A lot of you have asked us about the localities that Chaupaati users call from?

Here is a view of our user base on the map of Mumbai. Red balloons represent low user density, Blue is medium, and Green is high. When we went live in July 2008, our user base was primarily along the Central suburbs, but over time there are more greens along the Western suburbs between Dadar to Borivali. Customers from Chaupaati call everywhere from Murbad to Vasai, Churchgate to Virar, and Masjid to Bhivandi. Call 922-222-1947 to connect with these users for buying or selling whatever it is that you care about. Sorry for not providing an interactive map. Maybe when we hit a million users…

Many have asked us over the months, what do we mean by “unorganised markets”. Here are some definitions which will make it clear:

1. “enterprises owned by households, i.e. as a subset of production units which are not constituted as separate legal entities independently of the households or household members who own them, and for which no complete sets of accounts (including balance sheets of assets and liabilities) are available which would permit a clear distinction of the production activities of the enterprises from the other activities of their owners and the identification of any flows of income and capital between the enterprises and the owners.” - Fifteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS). [1]
2. “Unorganized Sector Worker means a person who works for wages or income; directly or through any agency or contractor; or who works on his own or her own account or is self employed; in any place of work including his or her home, field or any public place; and who is not availing of benefits under the ESIC Act and the P.F Act, individual insurance and pension schemes of LIC, private insurance companies, or other benefits as decided by the Authority from time to time.” – Government of India. [2]

Some common queries concerning the unorganised sector have been answered below:

Is unorganised sector restricted to any particular industry?
No, the categorisation - unorganised or organised is based on the way the business is run, rather than what business is run. Almost all industry sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, mining, services, transportation, and construction have both organised and unorganised entities.

So who are we exactly talking about?
We are talking about 93% of the workforce in India. The daily wage labourer who built your house, the painter who painted it, the shopkeeper in your street, the coaching class in your neighbourhood, the auto rickshaw driver on the road, the farmer who produced the grains you ate today - all of them are much likely to belong to the unorganised sector.

Does unorganised sector mean small scale industry?
No.

Does organised sectors mean sectors which have associations and industry bodies?
No. The presence of associations and industry bodies has to do nothing with the sector being organised or unorganised. For example, there are auto rickshaw associations in almost every city. But the rickshaw owners / drivers are primarily unorganised in nature.

Is Chaupaati organising the unorganised sector?
No. Chaupaati aims at providing an easy, affordable and common channel - the mobile for removing information asymmetry in the unorganised sector. For example, if you want to buy a second hand bike, Chaupaati will tell you which shops/individuals in your locality want to sell the bike you want. For you to get this information otherwise would require visiting 8-10 shops with a success of only 1-2 having the bike of your interest. Connecting to individual sellers would only be by chance. Chaupaati will solve this problem for you over a short phone call.

We often get to hear that if you want to buy a computer, don’t buy it second hand; instead buy a new one because a computer gets obsolete in a couple of years; and if you buy a used computer you are already using an outdated technology. Most of us take this advice and buy a brand new PC with possibly a Dual Core Processor and 2GB RAM.

But wait, if you plan to use the PC for an activity which requires a P3 with 256MB RAM, why spend extra money for a brand new heavy duty processor and RAM? And above all, doesn’t a second hand computer cost less? Ultimately, whether you should buy a second hand computer or not, and if yes, which one should you buy is governed by the application.

Most of the people in India use the computer at home for the following three applications:

1. Watching movies
2. Preparing documents (primarily in MS Office) and web surfing
3. Playing computer games

All these requirements can be met by a second hand computer. Those who use a PC for advanced applications such as programing, imaging, etc., should preferably buy a new computer preferably.

Having said this, what should one check while buying a second hand computer? Should you buy all components second hand? Here is a quick list.

1. Processor: Can be second hand
2. RAM: Can be second hand. Popular processors (with requisite RAM) are Celeron with 256MB RAM, P2 with 256MB RAM, P3 with 256MB RAM, or P4 with 128-256MB RAM (good for movies), Celeron with 512MB RAM, P2 with 512MB RAM, P3 with 512MB RAM, P4 with 256MB RAM (good for internet surfing), P3 with 1GB RAM, or P4 with 512MB RAM (good for games)
3. Mother board: Can be second hand
4. Hard-disk: Can be second hand. If you are fond of storing a lot of data - photos, videos, mp3s, get a bigger hard disk (120 GB or more), else 40 to 80 GB is sufficient.
5. Monitor: Can be second hand. If electricity is not a problem for you, you can buy a CRT monitor. But if you live in an area where load shedding is a daily phenomenon, get a LCD monitor so that you can work for an extra hour using an inverter.
6. Keyboard: Get a new one
7. Mouse: Get a new optical mouse
8. CD / DVD Writer: If you are fond of movies, it’s good if you buy this first hand.
9. Graphic Card: If you plan to play computer games such as Tomb Raider, Unreal Tournament, Quake, Age of Empires, get a new video card or graphic card.
10. LAN Card / Modem: Can be second hand. If you will get broadband internet connection, your computer should have a LAN card. If the connection will be dial-up, a modem is required. Many computers have an inbuilt LAN Card / modem.

Now when you know what to buy, how do you know that the computer you intend to buy has the same specifications as required. In short, how do you check if you computer has a 256MB RAM? For this, right click on My Computer (if the operating system is Windows), and go to Properties. In the properties check the details.

Other precautions:

When you buy a second hand computer, you should check if it is working properly for the application you want to use it. If the seller is an individual, ask the person selling the computer the source of getting the computer and why he/she is selling it. If the seller is a shopkeeper, ask for a replacement warranty or a free service warranty. To make sure that you are not buying a stolen computer, demand one of the following things:

1. Original receipt of the first hand purchase or
2. A signed paper in which the seller states that he/she has sold the computer to you. Also insist for a photograph and a photocopy of a valid photo identity card such as PAN card, Passport, or driving license.

By the way, if you want to buy a second hand computer in Mumbai, call Chaupaati at 9222221947. We will give you the phone numbers of various sellers of second hand computers - both individuals and dealers.

In Marathi, Chau = Four, Paati = Plank. Chaupaati is a plank that rests on four legs. Was it the pier at the beach that rested on four legs; was it the four-legged Chaarpai that serves as the resting means for many Indians; was it the Marathi adaptation of Chaupal - the village gathering place? Whatever the origin, Indians in Maharashtra know Chaupaati as ‘the beach’, and Indians outside Maharashtra know Chaupaati as ‘that beach in Mumbai’. We, at Chaupaati, know it as an open public place that welcomes one and all; a place that presents new horizons; a beachhead into the open seas; a place where you can leave your footprints in the sands of time. Here’s an image of Juhu Chaupaati, within a mile of our office.

Holi Waters - Mumbai - Mar 2008, originally uploaded by righthalf.

A million mutinies converge. A myriad tongues scream. Plural colors dip into singular waters. Mumbai swarms the coastline to create a buzz that will intoxicate one and all. This is Chaupaati.