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President's Message
"
Dear friends, Namaskar !
At the time of receiving the baton of FISME’s Presidency, I find MSMEs on crossroads. While growth prospects loom, the banks are turning pusillanimous. (Even RBI Governor finds rate reduction useless as Banks fail to transmit reduction to consumers). While the GST still eludes, Service Tax rates are once again increased in its name.
Another interesting development when I embark on this journey: burial of reservation policy. By de-reserving 20 remaining items from exclusive manufacture by MSMEs, the last relic of licence permit raj in MSME sector ( erstwhile SSI sector) has been done away with. The policy had become redundant following India’s joining of WTO in 1995 and removal of all the Quantitative Restrictions (QRs) from imports in 2001. In its current shape the policy allowed import of reserved items but restricted their manufacture in India by non-MSMEs which was ridiculous. FISME has been consistent in exposing the false notion of protection that reservation policy gave to many MSMEs after post WTO regime and called for its early scrapping.
In today’s time, three critical ways to support MSMEs are through an enabling tax regime, ensuring ease of access to finance and ease of doing business. Let’s hope the gaze of the Government now turns to these more pressing and relevant issues.
While we await for the wisdom to be drawn on powers that be entrepreneurs and businesses shall continue to march on with hope in their hearts: Woh subah kabhi to aayegi !
"
FISME organised ‘Profit Mantras for Business’, 9th edition in the series, to accelerate the business growth and bringing practical wisdom to entrepreneurs along with Mohali Industries Association (MIA) on 10th April 2015 at Hotel Mountview, Chandigarh.
Amongst 150 guests who attended the programme were Mr Gurkirpal Singh – President, Mohali Industries Association, who welcomed the guests, Mr. Gagan Chhabra- General Secretary, MIA, Mr R. K. Garg -Vice President, MIA, Mr Ramesh Chawla- Finance Secretary, MIA.
A presentation on Alternate ways of Financing was given by Mr. Vishal Devanath, Founder & CEO, Smergers. This was followed by a presentation on New Style of Information Technology by Mr. Deepak Bajaj, Regional Manager, Hewlett-Packard (HP).
Life is tough. Life as an entrepreneur is tougher.
Your safety net is you. No health plan with 47 sick days. No paid vacation. No sabbatical after 10 years of mindbending effort.
Speaker and international business strategist, Dan Waldschmidt, knows all about it. He is one of Clarity’s most popular experts when it comes to business and sales strategy, and here are a few reasons why:
The Wall Street Journal calls his blog, Edgy Conversations, one of the Top 7 sales blogs anywhere on the internet.
Proposing tough guidelines for outsourcing of work by Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said NBFCs should ensure that their outsourcing arrangements neither diminish their ability to fulfil their obligations to customers and RBI, nor impede effective supervision by the central bank.
The move aims to ensure that their recovery agents do not resort to intimidation or harassment, either verbal or physical of borrowers.
Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today unveiled the foreign trade policy (FTP) for five years from 2015 to 2020 launching two new schemes - Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS).
Under MEIS- which replaces five export promotion schemes under operation till now, a specific value of CENVAT/ Drawback Scrips shall be payable as percentage of realized FOB value (in free foreign exchange).
India has a huge potential to become a global manufacturing hub, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he invited the whole world to partner with the fastest growing economy in this endeavour.
"The entire world is looking at India. Demography, democracy and demand are attracting the world to India," Modi said as he along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel inaugurated the 'India Pavilion' at the Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial fair.
India will showcase its design, innovation, manufacturing prowess at Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial fair, apart from yoga, wellness and culture to woo German business to invest in the country.
India will be the partner country at the April 13-17 fair and will project India's brand image by incorporating many of the key core sectors of the Indian portfolio forming part of the 'Make in India' campaign.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Chancellor Merkel, will inaugurate the 'India Pavilion' of the fair tomorrow.
A high-level government committee has pitched for a major liberalisation of the overseas debt framework for Indian companies. The panel headed by former Sebi member M S Sahoo has said restrictions on borrowers, lenders, end-uses, amount, maturity, all-in-cost ceiling must be removed as these were product of the time and had outlived their utility. "These must be removed as these do not address now the identified market failure associated with external commercial borrowings that is, systemic risk arising from currency exposure and global risk tolerance", the report made public on Friday said.
The ECBs may be allowed to be accessed by any firm for any end use, it said.
The proposed India-EU trade liberalisation pact will not benefit domestic automobile firms and runs counter to the government's flagship programme 'Make in India, auto industry body SIAM has said.
India should keep the labour intensive sector out of the purview of the free trade agreements particularly the proposed pact with the 28-nation European Union bloc.
"FTAs with competing countries do not benefit Indian automobile industry, it is against the concept of 'Make in India' for local value addition and local employment and as such completely built units (CBUs) of vehicles and engines should be kept in India's negative list under India-EU FTA," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said.
The government's National Energy Policy will bear a strong imprint of its think tank NITI Aayog, which has already started preliminary discussions with stakeholder ministries to draft a blueprint for India's energy road map to help meet the country's growing demand for solar, wind, gas and coal energy.
"My colleagues at NITI Aayog will contribute to the National Energy Policy along with key ministries," Aayog vice chairman Arvind Panagariya said on Monday, adding that discussions are at a preliminary stage.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) to cater to the financial needs of over fifty million self-employed people.
‘Mudra will build on the only capital that fifty million landless self-employed people have: trust’, Modi said.
The Initial products launched under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Youjna are in three categories: Shishu- covering loan size up to Rs. 50,000; Kishore loan sizes from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 5 lac and Tarun for loan sizes from Rs. 5 lac to Rs. 10 lac. At least 60% of the loans has been earmarked for loans sizes up to Rs. 50,000.
Big companies can now produce bread, pickles and chutneys, wooden furniture, fireworks, glass bangles and other things that had been reserved for small units.
The government has lifted curbs on making 20 items that had been exclusively meant for micro and small enterprises, dropping one of the last remaining industrial production controls and opening the way for their manufacture on a large scale. In keeping with the various ease-of-doing business measures, the government said the move will encourage greater investment to upgrade technology and standards towards enhancing competition.
Indian artisans will get business opportunity by showcasing their products in the upcoming Art International Handicraft Trade Fair to be held from April 24 to May 3, 2015 at Fortezza de Basso, Florence, Italy.
Office of DC (MSME) is participating in the 79th edition of the global event being organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).
“The objectives of O/o DC (MSME)'s participation in this fair are to strengthen bilateral trade and promote Indian products and technologies and also identifying areas of exports in Italy,” said the Ministry of MSME.
In a move to become more inclusive, the National Association for Software and Services Companies will invite leaders of smaller-and-medium-sized companies to sit on its executive board and on the boards of its sectoral councils, BVR Mohan Reddy, chairman of the industry body, said.
Inclusiveness is one of Mohan Reddy's key priorities as he takes over as Chairman of Nasscom for 2015-2016. Reddy's role as Vice Chairman has been filled by Tech Mahindra BSE 0.34 % Chief Executive C P Gurnani.
Tax laws need to keep pace with the challenge posed by e-commerce to ensure appropriate taxation, said a joint study released by Assocham and Deloitte India.
The report said that the government’s proposed Goods and Service Tax (to be introduced by April 2016), should be a modern tax to cover additive manufacturing, eliminate the anomaly of double taxation on software and address issues faced by e-commerce companies.
Some of the other key challenges for e-commerce businesses include supply chain.
India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City near here became operational today and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled rules and regulations for this global financial hub.
Jaitley also attacked the previous UPA government for being "lethargic" in giving permission to the IFSC.
"Luckily, as soon as the government changed, things started moving fast and the new government has given all the due permissions. As a result, IFSC has now formally become operational from today. I am confident it will provide a huge lift to the economy of Gujarat as well as of the country," he said.
In a first of its kind initiative in the country, Gujarat government is promoting a tour package covering major industrial installations which have earned global acclaim for the state.
Some of the major attractions of this recently launched tour package include a visit to Tata Nano plant in Sanand, Pipavav port near Amreli, Alang ship breaking yard in Bhavnagar and Amul Dairy in Anand.
The package, called Industrial Tour of Gujarat, has been offered by city-based Akshar Travels Pvt Ltd, official partner of state-run tourism agency Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL), which is promoting the tour on its website.
Karnataka Small Industries Minister Sathish Jarakiholi on Sunday said measures will be taken to build helipads at the industrial areas in the state.
Presiding over the progress review meeting at the Government Guest House here, Jarakiholi said that a survey of sick industries is planned. It could be taken up with the help of non-governmental organisations. Divisional level industrial adalats will be conducted next month.
E-retail giant Amazon has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Telangana government to help the small and medium enterprises take advantage of the digital economy.
With this view, Amazon will teach as many as 1,000 SMEs based in the state to leverage the full benefits of e-commerce platform.
The e-commerce giant will help them through seminars, workshops, video aids and ready reckoners on “how to list and manage inventory for an ecommerce business.”
Bharat Heavy Electricals LtdBSE 2.98 % (BHEL) today said it has commissioned another 600 MW unit of a thermal power project in Chhattisgarh.
The unit was commissioned at Dainik Bhaskar Power Ltd's (DBPL) upcoming 2x600 MW thermal power project located at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa district of Chhattisgarh, BHELBSE 2.98 % said in a statement.
This is the second unit of the power project, commissioned by BHEL, it added.
The first 600 MW unit was commissioned by the company last year.
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari today said that inland waterways would be developed through five rivers in Goa.
"We have decided to develop 101 rivers for inland waterways, of which five are in Goa. We will take up the work in a phased manner," Gadkari told reporters here in the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.Gadkari said that in the first phase, two rivers -- Mandovi and Zuari -- will be taken up for development. Chapora, Mapusa and Sal rivers would be taken up later.
With special emphasis on making India a manufacturing hub, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday listed out multiple initiatives by the government to make the country investor friendly and pitched for his pet 'Make in India' initiative.
Modi's pitch for attracting foreign investors to boost his 'Make In India' initiative came at the inauguration of the Indo-German Business Summit at the Hannover Fair where he and Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the India Pavillion. "Low-cost manufacturing, efficient governance and no-defect manufacturing makes India a global engine in the manufacturing centre," he said, adding there is a huge potential of India becoming a manufacturing hub.
Australia has reiterated its desire to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with India by the end of the current year.
This issue (FTA) was the main subject of discussion at a meeting between Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Monday.
Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott had last year approved of such an agreement, signalling that political will existed at the top for the FTA.
The interest on signing a FTA had gathered momentum since last year after Modi-led Government assumed power in May 2014 and Abbott taking steps to strengthen Australia’s relations with India.
Expecting the removal of trade sanctions imposed on it by western nations, Iran has proposed a free trade agreement with India to boost bilateral trade and investment.
The matter came up for discussion during the recent visit of Commerce Secretary, Rajeev Kher to Tehran. He was there for the first meeting of the joint working group (JWG) of the two countries.
"Iran is very keen to enhance its trade relations with India. It wants to increase its share in the global trade and they said that India can play a very major role in fulfilling that ambition," Kher said.
Will the opening of MUDRA Bank ease access to finance for MSMEs?
According to the FISME Factor, 89 per cent of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) think that the opening of MUDRA Bank will ease access to finance for MSMEs, while 11 per cent disagree.
Employee happiness is not a myth; it can and does exist. There are number of quick, easy and low-cost ways companies can start boosting employee happiness and productivity.
With employee productivity so crucial to business growth, it should be encouraging to companies to learn that employee happiness is so closely connected to their performance, because employee happiness is not a myth; it can and does exist.
The Best Financial Advice for Small Business Owners Now
More than a few of our clients at Glassman Wealth Services are small business owners and entrepreneurs, so I’m often asked to give advice on ways to improve their businesses or share ideas that will give them a competitive edge.
As a small business owner myself, I know first-hand the challenges that many of my fellow small business owners face. But there are some smart things that small business owners should consider doing now. Here’s my top 3 tips:
Brand building: Impetus for SMEs to gain competitive edge
Brand recognition is the keystone of any successful business, irrespective of its size. While multinationals see branding as an integral part of their business tactics, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which operate on shoestring budgets, often stand at a critical crossroads when it comes to marketing and brand building.
However, there is a growing realization among Indian SMEs exhibiting a robust entrepreneurial spirit, that marketing and an effective brand strategy can rev up the revenue cycle and increase sales.
Govt mulls steps to encourage use of Jan Dhan accounts
Having opened over 12 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts under its flagship financial inclusion programme, the government is now mulling over ways to step up the utilisation of these accounts, including through POS transactions and the Business Correspondents.
A meeting has been called by the Finance Ministry on Tuesday, April 7, of representatives from public sector banks and the business correspondents (BCs) of the banks, who can help in last-mile implementation of the inclusion efforts.
"Quality Work Will on its Own Translate into Monetary Gains"
InfraBuild Venture Partners (IVP) was incorporated in early 2012 after working on the concept for almost three years. The journey has been exciting, but not without our share of struggle, setbacks and failures.
Initially, the market was skeptical of our survival because of the high barriers of entry that exists in the sectors we decided to operate in - energy, defence, healthcare, financial services and trading. We in our endeavour also made some mistakes along the way, which is a part of the learning curve. However, the experience had ensured that now we have a clear vision and have made our own niche space. It took us more than a year and half to establish our credibility and get our feet firmly planted on the ground.
Set up in 2012, ‘I Say Organic’ (ISO), a Delhi-based organic food retailer, envisages making organic produce a norm rather than an exception in the country.
Ashmeet Kapoor, the firm’s 28-year-old founder, has been influenced by a healthy way of life. After graduating as an engineer from the University of British Columbia, he undertook entrepreneurship studies at Brown University. “I was too young to think about what I wanted to do,” quipped Kapoor when asked about his departure from engineering to agriculture.
ISO liaises with farmer groups through an established network of partner associations. Most of the 3,000 farmers across 10 States engaged with these partners practise organic farming.
FISME regularly receives monthly reports on the economies of various countries from their missions in India. These reports provide information on key economic parameters, trade related information and all news relevant for importers and exporters. In this edition you can take a look at reports on:
Write your comments on the FISME Factor. Share your views and suggestions on MSME issues. Win prize! The best mail will get a special book every fortnight.
send mail to: newsletter@fisme.org.in
You are receiving this Newsletter because you are included in our mailing list of recipients who are involved or interested in FISME or Indian MSMEs. You are welcome to partly or fully reproduce and disseminate the contents of this publication provided that you acknowledge the source.
This Newsletter is edited by the FISME Secretariat. We welcome contributions as well as comments and suggestions. Please write to newsletter@fisme.org.in
"
Dear friends, Namaskar !
FISME organised ‘Profit Mantras for Business’, 9th edition in the series, to accelerate the business growth and bringing practical wisdom to entrepreneurs along with Mohali Industries Association (MIA) on 10th April 2015 at Hotel Mountview, Chandigarh.
Amongst 150 guests who attended the programme were Mr Gurkirpal Singh – President, Mohali Industries Association, who welcomed the guests, Mr. Gagan Chhabra- General Secretary, MIA, Mr R. K. Garg -Vice President, MIA, Mr Ramesh Chawla- Finance Secretary, MIA.
A presentation on Alternate ways of Financing was given by Mr. Vishal Devanath, Founder & CEO, Smergers. This was followed by a presentation on New Style of Information Technology by Mr. Deepak Bajaj, Regional Manager, Hewlett-Packard (HP).
Life is tough. Life as an entrepreneur is tougher.
Your safety net is you. No health plan with 47 sick days. No paid vacation. No sabbatical after 10 years of mindbending effort.
Speaker and international business strategist, Dan Waldschmidt, knows all about it. He is one of Clarity’s most popular experts when it comes to business and sales strategy, and here are a few reasons why:
The Wall Street Journal calls his blog, Edgy Conversations, one of the Top 7 sales blogs anywhere on the internet.
Proposing tough guidelines for outsourcing of work by Non Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said NBFCs should ensure that their outsourcing arrangements neither diminish their ability to fulfil their obligations to customers and RBI, nor impede effective supervision by the central bank.
The move aims to ensure that their recovery agents do not resort to intimidation or harassment, either verbal or physical of borrowers.
Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today unveiled the foreign trade policy (FTP) for five years from 2015 to 2020 launching two new schemes - Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) and Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS).
Under MEIS- which replaces five export promotion schemes under operation till now, a specific value of CENVAT/ Drawback Scrips shall be payable as percentage of realized FOB value (in free foreign exchange).
India has a huge potential to become a global manufacturing hub, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he invited the whole world to partner with the fastest growing economy in this endeavour.
"The entire world is looking at India. Demography, democracy and demand are attracting the world to India," Modi said as he along with German Chancellor Angela Merkel inaugurated the 'India Pavilion' at the Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial fair.
India will showcase its design, innovation, manufacturing prowess at Hannover Messe, the world's largest industrial fair, apart from yoga, wellness and culture to woo German business to invest in the country.
India will be the partner country at the April 13-17 fair and will project India's brand image by incorporating many of the key core sectors of the Indian portfolio forming part of the 'Make in India' campaign.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Chancellor Merkel, will inaugurate the 'India Pavilion' of the fair tomorrow.
A high-level government committee has pitched for a major liberalisation of the overseas debt framework for Indian companies. The panel headed by former Sebi member M S Sahoo has said restrictions on borrowers, lenders, end-uses, amount, maturity, all-in-cost ceiling must be removed as these were product of the time and had outlived their utility. "These must be removed as these do not address now the identified market failure associated with external commercial borrowings that is, systemic risk arising from currency exposure and global risk tolerance", the report made public on Friday said.
The ECBs may be allowed to be accessed by any firm for any end use, it said.
The proposed India-EU trade liberalisation pact will not benefit domestic automobile firms and runs counter to the government's flagship programme 'Make in India, auto industry body SIAM has said.
India should keep the labour intensive sector out of the purview of the free trade agreements particularly the proposed pact with the 28-nation European Union bloc.
"FTAs with competing countries do not benefit Indian automobile industry, it is against the concept of 'Make in India' for local value addition and local employment and as such completely built units (CBUs) of vehicles and engines should be kept in India's negative list under India-EU FTA," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Micro Units Development & Refinance Agency Ltd (MUDRA) to cater to the financial needs of over fifty million self-employed people.
‘Mudra will build on the only capital that fifty million landless self-employed people have: trust’, Modi said.
The Initial products launched under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Youjna are in three categories: Shishu- covering loan size up to Rs. 50,000; Kishore loan sizes from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 5 lac and Tarun for loan sizes from Rs. 5 lac to Rs. 10 lac. At least 60% of the loans has been earmarked for loans sizes up to Rs. 50,000.
Big companies can now produce bread, pickles and chutneys, wooden furniture, fireworks, glass bangles and other things that had been reserved for small units.
The government has lifted curbs on making 20 items that had been exclusively meant for micro and small enterprises, dropping one of the last remaining industrial production controls and opening the way for their manufacture on a large scale. In keeping with the various ease-of-doing business measures, the government said the move will encourage greater investment to upgrade technology and standards towards enhancing competition.
Indian artisans will get business opportunity by showcasing their products in the upcoming Art International Handicraft Trade Fair to be held from April 24 to May 3, 2015 at Fortezza de Basso, Florence, Italy.
Office of DC (MSME) is participating in the 79th edition of the global event being organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).
“The objectives of O/o DC (MSME)'s participation in this fair are to strengthen bilateral trade and promote Indian products and technologies and also identifying areas of exports in Italy,” said the Ministry of MSME.
In a move to become more inclusive, the National Association for Software and Services Companies will invite leaders of smaller-and-medium-sized companies to sit on its executive board and on the boards of its sectoral councils, BVR Mohan Reddy, chairman of the industry body, said.
Inclusiveness is one of Mohan Reddy's key priorities as he takes over as Chairman of Nasscom for 2015-2016. Reddy's role as Vice Chairman has been filled by Tech Mahindra BSE 0.34 % Chief Executive C P Gurnani.
India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City near here became operational today and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley unveiled rules and regulations for this global financial hub.
Jaitley also attacked the previous UPA government for being "lethargic" in giving permission to the IFSC.
"Luckily, as soon as the government changed, things started moving fast and the new government has given all the due permissions. As a result, IFSC has now formally become operational from today. I am confident it will provide a huge lift to the economy of Gujarat as well as of the country," he said.
Karnataka Small Industries Minister Sathish Jarakiholi on Sunday said measures will be taken to build helipads at the industrial areas in the state.
Presiding over the progress review meeting at the Government Guest House here, Jarakiholi said that a survey of sick industries is planned. It could be taken up with the help of non-governmental organisations. Divisional level industrial adalats will be conducted next month.
E-retail giant Amazon has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Telangana government to help the small and medium enterprises take advantage of the digital economy.
With this view, Amazon will teach as many as 1,000 SMEs based in the state to leverage the full benefits of e-commerce platform.
The e-commerce giant will help them through seminars, workshops, video aids and ready reckoners on “how to list and manage inventory for an ecommerce business.”
Bharat Heavy Electricals LtdBSE 2.98 % (BHEL) today said it has commissioned another 600 MW unit of a thermal power project in Chhattisgarh.
The unit was commissioned at Dainik Bhaskar Power Ltd's (DBPL) upcoming 2x600 MW thermal power project located at Dhabra in Janjgir Champa district of Chhattisgarh, BHELBSE 2.98 % said in a statement.
This is the second unit of the power project, commissioned by BHEL, it added.
The first 600 MW unit was commissioned by the company last year.
Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari today said that inland waterways would be developed through five rivers in Goa.
"We have decided to develop 101 rivers for inland waterways, of which five are in Goa. We will take up the work in a phased manner," Gadkari told reporters here in the presence of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar.Gadkari said that in the first phase, two rivers -- Mandovi and Zuari -- will be taken up for development. Chapora, Mapusa and Sal rivers would be taken up later.
With special emphasis on making India a manufacturing hub, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday listed out multiple initiatives by the government to make the country investor friendly and pitched for his pet 'Make in India' initiative.
Modi's pitch for attracting foreign investors to boost his 'Make In India' initiative came at the inauguration of the Indo-German Business Summit at the Hannover Fair where he and Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the India Pavillion. "Low-cost manufacturing, efficient governance and no-defect manufacturing makes India a global engine in the manufacturing centre," he said, adding there is a huge potential of India becoming a manufacturing hub.
Australia has reiterated its desire to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with India by the end of the current year.
This issue (FTA) was the main subject of discussion at a meeting between Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Monday.
Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott had last year approved of such an agreement, signalling that political will existed at the top for the FTA.
The interest on signing a FTA had gathered momentum since last year after Modi-led Government assumed power in May 2014 and Abbott taking steps to strengthen Australia’s relations with India.
Expecting the removal of trade sanctions imposed on it by western nations, Iran has proposed a free trade agreement with India to boost bilateral trade and investment.
The matter came up for discussion during the recent visit of Commerce Secretary, Rajeev Kher to Tehran. He was there for the first meeting of the joint working group (JWG) of the two countries.
"Iran is very keen to enhance its trade relations with India. It wants to increase its share in the global trade and they said that India can play a very major role in fulfilling that ambition," Kher said.
According to the FISME Factor, 89 per cent of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) think that the opening of MUDRA Bank will ease access to finance for MSMEs, while 11 per cent disagree.
Employee happiness is not a myth; it can and does exist. There are number of quick, easy and low-cost ways companies can start boosting employee happiness and productivity.
With employee productivity so crucial to business growth, it should be encouraging to companies to learn that employee happiness is so closely connected to their performance, because employee happiness is not a myth; it can and does exist.
Brand recognition is the keystone of any successful business, irrespective of its size. While multinationals see branding as an integral part of their business tactics, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which operate on shoestring budgets, often stand at a critical crossroads when it comes to marketing and brand building.
However, there is a growing realization among Indian SMEs exhibiting a robust entrepreneurial spirit, that marketing and an effective brand strategy can rev up the revenue cycle and increase sales.
Having opened over 12 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts under its flagship financial inclusion programme, the government is now mulling over ways to step up the utilisation of these accounts, including through POS transactions and the Business Correspondents.
A meeting has been called by the Finance Ministry on Tuesday, April 7, of representatives from public sector banks and the business correspondents (BCs) of the banks, who can help in last-mile implementation of the inclusion efforts.
Set up in 2012, ‘I Say Organic’ (ISO), a Delhi-based organic food retailer, envisages making organic produce a norm rather than an exception in the country.
Ashmeet Kapoor, the firm’s 28-year-old founder, has been influenced by a healthy way of life. After graduating as an engineer from the University of British Columbia, he undertook entrepreneurship studies at Brown University. “I was too young to think about what I wanted to do,” quipped Kapoor when asked about his departure from engineering to agriculture.
ISO liaises with farmer groups through an established network of partner associations. Most of the 3,000 farmers across 10 States engaged with these partners practise organic farming.
If ethics are poor at the top, that behavior is copied down through the organization 
