MAM
IDSA announces 30% growth among direct selling member companies
BANGALORE: Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) chairman Manoj Shirodkar has announced the company’s annual survey findings 2004 in Bangalore today.
IDSA is the a regulatory and promoting body for the direct selling industry in the country.
IDSA revealed that the total turnover of member companies stood at Rs.13.81 billion for the year 2004-05. This meant a growth of around 30 per cent over last year’s revenues of Rs.10.54 billion. Life Insurance contributed Rs.2.55 billion to this growth and seems to be the prominent growth driver. IDSA forecasts an exponential sales growth of about 10 times over the next 10 years. IDSA estimates the turnover of non-IDSA companies as around Rs.10.64 billion.
The findings also revealed that the sales force of the direct selling industry (both IDSA and non-IDSA) grew to about 1.3 million in India, up from last year’s 1.2 million and that since 1995 around 3 million persons have tried their hand at direct selling. Almost 750,000 sales persons are currently active in the business, buying or selling at least once in two months and 60% of this sales force comprises of women. The number of products increased by 30 to 380 with 2100 variants in 2004.
40 towns and cities were added last year and direct selling now reaches 2200 towns and 50 cities (metros and mini-metros) with over 1700 town and cities being serviced by courier companies.
IDSA is the Indian counterpart of the Washington, USA based World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) which self-regulates direct selling in 58 countries. Direct selling companies hold patents for 764 products world wide as per IDSA.
IDSA comprises of (a) 14 active members –Altos Enterprises, AMC cookware, Amway India, Avon Beauty Products, Daehsan Trading (India), Direct Educational Technologies, Forever Living (HNB) Hindustan Lever Network, Herballife International, Modicare, Oriflame, Quantum International, Sunrider India, Tupperware India (b) two probationary members Max New York Life Insurance Company and Shriram Direct to Home and (c) associate member PS Press, New Delhi.
MAM
Give Me Five mental fitness platform launches in India
Global tool for early stress detection debuts in Hyderabad with live demos.
MUMBAI: Give Me Five just gave mental fitness a high-five because when your mind needs a quick check-up, even the app shows up faster than your inner critic. Give Me Five, a global mental fitness platform focused on early detection and proactive wellbeing, was officially launched in India at a special event at The Park Hotel, Somajiguda, Hyderabad. Founded by Brendan Fahey (30 years years building community solutions in human services), Dr Lisa Fahey OAM (35+ years as a trauma-recovery psychologist) and Phil Dymock (technology lead for expansion across the US, Canada, Australia and now India), the platform encourages small, consistent check-ins to spot early signs of stress, anxiety or burnout before they escalate.
The launch featured a live demonstration of core features, quick mental fitness assessments, data-driven personal insights, wellbeing dashboards, and tools tailored for individuals, workplaces, schools and communities. By making early awareness simple and accessible, Give Me Five aims to foster supportive environments where people feel equipped to act sooner rather than later.
Give Me Five co-founder Brendan Fahey said, “Give Me Five was created with a simple idea that small, consistent check-ins can make a meaningful difference in how we understand and support mental fitness. By making early detection accessible through technology, we hope to empower individuals, organisations, and communities to recognise challenges sooner and build stronger systems of care and support.”
The platform arrives as mental health conversations in India gain urgency, with rising awareness of workplace stress, student burnout and everyday emotional load. Give Me Five positions itself as a preventive companion less about crisis response and more about daily maintenance for the mind.
In a world that tracks every step and heartbeat, Give Me Five quietly reminds us the most important metric is still how we feel—and sometimes all it takes is five minutes and a honest pause to keep the balance from tipping.
