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President's Message
For the industry to be competitive, it is imperative that they have access to competitively priced inputs whether it is finance or raw material / inputs. MSMEs have long been at the receiving end of bankers’ attitude. Increasingly, they are facing difficulties in accessing raw material also such as steel, aluminium, copper or polymers. Steel prices have increased by 50% in last six months. As much of the price hike is not in sync with global prices, Minister Nitin Gadkari had to issue a warning to steel producers against the collusive behaviour as it has rendered many infrastructure projects infructuous. There are same underlying features about all of the functioning of the raw material manufacturing: They are produced by a few large corporations, have high customs duties and even anti-dumping duties / safeguard duties and there are indications of their collusive behaviour. There is a need for the Government to intervene both institutionally- through Competition Commission of India, and also by reducing customs duties. The expensive raw inputs have made exports uncompetitive and would reflect in subdued exports performance of related sectors.
"
Small businesses are critical to local economic development, yet there are several barriers holding them back in the path to prosperity. As we adjust to changes forced upon us by the pandemic, it is critical that we work to bridge the gap in services and support systems available for these enterprises compared to those for larger corporations.
According to the National Bureau of Economic Development, “the number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million, or 22 percent, over the crucial two-month window from February to April 2020” alone.
Paralysed during the pandemic, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in Tamil Nadu is facing a new challenge — the rising raw material costs.
Several MSME unit owners have said that those who place orders are not willing to shell out more and want the consignments at pre-pandemic rates. For instance, one of the units in Coimbatore had supplied machinery to a textile unit last year. It got a repeat order, recently, at the same price. When the MSME unit owner asked for a price revision, the textile unit was not willing to pay a higher amount.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has notified bullion exchange regulations, an official statement said.
In the Union Budget 2020, Union Minister of Finance Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman had made an announcement for operationalising an international billion exchange at the International Financial Services Centre in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Subsequently, the Government of India had notified the bullion spot delivery contract and bullion depository receipt (with bullion as underlying) as Financial Products and related services as Financial Services under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Act, 2019.
Finance Minister has lauded concerted efforts resulting in higher procurement and payment of over Rs 21000 crore to MSMEs upto November.
Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the situation about payment to the MSMEs and expressed satisfaction and appreciation on the excellent work done by the Ministry of MSME. As part of Prime Minister of India’s vision the Finance Minister had announced Atma Nirbhar Bharat package in May, 2020, it was also stated that the MSME dues should be paid in 45 days.
Indian economy will be among the top economies in the world in the next few years using science, technology, and innovation in all sectors, bouncing back soon from the after effects of COVID 19, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, Dr. Rajiv Kumar said at a webinar organized to celebrate 50 years of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) recently.
“Steps and reforms have been taken by the Government in all the sectors, like agriculture, modern medicine, traditional medicine, New Education Policy, Small & Medium Enterprises, labour sector and so on, to target being among the world’s top three economies,”
Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Nitin Gadkari has emphasized the need of more intensive use of bamboo resources of the country and the Northeast.
"Bamboo has a variety of uses in various fields like buildings and interiors, handicrafts, agarbatti making, garments, bio-fuel resource, etc," Gadkari said during a webinar on Thursday. "For industrial use bamboo yield should be 200 tonnes per acre against about 40 tonnes per acre in case of some varieties. The greater yield and wider bamboo usage will open up more employment generation especially in North East India," he added.
In a bid to facilitate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to raise funds in capital market, the central government will provide 15 per cent of the equity to successful MSMEs and those with a good record of GST and income tax and bank turnover, said MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari.
“Presently we are all facing the problem due to COVID-19. We need liquidity investment in MSME and investment in MSME is very attractive, hence we ruled out a soft loan of Rs 3 lakh crore,” Gadkari said at an event organised by The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for the run-up to the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) Convention 2021 on Monday.
Government has exempted 'Handicraft, GI Toys' from quality control order, according to an official statement.
Taking steps towards the Prime Minister's vision of making India a global manufacturing hub for sale & exports of toys, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has devised a comprehensive action plan with steps being taken to boost production & sale of indigenous toys across the country. Quality Control order has been issued by the Department for standardization and quality adherence of Toys. The order will come into effect from 1st January, 2021. This order aims to bring forward the synergized efforts of the GoI, states and the stakeholders to promote ‘Team up for toys’ vision keeping quality standards of the indigenous toys as the priority.
The Odisha government has approved land allotment to 28 projects to be set up with an estimated investment of Rs 588 crore.
The projects requiring land are mostly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units from varied sectors like sea food processing, IT and ITES, automobiles, agro-food processing, tourism, light engineering, warehousing, seed processing and manufacturing. "These projects have been recommended by State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA), District Level Single Window Clearance Authority (DLSWCA) and different nodal agencies," media reports quoted IDCO CMD Sanjay Singh as saying.
Aiming to ensure livelihood opportunities for jobless youth and Self Help Groups (SHG) members of Goa, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has initiated Swayampurna Goem, a low cost polyhouses project.
COVID-19 pandemic has caused reverse migration in the State as many people, especially youth of Goa were left jobless and Goa with its tourism centric service sector economy, was no exception. Low cost polyhouses project initiated by NABARD came handy as it ensured livelihood opportunities for jobless. 10 such nurseries were sanctioned by NABARD to Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) covering five blocks of the State.
Chhattisgarh government has communicated its acceptance of Option-1 to meet the revenue shortfall arising out of GST implementation. The number of States who have favoured Option-1 has gone up to 27. All States except Jharkhand and all the 3 Union Territories with Legislative Assembly have decided in favour of Option-1, according to an official statement.
The States & Union Territories who choose Option-1 are getting the amount of shortfall arising out of GST implementation through a special borrowing window put in place by the Government of India.
India and Sweden should work together to build a more resilient & strong partnership, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
Speaking at the CEO Forum of India-Sweden strategic business partnership, he said that the year 2020 has been a challenging year, but let us convert this crisis into an opportunity. The minister said “We would like Sweden to be a part of our efforts to expand Indian economy, to reach higher level of prosperity & design an India suitable for global engagement in the modern 21st-century world. I am sure that the CEO forum & Sweden-India strategic business partnership will help us expand this friendship at every level & make Sweden an important part of India's own growing economy.”
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India and the Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control, Myanmar held the 5th India- Myanmar Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Cooperation virtually on 10th December, 2020.
The Indian delegation was led by the Director General Narcotics Control Bureau, Rakesh Asthana, and the Myanmar delegation was led by the Commander of the Drug Enforcement Division (DED) cum Joint Secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, Pol. Brig. Gen. Win Naing. The Director General NCB, Rakesh Asthana, highlighted issues particularly the trafficking of Heroin and Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS) in the country. He said that high prevalence of drug abuse in the North Eastern States abutting the Myanmar border is a major cause of concern for India.
To boost defence sector export, a webinar between India and Australia was held today. The Theme of webinar was “Indian Defence Industry Global Outreach for Collaborative Partnership: Webinar and Expo”. It was organized under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence through SIDM.
This webinar is the part of the series of webinars which are being organized with friendly foreign countries in order to boost defence exports and achieve defence export target of $5 billion in the next five years.
Do you think that farm bills passed in Sept will ensure a sustainable and profitable future for farming community?
According to FISME factor, 66.7% MSMEs think that farm bills passed in Sept will ensure a sustainable and profitable future for farming community while 33.3% think it will not.
As straightforward as self-sabotaging may seem, for some it may be the unconscious that hinders their own growth and productivity at work. People getting in their own way by constantly goofing up, getting stuck in a war between the logical, conscious mind and their unconscious ‘judgements’ is typical of self-sabotaging behaviour.
Here's How To Look For an Angel Investor For Your Startup
Lindsay Manseau famously said, "Starting your own business is like riding a roller coaster. There are highs and lows and every turn you take is another twist. The lows are really low, but the highs can be really high. You have to be strong, keep your stomach tight and ride along with the roller coaster that you started."
3 Important Marketing Strategies You Shouldn't Ignore in 2021
2021 is going to be a year where more people will use the internet for their day-to-day needs. This isn’t just because of advancing technology, but mainly because of the pandemic. It has changed the way people live, how business works, and the habits of consumers who are actively shifting their preferences.
Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings (CICU) members held an interaction with Sumeet Jarangal, MD, Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation (PSIEC) and apprised him of the various issue of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) here.
''CICU, highlighted the issues of industry such as bad condition of roads, sewerage cleaning, street light, garbage dumping etc,'' said Upkar Singh Ahuja, president, CICU.
This IIT Delhi alumnus is empowering farmers with her agritech startup
India’s agriculture sector, which employs more than half of India’s overall population, has been facing a crisis on many fronts. One of the many difficulties faced by the agriculture community is supplying the produce, especially fruits and vegetables, before it perishes. IIT Delhi graduate Anu Meena saw it all very closely and decided to solve it with her startup, AgroWave. Gurugram-based AgroWave optimises agriculture supply chain using research, analytics, and technology, and is currently working with thousands of farmers in India to get the right price, supply, and distribution network.
By offering safe and organic baby products, this startup clocked Rs 55 lakh revenue per month during COVID-19
Brothers Sumit Suneja and Siddharth Suneja faced a classic situation every time they travelled abroad. They were inundated with requests for baby products from friends and family as most parents wanted better quality products for their kids.
Sumit and Siddharth realised that Indian parents lacked a good brand they could trust for their little ones. To understand the market better, they launched Merlin First & Co. with the purpose of reselling renowned international baby product brands pan India.
National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has released All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Base 2012=100 and corresponding Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) for Rural (R), Urban (U) and Combined (C) for the month of November 2020 (Provisional)
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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For the industry to be competitive, it is imperative that they have access to competitively priced inputs whether it is finance or raw material / inputs. MSMEs have long been at the receiving end of bankers’ attitude. Increasingly, they are facing difficulties in accessing raw material also such as steel, aluminium, copper or polymers. Steel prices have increased by 50% in last six months. As much of the price hike is not in sync with global prices, Minister Nitin Gadkari had to issue a warning to steel producers against the collusive behaviour as it has rendered many infrastructure projects infructuous. There are same underlying features about all of the functioning of the raw material manufacturing: They are produced by a few large corporations, have high customs duties and even anti-dumping duties / safeguard duties and there are indications of their collusive behaviour. There is a need for the Government to intervene both institutionally- through Competition Commission of India, and also by reducing customs duties. The expensive raw inputs have made exports uncompetitive and would reflect in subdued exports performance of related sectors.
"
Small businesses are critical to local economic development, yet there are several barriers holding them back in the path to prosperity. As we adjust to changes forced upon us by the pandemic, it is critical that we work to bridge the gap in services and support systems available for these enterprises compared to those for larger corporations.
According to the National Bureau of Economic Development, “the number of active business owners in the United States plummeted by 3.3 million, or 22 percent, over the crucial two-month window from February to April 2020” alone.
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has notified bullion exchange regulations, an official statement said.
In the Union Budget 2020, Union Minister of Finance Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman had made an announcement for operationalising an international billion exchange at the International Financial Services Centre in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. Subsequently, the Government of India had notified the bullion spot delivery contract and bullion depository receipt (with bullion as underlying) as Financial Products and related services as Financial Services under the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Act, 2019.
Finance Minister has lauded concerted efforts resulting in higher procurement and payment of over Rs 21000 crore to MSMEs upto November.
Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the situation about payment to the MSMEs and expressed satisfaction and appreciation on the excellent work done by the Ministry of MSME. As part of Prime Minister of India’s vision the Finance Minister had announced Atma Nirbhar Bharat package in May, 2020, it was also stated that the MSME dues should be paid in 45 days.
Indian economy will be among the top economies in the world in the next few years using science, technology, and innovation in all sectors, bouncing back soon from the after effects of COVID 19, Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, Dr. Rajiv Kumar said at a webinar organized to celebrate 50 years of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) recently.
“Steps and reforms have been taken by the Government in all the sectors, like agriculture, modern medicine, traditional medicine, New Education Policy, Small & Medium Enterprises, labour sector and so on, to target being among the world’s top three economies,”
Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Nitin Gadkari has emphasized the need of more intensive use of bamboo resources of the country and the Northeast.
"Bamboo has a variety of uses in various fields like buildings and interiors, handicrafts, agarbatti making, garments, bio-fuel resource, etc," Gadkari said during a webinar on Thursday. "For industrial use bamboo yield should be 200 tonnes per acre against about 40 tonnes per acre in case of some varieties. The greater yield and wider bamboo usage will open up more employment generation especially in North East India," he added.
In a bid to facilitate Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) to raise funds in capital market, the central government will provide 15 per cent of the equity to successful MSMEs and those with a good record of GST and income tax and bank turnover, said MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari.
“Presently we are all facing the problem due to COVID-19. We need liquidity investment in MSME and investment in MSME is very attractive, hence we ruled out a soft loan of Rs 3 lakh crore,” Gadkari said at an event organised by The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) for the run-up to the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) Convention 2021 on Monday.
Government has exempted 'Handicraft, GI Toys' from quality control order, according to an official statement.
Taking steps towards the Prime Minister's vision of making India a global manufacturing hub for sale & exports of toys, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has devised a comprehensive action plan with steps being taken to boost production & sale of indigenous toys across the country. Quality Control order has been issued by the Department for standardization and quality adherence of Toys. The order will come into effect from 1st January, 2021. This order aims to bring forward the synergized efforts of the GoI, states and the stakeholders to promote ‘Team up for toys’ vision keeping quality standards of the indigenous toys as the priority.
The Odisha government has approved land allotment to 28 projects to be set up with an estimated investment of Rs 588 crore.
The projects requiring land are mostly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units from varied sectors like sea food processing, IT and ITES, automobiles, agro-food processing, tourism, light engineering, warehousing, seed processing and manufacturing. "These projects have been recommended by State Level Single Window Clearance Authority (SLSWCA), District Level Single Window Clearance Authority (DLSWCA) and different nodal agencies," media reports quoted IDCO CMD Sanjay Singh as saying.
Aiming to ensure livelihood opportunities for jobless youth and Self Help Groups (SHG) members of Goa, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has initiated Swayampurna Goem, a low cost polyhouses project.
COVID-19 pandemic has caused reverse migration in the State as many people, especially youth of Goa were left jobless and Goa with its tourism centric service sector economy, was no exception. Low cost polyhouses project initiated by NABARD came handy as it ensured livelihood opportunities for jobless. 10 such nurseries were sanctioned by NABARD to Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) covering five blocks of the State.
Chhattisgarh government has communicated its acceptance of Option-1 to meet the revenue shortfall arising out of GST implementation. The number of States who have favoured Option-1 has gone up to 27. All States except Jharkhand and all the 3 Union Territories with Legislative Assembly have decided in favour of Option-1, according to an official statement.
The States & Union Territories who choose Option-1 are getting the amount of shortfall arising out of GST implementation through a special borrowing window put in place by the Government of India.
India and Sweden should work together to build a more resilient & strong partnership, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Friday.
Speaking at the CEO Forum of India-Sweden strategic business partnership, he said that the year 2020 has been a challenging year, but let us convert this crisis into an opportunity. The minister said “We would like Sweden to be a part of our efforts to expand Indian economy, to reach higher level of prosperity & design an India suitable for global engagement in the modern 21st-century world. I am sure that the CEO forum & Sweden-India strategic business partnership will help us expand this friendship at every level & make Sweden an important part of India's own growing economy.”
The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), India and the Central Committee on Drug Abuse Control, Myanmar held the 5th India- Myanmar Bilateral Meeting on Drug Control Cooperation virtually on 10th December, 2020.
The Indian delegation was led by the Director General Narcotics Control Bureau, Rakesh Asthana, and the Myanmar delegation was led by the Commander of the Drug Enforcement Division (DED) cum Joint Secretary of the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, Pol. Brig. Gen. Win Naing. The Director General NCB, Rakesh Asthana, highlighted issues particularly the trafficking of Heroin and Amphetamine Type Stimulants (ATS) in the country. He said that high prevalence of drug abuse in the North Eastern States abutting the Myanmar border is a major cause of concern for India.
To boost defence sector export, a webinar between India and Australia was held today. The Theme of webinar was “Indian Defence Industry Global Outreach for Collaborative Partnership: Webinar and Expo”. It was organized under the aegis of Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence through SIDM.
This webinar is the part of the series of webinars which are being organized with friendly foreign countries in order to boost defence exports and achieve defence export target of $5 billion in the next five years.
According to FISME factor, 66.7% MSMEs think that farm bills passed in Sept will ensure a sustainable and profitable future for farming community while 33.3% think it will not. 
As straightforward as self-sabotaging may seem, for some it may be the unconscious that hinders their own growth and productivity at work. People getting in their own way by constantly goofing up, getting stuck in a war between the logical, conscious mind and their unconscious ‘judgements’ is typical of self-sabotaging behaviour.
Lindsay Manseau famously said, "Starting your own business is like riding a roller coaster. There are highs and lows and every turn you take is another twist. The lows are really low, but the highs can be really high. You have to be strong, keep your stomach tight and ride along with the roller coaster that you started."
2021 is going to be a year where more people will use the internet for their day-to-day needs. This isn’t just because of advancing technology, but mainly because of the pandemic. It has changed the way people live, how business works, and the habits of consumers who are actively shifting their preferences.
Chamber of Industrial & Commercial Undertakings (CICU) members held an interaction with Sumeet Jarangal, MD, Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation (PSIEC) and apprised him of the various issue of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) here.
''CICU, highlighted the issues of industry such as bad condition of roads, sewerage cleaning, street light, garbage dumping etc,'' said Upkar Singh Ahuja, president, CICU.
India’s agriculture sector, which employs more than half of India’s overall population, has been facing a crisis on many fronts. One of the many difficulties faced by the agriculture community is supplying the produce, especially fruits and vegetables, before it perishes. IIT Delhi graduate Anu Meena saw it all very closely and decided to solve it with her startup, AgroWave. Gurugram-based AgroWave optimises agriculture supply chain using research, analytics, and technology, and is currently working with thousands of farmers in India to get the right price, supply, and distribution network.
Brothers Sumit Suneja and Siddharth Suneja faced a classic situation every time they travelled abroad. They were inundated with requests for baby products from friends and family as most parents wanted better quality products for their kids.
Sumit and Siddharth realised that Indian parents lacked a good brand they could trust for their little ones. To understand the market better, they launched Merlin First & Co. with the purpose of reselling renowned international baby product brands pan India.
“ Time is like river. You can’t touch the same water twice, because the flow that has passed will never pass again.
”
