario in India

All the banks and financial Institutions in India are in the process of making their services web-enabled so that the online banking services could be provided to its customers and they can at the other end reap full benefits out of it. This Internet banking arena has also increased the competition among the Banks and in turn has compelled banks to focus more on its customers need and requirements and adoption of upcoming technology on the Internet. It’s being so to keep all the Banks at the same pace. Though as per the global standards India has still to go a long way but gone are those days of traditional banking. Internet banking evolved in the mid-1990s when Internet and the World Wide Web began to catch on. At present Private and Multinational Banks are doing good by implementing Internet Banking in India. Though nationalized banks have not yet implemented Internet Banking system successfully in comparison to the private ones and that is why in such Banks we find mix of both online and manual process.

Loopholes in e-Commerce in India

No second thought to it that e-Commerce is blooming in India but there are still many bottlenecks that are hindering its growth. Some of the major issues are related to safety and security online, infrastructure requirements, credit card and debit card payment, physical delivery of goods etc. All the growth driving factors such as increasing internet user base, young clan being more internet savvy etc would not bring the desired results until and unless these things are taken care of. Online travel retail is boosting e-Commerce in India majorly because of main three reasons that is convenience, very low touch & feel and the good price concessions. Apart from this where touch and feel is required people do not have much interest in spending a big chunk on them. Another major requirement is to have required infrastructure for the proper physical transfer of goods. Then again not to forget is the online security issue and that is why many Indians opt for cash on delivery as the option for the payment. All these loopholes need to be taken care of.

Online Classifieds Industry (e-Commerce) growing

This section of e-Commerce is also catching up in India smoothly and on a good pace. Online classifieds allow people who can be called as Internet Users to showcase their offerings providing them a big and a very huge platform. These online classifieds could be used for several purposes like for matrimony, Job search, Advertisements for sale and purchase of fixed assets, automobiles etc. Out of these especially online matrimony and Job portals have the major market share.

This trend is very much popular among the youngsters or the young clan whereas on the other hand the middle aged and senior citizens still resort to middlemen instead of these online portals since they are not that Internet savvy and apprehensive about using Internet for such purposes. The size of Online Classifieds industry comes to Rs. 540 crores for the year 2006-07. At the end of 2007-08, the industry is expected to grow by 52% to Rs. 820 crores. Growth in this industry is also due to the increase in the Internet usage and e-Commerce transactions growing in India. These figures are being taken from the IAMAI report on e-Commerce market in India.

e-Education in India – Still a long way to go

In India we all have been noticing the change in terms of e-Commerce bringing in all the sections or fields. Same shift is yet to be experienced in the e-Education field in India. Though in some of the sectors like Travel, Web retailing (e-Tailing), Trading and Banking has been noticeable but it’s not so in the case of Education sector in India. This term e-Education has been somewhat taken from the term or concept like e-Learning. Some of the initiatives towards e-Education are Pratham, India, eGurukool, India, Zee interactive, India , Schoolnet to name some.

Since e-Commerce is taking up in India speedily even this sector would be changing though this would for sure take some time since Internet usage in terms of transacting online apart from mailing or information searching is limited only to the elite urban areas. Once this Internet revolution is everywhere in India there would be a great change in the Education sector as well. This would further bring many and big changes in the way we learn and do things today in terms of education.

Time for Indian Banks to take steps...

In India, banks have this facility of transacting online and which is why we all are able to transact online and make our various payments from our very cozy places. But how much these banks take care of the trust that we show in them? There is an alarming situation in terms of online fraudulent cases taking place and looking at that there is need for some new methods to be incorporated in order to stop these fraudulent practices being taking a toll so that the confidence of the people in the country is not shaken up.

With new threats like phishing and Trojan horse attacks the demand of the hour is to make the security measures as per the current standards. When internet is providing a platform for all on the global basis all there required is proper measures for the safety and security being taken care of online so that the growth of the online transactions taking place keeps on augmenting without any hurdles in between. So it’s time for the Indian Banks and Financial Institutions to care of it. This vital issue related to security and safety online if addressed properly can make the ongoing Internet revolution progress by leap and bounds.

e-Tailing coming up and boosting e-Commerce

As already discussed earlier Online travel Industry is the biggest trigger for e-Commerce in India. The next upcoming area or field that is promoting e-Commerce growth is e-Tailing or also known as web retailing. e-Tailing is another factor which is shaping up good in India and encouraging more and more people to come up and transact online. It is in simpler terms a shop which is online and mostly like a departmental store where one can shop for anything and everything. The size of e-Tailing Market for the year 2006-07 was computed to be Rs. 850 crores. e-Tailing contributes around 12% to the total E-Commerce Market size in the year 2006-07. These figures have been taken from IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India) and IMRB International e-Commerce 2006/07 report.

We even see growth in the e-Tailing domain because of various factors like convenience, increase in the number of buyers and sellers, better deals and change in the thinking pattern or behavior of the consumers. If all these factors clubbed together, they can really provide good benefit to the e-Commerce growth in the country. But with all this, the loopholes of the same also need to be addressed to make the e-Commerce flourish.

Factors keeping e-Commerce growing

Since e-Commerce in India has wide scope it becomes mandatory to focus on the features that drive this growth in the country. There are a couple of such points or factors that augment its growth the first and foremost being saving in terms of time and efforts. We all know time today for everyone has become a luxury. And thus by saving time it provides the most precious advantage alone itself capable of driving its growth. Then the next big factor is convenience of transacting from home. It’s really good thanks to Internet that today all the work could be done online.

Another factor is the wide variety of products or services being available at the same platform and along with that one can also do comparisons. One can also have details about the product and with the best discounts being available or the schemes going on. Moving physically never can provide such a big platform that being online one can have. All of these factors can easily drive or trigger the growth of e-commerce, providing all to reap its benefits.

India’s e-Commerce business…still to go

In India Internet is still not being exploited or not started as yet picking up the pace. Apart from the Metros in the other cities or towns internet is still being used for e-mails, chat and information search. There is still requirement for India to take up on the e-Commerce fully so that Internet could be exploited to the best of it just like in many other developed countries. The e-Commerce would again includes the fields like Travel, E-tailing (Web Retailing), Digital Downloads and Classifieds. Out of these Online Travel Industry is the one that contributes the most to it. However, still the prominent problem omnipresent is low penetration of the credit cards along with apprehensions of the people in providing the details of the same. This is one of the problems being present with some of the others to be discussed later. This implies there is a long way to go.

Online Travel Retail boosting e-Commerce in India

As India’s e-Commerce is growing at a laudable pace one of the major contributors to it i.e online travel retail is growing very much. Because of this, India is also leading to one of the major contributors to online travel retail business in Asia. Over the next few years India is likely to grow at a noticeable rate in terms of online travel retail.

This is something that has not happened overnight but has taken its own due time and increased with the boost in India’s economic growth and flourishing urban population. Increase in the urban population in India will definitely or automatically add to increase in the online business and as a result would augment to Online Travel Retail. India’s urban population is also very much inclined towards working or rather transacting online. This boom in the usage of internet by the urban population has led to this worthy scenario of augmented online travel retail and finally the e-Commerce.

Bright future of e-Commerce in India

With India emerging as one of the powerful or strong nations the economic growth of India is also growing at a commendable pace. Even the Indian e-Commerce is growing at a rate of 30 to 40% and is likely to reach $100 billion figure by the end of 2008. E-commerce in India has very much scope to grow and thus the attention needs to be drawn.

The demand of the hour is emergence of new business ideas that can help e-Commerce in India to bloom and make the most of it. In several other developed nations the growth of e-Commerce took place in various different stages or segments where majorly the focus has been shifted to relationship driven methods. Whether its online or offline the treatment for customers do not change and this if given provided attention can attract customers for transacting online related to any field. At the end of the day the scope of e-Commerce is very bright and very much promising.

e-Commerce taking up in India speedily

E-Commerce in India is at a very blossoming stage compared to western world, but if you see from the past records it has grown tremendously and drastically. The most important advantage of e-Commerce is that it has brought the markets of the world at one platform wherein everybody can explore the best for him.

Companies are these days very much inclined towards the e-Trading and e-Dealing because Companies can avoid costs in terms of manpower, time involved in a transaction and document preparation. This is the reason that India with deep penetration of internet is taking up on e-transactions these days very speedily. Credit cards transactions, Railway, movie tickets, Airlines and sale of electronic items have played a vital role in e-commerce transactions in India and especially in Metros. In near future, e-commerce is going to play a major role in multimedia, entertainment and fashion industry.

Internet - Changing the face of India

In the field of software development and services, communication and high-tech Industries India has reached new heights and is moving ahead with a good pace. With even rise in urban incomes, more women workforce and more fast food outlets India is moving or reaching new heights carving its own significant niche. Internet has played a vital role in this.
India is now a powerful knowledge economy, and though India may have been slow to start, it certainly has caught up with the West and is ahead in important respects. The Government, the corporate sector, NGOs and educational institutions has supported rural development by encouraging digital libraries, e-business, e-learning and e-governance.