new business ideas | | Startup India Consultants

Govt commits Rs 500cr for Narendra Modi’s Startup India vision, launches another set of initiatives

While addressing the media in New Delhi, the Ministry of Science and Technology today announced the launch of the National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI), an umbrella programme which aims to nurture ideas and innovations in the startup ecosystem.

With the intent to speed up the process and also scale, the ministry will be infusing Rs 500 crore into the programme in the next few years. Notably this year, the ministry has received a 450 percent increase in allocation — Rs 180 crore more — to drive startup initiatives.

NIDHI and other initiatives:
NIDHI focuses on building a seamless entrepreneurial ecosystem, especially by making a positive impact on socio-economic development. The programme aims to provide technological solutions as well as create new avenues for wealth and job creation.

PRAYAS (Promoting and Accelerating Young and Aspiring Innovators & Startups), launched last week, is one of the components of NIDHI. The idea is to encourage innovators by providing access to the Fabrication Laboratory as well as a grant of up to Rs10 lakh. Additionally, there is the Seed Support System, providing up to Rs 1 crore per startup and implemented through technology business incubators.

The key stakeholders of the newly launched programme include various departments and ministries of the central government, state governments, academic and R & D institutions, mentors, financial institutions, angel investors, venture capitalists, industry champions, and private sectors.

Till now, the department has launched more than 100 technology business incubators in academic and R & D institutions which include IITs, IIMs, NITs, and other institutions. Every incubator focuses on a technology domain, and all of them combined house more than 2,000 startups and offer a total incubation space of approximately seven lakh sqft.

Additionally, six more centres of excellence will be opened in SINE–IIT Bombay, Venture Center–NCL Pune, CIIE–IIM Ahmedabad etc and 14 Technology Business Incubators which include IIT Patna and Mizoram University etc. 10 more incubators will be supplemented with Seed Support Systems which include Startup Oasis–Jaipur, Amrita TBI–Kollam, Venture Center, NCL–Pune etc and establish a Research Park at IIT Gandhinagar .

A variety of other new programmes including a fellowship programme for entrepreneurs i.e. Entrepreneurs in Residence, scaling up of startups through the accelerator programme and also to boost women empowerment through entrepreneurship, has been launched.

Along with all these initiatives, the department has also partnered with corporates like Intel, Lockheed Martin, Texas Instruments and Boeing as well as the Department of Higher Education, MHRD to establish research parks and startup centres.

Startup India:

All these initiatives have been launched in tune with Modi’s Startup India vision. A number of initiatives were launched after the announcement of ‘Startup India’. Recently, the government had also issued a directive to all ministries stating that all startups will now be exempted from the prior experience criteria in public procurement. Also, the government had mandated that the central government departments and ministries, along with its central PSUs, procure at least 20 percent of their purchases from micro and small enterprises, starting from April 1, 2015.

Though countless initiatives have been launched, whether entrepreneurship in the country receives a real boost remains to be seen.

Source : https://yourstory.com/2016/09/govt-invest-500cr-startups/

Start Up India

Startups now play a key role in defining new age business models, creating newer avenues and generating employment making the space important to watch.

The spirit of entrepreneurship is changing the way India was looked at a few years ago. With startups in the whirl of the winds of change, using technology as an enabler India seems poised to be a star among the world’s emerging economies. After decades of slow growth and government control, India’s young entrepreneurs have opportunities presented by new policies and disruptive technologies. With over 4,200 technology startups and many more emerging each day, India is the third largest hub for startups globally, and could be the largest one day. The entrepreneurship culture in India is not just paving the way for the future, it is a step towards a great business ecosystem.

In my opinion, it takes a lot of courage from being a job seeker to becoming a job creator but the promise of wealth in the long run, freedom to choose own path, doing things one is deeply passionate about and finding fulfilment are major drivers. When I look back at my decision to quit my job, I recall that I always had entrepreneurial ambitions so giving up the relative stability of my job was actually not a big deal. I think what made the decision easier was the fact that I was convinced that this was the right time to try my hand at entrepreneurship and that after this it would only become more difficult to take the plunge. Today, the scope and variety of self-generated work is unlimited.

Startups now play a key role in defining new age business models, creating newer avenues and generating employment making the space important to watch. Opportunities in various sectors and lack of solutions in some, have created new business prospects and are driving young people to pursue their ideas and passions. India is still a tough place to be an entrepreneur in. Entrepreneurs should be prepared for early issues, such as starting problems, funding and having the right team in place. In our journey too, we faced funding and market-related challenges. Our early investors withdrew after half the promised funding and the travel sector itself was impacted with crises like 9/11 and SARS. Fortunately, the core team was tightly-knit with shared values and vision, which helped us tide over some really tough times. Conviction is truly half the game won.

Startups also face various infrastructural challenges which hinder the business setup and take up a lot of crucial time. Infrastructure like easy availability of plug-and-play office space, easy access for staff via public transport, high speed Internet, electricity, security for women leaving office at late hours are some of the other challenges that startups face.

These issues, while seemingly small, consume a lot of time which an entrepreneur would have otherwise spent on aspects that are core to the business. Effective solutions to counter such challenges will go a long way in helping startups bring efficiencies to their businesses.

Plan your fund-raising right. A stint with the corporate world before starting your own firm would be beneficial and would provide the right amount of exposure and foundation. Always keep a buffer of cash or line of credit you can dip into when times are tough. Get the team right — it is the single most important determinant for success. Everything else can, and will change! Build a healthy and honest culture.

Last, but most important, focus on solving real customer problems, rather than be fixated on an exit. An entrepreneur in India needs the patience of a marathon runner, along with the agility of a gymnast!

Source : http://businessworld.in/article/Start-Up-India/07-09-2016-105327/

At Hyderabad Job Fair 3,500 Youth Get the Job in Single Day

Among all cities in India, Hyderabad stands on the scale of employability. Recently conducted survey at the mega job fair organized by the NICs (National Institute of Career Services). A total of 10,000 intermediate and undergraduate students got themselves. A total of 10,000 intermediate and undergraduate students got themselves registered at the fair. The job expo, where moreover 75 companies from IT, ITes and manufacturing sectors participated, employed 3,500 of those who registered for grand meet on dingle day.

The NICS Job Mela, which was earlier held in Noida, Uttar Pardesh, had registered around 8,000 jobseekers. Supported by Union and State governments, the fair is organized to help employable jobseekers and prospective employers. Only 2.4 percent of employable workforce has skill, adding that union projects, including Skill India and Make in India can facilitate better this ground reality. India’s poor performance in the ability is in stark contrast with high percentage of skilled workforce in Germany 75%, Japan 80% and China 90%.

The Union Government will set up 8,000 new commercial training institutes to support development of skilled workforce in the country. The Union government will set up 8,000 new industrial Training Institutes to support development of skilled workforce. 2 lakhs students graduate from engineering colleges in Hyderbad and surrounding areas alone. We need to generate jobs for them. At the same time, we cannot disregard ITIs. The centre will grant Rs. 100 crore for setting up and maintenance of it is in Telangana. Job seekers from the country who emigrate to Germany, Australia and Japan can in the future attend skill establishment and training sessions of their choice in ITIs. Students and young graduates, who assembled to the job fair, could not have desired for anything better, as they got a gamut of companies knocking at their doorstep. If such Job Melas are held in each of the districts, the youth will benefit much.

How to price your Product…

Startups which don’t know the value of your product and price their product often frizzle out in the market. The price of the product depends on the supply of it and certain demand of it. Demand increases as price goes down. But things are not this simple. When you are bringing something new in the market, you have to be extremely careful while deciding the price. It should be your priority to get the price element right, at first go itself.

Keep the following factors in mind while pricing:

What is the material cost of your product?
This includes the amount of money you spend on raw materials. Whether you are manufacturing a product or creating a product online, you must exactly know the various material costs incurred in the process. For example in manufacturing a product you might incur expenses on tangible materials, while in developing the software you might have to pay license fee.

Know the Labour Costs
It includes both the wages paid to workers and numbers of hours required to make the product. If the price is kept too low, you might not be able to pay the salaries to workers and get through the cost of the product.

The Overhead Cost

We have often heard people saying, try to keep the overhead cost as low as possible. Overhead cost can be everything from web hosting to phone bills to electricity bill. Keep in mind these overhead costs while pricing your product.

Respect the Industry Price
If your product is priced significantly low or higher than the market price, you either will have to change the price or alter your profit expectations.

Never forget the price of your product also influences the perceived value of your product. People tend to believe that higher priced product is better than the low valued product. So price often serves as the proxy for quality of your product.

One can never be sure about the customer wants, try delivering various products at similar ranges. If necessary let the customer decide the price of your product, this way you get the feedback too.
Know the pinch pint of your product and make them emotionally compelled to buy it.

What about Decoy Pricing?
Have you ever thought about McDonalds economical meal? Why do they offer more of food at comparative low price? That precisely increases their sale. Decoy pricing might be a suitable option for your product too.
If you wish to be more careful while pricing your product, you can seek advice Startup Indian Consultants and give your product a kick start.

How to Start a Dairy Farm?

Dairy farming indeed plays an indispensable role in total milk production and boosting econom How to Start a Dairy Farm y of India. Today it is one of the finest opportunities for any Indian startup. It does not require much marketing since it is a traditional business. Your business remains active in all the seasons and it is Eco friendly too.

Starting your own dairy farm requires capital, infrastructure and intensive knowledge about the modern techniques of dairy farming. Here we give you a few tips to give momentum to your business idea-

Develop a Plan

For any business to be successful it is important to formulate a plan and give your business idea an aim and objective. To turn your mere idea into a successful business venture, do a SWOT analysis, i.e, analyze all your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Your plan should answer all the key questions like number of cows you need, places where you will sell your product or number of employees needed.

Ask the Experts

Growing startup ecosystem has also led to the increase in the number of Indian startup consultants in the market. Taking advice from experts will increase the efficiency of your farm. They can easily guide on the techniques which would suit best in your farm or the breed of cows with high milk production or how to maintain the health of your animals or right place to market your product.

Visit Fields

Even if you have grown up learning dairy farming, it is important for you to visit other commercial dairy farm on few days to know their secret of healthy dairy farming.

Formulate a Feeding Program

Before kick starting your farm, make a feeding program for your cattle. Make the list of all nutrients needed to raise your calf, maintain their health and produce milk.

Waste Management Plan is a Must

A lot of manure is produced by dairy cattle everyday and if this manure is used in the right manner, it can be highly useful for your farm. The manure will make the land more fertile and further increase the revenue.

If you are successful in solving the puzzle of dairy farming and if you seek advice at right time from startup consultants, your business idea turned successful venture will surely be an inspiration for others.

How to Start a Call Center?

BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) or a call center has great scope in India. If you are planning to start a call center, it is important for you to know that a call center has to be registered with NASSCOM.

While registration requires paperwork, there are certain steps which you need to follow to shape your business ideas.

Develop a Plan
Any startup needs a concise business plan. To keep an intention of starting a BPO is not enough. You need to determine what kind of call center you want to start. The answer to this question purely relies on the type of business contracts you want to approach. Some businesses might require inbound calling, others might require outbound calling or telemarketing. Your choice of contract would directly set the base for type of call center. To get a better understanding of type of call center, you can also seek advice from Indian startup consultants.

Plan your Budget
No matter what type of call center you plan to start, you will need equipments like computer, headsets, phones, office supplies, internet connection and telephones. It is wise to estimate the cost of infrastructure before handedly. A work from home call center can reduce the cost of a building.

Number of employees to be hired will depend on the scale of operations. If you are operating on a larger scale, you will need more number of employees and vice versa.

Network, network and network

Requirements and pay scales differ from company to company. It is important to make contacts with business houses that outsource their work and simultaneously publicize your call center. Increase in work will hike the revenue too. Small print ad or a Facebook page can help you make more contacts.

To make an informed choice and accelerated growth you can seek best advice from Start up India Consultants, a one stop solution for all the aspiring entrepreneurs. They formulate growth strategies and help you achieve desired results.