The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has come out with a consultation paper to identify and address issues related to poor uptake of unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) based mobile banking services in the country. The Unstructured Supplementary Service Data or USSD messages are those messages which are widely used to inform pre-paid consumers about deduction of balance after each call or SMS they make or send. These messages cannot be stored in mobile phone. Using short codes on USSD platform like *121#, people are able to check their balance and subscribe to telecom services. In case of mobile banking such codes allow account holders to access different services like checking bank balance, fund transfer etc. At present, Trai’s rule cap USSD rate at Rs 1.5 per session. The regulator has received requests from various authorities involved in banking services to reduce the rate of USSD session.

The USSD-based mobile banking has not gained traction in the country. According to Trai, expansion of banking and reach of financial services were vital for the long-term sustainable development of any country. From the standpoint of equity, financial services need to be provided at an affordable cost to those who are currently excluded from the formal financial system.

Trai said mobile telephony could be the answer to the problems related to last-mile service delivery of financial services. With close to 225 million Jan Dhaan accounts, around one billion Aadhaar cards, and one billion mobile connections in the country (450 million in rural areas), it was expected the USSD-based mobile banking service would gain popularity among the unbanked and under-banked population. It further said that in May 2016, only 3.7 million mobile banking transaction attempts reached the National Payments Corporation of India platform.

Clearly, the present tariff per USSD session for mobile banking offered by telecom service providers is several times higher than the average tariff for a Minute of outgoing voice call, or an outgoing SMS, or an MB of data transfer. The telecom operators have opposed lowering of tariff. Trai, in the paper, has sought opinion on various issues including method for prescribing the tariff and whether the present pricing model for USSD-based mobile banking in which consumers pay for the use of USSD should continue.

source:www.business-standard.com,timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Cisco announced Jaipur to be the first smart and connected community ‘Lighthouse City’ in South Asia. Cisco Lighthouse City status credential is assigned to a select list of cities all over the world. This development will help Jaipur gain access to Cisco’s huge global network and channel program capabilities. The Lighthouse City engagement will be enabled through a joint working group, which will focus on deploying next generation technologies to impact citizens and society. Jaipur now joins the league of Cisco Lighthouse Cities globally such as Hamburg (Germany), Barcelona (Spain) and Adelaide (Australia).

Cisco is partnering with Jaipur to develop smart city infrastructure that will improve the efficiency and quality of services for sustainable urban development. This will lead to management of city operations and delivery of new services to citizens. Cisco is also in talks with other technology companies such as Qualcomm Technologies Inc, General Electrical and 3M India Ltd to launch an Innovation centre in Jaipur.  The centre will be housed and operated by Genpack and help to speed up co-innovation of Internet of Everything (IoE) based solutions. The Innovation Centre will be hosted by Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) and also team up with startups, developers, government agencies, and academic communities.

For example 3M’s common technology platforms, diverse and unique products in the areas of Public Safety & Security, Smart Transportation, Smart Grids and Smart buildings can contribute substantially to offer practical solutions to urban problems. Even Qualcomm is committed to the advancement of smart cities in India and address complex challenges that Jaipur is facing. The role of wireless technologies, edge processing and machine learning can help empower such cities to make them more efficient, livable and sustainable. Genpact will also provide a number of services and solutions to help clients operate smarter from Jaipur city. It will provide IoE solutions for industrial asset performance using analytics combined with its disruptive Lean Digital SM approach that facilitates the effective use of digital technologies all the way from the front, middle and back end of its clients’ operations.

Jaipur city’s association with Cisco will set an example for other cities in South Asia. It will gain access to Cisco’s huge global network and channel program capabilities which will help in economic and social transformation.

So far Google has been very successful in capturing the consumer market because it was in tandem with consumer needs. Whilst Google offers a suite of corporate applications and services, certain products have not made an impact in the corporate market. For example Chromebook has been a great success for the education market but has yet to make much of an impact on the corporate side of things.

Google has launched a new Google Apps service free for the remainder of the Enterprise Agreement plus support for training needs. Basically, Google Apps is a package of cloud-based services that can provide your company or school with a whole new way to work together online—not just using email and chat, but over video conferences, social media, real-time document collaborations, and more. The app will give control over your user’s data and security.

Companies that qualify will obtain a voucher for specialist security training as a part of the migration to the Google way of working. Some companies are easing the process of migration by offering services such as safety of accounts from hijacking using encryption and a two step verification. Google is keen to highlight that companies with basic agreement have potential to cut costs by 70 percent. It is a productivity suite for your business that helps you get work done from anywhere on any device. A worker with an Android Smartphone and Google Chromebook could have full access to the Google Apps for Work suite at a very inexpensive cost of hardware. And of course, switching companies to the Apps at Work plan utilizes Google’s existing cloud infrastructure.