According to a report the number of internet users worldwide is expected to touch 2.2 billion by 2013 and India is projected to have the third largest online population during the same time. The number of people online around the world will grow more than 45 per cent to 2.2 billion users by 2013 and Asia will continue to be the biggest Internet growth engine.

India will be the third largest internet user base by 2013 - with China and the US taking the first two spots. The report noted that emerging markets like India would see a growth of 10 to 20 per cent by 2013. The percentage of those in Asia will increase from 38 per cent to 43 per cent and Latin America will remain steady at about 11 per cent of the global total. By contrast, growth rates in some of the more mature markets such as Japan and South Korea will rise by less than two per cent each year.

The immaculate growth of the internet users in India marks a great potential of the growth online networking. Indians have been upbeat in accepting new technology and have great networking skills and these skills are sure to get a boost with the growth in IT and ITES infrastructure in India

Boeing, the world’s second-largest commercial aircraft maker, is working on some key technologies in India for improving the aircraft’s efficiency and bringing down its operating costs. The technology once fully developed will help Boeing build a fuel-cell powered futuristic aircraft, which will be lighter and more fuel-efficient. Boeing is also looking for ways to improve its 787 Dreamliner.

In India, Boeing has collaborations with several institutions for development of aerospace technology. It has a tie-up with Indian Institute of Science for research in aerospace material, structures and manufacturing technologies. At IISc, they are developing and integrating advanced structural technologies to demonstrate how future aerospace structures can enhance an aircraft’s performance and reduce its weight by 25%. The new technologies will also help in cutting costs by 25%.

Boeing’s Bangalore Technology Centre, the third of its kind outside the US, will function as a centralised R&D organisation for its major business units and as a focal point for collaboration with Indian R&D organisations, including universities and private sector R&D providers. Boeing will add another 100 engineers at its Bangalore technology centre.

A dramatic meltdown after boom years globally has made Indian firms smarter in employee engagement and talent management, which will help it grow faster when recovery begins, predicts a study by global consulting firm Deloitte.

A cross-industry dipstick survey on employee engagement in recessionary times found Indian firms were in a wait-and-watch mode without retrenching, but trying to balance both employee and operational costs. Of the 130 firms approached for the survey, 65 participated, including 22 multinationals.

Of the participant firms, 44 per cent represented technology, media and telecom, 27 per cent manufacturing, seven per cent FMCG, five per cent pharma and 27 per cent others. The study found companies implementing metrics to determine return on investment on human resources. Investment in proprietary knowledge and technological upgrade is continuing, albeit slower than during the boom times.

The eight-week survey said companies were substituting lucrative bonus and international travel with opportunities for advancement and flexible working hours to retain employees. The survey also found companies were not cutting back on training programmes but only reducing training costs. The focus is on empowering employees with multi-skills to handle different tasks and building a strong leadership pipeline. With such talent management measures, ZaaBiz is sure that India Inc would be in a great position to grow once the boom sets in.

The common man’s car “Tata Nano” is set to reach the common man. After overcoming obstacles like rising commodity prices, Ratan Tata will finally hand over the keys of the Nano to its first owner today.

Though the identity of the first Nano buyer is not known, he or she is likely to be the quintessential ‘man on the street’, with ordinary aspirations. The defining moment for Tata Motors, the buyer and the global auto industry will be held at the company’s showroom in central Mumbai’s Prabhadevi locality. The rollout, which begins today, will prove to be the litmus test for the much awaited car’s on-road performance.

Tata Motors, through a lottery, selected one lakh customers out of the 2.06 lakh applicants who had booked the snub nosed car. While a significant number of people opted for a loan, the top-end LX model has been the most sought after. Beginning today, the first one lakh cars would be delivered in a phased manner by the last quarter of 2010. The first one lakh owners are price-protected and will get the Nano at the ex-showroom price of Rs 1 lakh. For more such interestinf news of Tata Nano join the group “Nano-People’s Car” on ZaaBiz.

In an assessment of advertising placed on social networking sites, I was surprised to find that nearly 20% of all ad spending is by local businesses. In general, there is an assumption going into this research was that commercials on social networks were almost purely national but a recent research proved it wrong where local small businesses are heavy advertisers on the social networks. According to an estimate, local advertisers account for about $641 million of nearly $3.3 billion this year trying to reach consumers via social networking sites.

In the scheme of things, it’s still a drop in the bucket. The total is less than 3% of all locally spent online advertising. In an estimate for individual local markets, it would equate to a few hundred thousand dollars or less in most markets.  But it is expected that there is a growing trend among small buisnesses to spend more on social networks over other internet marketing options and the much expensive traditional media like print and television.

The growth in small buisness advertsment on social network is due to its cost effectiveness and larger reach to the select target group ie younger audience, as this target group tends to spend more than any other TG. ZaaBiz encourages all its members who run small to medium size buisnesses to advertise on our buisness networking platform as it is cost-effective and has good reach.

The national capital has become the most expensive city in the country for expatriates, even as depreciation of rupee against the US dollar has made Indian metropolises compared to other world cities cheaper for foreign assignees to reside in.

According to Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2009, New Delhi is the most expensive location for expatriates to reside in, ahead of Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai. However, all Indian cities have witnessed a decline in their rankings in terms of cost of living this year with New Delhi falling to the 65th position from 55th place in last year’s survey, in the global list of 143 cities.

Mumbai, which had been the most expensive city for expats in India, has fallen to the 66th position from 48th in the 2008 survey. Further, Bangalore has dropped to 133 position from the 118 rank in last year’s survey, while Chennai is the cheapest Indian city at 135 rank falling from 117 position last year.

The decline in the ranking of all Indian cities is due to the devaluation of the rupee against most major world currencies… the rupee’s loss of value may serve to attract globally mobile executives to business centres such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

Access to affordable high-speed Internet and mobile phone service are key to economic growth and job creation in developing countries according to a latest report by the World Bank. The report, Information and Communications for Development 2009, found that for every 10 percentage-point increase in high-speed Internet connections there is an increase in economic growth of 1.3 percentage points. Internet users in developing countries increased tenfold from 2000 to 2007 and there are now over four billion mobile phone subscribers in developing countries. These technologies offer tremendous opportunities.

The report identified the mobile platform as the most powerful way to reach and deliver public and private services to hundreds of millions of people in remote and rural areas across the developing world. Broadband provides the basis for local information technology services industries which create youth employment, increase productivity and exports, and promote social inclusion.

In the advent of the report being true, it would be great for India as the growth of telecom industry has been phenomenal in the past decade. The growth is still set to explode due to the huge potential in the rural areas of India. The same is the case with the broadband access, internet broadband service being mostly used in the corporate sector, there is huge untapped potential when it comes to exploring broadband service options for individual households. As theses two industries will grow and so will the Indian economy. For more such interesting articles and discussions join ZaaBiz Business Groups.

Networking is the buzzword across all industries and regions as  the marketers have found a new channel to market their products and services and improvise upon them based on the feedback from their customers. Indians are not only active networking community but they are also aware of the opportunities like business growth and new business contacts that business networking brings forth.

ZaaBiz has various active business groups with focus on regional networking. But Business Bunch: Chennai is one of the most active and fast growing business groups. The group has crossed 200 active members. The response to the group has been phenomenal and i would take this opportunity to thank and congratualte all the members of the group.

Here is a piece of good news for all ZaaBiz members. There is a multi billion dollar opportunity for the Indian Technology Companies as there are a billion smart cards to be issued for a billion population as part of the eco-system citizen ID card programme proposed by the Unique Identification Number Authority of India.

It is expected to be vast comprising of data collectors/managers, delivery channels, chip designers, smart card manufacturers, application and software providers, system integrators, networking analysts and print companies.

It is estimated that the project will create at least a 100,000 additional jobs in the country in the span of next three years. An ancillary industry will also come up around this eco-system.

The entire ID card project is estimated to be in the range of around Rs 10,000 crore, with the first phase which will cover ultra urban, urban, and semi-urban populations offering a Rs 6,500 crore business opportunity. Companies like TCS and Infosys have confirmed that they will actively bid for the project.

Indra Nooyi and Shantanu Narayen have been named among the top 25 chief executive officers in the US, who kept their companies on success path despite challenging economic conditions, according to Forbes magazine.

Shantanu Narayen CEO of Adobe Systems and beverage major Pepsico’s Indra Nooyi have been ranked at the 16th and 17th places respectively in the list of 25 ‘top gun CEOs’ for 2009. Both CEO’s of Indian origin are nominated in the list of 25 CEO’s as they kept their firms thriving amid the recessionary situation.

The list is topped by business solutions provider Automatic Data Process’s Gary C Butler this was due to extremely strong at strategic planning and overall execution. Nooyi had the right long- term strategic vision and had executed very well. About Narayen, Forbes said he had been in the industry for a very long time and always has a strong sense of what the next key steps are in terms of positioning the company.

The list also includes Hewlett-Packard’s Mark V Hurd, Walt Disney Co’s Robert A Iger and Procter & Gamble’s Alan G Lafley among the top 25. ZaaBiz congratulates the winnsers for such a wonderful feat.