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The Smart Techie was renamed Siliconindia India Edition starting Feb 2012 to continue the nearly two decade track record of excellence of our US edition.

September - 2009 - issue > India Road Ahead

Telecom the Great Leveler of Social & Economic Strata

Anil Nair
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Anil Nair
The phenomenal growth of Indian telecom sector in the last ten years has been the most defining development in India's history, which is second only to the economic reforms of 1991. The Indian telecom sector has played a pivotal role on two counts: growth and inclusion. The telecom sector got the wheels of socio-economic development rotating really fast while covering almost half of this country's population, bringing them all on one common platform.

Rurban' Growth is for Real

Going forward, what I see is a great opportunity - an opportunity for marketers to use telecom infrastructure as a reliable channel for business, especially when it comes to the hinterland. Recent surveys indicate that rural markets have contributed around half the sales of home and personal care products, beating the slowdown. Sectors like automobiles or durables have grown steadily on similar lines. There is a large market in the rural and semi-urban (rurban) India, and this fortune at the bottom of Indian market pyramid is for real. For some time now, marketers have debated whether lack of credit in rural India barricades growth. After six decades, merely 10 percent of the population of independent India can qualify as financially included (68 districts out of the total 611). The other debate has been that if rural markets need different (read 'lower quality') products or a 'sachet' approach to bridge the cost-affordability gap. While 'credit infusion', 'sachet marketing', or a 'no-frill product' does take you closer to the rural market, there is another approach that combines these strategies into a potent solution for rural marketing.

'ProVAS' – the Next Big Thing

ProVAS (product as a value added service) is the next big thing waiting to happen for the Indian telecom sector and for the Indian marketer in general. ProVAS solves many problems of rurban marketing. Let me explain. The rurban consumer is no different in aspirations or consumption needs and hence would typically want the same products and solutions that one would offer the urban markets. Secondly, the 'what this consumer needs is a service’ approach to his needs instead of simply infusing credit (loan). A rurban consumer is 'value' conscious. Sweating every buck he or she spends to the hilt is important. With 'product as a value added service' approach this consumer gets a quality product, gets credit (pay per use), and gets more value for money. And here is where the telecom sector has a pivotal role to play.


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