A few days ago, the farmers protest called out to boycott services offered by major corporate bands, including Adani and Reliance.

However rivals Airtel and Vodafone Idea(Vi), have refuted the charges calling it “baseless”.

In a letter to the Trai, jio blamed Airtel and Vi of launching a “vicious” campaign . The telecom company said that “large number of port requests” , wherein the customers are citing this as the sole reason for porting out Jio without any complaints or other issues related to its services.

“This is further to our aforementioned letter dated 28 September 2020 highlighting the unethical and anti-competitive MNP campaign, being run by Airtel and Vi to capitalize on the ongoing farmers’ protests in the northern parts of the country,” the letter by Jio went on to add.

Meanwhile Airtel has termed the charges levelled against it by Jio as “baseless”. “Despite being provoked by some competitors who we know will go to any length to make baseless allegations, adopt bullying tactics and use intimidatory behaviour we have always conducted our business with character and transparency something that we are deeply proud of and known for,” Bharti Airtel said in a statement.

Vodafone India, now Vi, also issued a statement to that effect saying, “Vi believes in doing business with ethics. These are baseless allegations against us to malign our reputation. We strongly refute such irresponsible comments on us.”

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Now, there is news that notes that some WhatsApp data will be shared with Jio which help WhatsApp users to carryout transactions on JioMart. The officials said that nothing more will be shared between Jio and WhatsApp, apart from data essential for transactions.

The data sharing relationship between Jio and WhatsApp could be similar to how it is between WhatsApp and Facebook. When WhatsApp integrated with Facebook, that according to Facebook, helps the company offer richer and more integrated services to both Facebook and Whats App users.

The primary focus of Jio and Facebook is to turn WhatsApp into a super app, similar to WeChat in China, through which users will not be able to chat but will also be able to buy goods or pay for services, even from local shops.

While collaborating with Reliance Jio , Facebook made it clear that this investment was aimed at building a viable e-retail platform centred around WhatsApp. Both Jio and Facebook wanted to create new ways for people and businesses to operate more effectively in a growing digital economy.

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The process of predatory pricing, the situation that controls the market, arises through the following process: A large company enters the market and then delivers goods or services at a lower rate than the currently exists. Smaller companies are forced to close down as they are unable to keep pace with the market and face competition from large companies. This leads to the loss of employment opportunities provided by small companies. With this, only the big company can dominate the market. As a result, the company raises prices to a higher level than previously offered by smaller companies. Consumers have to buy goods or services at high prices as there is no other way.

There are strong allegations that predatory pricing exists in areas such as e-commerce, call taxi and telecom. Months ago, allegations surfaced that predatory pricing was being carried out against e-commerce giant Amazon. The government has warned that it will take action against the company. The government has made it clear that e-commerce companies have no right to lower the prices of their products and to harm retailers through predatory pricing. The warning comes after complaints were received that e-commerce companies were violating the guidelines. As a result, Amazon and Flipkart had to withdraw several offers.

Predatory pricing in service areas such as call taxi has been widely accused of destroying the employment and business opportunities of ordinary taxi drivers and small taxi service providers. The advent of Uber and Ola led to a decline in the standard taxi services in the market. Uber and Ola slowly began to raise the minimum rates initially offered to customers. Complaints of non-availability of call taxi service at the required time and place have spread among the customers in the metro cities.

Recent trends in the telecom sector are an example of predatory pricing. In 2016, there were about a dozen companies operating in the telecom sector. Within a few years, it had shrunk to just two-thirds. This was due to the arrival of Reliance Jio.

Reliance Jio’s entry into the market was purely strategic. Reliance Jio, which revolutionised the telecom services sector, was the first to offer one GB of data for free every month and free data-based calls. There were widespread doubts as to how successful the experiment would be in attracting customers and whether the experiment would significantly affect the progress of the telecom business itself. The question arose as to how a venture with an investment of Rs. 3.5 lakh crore could be made profitable through such experiments. However, the experiment of Jio to attract customers of other telecom operators to themselves and to create a wider base of customers has been very successful.

Reliance Jio, which entered the market in 2016 as a threat to other telecom companies, has rapidly dominated the market. It took only three years to become the number one telecom company in terms of number of subscribers. As on May 31, 2020, Reliance Jio had 39.2 crore subscribers. Vodafone and Bharti Airtel lost 47 lakh subscribers in May alone, while Geo gained 37 lakh new subscribers that month.

Prepare a new facility for the customers for free or at a low cost, slowly make the use of that facility a habit, bring the customers into the company’s influence as soon as the habit becomes unavoidable. Start charging them adequately, and slowly elevate the experiment to profitability. Geo has been offering free service till March 31, 2017, after which it has been charging for services. Later the rate gradually increased. What Geo is doing now is to pay for the habit instilled in consumers by the proliferation of 4G data interaction and social media. Last December, telecom companies raised the prices of their packages significantly.

Predatory pricing is imposed on consumers in many ways. Even banks do this. For example, in the past, banks did not charge for ATM / debit cards. It was a free service that came with the opening of a Savings Bank account. But today, consumers are often unaware that banks charge for cards. Only by looking at the bank statement will you know that the banks charge from the account every year.

These companies are preparing a variant of the English proverb, “There is no free lunch.” Give free lunch first, then turn those who are addicted to the taste of lunch into their regular customers. This is the modern business strategy. In the meantime, there may be a shrewd business strategy that charges, including for the free lunch provided.

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It is during times of crisis that companies explore new opportunities. Companies that approach crises and setbacks as opportunities seize them and can reap benefits in the long run. Various companies with sufficient surplus funds are moving in this direction.

Acquisitions, mergers, share sales and share purchases during crisis periods are all equally viable for companies to survive and grow. When debt-ridden companies are forced to sell out, it benefits other companies. It is also a vision in such a context to lead the business in new directions by establishing new relationships through the sale and purchase of shares.

Reliance Industries, the company with India’s highest market value, is one that practices all these methods at the same time. Through its partnership with Reliance Jio, they have teamed up with Facebook, Google and other companies to open new avenues in business and become a debt-free company. At the same time, Reliance is looking to expand its business in the retail sector by acquiring shares in other companies. Reliance is looking to acquire Future Retail, a leading company in the retail sector. Reliance has recently acquired a company in the field of e-pharmacy.

It is in this context that Eicher Motors’ acquisition of Volvo Bus’ business in India should be seen. The high savings and efficient financial management of the company helped in this deal. It is almost always possible for companies with surplus funds to take risks in times of crisis.

VE Commercial Vehicles, a manufacturer of trucks and buses operating under Eicher Motors, acquires Volvo Bus’ business in India. The acquisition is worth Rs.100 crore. In this regard, an agreement has been signed between the two companies. The agreement will pave the way for the formation of a new bus division between Eicher and Volvo. Royal Enfield, which operates under Eicher Motors, is doing well. Sales of Royal Enfield bikes continue to thrive during this period.

COVID-era news is that Hero Motors is preparing to build electric three-wheelers. The goal is to use the surplus money effectively. The company is currently focusing on budget bikes such as the Splendor and Passion. The production of electric three-wheelers will help the company to reduce its dependence on the budget bike business.

The electric three-wheeler market in India is highly unorganised. Vehicles imported from China dominate the sector. The GST on electric vehicles is only 5%. That is one of the main reasons for the increase in sales of such vehicles. Mahindra & Mahindra currently dominates the organized electric three-wheeler segment. Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors are also planning to launch electric three-wheelers in the coming months.

Earlier, Chinese bikes could not hold their own in the Indian market due to poor quality. Following in the footsteps of Mahindra, Hero Motors, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors will enter the electric three-wheeler market.

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