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President's Message
All of us know that the overarching presence of Government as a business is responsible for many ills that plague Indian economy but still we fail to grasp its gravity fully. In few sectors their influence is almost complete such as Electricity, Railways and in some quite substantial like Banking, Steel, Telecom, Aviation, Petroleum etc. When Government doesn’t control directly, it does so indirectly through its financial and insurance entities like Banks, LIC etc. Through Public Procurement- the value of which exceeds one third of India’s GDP, it sets agenda for choice of technologies, standards and business practices. Because of Government’s overbearing presence, no part of economic life is beyond its grip and influence. It is making doing business costly, unpredictable and unsustainable. FISME has initiated a work programme to orient the focus on the impact of ‘Government as a business conglomerate’ on the economic activity. I have already written to India’s top economic think-tanks and have started meeting them one by one. Through their collaboration we would like to capture the extent and impact of Government on economic life with a view to effect reforms.
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Startups are born to scale. They’re created to search for and validate a scalable business model in a way that can have a major impact on the market or how a problem has traditionally been solved. The innovation, disruption and scalability aspects of a startup are why they are different from small businesses and more importantly, why they can’t be treated or built as a small business or subversion of a large company.
Urgent counter-cyclical steps are required to address the slide
With industrial growth, private consumption and investment sputtering in the last leg of 2018-19, the new government has its task cut out: pulling the economy out of a slowdown. The IIP slide began in late 2018, thanks to tepid domestic and world demand. It touched a 21-month low in March 2019, marked by a dip in growth of capital and consumer goods. As a result, IIP growth in FY 2019 was down to 3.6 per cent, against 4.4 per cent last year. The Finance Ministry’s Monthly Economic Report for March 2019 observes that “India’s economy appears to have slowed
The government has once again extended the deadline to impose retaliatory import tariffs on 29 US products till June 16 this year.
A Finance Ministry notification said the duties, which were to come into effect from May 16, have been postponed by a month.
This is not the first time India has extended deadline, earlier also these deadlines were extended several times.
This time the decision of extension comes in the backdrop of the US decision to withdraw export incentives being provided to Indian exporters under Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which is expected to impact India's exports to the US worth $5.6 billion under this scheme.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has requested the Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs) to make full use of Self- Rectification Scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy.
In a notification, DGFT said “All AEOs who are users of duty exemption scheme, are requested to make full use of Self Ratification Scheme.
Government had notified a Self-Ratification scheme for Advance Authorization (under para 4.07 A of the FTP 2015-20) for AEOs in the interest of ease of doing business.
The scheme allows advance authorizations to be taken on self-declaration and self-ratification basis for cases where Standard Input Output Norms (SION) is not notified, without the need of going through the process of norms fixation/ratification by the concerned Norms Committee (NCs).
India’s wholesale inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), slipped down to 3.07 percent in April compared to 3.18 per cent in March led by fall in prices of manufacturing products.
According to data published by Ministry of Commerce & Industry, wholesale inflation in food rose to 4.95 percent as against 3.89 percent in March. Vegetable inflation soared to 40.65 percent against 28.13 percent in March.
The whole sale inflation in manufactured products fell from 2.16 percent to 1.72 percent in April.
India’s gross exports of gold jewellery rose by 24.36% to USD 12.03 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2019 while exports of cut and polished diamonds remained virtually steady (down by a marginal 0.39% to USD 23.82 billion), according to Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Though total overall exports across all product segments were up 5.08% in rupee terms, they were down 3.12% to USD 39.68 billion as compared to exports of USD 40.96 billion in FY18. Chairman of GJEPC Pramod Kumar Agrawal said, “Despite all the macro-economic and geopolitical challenges, India’s exports of gems & jewellery in FY19 have shown positive growth thanks to the initiative and enterprise of our exporters. The strong double-digit growth in gold jewellery exports is heartening.”
The income-tax department will expedite the disposal of appeal cases, and will also look into taxpayers’ concerns of TDS mismatch and demands disputed by taxpayers in response to proceedings under section 245 during the fortnight beginning May 16.
"The Board has decided to dedicate the second fortnight of May, 2019, -- May 16-31 -- to expeditious disposal of appeal effect and rectification claims of the taxpayers," the CBDT said. In a letter to field formations, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that during May 16-31, all assessing officers would accord top priority to appeal cases and passing of rectification orders and would earmark the first half of the day to meet applicants/counsels who seek to have a hearing to explain their case.
The government is in the process of formulating the much talked about National Policy for Retail Trade, a move aimed to boost growth of retail business in the country.
The task for formulating the Policy has been assigned to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
In this regard, a Roundtable Discussion has been planned by DPIIT with all stakeholders in the national capital next week, sources told KNN India.
For this, the department has invited views from the stakeholders on National Retail Trade Policy.
In January 2019, the RBI cautioned that the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, dubbed as the biggest employment creator and having generated Rs. 11,000 crore NPAs, could upset the credit market severely. There isn’t enough information on MUDRA processes. There is also a persistent insistence on collateral, despite non-collateralised lending being backed by counter-guarantee.
The information on mudra.org.in reveals that at the end of March 2019, total disbursements under PMMY stood at Rs. 2.83 lakh crore in FY2018. Out of this, 40 per cent were disbursed to women entrepreneurs and 33 per cent to social categories. More than 5 crore micro borrowers have benefited through PMMY during the year FY2018-19.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab government to take appropriate action against the dyeing mills near Ludhiana’s Central Jail which are alleged to be emitting toxic gases and effluents and causing adverse impact on the health of jail inmates.
The directions came after the amicus curiae appointed by the court on a PIL in this regard submitted the report. The report supported with the photographs showing illegal activities of dyeing factory owners, also recommended prosecution of such factory owners in some case.
Government of Karnataka is mulling a proposal to set up Indo-German accelerators in both Bengaluru and Berlin for enhancing enterprise connects, mentorship, driving investments and collaborations between startups and SMEs in both areas.
In a bid to enhance Indo-German partnership and also promote the Department of IT, BT and S&T, under Government of Karnataka’s flagship program Bengaluru Tech Summit, the delegation led by Principal Secretary, Gaurav Gupta is currently visiting Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich in Germany.
The Industries & Commerce Department of Jammu & Kashmir is planning to set up Common Facilitation Centers for various sectors including handicrafts, sports goods and furniture items, a move aimed at promoting wood based industry in the region.
A Process-cum-Product Development Centre (PPDC) team from Meerut visited Kashmir to extend handholding support to MSMEs in the state. The team held a meeting with Director Industries & Commerce Kashmir and Joint Director Handicrafts Kashmir to develop comprehensive plans for promotion of wood-based industries in Kashmir.
India and the US complimented the new bilateral private sector led Small Business Interaction initiative, the US - India SME Forum that was held yesterday here.
This was the first event of its kind and would pave the way for collaboration and partnership between the U.S. and Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the areas of manufacturing and services, said a statement after meeting between visiting US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu.
While discussing various outstanding trade issues, both sides agreed to engage regularly at various levels to resolve outstanding trade issues by exploring suitable solutions, which are mutually beneficial and promote economic development and prosperity in both countries.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das met Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and discussed connectivity and trade-related issues between the north-eastern State and Bangladesh.
“We have discussed trade and connectivity-related issues and projects. Tripura has a significant role in increasing trade and improve connectivity between India and Bangladesh,” the Indian envoy told reporters after the meeting with the Chief Minister.
She said the number of ‘border haats’ (markets) in Tripura would be doubled from two. In the border haats, vendors from India and Bangladesh are allowed to sell local produce without any kind of duty or tax.
The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu has urged Vietnam to support entry of Indian pharmaceutical firms.
Seeking Vietnam Prime Minister’s personal intervention in facilitating the entry of Indian pharmaceutical products into their country, the Vice President assured him that the Indian companies can provide high tech health systems and medicines for public health in Vietnam at an affordable cost. This will make health services more affordable and reduce the insurance burden on the Government of Vietnam, he added.
Will US sanctions on India's imports of oil from Iran lead to higher oil prices ?
According to FISME factor 85.7 percent MSMEs think that US will sanction on India's imports of oil from Iran lead to higher oil prices while 14.3 percent think US will not sanction.
How to retain top talent with the right engagement
How does a company classify its top talent? What specific measures do companies take to retain it? Top talent most likely comprises the people who are high performers, are self-motivated and goal-achievers.
Are you someone who believes clocking in 24 hours a day to grow your own business is a lot better than working the nine-to-five grind for someone else? Why then let a lack of funds stand in the way of you pursuing your dream? A business loan can help you start your business effortlessly and quickly and take it to the heights you've always imagined.
3 Essential Skills Every Digital Marketer Should Know
Let’s go back to the year 1994, a major turning point in the history of the digital arena. Netscape, the first successful mass-market browser was released. In the next 2 years that followed, the number of people using the internet increased from 16 million to 70 million.
Cashew industry facing closure due to surge in fraudulent import of cashew kernel from competing countries
The cashew processors and exporters lead by the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) have expressed concern at sharp surge in fraudulent import of cashew kernel in the country from the competing countries leading to almost closure of the domestic cashew industry.
Upasana Taku gave up the high life to help the financially underserved
About four months ago, Upasana Taku, 37, went up on stage at a hotel in Delhi to talk about MobiKwik Lite at a launch event. The event was streamed live on the video streaming app Periscope; the lighting was poor and the audio wasn’t of high quality; also, the slide presentation in the background was lost on those tuning in.
These brothers started India’s only publicly-listed ad tech firm and landed Amazon.in, Godrej, Mahindra, and Cadbury as clients
With large scale internet penetration across the world, there are millions of websites, applications, and digital properties where brands can advertise. However, the process of choosing and utilising separate ad platforms and channels is time-consuming.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has revised the Base Year of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from 2010=100 to 2012=100 with effect from the release of indices for the month of January 2015.
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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All of us know that the overarching presence of Government as a business is responsible for many ills that plague Indian economy but still we fail to grasp its gravity fully. In few sectors their influence is almost complete such as Electricity, Railways and in some quite substantial like Banking, Steel, Telecom, Aviation, Petroleum etc. When Government doesn’t control directly, it does so indirectly through its financial and insurance entities like Banks, LIC etc. Through Public Procurement- the value of which exceeds one third of India’s GDP, it sets agenda for choice of technologies, standards and business practices. Because of Government’s overbearing presence, no part of economic life is beyond its grip and influence. It is making doing business costly, unpredictable and unsustainable. FISME has initiated a work programme to orient the focus on the impact of ‘Government as a business conglomerate’ on the economic activity. I have already written to India’s top economic think-tanks and have started meeting them one by one. Through their collaboration we would like to capture the extent and impact of Government on economic life with a view to effect reforms.
"
Startups are born to scale. They’re created to search for and validate a scalable business model in a way that can have a major impact on the market or how a problem has traditionally been solved. The innovation, disruption and scalability aspects of a startup are why they are different from small businesses and more importantly, why they can’t be treated or built as a small business or subversion of a large company.
The government has once again extended the deadline to impose retaliatory import tariffs on 29 US products till June 16 this year.
A Finance Ministry notification said the duties, which were to come into effect from May 16, have been postponed by a month.
This is not the first time India has extended deadline, earlier also these deadlines were extended several times.
This time the decision of extension comes in the backdrop of the US decision to withdraw export incentives being provided to Indian exporters under Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, which is expected to impact India's exports to the US worth $5.6 billion under this scheme.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has requested the Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs) to make full use of Self- Rectification Scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy.
In a notification, DGFT said “All AEOs who are users of duty exemption scheme, are requested to make full use of Self Ratification Scheme.
Government had notified a Self-Ratification scheme for Advance Authorization (under para 4.07 A of the FTP 2015-20) for AEOs in the interest of ease of doing business.
The scheme allows advance authorizations to be taken on self-declaration and self-ratification basis for cases where Standard Input Output Norms (SION) is not notified, without the need of going through the process of norms fixation/ratification by the concerned Norms Committee (NCs).
India’s wholesale inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), slipped down to 3.07 percent in April compared to 3.18 per cent in March led by fall in prices of manufacturing products.
According to data published by Ministry of Commerce & Industry, wholesale inflation in food rose to 4.95 percent as against 3.89 percent in March. Vegetable inflation soared to 40.65 percent against 28.13 percent in March.
The whole sale inflation in manufactured products fell from 2.16 percent to 1.72 percent in April.
India’s gross exports of gold jewellery rose by 24.36% to USD 12.03 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2019 while exports of cut and polished diamonds remained virtually steady (down by a marginal 0.39% to USD 23.82 billion), according to Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).
Though total overall exports across all product segments were up 5.08% in rupee terms, they were down 3.12% to USD 39.68 billion as compared to exports of USD 40.96 billion in FY18. Chairman of GJEPC Pramod Kumar Agrawal said, “Despite all the macro-economic and geopolitical challenges, India’s exports of gems & jewellery in FY19 have shown positive growth thanks to the initiative and enterprise of our exporters. The strong double-digit growth in gold jewellery exports is heartening.”
The income-tax department will expedite the disposal of appeal cases, and will also look into taxpayers’ concerns of TDS mismatch and demands disputed by taxpayers in response to proceedings under section 245 during the fortnight beginning May 16.
"The Board has decided to dedicate the second fortnight of May, 2019, -- May 16-31 -- to expeditious disposal of appeal effect and rectification claims of the taxpayers," the CBDT said. In a letter to field formations, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that during May 16-31, all assessing officers would accord top priority to appeal cases and passing of rectification orders and would earmark the first half of the day to meet applicants/counsels who seek to have a hearing to explain their case.
The government is in the process of formulating the much talked about National Policy for Retail Trade, a move aimed to boost growth of retail business in the country.
The task for formulating the Policy has been assigned to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
In this regard, a Roundtable Discussion has been planned by DPIIT with all stakeholders in the national capital next week, sources told KNN India.
For this, the department has invited views from the stakeholders on National Retail Trade Policy.
In January 2019, the RBI cautioned that the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, dubbed as the biggest employment creator and having generated Rs. 11,000 crore NPAs, could upset the credit market severely. There isn’t enough information on MUDRA processes. There is also a persistent insistence on collateral, despite non-collateralised lending being backed by counter-guarantee.
The information on mudra.org.in reveals that at the end of March 2019, total disbursements under PMMY stood at Rs. 2.83 lakh crore in FY2018. Out of this, 40 per cent were disbursed to women entrepreneurs and 33 per cent to social categories. More than 5 crore micro borrowers have benefited through PMMY during the year FY2018-19.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Punjab government to take appropriate action against the dyeing mills near Ludhiana’s Central Jail which are alleged to be emitting toxic gases and effluents and causing adverse impact on the health of jail inmates.
The directions came after the amicus curiae appointed by the court on a PIL in this regard submitted the report. The report supported with the photographs showing illegal activities of dyeing factory owners, also recommended prosecution of such factory owners in some case.
Government of Karnataka is mulling a proposal to set up Indo-German accelerators in both Bengaluru and Berlin for enhancing enterprise connects, mentorship, driving investments and collaborations between startups and SMEs in both areas.
In a bid to enhance Indo-German partnership and also promote the Department of IT, BT and S&T, under Government of Karnataka’s flagship program Bengaluru Tech Summit, the delegation led by Principal Secretary, Gaurav Gupta is currently visiting Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich in Germany.
The Industries & Commerce Department of Jammu & Kashmir is planning to set up Common Facilitation Centers for various sectors including handicrafts, sports goods and furniture items, a move aimed at promoting wood based industry in the region.
A Process-cum-Product Development Centre (PPDC) team from Meerut visited Kashmir to extend handholding support to MSMEs in the state. The team held a meeting with Director Industries & Commerce Kashmir and Joint Director Handicrafts Kashmir to develop comprehensive plans for promotion of wood-based industries in Kashmir.
India and the US complimented the new bilateral private sector led Small Business Interaction initiative, the US - India SME Forum that was held yesterday here.
This was the first event of its kind and would pave the way for collaboration and partnership between the U.S. and Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the areas of manufacturing and services, said a statement after meeting between visiting US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu.
While discussing various outstanding trade issues, both sides agreed to engage regularly at various levels to resolve outstanding trade issues by exploring suitable solutions, which are mutually beneficial and promote economic development and prosperity in both countries.
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Riva Ganguly Das met Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and discussed connectivity and trade-related issues between the north-eastern State and Bangladesh.
“We have discussed trade and connectivity-related issues and projects. Tripura has a significant role in increasing trade and improve connectivity between India and Bangladesh,” the Indian envoy told reporters after the meeting with the Chief Minister.
She said the number of ‘border haats’ (markets) in Tripura would be doubled from two. In the border haats, vendors from India and Bangladesh are allowed to sell local produce without any kind of duty or tax.
The Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu has urged Vietnam to support entry of Indian pharmaceutical firms.
Seeking Vietnam Prime Minister’s personal intervention in facilitating the entry of Indian pharmaceutical products into their country, the Vice President assured him that the Indian companies can provide high tech health systems and medicines for public health in Vietnam at an affordable cost. This will make health services more affordable and reduce the insurance burden on the Government of Vietnam, he added.
According to FISME factor 85.7 percent MSMEs think that US will sanction on India's imports of oil from Iran lead to higher oil prices while 14.3 percent think US will not sanction.
How does a company classify its top talent? What specific measures do companies take to retain it? Top talent most likely comprises the people who are high performers, are self-motivated and goal-achievers.
Are you someone who believes clocking in 24 hours a day to grow your own business is a lot better than working the nine-to-five grind for someone else? Why then let a lack of funds stand in the way of you pursuing your dream? A business loan can help you start your business effortlessly and quickly and take it to the heights you've always imagined.
Let’s go back to the year 1994, a major turning point in the history of the digital arena. Netscape, the first successful mass-market browser was released. In the next 2 years that followed, the number of people using the internet increased from 16 million to 70 million.
The cashew processors and exporters lead by the Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI) have expressed concern at sharp surge in fraudulent import of cashew kernel in the country from the competing countries leading to almost closure of the domestic cashew industry.
About four months ago, Upasana Taku, 37, went up on stage at a hotel in Delhi to talk about MobiKwik Lite at a launch event. The event was streamed live on the video streaming app Periscope; the lighting was poor and the audio wasn’t of high quality; also, the slide presentation in the background was lost on those tuning in.
With large scale internet penetration across the world, there are millions of websites, applications, and digital properties where brands can advertise. However, the process of choosing and utilising separate ad platforms and channels is time-consuming.
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Always aim at perfection for only then will you achieve excellence."
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