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Startup

Startups in Mobility Sector Get Major Boost As Maruti Suzuki Partners With IIM Bangalore To Encourage Innovative Startups in India

With an aim to nurture and enhance the overall startup ecosystem in the mobility sector, India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India has inked a pact with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB). Under the pact, as many as 26 startups will gain guidance under a 9-month extensive incubation program.

The company, in partnership with Nadathur S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), the startup hub at IIMB, has shortlisted 26 mobility startups for a 9-month extensive incubation program, Maruti Suzuki India said in a statement on Friday. Reports inform that the incubation program will help the startups become large-scale businesses. It also aims at helping industry with practical and technology-led solutions that bring efficiency and value to business functions.

Here’s how the startups would benefit:

  1. The 26 startups have been shortlisted from over 400 applications received across the country.
  2. A selection panel comprising experts from Maruti Suzuki and NSRCEL evaluated the applicants and interviewed over 120 entrepreneurs.
  3. The incubation program will help the startups become large-scale businesses.
  4. It will also help industry with practical and technology-led solutions that bring efficiency and value to business functions.
  5. Under the programme, the selected startups will undergo a 3-month pre-incubation journey during which they will be engaged in various sessions, workshops, peer-to-peer learning activities and will receive regular one-on-one mentoring and advisory sessions, Maruti Suzuki India said.
  6. Networking events, mock-pitches and interaction with investors will be major highlights of the initiative. Post this, the ventures will be allowed to pitch for incubation and funding and the selected ventures will be taken forward for a further six-months incubation journey.

Maruti Suzuki has a vast experience and market leadership in the automotive industry. The collaboration will be able to significantly contribute to the development of the ventures at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore. NSRCEL Chairperson Venkatesh Panchapagesan said that the collaboration would be really beneficial as the mobility is evolving at a rapid pace in India and is projected to reach 90 billion by 2030, with significant growth expected in ride hailing, shared mobility and more.

Maruti Suzuki India Managing Director and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa said that through our partnership with IIM Bangalore, Maruti India is excited to foster and encourage some of the most innovative startups in the country.

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Business motivation

Indian SMEs Plan To Expand Businesses As Economy Revives, Restoration of Business Activities Likely To Gain Momentum Post COVID-19 Era: Survey

Evaluation of Business Performance
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The small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India are coming back to action besides new opportunities unlocking in numerous upcoming segments. As the economy in India limps back to normalcy, a number of small and medium enterprises (SME) in the country are now planning to expand their businesses. The SME Leasing & Business Sentiment Survey by 360 Realtors’ commercial division, shows that business activities in the country are reviving amid increasing confidence in the overall economic outlook of India with the growth trajectory of the country expected to be in the range of 8-10 percent in FY 22.

In a statement, the 360 Realtors noted that business activities are reviving amid increasing confidence in the overall economic outlook of India with the growth trajectory of the country expected to be in the range of 8-10 percent in FY 22. “Echoing this sentiment, a whopping 69 percent of the respondents in the survey have demonstrated their plans to expand their business. As the economy is expected to expand, there will be significant growth in demand and consumption which is egging on industry players,” the Survey stated.

Moreover, around 49 percent of the respondents said that they will launch new verticals, whereas slightly over 12 percent have suggested functional team reallocation. A report by IANS quotes the survey saying that the respondents are spread across numerous cities in India including Delhi-NCR, Kolkata, the MMR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, among other.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the momentum of growth in the SME sector. Ankit Kansal, Founder & MD, 360 Realtors believed that the post-COVID-19 era will see the emergence of new opportunities and business proliferation driven by a consistent restoration of business activities.

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Startup

Startups and MSMEs in India Get Major Boost As Indian Bank Signs MoU With SID of IISc for Extending Exclusive Credit Facility to Businesses

Startup
Startup (Photo Credits: Pixabay)

New Delhi, February 20: In a bid to extend the exclusive credit facility to Startups and MSMEs in India, state-owned Indian Bank has inked an MOU with the Society for Innovation and Development (SID), an initiative of the Indian Institute of Science. Under the pact, the Indian Bank will extend loans of up to Rs 50 crore to these startups for their working capital requirements or for the purchase of machinery, equipment among other things.

This initiative is a part of the Banks scheme Ind Spring Board for financing Startups and will empower Startups and MSMEs to realise their research efforts powered by financial support from the Bank and backed by incubation facilities offered by SID, it said in a release.

In its statement, the Bank said that SID is the forerunner in setting up joint R&D with industries and supporting start-up incubation, the bank said, it provides support to the MSME sector by providing joint research and development arrangements and technical and financial support for incubation and acceleration of high-end technology products under its department named TIME2. (Technology Innovation for Midsized Enterprises).

Under the MOU, SID will identify the start-ups and MSMEs based on their credentials and past experience and will refer the list of such members who require financial assistance to the Bank, it added.

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Startup

Maharashtra To Create Incubation Centre for Startups Near Mumbai To Give Major Boost to New-Age Enterprises

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Mumbai, February 20: Maharashtra is planning to set up a large incubation centre for startups near Mumbai- then financial capital of India, soon, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday. The setting up of an incubation centre for startups will give a boost to new-age enterprises. While speaking at the annual NTLF event of IT industry lobby Nasscom, Thackeray said that the state is also determined to make Mumbai as one of the fintech hubs in Asia. The Chief Minister added saying that in the last three years since launching the Nasscom 10,000 startups programme, which has a warehouse in nearby Navi Mumbai, over 50 new companies have benefitted and over 1,300 jobs have been created.

“Encouraged by this success, we are planning to set up a large incubation centre near Mumbai with Nasscom in the near future,” Thackeray said. After the success with the 2015 IT Policy, Thackeray said the state is now creating an IT/ITes (IT enabled services) promotion policy for 2021 which will have a focus on creating the right ecosystem for technology companies, incentives for innovation and research and development, and a close working relationship with the state. Maharashtra is already using tech inputs for governance and extending services to the public, including blockchain, internet of things and artificial intelligence-based solutions, he said.

The Chief Minister added saying that besides the traditional hubs of Mumbai and Pune, Thane, Raigad, Nashik and Nagpur are also getting traction and tech investments lately. He said in the last five years, the state has received Rs 65,000 crore in investments from IT companies which have helped create 8.5 lakh jobs in the state. Reiterating his predecessor Devendra Fadnavis” target, Thackeray said the state is on its way to becoming a USD 1 trillion GSDP state by 2025.

At present, its GSDP is close to USD 500 billion or 16 per cent of the national GDP, he said, adding that a third of the foreign direct investment received by the country comes to the state. Thackeray said the pandemic period was a testing time for all and the tech industry helped in ensuring that people stay connected through audio and visual modes and said COVID-19 helped hasten the pace of technology adoption. He also noted the sacrifices of emergency services rendering personnel including those from the police and medical fraternity to ensure the city keeps moving.

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Business motivation Startup

Startups in India To Get Major Boost As HDFC Bank’s SmartUp Grants Aims To Empower Social Sector Startups; Here’s How To Apply

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Mumbai, February 10: With an aim to help and empowering social sector startups in India, HDFC Bank has launched an initiative and has invited applications for the same. We are aware that India is home to one of the largest startup ecosystems in the world.The HDFC Bank has invited applications from startups across all sectors and solo entrepreneurs for its SmartUp grants.

The SmartUp grants by HDFC Bank under #Parivartan –the bank’s umbrella CSR brand. It is aimed at finding and deploying long-term, sustainable solutions at scale, to address social issues and contribute to the economic and social development of the country, the bank said in a statement.

This year, the HDFC bank informed that it will focus on start-ups creating social impact at scale in sectors such as Education – technology (ed-tech) and skill development, among others. Reports inform that the startups will be evaluated basis their market reach, penetration and scalability of the product, degree of social impact in beneficiaries’ lives and economic viability of product at scale.

The HDFC Bank has partnered with nine start-up incubators registered with Govt of India’s MeitY platform to screen, mentor, and monitor start-ups.  The nine incubators are from premier institutes and include IIT – Delhi, IIT – BHU, AIC BIMTECH Noida, IIM Kashipur, GUSEC Gujarat, C-CAMP Bangalore, Banasthali University – Jaipur, Villgro Incubation – Chennai, and T-HUB Hyderabad.

Here’s how startups can apply for the HDFC Bank’s SmartUp grants:

  1. The startups in India can apply for the HDFC Bank’s SmartUp grants on February 16.
  2. After the application process, the bank and incubators will jointly reach out and engage with them through the SmartUp portal hosted on Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s website.
  3. The incubator partners will then screen and shortlist applications and the SmartUp team will select finalists.
  4. Thereafter, finalists will pitch their startups to a jury comprising the senior management of the bank.
  5. It must be noted that the startups will be evaluated basis their market reach, penetration and scalability of the product, degree of social impact in beneficiaries’ lives and economic viability of product at scale.

Smita Bhagat, Country Head – Government, E-commerce and Start-ups, HDFC Bank, said: “Enterprises working in the social sector are doing commendable work in changing the lives of millions of Indians. SmartUp grants is one way of offering our support and encouragement in this journey. We want to be a pillar of support for social entrepreneurs who want to bring a positive change to the society.”

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Startup

Agnikul Cosmos, an Indian Space Startup, Becomes First Company To Fire Fully 3D Printed Rocket Engine As Others Play Catch Up

Agnikul Cosmos (Photo Credits: Twitter/ @AgnikulCosmos)

Chennai-based space tech startup Agnikul Cosmos, which is developing India’s first private small satellite launch vehicle, became the first company in the world to successfully test a fully three dimensional (3D) rocket engine. Agnikul Cosmos has successfully test-fired its higher stage semi-cryogenic rocket engine, Agnilet.

Srinath Ravichandran, CEO and co-founder of Agnikul Cosmos, said, “This entire engine – Agnilet – is just one piece of hardware from start to finish and has zero assembled parts. We don’t think anyone in the world has ever pushed 3d printing of a rocket engine to this extent and we couldn’t be happier to have conceived, designed, realized and test-fired this engine, fully in India.”

Usually, rocket engines gave 100s of parts in them but Agnilet was designed in such a way to encapsulate all these parts into just one piece of hardware.

Meanwhile, there are other players in the race. In September last year, Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace revealed their fully 3D printer cryogenic rocket engine, Dhawan-I. The US-based startup, Firehawk Aerospace, is also close to producing a fully 3D printed rocket engine.

About  AgniKul Cosmos:

AgniKul Cosmos Private Limited is a Chennai-based start-up building country’s first private satellite launch vehicle. The vehicle, Agnibaan, can carry up to 100 kilos to LEO (low earth orbit), which is nearly 700 kilometres above the Earth’s surface.

Launched in 2017 by Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM, Agnikul was the first Indian aerospace startup to enter into a non-disclosure agreement with the Department of Space under the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe).

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Startup

Startup Ecosystem in India Has Capability To Create Sustainable Jobs, Holistic Plan Needed To Spur Domestic Funding: Nasscom

Startup

New Delhi, February 9: With an aim to help startups grow in India, IT industry body Nasscom said that a holistic plan is needed to spur domestic funding for startups in the country. India must increase its pipeline for domestic funding which will fuel innovation for India and help create sustainable jobs. At a panel discussion on IT initiatives announced in Budget 2021-22, Debjani Ghosh, President of software association NASSCOM said that Indian companies and domestic investors need to be encouraged to invest in startups.

The startups in India are competing at a global level, and their competitiveness and success, to some extent, hinges on attracting and retaining good talent, she said and added that ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) was one such tool used by startups.

Indian startups are competing at a global level, and their competitiveness and success, to some extent, hinges on attracting and retaining good talent, she said and added that ESOPs (employee stock ownership plan) was one such tool used by startups.

The top official added saying that a level-playing-field must be ensured between them and foreign investors The measures announced in the Budget for startups are steps “in the right direction”, given the importance of this ecosystem and its vital role in fuelling innovation and sustainable jobs, she said.

In the Union Budget 2021, the government has proposed to incentivise incorporation of one-person companies (OPCs) and extend certain tax exemptions by a year for startups, steps that will promote entrepreneurship and encourage NRIs to invest.

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Startup

New Rules for OPCs To Directly Benefit Startups, Small Companies and Innovators in India; Check List of Amended Rules for One Person Companies

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New Delhi, February 6: In a bid to directly benefit Startups in India, especially those who are supplying products & services on e-commerce platforms, the incorporation of  is being incentivized by amending the Companies (Incorporation) Rules. This would benefit the startups and innovators in the country to bring in more unincorporated businesses into the organized corporate sector.

This is being done to allow OPCs to grow without any restrictions on paid up capital and turnover, allowing their conversion into any other type of company at any time, reducing the residency limit for an Indian citizen to set up an OPC from 182 days to 120 days and also allow Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to incorporate OPCs in India.

In addition, the fast track process for mergers under the Companies Act, 2013 has also been now extended to also include mergers of Startups with other Startups and with Small companies, so that the process of mergers & amalgamations is completed faster for such companies.

The amendment notification was issued on February 1, 2021. The amendments to the Rules governing OPCs will cover the following, from April 1, 2021:

  1. Previously NRIs were not allowed to incorporate OPCs. Now any natural person, who is an Indian citizen, whether resident in India or otherwise would be allowed to form an OPC.
  2. For being considered as a resident in India, the residency period has been proposed to be reduced to 120 days from 182 days for NRIs.
  3. Rule relating to voluntary conversion unless OPC has completed two years from the date of incorporated is proposed to be omitted and with effect from 01.04.2021, Conversion of One Person Company into a Public company or a Private company shall be permitted anytime. A One Person company may be converted into a Private or Public Company other than a company registered under section 8 of the Act, after increasing the minimum number of members and directors to two or minimum of seven members and three directors as the case may be,
  4. Similarly the limitation of Paid up capital & turnover presently applicable for OPCs (paid up share capital of fifty lakhs rupees and average annual turnover during the relevant period of two crore rupees) is being done away with so that there are no restrictions on the growth of OPCs in terms of their paid up capital & turnover.
  5. Rationalization of e-forms applicable for OPCs by omitting e-Form No. INC-5 and modification of e-form INC-6 (application for conversion from OPC to a Private company or a Public company and also Private company to OPC.
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Startup

Startups in India Get a Major Boost As Govt Allocates Rs 830 Crore for Fund of Funds for Startups in Union Budget 2021–22

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New Delhi, February 3: With an aim to give a major fillip to the startups in India, the government has allocated Rs 830 crore for the ‘Fund of Funds for Startup’s in the Budget 2021-22. This is higher then the revised estimate of about Rs 430 crore. The government has set up a Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) with a corpus of Rs 10,000 crore. The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is the operating agency for the FFS.

According to the Budget documents, the allocation for Startup India programme has been increased slightly to Rs 20.83 crore for 2021-22 from the revised estimate of Rs 20 crore in 2020-21.The government’s Startup India initiative aims at fostering entrepreneurship and promoting innovation by creating an ecosystem that is conducive to the growth of budding entrepreneurs. The allocation for the fund of funds in Budget 2020-21 was Rs 1,054.97 core, but it was later revised to Rs 429.99 crore.

Moreover, the government has earmarked Rs 300 crore for credit guarantee fund. The cumulative allocation for the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has been hiked to Rs 7,782.24 crore for 2021-22 as against the revised estimate of Rs 7,583.06 crore in 2020-21. Similarly, the cumulative allocation for the department of commerce has also been increased to Rs 4,986 crore for 2021-22 as against the revised estimate of Rs 4,600 crore in 2020-21.

The total allocations for export promotion schemes, such as Market Access Initiative and Interest Equalisation Scheme, has been increased to Rs 2,365 crore for 2021-22 as against the revised estimate of Rs 2,175 crore in 2020-21.

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Business motivation

How Investors can contribute with more than Investing Just Money into the Startups

Investors
ईज ऑफ डूइंग बिजनेस

Investment is the blood of any startup that is vital for its smooth functioning. However, investing in startups is a lot more than just buying stocks.

A report by IBM (Institute for Business Value and Oxford Economics) stated that around 90 percent of the Indian startups fail within the first 5 years of their inception due to the lack of innovation.

Truth to be told, many entrepreneurs themselves believe that post the initial ideation, the startups fail to scale because they lack funds, strategy, or strong leadership. More often than not founders or the owners of small businesses place too much focus on raising money, rather than emphasizing the value that each investor can bring to the table.

So how can an investor add value to the startups beyond making investments into the company?

  1. Financial Aid & Funding

Needless to say that backing startups with finances are often a huge advantage if you are an investor. By providing capital and financial aid, an investor adds immense value to a startup. But, it would be beneficial for the startup if an investor brings more than just money to the table.

As the initial years are crucial for small businesses, investors can help MSMEs and SMEs with their deep industry insights and mentorship. They can help young entrepreneurs in the early stage of the business and guide them to success.

  1. Strategic Planning & Decision Making

Customer satisfaction, cost-effectiveness, and relevance of the product or service in the target market are often lost in the struggle to scale. A seasoned investor who has gained expertise with years of experience can lay a crucial role in decision making.

By making available strategic planning, investors can also help in achieving market penetration and profitable operating ratios.

  1. Network Creation

For small businesses, it is essential to gain access to the right people at the right time in the early stages. An established investor can help in the creation of valuable connectivity to the potential customer or the right talent pool.

Young entrepreneurs who hail from tier II or III cities struggle in finding the right investors and right talents due to the limited access. Hence, investors can help small business owners by being the mediator in business talks. They can also help entrepreneurs in grooming and incubating new profitable ventures to help them grow.

  1. Visibility & Credibility

To add and increase the overall value to an innovative startup venture media attention and access to established domains are required. Hence, an investor can help to build associations with industry doyens, which results from a startup gain visibility and credibility in the market.

Making introductions, build meaningful & profitable associations, giving insights, an investor can do more than just buying the company stocks. With their immense contribution, they can increase the chances of that company`s success.

If you think about it more deeply, why an experienced investor shouldn`t help the startup he is investing in? Want to know how you can find an investor for your business?

Learn the best business strategies that will help you to get investment for your small business with our Everything about Entrepreneurship course. To know more about this course and exclusive offers, click here https://www.badabusiness.com/?ref_code=ArticlesLeads.