Elite Matrimony is an Indian matrimonial website that caters to wealthy individuals or their families

seeking matrimonial alliances. The site was founded by Murugavel Janakiraman who is located in
Chennai. The eligibility criterion is a minimum asset base of Rupees 3,00,00,000. The service charges
are Rupees 50000 to 2,00,000 for a period of three to six months. The site offers services such as
investigating credentials such as assets, educational qualifications, inheritance, educational and
professional achievements of those with whom alliance is sought. Its services are available to only
those it formally invites to avail them.
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The site also offers anonymity to those who seek it. The site
belongs to Consim Info Pvt. Ltd., which was earlier known as BharatMatrimony.
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This site is seen as
one that follows the trend of sites that cater to niche areas such as the overweight, those with AIDS,
those who are manglik, those who don't want dowry, those with disabilities, those for whom it is a
second marriage, or those who work for the government or with BPO companies.
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The website offers
services of dedicated staff who assist members in searching potential partners.
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According to the
Indian Express it is the first site of its kind.
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The site was founded in 2008.
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Chennai-based Murugavel Janakiraman, who founded the portal, says 60% of his clients are first-
generation entrepreneurs, professionals such as high-profile lawyers, or senior executives in
multinational companies, while the rest represent old money with their fourth-generation into business.
The portal maintains a database of more than 50,000 high net worth individuals.
The noveau rich who have benefited from India's economic boom, or non-resident Indians who have
made it big abroad, are turning to such professional matchmakers.
"It was like I was helping them strike a business deal," says a marriage counsellor who does not wish to
be named, about a recent case, "Both parties wanted to know about the other's net worth, business
prospects and succession planning, among other things."
He recounts that a Mumbai-based business family was scouting for a suitable boy for their 20-year-old
daughter six months ago. The father owns a 10-year-old textiles firm that has grown into a top firm in
the apparel exports business. "Like all families, they wanted their daughter to marry higher in society,
but people in the same wealth category were not convinced about their new status when they
approached them with proposals. So they came to us," he says. After taking the proposal to some of the
big entrepreneurs registered on his portal, the counsellor finally zeroed in on a Gurgaon-based diamond
merchant who had inherited the business from his ancestors.
With spends at big fat Indian weddings averaging between 5 crore and 25 crore, the domestic wedding
market, estimated at 1.25 lakh crore - 1.9 lakh crore, is believed to be growing at 25% to 30% a year.
"There has to be a perfect match, in terms of both the family and the business," says Janakiraman,
explaining that whoever is finally picked will become part of a business house and also contribute to its
growth. "We assign a personal matchmaker to our clients, visit their families, carry out background
checks, access current and potential business, family structure and succession planning, among other
things, and then begin the process of matchmaking."
Often, even if the family is well-known, not much may be publicly known about the educational
background and management and entrepreneurial capabilities of the scions. "In such close-knit
societies as those of the rich and the elite, it is difficult to enquire about such things in public. This is
where we come into the picture," says Rekha Vaid, senior marriage counsellor at Sycorian, an online
matchmaking service. "You need professional help to carry out complete background checks of the
families and, especially, the prospective grooms."
Janakiraman recounts the case of a director with a top MNC in Bangalore who found just the girl he
was looking for on the Elite Matrimony portal. However, it emerged that the girl's family was not
interested in the proposal for his son because the girl's family, a first generation infotech firm in
Chennai, was looking for a groom who would eventually lead the company as she was their only child.
After much discussion, the executive father convinced the girl's parents that his son, who was working
in an IT firm in the US, had plans to return to India to start his own venture, and was capable enough to
lead a business in future. The marriage will be solemnised soon.
Business is growing at 50%-60% a year, says Janakiraman. "There was a need for segmentation in
matrimonial websites. Affluent people need a different service and paying money for a niche service
will never be a constraint for them," he says. "In fact, some people say that we are charging very less,"
he laughs.
Vaid says business has grown over 75% in the past two years. Sycorian, through Shrishti, a business
venture that caters to big-ticket weddings, has helped affluent Indians from the US, UK, Canada and
Australia take the vows, she says.
"The online matrimonial market offers better choices for people who have moved out of the social
circle to find a relevant soul mate," says Nilanjan Roy, group business head, Times Business Solutions,
which owns the matrimonial website Simplymarry. She says there is a huge demand from the elite,
who are taking the online route to matchmaking.
Kerala-based wedding planner Spice.Nair - which recently organised an all-white wedding, with
everything from flowers to dresses in white - caters mainly to such NRIs. "We are getting queries from
people in South Africa, UK and Australia who prefer to come to India to tie the knot. NRIs always look
for variety," says proprietor Suresh Nair,who plans to set up a wedding shop to offer from invitation
cards to dress to decoration to match with the themes.