A third world dumping zone?
"Apple treating India as iPhone 4 dumping ground?"
The
above said lines are from a prestigious news site of India pointing out
how international companies around the world eye India for their
business by utilizing their out-dated technologies. However, it does not
mean Indians are barred from new technology in every way.
The report said-
"The average Indian consumer easily falls for the paraphernalia of sales, zero per cent interest, buyback schemes — anything that signals an easy buy. Apple, sensing this essential core of the shopper, has decided to go all out and grab by the pocket the buyer who is fiddling with the thought of purchasing a smartphone costing less than Rs 20,000.
For, while the Apple CEO kowtowed in China with a promise of superior service, the company is misreading the Indian market by pushing a three-year-old product — a relic in tech terms, and one that has lost its lure in Europe and US that have upgraded to iPhone 4S, then iPhone 5, and are now waiting for the next generation."
They put up this as a question, but it is a fact, which is not. This practice by international companies is going on from years. Not long ago India was one of the largest dumping zones of computer waste, and still it is. As per estimates, the total number of obsolete personal computers emanating from business and individual households in India reached around 1.38 million. Manufacturers and assemblers in a single calendar year are producing around 1,050 tonnes of electronic scrap while a significant number of computers are imported for reuse in India, from the US and from Europe.
Also, computer waste not having resale value is openly burnt to extract metallic parts from them. Scrap computer business is a huge business in India, carried forward by many scrap dealers. Considering all facts, international players will see India as a market where they can cash with outdated or even obsolete technologies. This trend is not only limited to mobile phones, how many times we have seen that Auto companies launch their old car models as new in India or with poor quality interiors or less features, compared to what they offer with the same model in other international markets.
Looking towards Indian defence force, we will find that the same trend exists their also. Indian pilots fly in scrap, they loose their lives and yet government does not move towards scraping the scrap. Introduced in 1959, MiG-21F is still under operation in India. Though, government has decided to remove the fleet gradually but only after loosing many precious lives. The other question is that, another aircraft of comparatively low on technology will replace it. Not long ago, India was desperate to make a deal of $10 billion with America to buy F-16 fighters, which are relatively old as compared current technologies used in latest American jets. These all are business strategies by the sellers to sell outdated technologies to third world countries like India at a higher cost. Ironically, India is unsuccessfully working on its three decades old project to build an Indigenous aircraft 'Tejus,' with and out dated design that stand nowhere in category of modern aircrafts.
India must recognize that it lags severely in innovating new technologies. Without globalization, it would not have been possible for Indians to even reach at this point, where they currently are. If we leave the exception of space technology, currently serving as India’s only pride, we borrow technology in almost every other sector. Therefore, if companies offer us anything old (new for India) with old tech features, cannot be termed as a subjective treatment for Indian users.
Here is another point of view; we know India is the biggest car market of small hatchbacks and economical cars. Car companies across the world recognized it and came up with their cheap and small models with small engines. Never had been such a competition between cheap and economical car segment, which forced companies to strip their cars from hi-tech safety features, high quality fabrics or plastics and smaller capacity engines. This all explains that Indians are still poor than developed economies, therefore they cannot afford pricy techs.
In the same way, every company of any market category will try to present their models engraved with old tech and relatively less features, so that they can attract customers in quantity. Shall we raise question on them?
(For more articles please Click Here)
The report said-
"The average Indian consumer easily falls for the paraphernalia of sales, zero per cent interest, buyback schemes — anything that signals an easy buy. Apple, sensing this essential core of the shopper, has decided to go all out and grab by the pocket the buyer who is fiddling with the thought of purchasing a smartphone costing less than Rs 20,000.
For, while the Apple CEO kowtowed in China with a promise of superior service, the company is misreading the Indian market by pushing a three-year-old product — a relic in tech terms, and one that has lost its lure in Europe and US that have upgraded to iPhone 4S, then iPhone 5, and are now waiting for the next generation."
They put up this as a question, but it is a fact, which is not. This practice by international companies is going on from years. Not long ago India was one of the largest dumping zones of computer waste, and still it is. As per estimates, the total number of obsolete personal computers emanating from business and individual households in India reached around 1.38 million. Manufacturers and assemblers in a single calendar year are producing around 1,050 tonnes of electronic scrap while a significant number of computers are imported for reuse in India, from the US and from Europe.
Also, computer waste not having resale value is openly burnt to extract metallic parts from them. Scrap computer business is a huge business in India, carried forward by many scrap dealers. Considering all facts, international players will see India as a market where they can cash with outdated or even obsolete technologies. This trend is not only limited to mobile phones, how many times we have seen that Auto companies launch their old car models as new in India or with poor quality interiors or less features, compared to what they offer with the same model in other international markets.
Looking towards Indian defence force, we will find that the same trend exists their also. Indian pilots fly in scrap, they loose their lives and yet government does not move towards scraping the scrap. Introduced in 1959, MiG-21F is still under operation in India. Though, government has decided to remove the fleet gradually but only after loosing many precious lives. The other question is that, another aircraft of comparatively low on technology will replace it. Not long ago, India was desperate to make a deal of $10 billion with America to buy F-16 fighters, which are relatively old as compared current technologies used in latest American jets. These all are business strategies by the sellers to sell outdated technologies to third world countries like India at a higher cost. Ironically, India is unsuccessfully working on its three decades old project to build an Indigenous aircraft 'Tejus,' with and out dated design that stand nowhere in category of modern aircrafts.
India must recognize that it lags severely in innovating new technologies. Without globalization, it would not have been possible for Indians to even reach at this point, where they currently are. If we leave the exception of space technology, currently serving as India’s only pride, we borrow technology in almost every other sector. Therefore, if companies offer us anything old (new for India) with old tech features, cannot be termed as a subjective treatment for Indian users.
Here is another point of view; we know India is the biggest car market of small hatchbacks and economical cars. Car companies across the world recognized it and came up with their cheap and small models with small engines. Never had been such a competition between cheap and economical car segment, which forced companies to strip their cars from hi-tech safety features, high quality fabrics or plastics and smaller capacity engines. This all explains that Indians are still poor than developed economies, therefore they cannot afford pricy techs.
In the same way, every company of any market category will try to present their models engraved with old tech and relatively less features, so that they can attract customers in quantity. Shall we raise question on them?
(For more articles please Click Here)
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