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India remains most challenging country for Expats!

Arun Prabhudesai — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 10:50:11 +0000

There is no doubt that India is one of the toughest countries to live for expats – and the recently released Expat Explorer survey conducted by HSBC reveals exactly that. Among the 31 countries surveyed, expats have ranked India as the toughest country to live based on their experience of about 30 different parameters. The HSBC survey findings are based on survey of 3,385 expats answering questions on life overseas.

Expats experience in India on various parameters:

India’s best ranking is only a modest 10th on 2 parameters – “Social Life” and “Learning the local language”. The latter is easier because India has plenty of people who speak English, making it easier for expats to learn the local language. Also, unlike most middle east countries, India does not pose too many restrictions on social gatherings, parties and night-life ensuring that India is ranked better on “Social Life” aspect

On the other hand India ranked 25^th or below on 11 parameters – and lowest at 31^st on 2 parameters – Setting up utilities & Fitting in new culture.

I am surprised though with some of the findings of HSBC survey if you see some of the countries at the top of the list of being friendly with expats (Expat Experience parameter). Thailand comes at number 1 position followed by Canada and South Africa.

List of Top 10 countries for expat friendliness

The above chart is for expat experience in foreign country alone and I am surprised that United states ranks a lowly 10^th while Thailand is ranked the highest on expat experience. It is also interesting to note, that most of the countries in top 10 are smaller developing nations. The worst countries on friendliness apart from India (31^st) are Russia (30^th), United Kingdom (29^th), China (28^th) and Qatar (27^th).

If you consider things like Income, house, Cars, holidays, domestic help etc, which are segregated under “economies” in the survey, India does rank a modest 16th, just behind United States. The Best country for expats from “Economies” perspective is Saudi Arabia, while the worst country is Italy!

You can check out the entire Expat Explorer survey here!

Book Indian Railways tickets through Mobile using Paymate, Ngpay & Atom

Arun Prabhudesai — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 10:53:46 +0000

Booking Train Tickets is getting easier and easier – Gone are the days when a very slow IRCTC website was the only channel for booking train tickets online. Now we have IRCTC partners like Cleartrip & others who have made booking tickets a breeze.

And according to the announcement made by IRCTC today – it is going to get even easier. In July last year, Indian Railways had announced launch of their Mobile ticket booking application, which I could not find at that time on any of the Indian Railways website. The announcement made today is probably the same mobile application that was announced over 6 months back.

Even this time around, only after searching for about 15 minutes on IRCTC website, was I able to find the details of the said mobile applications.

It seems that IRCTC has directly partnered with all these 3 mobile payment gateways and all three viz: paymate, ngpay and Atom provide their own application for searching, booking & paying for Train Tickets.

Paymate Railway Ticket Booking Application

The users will have to first download the Paymate application by visiting here. Follow the instructions and download the application to your mobile and you are on your way to booking train tickets on your mobile. This application will most probably not work on most feature phones, but supports all major smartphones for booking tickets. Paymate app also supports flight tickets, movie tickets and shopping along with Train ticket bookings.

ATOM Railway Ticket Booking Application

ATOM mobile app is very similar to Paymate, but it also supports feature phones along with smartphones. You will obviously need your GPRS to be enabled to buy tickets on Atom. You can get more information about the app on Atom website. Like Paymate Atom also supports various other bookings apart from train tickets as well!

Ngpay Railway Ticket Booking Application

Ngpay is also very similar application to both mentioned above. Users have to download & install the mobile app on their GPRS enabled phone. According to their website, ngpay works on just about any mobile phone, from basic models to high-end ones.

All 3 of them promise extreme ease of use as well as high end security for booking tickets on their platform.

All in all it is a great step forward by Indian Railways. Mobile train ticket bookings are sure to shoot up with the launch of these apps. If you are planning to book tickets next time, try booking them through these mobile apps and let us know what you think about them.

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Google Bus Transit extends to Navi Mumbai, Kalyan & Thane!

Arun Prabhudesai — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 08:01:10 +0000

After covering over 8 Indian cities Google Transit has now spread its wings to Navi Mumbai, Kalyan and Thane. This is surely going to help people who stay or travel on the outskirts of Mumbai.

Although travelling within Mumbai and its suburbs is relatively easier, if one has to travel from, lets say, Kalyan to Thane it gets difficult due to various modes of transport agencies involved. Once has to literally change 3 different modes of transport to reach the destination . In such a situation, Google transit can really be of great help!

Google Transit has now tied up with NMMT (Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport), KDMT (Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Transport) and TMT (Thane Municipal Transport) which will enable them to give timings and directions to commuters traveling to & fro from Navi Mumbai, Kalyan and Thane. Mumbai Central Railway and Western Railway is already covered by Google Transit.

Lets take an example to see how easily commuters can get the direction even for complex directions!

Google Transit Directions from Kalyan to Thane

As you can see from the screenshot above, Google transit not only offers directions, but also bus numbers, their timings, various alternatives and also the total approximate time required for the travel.

With Google Transit being on mobile as well, commuters can find any travel directions anytime!

Here is a question to readers – How many of you have used Google Transit earlier and how effective and helpful was it to you? Let us know..

Indian Railways strengthens Tatkal Reservation system !

Viral Dholakia — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 08:51:49 +0000

The Tatkal emergency reservation scheme of Indian Railways was introduced to facilitate latecomers to avail of train berths just few days before the actual date of journey on being charged nominal extra costs.

Earlier, Indian Railways kept reserved one whole bogey for Tatkal passengers; but now the accommodation system has been modified to allow few Tatkal passengers in each compartment.

However, like most public amenities being subjected to malpractice in India, even Tatkal booking scheme was not spared from black marketing and ticket hoarding by travel agents. Thus, the true purpose of the Tatkal booking scheme was defeated as the common man could not avail of emergency tickets easily.

In order to deal with this menace, Indian Railways banned travel agents from Tatkal booking through e-ticketing route on all days between 8 am to 9 am, to help reduce traffic on the site during peak opening hours, in mid-2010.

However, showing further seriousness in ensuring common man’s ability to access Tatkal reservation scheme without any manipulation, Railways have decided to reduce the advance reservation period for Tatkal tickets from 2 days to 1 day to facilitate emergency travel.

Furthermore, the first hour restriction (8 am to 9 am) for agent bookings will now be extended to two hours (until 10 am) for on-counter as well as internet bookings, in order to deal with increasing number of complaints against web-based agents that still manage to corner substantial Tatkal tickets, thus profiteering from the system loopholes.

In order to toughen up the rules further, only four passengers will now be allowed to travel per PNR for Tatkal tickets in order to allay misuse of reservation facility. The prevailing system allows a maximum of six in case of normal bookings.

The new system, which is expected to be implemented in a week’s time, will NOT allow any refund on confirmed Tatkal tickets except when trains are cancelled or running late. Currently, a flat refund of 25% of total fare charged on the ticket, excluding Tatkal charges is granted on cancellation of Tatkal ticket.

Moreover, producing identity proof will now be made mandatory while booking Tatkal tickets under the new guidelines. So, these are some welcome changes, to say the least!

5 Ways to beat Petrol price hike!

Eric Jose — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 07:30:46 +0000

Petrol price hikes have been a nightmare for all of us. Combined with inflation, it is becoming hard for an average Indian to survive.

So it is high time that we adopt measures to use less fuel, so that the impact of price rise is minimal. Following are some practices when followed would save fuel and hence money.

Switching vehicles off at traffic signals

Switching off your car engines at long traffic signals is a must, especially when stoppages are more than 60 sec. Calculations show that each vehicle owner can save over Rs 3,100 annually just by ensuring that his or her car is switched off at every red light that lasts for more than 14 seconds which would hold for, perhaps, all signals.

So at a signal- Switch-off, wait and go!

Check the tire pressure

Under-inflated tires are one of the most commonly ignored causes of crummy mileage. Tires lose air due to time (about 1 psi per month) and temperature (1 psi for every 10 degree drop); under-inflated tires have more rolling resistance, which means you need to burn more fuel to keep your car moving.

Check tire pressure every month. Free tire checking facility is available at almost every petrol pump in India.

Shutting off the A/C

Consider shutting off the air conditioner, opening the windows and enjoying the breeze. It may be a tad warmer, but at lower speeds you’ll save fuel.

That said, at higher speeds the A/C may be more efficient than the wind resistance from open windows.

It is said that at lower speeds vehicles with Air conditioners on consume 10% more fuel than normal.

Downsize

If you’re planning for a new car, it’s time to re-evaluate how big a car you really need. Smaller cars are inherently more fuel-efficient, and today’s small cars are roomier than ever.

Small cars consume way less fuel, come at a cheaper cost and are easier to drive. With the Indian hatchback market hotting up, there are way more choices at attractive prices.

All these cars are feature rich. With European manufactures entering the market hatchbacks are a different class now.

So let go off the sedans & SUV’s… time for Hatchbacks!

Avoid driving as far as possible!

Now that’s a no-brainer isn’t it – But most of us forget it. We still take out our Cars / bikes for very short distances!

How about walking or cycling to market, and using the metro or bus to office. I know it’s a tough call for most us. But many of us can do this once in a while. You don’t pay for fuel when you are not using it at all. Walking or biking is good for your wallet and your health.

And before you get in your car, always ask yourself: "Is this trip really necessary?"

Any more tips you want to add?

Online Travel audience jumps by 32% [Comscore]

Arun Prabhudesai — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 11:02:52 +0000

Indian Ecommerce space has been growing consistently over past few years, and is expected to grow even fiercely in coming years. However, it is dominated by one sector – Online Travel Booking. Infact, OTA command more than 80% of all the entire Indian Ecommerce Market share.

By December 2011, it is expected that Ecommerce in India will touch 47,000 crore, out of which 37,890 cr. is spend online on travel alone!

Comscore recently released the growth figures for Online travel audience in India, and it is clear that online travel audience are growing at much faster pace.

According to the report, Travel Site visits grew 32 Percent in the Past Year and Indian Railways got majority of these visitors.

Indian Online Travel website growth

In April 2011, 18.5 million online users age 15 or older visited a Travel site from a home or work location, an increase of 32 percent from the previous year.

Each of the top 10 websites in the Travel category experienced strong growth in the past year. Indian Railways led as the most-visited Travel destination with 8.4 million visitors, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year.

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs) secured the remainder of the four top spots in the category. MakeMyTrip reached nearly 3.9 million visitors (up 63 percent) followed by Yatra Online with 3.5 million visitors (up 82 percent) and ClearTrip.com with more than 2.1 million visitors (up 80 percent).

U.S.-based Expedia Inc. secured the 5 position with 1.8 million visitors (up 12 percent).

MustseeIndia & Redbus were the two sites which grew at much faster pace than other travel sites.

Top Sites in the Travel Category by Unique Visitors April 2011 vs. April 2010 Total India – Age 15+ Home or Work Locations Source: comScore Media Metrix
	Total Unique Visitors (000)
	Apr-2010	Apr-2011	% Change
Total Internet : Total Audience	38,399	43,269	13
Travel	13,982	18,517	32
Indian Railways	7,749	8,399	8
MakeMyTrip	2,377	3,864	63
Yatra Online	1,933	3,520	82
ClearTrip.com	1,194	2,147	80
Expedia Inc	1,640	1,832	12
TravelAdNetwork	817	1,456	78
Mustseeindia.com	442	1,049	138
Indiarailinfo.com	647	922	42
Redbus.in	405	807	99
HolidayIQ.com	452	725	60

Audience Overlap Among the Top Three OTAs

It is interesting to note that of the 7.1 million people visiting the top three OTAs, MakeMyTrip, Yatra Online and ClearTrip.com, in April, more than 2 million users (29 percent) visited two or more of the three sites.

Among the remaining 71 percent of visitors checked in at only one of the three sites during the month demonstrating relatively strong brand loyalty among the top players.

I am surprised not to see ixigo.com in the list of top 10 travel websites – and quite surprised to see little known websites like MustseeIndia and Indiarailinfo!

Top 4 Must-See Historical Places in India!

guest — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:39:13 +0000

When vacationing in India, the land of spices, there are so many different things that one could see and do that the list could be seemingly endless. A country this big certainly has much to offer any person that chooses to visit here.

India happens to boast thousands of kilometres of shoreline and some of the most beautiful beaches of any nation; beaches that serve as the primary attraction for millions of vacationers annually.

But when you are not soaking up the sun on the beaches, or enjoying the luxury five star resorts that have been specially designed to accommodate foreigners, or shopping at one of the many bazaars, there are some historical places that you should really jot down on your list of things not to be missed when here. To better help you along the way, here are the top four.

India Gate

Located in Rajpath, New Delhi, India Gate is a prime attraction, and should also be at the top of your list. Also called the India War Memorial, this monument was created to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers – around 90,000 of them – who sacrificed their lives for world freedom during the First World War; it’s also a memorial to the second war in Afghanistan (1919). The gate, comprised almost entirely of sandstone, is approximately 42 meters in height and was first constructed in 1921 by the Duke of Connaught. It was officially dedicated to India by Viceroy, Lord Irwin in 1931. A popular recreational site, you will find a plethora of picnickers here during the warmer months, as people remember their history and freedom, the price of which can be seen in the thousands of names of the fallen that are inscribed on its sandy walls.

Bodhgaya

Bodhgaya is a spiritual haven for religious Buddhists and attracts hundreds of thousands of the devoted to its sacred monument each year. Located just outside of Niranjana, this site is considered to be one of the holiest of pilgrimage centers, as history purports that this site is where Buddha attained his enlightenment. The world famous Bodhi tree grows in a garden here; the tree under which Buddha sat as he attained his enlightenment; a genetic descendant of the original tree grows here, and is available for tourists to visit. The Mahabodh temple is a prime attraction, and offers a rich taste of religious history and the undying message of peace that Buddhism represents.

Khimsar Fort

Originally constructed in 1523 AD by famed architect Rao Karamsiji, should be on your list of must-see places when on vacation in India. Situated on the Great Thar Desert, and still occupied by the 20^th descendent, it’s more like a palace than it is a hotel. Khimsar Fort has been entirely preserved and features authentic ramparts, turrets and the scars of many historical battles. Ranked as the most desirable Royal Retreat that you can stay at while visiting, the hotel features 50 ultra luxurious rooms outfitted with all of the amenities, from hot and cold water, to air conditioning and even 24-hour room service.

Konark Sun Temple

Positioned in Orissa just outside of the city of Puri, Konark Sun Temple is considered to be a “medieval masterpiece” that represents the rich architectural heritage of Indian culture from this time period. It’s estimated by historians that King Narashimhadev I had the temple built in AD 1238-64 to honor the Sun God and to appease him. Made mostly from intricately hand sculpted pieces and segments, the temple was constructed to represent the chariot of the Sun God, complete with 24 wheels (each one about 10 feet in diameter), and inclusive of elaborate details like the spokes. Two fearsome lions guard the temple’s entrance, there are seven horses pulling the chariot, and rearing elephants welcome visitors to the main steps that lead to this preserved temple in India.

[Erica Gustafson is a freelance writer and consultant for Expedia. She had the opportunity to visit India and it ended up being one of her favorite countries of culture.]

Medical Tourism in India [An overview]

guest — Mon, 23 May 2011 04:47:57 +0000

We all know about India the tourist attraction. Millions of people from around the world visit India, touring the country and taking in all it has to offer, from its unique culture to the inimitable landscape and scenery. Tourists from around the globe fly to India and come to see the famous Taj Mahal, to tour the capital of New Delhi, to relax on the beautiful beaches of Goa, to climb the Himalayas, to witness the sacred Ganges River and many more main famous tourist attractions and activities.

The incoming tourists are of all ages as it can be young and adventurous visitors coming to explore the land, touring the country for weeks or even months and experiencing everything India has to offer and it can be older visitors who come on an organized trip for a week or two and see all the major tourist attractions going home satisfied.

Statistics show that India receives a bit over 5 million tourists a year and it is safe to say the majority of this number does come to India for sightseeing. However, a small percentage of this number comes for a completely different primary reason, and that is to undergo medical surgery in the country.

Medical Tourism

As strange as this may sound, India receives hundreds of thousands of tourists that come in to the country to undergo medical treatments, then leaving the country and going back home. It is called "Medical Tourism" and it is a blooming global industry as India has become a main medical tourism hub.

This phenomenon of people traveling across national borders for medical care has existed for centuries. However, only in the recent decades has it really taken off and fully blossomed, as patients have realized that they have options other than receiving local medical treatment and it is their right to check elsewhere and take advantage of the fact that the improvement of the means of transportation along with the internet is turning our world into a "global village".

The major reason people are traveling abroad for treatments are the high medical costs as many patients do not have proper medical insurance (or any at all) and when in need of surgery, they cannot afford to pay for it. Surgery abroad can lower the cost to 33%-50% of the price in the USA for example.

Long waiting lists is another cause people will travel abroad for medical care as they prefer to have surgery on their own terms, earlier than later. Patients will rather not live in discomfort for extensive periods of time and rather have the same surgery abroad much faster. A final reason can be that another country has a better or more advanced medical technology and research in the specific field of surgery and the patient will prefer to travel to that destination.

Medical Tourism in India

India was one of the first countries to recognize the potential of medical tourism and today is the leading destination for global medical tourists. Already in 2004, India has received 150,000 medical tourists and this number has grown by a whopping 33% by 2008 to 200,000 inbound medical tourists. It is estimated that by the year 2015, India will receive over half a million annual medical tourists annually.

This is no coincidence; India’s private medical sector offers the most advance medical treatments and technology available in the world today. Patients can come in and enjoy deluxe accommodations and be treated by the finest doctors that have western medical training, all for the lowest prices. In addition to this, patients are not expected to face any language barriers as a most of the population in India speaks English.

The government in the country is supporting this industry as well, assisting hospitals in acquiring the JCI accreditations and awarding funds for renovations and add-ons, everything they can do to improve both the private and public medical sectors in the country.

And if all this isn’t enough, after receiving medical treatment and recovering, patients are free to keep traveling and enjoy a vacation in India and the countries surrounding it as India is located in the heart of East Asia.

Medical Tourism Services in India

A patient can travel to India for just about any medical procedure he or she needs to have done. The most common major surgeries patients fly in for is open heart surgery and orthopedic joint replacement surgery as these are very expensive types of necessary surgery if you do not have proper medical insurance. Indian hospitals today excel in these kinds of treatments and there are many hospitals specialize in both medicine fields.

Cosmetic procedures are also a very popular type of procedure to have done in India since medical insurance does not usually cover this kind of operation and the costs can be fairly high. Patients will travel for any plastic surgery, starting from breast augmentation and enlargements to complete facelifts and tummy tucks.

There are many private hospitals in India as some stand out with world renowned names. "Apollo Hospitals" is a main Indian chain that runs 53 different hospitals with over 8,500 beds. "Max Healthcare" is another known private hospital chain that runs eight medical centers in the national capital region in India.

If you are considering traveling abroad for medical treatments, be sure to include India in your research. This country hasn’t become the leading medical tourism destination by accident!

[This Article has been written by Stuart Ben, A professional medical tourism facilitator. You can read more about medical tourism in India here: Hospitals in India : TicketMed]

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wow ! A Single common Mobility Card for Daily Commuters Across the Country

Viral Dholakia — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 11:16:48 +0000

Hurray! If you are one of those guys who need to frequently travel from one destination to another, here is a good news for you – the Union urban development ministry is working on a unique proposal which seeks to allow you a seamless and hassle-free journey for daily commuters, who use different modes of transport.

In fact, irrespective of the mode of transport you use: be it buses, local trains, the metro and monorails or even autos and taxis; a common mobility card – One India Card – will allow you to commute anywhere in the country and can be used as a single ticketing card for public transport.

Moreover, this multipurpose card is envisaged to be used for both state and private-run transport operators, in a move that aims to introduce ticket integration through the contactless smart card.

Initially, this scheme of common framework, which is proposed to be implemented in select cities under Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission, will need the transport operators to modernize their fleet to make them compatible for use with smart cards.

That’s not all. The One India card is also envisaged to be used as automatic fare collection system across the country – which can be fruitfully utilized for paying toll taxes on national highways or even buying utility items through the smart card.

A similar sort of initiative as a multi-application card system was adopted in Mumbai in 2007 – known as “Go Mumbai” card – for BEST buses, which was later extended to Suburban Railway services, for seamless connectivity within the financial capital of India.

In yet another initiative, which is currently in process of getting implemented is the Automatic Toll Collection system, which again has an objective of cashless transactions and one that will greatly reduce the commuter time and efforts !

The idea behind introducing this system was to aim for total cash-less transaction with complete security and also to reduce long queues. However, this scheme to facilitate commuter convenience did not fructify to the desired levels on account of the authorities being insufficiently equipped with the validators to check the card’s validity or the validating machines being plagued with technical glitches.

In my opinion, this renewed gesture by the Centre would not only aid commuters in terms of convenience but will also save ample of time. At first, it could prove cost-effective if you’re one of those marketing guys who need to travel to and fro from one part of the city to another. Secondly, it could save your time from standing in long serpentine ticket queues or worry about purchasing a ticket everyday.

Lastly, you keep away from the rak-jhak of tendering the exact change to the bus conductor!