The Knowledge to Decide

India’s government hopes that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) will be a game changing reform for the Indian economy, creating a common Indian market and reducing confusing multiple taxes . It is forecasted to raise India’s GDP growth rate by over one percentage point . Will the GST really live up to these expectations? Demystifying the GST bill Hailed as one of the biggest taxation reforms in India, the Indian GST is a comprehensive indirect tax structure, to be levied at all points in the supply chain – manufacturing and sale of goods and services at a national level. At present, India is home to multiple taxes separately managed by Central and State governments, such as the Central Excise duty and Custom duties. Moreover, Value-added Tax (VAT), entry tax, luxury tax and entertainment tax come under the State level. Once the GST is implemented, all these taxes will come under a single tax structure, leading to a common market with the removal of fiscal barriers betwee

The price of coffee is set to reach a record high by 2018, which is why coffee shops are hoarding coffee beans to meet consumer demand. While sales of hot coffee fell by 3% due to rising summer temperatures, cold coffee market sales were up by 80% over the previous year. It takes about 0.2 kilograms of beans to brew a gallon of hot coffee, while cold coffee takes only a pound. Production shortages in Vietnam and Brazil along with crop issues in Colombia are likely to raise prices for coffee beans this year, further fueling the trend towards cold coffee. Will most consumers start to consume their coffee cold? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/cold-coffee-cannibalizing-cold-drinks/

Quirky chai cafés in India like Chaayos are now replacing the dominance of Coffee shops like Starbucks, Barista and most notably Café Coffee Day. Established in 2012, Chaayos boasts of close to 40 stores and hopes to expand to 75 outlets by mid-2018. Owned by Sunshine Teahouse, Chaayos has opened stores in Delhi, Mumbai and Chandigarh. Bengaluru based Chaipoint and Mumbai based Tea-trails are the local competitors in the market. Unlike Chaipoint which has 94 stores so far, Chaayos invests in repeat customers. A 24/7 store in Gurugram and 7am stores to serve breakfast are their top-selling retail models. What brands and retail models will come to dominate India’s chai café industry? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/indias-novel-tea-cafe-industry/

The African hair care industry has been among the fastest growing across the content over the past few years. The market is expected to grow in value to USD761 million by the end of 2017. Various factors are responsible for this steady growth, such as the global trend towards chemical-free hair products as well as growing acceptance of the natural texture and colour of African hair. However, the pricing model is a challenge. Natural hair products are generally made with higher quality ingredients, unlike cheaper petro-chemical based ones. The battle to persuade consumers to pay higher prices has not yet been concluded. Can Africa turbo-charge the global hair care industry? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/african-haircare-industry-surges-ahead/

With the global e-learning market expected to reach revenues of USD107 billion by 2015, education over the internet has become easily accessible. Demand for e-learning is growing rapidly, as a function of changes in the skills mix needed for cutting edge industries. Is the internet bound to change the way we learn? What is e-learning? Electronic learning or e-learning refers to computer-enhanced learning. The concept of e-learning evolved from the idea of computer-assisted instruction. A prominent example of computer-assisted instruction is the PLATO system – developed at the Urbana Campus at The University of Illinois since 1960. This system was further enhanced, leading to the emergence of content-based learning through software. The popularity of online education continues to soar due to population growth, the availability of e-learning platforms as well as increased global internet penetration. The number of internet users increased tenfold from 1999 to 2013. In the Asian