The second edition of the coveted India Digital Awards that were held at India Habitat Centre concluded today. The awards were organised by the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), a not-for-profit industry body registered under the Societies Act 1896 with mandate to expand and enhance the online and mobile value added services sectors. The comprehensive Awards under different categories felicitated the achievement and efforts of all those individuals and companies who have contributed towards the development and enhancement of online and mobile value added services in India.

During the event, the award for ‘Best Mobile Governance’ went to Sahara Next; ‘Best Digital start-up company or services’ went to Lukup Media Pvt. Ltd.; ‘Best use of mobile for social and economic development’ went to Basix Sub-K iTransactions Ltd.; ‘Best Internet entrepreneur of the year’ went to Mr. Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal; ‘Best Internet professional of the year’ went to Mr. Shailesh Rao; ‘Best local Language website’ went to Malayalam Manorma; ‘Best news content website’ was Ibnlive.com; ‘Best travel website’ was Yatra.com and ‘Best mobile Game’ went to Spice Digital Ltd. (more…)

Two55am has partnered with IAMAI as their “Mobile Partner”; and will be providing Mobile solutions for IAMAI and their various upcoming initiatives and events.

Taking this new association forward, Two55am has come up with an iPhone application specially designed and developed for IAMAI’s annual flagship event “India Digital Awards -2012”, which is going to be held on January 18th & 19th, 2012 at New Delhi. (more…)

• One-of-its-kind Awards for digital industry in India will be formally held on 18^th January 2012 in New Delhi
• The awards have 6 main categories and a total of 33 sub-categories

The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), a not-for-profit industry body registered under the Societies Act 1896 with mandate to expand and enhance the online and mobile value added services sectors, is organizing the 2^nd edition of India Digital Awards coinciding with the India Digital Summit. The comprehensive Awards under different categories will felicitate the achievement and efforts of all those individuals and companies who have contributed towards the development and enhancement of online and mobile value added services in India. The one-of-its- kind awards will be held on 18^th January, 2012 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. (more…)

eBay India Head, Muralikrishnan B, has emphasized that sustainable business models are necessary to ensure the continued success of ecommerce in India. He is of the view that “e-Commerce companies that are able to focus on sustainable business models and the ability to manage scale would win in the long run.”

It is increasingly being realized that both the business ecology as well as the business models have to be innovative and sustainable in order for ecommerce to make a real impact in India. Talking about the innovations in business ecology, Dhruv Shringi Founder and CEO, Yatra.com and Vice Chairman of Internet and Mobile Association, said, “Innovations in the digital payment space will prove to be a major driver of growth for e-commerce in India”. According to Subho Ray, President of the industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India, innovations and sustainability are not too far too seek, “the idea is to get under the skin of the consumer which can be done once ecommerce moves into utilitarian and recession free areas such as education and healthcare” (more…)

According to a study released by Internet And Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Intelink Advisors, about 150 million people in India or around 75 million households are ready for ecommerce in India today. However, less than 10 million are engaged in active ecommerce today. The study adopted criteria of Income, Education and Occupation to arrive at the number of household capable of ecommerce today.

The key reasons for this mismatch between potential and actual ecommerce consumers, as figure 1 represents and identified by the study, are Lack of Trust, Fulfillment issues, Shopping Experience. (more…)

Acknowledging the utility that Internet brings to the day to day life, Dr Gulshan Rai, Director, CERT.in highlighted the fact that even though Internet could be considered as a catalyst and enabler to the society, it could also act as a threat to the social and national security. While chairing the inaugural panel discussion of conference on National Security & Digital Technology, Mr Rai stated, “Internet threat is always on evolving mode. Government is doing its bit in this direction by collaborating with the private sector. We need to set up a system, which should be followed in order to ensure the internet and digital security so that the trust on technology could be enhanced.”

The daylong conference is organized by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in New Delhi, today. (more…)

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in its Pre-Budget memorandum has recommended a five-year moratorium for the following Internet services:

1. Online advertisement: is done by small and medium companies to reach out to domestic and global markets. These advertisers do not have the financial wherewithal to advertise on expensive media like broadcasting or print. But for the Internet, they would not be able to access the international markets. The SME’s are the backbone for our domestic and international commerce, and the internet is the most viable medium for them.
2. On line services: comprise essential services like jobs, matrimony etc, which again are in their nascent stage of development. Currently internet based online services are subject to service tax at par with other matured services. As a step to boost the online services sector, the finance ministry should consider exempting such services from ST net, thereby offering a boost to the growth of this industry.
3. Internet cafes: Cyber cafes essentially serve those who either do not have their own computers or cannot afford a regular service at home, office, shop or institution. ST increases the cost of access to such people thereby depriving a large section of society of the huge benefits of this medium. According to a recent research done by IAMAI, about 30% of Internet users in India access the net from cyber cafes. Going forward, the upcoming 100,000 CSC’s (Common Service Centers) being set up by the Govt would also be impacted by way of service tax.

The internet based services in India are on a growth path. At this stage it is not only desirable but also essential that some short term fiscal benefits are extended to these segments with a view to encourage adoption of these services.

In the present scenario, a 5 year moratorium on Service Tax will allow this nascent industry to grow in size and stabilize. It will also help the SMEs grow and aspire to access newer segments of consumers in the domestic and international market.

New Delhi, May 14, 2009: Two Internet industry leaders will be at the helm of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), to steer it to the second decade of the millennium. The Internet and Mobile Association of India has appointed Shailesh Rao, Managing Director, Google India as the Chairman and Ambareesh Murty, Country Manager, eBay India as the Vice Chairman. Sanjay Aggarwal, General Manager, Operations, IRCTC, the largest e-commerce site in India, has been appointed the Treasurer of the association.

Commenting on his new role as the Chairman, IAMAI, Shailesh Rao said, “We need to build a more visible identity and collective vision for the Internet industry of India.  By organizing the relevant stakeholders, evangelizing the value of the medium, and advocating for more proactive government action on behalf of the Internet, IAMAI will emerge as the most credible and important platform for digital India.”

Added Ambareesh Murty, the new vice-chairman, IAMAI, “The Internet is now the mainstream medium and the priority in the next few years would be to ensure that the IAMAI represents the entire ecosystem of internet businesses in India today including start-ups and early-stage businesses. “ While as the Treasurer of the Association, Sanjay Aggarwal’s aim would be to bring e-Commerce to the forefront of all commercial activities in India, thereby bringing choice, transparency and efficiency to all transactions.

The announcements were made earlier today following the annual general meeting of the association on 28 April said Subho Ray, IAMAI president.

IAMAI represents the interests of the internet and mobile value added services companies in India. A digital India vision statement, a better business environment for mobile VAS companies, legalization of VoIP termination on PSTN line, better commercial terms for online agencies and publishers and a thrust for e-Commerce are some of the key priorities for the association.

About IAMAI

www.iamai.in 

The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body registered under the Societies Act, 1896.  Its mandate is to expand and enhance the online and mobile value added services sectors.  It is dedicated to presenting a unified voice of the businesses it represents to the government, investors, consumers and other stakeholders. The association addresses the issues, concerns and challenges of the Internet and Mobile economy and takes a leading role in its development. 

The Mobile Value Added Services Members of Internet and Mobile Association of India has adopted a “Code of Conduct” with a view to take the first step towards self-regulation and to provide better services to consumers and telcos.

The Code of Conduct, which was announced today, in the first stage has the following points:

All members would abide by the DND norms set by the TRAI

All Push based promotional services to be transmitted between 8 am and 9 pm only

Advise of charge must be clearly intimated to the user very transparently prior to billing/service offering [SMSes to specify “Premium Rates Apply wherever applicable]

All members to provide for customer redressal in case of third party independent services [off-deck]

All members to provide for simple opt-out mechanism to customers

Delivery to Operators as per commitment (Quantity and Quality)

Adherence to and respect for Intellectual Property Rights as per current laws in India

The Code of Conduct as well as committing IAMAI members to follow the rules, regulations and directives, also commits them to follow best practices in their transactions with customers as well as telecom companies.

The code of conduct is expected to be a major step in developing the mobile value added services in a transparent and efficient manner and also act as an effective differentiator between those companies that follow the Code and those who do not. The Code would also provide a customer centric face to the entire mobile VAS industry and go a long way in drawing customers towards value added services.

As on date the following companies are signatories to the Code of Conduct: OnMobile Global, ACL Wireless, ActiveMedia Tech, CanvasM, NetxCell, Mauj, Indiatimes.com, Webaroo, i2i telesource, Buongiorno, Saharanext and Mypopkorn 

It is hoped that while the Mobile VAS companies have taken a bold step to improve B2B and B2C relations, the telecom operators would reciprocate by adopting a similar code of conduct towards MVAS companies since MVAS companies account for 9-10 per cent of the Telcos’ revenues and would be the main drivers of mobile phone adoption in the near future.  

About IAMAI:  

The Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body registered under the Societies Act, 1896.  Its mandate is to expand and enhance the online and mobile value added services sectors.  It is dedicated to presenting a unified voice of the businesses it represents to the government, investors, consumers and other stakeholders. The association addresses the issues, concerns and challenges of the Internet and Mobile economy and takes a leading role in its development.