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President's Message
" Prof. Bibek Debroy- presently Member Niti Aayog, wrote in his seminal work ‘Small Scale Industry in India: Large Scale Exit problems’ that “Post 1991, attention has been paid in India to legal constraints inhibiting entry. Much less attention has been paid to legal constraints inhibiting functioning. And so far as exit is concerned, no attention has been whatsoever and this argument is stronger if one focuses small scale enterprises alone.” FISME singularly waged the battle for over a decade in keeping the issue alive before successive governments. (We even presented a draft legislation to the Ministry of MSME in this regard). All these efforts seem to have born some fruit and NDA government established a committee under Chairmanship of former Law Secretary Mr. T.K. Vishwanathan to examine the issue in detail and suggest remedial measures. The committee has presented its report recently. For the first time, the report proposes some remedies for MSMEs too. Now the ball is in our court. We must study the provisions thoroughly and suggest amendments before it is promulgated into Law. This issue of FISME Factor contains links to the report. I urge all of you to study the provisions and send your comments to FISME.
"
Report on Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee (BLRC)
The NDA government had established a committee under Chairmanship of former Law Secretary Mr.
T.K. Vishwanathan to introduce Bankruptcy law in India. Its interim report focused bankruptcy issues of corporate sector. However, now a comprehensive draft report has been submitted to the Government in two volumes.
FISME intends to develop a Policy Paper and submit to the Government later this year after consulting MMSEs and the experts. Kindly send your views to: debashis@fisme.org.in
A delegation of senior office bearers of FISME led by Shri Anil Aggarwal- Sr. Vice President FISME met Shri Jayant Sinha, in his office at North Block on 3rd November, 2015. The purpose of the meeting was to bring to the Minister’s notice the hurdles in access to finance and credit by the MSMEs. During the meeting the delegation mentioned specific cases where Banks are asking for additional collaterals and putting additional conditionalities on the existing MSME accounts, which are good and free from default. It was also questioned how the Make in India dream of the Prime Minister will be fulfilled when it has become nearly impossible for a new manufacturing MSME to get Bank finance. The delegation which also included Shri Dinesh Singhal (Past president), Shri Chander Shekhar Goel (Vice President) and Shri Pankaj Bansal (treasurer), also brought to the Minister’s notice the failure of the present public procurement system to ensure quality and cost effective supplies to the Government.
Making workers feel valued has always been a primary concern for Chowgirls’ Brown, who was paid handsomely by the multinational media company that employed her for nine years before she turned her full attention to catering. “Being treated and compensated well and receiving great benefits taught me how important that is for staff loyalty,” she says.
Two apparently unrelated events — a sharp fall in factory output growth and a spike in consumer price inflation —point to deep problems underlying the economy.
September industry growth fell to 3.6%, the lowest in four months. Meanwhile, the consumer price index (CPI) went up to 5% in October, higher than the consensus estimate of 4.8%, headed north for the third successive month.
Industrial growth came in below expectations in September and higher food prices pushed consumer inflation to a four-month high, marking a twin setback for the economy and dampening hopes of a rate cut next month.
Industrial output growth slowed to 3.6 per cent in September, the lowest in four months and down sharply from an almost threeyear high of 6.3 per cent in August, data released on Thursday showed. The consensus estimate was growth of 4.5 per cent.
Over 4,660 tonnes of pulses out of total 1.33 lakh tonnes seized from hoarders in raids across India have been offloaded in the open market in five states that will help boost availability and bring down dal prices.
The prices of lentils are continuing to rule higher up to Rs 190 per kg in most retail markets despite several measures taken by the government including action against hoarders, stock holding limits on traders and importers among others.
India’s industrial output grew at a slower-than-expected pace of 3.6 per cent in September compared to nearly three-year high of 6.3 per cent in August, government data showed on Thursday.
IIP for August was revised to 6.3 per cent from 6.4 per cent.
IIP was at 4 per cent in the April-September period against 2.9 percent in the year-ago period, the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Thursday showed.
The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 percent of the index, grew by 2.6 percent in September, 2015 against 2.7 percent in the same month last year.
With the view to investment environment and to bring in foreign investments in the country, the Government on Tuesday announced reforms in foreign direct investment (FDI) across sectors such as cash and carry wholesale trading / wholesale trading (including sourcing from MSEs), manufacturing Sector, agriculture, mining, defence, broadcasting, civil aviation, single-brand retail and private sector banking.
“The crux of these reforms is to further ease, rationalise and simplify the process of foreign investments in the country, and to put more FDI proposals on automatic route instead of Government route,” the statement said.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) platforms still lack liquidity and institutional participation. Three years ago, exchanges had started the platforms, for SMEs to list on them.
"Institutional investors do not mostly go for small transactions," Uday Patil, director, investment banking, Keynote Corporate Services, said.
G Ganesh, founder, Inga Capital, said, "It is an extremely shallow market. There is no genuine buying and selling on the platform. The stocks are traded among a select group, mostly promoters. You cannot get in and out at will."
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed domestic carriers to roll out "zero bag" fares and charge penalty against check-in baggage for tickets booked under such an offer.
At present all domestic private airlines except national carrier Air India allow a flyer to carry up to 15 kgs of check-in baggage without any cost.
"Airlines are allowed to offer no check-in baggage/hand baggage only fare scheme subject to the condition that the penalty to be imposed on a passenger, who avails such schemes but turns up with baggage for check-in at airline counter, cannot exceed the amount of incentive offered compared to lowest fare," Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in its updated Air Transport Circular for unbundling of services.
Women of India exhibition with the theme ‘Women and Organic Products’ to be held from November 13 to 23 here at Dilli Haat, INA will involve sale and exhibition of organic products. These include eco-friendly products mainly created by various women’s groups and women entrepreneurs from Delhi, NCR and all states of India, particularly the rural areas.
“For the first time in India, over 500 women artisans and entrepreneurs across the country from Leh to Kanyakumari and from Kohima to Kutch, will come together with their organic products, such as tribal and ethnic foods, pickles and preserves, rice, pulses, spices, vegetables and fruits, fabrics, dyes and dresses, cosmetics and household products, during the exhibition,” the Ministry of Women and Child Development said in a release.
There is a need for separate incubators to help the manufacturing SME sector innovate, according to the recommendations made by the expert committee set up by the Niti Aayog on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The report also said that the one-size-fits-all approach does not work when it comes to incubation.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget Speech 2015-16, announced the Government’ s intention to establish the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in NITI and stated that initially a sum of Rs. 150 crores would be earmarked for this purpose.
Industrial growth fell to a four-month low of 3.6 per cent in September, against the 6.2 per cent in August, because of deceleration in manufacturing and mining activities, according to official data released on Thursday.
Electricity generation, however, registered a double-digit growth.
In September 2014, industrial growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), was 2.6 per cent.
The growth rose to four per cent in the first half of the current financial year against 2.9 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Self attestation of papers will soon be allowed in Delhi to avail various services after the Delhi cabinet chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal recently decided to replace the requirement of attestation by gazetted officers by self-certification by the citizens.
The new practice will come into effect from December 1 covering areas such as “income, marriage, caste, domicile, disability, driving registration or correction of birth or death certificates.”
Under the self-certification method, the original documents are required to be produced at the final stage. In case of false self-certification, the person can be booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on his visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday announced a development package of Rs 80,000 crores for the state.
The prime minister said his government worked for ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas,’ and therefore it is essential for development to reach all parts of the country.
Jammu and Kashmir should return once again to the days when people from all parts of India saved money to visit the state. Besides tourism, attention was being given to sectors such as pashmina, and saffron, said Modi.
In his address at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar, he recalled former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's message of Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat.
The national handloom expo organised by the Nagaland Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd is going on in the city. The 14 days handloom expo, which started on Tuesday, is sponsored by Development Commissioner (handlooms) of Union Ministry of Textiles.
During the inaugural programme, Parliamentary Secretary Industries and Commerce, Amenba Yaden said that such exhibitions not only aim to promote sales of handloom product but also to preserve, protect and promote the age old weaving heritage of the country.
He said such handloom expos are platforms where handloom societies and weavers converge together to form a platform where they can market their products besides sensitising the customers about the latest designs and varieties of handloom and textiles products within and outside Nagaland.
Odisha will be taking part as a partner state in the five-day India Sourcing Fair starting at Colombo, Sri Lanka, on December 8 to display products and showcase the activities of handlooms, textiles and handicrafts, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and tourism departments.
Textiles secretary Chithra Arumugum said this at a seminar organised by the Kalinga-Lanka Foundation, a non-government and non-profit organisation, here on Saturday.
Three people from Boyanika, a state-owned leading exporter and manufacturer of handlooms, would also take part, she added.
Tamil Nadu government is planning to address severe the water supply problem in urban areas of the state under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). In this context, it has submitted an annual Action Plan for 2015-16 under Atal Mission with a project expenditure outlay of Rs 3,249 crore to the Ministry of Urban Development.
In the State Annual Action Plan for 2015-16 under AMRUT, the state government said “Cities are facing crucial issues of water supply in terms of insufficient source and no proper coverage of water supply connections in urban areas and accordingly has accorded priority for water supply projects in AMRUT Mission cities during 2015-16”.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has invited the industry captains of the state to participate in the Bengal Global Business Summit to be held in January 8 and 9, 2016.
She said this during the annual Bijoya Sammilani where the West Bengal Chief Minister also urged the foreign investors to invest in the State. The Chief Minister, on her visit to UK and Bhutan had already invited the industrialists to attend the Business Summit.
The 2015 Global Business Summit was a huge success. The proposed investment was of a mind-boggling Rs 2.43 lakh crore. Also, investments were not only sought and received for brick-and-mortar industries but for the crucial human resource development sector. The two-day event drew nearly a 1000 delegates, from across India and 20 other countries.
Since India does not seek an alliance with the US, a leading US think tank has suggested a 'joint-venture' model for US-India relations focused on shared pursuits and converging interests.
"A rising India offers one of the most substantial opportunities to advance American national interests over the next two decades," asserts a new Independent Task Force report sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Rebounding from a recent economic growth slump, India has surpassed China this year to become the world's fastest-growing major economy, noted the report titled 'Working With a Rising India: A Joint Venture for the New Century."
A high level Chinese delegation is visiting Ahmedabad on November 18, 2015 to meet members of India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) and members of China India Trade and Investment Centre (CITIC).
The purpose of meeting companies in Gujarat is to promote trade, investment, technology transfer, research, innovations, joint ventures and foreign collaborations in low cost housing, waste water treatment, river cleaning, infrastructure development, railway projects, smart cities and urban transport. It will also discuss the export of import of many products which is already taking place between Gujarat and Guangdong.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart David Cameron on Thursday agreed that the finance ministers of the two nations would hold dialogue on deepening the bilateral trade between the two nations.
They also shared their concern on the falling global economic growth and increased risks to the global outlook while welcoming the strengthening of business ties between the two nations, a joint statement said.
Do you agree with The World Bank Saying that It Has Become Easier to Do Business in India under Narendra Modi Govt. ?
According to the FISME Factor, 77 percent of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) agree that it has become easier to do business in India under Narendra Modi Govt while only 7.7 percent think otherwise.
Culture: The invisible, visible factor of entrepreneurship
I often find myself in conversations where pros and cons of entrepreneurship are being discussed. I tend to be among the ones advocating the pros. There are many benefits of becoming an entrepreneur- opportunities to build products, opportunities to influence lives, generate employment and potential of wealth and fame.
However, one benefit that almost every entrepreneur gets is that starting up process leaves you much wiser! The way you observe things, the way you arrive at a solution, the way you create something will be entirely new. This then leads us to the question - once you have an idea, what shape do you give your startup and how do you build on it?
I received an email from a former student a couple of weeks ago requesting for a meeting. He had founded a start-up and wanted to discuss the funding proposal for his early-stage venture. It is a joy to meet former students, particularly when one has ventured on an un-trodden path.
Over a cup of tea, he quickly told me that some investors have expressed interest in funding his venture and he wanted to know whether the valuation they had arrived at and the shareholding they are seeking were appropriate. If not anything else, he at least wanted to ensure that he was not making any mistake by accepting the proposal.
The term Internet of Things (IoT) has the caught the imagination of the technology and automation companies. IoT is used to describe intelligent devices that can be networked to communicate data/information so as to enhance collaboration among all networked entities. IoT devices, when embedded in a physical entity, can capture and analyze data relating to the physical entity, generate relevant information, and share the same with other networked devices. They also can perform other assigned functions. Such intelligent devices when applied in industries, such as automotive or electric power and others, are referred to as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Potentially, they can contribute to enhancing performance.
Ease of doing business: Setting up ecommerce shop not a click away
Few sectors in India in recent months have witnessed the kind of heavy-duty action and the inevitable, accompanying, hype as ecommerce. Hardly a day goes by without a deal being announced or a startup being created. Indeed, more than 1,000 new businesses have sprouted and Rs 70,000 crore in risk money has been pumped into apps and websites. All this in just the last five years. There is talk that India finally has not one but three cities — Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurgaon — akin to Silicon Valley.
There are three key factors that have created the right conditions for a start-up boom in India:
> There is huge, latent demand; an intensive need for disruptive, low cost solutions that can reach the masses, in order to meet challenges on many fronts - education, health care, water, and agriculture to name just a few. Start-ups are designed to create disruptive solutions.
NRI startup guru Munjal Shah survived dotcom, health scare to script a success story
Munjal Shah was as angry as he was scared--maybe more angry than scared. An unusual mixture of emotions for someone who'd just sold his company to Google for more than $100 million the previous day.
In the middle of pounding his way through a 10 km race in San Francisco, Shah developed severe chest pains and had to be rushed to the emergency room.
"I was like--Oh my god, all my life I've been wanting to get to this milestone of success and now I'm going to die? This sucks," he recalls telling himself in the ER.
The Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, has released the Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2004-05 for the month of September 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.
send mail to: newsletter@fisme.org.in
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This Newsletter is edited by the FISME Secretariat. We welcome contributions as well as comments and suggestions. Please write to newsletter@fisme.org.in
" Prof. Bibek Debroy- presently Member Niti Aayog, wrote in his seminal work ‘Small Scale Industry in India: Large Scale Exit problems’ that “Post 1991, attention has been paid in India to legal constraints inhibiting entry. Much less attention has been paid to legal constraints inhibiting functioning. And so far as exit is concerned, no attention has been whatsoever and this argument is stronger if one focuses small scale enterprises alone.” FISME singularly waged the battle for over a decade in keeping the issue alive before successive governments. (We even presented a draft legislation to the Ministry of MSME in this regard). All these efforts seem to have born some fruit and NDA government established a committee under Chairmanship of former Law Secretary Mr. T.K. Vishwanathan to examine the issue in detail and suggest remedial measures. The committee has presented its report recently. For the first time, the report proposes some remedies for MSMEs too. Now the ball is in our court. We must study the provisions thoroughly and suggest amendments before it is promulgated into Law. This issue of FISME Factor contains links to the report. I urge all of you to study the provisions and send your comments to FISME.
"
A delegation of senior office bearers of FISME led by Shri Anil Aggarwal- Sr. Vice President FISME met Shri Jayant Sinha, in his office at North Block on 3rd November, 2015. The purpose of the meeting was to bring to the Minister’s notice the hurdles in access to finance and credit by the MSMEs. During the meeting the delegation mentioned specific cases where Banks are asking for additional collaterals and putting additional conditionalities on the existing MSME accounts, which are good and free from default. It was also questioned how the Make in India dream of the Prime Minister will be fulfilled when it has become nearly impossible for a new manufacturing MSME to get Bank finance. The delegation which also included Shri Dinesh Singhal (Past president), Shri Chander Shekhar Goel (Vice President) and Shri Pankaj Bansal (treasurer), also brought to the Minister’s notice the failure of the present public procurement system to ensure quality and cost effective supplies to the Government.
Making workers feel valued has always been a primary concern for Chowgirls’ Brown, who was paid handsomely by the multinational media company that employed her for nine years before she turned her full attention to catering. “Being treated and compensated well and receiving great benefits taught me how important that is for staff loyalty,” she says.
Industrial growth came in below expectations in September and higher food prices pushed consumer inflation to a four-month high, marking a twin setback for the economy and dampening hopes of a rate cut next month.
Industrial output growth slowed to 3.6 per cent in September, the lowest in four months and down sharply from an almost threeyear high of 6.3 per cent in August, data released on Thursday showed. The consensus estimate was growth of 4.5 per cent.
Over 4,660 tonnes of pulses out of total 1.33 lakh tonnes seized from hoarders in raids across India have been offloaded in the open market in five states that will help boost availability and bring down dal prices.
The prices of lentils are continuing to rule higher up to Rs 190 per kg in most retail markets despite several measures taken by the government including action against hoarders, stock holding limits on traders and importers among others.
India’s industrial output grew at a slower-than-expected pace of 3.6 per cent in September compared to nearly three-year high of 6.3 per cent in August, government data showed on Thursday.
IIP for August was revised to 6.3 per cent from 6.4 per cent.
IIP was at 4 per cent in the April-September period against 2.9 percent in the year-ago period, the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Thursday showed.
The manufacturing sector, which constitutes over 75 percent of the index, grew by 2.6 percent in September, 2015 against 2.7 percent in the same month last year.
With the view to investment environment and to bring in foreign investments in the country, the Government on Tuesday announced reforms in foreign direct investment (FDI) across sectors such as cash and carry wholesale trading / wholesale trading (including sourcing from MSEs), manufacturing Sector, agriculture, mining, defence, broadcasting, civil aviation, single-brand retail and private sector banking.
“The crux of these reforms is to further ease, rationalise and simplify the process of foreign investments in the country, and to put more FDI proposals on automatic route instead of Government route,” the statement said.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) platforms still lack liquidity and institutional participation. Three years ago, exchanges had started the platforms, for SMEs to list on them.
"Institutional investors do not mostly go for small transactions," Uday Patil, director, investment banking, Keynote Corporate Services, said.
G Ganesh, founder, Inga Capital, said, "It is an extremely shallow market. There is no genuine buying and selling on the platform. The stocks are traded among a select group, mostly promoters. You cannot get in and out at will."
Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed domestic carriers to roll out "zero bag" fares and charge penalty against check-in baggage for tickets booked under such an offer.
At present all domestic private airlines except national carrier Air India allow a flyer to carry up to 15 kgs of check-in baggage without any cost.
"Airlines are allowed to offer no check-in baggage/hand baggage only fare scheme subject to the condition that the penalty to be imposed on a passenger, who avails such schemes but turns up with baggage for check-in at airline counter, cannot exceed the amount of incentive offered compared to lowest fare," Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in its updated Air Transport Circular for unbundling of services.
Women of India exhibition with the theme ‘Women and Organic Products’ to be held from November 13 to 23 here at Dilli Haat, INA will involve sale and exhibition of organic products. These include eco-friendly products mainly created by various women’s groups and women entrepreneurs from Delhi, NCR and all states of India, particularly the rural areas.
“For the first time in India, over 500 women artisans and entrepreneurs across the country from Leh to Kanyakumari and from Kohima to Kutch, will come together with their organic products, such as tribal and ethnic foods, pickles and preserves, rice, pulses, spices, vegetables and fruits, fabrics, dyes and dresses, cosmetics and household products, during the exhibition,” the Ministry of Women and Child Development said in a release.
There is a need for separate incubators to help the manufacturing SME sector innovate, according to the recommendations made by the expert committee set up by the Niti Aayog on Innovation and Entrepreneurship. The report also said that the one-size-fits-all approach does not work when it comes to incubation.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget Speech 2015-16, announced the Government’ s intention to establish the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in NITI and stated that initially a sum of Rs. 150 crores would be earmarked for this purpose.
Industrial growth fell to a four-month low of 3.6 per cent in September, against the 6.2 per cent in August, because of deceleration in manufacturing and mining activities, according to official data released on Thursday.
Electricity generation, however, registered a double-digit growth.
In September 2014, industrial growth, as measured by the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), was 2.6 per cent.
The growth rose to four per cent in the first half of the current financial year against 2.9 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
Self attestation of papers will soon be allowed in Delhi to avail various services after the Delhi cabinet chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal recently decided to replace the requirement of attestation by gazetted officers by self-certification by the citizens.
The new practice will come into effect from December 1 covering areas such as “income, marriage, caste, domicile, disability, driving registration or correction of birth or death certificates.”
Under the self-certification method, the original documents are required to be produced at the final stage. In case of false self-certification, the person can be booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on his visit to Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday announced a development package of Rs 80,000 crores for the state.
The prime minister said his government worked for ‘Sabka saath, sabka vikas,’ and therefore it is essential for development to reach all parts of the country.
Jammu and Kashmir should return once again to the days when people from all parts of India saved money to visit the state. Besides tourism, attention was being given to sectors such as pashmina, and saffron, said Modi.
In his address at the Sher-e-Kashmir stadium in Srinagar, he recalled former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's message of Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat, Insaniyat.
The national handloom expo organised by the Nagaland Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd is going on in the city. The 14 days handloom expo, which started on Tuesday, is sponsored by Development Commissioner (handlooms) of Union Ministry of Textiles.
During the inaugural programme, Parliamentary Secretary Industries and Commerce, Amenba Yaden said that such exhibitions not only aim to promote sales of handloom product but also to preserve, protect and promote the age old weaving heritage of the country.
He said such handloom expos are platforms where handloom societies and weavers converge together to form a platform where they can market their products besides sensitising the customers about the latest designs and varieties of handloom and textiles products within and outside Nagaland.
Odisha will be taking part as a partner state in the five-day India Sourcing Fair starting at Colombo, Sri Lanka, on December 8 to display products and showcase the activities of handlooms, textiles and handicrafts, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and tourism departments.
Textiles secretary Chithra Arumugum said this at a seminar organised by the Kalinga-Lanka Foundation, a non-government and non-profit organisation, here on Saturday.
Three people from Boyanika, a state-owned leading exporter and manufacturer of handlooms, would also take part, she added.
Tamil Nadu government is planning to address severe the water supply problem in urban areas of the state under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). In this context, it has submitted an annual Action Plan for 2015-16 under Atal Mission with a project expenditure outlay of Rs 3,249 crore to the Ministry of Urban Development.
In the State Annual Action Plan for 2015-16 under AMRUT, the state government said “Cities are facing crucial issues of water supply in terms of insufficient source and no proper coverage of water supply connections in urban areas and accordingly has accorded priority for water supply projects in AMRUT Mission cities during 2015-16”.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has invited the industry captains of the state to participate in the Bengal Global Business Summit to be held in January 8 and 9, 2016.
She said this during the annual Bijoya Sammilani where the West Bengal Chief Minister also urged the foreign investors to invest in the State. The Chief Minister, on her visit to UK and Bhutan had already invited the industrialists to attend the Business Summit.
The 2015 Global Business Summit was a huge success. The proposed investment was of a mind-boggling Rs 2.43 lakh crore. Also, investments were not only sought and received for brick-and-mortar industries but for the crucial human resource development sector. The two-day event drew nearly a 1000 delegates, from across India and 20 other countries.
Since India does not seek an alliance with the US, a leading US think tank has suggested a 'joint-venture' model for US-India relations focused on shared pursuits and converging interests.
"A rising India offers one of the most substantial opportunities to advance American national interests over the next two decades," asserts a new Independent Task Force report sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Rebounding from a recent economic growth slump, India has surpassed China this year to become the world's fastest-growing major economy, noted the report titled 'Working With a Rising India: A Joint Venture for the New Century."
A high level Chinese delegation is visiting Ahmedabad on November 18, 2015 to meet members of India China Economic and Cultural Council (ICEC) and members of China India Trade and Investment Centre (CITIC).
The purpose of meeting companies in Gujarat is to promote trade, investment, technology transfer, research, innovations, joint ventures and foreign collaborations in low cost housing, waste water treatment, river cleaning, infrastructure development, railway projects, smart cities and urban transport. It will also discuss the export of import of many products which is already taking place between Gujarat and Guangdong.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart David Cameron on Thursday agreed that the finance ministers of the two nations would hold dialogue on deepening the bilateral trade between the two nations.
They also shared their concern on the falling global economic growth and increased risks to the global outlook while welcoming the strengthening of business ties between the two nations, a joint statement said.
Turkey's G20 presidency is planning to address issues related to low income developing countries (LIDCs) and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as cross cutting themes to be taken up under G20 work stream. The priority areas include inclusiveness, implementation and investment for growth among others.
“As the 2015 G20 president, Turkey, aims to develop policies to better integrate disadvantaged groups such as women and youth into the economy, reduce inequality and promote integration of SMEs and LIDCs, into the global economy,” said a statement.
India signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with six countries namely Finland, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Sweden, Norwayand Denmark, Oman and Ethiopia; “Agreed Minutes” with Serbia, Greece, European Commission and “Record of Discussions” with Brunei Darussalam and Qatar. The MoU aims at enhancing the international air connectivity from India and offer passengers wider choice and seamless connectivity.
According to the FISME Factor, 77 percent of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) agree that it has become easier to do business in India under Narendra Modi Govt while only 7.7 percent think otherwise.
I often find myself in conversations where pros and cons of entrepreneurship are being discussed. I tend to be among the ones advocating the pros. There are many benefits of becoming an entrepreneur- opportunities to build products, opportunities to influence lives, generate employment and potential of wealth and fame.
However, one benefit that almost every entrepreneur gets is that starting up process leaves you much wiser! The way you observe things, the way you arrive at a solution, the way you create something will be entirely new. This then leads us to the question - once you have an idea, what shape do you give your startup and how do you build on it?
I received an email from a former student a couple of weeks ago requesting for a meeting. He had founded a start-up and wanted to discuss the funding proposal for his early-stage venture. It is a joy to meet former students, particularly when one has ventured on an un-trodden path.
Over a cup of tea, he quickly told me that some investors have expressed interest in funding his venture and he wanted to know whether the valuation they had arrived at and the shareholding they are seeking were appropriate. If not anything else, he at least wanted to ensure that he was not making any mistake by accepting the proposal.
The term Internet of Things (IoT) has the caught the imagination of the technology and automation companies. IoT is used to describe intelligent devices that can be networked to communicate data/information so as to enhance collaboration among all networked entities. IoT devices, when embedded in a physical entity, can capture and analyze data relating to the physical entity, generate relevant information, and share the same with other networked devices. They also can perform other assigned functions. Such intelligent devices when applied in industries, such as automotive or electric power and others, are referred to as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Potentially, they can contribute to enhancing performance.
Few sectors in India in recent months have witnessed the kind of heavy-duty action and the inevitable, accompanying, hype as ecommerce. Hardly a day goes by without a deal being announced or a startup being created. Indeed, more than 1,000 new businesses have sprouted and Rs 70,000 crore in risk money has been pumped into apps and websites. All this in just the last five years. There is talk that India finally has not one but three cities — Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Gurgaon — akin to Silicon Valley.
There are three key factors that have created the right conditions for a start-up boom in India:
> There is huge, latent demand; an intensive need for disruptive, low cost solutions that can reach the masses, in order to meet challenges on many fronts - education, health care, water, and agriculture to name just a few. Start-ups are designed to create disruptive solutions.
Munjal Shah was as angry as he was scared--maybe more angry than scared. An unusual mixture of emotions for someone who'd just sold his company to Google for more than $100 million the previous day.
In the middle of pounding his way through a 10 km race in San Francisco, Shah developed severe chest pains and had to be rushed to the emergency room.
"I was like--Oh my god, all my life I've been wanting to get to this milestone of success and now I'm going to die? This sucks," he recalls telling himself in the ER.
“ We are really competing against ourselves, we have no control over how other people perform. ”
