WOMAN /MARRIAGE SPECIAL ............... Divorced from Reality, Online Unions in Trouble

Divorced from Reality, Online Unions in Trouble 

Connection Time-out Lawyers say about half of break-ups involve partners who met online
Afraid of impact on business, portals roll out measures to coach the young

Online matrimony portals are adopting innovative measures to coach the young on living a happy married life, concerned that the rising tide of divorces across urban India could threaten their businesses.
From counselling services and free books on the dos and don’ts of a happy marriage to mailers and links to social media and blogs, they are making concerted efforts to ensure lasting unions for couples who meet online.
“Youngsters should not take online matrimony as a means to instant gratification as they do in other forms of e-commerce,” said Gourav Rakshit, COO at Shaadi.com that has launched a series of online campaigns and counselling services at over 100 contact centres.
“We advise couples to take at least 6-9 months before they decide to tie the knot with someone they have met online,” said Rakshit, who estimates about 20 million people use the portal. Chennai-based Consim Info Pvt Ltd, which owns BharatMatrimony.com, is distributing 50,000 copies of a book that lays down the principles for a successful marriage and ways to sustain it.
These moves come in the wake of estimates by divorce lawyers that nearly half of marital break-ups involve partners who met online. “About seven cases out of every 10 that I handle are of marriages arranged through matrimonial websites,” said Ujwala Mandgi, a partner at Bangalore-based law firm Mandgi Associates. Experts said misrepresentation of facts by people during online interactions is one of the primary reasons for the breakdown of
    such unions. “Five out of 10 cases that I handle are of this nature,” said Ganesh Iyer, an advocate in the Bombay High Court. “Online matrimonial companies are not guaranteeing that everything will be hunky dory,” he said.
As traditional family networks become weaker and young professionals migrate to cities, online marriage portals are becoming the prime source of matchmaking.

Cos Admit there are Problems
The online matrimony market is valued at Rs.510 crore and is growing at around 30% annually, according to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).
However, as divorce rates rise, a number of these companies admit there are problems that need to be addressed.
“We are building online social connections through LinkedIn and Facebook to our members’ accounts so there is better trust,” said Sanjeev Kumar, business head at SimplyMarry.com, which has a user base of about 5 million. SimplyMarry is a part of the Times Group, which publishes this newspaper.
Posting incorrect information on age, religion or marital status are the most common problems in online marriage portals, as is lying about salary. “I have seen a dramatic rise in matrimonial disputes in past 3-4 years. In about 70% of the cases, couples are citing social media output, matrimonial profiles, SMSes, photos and emails as electronic evidence,” said Pavan Duggal, an advocate in the Supreme Court and a cyber law expert. To stem this rot, online portals are turning to technology. “We have proprietary security algorithms and technology to maintain the sanctity of the platform and shred out fake or non-genuine profiles. After all, it’s a business of credibility,” said Rakshit of Shaadi.com.
On an average, the most popular portals see about 10,000 new registrations daily with one-tenth of these resulting in marriages. It is also a high-margin business that industry experts reckon at over 50%.
For most companies, the bulk of the business is from first-time marriages with remarriages accounting for just 3% of revenues at Shaadi.com, founded by 40-year-old Anupam Mittal.
“The rising number of separations cannot be blamed on the online medium,” said Murugavel Janakiraman, founder of BharatMatrimony.com. “Even I met my partner through my own website, and I am happily married for over two years now,” said the 43-year-old entrepreneur whose company clocked revenues of around Rs 200 crore last fiscal.
Online industry experts are of the view that as in other forms of e-commerce, the web offers the widest choice, be it for people or products. However,unlike online shopping sites, there is no concept of a return in the business of marriages.
“Human relationships can’t be substituted in the electronic form. The sooner people realise it, the better it is for them,” said Duggal.

HARSIMRAN JULKA & APURVA VISHWANATH
BANGALORE  ET130626