I am a master in India

Chapter 430 The Indian Version of Netflix

You might not believe it, but India's population density is actually lower.

According to data released this year, Belgium has a population density of 130 people per square mile, the Netherlands has 150 people per square mile, and India has less than 120 people per square mile.

India's explosive population growth is concentrated only in cities. Singapore has a population density of 2535 people per square mile. Berlin, the most densely populated city in Europe, has a population density of 1130 people per square mile.

By 90, Mumbai had a population density of 17550 people per square mile, and in some parts of its central city, the figure was as high as one million people per square mile.

This number is the highest in the world, and it also means that Mumbai's population distribution is extremely uneven.

Two-thirds of the urban population crammed into 5% of the city's area, while the remaining 95% of the land was owned by a privileged minority.

Fifty years ago, India's productivity was concentrated in rural areas. At that time, the countryside contributed 71% of the net domestic product.

Today, India's productivity is concentrated in its cities, with just a few cities easily accounting for 60% of the country's GDP.

Mumbai contributes 38% of the nation's tax revenue, a stark contrast to the extreme poverty in rural areas outside Mumbai.

It is precisely because of the continuous loss of rural population that ambitious able-bodied men are desperately trying to find work in the city, even if it means sleeping on the streets of Mumbai, that they are willing to leave their hometowns, leading to Mumbai's population explosion.

If the problem of rural poverty can be fundamentally solved, the concern about urban overpopulation can also be addressed incidentally.

Mumbai is a golden-winged bird.

When asked why people choose to come to Mumbai, and why so many continue to choose to come to Mumbai, a person living in a slum, without running water or access to sanitation, explained it this way.

In this city, 40 percent of the population, like him, still lack access to safe drinking water.

In the same city, the cost of a bottle of Dom Pérignon champagne at the bar overlooking the bay at the Oberoi Hotel is almost twice the annual income of an average Mumbai resident.

So why choose to come to Mumbai? Another person answered, "You won't starve to death in Mumbai."

While starving people still exist on the streets in other parts of India, Mumbai has hundreds of slimming clinics.

The head of one of the clinics, who is also a nutritionist, said that models in Mumbai would rather suffer from anorexia than eat properly in order to maintain their figure.

This is how Mumbai leads the nation.

The nutritionist added, "While people elsewhere are struggling to get enough to eat, Mumbai residents are preoccupied with losing weight."

Mumbai is indeed India’s largest, most prosperous, and wealthiest city.

This is Mumbai, a very large city.

Mumbai residents have their own pride, and they look down on any outsiders.

In their eyes, Western food is more popular than Indian food, and coffee is more fashionable than tea.

Having nurtured my stomach with Starbucks for decades, how could I possibly let Assam milk tea contaminate it?

Everything here is modeled after Westerners, from food, clothing, housing, and transportation to the hot topics they follow.

Recently, rumors have been circulating that May will be the end of the world, and newspapers are filled with such news: observing the stars at night, ominous signs appear in the sky, the Big Dipper moves south, and the Purple Star dims.
People flocked from Alan Port in Gujarat, the world's largest shipbreaking dock, to the countryside. Many also fled Mumbai in panic, especially the superstitious Gujarati.

Kamat of Shiva's army took advantage of the disaster to resell long-distance bus tickets, making a fortune off the disaster.

Many people believe these rumors, and some of them even happen to people close to Ron.

During a gathering with Mary and the others, she mentioned Lanca, the first actor signed by the Red Sausage Agency.

“You know, that fool went back to Jaipur,” Mary couldn’t stop laughing.

"what?"

“He said it was the end of the world and he wanted to stay with his family, hehe,” Lena laughed so hard she could barely breathe.

During his years at SunMedia, Lanka has become quite well-known. He has acted in several movies and TV series, and has also landed numerous advertising endorsements.

He was at the peak of his career when he suddenly received a phone call from his father.

"Son, the end of the world is coming. Our family will stand together and never abandon each other!"

Lanka's father flew back to Jaipur from Dubai, and Lanka also took a train back to his hometown at the beginning of the month to wait for the end of the world with his parents and brother.

“He said he was going back to his hometown to seek refuge, and I thought he was joking,” Mary shook her head.

“But he was really torn. He had loyalty and filial piety on his left, and freedom and rebellion on his right. He didn’t know how to be himself.” Lena, however, understood somewhat.

"Oh, so full of high-sounding principles," Ron teased her.

"I'm someone who can publish articles in magazines," Lena said proudly.

She's been doing very well in Bollywood these past few years, and occasionally writes articles for her own magazine.

As for the skill level, it's enough to fool people in the entertainment industry.

“Speaking of the end of the world, have you heard about the Y2K bug?” Ron asked.

"The Y2K bug? Sounds like some kind of natural disaster?" Mary frowned.

"Cough cough." Ron almost spat out the champagne in his mouth.

"What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

"Okay, I knew it. The Y2K bug wasn't a natural disaster, nor was it a disease; it was some kind of program bug."

"so."

"As you know, computers are now widely used in all industries, such as securities, banking, military, power, communications, and healthcare. These industries have a high degree of informatization, and the Y2K bug is a common problem."

If not handled properly, it could cause widespread system outages and crashes, a major issue affecting people's livelihoods. To solve the code problem, millions of Indian IT engineers were hired by Silicon Valley.

“Wow, that sounds complicated.” Mary nodded. “I mean, the information age is coming.” Ron looked at her.

"Hmm?" The two large foreign women opposite shrugged.

"To put it bluntly, SunMedia needs to prepare early."

"What do you mean?" Mary and the others perked up.

They were a bit confused when it came to computers, but when it came to SunMedia, it was a different story—that was their money.

“Digital operations, online media,” Ron succinctly stated.

“Wait, I recognize these individual words, but I don’t quite understand them when they’re put together,” Mary frowned.

"It's not complicated. You can think of it as recreating SunMedia on the internet."

"Wow, it's still a bit abstract," Lena remarked.

"Our cable TV service currently uses analog signals, which are not processed in any way. It actually has many drawbacks, such as image distortion, one-way transmission, and lack of interactivity."

However, digital signals do not have these problems; they support higher resolutions and produce clearer images. Furthermore, they can accommodate hundreds of channels simultaneously and have lower long-term maintenance costs.

"I think I understand. This is a technological upgrade, and a very significant one at that."

“That’s right!” Ron snapped his fingers. “Within three years at most, this technology will be widely available in Mumbai.”

"If that's the case, then time is indeed running out."

"The next few years will be a transitional period of rapid information technology development. Not only cable television, but all other industries will change accordingly. For example, filmmaking will no longer use film rolls, but digital cameras, and film crews will no longer worry about retakes."

"Then what about the online media you mentioned?" Lena asked.

“That’s an excellent question,” Ron said with a flourish, pointing his finger.

"Please, hurry up, don't dawdle like you did last night."

"Well, to put it simply, it means watching Bollywood movies or TV series online."

"Isn't this a bit like science fiction?" Mary frowned.

"No, it's hard to say about other places, but it might be possible in Mumbai in five years. Besides, many computers can already play movies now."

“I know, but my gut feeling tells me that there’s a difference between the two.”

“You’re right. The reason I’m bringing this up today is to encourage SunMedia to start with a website. Entertainment news, or your magazine, you can always read the news.”

"A website?" Mary became interested.

With the development of the internet to this day, it is no longer unfamiliar to the general public.

Almost everyone in Mumbai's upper class has surfed the internet: Yahoo, Microsoft, Amazon, Hotmail…

Mary and her friends registered their email addresses there; it was very convenient.

"You may have noticed that many people around us enjoy visiting these websites. But India, with its billion-strong population, lacks well-known local websites, which represents a market gap."

"So SunMedia wants to seize the initiative?"

"This is a great opportunity, isn't it? The market won't remain untapped forever. If we don't seize it, someone else will make a move soon."

“But Lena and I don’t understand these things.” Mary said, sounding somewhat unsure.

"It's okay, leave the technical issues to the professionals. We just need to figure out what we want to do."

SunMedia is a capital entity; grasping the general direction is sufficient, but the key is decision-making.

"What are your thoughts?" Mary naturally posed the question to Ron.

In recent years, he has made almost every major decision for SunMedia.

They knew very well that no one could match him in terms of strategic vision.

They only need to handle the daily management; the rest they can just relax and live off their wives.

"It doesn't need to be too complicated. Like I just said, let's start with some entertainment news websites."

Building a user base is the first step; the earlier you start, the more authoritative you become. Next, you can consider building a film and television database.

"Film and television database?"

“Just refer to IMDb in the United States,” Ron said matter-of-factly.

Indians excel at adopting foreign ideas and practices, and the government has set an example by personally taking action.

“Oh, I’ve looked at that website; it has very comprehensive data.” Lena nodded.

"These are just appetizers; our ultimate goal is internet movies and TV shows. Just imagine, watching movies or TV series online on a computer—that's incredibly cool, and the market is huge."

“I always felt that it would be very difficult to achieve this in India,” Mary shrugged.

"Maybe, but the chances are very high within ten years. We need to plan ahead, rather than rushing in after the market becomes a red ocean."

SunMedia's resources are well-suited for the internet because they are content producers.

Putting everything else aside, the Indian version of Netflix is ​​something to look forward to.

When the topic of the internet came up, Ron felt it was time to recruit some computer talent.

(End of this chapter)