MAM
Internet user base increases by 54% to touch 38.5 mn in 05: IAMAI
MUMBAI: The Internet user base has registered a growth of 54 per cent with 38.5 million users as of 2005-06 from just 25 million in 2004-05. The findings of a survey done by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) showed that more people are becoming net savvy and are harnessing the power of the Internet.
Currently, the total ecommerce market in India is estimated at Rs 11.80 billion (2005-2006) and by 2006-2007 online commerce is estimated to grow to Rs 23 billion, an over 100 per cent increase.
Commenting on the growth, Union Minister for IT and Telecommunications Dayanidhi Maran said, “We have ambitious goals regarding internet access and are providing all support to attain them. The government is making concerted efforts with a clear emphasis on the importance of affordable broadband for the advancement of society and for the benefit of Indians, especially in rural and remote areas, which has encouraged more users to experience the powerful role of the Internet We are continuously evaluating policies, which will help increase competition and bring down prices as well as increase access speeds. Our aim is to achieve critical mass across the country with a special impetus in the rural and remote areas and envision an ‘India’ where every Indian can take advantage of this technology.”
IAMAI president Preeti Desai said, “Proactive government support and recurring online activities has driven more and more Indians to reach out to the Internet regularly. Indian consumers increasing net usage explains the whopping 54 per cent growth in online population and can be attributed to growing dependence on online communication, online content and ecommerce. Email (98 per cent) and chat have become a ubiquitous part of online Indians daily routine; services like online banking (32 per cent), bill payment (18 per cent), stock trading (15 per cent), job search (51 per cent), matrimonial search (15 per cent) each delivering their own USP has seen tremendous rise in usage; online Indians are regularly reaching out to research online content for work (62 per cent) and personal (70 per cent) use and a sizeable contribution is due to the fast growing e-commerce in India. The latent demand with double digit growth of online shopping for services such as airline ticketing, railway ticketing and product categories like electronic gadgets and home appliances amongst other product categories have also acted as catalysts for this 54 per cent growth.”
The diffusion of the Internet and its associated applications like e-governance, e-commerce, e-banking and e-learning, will play a crucial role in fueling the growth of the nation’s economy. Internet significantly facilitates the process of development of nations and its citizens in all respects, be it economic, social, or cultural.
The impact of the broadband policy is evident from these growth figures. The policy has helped focus in on ushering Internet penetration right across the country with broadband prices as low as Rs 199 per month.
The study further stated that this Internet growth can also be attributed to the IT and Telecom Ministry’s focused pursuit of introducing Rs 10,000 PCs, in association with hardware manufacturers, thereby enabling the common man to overcome the first hurdle of accessing the Internet
To overcome the hurdle of content in regional languages the IT and Telecom Ministry has already kicked off several initiatives towards development of language fonts, thereby removing language barriers and localising the content.
Reduction in license fees and revenue sharing agreement from 15 per cent to 6 per cent has enabled players like GailTel and RailTel and PowerGrid to come together to address the broadband growing demand, and their efforts will make Internet a household feature.
Add to this the growing ‘.in’ registrations, where 150,000 registrations have been received till date, reinforces the fact Indian expertise in hosting root servers are being well accepted, not only by Indian organisations, but also by the Root Server Operators of US and Europe, who have hosted Three Root servers, F, K and I, in India.
India is already witnessing a huge jump in VoIP traffic. This has been possible due to the liberalisation of Telecom license fees and the legalising of VoIP within networks. Going forward, VoIP will play a crucial role in increasing Internet user base and as competition grows, the VoIP will witness further lowering of rates, enabling more consumers to use the Internet for their benefit, the study added.
Manufacturers Association of Information Technology (MAIT) executive director Vinnie Mehta said, “A wholesome strategy by the IT Industry and the government to improve IT penetration through aggressive PC pricing, higher bandwidth connectivity and making available IT applications and tools in local languages has already started to yield rich dividends. We are witnessing a steady growth in the PC consumption where sales have crossed a million mark in each of the last two quarters. The households have emerged as a significant buyer-segment where accessing Internet is one of the prime reasons for buying a PC.”
ISPAI president Sanjay Dwivedi added, “Whilst independent ISP’s are quite excited with these monthly growth figures, nevertheless with a more aggressively supportive Policy and Regulatory regime, utilising NIXI as a pivotal peering and security monitoring infrastructure, we could easily have 60,000 SME’s becoming ISP’s to ensure that India’s Broadband, e-governance and knowledge power visions are easily met by 2020. ISPAI has and is committed to work closely with the industry and government bodies to promote broadband and Internet for all, supported with world class end user experience at affordable prices.”
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
