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President's Message
To help GST achieve its stated objectives: increasing tax base, removing cascading effect of indirect taxes to make manufacturing and services competitive, allowing seamless movement of goods and services to benefit both the consumers and suppliers and making India a one market. If we take the initial painful phase in our stride, GST seems set on its course. There is a need however to address both its intended and unintended harmful consequences for MSMEs. In the first set, firstly, let us agree on filing of single GST return and do away with invoice matching. Government must also work out a system to ensure speedy refunds. Also, the sector is demanding pruning of exclusion list especially allowing input tax credit on services as tours and travels of staff, repair and maintenance etc. There is a long pending demand for easing compliance for job-workers. Among the unintended consequences is the issue of working capital. MSMEs have to pay GST upfront at the time of supply but their payments are routinely delayed. As earlier bulk of the sector was under exemption and hence never faced such pressure, their working capital shortage may force many healthy MSMEs to the brink of NPAs. There may be many other issues bothering entrepreneurs. Good news is government is accessible and making amends. Do send me a note if you are facing any problem with regards to GST.
"
The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of FISME was held on 27th June 2018 in New Delhi. Besides reviewing the progress of FISME’s initiatives and projects, the CEC deliberated on issues especially the GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Ease of Doing Business and Business Regulatory Advisory Group. The CEC was presided by President Shri Dinesh Chandra Tripathi.
A typical day in an entrepreneur’s life is incomplete without meetings, numerous pending emails, and a daily to-do list. There's a sense of relief in the act of crossing off all items on the to-do list at the end of the day. But how can one decide what needs to be done first, and what can wait? Understanding the difference between urgent and important can further help entrepreneurs to achieve greater productivity.
One year after the introduction of the epochal Goods and Services Tax (GST), it is only too easy to pounce on the glitches that have unfolded and jump to the conclusion that GST has brought more pain than good to the economy. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Economic Survey 2017-18 has computed that as of December 2017 “GST has increased the number of unique indirect taxpayers by more than 50 per cent – a substantial 3.4 million.” The growing formalisation of the economy is likely to lead to a substantial...
Indian companies’ investments into their overseas subsidiaries/joint ventures fell by 63 per cent to USD 1.17 billion in May this year, according to RBI data.
In May 2017, India Inc’s foreign direct investment stood at USD 3.12 billion. In April 2018, the outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) of Indian firms was USD 3.56 billion.
Of the total investment by domestic firms in overseas ventures in May 2018, USD 374.18 million was in the form of equity infusion, USD 162.96 million in loan and USD 630.45 million as guarantee issuances, as per Reserve Bank data.
The fiscal deficit for the first two months of the current fiscal FY19 stood at 55.3% or Rs 3.455 lakh crore of the budgeted target of Rs 6.243 lakh crore.
The figures were released by the finance ministry today. Total receipts for the two months of April-May was recorded at Rs 1.27 lakh crore while the total expenditure stood at 4.73 lakh crore.
Out of the total receipts, the net tax revenue came in at 1.02 lakh crore while the non-tax revenue was rs 24,049 crore and Rs 1,004 crore of non-debt capital receipts.
After struggling for quite some time due to non-refund of claims under GST it seems to be a good times for exporters. Apart from getting refunds under GST, exporters are benefitting from the depreciated value of rupee. Rupee value today was at 19th month low.
Rupee collapsed to a record low of 69.10 against the US dollar by plunging 49 paise in early trade today as the yuan fell, crude oil rose and US president Donal Trump pressed countries including India to stop oil imports from Iran.
In a bid to enhance insurance coverage to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) exports, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved capital infusion of Rs 2000 crore to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC).
It has also approved contribution of grant-in-aid (corpus) of Rs 1,040 crore to National Export Insurance Account Trust (NEIA) to promote project exports. Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, “The funds to ECGC would be infused in 3 financial years- Rs 50 crore in 2017-18, Rs 1,450 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 500 crore for 2019-20.”
With the depreciation of rupee, pick up in domestic demand and progressive policies by government, the textile and apparel sector of India is finally showing some positive signs of recovery.
The above statement was made by Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Chairman Sanjay Jain. He said the sector which passed through a challenging phase post demonetization, implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST), rupee appreciation and high domestic cotton prices, is finally showing some signs of recovery.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is all set to launch a platform for start-ups, the listing for which would begin from July 9 this year.
The platform will facilitate listing of companies from IT, ITeS, biotechnology and life science, 3D printing, space technology, e-commerce, Hi-tech defence, drones, nano technology, artificial intelligence, big data, enhance/virtual reality, e-gaming, exoskeleton, robotics, holographic technology, genetic engineering, variable computers inside body computer technology and any other hi-tech sectors.
In a circular, the stock exchange said, "To provide further incentive to companies which are 'startups' in sectors like IT, ITeS, biotechnology and life sciences, the exchange is pleased to announce that the BSE Startup Platform has been enabled in the BSE SME Segment."
The eligibility criteria for listing on the BSE Startup Platform includes that the pre-issue paid-up equity share capital of the company should be minimum of Rs 1 crore. In addition to this, the company should be in existence for a minimum of three years on the date of filing of the draft prospectus with BSE.
To make digital payments more convenient, hassle free and affordable for India’s MSME sector, Instamojo, a digital payments platform coupled with e-commerce features, has made the online transactions through National Electronics Funds Transfer (NEFT) free of cost for its five lakhs seller base, said the company in a press release.
The initiative was launched to mark the occasion of International MSME day celebrated on June 27 across the world. The company aims to take its customer base to 25 lakh by 2020.
With this launch, sellers will not have to pay any fee or charge for doing online transactions through NEFT through Instamojo platform.
Aye Finance, a new-age fintech lender, today launched android-based loan application workflow for its fleet executives in order to expedite lending to the MSME sector.
In a release, Aye Finance said it firmly believes that lack of access to digitization or lower internet penetration in remote locations shouldn’t be reasons worthy enough of denying MSMEs access to business finance.
The solution is a leap forward and leverages the power of cloud-computing-induced-mobility to deliver faster credit right at the door step of these micro businesses.
On the occasion of World MSME Day, President of India, Ram Nath Kovind launched Solar Charkha Mission and Sapark Portal for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
In a bid to encourage dialogue and partnership among various stakeholders of MSME ecosystem and discuss various issues and challenges of this sector, the Ministry of MSME today organized National Conclave “Udyam Sangam” to celebrate United Nation MSME day.
Telangana government is planning to allocate a dedicated fund for MSMEs in the manufacturing sector in next year’s budget, said Telangana IT and industries department principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan.
He made the above remarks while addressing an event of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on trends in additive manufacturing.
Addressing the gathering, he said this fund will help MSMEs in the state adopt cutting edge technologies and new manufacturing practices.
Government of Jharkhand shortly is coming up with equity funding for MSMEs to flourish the sector further, said K Ravi Kumar, Director of Department of Industries, Jharkhand.
He said the MSMEs must act as a catalyst in the overall growth and development process of the industry.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of the CII Jharkhand Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Conclave 2018.
Addressing the gathering, he said MSMEs need to grow fast and the banks need to be much more proactive in providing finances to the MSMEs.
The government of West Bengal is coming up with two electronics manufacturing clusters (EMC) in Kalyani and Falta. These clusters will be ready within one year.
According to the State Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) Minister, the Government is putting a lot of stress on this sector as there is a huge employment potential, with the emergence of automated vehicle, robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) across the globe.
To make this sector more opportunistic, the state is fully prepared to take a lead in this sector in the country.
For the proposed electronics manufacturing hub at Kakkanad, Kerala, the state government-owned Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) has obtained green clearance and the project is expected to be ready for allotment by the end of 2019.
Talking about this project, Kinfra managing director K.A. Santhosh Kumar said around 20 acres of the total available 69 acres was being developed in the first phase, and nearly Rs 12 crore had been spent on construction of road and compound wall and preliminary requirements.
China plans to reduce tariffs on more than 8,500 goods, including chemicals, farm products and metals from India and some other Asian countries in what is seen as a part of its ongoing trade war with the US.
“China will reduce or cancel tariffs on imports of 8,549 types of goods from India, South Korea, Bangladesh, Laos & Sri Lanka,” China's ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui tweeted on Wednesday. “The goods include chemicals, agricultural & medical products, soyabean, clothing, steel & aluminium products. Good news to help reduce trade imbalance.”
India could withdraw the notification to levy additional duties on 29 US products from August 4, if both sides are able to resolve differences over tariffs before that date, official sources said, after three rounds of talks with representatives of the US administration in New Delhi. The two sides will also come up with a white paper at a meeting next month in Washington on issues that can be resolved over six months to 3-4 years. “We are hopeful of resolving trade issues before August 4,” said an official, adding that any country that notifies the World Trade Organization about tariffs has the right to withdraw or defer it. From the US side, assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South
In an attempt to support best start ups in India and United Kingdom, an India-UK Technology and Talent Exchange program, dubbed TechXChange has been initiated.
The initiative has been taken by Indian High Commission and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Talking about this, Sunil Parekh, FICCI’s Member of the National Executive Committee and Chair of the Sub-Committee on Start-ups at the two-day UK-India Leadership Conclave which concluded yesterday, said that this is an attempt to really give it some shape, some serious framework to make this actually happen between India and the UK. The theme of the conclave-Global Britain meets Global India, aims to boost UK exports and bilateral ties.
Thus, in a move to boost UK exports to India, the industry body announced the 'UKThat' Portal, which will create a marketplace for manufacturing and services industries and offshore traders of all goods and services to promote their products to international clients in India.
Whether amendment in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code allowing MSME entrepreneurs to submit resolution plans for their own stressed businesses is a right move?
According to the FISME Factor, 85.7 per cent of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises think that the amendment in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code allowing MSME entrepreneurs to submit resolution plans for their own stressed businesses is a right move while 14.3 per cent think it is a wrong move.
5 steps towards re-organising your team for high performance
Leading a group of people towards a common objective is tough and it constantly requires you to evaluate your decisions based on various changes. Sometimes, it requires restructuring your team to achieve a higher objective.
If you run a small business, chances are you would have taken a loan. It is particularly important that when you have loan to service, you do not default on your loan repayments. However, at the outset, one must understand what constitutes a default on a loan.
Winning edge for brands: How to provide exemplary customer experiences
In today's times, a customer has infinite options to choose from. If their expectations are not metby one brand, they have many other brands to opt for. Most customers today are looking at the 4Cs-Convenience
Rubber MSMEs demand review of antidumping duty on carbon black
The micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the domestic rubber industry are demanding immedi¬ate review of the anti-du¬mping duty, which was imposed five years ago, on carbon black, an important raw material for the rubber sector.
After graduating in civil engineering from IIT-Madras, Deekshith Vara Prasad was working on an Indo-German project on air quality management. During this time, he had discussions with his professor and other IIT-M students who were working on the project about air pollution and its adverse impact.
This founder from Rajsamand is showing there is more to agritech than an app for farmers
Nikhil Toshniwal was told there is no ‘virality’ in agritech. He was warned that the struggle to scale will be doubled if he ventured into this sector.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has brought out the first release of employment related statistics in the formal sector in April, 2018 covering the period September 2017 to February, 2018.
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.
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To help GST achieve its stated objectives: increasing tax base, removing cascading effect of indirect taxes to make manufacturing and services competitive, allowing seamless movement of goods and services to benefit both the consumers and suppliers and making India a one market. If we take the initial painful phase in our stride, GST seems set on its course. There is a need however to address both its intended and unintended harmful consequences for MSMEs. In the first set, firstly, let us agree on filing of single GST return and do away with invoice matching. Government must also work out a system to ensure speedy refunds. Also, the sector is demanding pruning of exclusion list especially allowing input tax credit on services as tours and travels of staff, repair and maintenance etc. There is a long pending demand for easing compliance for job-workers. Among the unintended consequences is the issue of working capital. MSMEs have to pay GST upfront at the time of supply but their payments are routinely delayed. As earlier bulk of the sector was under exemption and hence never faced such pressure, their working capital shortage may force many healthy MSMEs to the brink of NPAs. There may be many other issues bothering entrepreneurs. Good news is government is accessible and making amends. Do send me a note if you are facing any problem with regards to GST.
"
The Central Executive Committee (CEC) of FISME was held on 27th June 2018 in New Delhi. Besides reviewing the progress of FISME’s initiatives and projects, the CEC deliberated on issues especially the GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Ease of Doing Business and Business Regulatory Advisory Group. The CEC was presided by President Shri Dinesh Chandra Tripathi.
A typical day in an entrepreneur’s life is incomplete without meetings, numerous pending emails, and a daily to-do list. There's a sense of relief in the act of crossing off all items on the to-do list at the end of the day. But how can one decide what needs to be done first, and what can wait? Understanding the difference between urgent and important can further help entrepreneurs to achieve greater productivity.
The fiscal deficit for the first two months of the current fiscal FY19 stood at 55.3% or Rs 3.455 lakh crore of the budgeted target of Rs 6.243 lakh crore.
The figures were released by the finance ministry today. Total receipts for the two months of April-May was recorded at Rs 1.27 lakh crore while the total expenditure stood at 4.73 lakh crore.
Out of the total receipts, the net tax revenue came in at 1.02 lakh crore while the non-tax revenue was rs 24,049 crore and Rs 1,004 crore of non-debt capital receipts.
After struggling for quite some time due to non-refund of claims under GST it seems to be a good times for exporters. Apart from getting refunds under GST, exporters are benefitting from the depreciated value of rupee. Rupee value today was at 19th month low.
Rupee collapsed to a record low of 69.10 against the US dollar by plunging 49 paise in early trade today as the yuan fell, crude oil rose and US president Donal Trump pressed countries including India to stop oil imports from Iran.
In a bid to enhance insurance coverage to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) exports, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved capital infusion of Rs 2000 crore to Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC).
It has also approved contribution of grant-in-aid (corpus) of Rs 1,040 crore to National Export Insurance Account Trust (NEIA) to promote project exports. Addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said, “The funds to ECGC would be infused in 3 financial years- Rs 50 crore in 2017-18, Rs 1,450 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 500 crore for 2019-20.”
With the depreciation of rupee, pick up in domestic demand and progressive policies by government, the textile and apparel sector of India is finally showing some positive signs of recovery.
The above statement was made by Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) Chairman Sanjay Jain. He said the sector which passed through a challenging phase post demonetization, implementation of Goods and Service Tax (GST), rupee appreciation and high domestic cotton prices, is finally showing some signs of recovery.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is all set to launch a platform for start-ups, the listing for which would begin from July 9 this year.
The platform will facilitate listing of companies from IT, ITeS, biotechnology and life science, 3D printing, space technology, e-commerce, Hi-tech defence, drones, nano technology, artificial intelligence, big data, enhance/virtual reality, e-gaming, exoskeleton, robotics, holographic technology, genetic engineering, variable computers inside body computer technology and any other hi-tech sectors.
In a circular, the stock exchange said, "To provide further incentive to companies which are 'startups' in sectors like IT, ITeS, biotechnology and life sciences, the exchange is pleased to announce that the BSE Startup Platform has been enabled in the BSE SME Segment."
The eligibility criteria for listing on the BSE Startup Platform includes that the pre-issue paid-up equity share capital of the company should be minimum of Rs 1 crore. In addition to this, the company should be in existence for a minimum of three years on the date of filing of the draft prospectus with BSE.
To make digital payments more convenient, hassle free and affordable for India’s MSME sector, Instamojo, a digital payments platform coupled with e-commerce features, has made the online transactions through National Electronics Funds Transfer (NEFT) free of cost for its five lakhs seller base, said the company in a press release.
The initiative was launched to mark the occasion of International MSME day celebrated on June 27 across the world. The company aims to take its customer base to 25 lakh by 2020.
With this launch, sellers will not have to pay any fee or charge for doing online transactions through NEFT through Instamojo platform.
Aye Finance, a new-age fintech lender, today launched android-based loan application workflow for its fleet executives in order to expedite lending to the MSME sector.
In a release, Aye Finance said it firmly believes that lack of access to digitization or lower internet penetration in remote locations shouldn’t be reasons worthy enough of denying MSMEs access to business finance.
The solution is a leap forward and leverages the power of cloud-computing-induced-mobility to deliver faster credit right at the door step of these micro businesses.
On the occasion of World MSME Day, President of India, Ram Nath Kovind launched Solar Charkha Mission and Sapark Portal for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.
In a bid to encourage dialogue and partnership among various stakeholders of MSME ecosystem and discuss various issues and challenges of this sector, the Ministry of MSME today organized National Conclave “Udyam Sangam” to celebrate United Nation MSME day.
Telangana government is planning to allocate a dedicated fund for MSMEs in the manufacturing sector in next year’s budget, said Telangana IT and industries department principal secretary Jayesh Ranjan.
He made the above remarks while addressing an event of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on trends in additive manufacturing.
Addressing the gathering, he said this fund will help MSMEs in the state adopt cutting edge technologies and new manufacturing practices.
Government of Jharkhand shortly is coming up with equity funding for MSMEs to flourish the sector further, said K Ravi Kumar, Director of Department of Industries, Jharkhand.
He said the MSMEs must act as a catalyst in the overall growth and development process of the industry.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of the CII Jharkhand Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) Conclave 2018.
Addressing the gathering, he said MSMEs need to grow fast and the banks need to be much more proactive in providing finances to the MSMEs.
The government of West Bengal is coming up with two electronics manufacturing clusters (EMC) in Kalyani and Falta. These clusters will be ready within one year.
According to the State Information Technology and Electronics (IT&E) Minister, the Government is putting a lot of stress on this sector as there is a huge employment potential, with the emergence of automated vehicle, robotics and Internet of Things (IoT) across the globe.
To make this sector more opportunistic, the state is fully prepared to take a lead in this sector in the country.
For the proposed electronics manufacturing hub at Kakkanad, Kerala, the state government-owned Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Kinfra) has obtained green clearance and the project is expected to be ready for allotment by the end of 2019.
Talking about this project, Kinfra managing director K.A. Santhosh Kumar said around 20 acres of the total available 69 acres was being developed in the first phase, and nearly Rs 12 crore had been spent on construction of road and compound wall and preliminary requirements.
China plans to reduce tariffs on more than 8,500 goods, including chemicals, farm products and metals from India and some other Asian countries in what is seen as a part of its ongoing trade war with the US.
“China will reduce or cancel tariffs on imports of 8,549 types of goods from India, South Korea, Bangladesh, Laos & Sri Lanka,” China's ambassador to India Luo Zhaohui tweeted on Wednesday. “The goods include chemicals, agricultural & medical products, soyabean, clothing, steel & aluminium products. Good news to help reduce trade imbalance.”
India could withdraw the notification to levy additional duties on 29 US products from August 4, if both sides are able to resolve differences over tariffs before that date, official sources said, after three rounds of talks with representatives of the US administration in New Delhi. The two sides will also come up with a white paper at a meeting next month in Washington on issues that can be resolved over six months to 3-4 years. “We are hopeful of resolving trade issues before August 4,” said an official, adding that any country that notifies the World Trade Organization about tariffs has the right to withdraw or defer it. From the US side, assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for South
In an attempt to support best start ups in India and United Kingdom, an India-UK Technology and Talent Exchange program, dubbed TechXChange has been initiated.
The initiative has been taken by Indian High Commission and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
Talking about this, Sunil Parekh, FICCI’s Member of the National Executive Committee and Chair of the Sub-Committee on Start-ups at the two-day UK-India Leadership Conclave which concluded yesterday, said that this is an attempt to really give it some shape, some serious framework to make this actually happen between India and the UK. The theme of the conclave-Global Britain meets Global India, aims to boost UK exports and bilateral ties.
Thus, in a move to boost UK exports to India, the industry body announced the 'UKThat' Portal, which will create a marketplace for manufacturing and services industries and offshore traders of all goods and services to promote their products to international clients in India.
According to the FISME Factor, 85.7 per cent of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises think that the amendment in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code allowing MSME entrepreneurs to submit resolution plans for their own stressed businesses is a right move while 14.3 per cent think it is a wrong move. 
Leading a group of people towards a common objective is tough and it constantly requires you to evaluate your decisions based on various changes. Sometimes, it requires restructuring your team to achieve a higher objective.
If you run a small business, chances are you would have taken a loan. It is particularly important that when you have loan to service, you do not default on your loan repayments. However, at the outset, one must understand what constitutes a default on a loan.
In today's times, a customer has infinite options to choose from. If their expectations are not metby one brand, they have many other brands to opt for. Most customers today are looking at the 4Cs-Convenience
The micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the domestic rubber industry are demanding immedi¬ate review of the anti-du¬mping duty, which was imposed five years ago, on carbon black, an important raw material for the rubber sector.
Nikhil Toshniwal was told there is no ‘virality’ in agritech. He was warned that the struggle to scale will be doubled if he ventured into this sector.
