"
A couple of measures announced by the Prime Minister of India to improve administration of labour laws on 16th Oct 2014 are indeed welcome. The existing dispensation leaves both the employer and the employees worse off. Hopefully, the new internet enabled inspection system and the proposed Small Factories Act (2014) may relieve industries of some pain. A lot more is needed to be done though. Manufacturing is losing attraction at such a fast pace in the country that if Governments are not ready to walk the extra mile to ease life of manufacturers, there would be nothing much left to inspect about. "
The Cyclone Hudhud had pounded several districts of Andhra and Odisha last week. While the advance warning and well planned evacuations have greatly minimized loss of human life, the cyclone has inflicted substantial damage to industrial and other infrastructural assets. A large number of MSMEs have been affected too. Let me appeal to the authorities, bankers and other people concerned that they should lend their full support to such enterprises in overcoming the period of trial. There is an urgent need to announce a rehabilitation package for affected MSMEs.
In order to explore the potential for the Indian small and medium entrepreneurs in the Taiwan market, industry body Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) led a business delegation to Taiwan.
FISME, which has a network of more than 700 associations, led the business delegation to Taiwan from September 25-30.
The main objectives of the visit was to interact and network with the Taiwanese companies participating in the 14th Edition of Tapei Plas 2014, an international show for plastics and rubber industry, visit factory and industrial park visits; one-to-one business meetings and market visits.
Joint Secretary of FISME, Mukesh Kalra, who led the delegation said, “The delegation was led with the view to interact with the Taiwanese companies to explore opportunities for collaboration and investment.”
“We visited the factories and industrial parks to get a better understanding of the technology and skills of the Taiwanese industries. We also held B2B meeting and visited the local markets to explore the potential for exports from India,” he added.
FISME organised ‘Profit Mantras for Businesses’- yet another programme in a nationwide series of workshops for bringing in practical wisdom to entrepreneurs on 9th October 2014 in Jaipur in association with FORE (Jaipur).
Mr. Rajiv Arora, President of FORE, welcomed delegates followed by the opening remarks by Central Executive Committee Member, FISME, Mr. Adarsh Mahipal Gupta.
Mr. Ashish Agarwal, Zonal Manager, Hewlett-Packard India shared his thoughts on ‘New Style of Information Technology’, while Mr. Vidyasagar Baliyara of Google India spoke about ‘Digital Marketing’. Mr. Sunil Goyal, S.R. Goyal & Company apprised the gathering on ‘Corporate e-governance’ followed by Mr. D.S. Bhandari, Executive Director, R. K. Chemicals & Director, Aalishan Petro Products Ltd. on Mantras for Profitability.
This article highlights the characteristics of an early-stage company entrepreneur in 11 shades. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”- Winston Churchill. Do you have what it takes to make a complete colourful journey of entrepreneurship? There are many more shades which I will share in my future articles. These 11 shades are good to begin for assessment’s sake.
The Central government proposes to roll out the new policy for the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector in the next 30 days, according to Kalraj Mishra, the Union minister for MSMEs. Until now the sector has been governed by the industrial policy in force, and does not have a policy of its own.
"As per stipulation of the new policy, the general procedures as well as procurement procedures would be vastly simplified and all clearances for setting up of micro and small businesses would be accorded online within a fixed period of 15 days," Mishra said at a function in New Delhi, without elaborating further.
Two months after it blocked an international agreement on easing trade regulations, India has initiated measures to reform customs procedures and cut red tape to speed up international trade.
The government has decided to set up a national committee on trade facilitation, which will suggest and implement measurers to ensure seamless movement of cargo by addressing constraints like high transaction costs and poor infrastructure.
"The national committee on trade facilitation will be put in place soon, which will have representation from 7-8 departments. It will look after all aspects of trade facilitation," a senior commerce department official told ET on condition of anonymity. "India is not against trade facilitation. We are expeditiously working towards it."
At British India Corporation's textile factory in Kanpur, four men sit in a control room watching computerised gauges eight hours a day. When they are done, another group takes over, and then another, for 24 hours a day - much as they might at any major industrial plant.
The problem is, nothing is produced there.
The strange tale of British India Corporation is an example of how political patronage and strict labour laws keep publicly owned companies going long after they are insolvent.
Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who campaigned in this year's general election on a promise of "minimum government, maximum governance", is preparing to invest more taxpayer money in ailing state-owned factories in a bid to turn them around.
Domestic steel makers, who are facing subdued off-take, have something to cheer about now as a premier global industry association has projected India’s steel demand to grow at 3.4 per cent during the current year.
World Steel Association (WSA), in its short-range demand outlook, has pegged demand growth for the next year even higher at six per cent, a significant rise as compared to 1.8 per cent in 2013.
“India’s outlook is improving following the election of a new government which is promising pro-business reforms. In 2014, India’s steel demand is expected to grow by 3.4 per cent to 76.2 million tonnes in 2014, following a growth of 1.8 per cent in 2013,” WSA said today.
India may become the largest exporter of rice next year amid higher demand anticipated from African and Middle East countries and competitive prices.
"In calendar year 2015, India should emerge as the largest exporter of rice — both basmati and non-basmati. From 4 million tonnes of annual export of non-basmati rice, we should be able to export 7 million tonnes," said BV Krishna Rao, managing director of Pattabhi Agro Foods, the country's biggest exporter of non-basmati rice.
Rao said basmati and non-basmati rice exports should be 10-11 million tonnes, a level last seen in 2012.
The government plans to review its decision to adopt a simple, transparent revenue-sharing system for oil and gas fields in place of the controversial regime that allows explorers to recover their costs before sharing oil and gas revenues with the state.
The oil ministry wanted a system which does not require hands-on bureaucratic supervision and rules out allegations of "gold plating" costs because the government would get a specified revenue irrespective of the amount of money spent on developing the field. But exploration companies find the existing system lucrative, and have been mounting pressure on the government to stick to the current regime, sources said.
Despite the optimist mood of consumers during the festive season, the industrial production growth remained subdued at five-month low of 0.4 per cent in August calling for bold reforms in the business regulatory environment.
Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth remained slow in August mainly due to contraction in manufacturing output and lower offtake of consumer goods.
The index had also grown at a meagre rate of 0.4 per cent in August, 2013.
IIP for July was also revised downwards to 0.41 per cent from the provisional estimates of 0.5 per cent released last month, according to the data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday.
India's engineering exports to three of its neighbours, including Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, witnessed top of the line growth in April-August, with South Asia emerging as an important market for the country's shipments, according to EEPC India.
The three countries in South Asia are in the top 25 destinations of India's engineering exports with Sri Lanka occupying the coveted number three position preceded by the US and UAE between April-August this year.
"South Asia, with the exception of Pakistan, is emerging as an important market for Indian exports. Significantly, these markets are now giving us volume and scale in valuation as well despite these economies being small," engineering exporters' body EEPC India Chairman Anupam Shah said.
The Reserve Bank may consider raising interest rates to bring down the persistently high inflation on a durable basis, suggested IMF working paper.
“Given elevated and persistent inflation,... the RBI may also need to raise rates to tackle inflation durably, particularly if faced with a persistent and sizable supply— side food price shock putting pressure on broad-based inflation,” said the paper titled — ‘Food inflation in India: The role for monetary policy’
Food and fuel inflation in India has remained high for several years, the paper said adding to durably reduce the current high inflation, the monetary policy stance needs to remain tight for a considerable length of time.
In order to improve financial inclusion in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the country, the MSME Ministry is working towards ensuring that the micro and small units get loans from the Public Sector Banks at the base interest rate.
According to a media report, Union MSME Minister, Kalraj Mishra met senior officials of banking and financial institutions for early decision on the matter, which would be duly endorsed subsequently by the Reserve Bank of India, the finance ministry and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
MSMEs across the country need capital at relaxed rates of interest to run their enterprises and cater to the needs of their larger counterparts as well as contribute substantially to India's manufacturing and external engagements, according to Mishra.
Barely 32 out of 277 Public Sector Units have complied with the mandatory 20 per cent procurement from the MSME sector, Union MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra has said.
Speaking at the 11th edition of Global SME Business Summit 2014 here yesterday, the Minister also said that the government would ensure that all the PSUs procure 20 per cent of goods form MSMEs.
"As far as procurement policy is concerned, only 32 PSUs have complied with the 20 per cent mandatory procurement out of 277 PSUs," said Mishra, as quoted in a media report.
The government is looking at amending public procurement policy to incorporate provisions against PSUs who fail to meet the mandatory at least 20 per cent procurement by April 2015.
To provide a fillip to the economy of the state, the Government of Madhya Pradesh is creating a new ministry for MSMEs towards transforming its economy from an agriculture-based to an industrial one.
“MSMEs are bigger employers of local talent and critical to inclusive and balanced growth of any country. Therefore, we will facilitate the creation of a new ministry for the MSME sector,” said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Global Investors Summit in Indore.
Laying the ground work for the sector, he announced a host of initiatives to facilitate faster growth for the sector. He urged MSME players to create products and services of quality.
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh has said that shawls produced in that state should have patent rights as the hand-woven products have a unique identity and pattern which should not be replicated by other power loom industries in the country.
Addressing members of Bhuttico Weaver Cooperative Society at Mohal in Kullu yesterday, he said that it had been observed that many power loom industries were copying the pattern of Himachali shawls especially Kullu and Kinnauri shawls and were selling them at higher rates, an official release said.
He added that Himachali shawls had great demand not only in the country but also abroad and steps should be taken to patent these products.
Taking serious view of media reports highlighting traffic congestion on the roads of Delhi, the Ministry of Urban Development has constituted a 17-member High Powered Inter Ministerial Committee to prepare in 30 days a report on decongestion of Delhi.
The Committee under the direction of Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu will also take necessary measures to improve mobility in the national capital. The Minister has taken a serious view of media reports highlighting traffic congestion on the roads of Delhi for various reasons and sought corrective interventions on priority, Ministry of Urban Development said in a release today.
Addressing a two-day summit that focuses on micro, small and medium enterprises, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that India is not just a market but a manufacturing hub as huge opportunities exist in the country.
"When we say Make in India, we want to tell the world there are ample opportunities in India, don't only consider us to be a market," Modi said.
The concept of Make in India is a win-win situation. Let’s give impetus to manufacturing where there is scope of export too, he said.
More than 20 countries including Australia, Canada and South Africa are taking part in the two-day summit.
With the view to initiate decongestion of the newly formed Telangana state’s capital, the state government has relocated over 150 electroplating units in Balanagar Industrial Area to Automotive Industrial Park in Toopran, Medak district.
The electroplating units in Balanagar were found to be releasing effluents into the Kukatpally Nala, which in turn flows into the Hussain Sagar.
According to a media report, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) chief general manager (AM) Vijay A Deshmukh said, “An area of 25 acre at the Industrial Park in Toopran is being developed to include the entire essential infrastructure including a separate power line, water supply, treatment plant, roads and connectivity to the city.”
With the new government keen on making the country a global manufacturing hub, India is seeking to engage with Finland, known for its knowledge-based economy and clean technology, official sources said here today ahead of President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to this key Nordic nation.
“India views Finland as an important member of the European Union and a repository of modern technology and Finland sees in India a large market for its products and a favourable investment destination for its high technology industries,” they said on the eve of Mukherjee’s visit to Finland, the first by an Indian president in 26 years.
“In Finland we also have a reliable trade partner, heavily industrialised in a very green way. We have US $ 1.5 billion of trade and there are over 100 Finnish companies in India which are working here including in R&D,” they said.
Seeking to end the impasse in the World Trade Organisation, India and the US have directed their officials to "urgently" start consultations with other WTO members to work out the next step.
India's tough stand led to impasse in the WTO. New Delhi had decided not to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes.
"The leaders discussed their concerns about the current impasse in the WTO and its effect on the multilateral trading system, and directed their officials to consult urgently along with other WTO members on the next steps," said a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.
Bangladesh government has announced to create 'Special Economic Zone' ( SEZ) for the Indian investors as the bilateral relations between the two countries have improved remarkably, a diplomat said.
"Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have improved a lot. The neighbouring country has announced to create Special Economic Zone for the Indian investors," Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka, Sandip Chakraborty told reporters last night.
Chakraborty came here for a four-day visit yesterday through Akhaura border here to review the progress of different projects of connectivity between the two countries through Bangladesh and transmission of 100 MW power from the 726 MW Palatana power project in South Tripura district.
In a move which will strengthen links between the financial services industries of both UK and India, UK-India Financial Partnership (UIFP) was launched here.
Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley and Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK, George Osborne launched the partnership here yesterday.
“The Partnership will strengthen links between the Financial Services industries of both countries and deepen cooperation between London and Mumbai, two of the World’s leading Financial Centres,” an official release said yesterday.
Australia today announced 13 innovative projects with India that will support new cutting-edge collaborative research partnerships between universities, professional bodies and private sector organisations of the two countries.
The latest initiatives will be supported through Australia-India Council (AIC) grants programme, said Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
"AIC's grants, totaling over 565,000 Australian dollars will support new partnerships between Australian and Indian universities, professional bodies, private sector organisations and arts communities in areas of strong mutual interest and where the bilateral relationship has the greatest capacity to grow," Bishop said.
Do you think the ‘Make in India’ campaign revive manufacturing in the country again?
According to the FISME Factor, 67 percent of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) agree that ‘Make in India’ campaign will revive manufacturing in the country again while 33% disagree.
4 ways your company benefits from educating employees on personal branding
Some companies perceive the concept of creating a "Personal Brand at work" to be self-serving for the employee. But the reality is there is no downside to having team members with heightened self-awareness and a willingness to improve themselves. Basically, that is the foundation for developing a respected Personal Brand at work; to get clarity on who you are and who you aspire to be, make the necessary changes, and then conduct yourself accordingly.
Top 5 Things You Should Know About Equity Crowdfunding Platforms
“What should I look out for when choosing an equity crowdfunding platform?” If you think the platforms are all the same you could find yourself out of luck and out of pocket a few years down the line.
While less savvy investors, and the media, are picking up on the fact that investing in companies through crowdfunding poses a risk which is inherent to investing in any young company, less notice has been taken of the underlying danger posed by the platforms through which the transactions are made and the deals are arranged.
While trying to recharge her phone online a few months ago, Palak Agarwal stumbled upon FreeCharge. The website had various offers, including 'free' coupons and discounts. Excited, Palak quickly spread the word among her friends.
Today, she and her friends regularly recharge their mobile phones on FreeCharge, which has about 10 million registered users.
The company launched operations on August 15, 2010, promising to provide 'free' talk time to mobile phone users. Every time a user recharges her/his phone, data card or direct to home television (DTH) service through the FreeCharge platform, she/he is reimbursed through discount coupons. For coupons, users can choose from 150 merchants listed on the site, including McDonalds, PVR, Costa Coffee and Myntra.
Need for sage counsel: Why half of new startups end up dying in the first year itself
If entrepreneurship is like a walk into the unknown, the right board of directors can serve as the guiding light—illuminating the path and sometimes suggesting alternatives. But in India, getting the right people to sit on the board is not easy with a severe talent crunch impacting the quality of directors— very few have had experience in setting up companies, building them and seeing them sold or shut. And the numbers reveal the situation. While the country sees about six startups emerge every week, about half of them end up dying in the first year, mostly due to the lack of an intelligent board that can guide or pivot the company.
Woman Entrepreneur Sangeeta’s Story Inspires Young India
While a large number of consultancy firms exist in the country, there have been very few to count, and perhaps heavy on the pocket too, which look at new SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises or Business) as their target customers for business consulting. In a country which hasn’t seen its hay days of a booming economy, woman entrepreneur Sangeeta Devni, at young age of 30, comes across as a source of renewed hope, as she aids small enterprises to go out of their mould of being a small enterprise, and be on the highway to expansion, and become successful at that.
How Bhavish Aggarwal is building his ‘convenience economy’ dream with Ola Cabs
Who would have thought 3-4 years back that we would be booking cabs via our mobile phones without even negotiating for the tariff? Today this has become an integral part of our lives in most cities of India with various aggregators providing us the luxury and comfort of booking cabs at our own convenience.
Bhavish Aggarwal belongs to the young breed of entrepreneurs who are the face of Indian entrepreneurship ecosystem today.
A soft-spoken, unassuming IIT alumnus, Bhavish is out there with a clear vision to organize the huge unstructured cab market in India and aggressively marching towards achieving his goal. Having graduated from IIT Bombay in 2008, he worked for Microsoft for a couple of years where he filed two patents and published three papers in international journals. He quit this to start OlaCabs along with his friend, Ankit Bhati, at IIT Bombay with a mission to ‘provide a cab to every Mumbaikar’.
Buy our one-of-a-kind guide to all industrial testing laboratories in India. Find the one most convenient for getting your products tested and certified. An invaluable compendium for all industrial units and exporters.
PP: 894, Hard Cover.
Price: Rs 900.
50% discount for members.
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:
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"
A couple of measures announced by the Prime Minister of India to improve administration of labour laws on 16th Oct 2014 are indeed welcome. The existing dispensation leaves both the employer and the employees worse off. Hopefully, the new internet enabled inspection system and the proposed Small Factories Act (2014) may relieve industries of some pain. A lot more is needed to be done though. Manufacturing is losing attraction at such a fast pace in the country that if Governments are not ready to walk the extra mile to ease life of manufacturers, there would be nothing much left to inspect about. "
In order to explore the potential for the Indian small and medium entrepreneurs in the Taiwan market, industry body Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) led a business delegation to Taiwan.
FISME, which has a network of more than 700 associations, led the business delegation to Taiwan from September 25-30.
The main objectives of the visit was to interact and network with the Taiwanese companies participating in the 14th Edition of Tapei Plas 2014, an international show for plastics and rubber industry, visit factory and industrial park visits; one-to-one business meetings and market visits.
Joint Secretary of FISME, Mukesh Kalra, who led the delegation said, “The delegation was led with the view to interact with the Taiwanese companies to explore opportunities for collaboration and investment.”
“We visited the factories and industrial parks to get a better understanding of the technology and skills of the Taiwanese industries. We also held B2B meeting and visited the local markets to explore the potential for exports from India,” he added.
FISME organised ‘Profit Mantras for Businesses’- yet another programme in a nationwide series of workshops for bringing in practical wisdom to entrepreneurs on 9th October 2014 in Jaipur in association with FORE (Jaipur).
Mr. Rajiv Arora, President of FORE, welcomed delegates followed by the opening remarks by Central Executive Committee Member, FISME, Mr. Adarsh Mahipal Gupta.
Mr. Ashish Agarwal, Zonal Manager, Hewlett-Packard India shared his thoughts on ‘New Style of Information Technology’, while Mr. Vidyasagar Baliyara of Google India spoke about ‘Digital Marketing’. Mr. Sunil Goyal, S.R. Goyal & Company apprised the gathering on ‘Corporate e-governance’ followed by Mr. D.S. Bhandari, Executive Director, R. K. Chemicals & Director, Aalishan Petro Products Ltd. on Mantras for Profitability.
This article highlights the characteristics of an early-stage company entrepreneur in 11 shades. “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”- Winston Churchill. Do you have what it takes to make a complete colourful journey of entrepreneurship? There are many more shades which I will share in my future articles. These 11 shades are good to begin for assessment’s sake.
(See full text of the proposed legislation)
The Central government proposes to roll out the new policy for the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector in the next 30 days, according to Kalraj Mishra, the Union minister for MSMEs. Until now the sector has been governed by the industrial policy in force, and does not have a policy of its own.
"As per stipulation of the new policy, the general procedures as well as procurement procedures would be vastly simplified and all clearances for setting up of micro and small businesses would be accorded online within a fixed period of 15 days," Mishra said at a function in New Delhi, without elaborating further.
Two months after it blocked an international agreement on easing trade regulations, India has initiated measures to reform customs procedures and cut red tape to speed up international trade.
The government has decided to set up a national committee on trade facilitation, which will suggest and implement measurers to ensure seamless movement of cargo by addressing constraints like high transaction costs and poor infrastructure.
"The national committee on trade facilitation will be put in place soon, which will have representation from 7-8 departments. It will look after all aspects of trade facilitation," a senior commerce department official told ET on condition of anonymity. "India is not against trade facilitation. We are expeditiously working towards it."
At British India Corporation's textile factory in Kanpur, four men sit in a control room watching computerised gauges eight hours a day. When they are done, another group takes over, and then another, for 24 hours a day - much as they might at any major industrial plant.
The problem is, nothing is produced there.
The strange tale of British India Corporation is an example of how political patronage and strict labour laws keep publicly owned companies going long after they are insolvent.
Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who campaigned in this year's general election on a promise of "minimum government, maximum governance", is preparing to invest more taxpayer money in ailing state-owned factories in a bid to turn them around.
Domestic steel makers, who are facing subdued off-take, have something to cheer about now as a premier global industry association has projected India’s steel demand to grow at 3.4 per cent during the current year.
World Steel Association (WSA), in its short-range demand outlook, has pegged demand growth for the next year even higher at six per cent, a significant rise as compared to 1.8 per cent in 2013.
“India’s outlook is improving following the election of a new government which is promising pro-business reforms. In 2014, India’s steel demand is expected to grow by 3.4 per cent to 76.2 million tonnes in 2014, following a growth of 1.8 per cent in 2013,” WSA said today.
India may become the largest exporter of rice next year amid higher demand anticipated from African and Middle East countries and competitive prices.
"In calendar year 2015, India should emerge as the largest exporter of rice — both basmati and non-basmati. From 4 million tonnes of annual export of non-basmati rice, we should be able to export 7 million tonnes," said BV Krishna Rao, managing director of Pattabhi Agro Foods, the country's biggest exporter of non-basmati rice.
Rao said basmati and non-basmati rice exports should be 10-11 million tonnes, a level last seen in 2012.
The government plans to review its decision to adopt a simple, transparent revenue-sharing system for oil and gas fields in place of the controversial regime that allows explorers to recover their costs before sharing oil and gas revenues with the state.
The oil ministry wanted a system which does not require hands-on bureaucratic supervision and rules out allegations of "gold plating" costs because the government would get a specified revenue irrespective of the amount of money spent on developing the field. But exploration companies find the existing system lucrative, and have been mounting pressure on the government to stick to the current regime, sources said.
Despite the optimist mood of consumers during the festive season, the industrial production growth remained subdued at five-month low of 0.4 per cent in August calling for bold reforms in the business regulatory environment.
Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growth remained slow in August mainly due to contraction in manufacturing output and lower offtake of consumer goods.
The index had also grown at a meagre rate of 0.4 per cent in August, 2013.
IIP for July was also revised downwards to 0.41 per cent from the provisional estimates of 0.5 per cent released last month, according to the data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday.
India's engineering exports to three of its neighbours, including Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, witnessed top of the line growth in April-August, with South Asia emerging as an important market for the country's shipments, according to EEPC India.
The three countries in South Asia are in the top 25 destinations of India's engineering exports with Sri Lanka occupying the coveted number three position preceded by the US and UAE between April-August this year.
"South Asia, with the exception of Pakistan, is emerging as an important market for Indian exports. Significantly, these markets are now giving us volume and scale in valuation as well despite these economies being small," engineering exporters' body EEPC India Chairman Anupam Shah said.
The Reserve Bank may consider raising interest rates to bring down the persistently high inflation on a durable basis, suggested IMF working paper.
“Given elevated and persistent inflation,... the RBI may also need to raise rates to tackle inflation durably, particularly if faced with a persistent and sizable supply— side food price shock putting pressure on broad-based inflation,” said the paper titled — ‘Food inflation in India: The role for monetary policy’
Food and fuel inflation in India has remained high for several years, the paper said adding to durably reduce the current high inflation, the monetary policy stance needs to remain tight for a considerable length of time.
In order to improve financial inclusion in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the country, the MSME Ministry is working towards ensuring that the micro and small units get loans from the Public Sector Banks at the base interest rate.
According to a media report, Union MSME Minister, Kalraj Mishra met senior officials of banking and financial institutions for early decision on the matter, which would be duly endorsed subsequently by the Reserve Bank of India, the finance ministry and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
MSMEs across the country need capital at relaxed rates of interest to run their enterprises and cater to the needs of their larger counterparts as well as contribute substantially to India's manufacturing and external engagements, according to Mishra.
Barely 32 out of 277 Public Sector Units have complied with the mandatory 20 per cent procurement from the MSME sector, Union MSME Minister Kalraj Mishra has said.
Speaking at the 11th edition of Global SME Business Summit 2014 here yesterday, the Minister also said that the government would ensure that all the PSUs procure 20 per cent of goods form MSMEs.
"As far as procurement policy is concerned, only 32 PSUs have complied with the 20 per cent mandatory procurement out of 277 PSUs," said Mishra, as quoted in a media report.
The government is looking at amending public procurement policy to incorporate provisions against PSUs who fail to meet the mandatory at least 20 per cent procurement by April 2015.
To provide a fillip to the economy of the state, the Government of Madhya Pradesh is creating a new ministry for MSMEs towards transforming its economy from an agriculture-based to an industrial one.
“MSMEs are bigger employers of local talent and critical to inclusive and balanced growth of any country. Therefore, we will facilitate the creation of a new ministry for the MSME sector,” said Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at the Global Investors Summit in Indore.
Laying the ground work for the sector, he announced a host of initiatives to facilitate faster growth for the sector. He urged MSME players to create products and services of quality.
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Virbhadra Singh has said that shawls produced in that state should have patent rights as the hand-woven products have a unique identity and pattern which should not be replicated by other power loom industries in the country.
Addressing members of Bhuttico Weaver Cooperative Society at Mohal in Kullu yesterday, he said that it had been observed that many power loom industries were copying the pattern of Himachali shawls especially Kullu and Kinnauri shawls and were selling them at higher rates, an official release said.
He added that Himachali shawls had great demand not only in the country but also abroad and steps should be taken to patent these products.
Taking serious view of media reports highlighting traffic congestion on the roads of Delhi, the Ministry of Urban Development has constituted a 17-member High Powered Inter Ministerial Committee to prepare in 30 days a report on decongestion of Delhi.
The Committee under the direction of Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu will also take necessary measures to improve mobility in the national capital. The Minister has taken a serious view of media reports highlighting traffic congestion on the roads of Delhi for various reasons and sought corrective interventions on priority, Ministry of Urban Development said in a release today.
Addressing a two-day summit that focuses on micro, small and medium enterprises, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that India is not just a market but a manufacturing hub as huge opportunities exist in the country.
"When we say Make in India, we want to tell the world there are ample opportunities in India, don't only consider us to be a market," Modi said.
The concept of Make in India is a win-win situation. Let’s give impetus to manufacturing where there is scope of export too, he said.
More than 20 countries including Australia, Canada and South Africa are taking part in the two-day summit.
With the view to initiate decongestion of the newly formed Telangana state’s capital, the state government has relocated over 150 electroplating units in Balanagar Industrial Area to Automotive Industrial Park in Toopran, Medak district.
The electroplating units in Balanagar were found to be releasing effluents into the Kukatpally Nala, which in turn flows into the Hussain Sagar.
According to a media report, Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) chief general manager (AM) Vijay A Deshmukh said, “An area of 25 acre at the Industrial Park in Toopran is being developed to include the entire essential infrastructure including a separate power line, water supply, treatment plant, roads and connectivity to the city.”
With the new government keen on making the country a global manufacturing hub, India is seeking to engage with Finland, known for its knowledge-based economy and clean technology, official sources said here today ahead of President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to this key Nordic nation.
“India views Finland as an important member of the European Union and a repository of modern technology and Finland sees in India a large market for its products and a favourable investment destination for its high technology industries,” they said on the eve of Mukherjee’s visit to Finland, the first by an Indian president in 26 years.
“In Finland we also have a reliable trade partner, heavily industrialised in a very green way. We have US $ 1.5 billion of trade and there are over 100 Finnish companies in India which are working here including in R&D,” they said.
Seeking to end the impasse in the World Trade Organisation, India and the US have directed their officials to "urgently" start consultations with other WTO members to work out the next step.
India's tough stand led to impasse in the WTO. New Delhi had decided not to ratify WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which is dear to the developed world, without any concrete movement in finding a permanent solution to its public food stock-holding issue for food security purposes.
"The leaders discussed their concerns about the current impasse in the WTO and its effect on the multilateral trading system, and directed their officials to consult urgently along with other WTO members on the next steps," said a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Barack Obama.
Bangladesh government has announced to create 'Special Economic Zone' ( SEZ) for the Indian investors as the bilateral relations between the two countries have improved remarkably, a diplomat said.
"Bilateral relations between India and Bangladesh have improved a lot. The neighbouring country has announced to create Special Economic Zone for the Indian investors," Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Dhaka, Sandip Chakraborty told reporters last night.
Chakraborty came here for a four-day visit yesterday through Akhaura border here to review the progress of different projects of connectivity between the two countries through Bangladesh and transmission of 100 MW power from the 726 MW Palatana power project in South Tripura district.
In a move which will strengthen links between the financial services industries of both UK and India, UK-India Financial Partnership (UIFP) was launched here.
Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley and Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK, George Osborne launched the partnership here yesterday.
“The Partnership will strengthen links between the Financial Services industries of both countries and deepen cooperation between London and Mumbai, two of the World’s leading Financial Centres,” an official release said yesterday.
Australia today announced 13 innovative projects with India that will support new cutting-edge collaborative research partnerships between universities, professional bodies and private sector organisations of the two countries.
The latest initiatives will be supported through Australia-India Council (AIC) grants programme, said Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
"AIC's grants, totaling over 565,000 Australian dollars will support new partnerships between Australian and Indian universities, professional bodies, private sector organisations and arts communities in areas of strong mutual interest and where the bilateral relationship has the greatest capacity to grow," Bishop said.
According to the FISME Factor, 67 percent of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) agree that ‘Make in India’ campaign will revive manufacturing in the country again while 33% disagree.
Some companies perceive the concept of creating a "Personal Brand at work" to be self-serving for the employee. But the reality is there is no downside to having team members with heightened self-awareness and a willingness to improve themselves. Basically, that is the foundation for developing a respected Personal Brand at work; to get clarity on who you are and who you aspire to be, make the necessary changes, and then conduct yourself accordingly.
“What should I look out for when choosing an equity crowdfunding platform?” If you think the platforms are all the same you could find yourself out of luck and out of pocket a few years down the line.
While less savvy investors, and the media, are picking up on the fact that investing in companies through crowdfunding poses a risk which is inherent to investing in any young company, less notice has been taken of the underlying danger posed by the platforms through which the transactions are made and the deals are arranged.
While trying to recharge her phone online a few months ago, Palak Agarwal stumbled upon FreeCharge. The website had various offers, including 'free' coupons and discounts. Excited, Palak quickly spread the word among her friends.
Today, she and her friends regularly recharge their mobile phones on FreeCharge, which has about 10 million registered users.
The company launched operations on August 15, 2010, promising to provide 'free' talk time to mobile phone users. Every time a user recharges her/his phone, data card or direct to home television (DTH) service through the FreeCharge platform, she/he is reimbursed through discount coupons. For coupons, users can choose from 150 merchants listed on the site, including McDonalds, PVR, Costa Coffee and Myntra.
If entrepreneurship is like a walk into the unknown, the right board of directors can serve as the guiding light—illuminating the path and sometimes suggesting alternatives. But in India, getting the right people to sit on the board is not easy with a severe talent crunch impacting the quality of directors— very few have had experience in setting up companies, building them and seeing them sold or shut. And the numbers reveal the situation. While the country sees about six startups emerge every week, about half of them end up dying in the first year, mostly due to the lack of an intelligent board that can guide or pivot the company.
While a large number of consultancy firms exist in the country, there have been very few to count, and perhaps heavy on the pocket too, which look at new SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises or Business) as their target customers for business consulting. In a country which hasn’t seen its hay days of a booming economy, woman entrepreneur Sangeeta Devni, at young age of 30, comes across as a source of renewed hope, as she aids small enterprises to go out of their mould of being a small enterprise, and be on the highway to expansion, and become successful at that.
Who would have thought 3-4 years back that we would be booking cabs via our mobile phones without even negotiating for the tariff? Today this has become an integral part of our lives in most cities of India with various aggregators providing us the luxury and comfort of booking cabs at our own convenience.
Bhavish Aggarwal belongs to the young breed of entrepreneurs who are the face of Indian entrepreneurship ecosystem today.
A soft-spoken, unassuming IIT alumnus, Bhavish is out there with a clear vision to organize the huge unstructured cab market in India and aggressively marching towards achieving his goal. Having graduated from IIT Bombay in 2008, he worked for Microsoft for a couple of years where he filed two patents and published three papers in international journals. He quit this to start OlaCabs along with his friend, Ankit Bhati, at IIT Bombay with a mission to ‘provide a cab to every Mumbaikar’.
" When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. " 
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