Online dating app Tinder on Wednesday said it has witnessed a 400 per cent increase in downloads in the country in the past year, and women are more active in using the application than men.
“We are truly excited about the rapid adoption of Tinder in India…women particularly seem to love Tinder, sending more Super Likes than men each week, which is incredibly empowering,” Tinder’s India head Taru Kapoor said in a statement. Without disclosing absolute numbers, the app which competes with others like TrulyMadly, OkCupid and Woo, said it has witnessed a 400 per cent increase in downloads in past year.
It said Indians are sending one million ‘super likes’ per week on the application, with women being more active in sending the ‘super likes’.
It, however, did not share more details on the split between men and women on app usage. India’s favourable demographics where over half of the population is said to be under 35, a rapid pick up in mobile telephony and changing outlooks towards personal relationships due to factors like hectic lifestyles have aided usage of such applications, according to reports. Tinder said 90 per cent of its users in the country are between the age groups of 18 to 34. Kapoor added that the conversations on the app last more in India than in any other country. The app launched in 2012 is present in 196 countries globally in 30 languages.
It claimed 26 million matches are made on Tinder on a daily basis and over 10 billion matches have been made on it so far. It has recently launched product enhancements including addition of job and education information to profiles and an improved messaging interface, the statement said.
Meanwhile, in view of ‘very complex’ and ‘multi-layered’ business structure of e-commerce firms, the government is working on a proper definition to bring clarity on a host of issues including taxation, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
“…it (e-commerce) is not a simple or a black and white issue. We have had stakeholders’ meeting. State governments have given their inputs, so we thought at least we should define this whole thing as what is a market place, why it is a market place, when it is portal related,” Sitharaman said.
She said the whole issue related with the e-commerce business is “very complex” and it has “become multi-layered”.
“So that is why we are working on it…It (definition) should happen soon,” she added. The minister also clarified that the ministry is not looking at foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce retail.
E-commerce itself has a lot of issues as most of the companies in this sector are dealing in logistics and keeping inventories also, Sitharaman said, adding “the entire discussion is about the various levels at which level playing field is absent (for brick and mortar stores).”
Many states have started taxing these firms because they are keeping inventories, she added. “State government thought fit to have VAT on them or they are imposing service tax. So at the end of the day, these companies started questioning why you are taxing us? “At the same time, e-commerce strictly means you just create the portal, where a buyer and a seller come together but you (the companies) are not finishing off with that, you are also holding stocks of one seller or many sellers,” the minister said.
As per the current FDI policy, e-commerce activities refer to the activity of buying and selling by a company through an e-commerce platform. At present, 100 per cent FDI is allowed in business-to- business (B2B) e-commerce and not in the retail segment.
Global players are looking at India as it is one of the fastest-growing markets in Asia-Pacific, along with China.
Rise in Internet penetration, adoption of smartphones and lower data rates are completely changing the way India shops.
According to estimates, the sector’s size is around $5 billion annually. When asked about her expectation for the Parliament session and GST roll out, she said the government is engaging with the opposition on all important matters.
“Somewhere national priorities should be understood and opposition parties can not be seen obstructing Parliament one session after the other,” she said.
Image Courtsey: The Hindu
