If you are unable to view this mailer, click here.
President's Message
On 6th December 2017, Hon’ble Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held a consultation on Union Budget 2018-19 with select representatives of Commerce and Industries. As President of FISME, I was invited and in the meeting I had the privilege of flagging a few issues where MSMEs had direct stakes. There had been no two views in the meeting about need to take measures to boost economic growth. Also, that keeping view of falling privates sector investment due to host of reasons, it was the Government spending that had to carry the revival efforts. I focused on three issues. Firstly, welcoming the moves of the Government formalize the economy, I emphasized that there was an urgent need to lower the social security cost of employing people to not more than10%. We also demanded creating a level playing field for investment allowance provisions of Income Tax by doing with lower threshold because of which MSMEs stood excluded. Thirdly, we suggested that Income tax on companies should be levied in progressive slabs facilitating more MSME firms to opt for company format. "
Representing the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) - a national body of MSMEs comprising of over 740 associations, submitted its memorandum of proposals for the consideration in the upcoming budget.
With regard to the direct taxes, FISME urged the government to consider investment allowance on capex without any lower threshold limit.
Highlighting the MSME sector being labour intensive, FISME raised that the government must encourage Increase in internal accruals in MSMEs, which will further enhance their employment capacity through expansion etc.
CUTS Institute for Regulations and Competitions (CIRC) organized a five day intensive training programme on Public Procurement from 11-15 Dec 2017 for All India Services (IAS, IFS, IPS) in New Delhi. FISME was invited to take one full session on MSME related issues in Public Procurement debate during the programme. Mr. Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General FISME made a detailed presentation on MSME related issues including the details of the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs (2012). He also highlighted the demand and supply side constraints and presented case studies on anti-competitive practices which cause crowding out of MSMEs from public procurement.
Emerging as an Emperor It is said that with the era of digital disruption, two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies will no longer exist. And this is what keeps the CEOs of most companies awake at night as they grapple to achieve the growth and ambitious targets set forth by their boards. What should they do to ensure that their companies not only remain relevant tomorrow, but take advantage of the digital opportunities? Nearly every company today is embracing a transformation journey enabled by the convergence of technologies.
In recent weeks, very contrasting views have been doing the rounds about how the Indian economy is doing. What are the positives? There are many. First, on the macroeconomic front, the government has hewed to prudence.
The fiscal deficit is under control and has been brought down from 4.5% of GDP in FY2014 to a targeted 3.2% of GDP in FY2018. Inflation, ruling over 8% till 2014, has also been controlled at sub-4% since October 2016. The rupee is stable, the current account deficit is a manageable sub-2%, and FDI and FII inflows have been strong.
The GST Network said it has introduced a functionality which simplifies the returns filing process for taxpayers.
"A new functionality has been introduced on the GST portal for ease of the taxpayers under which questions will be posed as soon as the taxpayer enters the Returns dashboard and only relevant tiles will be displayed to the taxpayers based on the answers to the questions posed," the GST Network said in a statement.
Industry body ISMA today asked the government to seek preferential duty structure from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for Indian sugar, which is expected to be in surplus on account of higher output estimates for the 2018-19 marketing year.
While Bangladesh levys import duty of USD 150 per tonne on sugar, Sri Lanka imposes USD 100. The two neighbours import about 25-30 lakh tonnes of sweetener annually, ISMA said.
eting Support Services, Provision of Business Support Services, etc.
A pick up in the remittances has failed to salvage the current account deficit- a major component in India's external sector balance sheet.
India's current account deficit-CAD- excess of imports over exports doubled to 1.2% of GDP or $7.2 billion in the second quarter ending September'17 from 0.6% of GDP or $3.5 billion in the September quarter of 2016 as merchandise imports picked up more than exports, preliminary data released by the Reserve Bank of India indicated.
India's economy is likely to expand by 7.2 per cent in 2018 and go up further to 7.4 per cent in the following year on the back of strong private consumption, public investment and the ongoing structural reforms, a United Nations (UN) report said today.
Overall, economic outlook for South Asia is seen largely favourable and steady for the short term, notwithstanding significant medium-term challenges, said the 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018' report unveiled by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) signed a new collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICC) along with the World Transport Organization (IRU) for the implementation of TIR system in India.
Under the new collaboration, the industry body will facilitate implementation of TIR and ensure smooth intra-regional and inter-regional trade in the country.
Commenting on the latest development, Dr. Sanjaya Baru in a press statement informed of the importance of the TIR system and its role in trade facilitation.
The government will hold consultations with the Reserve Bank to work out a mechanism to bring down merchant discount rates (MDR) that have gone up to 0.90 per cent recently from 0.25 per cent of transaction value, a finance ministry official said.
According to a senior finance ministry official, the hike in charges would impact Digital India movement and there is a need to look into the issue. "Most merchants will be discouraged to use POS machines, especially small merchants who do not get input tax credit in GST. This will discourage them from using POS machines," the official said.
In order to promote its ambitious rural business process outsourcing (BPO) scheme, the ministry of electronics and IT will soon list its services on the government e-marketplace portal (GeM) -- which has become a one-stop destination for all government buying -- said union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday . The National BPO Promotion Scheme was flagged off soon after the Modi government came to power in 2014 and had an outlay of almost Rs 500 crore.
India's vegetable oil imports in November rose 6.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.248 million tonnes due to an increase in overseas purchases of soyoil and sunflower oil, a trade body said on Thursday.
The world's biggest importer of edible oils bought 716,968 tonnes of palm oil last month, down 10.5 percent from a year ago, the Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA), a Mumbai-based trade group for oilseed processors, said in a statement.
The regulations for grievance handling procedure under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code have been notified, wherein the filing fee will be refunded to the stakeholder in case the complaint is found to be not "frivolous or malicious".
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), which is implementing the Code, has notified the regulations and will be applicable for all stakeholders, including creditors, debtors and service providers.
The handicraft sector comprising primarily of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is to raise concerns related to the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the sector in its pre-budget memorandum to the finance Ministry, Federation of Rajasthan Handicraft Exporters informed.
Talking to KNN, Dileep Baid, President of Federation of Rajasthan Handicraft Exporters (FORHEX) informed that the sector is still grappling under the new taxation, and the memorandum it plans to send to the ministry is to be flooded with concerns of the sector.
In order to facilitate capacity building and equip the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with the Zero Effect Zero Defect (ZED) scheme of the government, Confederation of India Industries is to hold a five day training program in Mysuru.
The program is to commence from Dec 19 and will go on till De 23. The prime focus of the program is to help the MSMEs from the backward regions to undertake the ZED scheme.
The Government of Kerala has taken steps to improve the business environment to place the state on an equal footing among other top ranked states as far as the ease of doing business is concerned.
The Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, the Kerala Municipalities Act, the corresponding building rules, and host of other Acts and rules relevant to granting clearances have been subjected to through review and revision.
The state cabinet had recently approved a study by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) on the amendments/modifications to be made in the rules and regulations related to the existing industrial clearance procedures.
In an attempt to facilitate entrepreneurship among the youth of the state, the Chhattisgarh government recently kicked off its flagship event Start-up Chhattisgarh.
Under the program over 14 special camps will be set up in different regions of Chhattisgarh, these camps will act as hotspots for the youth to present ideas. Based on the presented ideas, best of them will be shortlisted and selected for incubation.
Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh in a press interview said that with the program in place, the aspiring minds of the state will be able to channelize their potentials into possible business ideas.
Eyeing at increased collaboration along investments, Netherlands is inviting Indian startups in different sectors including medical science, ports, clean technology, and logistics, Maarten Struijvenberg, Vice Mayor of the City of Rotterdam of Netherlands said.
Citing statistics, the Mayor said that his city offers fertile scope for the startups to prosper. In the previous year, the growth of startups stood at over 31 per cent, he said.
Ports and logistics based startups can find good business in Rotterdam, Mayor informed.
IPAMA to send Indian MSME delegation to Sri Lanka
In an attempt to explore the business opportunities for the Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Sri Lanka in the graphic arts industry and machinery industry, the Indian Printing Packaging and Allied Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPAMA) will be sending a delegation to Sri Lank.
The delegation will take part in the upcoming ‘Sri Lanka Print 2018” (Collate 2018) exhibition which is scheduled to be held from March 16 – 18, 2018 at Colombo Exhibition & Convention Centre, in Colombo.
Africa provides numerous investment opportunities for Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across various sectors like FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), mining and minerals, telecommunications, construction and others, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said while inaugurating an ASSOCHAM Indian-Africa Trade & Investment Forum on Monday.
Due to infrastructure development and connectivity improvement in the African continent, the bilateral trade between two will exceed US$100 billion in next two years which was about US$60 billion in 2015-16, the minister said.
In an attempt to accelerate cooperation between the two countries, Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives of the Republic of Mauritius, Soomilduth Sunil Bholah called upon the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Giriraj Singh.
Of the various topics discussed at the meet included cooperation in the Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector between India and Mauritius.
According to the FISME Factor, 85.7 per cent of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises think that Moody’s rating upgrade will affect Indian economy positively while 14.3 percent think that there will be no change.
Understanding competency from an organisational perspective
The term ‘competency’ has been defined in literature from different points of view. Competency models are key tools in the human resource systems and practices. Research has shown that over the last few years there has been a worldwide expansion in the use of competency models as a major base for human resource strategy. The use of the competence approach is now promoted by experts in the field as it is likely to improve not just individual performance but also organisational effectiveness (Markus et al., 2005).
4 Tips for Managing Cash Flow in a Seasonal Business
From tourism to weather to the holiday shopping season, many small businesses encounter some degree of seasonality within their business. In fact, according to a recent Wells Fargo/Gallup survey, almost half of small business owners reported having predictable times of the year that are significantly busier or slower than others. What’s more, 41 percent said that these seasonable differences make it more difficult to manage cash flow throughout the year.
How Loyalty Programs Are Emerging as Effective Marketing Tools
Trust and loyalty have always been a part of every human interaction, every transaction for thousands of years. All over the world, people have tightly-knit relationships with not just family and friends, but with the familiar faces of friendly merchants and vendors. oday, we live in a world where we have almost unlimited options. There are effectively an infinite set of options when you’re looking for a gift to buy, some great food to eat, or a nice new coffee shop to hang out in.
Chaos over power tariffs, MSMEs in Punjab call for a state-wide hunger strike
With no implementation of the promised reduction in power tariffs, the industry comprising of a fair share of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Punjab have called for a state wide indefinite hunger strike from 21st December, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association (FOPSIA) informed.
As a kid, he built websites for money. Now his startup Regular.li enables attendance tracking with selfie
Biometric attendance devices are passé, or will soon be. A Kolkata-based startup has come up with a unique solution to track attendance – an app that matches a person’s GPS location with (their respective) office. The app is named Regular.li, as it is a solution to use regularly! (The domain Regular.ly was not available.)
Chai Point brews a strong case for technology which helps bring you the perfect cup of tea
Thousands of years of history and culture contained in a cuppa – the story of tea is something most of us are familiar with. Today, the beverage with which millions around the world start their day is, like almost everything else, getting a touch of technology.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has released the estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter (July-September) Q2 of 2017-18, both at constant (2011-12) and current prices, along with the corresponding quarterly estimates of expenditure components of the GDP.
FISME regularly receives monthly reports on the economies of various countries from their missions in India. These reports provide information on key economic parameters, trade related information and all news relevant for importers and exporters. In this edition you can take a look at reports on:
Write your comments on the FISME Factor. Share your views and suggestions on MSME issues. Win prize! The best mail will get a special book every fortnight.
send mail to: newsletter@fisme.org.in
You are receiving this Newsletter because you are included in our mailing list of recipients who are involved or interested in FISME or Indian MSMEs. You are welcome to partly or fully reproduce and disseminate the contents of this publication provided that you acknowledge the source.
This Newsletter is edited by the FISME Secretariat. We welcome contributions as well as comments and suggestions. Please write to newsletter@fisme.org.in
On 6th December 2017, Hon’ble Finance Minister Arun Jaitley held a consultation on Union Budget 2018-19 with select representatives of Commerce and Industries. As President of FISME, I was invited and in the meeting I had the privilege of flagging a few issues where MSMEs had direct stakes. There had been no two views in the meeting about need to take measures to boost economic growth. Also, that keeping view of falling privates sector investment due to host of reasons, it was the Government spending that had to carry the revival efforts. I focused on three issues. Firstly, welcoming the moves of the Government formalize the economy, I emphasized that there was an urgent need to lower the social security cost of employing people to not more than10%. We also demanded creating a level playing field for investment allowance provisions of Income Tax by doing with lower threshold because of which MSMEs stood excluded. Thirdly, we suggested that Income tax on companies should be levied in progressive slabs facilitating more MSME firms to opt for company format. "
Representing the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) - a national body of MSMEs comprising of over 740 associations, submitted its memorandum of proposals for the consideration in the upcoming budget.
With regard to the direct taxes, FISME urged the government to consider investment allowance on capex without any lower threshold limit.
Highlighting the MSME sector being labour intensive, FISME raised that the government must encourage Increase in internal accruals in MSMEs, which will further enhance their employment capacity through expansion etc.
CUTS Institute for Regulations and Competitions (CIRC) organized a five day intensive training programme on Public Procurement from 11-15 Dec 2017 for All India Services (IAS, IFS, IPS) in New Delhi. FISME was invited to take one full session on MSME related issues in Public Procurement debate during the programme. Mr. Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General FISME made a detailed presentation on MSME related issues including the details of the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs (2012). He also highlighted the demand and supply side constraints and presented case studies on anti-competitive practices which cause crowding out of MSMEs from public procurement.
Emerging as an Emperor It is said that with the era of digital disruption, two-thirds of the Fortune 500 companies will no longer exist. And this is what keeps the CEOs of most companies awake at night as they grapple to achieve the growth and ambitious targets set forth by their boards. What should they do to ensure that their companies not only remain relevant tomorrow, but take advantage of the digital opportunities? Nearly every company today is embracing a transformation journey enabled by the convergence of technologies.
The GST Network said it has introduced a functionality which simplifies the returns filing process for taxpayers.
"A new functionality has been introduced on the GST portal for ease of the taxpayers under which questions will be posed as soon as the taxpayer enters the Returns dashboard and only relevant tiles will be displayed to the taxpayers based on the answers to the questions posed," the GST Network said in a statement.
Industry body ISMA today asked the government to seek preferential duty structure from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for Indian sugar, which is expected to be in surplus on account of higher output estimates for the 2018-19 marketing year.
While Bangladesh levys import duty of USD 150 per tonne on sugar, Sri Lanka imposes USD 100. The two neighbours import about 25-30 lakh tonnes of sweetener annually, ISMA said.
eting Support Services, Provision of Business Support Services, etc.
India's economy is likely to expand by 7.2 per cent in 2018 and go up further to 7.4 per cent in the following year on the back of strong private consumption, public investment and the ongoing structural reforms, a United Nations (UN) report said today.
Overall, economic outlook for South Asia is seen largely favourable and steady for the short term, notwithstanding significant medium-term challenges, said the 'World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018' report unveiled by United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) signed a new collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICC) along with the World Transport Organization (IRU) for the implementation of TIR system in India.
Under the new collaboration, the industry body will facilitate implementation of TIR and ensure smooth intra-regional and inter-regional trade in the country.
Commenting on the latest development, Dr. Sanjaya Baru in a press statement informed of the importance of the TIR system and its role in trade facilitation.
The government will hold consultations with the Reserve Bank to work out a mechanism to bring down merchant discount rates (MDR) that have gone up to 0.90 per cent recently from 0.25 per cent of transaction value, a finance ministry official said.
According to a senior finance ministry official, the hike in charges would impact Digital India movement and there is a need to look into the issue. "Most merchants will be discouraged to use POS machines, especially small merchants who do not get input tax credit in GST. This will discourage them from using POS machines," the official said.
In order to promote its ambitious rural business process outsourcing (BPO) scheme, the ministry of electronics and IT will soon list its services on the government e-marketplace portal (GeM) -- which has become a one-stop destination for all government buying -- said union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday . The National BPO Promotion Scheme was flagged off soon after the Modi government came to power in 2014 and had an outlay of almost Rs 500 crore.
The regulations for grievance handling procedure under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code have been notified, wherein the filing fee will be refunded to the stakeholder in case the complaint is found to be not "frivolous or malicious".
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), which is implementing the Code, has notified the regulations and will be applicable for all stakeholders, including creditors, debtors and service providers.
The handicraft sector comprising primarily of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is to raise concerns related to the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on the sector in its pre-budget memorandum to the finance Ministry, Federation of Rajasthan Handicraft Exporters informed.
Talking to KNN, Dileep Baid, President of Federation of Rajasthan Handicraft Exporters (FORHEX) informed that the sector is still grappling under the new taxation, and the memorandum it plans to send to the ministry is to be flooded with concerns of the sector.
In order to facilitate capacity building and equip the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with the Zero Effect Zero Defect (ZED) scheme of the government, Confederation of India Industries is to hold a five day training program in Mysuru.
The program is to commence from Dec 19 and will go on till De 23. The prime focus of the program is to help the MSMEs from the backward regions to undertake the ZED scheme.
The Government of Kerala has taken steps to improve the business environment to place the state on an equal footing among other top ranked states as far as the ease of doing business is concerned.
The Kerala Panchayat Raj Act, the Kerala Municipalities Act, the corresponding building rules, and host of other Acts and rules relevant to granting clearances have been subjected to through review and revision.
The state cabinet had recently approved a study by Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) on the amendments/modifications to be made in the rules and regulations related to the existing industrial clearance procedures.
In an attempt to facilitate entrepreneurship among the youth of the state, the Chhattisgarh government recently kicked off its flagship event Start-up Chhattisgarh.
Under the program over 14 special camps will be set up in different regions of Chhattisgarh, these camps will act as hotspots for the youth to present ideas. Based on the presented ideas, best of them will be shortlisted and selected for incubation.
Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh in a press interview said that with the program in place, the aspiring minds of the state will be able to channelize their potentials into possible business ideas.
Eyeing at increased collaboration along investments, Netherlands is inviting Indian startups in different sectors including medical science, ports, clean technology, and logistics, Maarten Struijvenberg, Vice Mayor of the City of Rotterdam of Netherlands said.
Citing statistics, the Mayor said that his city offers fertile scope for the startups to prosper. In the previous year, the growth of startups stood at over 31 per cent, he said.
Ports and logistics based startups can find good business in Rotterdam, Mayor informed.
IPAMA to send Indian MSME delegation to Sri Lanka
In an attempt to explore the business opportunities for the Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Sri Lanka in the graphic arts industry and machinery industry, the Indian Printing Packaging and Allied Machinery Manufacturers’ Association (IPAMA) will be sending a delegation to Sri Lank.
The delegation will take part in the upcoming ‘Sri Lanka Print 2018” (Collate 2018) exhibition which is scheduled to be held from March 16 – 18, 2018 at Colombo Exhibition & Convention Centre, in Colombo.
Africa provides numerous investment opportunities for Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across various sectors like FMCG (fast moving consumer goods), mining and minerals, telecommunications, construction and others, Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said while inaugurating an ASSOCHAM Indian-Africa Trade & Investment Forum on Monday.
Due to infrastructure development and connectivity improvement in the African continent, the bilateral trade between two will exceed US$100 billion in next two years which was about US$60 billion in 2015-16, the minister said.
In an attempt to accelerate cooperation between the two countries, Minister of Business, Enterprise and Cooperatives of the Republic of Mauritius, Soomilduth Sunil Bholah called upon the Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Giriraj Singh.
Of the various topics discussed at the meet included cooperation in the Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector between India and Mauritius.
According to the FISME Factor, 85.7 per cent of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises think that Moody’s rating upgrade will affect Indian economy positively while 14.3 percent think that there will be no change. 
The term ‘competency’ has been defined in literature from different points of view. Competency models are key tools in the human resource systems and practices. Research has shown that over the last few years there has been a worldwide expansion in the use of competency models as a major base for human resource strategy. The use of the competence approach is now promoted by experts in the field as it is likely to improve not just individual performance but also organisational effectiveness (Markus et al., 2005).
From tourism to weather to the holiday shopping season, many small businesses encounter some degree of seasonality within their business. In fact, according to a recent Wells Fargo/Gallup survey, almost half of small business owners reported having predictable times of the year that are significantly busier or slower than others. What’s more, 41 percent said that these seasonable differences make it more difficult to manage cash flow throughout the year.
Trust and loyalty have always been a part of every human interaction, every transaction for thousands of years. All over the world, people have tightly-knit relationships with not just family and friends, but with the familiar faces of friendly merchants and vendors. oday, we live in a world where we have almost unlimited options. There are effectively an infinite set of options when you’re looking for a gift to buy, some great food to eat, or a nice new coffee shop to hang out in.
With no implementation of the promised reduction in power tariffs, the industry comprising of a fair share of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Punjab have called for a state wide indefinite hunger strike from 21st December, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association (FOPSIA) informed.
Biometric attendance devices are passé, or will soon be. A Kolkata-based startup has come up with a unique solution to track attendance – an app that matches a person’s GPS location with (their respective) office. The app is named Regular.li, as it is a solution to use regularly! (The domain Regular.ly was not available.)
Thousands of years of history and culture contained in a cuppa – the story of tea is something most of us are familiar with. Today, the beverage with which millions around the world start their day is, like almost everything else, getting a touch of technology.
“
Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better.
”
