Online matrimony biz to touch Rs 1500cr by 2017: Assocham

The country's online matrimony business is likely to acquire a market size of Rs 1,500 crore by 2017 from Rs 520 crore at present, clocking a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 65 percent in the next two years, according to an Assocham survey.

\\\\\\\\"The main reasons attributed to the increase in demand for online matrimony include convenience, time-saving and efficient,\\\\\\\\" the survey said. \\\\\\\\"During the 2012-13 fiscal, 50-55 million online subscribers registered their profiles while 2.5 million uploaded their profiles per month to take advantage of this facility mainly on account of it being economical and less cumbersome,\\\\\\\\" it said.

Between 2011-12 and 2012-13, business transacted through online advertisement for jobs and matrimonial alliances registered a growth of 56 percent and 52 percent respectively, the survey said. \\\\\\\\"Matrimonial websites are turning into a better option for the new generation in their search for potential mates and for the NRIs looking for Indian match for their sons and daughters. They provide a search pool of lakhs of members cutting across age groups, professions, regions, religions, and communities,\\\\\\\\" Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

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Besides, the number of online job seekers, which was estimated close to 25 million in 2012-13, is expected to increase to 50 million 2016-17, the survey said. The study also found that junior, mid-level and senior executives accounted for over 50 per cent of online job seekers. Among the states, Maharashtra topped the list of online job seekers followed by Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and West Bengal.

\\\\\\\\"Online recruitment is gaining ground as a preferred medium of hiring in India. For job seekers, the Internet has opened up the world of job searching, turning it into a 24-hour-a-day marketplace,\\\\\\\\" Rawat said. Travel booking through internet is another sector that showcased significant growth, with year-on-year growth of 25 percent in railway tickets booked online, as they reached 6.81 million in June 2013 as compared to 5.83 million in June 2012, the survey said.