Tag: Covid-19

Categories
Finance

India’s Economic Growth in FY21 May Be Negative or Near Zero Due to Ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic, Says Nirmala Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Photo Credit: PIB)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Photo Credit: PIB)

New Delhi, October 28: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that India’s economic growth in the current financial year may be in the negative zone or near zero amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at the India Energy Forum of CERAWeek, Sitharaman, however, noted that signs of revival are visible now and India would be among the fastest growing nations in the next fiscal. She added that the festive season will further spur the economy which may lead to positive growth in the third and fourth quarters of the current financial year.

The Finance Minister said that the focus of the government is on public spending to boost economic activity. Earlier this month, she had said that another round of stimulus for the economy is not off the table.

Categories
MSME

Big Relief for MSMEs! Ahead of Diwali, Govt Waives Interest on Interest for Loans Up to Rs 2 Crore to Help MSME Borrowers Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

New Delhi, October 25: With the onset of the upcoming festive season, the government announced a major relief to borrowers. The Modi government on Friday announced waiver of interest on interest for loans up to Rs 2 crore irrespective of whether moratorium was availed or not. Reports inform that the Department of Financial Services came out with operational guidelines in the backdrop of Supreme Court’s direction to implement the interest waiver scheme. The scheme is likely to cost the exchequer Rs 6,500 crore.

MSME loans, housing loan, education loans, credit card dues, auto loans, consumer durable loans and consumption loans are covered under the scheme. Talking about the eligibility criteria mentioned in the guidelines, the accounts should be standard as on February 29 which means that it should not be Non-Performing Asset (NPA).

On October 14, the top Court had directed the Centre to implement the interest waiver on loans of up to Rs 2 crore  under the RBI moratorium scheme ‘as soon as possible’ in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. The top Court said that the common man’s Diwali is in the hands of the government. As per the guidelines, the scheme can be availed by borrowers in specified loan accounts for a period from March 1 to August 31, 2020. “Borrowers who have loan accounts having sanctioned limits and outstanding amount of not exceeding Rs 2 crore (aggregate of all facilities with lending institutions) as on February 29 shall be eligible for the scheme,” it said.

As per the scheme, the lending institutions shall credit the difference between compound interest and simple interest with regard to the eligible borrowers in respective accounts for the said period irrespective of whether the borrower fully or partially availed the moratorium on repayment of loan announced by the RBI on March 27, 2020. The scheme is also applicable on those who have not availed the moratorium scheme and continued with the repayment of loans.

The lending institutions after crediting the amount will claim the reimbursement from the central government. Hearing the matter on October 14, the Supreme Court observed that it was concerned about how the benefit of interest waiver would be given to borrowers and said the Centre has taken a “welcome decision” by taking note of plight of the common man, but authorities have not issued any order in this regard.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan had said that ‘Something concrete has to be done’ adding that the benefits of waivers to borrowers up to Rs 2 crore must be implemented as soon as possible. The top court, which posted the matter for hearing on November 2, told the advocates appearing for the Centre and banks that “Diwali is in your hand”.

The Centre recently told the apex court that going any further than the fiscal policy decisions already taken, such as waiver of compound interest charged on loans of up to Rs 2 crore for six months moratorium period, may be “detrimental” to the overall economic scenario, the national economy and banks may not take “inevitable financial constraints”. The top court is hearing a batch of petitions which have raised issues concerning the six-month loan moratorium period announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Categories
Startup

Women Entrepreneurs in COVID-19: From Starting New Business, Closing Funding Deals to Innovating, Here Are the Women Who Saw Opportunity in Adversity

Women entrepreneurs
Women entrepreneurs (Photo Credits: Pikist)

New Delhi, October 22: The coronavirus pandemic has caused a devastating effect on the economy. From job losses to factories being shut, people across the world were impacted by COVID-19. However, in spite of this, there is also a positive side where few women entrepreneurs took the challenging market condition as an opportunity and flourished amid the pandemic.

We bring to you a list of few entrepreneurs who dared to dream in spite of the negativity and gloom. Here are stories of some women entrepreneurs sailing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Boju’s Kitchen:

Amid the pandemic, we saw how several women started delivering food and helping others when most restaurants and other food delivery options were not available. One of them was 23-year-old Chitrangadha Gupta who along with her mother and grandmother, started a sought after momos making and delivery service under the name Boju’s kitchen. She started the venture with just an initial investment of Rs 2,000. From around 6-7 orders per day, her business now caters to over 30 orders and delivers across Delhi.

NOTO:

Mumbai based startup launched NOTO, an ice cream brand that specialises in making healthy, low-calorie, low sugar, and high-protein ice cream in May 2019. Entrepreneurs Ashni Seth raised an undisclosed amount of funding as part of a Pre-Seed round led by WEH Ventures, with participation from Lead Angels, in July 2020.

Enklose: 

Rakhi Khera founded Abiti Bella Enterprises in 2014 and has been generating good revenue. However, amid the pandemic, her business incurred major losses and was not able to earn a single penny. It was then that Khera came up with the idea of Enklose, a coverall that can be used by domestic maids, beauty salon workers, and hotel employees. It is a cost-effective, reusable, and washable overall.

Ni-Varak:

Ni-Varak is a contactless mobile-based thermometer. The need for wide-screening of body temperatures during the pandemic fueled its invention. Using the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, it enables a contactless way of measuring temperatures, along with geo-location and time. It is the brainchild of Chinnayya Math and Vaishali Chinnayya.

These women are an inspiration for others who want to start something of their own but are sceptical. Their determination, innovative idea and zeal to become successful have helped them see success amid the pandemic.

Categories
MSME Startup

COVID-19 Impact: 78% MSMEs and Startups in India Reduced Workforce in Last 8 Months Since Pandemic Broke Out, Says Survey

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

New Delhi, October 20: Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in India, as many as 78% MSMEs and startups across the country have reduced workforce in the last 8 months. As per a survey by LocalCircles, only 22 percent startups and MSMEs have the same or increased workforce as compared to the pre-COVID levels. According to reports, India’s startups and MSMEs ecosystem went through a torrid time due to the deadly pandemic and lockdown that was imposed across the country. Revenues and operations were severely impacted for most businesses which led to cost cutting and some even shut down temporarily or permanently. Per CMIE, 6 million Indians had already lost white collar jobs in the March – August period.

To understand the impact of the pandemic on startup and MSME, a survey conducted by LocalCircles received over 7,000 responses from startups, MSMEs and entrepreneurs spread across 104 top business districts of the country. In the survey, startups and MSMEs were asked about how have workforce adjustments taken place in their business during the Covid-19 pandemic. In response, 25 percent said their business has shut down and all workforce has been let go, while 15 percent said their workforce has reduced by 50 percent or more.

A 19 percent said their workforce has reduced by 25-50%, and another 19 percent said their workforce has reduced by up to 25 percent. A 6 percent said their workforce has increased and 16 percent said they have same workforce as pre coronavirus time. This shows that 78 percent MSMEs and startups in India have reduced workforce in the last 8 months since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and only 22 percent startups and MSMEs have the same or increased workforce as compared to the pre-COVID levels.

The Government also took steps to help these small businesses through the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, but its advantages per feedback from businesses in July this year has been quite limited, the survey said.

The startups and MSMEs in India were asked about how employment of women has been in their business 8 months into the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, 7 percent said women in their workforce have been reduced by 50-100 percent, 12 percent said women in their workforce have reduced by 25-50 percent, and 12 percent said women in our workforce have been reduced by up to 25 percent. 46 percent said they still have same number of women in the workforce as pre COVID-19. Not a single business reported increase in the number of women employees during the course of the 8 months of COVID-19 pandemic.

This means that 31 percent MSMEs and startups in India have reduced women workforce in the last 8 months. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) among women in India, is one of the lowest in the world and appears to have slid even further during the COVID -19 pandemic.

In the final question, startups and MSMEs were asked looking at the next 6 months as to how do they see employment of women in their business. In response, 50 percent said they don’t plan to hire any women employees while 30 percent said they plan to hire 1-5 women employees. 13 percent said they plan to hire 6-10 women employees and 7 percent were unsure about it.

 

Categories
Startup

India to Have Around 62,000 Startups, Including 100 Unicorns by 2025, Despite COVID-19 Blow, Says Report

Startup
Startup

Bangalore, October 15: Businesses have been hugely hit by the coronavirus pandemic. However, here comes a piece of positive news where it is expected that India is expected to be home to 60,000-62,000 startups, including 100 unicorns, by 2025, despite the COVID-19 blow, according to a report jointly prepared by TiE- Delhi, a not-for-profit promoting entrepreneurship, and Zinnov, a global management and strategy consultancy.

The report mentions that there has been a dip in overall funding by 50 percent during the lockdown, compared to pre-covid levels, while around 40 percent startups were negatively impacted. Four Indian startups- Nykaa, Unacademy, Postman and Razorpay-emerged as unicorns while the pandemic was at its peak. The report predicts that India is on track to having at least eight new unicorns in 2020, on a par with the 2019 numbers, taking the total number of Indian unicorns to 33.

Accoridng to another report conducted by the same group, it was found out that due to the pandemic, 15 percent of the startups have already halted their operations. In addition to this, 44 per cent of start-ups have cash runway for less than 6 months, 41 per cent of startups have been impacted negatively while 52 per cent are struggling to raise capital.

 

Categories
Startup

COVID-19 Impact: 15% Startups Halt Operations, 44% Have Cash Runway For Less Than 6 Months

Startup
Startup (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

Mumbai, October 14: The coronavirus pandemic has affected across sectors causing job losses and business being shut. According to an IANS report, the impact of COVID-19 has been severe on the Indian startup as 15 percent of the startups have halted operations.

According to a report by TIE Delhi-NCR and Zinnov, 44 per cent of start-ups have cash runway for less than 6 months, 41 per cent of startups have been impacted negatively while 52 per cent are struggling to raise capital.

In addition to this, there has been a decline in the overall pace of investments, especially in April to June 2020. To add to it, there has been a 48 per cent year on year decline in funding and 37 per cent year on year decline in the number of deals in the quarter.

The decline was even more prominent in seed and early-stage investments. The coronavirus also affected early and late-stage funding. According to the report, there was more than 50 percent decrease in early and late-stage total funding in Q2 20 as compared to Q1 20.

Categories
Business motivation Finance

India Emerges As Top Choice for Future Investments in the Next 2-3 Years: Survey

New Delhi, October 14: Business in India that have been severely affected by COVID-19 this year, have been limping back to normalcy over the past one month or so. Reports inform that India is believed to emerge as one of the top three choices for overseas investments in the next 2-3 years, a CII-EY FDI survey report showed on Tuesday. According to the survey, India is the first choice for future investments for more than two-thirds of the MNC respondents. The CII-EY FDI survey also showed that 25 percent of the respondents, who represent non-Indian HQ MNCs, view India as the first choice for future investments.

The report said more than 80 percent of all the respondents and 71 percent of the non-Indian headquartered respondents plan to make investments globally in the next 2-3 years. Moreover about 30 percent of companies are planning to invest more than $500 million. About 50 percent of the respondents see India among the top three economies or leading manufacturing destinations of the world by 2025.

According to a report by IANS, the respondents have picked market potential, skilled workforce and political stability as the top three reasons to make India their favoured destination. The other key factors which contribute to the attractiveness of India as an investment destination include cheap labour availability, policy reforms, and availability of raw materials, the report said.

“Recent reforms in the country such as corporate tax cuts, ease of doing business measures, simplification of labour laws, FDI reforms, and focus on human capital have emerged as the top drivers for fresh investments,” the report said. “Non-Indian HQ MNCs have also opined that major investment in infrastructure and 100 Smart cities as well as financial sector reforms will also help establishing India as a favourable destination for FDI,” it said.

The survey brought out some key recommendations sought by the respondents. The report said infrastructure development, faster clearances, and proper implementation of the improved labour laws and labour availability as the top three issues that the companies want the government to focus on, followed by R&D and innovation, and tax reforms. “In terms of trade policy reforms, investors would like to see a faster turnaround time for exports and imports, improved cargo handling, and trade facilitation measures to be in place”, it added.

Categories
Startup Strategy

The Future of Retail in the COVID-19 Era

रिटेल बिजनेस
रिटेल बिजनेस

The fast-changing landscape is making the retail industry turn from an unorganized to an organized sector. This sector remains one of the greatest industries across the globe. Big moves are marked, in the industry with the introduction of technology, and the retail industry has shown rapid adoption of it very well.

Due to COVID-19, the whole country was under lockdown, which has affected not only the lives of humans but has also hugely affected industries, and they have to cope up with a lot.

Finally, unlock happened after the lockdown of months, and now the retailers have started to evaluate the losses due to the pandemic. Now, the retail industry is hoping to bounce back to the pre-COVID-19 state.

Therefore, consumer behavior is tough to predict currently. Here are the things to be expected post-COVID-19.

Social Distancing the New Normal

After many governments have started allowing stores to open with the rules and set of guidelines for preventing COVID-19, masks are one of the important rules to follow. For running, business owners need to follow these rules by limiting the number of the customer at the store. This will lead to fewer sales, but high-end retailers can achieve it can be achieved by adopting an appointment system.

That’s a true majority of retailers will be facing trouble in maintaining social distancing, and it will affect their business.

Controlling the fear of infection

If you want up your sales, take this serious health emergency seriously, as these health emergencies as serious you can. As we know, people have taken extra careful measures and cautions to avoid the infection. Now owners who are strictly following the rule of wearing masks, avoiding handshakes, sanitization of hands, and doing cashless transactions are attracting more and more customers.

Stores offering these are likely to achieve more sales as the customer will notice business owners care about their health too.

The approach of the omnichannel

There was a time when buying clothes or shoes online seemed like an odd thing to do. Fast forward to today’s time, it’s one of the common and popular ways to shop. The omnichannel approach has raised since the lockdown is imposed as pandemic made this boomed in the eCommerce industry.

This is one of the biggest opportunities that came from retailers to encash the chance and this is a big chance for today as well as gain for future ground.

Due to the pandemic, our life’s work has been thrown us out of order, and we have been forced to accept new normal. The benefit of this hard time approached innovation has taken place.  With the aid of technology, things may get easier to face this difficult time After 4 months of incurring losses of ₹90,000 crores this lockdown, the organized retail sector works every day on new strategies to cope with the game.

 

 

Categories
Startup

Indian Startups Can Now List Overseas Before Going Public in Country

Startup
Startup (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

New Delhi, September 21: In a big relief to Indian startups, the government has finally allowed Indian companies to list abroad before getting themselves listed in India. According to a Moneycontrol report, this was part of a series of amendments under the Companies Act, 2013, including moves to decriminalise various offences and improve the ease of doing business in India.

This move will now enable dozens of loss-making domestic startups to opt for an initial public offering (IPO). The amended law will “permit the direct overseas listing of Indian corporates securities in permissible foreign jurisdictions through an enabling provision.”

Most Indian startups want to list in US, the country which has the maximum investors. In India, the investors and entrepreneurs have ben asking for this amendment for the past few years, because under the current law, loss-making companies are not allowed to list in India.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the market everywhere, from job losses to companies being shut, the economy of most nations is in the doldrums. Despite COVID-19, global stock markets, including US have held up. Technology stocks have also performed better than many sectors.

The amendment of the law surely comes as a positive sign to the startups who have been waiting to go public. There are reports, that Zomato, Policybazaar, Delhivery have expressed their desire to go public in the next 12-18 months.

 

 

Categories
Technology

Facebook Unveils Business Suite, an App for Managing Business Accounts Across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger to Help SMBs Grow

Facebook (Photo Credits: Pexels)

San Francisco, September 18: In a bid to help small and medium businesses (SMBs), social networking giant Facebook has launched Facebook Business Suite, an app for managing business accounts across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger. This newly rolled out Suite is a new interface which aims to help businesses save time and stay up to date by managing their Pages or profiles across its family of apps. The suite allows them to post to Facebook and Instagram at the same time, and manage and receive messages, notifications and alerts in one place.

Facebook said it has announced a Business Suite for small businesses first, adding that it is a long-term investment to make this the main interface for businesses of all sizes who use Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. The firm added saying that the new facility  is available for small businesses globally starting today, i.e. September 17, and will expand to larger businesses next year.

Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer, Facebook, in a blog post on Thursday said people can also easily see what’s working and learn what’s resonating with customers with Facebook and Instagram insights. “The last few months have been tough for small businesses everywhere, and while there are reasons to be optimistic there is still much uncertainty ahead. But whatever happens, Facebook will continue to do all we can to help them adapt, survive and thrive online,” Sandberg said.

Facebook had recently conducted a study on the impact of COVID-19 on consumers’ purchasing patterns and their use of digital tools to search for and interact with businesses The study revealed that half of those surveyed said they had spent more money online overall since the outbreak, and 40 percent have increased their use of social media and online messaging for product and business recommendations.

The survey also found encouraging support for local businesses. In the survey, of those who said they had started shopping at new businesses, nearly three-quarters said that at least one was a small business. Nearly 31 percent also said they will increase their spending with small local businesses once the pandemic is over.