Month: September 2020

Categories
Startup

List of 4 AI-Based Start-Ups Which Will Inspire, Amaze, And Amuse You

मार्केटिंग

DREAM BIG, ACT NOW – is the new motto for success in any start-up now. In the past few years, AI start-up numbers have tremendously increased. Now, many industries have adopted Artificial intelligence for better and security and other purposes.

So, every passing day we get closer towards an AI-first world, and it will be no wrong to say it’s the right time to step into this world and make your mark on it. We all talk and say, in the future world will be run by AI and robots. We listed a few startups who are working hard to bring a great change in transformation in the Indian tech ecosystem.

The fight against Covid-19 is still going on and many companies from the world are leveraging the use of technologies in the best possible way

Ajna AI

Ajna is a Chennai- based founded in May 2020, AI start-up which aims to build SaaS products that deliver a vision-based video Analytics solution. This app currently provides solutions like crowd safety intelligence, automated queue management, and retail video analytics system. Tasks carried out by them are mask detection, social distancing, people counting, safety reporting, crowd density analysis, and risk prediction.

Their focus industry is the retail industry, where they try to solve problems like limited information about customers and their behaviour in-store and many more.

Expertrons

Founded in 2019, Mumbai – based start-up is the world’s first AI video bot- assisted platform. This platform helps aspirants to learn from the interview experience of other experts in the field.

The main motive of the platform is to help college graduates understand the experience of a big organization’s work. The start-up owners say the best way to know how to crack a certain interview when you know from the people who have cracked it. They provide 24*7 interview question- related queries through video-bots of mentors.

Blocksapp.AI

This Hyderabad based start-up has developed an AI-based drone for a monitoring solution for helping police and local bodies in their work. Their drones help in sending an accurate image to the ground station to keep track of the situation. To fight with the Covid-19, solve many purposes like surveillance on hot spots, unsecured locations, spraying of disinfectants by drones Supply, and delivery of essential medicines.

BlueSemi

Another Hyderabad based tech start-up has developed a contactless and wireless thermal scanning device. The best part of this AI-enabled device helps in recording the temperature without any manual interference and is integrated with any healthcare platform.

BlueSemi can be handled by any Bluetooth/wireless device, ideally on a mobile app. We can call this new – age wireless technology helps in minimizing the exposure of healthcare workers by providing useful information at record speed.

Our country is among the top nations to have achieved millions of funding tech-based start-ups. Through their innovation, great minded strategy, and use of impactful use of technology made these startups stand out. We have mentioned just a few start-ups who work on AI-based, but there are many more on the list.

 

Categories
Business motivation

Small But Smart: 4 Business Ideas for Starting Small To Go Big

A business might be small but the dream is always big and special and that is to make a mark for yourself in the entrepreneurial world making a difference with your efforts! It is said that to reach somewhere big, you need to start small. So, why not start with establishing a small business of your own to test the waters? In India, there are plenty of opportunities for you to bring the best business ideas to existence and earn a decent living out of it.

 

One might get confused as to what business idea would work out for them as there are many business ideas out there to consider. Worry not, always choose the one that matches your niche as well as the budget! Choose the one that ignites the fire within you and invest in it 100% of your blood, sweat, and hard work to pass this test with flying colors. Worry not, we have got you covered. We will share a few ideas with you that might have your interest, stay tuned.

It’s The Matter Of Band-Baja-Baraat

Yes, wedding planners are what we are referring to. India is the land known for its larger than life weddings. People these days have generous budgets for organizing a wedding, however, sometimes struggle to make it happen as efficiently as they want. If you have to notch management skills and an eye for creativity, your search ends here.

Everybody Say Cheese 

Professional photography is another thing that has emerged as one of the most profitable businesses in recent years. Everybody wants to capture the special moments of their lives in the most special manner possible and this is where professional photographers come into the picture. If the idea “clicks” with you, you are just a DSLR camera away from starting your photography business.

Win Them Over With The Edible Love

This profession/business has helped many women/men who are extremely skilled in culinary art get their act together and make the best use of their cooking skills. If you get into this business, your primary concern should always be to serve the food hot and fresh to your clients without any delays. Once you get a hang of it, you can add team members to expand the business and go big.

Be There For The Little Ones

Dear readers, Daycare is one of the businesses that will help you contribute to the progression of this society and we will tell you why. Many women after having children are left with no other option than to leave their job and care for their baby 24*7! In recent years, these daycare services have emerged as a big helping hand for such mothers/families who do not have anybody else to look after their angels. If you love being around children, this is it for you. Help women be their most productive selves at work, while you give a warm and loving environment to the apple of their eyes!

At the end of the day, every business, regardless of its size, comes with a few advantages as well as consequences. It all boils down to what business idea do you find worthy of dealing with the consequences that tag along! Nonetheless, in the process, never lose faith in your capabilities as this faith is what will help you achieve your goal to become an entrepreneur.

Categories
Finance Process & Business Expansion

Reliance Retail Asset Monetisation Picks Up Pace As Private Equity Firm KKR Announces Rs 55.5 Billion Investment

Reliance Market. (Photo Credit: Facebook)
Reliance Market. (Photo Credit: Facebook)

New Delhi, September 24: The retail asset monetization is picking up pace as private equity firm KKR announced a Rs 55.5 billion ($ 0.75 billion) investment in Reliance Retail. The equity firm announced the investment for a 1.28 percent stake implying a pre-money equity value of $57 billion.  This marks the second investment by KKR in a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, following a Rs 11,367 crore investment in Jio Platforms announced earlier this year. Bada Business ‘Retail Ka Mahakumbh’ 2020: Dr Vivek Bindra to Share Business Expansion Strategies on September 27; Click Here to Register.

On Wednesday, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) announced that global investment firm KKR will invest Rs 5,550 crore into RRVL. The RRVL is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. This investment values Reliance Retail at a pre-money equity value of Rs 4.21 lakh crore. KKR’s investment will translate into a 1.28 per cent equity stake in RRVL on a fully diluted basis.

A report by Morgan Stanley stated that the valuation is in line with the last transaction that was announced with Silverlake and compares to its retail base case valuation of $45 billion. The report said. “At these valuations, it would add 6 per cent to Morgan Stanley’s base case NAV for RIL. KKR earlier invested $1.51 billion for 2.3 per cent of Reliance Digital platforms. RIL has sold a 3 per cent stake in RIL retail till date for $1.75 billion”.

Reliance Retail Limited, a subsidiary of RRVL, operates India’s largest, fastest growing and most profitable retail business serving close to 640 million footfalls across its 12,000 stores nationwide. Adding further, the report said the firm sees capital allocation, execution and de-gearing as key to the next leg of stock outperformance. “With industry consolidation pickingup pace in telecom, retail,and global refining, we expect RIL to emerge stronger post-Covid-19 and margins to surprise as pricing power rises,” it added.

 

Categories
E-Commerce MSME Startup Strategy

Amazon India Helps Women Entrepreneurs, Artisans and Weavers to Double Their Sales in 10 Weeks Under ‘Stand for Handmade’ Initiative

Amazon India. (Photo Credit: Image grab)
Amazon India. (Photo Credit: Image grab)

Bengaluru, September 23: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon India came up with ‘Stand for Handmade’ initiative, to help over 10 lakh artisans and weavers and women entrepreneurs. On Monday, the e-commerce portal stated that customers from more than 12,000 pincodes in India purchased a product from the ‘Stand for Handmade’ store front. Due to this, artisans, weavers and women entrepreneurs were helped to double their sales in the 10-week period.

Amazon further added that the ‘Stand for Handmade’ initiative enabled sellers from Amazon Karigar — for weavers and artisans and Amazon Saheli — for women entrepreneurs — to register 3.2 times and 2.1 times growth. Adding more, it said that 32 sellers crossed Rs 1 lakh in sales during the 10-week period while two sellers crossed Rs 1 crore in sales.

Issuing a statement, Director of MSME and Seller Experience at Amazon India — Pranav Bhasin — said, “We are humbled by the response to this initiative as customers from more than 12,000 pincodes purchased a product from the specially-curated store front. With the festive season coming up, we remain focused on helping our sellers further accelerate and grow their business.”

Bhasin added that more than 200 new sellers joined the Karigar programme and benefited from 100 per cent SoA (sell on Amazon) fee waiver. Categories which witnessed the highest overall sales included apparel, grocery and home decor. Also, 508 Sambalpuri weaver families from Orissa were able to seller sarees than could span over 17,738 yards while more than 4,500 Pochampally weavers from 56 villages of Telangana have recovered and were able to resume their handloom weaving business.

Amazon said, “More than 5,200 weavers from Bengal are now back to weaving exquisite weaves on their looms and the lives of 200 Banarasi weavers were positively impacted through sales of handloom Dupattas and Sarees.” It added that more than 8 lakh artisans and weavers from Amazon Karigar program and more than 2.8 lakh women entrepreneurs from Amazon Saheli program benefited from a 100 per cent SoA fee waiver for 10 weeks.

Categories
Business motivation

MSME Loans: A Basic Guide To Know It all

As daunting as it sounds, the process of arranging an MSME loan for your new business is not as complicated as it is generally perceived to be. All it requires is well-conducted research. Once you decide on a new business idea that you want to invest your hard work in, it becomes a primary concern to think about how you will raise or gather funds for the same. 

For an entrepreneur, we think it’s the best idea to stay aware of all the loans, schemes, and policies that the government and other bodies actively introduce to the common people to ease off the financial burden that tags along with establishing a new business.

Now that the government is marching ahead to the future to make India stronger than ever, the timings could not have been better for the entrepreneurs to start their business and make the most of these schemes. This article is the perfect read for all who are trying to apply for an MSME loan for their dream businesses. 

You Are Just A Few Steps Away From That Much Needed Loan

  • Firstly, register yourself as an MSME by visiting  udyogaadhaar.gov.in which is a national portal.
  • You will be asked to provide basic details like your name and the aadhaar number. Submit them and validate them with the help of an OTP.
  • Now you will see on your screens an application form which you will have to fill. Upon submitting, just to make sure that you have entered all the details correctly, the system asks you to recheck everything. Once rechecked, click “OK” to confirm.
  • The system will finally ask you to fill in the OTP that you will receive on the number that is linked to your aadhaar card.
  • Note down the registration number somewhere safe.

Always Be Ready With Those Documents

As basic as it may sound, it really comes in handy to keep the documents mentioned below ready with you just in case. These documents are

  • Your application form
  • Identity proof for which you can use your PAN card, aadhaar card, driver’s license, voter ID, etc.
  • An address/residence proof for which you can use your electricity bill, rent agreement, trade agreement, etc.
  • Some financial documents such as your ITR papers, bank statements, balance sheets, business turnover, etc.
  • Business proof which could be supported by Business Registration, Memorandum, and articles of association, etc.

Business Specific Documents

Apart from all of the above-mentioned documents, there are some other things that are still left to be taken care of. To avoid the last-minute chaos, we are sharing with you these important documents that are specific to the type of business you have.

  • Companies will need to gather the Certificate of incorporation, memorandum of association, articles of association.
  • Partnership firms will have to arrange the Registration certificate, partnership deed.
  • Private limited companies are supposed to be ready with a Registration certificate, articles, and memorandum of association.
  • Sole proprietorships will have to check for a Registration certificate, ITR, or another proof of business identity. 
  • Self-Employed Professional (SEP), be ready with proof of your qualifications. For self-Employed Non-Professionals (SENP), proof of business will be more than enough.

Which Banks Are To Be Approached?

State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Allahabad Bank, Central Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India, and Indian Bank are some of the banks who are providing MSMEs business loans to fulfill their dreams. Always keep in mind that every bank has its own ways to figure out the rate of interest on which a business is supposed to repay the loan. Hence, we would advise you to do your research and see for yourself which bank is meeting your financial needs.

Categories
Finance

Gold Rate Today: Price of Yellow Metal Slips Below Rs 50,000 Per 10 Gram, Silver Down to Rs 58,851 Per Kg

Gold jewellery (Photo Credits: Wallpaperflare)

Mumbai, September 23: The gold and silver rates slipped sharply on Wednesday, extending losses for the third day. October gold futures on MCX were down 1.2 percent to Rs 49,764 per 10 gram while silver futures slumped 4 percent to Rs 58,851. The precious metal prices have slipped sharply this week across the globe.

In comparison to last month’s high of Rs 56,200, gold is now down over Rs 6,000 per 10 gram in India. The Indian markets echoed the sentiments in the global markets, where the gold prices today slipped to a six-week low. The fall was also on the back of the dollar strengthening with the coronavirus crisis rattling sentiment in Europe.

Talking about the spot gold prices, there has been an increase of 0.02 percent in the Indian market in comparison to Tuesday’s rate, taking the value to Rs 50,640. The spot gold prices in India witnessed a marginal growth, despite global gold prices($1887.3) seeing a drop of 0.68 percent.

Customers in Mumbai will be able to buy 10-gram 24-carat gold at Rs 50,000. On the other hand, people will have to dish out Rs 53,460 for a 10-gram 24-carat gold in New Delhi. The same quantity of purity of gold can be purchased at Rs 52,070 in Kolkata. People in Chennai need to spend Rs 52,470 for a 10-gram 24-carat gold on Wednesday.

The dollar to rupee conversion has been constant since Tuesday and any fluctuation today in the gold price would suggest no relation with the dollar value.

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Categories
Business motivation

Businesses Of Future: 3 Ideas That Are Going To Hit The Jackpot

“For the canny and the farsighted, vast deficits also create vast opportunities,” says Simon Dunstan and we could not agree more! It is very important to be farsighted with your approach as an entrepreneur for the opportunities are many, if only you can filter out the booming sectors and the business ideas of tomorrow to be prepared in advance.

The future business ideas are generally far too out there and are often ridiculed and looked down upon by many just because of their low viability quotient in the present times. However, we all have witnessed how some ideas that sounded stupid back then have worked wonders when actually were worked upon. The perfect example would be Tesla, how the idea was discouraged, and how it became a giant success.

Try and wrap your head around these new and unique future business ideas that you can prepare yourself for.

The Future Belongs To Drones

Yes, you read that correctly. The future holds many business opportunities around the world which involve drone technology. Nowadays the demand for drones to deliver the products directly to consumers has been dramatically increasing as a result of social distancing norms and the paranoia of many consumers. Safety, these days, has become the utmost priority of the consumers and businesses are leaning towards drones to cater to these needs. 

These drones will not be useful in COVID times, but also prove to be quite helpful during an unfortunate natural disaster or in reaching remote areas. We advise you to do your homework on drone technology and if it is something that interests you, you are sorted for a very long time.

Save The World From Cyber Criminals

With time, many businesses have gone online to grow at an exponential rate as today’s consumer relies heavily on online commerce. When businesses go online, they almost always need a website. With these many websites around, hackers have become very active these days and have not been shying away from crashing the site and exporting money in lieu of it. To tackle these attacks, we do have a few agencies but there aren’t enough. If this is your niche, this could be the best business for you to be in as the competition will be low, you will have the upper hand in pricing, and the future will be brighter than ever.

Encash The Cashless Generation

In today’s day and age, almost everybody has a smartphone and can access the internet. With this facility available to most of us,  we are slowly and steadily shifting towards a lifestyle where even the smallest of the purchase will be made online. As online transactions have emerged as the need of the hour, a few groups have already marked their presence and are doing very well as e-wallet service providers. However, as there are still new people joining the bandwagon every single day, this business will bloom even further. Now that the cost of developing an app has been brought down drastically as there tons of skilled freelance developers out there, you can start this business with a small investment, if it interests you!

We can only suggest the destination, but it’s for you to cover the journey and make a difference with your efforts. Don’t let others make you think otherwise of an idea that you know you are confident of. Just make sure that idea solves a problem that might look small today but take a bigger form tomorrow and the rest will fall into place!

Categories
Strategy

Bada Business ‘Retail Ka Mahakumbh’ 2020: Dr Vivek Bindra to Share Business Expansion Strategies During World’s Largest Webinar on September 27

Bada Business 'Retail Ka Mahakumbh' Event 2020 (Photo Credits: badabusiness.com)

New Delhi, September 23: Bada Business ‘Retail Ka Mahakumbh’ event will be held virtually on Sunday i.e on September 27. Touted to be the world’s largest webinar, the event would be held for a duration of 1.5 hour- i.e. from 12 Noon to 1.30 PM on September 27. During the event, Dr Vivek Bindra, who heads Bada Business, would be guiding the event attendees on how to expand their businesses in an era where global brands are making inroads and the chorus is ‘vocal for local’. On his YouTube Channel, Dr Bindra announced that he would be sharing business strategies that he would be useful for both – those who rely on an offline retail consumer base and even those who want to reap the benefits of the surging e-commerce market.

It must be noted that the event is free for anyone who wants to gain knowledge that would be imparted by Dr Bindra during the session on September 27. Dr Bindra is also among the top motivational speakers of India. For those planning to attend the ‘Retail Ka Mahakumbh’, the registration could be made online at the official portal of Bada Business. Here’s the direct link to Register Yourself for the Mega Event.

About Bada Business

Bada Business, a firm owned by Dr. Vivek Bindra, was founded with the vision to empower Indian Entrepreneurs & MSME businessmen and businesswomen with the knowledge, skills and network to grow their enterprise. Bindra’s YouTube channel is the world’s largest YouTube channel on entrepreneurship and business, has garnered11.9 Million subscribers. Bada Business offers world class education in Hindi language, which is the largest spoken language in the Indian subcontinent. The flagship program by Bada Business is EAE (Everything About Entrepreneurship). The company also offers in-depth problem solving for entrepreneurs with its problem solving courses.

About Dr Vivek Bindra

Dr. Vivek Bindra is Asia’s No.1 motivational speaker and business coach. He is the Founder and CEO of Bada Business Pvt. Ltd. The YouTube channel of “Dr. Vivek Bindra” is the world’s largest on entrepreneurship and business in Hindi language.

 

Categories
Technology

Lenovo Launches ThinkBook Plus Notebook to Enhance Productivity of Modern Workforce, Targets Indian SMBs and Enterprises

Businesses in India (Photo Credits: Pexels)

With an aim to target Indian Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs)and enterprises, Lenovo on Tuesday launched ThinkBook Plus. The newly launched ThinkBook Plus is a dual screen notebook built for enhancing productivity for the modern workforce, in India. It is priced at a starting price of Rs 99,990. The new gadget roll out by Lenovo, the leading laptop and PC leader, comes as it slowly transitions into an end-to-end services and solutions provider for SMBs and enterprises in India. The design innovation around ThinkBook Plus was based on customer insights and data relating to multitasking work practices.

The SMB industry in India is an extremely agile and dynamic marketplace where the IT requirements for them are ever evolving. The ThinkBook is available in an Iron Grey colour and can now be purchased at Lenovo.com and Amazon.in. It comes with an integrated Precision Pen for enhanced functionality and productivity.

All you need to know about the Lenovo ThinkBook:

  1. Featuring a 13.3-inch FHD (full high definition) main display and a 10.8-inch e-Ink display on the cover, users can sketch and take notes with the integrated Precision Pen and receive essential notifications when the lid is closed, allowing them to stay focused during meetings.
  2. The e-Ink display is made from Corning Gorilla Glass NBT, a glass solution for touch-enabled notebooks that provides enhanced scratch resistance, and reduced scratch visibility.
  3. The latest ThinkBook Plus features an innovative e-Ink cover display designed to help users become more productive when multitasking by improving focus, collaboration and creativity.
  4. This service is device and toolset agnostic, meaning whatever devices the organisation uses, Lenovo can help optimise their IT management.
  5. Similarly, the Lenovo ThinkShield is a custom solution that secures the most critical data and business technologies with comprehensive end-to-end protection, making it an ideal secure service for SMBs.

Lenovo thinks that the launch of its ThinkBook Plus notebook will further boost its growth in the Indian market. According to an International Data Corporation (IDC) report, Lenovo replaced Dell in the second position with 27.5 per cent share in the India PC market in the second quarter of this year. The company had a very good quarter mainly supported by growth in the SMB, enterprise, and consumer segments.

Ashish Sikka, Director – SMB, Lenovo India, told IANS in an interview, said, “We are very gung-ho about the India market. We have got the momentum on our side and we are very ambitious and we would like to continue building products and solutions which cater to Indian SMBs and Indian enterprises and consumers”.

 

Categories
MSME Startup

NTPC Power Plants to Offer Lands for Industrial Parks of MSMEs Under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ Initiative

NTPC power plant. (Photo Credit: Facebook)
NTPC power plant. (Photo Credit: Facebook)

New Delhi, September 22: With an aim to boost to the government’s vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’ initiatives, National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) has thrown open a vast land bank within its power plants to Indian firms willing to set up industrial parks and manufacturing facilities.

The country’s largest power producer has also invited expression of interest (EoI) from companies and MSMEs for setting up energy-intensive manufacturing plants. The plants for which the EoI has been issued include bulk chemicals, geopolymer, cooling & heating solutions, aluminium, mineral processing (ceramics, tiles, pottery, brick, glass etc), metallurgical and metal industries (foundries, forging, alloys, heat treatment, steel rerolling, etc).

The NTPC in its statement had stated that the pilots would be set up in the NTPC Thermal Power plants at Solapur (Maharashtra), Kudgi (Karnataka) and Gadarwara (Madhya Pradesh). Adding more, the company statement said, “These industrial parks will be subjected to requisite approvals from respective state and central government. NTPC will process these approvals based on responses received in the EoI.”

Apart from this, NTPC’s power plants across the country have evolved into economic centres with robust infrastructure system in place. With this, NOTC is exploring ideas to improve utilisation of land within its plant locations for enhancing economic activity.

NTPC, though it initiatives, will also provide reliable electricity supply at competitive prices to industrial parks. Along with this, adequate water supply, accessibility through road and rail network, robust connectivity with internet lease lines, accessibility to the township, medical facilities and the local market would also be provided to the SMEs. However, NTPC will enter into a separate agreement with prospective entities for allotment of spaces.