MAM
Xiaomi adds VAS to aid monetisation
MUMBAI: Xiaomi is leaving no stone unturned to capture the Indian imagination. After wowing the country with its spectacular moderately priced phones, the company is looking at giving value addition to its customers here.
Considering India as its core market after its home-ground China, Xiaomi became India’s number one smartphone brand in India in Q4 2017 beating Vivo, Samsung and Apple, according to International Data Corporation. Hardly four years since launch, the company today has a whopping 31 per cent market share in the country and has over nine million units shipped in Q1 of 2018.
Xiaomi India vice president and managing director Manu Jain believes that the company’s core philosophy is to deliver innovation for everyone by making high-quality, well-designed products accessible to everyone at “honest pricing” and the company is able to do this because of its unique business model, which Xiaomi will monetise from internet services in the long run.
The mobile handset maker has now announced the launch of Mi Music and Mi Video, marking Xiaomi’s move into offering value-added internet services for local users. Mi Music is Xiaomi’s pre-installed music app which offers an integrated music streaming service along with the ability to store offline music while Mi Video is Xiaomi’s pre-installed video app which provides integrated video streaming across platforms.
The music app by Xiaomi is quite similar to other music apps available in the Indian market such as Saavn, Gaana, iTunes, Jio Music. Xiaomi has partnered with digital entertainment organisation Hungama Music wherein Xiaomi mobile consumers will have access to Hungama’s music library. The app will offer over 10 million freemium tracks across 13 Indic language choices. Users can also download music offline from Mi Music app at Rs 899 per annum.
Hungama Digital Media Entertainment managing director and CEO Neeraj Roy says, “We are delighted to launch Hungama Music on Mi Music. We are committed to delivering the best of content with unlimited playlists to the highly engaged Mi Fan community and with this launch we take our partnership with Xiaomi to the next level.”
Mi Video functions similar to YouTube. The apps are the first internet services that Xiaomi has brought to India. Mi Music in India has nearly seven million daily active users. Mi Video is designed to be a platform for video content aggregation and a powerful local video player. Mi Video content is powered by Hungama Play, SonyLiv and Voot currently, with more partners coming onboard soon.
Currently, Mi Video offers more than 500,000 hours of content with nearly 80 per cent free content. The service currently offers more than 12 video formats such as AVI, MP4, MOV, MKV, and MKA, MPEG, M2TS amongst others. It also supports multilingual subtitles, private folders, and multiple audio tracks. Mi Video also offers one tap cast to any Smart TV with DLNA and Miracast support.
Roy also announced that in the coming months, Hungama will bring more exciting features including gamification and continue to build on the rich user experience.
The apps were announced at the Mi Pop Play event, which is created by Xiaomi to bring Mi Fans from across the country for a day to celebrate with Xiaomi executives.
The company believes in giving back to its consumers. “We at Xiaomi never make over five per cent of profit on all our hardware devices whether it is a smartphone, a television or any other accessory and if we ever make more than that, we make sure we return it back to our consumers. The philosophy has worked well for our brand in China, India and other parts of the world,” says Jain.
Xiaomi currently has three manufacturing facilities in India in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The move came after the Indian government imposed a 10 per cent duty on key smartphone components.
With a presence in over 70 countries and regions, Xiaomi is expanding its footprint across the world and wants to become a global brand.
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33 per cent of women believe the salary scale is rigged: Naukri report
Voices @ Work study finds rising calls for equal pay audits and lingering bias
MUMBAI: Progress may be visible in India’s workplaces, but many women still feel the need to tread carefully. A new report by Naukri reveals that one in two women hesitate to disclose marriage or maternity plans during job interviews, worried that such information could influence hiring decisions.
The findings come from the second edition of Naukri’s annual Voices @ Work International Women’s Day report, titled “What Women Professionals Want.” Drawing insights from more than 50,000 women across over 50 industries, the survey sheds light on evolving workplace aspirations alongside the biases that continue to hold women back.
One of the report’s most striking insights is the growing demand for equal pay audits. The share of women calling for regular pay parity checks has climbed to 27 per cent this year, up from 19 per cent a year ago. The demand now stands alongside menstrual leave as the most sought after workplace policy.
Interestingly, the call for pay transparency grows louder higher up the income ladder. Nearly half of women earning between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1 crore annually say equal pay audits are a priority, suggesting that pay gaps become more visible as women move up the career ladder.
At the same time, confidence and ambition appear to be rising. About 83 per cent of women say they feel encouraged to pursue leadership roles, a significant jump from 66 per cent last year. Cities in southern India appear particularly supportive, with Hyderabad leading the way as 86 per cent of respondents there reported encouragement to step into leadership positions. The education sector recorded the highest sense of encouragement at 87 per cent.
Yet the report also highlights a growing trust deficit around pay equity. Nearly one in three women, or 33 per cent, say they do not believe men and women are paid equally at their workplace. That figure has risen from 25 per cent last year, pointing to widening perceptions of disparity as careers progress.
Bias in hiring and promotions continues to be the biggest hurdle. About 42 per cent of respondents say workplace bias is the main challenge for women from diverse backgrounds. The concern is consistent across major metros, with Chennai and Delhi NCR reporting similar levels.
Reluctance to discuss personal milestones during hiring processes is also widespread. While 34 per cent overall said they hesitate to share marriage or maternity plans in interviews, the anxiety increases with experience. Among professionals with 10 to 15 years of work experience, the figure rises to 40 per cent.
Info Edge group CMO Sumeet Singh, said the data reflects both progress and unfinished work. “Behind every data point in this report is a woman who is ambitious. The fact that 83 per cent feel encouraged to lead is something to celebrate. However, the fact that one in two still hide their marriage or maternity plans in interviews tells us the work is far from done. As India’s leading career platform, it felt not just important but necessary for us to shine a light on these gaps through the second edition of our report,” he said.
The report suggests that while ambition among women professionals is growing, structural changes around pay transparency, fair hiring and supportive policies will be key if workplaces hope to keep pace.
