India, China sign agreements on water resources & culture
Nov 6,
India and China today signed agreements in the field of water resources and culture. The two countries inked the pacts in presence of Vice-president Mohd. Hamid Ansari and his Chinese counterpart Li Yuanchao in New Delhi. Vice-President Li will call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening.
The visit of the Chinese Vice-President is part of the intensification of high-level exchanges between India and China. Li Yuanchao landed in New Delhi last night. This is the first ever visit by a Chinese Vice-President to India.
Li Yuanchao arrived in India on Tuesday and visited the Ajanta Caves. Thereafter he traveled to Kolkata and paid a visit to Jorasanko Thakurbari which is the ancestral home of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.
He also met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor of West Bengal Keshari Nath Tripathi. The visits highlighted deep cultural linkages, ancient as well as contemporary, between the two countries.
President #XiJinping and President Tony Tan Keng Yam ahead of state banquetbit.ly/XiInSg (Photo: TODAY)
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” The news that India moved 12 notches upward to 130 position in World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index, should warm heart of everyone who is interested in improving business environment. Though much of the improvement came because of data correction done by World Bank because of which India moved automatically from 142 to 134 position. The initiatives taken during last year improved it further and pushed it from 134 to 130 position. Improvements came about due to amendments in Company Act, Udyog Adhaar and getting power connections easier. That this survey is based on business environment in Delhi and Mumbai alone may not count much for MSMEs who are scattered all over India. Road blocks to growth still exists wherein it takes almost 50 days to register property and 200 days to get construction permit. It is reported in media that a committee has been set up to suggest tax reforms. However, the news that draft Bankruptcy law would be released in 10 days does not warm the heart of MSMEs. Almost 97% of MSMEs being partnerships and proprietorships and even when in Company format due to the personal guarantees, the proposed Bankruptcy law excludes them. Till a comprehensive Insolvency legislation is developed in India for Insolvency of natural persons- entrepreneurs, farmers, consumers etc, the solution suggested by FISME to amend MSMED Act could be reconsidered. PMs target to reach top 50 in 2016 by leap frogging Russia ( 51), South Africa (73), China (84) and Brazil (116), through GST and other changes in business environment reality for MSMEs on the ground is still farfetched. ”
The Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) signed a mutual cooperation agreement with the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCS) on 20th October to facilitate trade between member MSMEs. The MoU was signed by President FISME (India), Sangam Kurade, and President, NCCS (Sri Lanka), Thilak Godamanna. With return of normalcy in Sri Lanka, business is on boom. Sri Lankan entrepreneurs are interested in importing capital goods plants and machines from India. Many Sri Lankan MSMEs also look at India as a big market but find it difficult to access. The cooperation between FISME and NCCS would address these problems.
FISME organized ‘Profit Mantras for Business’ continuing the nationwide series of workshops for bringing practical wisdom to entrepreneurs on 16th October 2015 at Hotel Radisson, Ahmedabad. The seminar was attended by over 100 participants. FISME organised this programme along with Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Vatva Industries Association with a focus on Finance, Marketing & Technology. Mr. Rohit Patel, President, Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry welcomed the participants. The opening remarks were given by Dr. Sangam Kurade, President, FISME. A presentation on Finance was given by Mr Ashish Mathur, Vice President, Axis Management Company Limited. Mr. Manish Sood, Country Category Manager, Hewlett-Packard India gave an insight on New Style of Information Technology through a presentation.
Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) along with Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised an interaction session on factors pertaining for the growth of SMEs, which was held on 14th Oct 2015 at Hotel Crown Plaza, Chennai. The seminar was attended by over 100 participants. Mr. S.G. Prabhakaran, President – Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry, welcomed the participants. Mr Abhijeet Bhandari, Co-Founder & Director, GREX, Mr Manish Sood, Country Category Manager Hewlett-Packard (HP), address the session on the topics – Innovative way of meeting industry financial requirements, emerging trends in Information Technology. The special address by the Chief Guest Mr. Rajiv Khurana, CEO & Founder, The Personnel Lab, Fostering Innovation in Small & Medium Enterprises was quite informative.
Do you ever wonder why a billionaire like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg wears the same getup every day; hoodie, grey t-shirt, jeans and sneakers? It’s for the same reason that another billionaire visionary, the late Steve Jobs, always wore a black turtleneck and jeans to work every day. They don’t want to waste time deciding on matters that won’t translate to productivity. In business, you have to prioritize your day according to which item results in greater return for your invested time. This is otherwise referred to as PROTI: Potential Return on Time Invested.
It is not impossible for India to be among the top 100 countries in ease of doing business next year if it continues with its set of planned economic reforms, including the crucial GST and cut down on the bureaucratic cost, a top World Bank economist has said. “If the changes that we saw thus far can be kept up and strengthened a little, it is not impossible for India to be in top 100 (ranking of the ease of doing business report) by next year,” the World Bank Chief Economist and Senior Vice President, Kaushik Basu told PTI.
The government is considering setting up a special regulator to look into bankruptcy cases and may make it mandatory to take a call on whether to liquidate a company or not within 180 days, a person close to the development said. The government is working on a new bankruptcy code based on recommendations given by the TK Vishwanathan committee, which submitted its final report to the government about ten days ago, that would tilt the balance in favour of creditors, the person said.
Prior to 18-09-15, when the Entrepreneurs’ Memorandum-II was filled with the GM (DIC), heterogeneous systems were in vogue, the Ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) today said in a Facebook post. This initiative of maintaining the data on MSMEs with Ministry of MSME is likely to save cost in the long run since States/UTs would no longer be requiring to maintain the same, said the Ministry. Some States had their own online systems for registering MSMEs, some were using the national portal created by Ministry of MSME and some (around 10 states) were continuing with the manual (paper form) system of filing EM-II, the Ministry added.
The Government of India has constituted a Committee with a view to simplify the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The members of the committee include – Justice R.V. Easwar, (Retd.), former Judge, Delhi High Court and former President, ITAT as Chairman; V.K. Bhasin, former Law Secretary as Member; Vinod Jain, Chartered Accountant as Member among others. The Committee will study and identify – the provisions/phrases in the Act which are leading to litigation due to different interpretations; the provisions which are impacting the ease of doing business; the areas and provisions of the Act for simplification in the light of the existing jurisprudence; and will suggest alternatives and modifications to the existing provisions and areas so identified to bring about predictability and certainty in tax laws without substantial impact on the tax base and revenue collection.
Amidst steadily falling exports, Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) has said a lot of the slide can be contained with better packaging and to help improve packaging it has decided to massively increase specifications for export items to 500 over next five years. “We aim to draw specifications for 500 export products within the next five years and have already completed the job for 28 products,” IIP director and principal executive officer NC Saha said here today. The IIP is a body under the commerce ministry.
Global management consultancy Hay Group will help 100 selected entrepreneurs transform their startups into successful companies of the future. Under the Hay Group’s NextBig100 programme, founders and leaders of startups can look forward to insights, guidance, mentoring and coaching, which will help them move from being a startup to a full grown organisation. Some of the selected startups for this programme include Competition Buzz, Zooter, Beatroot, Krave On, The Online Yogi, ShutterSteam, YouthConnect, PickMe, Floh and Travel Triangle, among others.
Government is ready to provide financial support to revive sick industrial units if it comes across a viable proposal, MSME Secretary Anup K Pujari said today. “If there is a specific idea in your mind and need some financial support to revive sick units, you may come up with a proposal,” said Pujari at an Assocham conference here. “Among the companies which have turned sick, if their business proposition is good but it has not been executed correctly, they may very well revive,” he added.
In recognition of the quality of engineering granite products it manufactures, Technospark Industries India Private Limited in Bengaluru has been awarded first prize by the Office of Development Commissioner (MSME), Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India. The Managing Director of Technospark Industries India Private Limited is Mohan Suresh who is also a past president of the Federation of Indian Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME). Several other outstanding performers in the MSME sector will be similarly honoured with a trophy and a certificate at an award ceremony, scheduled for a later date.
The government has made it mandatory for the importers and exporters to use digital signatures to file documents from January 1, 2016. The Centrals Boards of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said, “With effect from 1.01.2016, all importers and exporters using the services of Customs Brokers for formalities under Customs Act, 1962, will be required to mandatorily file custom documents under the digital signature certificates,” it said in a circular to field officials. Further, wherever the customs process documents are digitally signed, the customs will not insist on the user to physically sign the said documents.”
Utilities’ transformers are failing too frequently these days due to their dubious quality, opening an opportunity for non-empanelled workshops to get into the business of transformer repair. The lure for such workshops is costly copper wire inside transformers which they can steal during repair. By dangling the bait of discounted charges, workshops are able to get locals to hand over burnt transformers for repair to them. This malpractice came to the fore recently when during a raid by utility officials; three workshops in the Shamli district of West UP were found in possession of at least a dozen burnt transformers which were brought to them by locals for repair.
Cotton farmers now have an option of switching to non-BT or traditional hybrid varieties that have given comparable yields in trials at nearly half the input costs. The trials are being conduct ed by farmers’ bodies in the key cotton growing states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over hundreds of acres amid growing dis content among farmers owing to swelling input costs and less than remunerative selling prices.
A 3rd National Vendor Development programme and Kaigarika Expo 2015 is being organized here on November 14 and 15 in order to provide a common platform for micro, small, medium and large scale industries for a live interaction to understand their requirements, and facilitate in establishing business linkages. The buying organisation will be able to select the potential entrepreneurs to whom various components, assemblies, sub-assemblies are outsourced.
In a step towards making micro small, medium and enterprises (MSMEs) of the state more competitive in the global market, Odisha Government has decided to take up corporate governance training for MSME entrepreneurs in the context of new Companies Act-2013. The programme will be implemented under the joint aegis of MSME Department and Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). This has been discussed in a high level meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Gokul Chandra Pati on Monday. Vice President, ICSI, Mamata Binani along with Chairperson Eastern India Regional Council of ICSI Sunita Mohanty were also present.
Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday announced that the state government would come up with a new policy under “Make in Punjab” to encourage the local industry by providing incentives for its growth. Addressing a series of meetings with owners of small as well as large-scale enterprises, Badal said government was committed to reviving the existing units along with attracting new industry. “My aim is to provide entrepreneurs with congenial atmosphere, liberal policies, and online facilities for overall progress and job opportunities in Punjab,” he added.
Seeking to boost ties with Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India will offer concessional credit of $10 billion over the next five years. “This will be in addition to our ongoing credit programme,” he said. “We will also offer a grant assistance of $600 million. This will include an India-Africa Development Fund of $100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of $10 million,” Modi said. “We wish to deepen our cooperation in maritime security and hydrography, and countering terrorism and extremism; and, why we must have a UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism,” Modi said. “We will also provide support for Africa Union’s peacekeeping efforts. And, we will train African peacekeepers here and in Africa. We must also have a stronger voice in decisions on UN Peacekeeping Missions,” he added.
At the ongoing India-Africa summit, India is positioning itself as a reliable investment partner for Africa’s growing economies based on a model that gives nations a sense of ownership and respects their long-term interests, unlike China that critics say has often ignored local sentiments. While Beijing has been accused of being prescriptive and ignoring local demands — for instance, not hiring local workers for many China-funded projects in Africa has given rise to resentment — Delhi’s investment model will give African nations a sense of ownership. This model, Indian officials said, is based on the suggestions from and requirements of African nations.
Botswana has sought investments from India in key sectors like diamond, agriculture, mining, energy, information and communications technology (ICT), which is appropriate for the priority sectors of its economy. “Our goal is to attract as diversified a number of Indian investors and entrepreneurs as is appropriate for our priority sectors of the economy as possible so as to meet the economic impetus by investors in India,” Republic of Botswana Vice President Mokgweetsi E Masisi told PTI on the sidelines of CII’s ‘Invest in Botswana’ event here.
Ahead of the Paris climate talks, India has said that it hopes for an equitable and just climate agreement in Paris, but the developed world will have to come out with more reasonable proposals. Interacting with netizens through ‘MyGov’ talk on Climate Change here on Monday, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar, said that India does not want Paris to fail. He referred to French President, Francois Hollande’s statement that unless the developed world commits more finance and technological support, Paris can be a failure, an official release said.
Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) is implementing the flagship programme of Ministry of MSME to provide guarantee to the Banks for collateral free loan to micro and small enterprises up to the credit limit of Rs 1 crore. Till September, 2015, under the scheme, credit to the tune of Rs 10, 16, 683 crore have been guaranteed to nearly 17.22 lakh entrepreneurs, a commendable achievement indeed. Only in the first half of fiscal 2015 -16, nearly 2 lakh entrepreneurs were facilitated collateral free credit, under the scheme.
According to the FISME Factor, 40 percent of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) agree that we can expect more US companies will be investing in India post PM’s visit while 40 percent think otherwise.
Quickly finding an appropriate job had been a prospective jobseeker’s area of concern. Now, a host of websites catering to the needs of large candidate pool has sprung up. There has been no dearth of funding opportunities for such ventures. Take Hiree. Founders Manjunath Talwar and Abhijit Khasnis wanted to not only expedite the hiring process but also to help job-seekers find better offers fast. They thought the current hiring processes were too slow to meet aspirants’ requirements.
As the founder of a startup, you had an idea, created a minimum viable product (MVP) and now all set to raise an investment. While raising investment is important for scaling any startup, it is equally important and imperative to understand the basics before you go out to raise your first round of funds.
Enticing new, potential consumers is imperative, but equally important, and less expensive, is keeping established buyers satisfied and loyal. Forrester, a research and advisory firm focusing on technology and business trends, found that it costs five times more to acquire new customers than it does to keep current ones. So make sure to show gratitude and maintain a positive relationship with existing buyers.
Whether it is making your own coffee table or rustling up an exotic dish, Generation Y has taken a liking to DIY (do it yourself) kits. Helping them in this endeavour are some retail and food startups, which themselves are experimenting with the concept. Half-year-old Bengaluru-based startup Ubyld ships close to 100 DIY furniture kits every day. Cofounder Shobha Nair said as much as 90% of its customers were women, “who take pride in making their own shelves, consoles, wine racks, coffee tables and chairs”.
Atul Satija had a clear vision in his mind. He wanted to leave his comfy job at Google and embark on a journey to do some social good. The 39-year-old had one goal: to get on his personal journey before he hit 40. “I was eager to move to the social sector full time. The actual rumblings started while I was in Google, during 2006-10. Whilst there, I enrolled in a programme EndPoverty, a non-profit. Though I joined them as a volunteer, the idea stuck, since poverty alleviation is close to my heart,” said Satija. Satija, who has an MBA from the Indian School of Business and a BTech from the National Institute of Technology, was Head of Business Development for India at Google and was also leading its mobile business for Japan and Asia-Pacific.
“ Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal — a commitment to excellence — that will enable you to attain the success you seek. ”
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