Latest news with #Zeba
Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
After smartphones, Indians now purchasing large home appliances online: Amazon's Zeba Khan calls it shift in consumer behaviour
A decade ago, shopping for a large home appliance like a refrigerator or air conditioner meant setting aside time on the weekend and hopping from one showroom to another—often spending days shortlisting options before finally making a purchase. It was a time when e-commerce didn't exist, and the only options for consumers were visiting a nearby local dealer of a renowned appliance brand or a large electronics chain in the city. Today, however, purchasing a home appliance is just a click away. Amazon wants India to shop online for large home appliances. The prize is billions of potential customers and a category that remains heavily offline—but one where the world's biggest e-commerce player believes there is scope to shift online, as options of home appliances become widely available. 'Customers are becoming more comfortable with purchasing these [home appliances] products online because they now have access to reliable delivery, affordability options like EMIs, and instant cashbacks,' Zeba Khan, Director, Consumer Electronics, Amazon India told in an interview last week in Delhi. Zeba said the Covid-19 pandemic played an important role in bringing Indians online for large home appliance purchases, at a time when people were stuck at home and couldn't step out to shop—especially for products that had traditionally been part of an offline-heavy market in India. 'You have to recognise that Covid did accelerate the process. At that point, many people bought dishwashers, which gave an impetus to the idea that large appliances can be bought online—and that it can be a good experience,' she said. For Amazon, Zeba said large home appliances are one category in which the company has heavily invested, making necessary changes to improve not only the product selection but also installation services—bringing them in line with industry standards. Amazon, she said, identified a gap in the market and focused on installation services as a key factor in winning consumers through its Unified Delivery Service (UDS). 'Even in offline retail, it's challenging to get both the product and the technician to arrive at the same time.' Amazon's UDS is now available in over 65 cities, while its installation services are offered in more than 300 cities. In recent months, she added, Amazon has been expanding its service portfolio. Last year, the company launched seasonal AC servicing and also introduced phone setup services. 'Services play a huge role in building consumer confidence in home appliance shopping,' Zeba explained. Because of this, and how Amazon has added value-added services and simplified home appliance shopping, consumers' perception has changed towards purchasing refrigerators and air conditioners online. 'In large appliances, we now offer the widest selection. In fact, every year we are adding even more offline models to our portfolio. Brands are becoming increasingly aware of the potential. Smartphone brands had already embraced e-commerce, but now even large appliance brands are more particular, saying, 'This is what I want to sell online.' A trend, Zeba said, has become more visible is how many large home appliance brands are bringing their offline models online, especially premium products priced at Rs 1,00,000 and above. This shift has been driven by the increased uptake of premium products not only among urban households but also in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Cashing in on this trend affordability solutions are clearly encouraging more consumers to opt for premium products. 'That's the hook for brands,' she added. 'Just last month, for instance, a TV brand launched exclusively on Amazon; their go-to-market strategy was entirely online-first,' she said, without naming the brand. 'We are increasingly seeing consumer electronics brands opting to launch online-first.' India is becoming a key market for Amazon and other major players in the battle for the country's online shoppers. Competition is getting stiffer as quick commerce brands—mostly domestic—also enter the appliance market, putting additional pressure on large e-commerce players. Zeba admits that while smartphones continue to be a 'highly penetrated category' online and remain the top-performing category in terms of online penetration, the share of other categories—especially large home appliances—continues to increase. Televisions and large appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners are also seeing robust double-digit growth, indicating that consumers are increasingly shopping for appliances online as well. However, one common factor across purchases, whether for a smartphone or a large appliance, is the high number of first-time buyers. 'These categories naturally have a lot of synergy among them, so yes, we do observe cross-purchasing. That said, whether it's laptops, large appliances, or smartphones, we continue to see a steady influx of new customers in each category,' she said. Anuj Bhatia is a personal technology writer at who has been covering smartphones, personal computers, gaming, apps, and lifestyle tech actively since 2011. He specialises in writing longer-form feature articles and explainers on trending tech topics. His unique interests encompass delving into vintage tech, retro gaming and composing in-depth narratives on the intersection of history, technology, and popular culture. He covers major international tech conferences and product launches from the world's biggest and most valuable tech brands including Apple, Google and others. At the same time, he also extensively covers indie, home-grown tech startups. Prior to joining The Indian Express in late 2016, he served as a senior tech writer at My Mobile magazine and previously held roles as a reviewer and tech writer at Gizbot. Anuj holds a postgraduate degree from Banaras Hindu University. You can find Anuj on Linkedin. Email: ... Read More
Hindustan Times
30-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
India needs a new agricultural revolution to safeguard food security
India's farmers are finding it increasingly harder to coax yields from their fields, as soil stress and land degradation add to the challenges, they al-ready face in feeding a rapidly growing population in an age of climate change. Nearly a third (32%% of India's land area is degraded while a quarter (25%) is undergoing desertification, the Food and Agriculture Organiza-tion (FAO) said in an article published last year citing reports. Moreover, the country loses 5.3 billion tons of soil every year due to water and wind erosion according to the Indian Council of Agricultural Re-search (ICAR). Soil stress, with the impact of the climate crisis only exacerbating it, is acting as a drag on farmland productivity, driving up input costs and weighing on farm incomes. However, most crucially, it is threatening In-dia's hard-won food security, with the country needing its farmlands to produce more food than they ever must feed the world's largest and yet still growing population. Fortunately, there is hope. India's farmlands have not yet crossed the point of no return. The government, too, has actioned numerous initiatives over the years aimed at mitigating soil degradation from watershed manage-ment projects and the promotion of resource-responsible precision farm-ing techniques to the soil health card programme. In the Global Soil Conference held in 2024, government representatives emphasised the need to address concerns surrounding soil health, in a sign that the highest echelons of government have taken note of the issue. In fact, there is a National Soil Policy reportedly in the works. The draft National Soil Policy aims to provide an 'overarching framework for pro-tection, restoration, and sustainable management' of soils in India, in-volving scientists and farmers working together to develop practical solu-tions that can be implemented at the farm level. There are a number of practices that can be actioned — and many already have — to preserve and even renew soil health. These include conserva-tion agricultural practices like zero tillage, which are already being prac-ticed to great success in countries like Argentina and Brazil, or regenera-tive and natural farming practices. However, with soil renewal being a slow process and so much of our land area already degraded, we also need to equip our farmers to enhance productivity from already stressed farmlands, protecting their incomes in the shorter term, even as the process of soil renewal plays out. Soil supplements and nutrients, that can make farming on stressed land less resourceful and water intensive without further damaging the soil, could hold the key. As an example, UPL's Zeba is a naturally-derived, starch-based, super-absorbent product that increases the water-holding capacity of the soil, improves nutrient use efficiency in the crop's root zone, and has a positive effect on the soil microbiome, thereby maintaining and even improving soil health. Its impact has been tangible — Zeba was used across 1.2 lakh acres of farmland across India in 2023 and saved 72 billion liters of water. It also led to a 25% reduction in fertiliser use while delivering savings of ₹1,500 per acre on electricity and ₹1,000 per acre on labor. In total, Zeba has earned the average farmer an additional income of ₹22,000+ per hectare on an additional spend of less than ₹5,000. Zeba, to put it simply, has been a game changer. There are several other products out on the market today that are moving the goalposts in a similar way. Promoted on a national scale, they could prove to be revolutionary. And that's what Indian agriculture needs — another revolution. The Green Revolution transformed our country from a food-deficient to a food-se-cure and even a food-surplus country. The Rainbow Revolution cemented those gains. In order to avoid squandering those gains we now need a new revolution for a new age. We need a soil revolution. This article is authored by Ashish Dobhal, CEO, UPL Sustainable Agri Solutions (UPL SAS).
India.com
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Meet Pakistani actress who made her debut with Rishi Kapoor, got divorced thrice, her ex-husband is famous Bollywood actor, now she is married to.., she is..
Meet Pakistani actress who made her debut with Rishi Kapoor, got divorced thrice, her ex-husband is famous Bollywood actor, now she is married to.., she is.. In the glitzy and glamorous world of Bollywood, there is a lot that happens that meets the eye. Behind the picture-perfect life of an artist, there are often turbulent interpersonal relationships, complex dynamics that are overshadowed by the glamour. However, being a public figure, actors are always under high scrutiny, especially with the new age media where even an Instagram engagement becomes the headline. One such story is of an actress whose name started rising because of her work, however, it was her personal life that actually gained more attention from the audience. The person we are talking about is no other than Zeba Bakhtiar. She is a Pakistani actress who captivated millions with her role in the film Henna, which came out in 1991. Starring opposite Rishi Kapoor, this film was produced and directed by Raj Kapoor's son, Randhir Kapoor. With this performance of hers, she quickly rose to fame and became a fan favorite; however, her Bollywood career didn't last long. Zeba did a few more Hindi films, but they didn't quite hit the mark, and eventually, she returned to Pakistan. Zeba went back to her home country and became a popular star there. She resumed working in the film and TV industry there, eventually making her one of the most respected stars in Pakistan. Besides Zeba's successful career, it was her personal life that made headlines. Zeba was born in Quetta, and she is the daughter of a former Attorney General of Pakistan, late Yahya Bakhtiar. She was raised in Quetta and later moved to Karachi, where her acting career started. However, it was her married life that was quite eventful. Zeba was married four times. First, she got married in 1982 to Salman Waliyani, a man from Quetta. They also have a daughter, but their relationship didn't last for long, and they got divorced eventually. Her second marriage was in 1989 with the famous Bollywood actor and comedian, Javed Jaffrey, which created a lot of buzz. Initially Zeba also denied the marriage but Javed Jaffrey exposed their marriage certificate, confirming their marriage. Their marriage was also short lived and ended up in a divorce within a year In 1993, the Pakistani actress got married to Pakistani singer Adnan Sami for the third time. Their union also attracted significant attention. The couple even starred together in the Pakistani film called Sargam, but their relationship ended in divorce in 1997. They had a son, Azaan Sami Khan, who is now a well-known figure himself. After their split, both parents fought for custody, eventually agreeing to co-parent. Azaan is now married and has children, making Zeba a proud grandmother. Finally, in 2008, Zeba married Sohail Khan Leghari, marking her fourth marriage. Sohail and Zeba are happily married now and in a steady marriage. Today, Zeba Bakhtiar continues to act in Pakistani television, enjoying both her professional life and family time as a grandmother.
India.com
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
Rishi Kapoor's heroine got married four times, career got ruined after…, away from limelight for 33 years, she is…
There are very few people in the world of acting who get the recognition they deserve as soon as they debut, for which they have to struggle for years in the industry. Actress Zeba Bakhtiar got great recognition in 1991 with her debut film 'Hina'. Actress Zeba Bakhtiar started her career in 1991 with Rishi Kapoor's film 'Henna'. Earlier, Raj Kapoor had seen her in a show and decided to cast her in the film. But the actress did not get that recognition even after a blockbuster debut. 30 years ago, Pakistani actress Zeba Bakhtiar, who worked with Rishi Kapoor in the 1991 superhit film 'Henna', won the hearts of people as soon as she debuted. Her beautiful picture is still in people's minds. 'Henna' was Zeba's first film, and as soon as it became a superhit, Zeba became a superstar overnight, although after this film, Zeba worked in many other films. But she could not get the success again, which she got from this film. After Hina, Zeba has worked in films like Mohabbat Ki Aarzoo, Stuntman, Jai Vikranta, Sargam, Mukadma, Chief Sahib , and Bin Roye . On TV, apart from Anarkali , she has worked in shows like Tansen, Laag, Mulakat, Muqaddas, Mehmaan, Mussoorie, Doordesh, Samjhauta Express, Hazaron Saal, and Pehli Si Mohabbat . No one knows where Zeba Bakhtiar, who made a splash with her first film, is and what she is doing now. Zeba's real name is Shaheen Thay. Zeba is the daughter of Pakistani politician and former Attorney General, Yahya Bakhtiar. Very few people know that Zeba started her career on the small screen in Pakistan and played an important role in the TV serial Anarkali in 1988. Her acting in this show was highly praised. Raj Kapoor saw her in this show and cast her in a film under the RK banner. Zeba worked with Rishi Kapoor in the film. She became his heroine in this film. Ashwini Bhave was in the lead role in this film. But the new Neyveli Zeba gave her a tough competition with her character. This was Zeba's debut film and was also a blockbuster. But after this, none of her films could do wonders. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ○~ ~○ (@ Let us tell you that Zeba has married four times. Her first marriage was with Salman Valliani of Quetta, second with actor Javed Jaffrey, third with singer Adnan Sami, and then her fourth marriage was with Sohail Khan Leghari. Currently, it is said that she lives in Pakistan. After Henna, she did not get success again, and she distanced herself from acting after giving many flops. The actress has been anonymous for years.
Khaleej Times
20-04-2025
- Climate
- Khaleej Times
Look: When UAE residents rescued strangers, opened homes to stranded during April 16 rains
There are scenes we could never forget — moments that tug our hearts and inspire our spirits, sincere acts of kindness and heroism that turn adversity into relief. We witnessed these when the unprecedented rains hit the UAE on April 16 last year. 'It was more than just generosity; it was a testament to the spirit of togetherness and camaraderie that define the UAE,' a Dubai resident told Khaleej Times last year. 'We were not just helping strangers; we showed them what it means to be part of our extended family.' As Khaleej Times reported – and it's always good to recall – the UAE saw many heartwarming instances of people offering help. Those moments were remarkably sober, very undramatic, but always heroic. One perfect example was how a Dubai resident named Khan, without hesitation, leapt into the water and swam to a truck when he discovered five people desperately trying to break free. Khan scaled the roof of the SUV, and using a hammer, he smashed through its glass roof to pull out everyone to safety. 'True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost but the urge to serve others at whatever cost,' said the resident who captured on video Khan's heroic rescue. Authorities, meanwhile, did not only look after the residents, but also their pets and other animals. There was a viral video showing a Dubai Police team rescuing a cat clinging to a door's handle. Some residents made temporary shelters like long time-expat Zeba, who told Khaleej Times: 'We decided to build a shelter, but we couldn't do it in the park since its public property. So, we secured places by setting up tarps, wood and towels, anything that would save them from getting drenched. We did this in 3-4 locations.' 'Everyone is welcome' Doors were opened to those in need. WhatsApp groups became platforms for coordination and sharing information and locations of available accommodations. One heartwarming instance was when a Filipino couple found themselves stranded for hours in Al Barsha after the heavy rainfall. The woman was eight months pregnant back then. With Metro services unexpectedly halted and no alternative transportation available to take them to their residence in Al Jafiliya, the couple attempted to check into a hotel but found them packed to capacity. Fortunately, a member of Rain Support WhatsApp group offered to host them at his home. 'He was already sheltering four other stranded individuals, yet they welcomed us into their home with open arms,' said the Filipino couple. 'His kindness made all of us feel instantly at ease. He offered us food and water and arranged mattresses, ensuring our comfort throughout the night. The next day, we woke up to a warm breakfast. He was truly Godsend," the coupled added. More heartwarming instances of people offering help to strangers unfolded that day and the days after the April 16, 2024 rains. One resident, without hesitation, offered his teenage daughter's room to people stranded on the road. 'It was the least I could do and it was just the right thing. Helping each other out is just part of being human," he said. There was also a real estate agent who went on an all-night rescue mission. Driving his trusty 2000 model Landcruiser, Deepak Mohan waded through knee and waist-deep waters to transport several individuals to safety, including a pregnant nurse, a wheelchair-bound woman with her daughter and a visiting Kazakh family. These acts of kindness have not gone unnoticed, with many expressing heartfelt gratitude to Mohan for his selfless deeds. Ingenious assistance Residents also showed their ingenuity amidst adversity. Some made makeshift boats to travel through flooded streets to buy groceries for others. Some boats were made of wood and mattresses, making it comfortable for people to move around. Another notable instance was when a school director personally delivered books to uplift the morale of flood-hit students. With school supplies swept away in floods, it had been impossible for some Sharjah students to attend classes, even online. But Hessa Al Zarihi, director of the Zayed Educational Complex in Sharjah, went from one hotel to another to bring the supplies to students and families who had to leave everything behind when floods submerged their homes. 'She did a beautiful initiative ... that enabled students to continue their studies remotely,' Faisal Al Salman, father of a student, told Khaleej Times. Al Zarihi also checked on students' condition over the phone and created a social platform where parents can express their needs, he said. The books and laptop came with a cake for the family, too. On it was a message that said: 'Keep going'. Keep going — that's what the UAE residents did as they faced the unique challenge together and tirelessly helped each other.
