Category: News

Fulfilling the Ambedkar’s dream of New India: PM MODI

Honble Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Baba Saheb Ambedkar is a big inspiration for Centre’s initiatives and our most of the programs are aligned with the dream of India as an Industrial Superpower.

Addressing the nation in the 42nd Episode of his monthly radio broadcast ‘Mann ki Baat’, Shri Modi mentions that Dr. Ambedkar initially ideated that industry is an effective medium by which jobs can be generated for the poorest of the poor.

Prime Minister Modi said “Today, the Make in India campaign is progressing successfully according to the dream of Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, we are emerging as an industrial superpower, and the vision of Ambedkarji has become inspiration for us today.”

Mr Modi further mentions that in continuance with Dr. Ambedkar’s vision, smart city mission and urban mission were executed in the country to ensure all kind of amenities are available in big cities and small towns.

Defining the Baba Saheb’s strong faith in ‘Self Reliance’, Prime Minister Modi further adds that centre’s monetary policy, Start Up India and Stand Up India has become a strong support for the young entrepreneurs and innovators.

The origination of different river authorities and different water related authorities were possible because of Baba Saheb’s vision. Now, they are landmark efforts for the waterways and ports in India.

According to the Prime Minister Modi, “Dr Ambedkar is an inspiration for those millions of people who belonged to the backward class and manifested that being born in an affluent family is not important for an individual, being skillful and knowledgeable is the main factor.

Hardware start-ups get a leg-up at Intel Maker’s lab

Intel started its Maker Lab in 2015 to help small hardware firms stabilise by helping them with prototypes and device testing.

Intel said it achieved higher success rates because of the method of choosing start-ups, which best suited their acceleration programme.

Hardware start-ups get a leg-up at Intel Maker's lab

For instance, Jayalaxmi Agrotech has built an Agripole which helps farmers to download their agricultural applications in local languages at village fairs using the Intel Edison platform.

The Bellari-based firm provides timely information on crops to farmers on their apps for which it has set up a router in village centres. This enables villagers to download information without relying on data plans on their mobile network.

Another start-up, Klassik Klonec, has built an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled Hydroponic system for growing vegetables on sand or water without using soil.

It involves growing green leaves and vegetables in households or industrial areas. The start-up has developed a box which is connected via IoT that maintains the temperature and conditions inside the box. The firm has various individual customers across India and a few from abroad looking to import the equipment to grow plants within an enclosed space.

Smartron, a Bengaluru-based original equipment manufacturer (OEM) start-up has come up with a product ‘t-phone’ and a ‘t-book’. It has its own ‘t-store’ to buy applications and has started selling products through online marketplace Amazon in India.

These firms, part of the nine of the 17 start-ups, have their products from the first batch of the Intel Maker’s lab.

“We took people who really needed technological help and mentorship that could accelerate what they were doing. The start-ups selected not only needed space but a lot of equipments to validate and test their products,” said Jitendra Chaddah, senior director, strategy and operations, Intel India.

In addition, five start-ups are testing their products which would be launched in few months, while three are still developing their products.

Intel would continue to map these start-ups with respect to their own business units, irrespective of whether the products are in the server space or client or IoT or wearable space.

Source:http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/hardware-start-ups-get-a-leg-up-at-intel-maker-s-lab-116111900588_1.html

MSMEs to play crucial role in making India a startup hub: Kalraj Mishra

NEW DELHI: Micro, small and medium enterprises will play an important role in making India a hub for startups, Union Minister Kalraj Mishra said today.

At the inauguration ceremony of the MSME Expo at the India International Trade Fair here, Mishra said that quality manufacturing and inclusive growth of MSMEs plays a key role in the development of the country.

“Micro, small and medium Enterprises form a major part of manufacturing sector and give employment to a large number of people,” the MSME Minister said.

Mishra further said that the MSME Expo is a very good platform for the enterprises to showcase their products at national and international level.

Herbal products, food articles, cosmetics, handicraft, electronic appliances, auto components, readymade garments, gems & jewellery, among others are being displayed at the MSME Expo this year.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/msmes-to-play-crucial-role-in-making-india-a-startup-hub-kalraj-mishra/articleshow/55439559.cms

In Order to Create More Jobs, Indian Govt. Allows Startups to Raise $3Mln/Year

In an attempt to boost innovation and create jobs, the Reserve Bank of India has allowed start-ups to raise up to $3 million for a three year term via external commercial borrowing.

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) move comes at a time when India has become the world’s third largest start-up base and is poised to double such ventures by 2020. The growth in the number of start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures is expected to foster innovation as well as augment job creation – a high priority area for the current establishment.

Reserve Bank of India on Startup

India in recent months has taken various steps to facilitate investments in the startups sector. The RBI in February this year relaxed the foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for start-ups. The startups will be allowed to raise funds commercially (ECBs), in Indian rupees, any other convertible currency or a combination of both.

The RBI, however, specified that ECBs can only be raised from a country which is either a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) or FATF-Style Regional Bodies. The guidelines only allow foreign banks to act as lenders, while excluding overseas branches, the subsidiaries of Indian banks, overseas wholly owned subsidiaries, or the joint ventures of Indian companies.

Interestingly, the Indian banking regulator did not fix any interest rate cap on these borrowings; typically RBI specifies the maximum cost financial institutions can charge when lending money via ECBs. Earlier in January, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unveiled a slew of measures to create incentives in the sector. The government has also relaxed the procurement norms for them.

According to a Nasscom report, the number of startups is expected to double to 10,500 by 2020 and provide jobs to over 200,000 people. A recent Labour Bureau survey said India’s unemployment rate shot up to a five-year high of 5% in 2015-16. More worryingly, World Bank research says increasing automation and the adoption of technology threatens 69% of the jobs in the country. Startups are expected to open new avenues for job creation and take more people in the organized workforce.

Source:https://sputniknews.com/asia/201611011046958278-indian-government-startups-jobs/

DIPP Proposes Collateral-Free Loans For Startups; Only Rs 1100 Cr Disbursed Via Rs 10k Cr Fund of Funds Till Now!

n June this year, Govt. of India had created a special Rs 10,000 crore worth fund of funds for Indian startups, which expected to generate 18 lakh jobs. Under this scheme, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) was empowered to allocate funds to various Alternate Investment Funds (AIF) registered under SEBI, which in turn would fund emerging startups in India.

In a recent event organized by World Economic Forum, Govt. has admitted that disbursement of funds via this special scheme has been slow as of now, as only 600 startups have been funded for a total amount of Rs 1100 crore, out of Rs 10,000 crore corpus.

Although Govt. plans to eventually provide Rs 50,000 crore via Fund of Funds scheme, the process of allocating funds to startups have been rather slow. Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) secretary Ramesh Abhishek has assured all investors and entrepreneurs that they are now fast-tracking the process, and more startups would be now funded via Fund of Funds route.

He said, “So far only Rs.1,100 crore has been disbursed. Our aim is to mobilize Rs.50,000 crore of private investment through this fund..”

Collateral-Free Loans For Startups

As part of fast tracking the process of disbursing venture capital for emerging startups, Ramesh informed that DIPP would soon launch a corpus of Rs 2000 crore, which would provide collateral-free loans to startups.

In fact, a proposal has already been sent to the cabinet to create a special ‘Credit Guarantee Scheme’ of Rs 2000 crore, which would empower banks and financial institutions to provide loans to startups without any collateral.

If approved, this can be a game-changing move for entrepreneurs in India, who are stuck at approvals because the current rules and regulations are strict in giving out loans for unestablished businesses. Startups needs money to expand, and banks/financial institutions provide loans only to established businesses with proven track record of generating revenues; and the vicious cycle continues.

Besides, Ramesh also informed that they have written to 100 companies to use their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds to set up incubators which can groom and help startups in India.

Indian Entrepreneurs Share Their Ideas For Helping Startups

At the event, some of the most successful Indian entrepreneurs shared their ideas for improving startup eco-system in India and to groom future entrepreneurs.

Mahesh Murthy, managing partner of Seedfund, said that a shift in culture and mindset is required to provide better assistance for Indian startups. As per him, till now, Indian startups have been copying Western ideas, but now, we need to think out of the box.

He said, “Only now they are beginning to have original thoughts in this generation. It is culturally very difficult for us to be innovative,”

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of Paytm, emphasized on ‘Make in India’ drive, as he said,

“Japanese built Honda, Toyota, Nissan when Germans and Americas had built their largest auto companies. We have to build products, built in India, made in India, made for India in Indian context. The world needs lower cost, higher scalable built out of countries like India..”

Ritesh Agarwal, Founder of Oyo Rooms said that laws related to startups and entrepreneurship needs to be changed if Govt. wants to truly help them. He said, “It is our responsibility as entrepreneurs to proactively go out and converse with the lawmakers and explain to them what the problems are..”

source:http://trak.in/tags/business/2016/10/10/dipp-collateral-free-loans-startups/

Digital startups will disrupt businesses: Study

According to the findings of a new global study done by Dell Technologies, 78% of businesses believe digital startups will pose a threat to their organization, either now or in the future, while almost half fear that they may become obsolete because of competition from these startups.

"India is considered among the most digitally mature economies today and credit to the Indian government and India Inc. on driving our country's digital transformation agenda," said Alok Ohrie, President & Managing Director, India Commercial, Dell EMC.
“India is considered among the most digitally mature economies today and credit to the Indian government and India Inc. on driving our country’s digital transformation agenda,” said Alok Ohrie, President & Managing Director, India Commercial, Dell EMC.

Further, 73% admitted that digital transformation could be more widespread throughout their organization while over half have experienced significant disruption in their industries over the past three years. The global study was conducted by Vanson Bourne across 4,000 business leaders across 16 countries and 12 industries, 300 from India.

“With a vibrant startup ecosystem, keen government focus on digitally transforming India, and a tech-enabled consumer base, it’s not surprising that Indian enterprises have sensed the urgency to transform digitally. While transformation is not pervasive, it is critical for organizations to follow the leaders and adopt practices that can enable them to ride the wave of the fourth Industrial Revolution. India has high potential to lead the world in digital transformation, and at Dell Technologies we are in a unique position to accelerate this progress,” said Rajesh Janey, president & managing director, India Enterprise, Dell EMC.

Specific to India, another complementary study by Greyhound Research found that nine out of ten companies had experienced disruption while 26% (compared to 48% globally) don’t know what their industry will look like in three years. Most enterprises in India who are digital leaders are being driven to this by customer demands, while 42% are feeling the pressure from their own C-suite. The executives surveyed said the biggest barriers to progress included immature digital culture (33%), and lack of right technologies to work at the speed of business (32%). Nearly half (43%) don’t measure their digital transformation success.

“India is considered among the most digitally mature economies today and credit to the Indian government and India Inc. on driving our country’s digital transformation agenda. Dell Technologies, will collaborate with customers, partners and consumers to drive human progress and create a technology enabled future. With a proactive government, digitally inspired business leaders and an advanced partner ecosystem, India has the required potential to lead the world’s digital transformation journey,” said Alok Ohrie, President & Managing Director, India Commercial, Dell EMC.

Going ahead, 62% companies said that they would be investing 30% of the 2016 IT budget in transformation projects. This would be in areas like converged infrastructure (80%), analytics, big data and data processing (78%), ultra high-performance compute technologies (82%) and next generation mobile apps (76%) in the next 12 months. About 93% are investing in company-wide data-driven decision-making and 88% are focused on equipping themselves with always-connected,sensor-enabled and location-awar technologies.

A large majority – 87%- said that they face an ongoing need to invest in reskilling their internal IT teams, yet only half rated available internal training resources as fair/ average. Less than 10% rated the internal skills for digital transformation as excellent. Most companies are turning to external help to bring about this transformation, with 86% saying that they are working with system integrators, value added resellers, consultants and other partners to help them on their journey. About 66% of respondents felt that partners add value in explaining the offering, while 39% seek external assistance for training.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/security-tech/technology/digital-startups-will-disrupt-businesses-study/articleshow/54810696.cms