Tag: Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission

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Business motivation

Ease of Doing Business and Ease of Living Among Government’s Priority for India’s Economic Growth, Says PM Narendra Modi

Business Tips | Representational Image Only (Photo Credits: Pexels)

New Delhi, February 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday stressed the need for a coordinated approach among the states and the Centre to achieve the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (self-reliant India) goal. Speaking at the sixth meeting of the Governing Council of NITI Aayog, the Prime Minister said that ‘ease of doing business and ease of living’ is also among the government’s priority to a strong country’s economy. He made a strong case for repealing archaic laws for ease of doing business in India and said the centre and states need to work closely to boost economic growth.

Praising the Union Budget 2021-22 which was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman earlier this month, the Prime Minister said that people have made up their minds about what they want. He stressed on ‘zero defect, zero effect’ mantra which he gave in August 2014 to Indian entrepreneurs for better products–a direct reference to the need to make things without causing environmental harm.

During his address, the Prime Minister said that ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ campaign is the way to build an India that produces not only for its needs but also for the world, and these productions will also stand the test of world superiority. To achieve the goal, the Prime Minister added there is need for a better coordination among Centre as well as states and increase export.

The Prime Minister stressed on the policy framework and cooperation between the Centre and states, saying “coastal states are a fine example”. “Exports from the blue economy have unlimited opportunities. Why shouldn’t our coastal states take extra initiatives for the same?” He added saying that India managed to build a good image internationally during the Covid-19 period because the central and state governments worked together for the betterment of people.

 

 

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Business motivation

Startup India Scheme: 69 Startups Registered in J&K With an Aim To Enable Startup Ecosystem and Foster Innovation in the Region

Startup
Startup (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Srinagar, February 10: The Startup India Scheme, which is an initiative by the Government for generation of employment and wealth creation, is gaining momentum. The goal of Startup India is the development and innovation of products and services and increasing the employment rate in India. In Jammu and Kashmir, as many as 69 startups have been registered in Jammu and Kashmir under the Startup India scheme, officials said. These startups aim to promote and boost start-up ecosystem across the region.

According to data from the Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI), 69 startups have been registered in the Union Territory. At present, the J&K government is focussing on several sectors including food processing, agriculture, renewable energy, handicrafts and handloom for promoting startups.

In a bid to enable the startup ecosystem and create awareness, outreach, and scouting of startups, Startupjk.com has also been made live. To foster the growth of startups in the region, the Central Government has announced a Rs 945-crore Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS). This will be operational from April 1, 2021, to 2025. In the same light, the Jammu & Kashmir administration is working to encourage startups and foster innovation, thereby creating jobs and boost economy.

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MSME

MSME Sector in India Gets Major Boost As Banks Sanction Rs 2.05 Lakh Cr Loans to 81 Lakh MSMEs Under Credit Guarantee Scheme

New Delhi, December 12: With an aim to help the MSME sector which was impacted by disruptions caused due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Finance Ministry on Friday said banks have sanctioned loans worth Rs 2,05,563 crore to about 81 lakh accounts under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector. In a series of tweets, the Finance Ministry said that as many as 40 lakh MSME accounts have received Rs 1,58,626 crore till December 4. Another tweet informed that Rs 3 lakh cr Collateral-Free Guaranteed Loans – Budgetary provision of Rs 4,000 crore made for the Scheme in First Supplementary Demand for Grants for FY 2020-21.

While announcing the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that Rs 2.05 lakh crore sanctioned and Rs 1.52 lakh crore disbursed under ECLGS 1.0. “As part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0 (announced on November 12), ECLGS Scheme has been extended through ECLGS 2.0 for the 26 stress sectors and health care sector with credit outstanding of above Rs 50 crore and up to Rs 500 crore as on February 29, 2020,” a tweet said. Credit Guarantee Scheme: Banks Sanction Rs 1.86 Lakh Cr to 50 Lakh MSMEs Impacted by Slowdown Amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Finance Ministry said that under ECLGS 2.0, entities with outstanding credit above Rs 50 crore and not exceeding Rs 500 crore as on February 29, 2020, which were less than or equal to 30 days past due as on February 29, 2020 are eligible. The loans provided under ECLGS 2.0 will have a five-year tenor, with a 12-month moratorium on repayment of principal. Meanwhile, the entire Scheme (ECLGS 1.0 and ECLGS 2.0) valid till March 31, 2021, it said.

As part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package, the government has announced to cover 2.5 crore farmers under the KCC scheme with a credit boost of Rs 2 lakh crore through a special saturation drive.

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Strategy

Atmanirbhar Bharat Is About Creating Globally Competitive Enterprises, Says PM Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi (Photo Credits: Facebook)

New Delhi, October 28: In a major boost to the government’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called upon exporters to create ‘globally competitive’ enterprises in India in the spirit of his flagship mission. In his message to the EEPC India, Modi said that the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ is about creating globally competitive enterprises in India. The four-day virtual expo opened on Tuesday.

The Prime Minister made this announcement during the inauguration of the engineering exporters’ apex body, EEPC India’s first virtual exhibition, ‘India Subcontracting Expo 2020’ for overseas buyers. During his message, the Prime Minister conveyed that science and engineering have a major role in realising the objectives of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ programme.

The Prime Minister said that India is creating the right ecosystems for local manufacturing and supply chain. Modi said that technology has become an enabler in the wake of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.” Digital tools have guided and helped in transforming such challenges into opportunities. The world requires skilled hands and we in India have the talent to cater to these global needs,” he said.

According to EEPC India, as many as 100 engineering exporters would be showcasing their products and technologies to major buyers from Europe, including the UK through a virtual exhibition, seeking to bag manufacturing contracts, giving a boost to the ‘Make In India’ and ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ programmes.

According to a report by IANS, the virtual exposition platform sports several features like 24×7 access for buyers and sellers, virtual B2Bs, chat rooms, among other. Besides, the CXO Forum would be held with a theme-India-EU advanced opportunities for business cooperation in COVID-19 world.

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MSME

ECLGS for MSMEs: Banks Sanction Rs 1.87 Lakh Cr to 50.7 Lakh Business Units Under Credit Guarantee Scheme

Money (Photo Credits: Unsplash)

New Delhi, October 10: In a bid to help the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector, which has been the worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finance Ministry announced that banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs 1,87,579 crore to 50.7 lakh business units under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector. Reports inform that of the 50.7 lakh business units, about 27 lakh MSME units received cumulative disbursement of Rs 1,36,140 crore till October 5.

The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May 2020 to mitigate the distress caused by lockdown due to COVID-19 by providing credit to different sectors, especially MSMEs. As released by the Finance Ministry, the latest numbers on ECLGS comprise disbursements by all 12 public sector banks (PSBs), 24 private sector banks and 31 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

“As of 5 Oct 2020, the total amount sanctioned under the 100% Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme by PSBs, private banks & NBFCs to MSMEs and individuals stands at Rs 1,87,579 cr, of which Rs 1,36,140 cr has already been disbursed,” the finance minister said in a tweet. The loan amounts sanctioned by PSBs increased to Rs 81,648.82 crore, of which Rs 68,814.43 crore has been disbursed as of October 5, Sitharaman further added. At the same time, private sector banks have sanctioned Rs 86,576 crore of loans and disbursed Rs 59,740 crore, while NBFCs sanctioned Rs 3,032 crore with disbursement of Rs 2,227 crore.

“The ambit of the Scheme was expanded to include MSMEs with turnover of up to Rs 250 crore & individuals for business purposes. As of 05 Oct 2020, Rs 17,460 crore of loans to individuals have been sanctioned, of which Rs 5,939 crore has been disbursed,” she in a tweet. In another tweet, Sitharaman said as many as 33 stranded housing projects with investment of Rs 4,197 crore were accorded final approval under the SWAMIH scheme. “Special window for Affordable & Mid Income Housing Fund (SWAMIH) is working at a fast pace to provide relief to homeowners. As on 05.10.2020, 33 projects with investment of Rs 4,197 cr accorded final approval & will lead to completion of 25,048 home units,” the finance minister said in tweet.

The overall, 123 projects have now been sanctioned, including final approval to 33 projects, with an investment of Rs 12,079 crore that would target to provide relief to 81,308 homeowners, she said. On May 20, the Cabinet approved additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore at a concessional rate of 9.25 per cent through ECLGS for MSME sector.

Under the scheme, 100 percent guarantee coverage will be provided by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) borrowers in the form of a guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) facility. According to a report by PTI, for this purpose, a corpus of Rs 41,600 crore was set up by the government, spread over the current and next three financial years. The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL facility during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31 or till the amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under GECL, whichever is earlier.

Categories
Startup

Repos Energy, a Ratan Tata-Backed Energy Distribution Company in Pune, Registers Over 150 Fuel Startups in Less Than a Month

Startup (Representational Image Only, Photo Credits: NeedPix.com)

In a major milestone and a step towards Atmanirbhar Bharat, Repos Energy, a Pune-based energy distribution company, has registered over 150 fuel startups in less than a month. Reports inform that these startups would carry on door-to-door delivery of diesel through mobile petrol pumps. Repos Energy startup, which was founded in 2017, is based out of Pune in Maharashtra. It has been funded by Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, Ratan Tata. At present, the firm operates in over 150 cities of India. The firm said that as per industry experts, this move is expected to garner around Rs 9,000 crore of investment.

According to a report by IANS, Repos Energy will call them ‘fuel startups’ and will provide them with the entire support system. Repos will provide these new startups with end-to-end solutions for buying the mobile petrol pumps along with sharing the know-how. Some of the fuel startups that have registered with Repos include- Easy Diesel from Pune, Nuvera Energy from Mumbai, Auro Fuels from Bengaluru, AMA Fuels from Kolkata, Echological Fuels from Guwahati, Future Fuel Services from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh.

Talking about the growth of the firm, co-founders Chetan Walunj and Aditi Bhosale Walunj, empowering startups through the dynamic model of doorstep diesel delivery through mobile petrol pumps will change the game of fuel distribution in India. “With the goal to reboot the economy and making India Atmanirbhar, Repos Energy has been working extensively to create a startup ecosystem of its own in the energy sector,” a company statement said.

“These fuel startups will be registered with us and featured on our app. We will also provide them with the necessary infrastructure. This will include a back-end team to build their entire brand identity. We will make sure that they become successful startups,” Chetan Walunj said. Meanwhile, Aditi Bhosale Walunj said, “We have built an entire ecosystem of fuel distribution that consists of IoT and AI-driven Repos Mobile Petrol Pumps (RMPP). These RMPPs are being designed at our IoT facility in Chakan, Pune, and comply with PESO norms.”

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Startup

Modi Govt Launches ‘Chunauti’- Next Generation Startup Challenge Contest, to Identify Around 300 Startups in India

Startups in India (Photo Credits: Pexels)

In a bid to give a major fillip to startups in India, the government on Friday Launched ‘Chunauti’- Next Generation Startup Challenge Contest. Under this programme, the government aims to identify around 300 startups working in identified areas and provide them seed fund of up to Rs 25 lakh among other facilities.

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the contest to further boost startups and software products with special focus on Tier-II towns of India. The Startups can apply by visiting the website of STPI or by clicking at the link https://innovate.stpinext.in/

The government has earmarked a budget of Rs 95.03 Crore over a period of three years for this programme. It aims to identify around 300 startups working in identified areas and provide them seed fund of up to Rs 25 Lakh and other facilities.

Under this challenge, the Ministry of Electronics and IT will invite startups in the following areas of work:

  1. Edu-Tech, Agri-Tech & Fin-Tech Solutions for masses
  2. Supply Chain, Logistics & Transportation Management
  3. Infrastructure & Remote monitoring
  4. Medical Healthcare, Diagnostic, Preventive & Psychological Care
  5. Jobs & Skilling, Linguistic tools & technologies

How Will Chunauti Help?

  1. The startups selected through Chunauti will be provided various support from the Government through Software Technology Parks of India centers across India.
  2. They will get incubation facilities, mentorship, security testing facilities, access to venture capitalist funding, industry connect as well as advisories in legal, Human Resource (HR), IPR and Patent matters.
  3. Besides seed fund of up to Rs. 25 Lakh, the startups will also be provided cloud credits from leading cloud service providers.
  4. Start-ups who are in the ideation stage may be selected under the pre-incubation programme & mentored for up-to six months to evolve their business plan & solution around the proposed idea.
  5. Each intern (start-up under pre-incubation) will be paid Rs. 10,000/- per month up to a period of 6 months.

Speaking at a virtual event, Prasad said that the launch is a bold initiative under the clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He urged the young, talented innovators of India to come forward and avail benefits of Chunauti challenge of Government and create new software products and app.

 

Categories
Finance

MSMEs in Maharashtra: State Government Mulling Relief Package For Lockdown-Hit Sector, Says Industries Minister Subhash Desai

MSME (Photo Credits:
Emergency Credit Facility Under ECLG for small businesses hiked from Rs 25 crore to Rs 50 crore by NCGTC. | Representational Image.

In what is believed to be a move to revive the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in Maharashtra, the state government is planning to provide some relief to the sector which has been severely impacted due to coronavirus lockdown. Maharashtra industries minister Subhash Desai was quoted in a TOI report saying that the MSME sector has asked for relief which includes interest subvention, relief in electricity duty and support for wages to be dispensed during the lockdown.

Desai said that the state government will consider providing a relief package to MSME sector after this issue comes up in the cabinet. The state has 20 lakh units registered as MSMEs, of which, six lakh are in the manufacturing sector, while the others are in service sector.

Indian Merchants Chamber president Rajiv Podar said that the biggest challenge for MSMEs is a fund crunch and a large chunk is blocked by PSUs. “In addition, 65% of MSMEs are below the investable grade and are therefore, not able to access the Centre’s relief package,” he said. Podar said the RBI’s interest rate transmission has not trickled to MSMEs adding that the government will need to stimulate demand in the economy.

Meanwhile, Anant Singhania, director of J K Organisation and CEO of J K Enterprises was quoted in the report saying that the Centre’s Atmanirbhar package catered more to MSMEs, who were already borrowers, to able to borrow more. He said the rest got excluded from the package and are in need of help. “The industrial sector on the whole, “faces a funding challenge since cash flow has come to a grinding halt,” said Singhania, adding that the industry is functioning at a sub-optimal level, facing a lack of demand and lack of workers.

Further, Singhania said that the governments had to give some assurance to the large number of migrants who left the cities so that they would return. “There also needs to be some monetary infusion in the market from the government and public sentiment needs to change on the ground,” he said.

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Process & Business Expansion Sales Startup

Steps Taken by Modi Government to Give Relief to MSMEs, to Accelerate the Wheel of Economy That Slowed Down Due to Lockdown

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The government has said that the recent steps that it has taken are aimed at giving relief to MSMEs which will in turn accelerate the wheel of economy in India. Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Nitin Gadkari, during a webinar said that the changing the definition of MSMEs, Scheme of Fund of Funds, Champions portal, extended credits to MSMEs will certainly accelerate the wheels of economy which had slowed down due to lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

During his address, Gadkari informed that loans of about Rs 1,20,000 crore have been disbursed to MSMEs out of Rs 3 lakh crore announced in the relief package. Discussing about the problem of delayed payments, he said that instructions have been given to all Ministries, Departments and PSUs to clear pending bills of MSMEs within 45 days. He also urged all Chief Ministers to issue directions for clearing MSME dues by their State/UT Ministries/Deptts and PSUs on priority. The Minister added that we are closely monitoring the complaints lodged at SAMADHAN Portal also.

Gadkari said this while addressing a Virtual MSME Conclave organized by FICCI Karnataka State Council. The Minister further appealed to all the stakeholders to do away with all kinds of fear and negativity and assured that government is doing everything possible to make the country a super economic power. The Minister informed the participants of the webinar that we are working on the idea of a Land Bank and Social Micro Finance Institution which will be very helpful for entrepreneurs and persons who want to run small shops and businesses.

While discussing Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gadkari said that handloom, handicrafts, khadi industries and agro-based industries should be encouraged especially in 115 aspirational districts in India. He said planning will be taken up for special policies for agricultural, rural and tribal sector because they have huge potential of creating employment.