At a conference organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi, Anil Agarwal, group Chairman of UK-listed natural resources giant Vedanta Resources Plc, said “the next spurt in manufacturing growth in India will be coming from a new wave of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), w…
Codissia inks pact with SIDBI for credit access
An agreement aimed at facilitating easy access to credit for the smaller units in the MSME segment has been inked by Codissia (Coimbatore District Small Industries Association), the apex association of small industries, and the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). “This is an exclu…
There’s room for small entrepreneurs to get interest-free credit | MUDRA Chief
If micro-enterprise owners such as vegetable/fruit vendors and small food stall owners play their cards right, it may be possible for them to get interest-free credit from banks under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. Once more ATMs with cash-deposit facility and standalone cash-deposit machines a…
Startup action plan has generated buzz among entrepreneurs| Nirmala Sitharaman
The startup action plan has generated a “buzz” among budding entrepreneurs and several of them have been able to successfully attract funds from angel and other investors, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. “A lot of startups are approaching us (after the an…
Govt to create over 2 lakh dalit entrepreneurs under Stand Up India
At the inauguration of the 5th National Industrial & Trade Fair organised by Dalit Indian Chamber Commerce & Industry (DICCI), Union Minister for MSME (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) Kalraj Mishra has announced that under Stand-up India initiative, each of the 1.25 lakh bank branc…
Uber to invest $500 million by June in India as it takes on rival Ola
Ride-hailing app Uber plans to invest $500 million (Rs 3,300 crore) in India by June — or Rs 1,000 crore a month, on average — as it challenges Ola for leadership in its third-biggest market, two people aware of the matter said. Just nine months ago, the world’s most valuable startup commit…
Angel network plans to invest over Rs 1 crore in artificial intelligence startups
Mumbai-based Angel Network and co-working space Venture Catalysts, which has over 150 angels in its network, plans to invest over a crore in artificial intelligence startups over the next one year. The network which recently partnered with Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator Plug and Play, e…
Mechanised labour in coir industry mooted at Kozhikode Coir Fest
The best thing about coir is that it is eco-friendly. Once the coir product is damaged, you can throw it away or burn it without causing any sort of pollution. It is this feature on which the coir industry in Kerala thrives. The three-day coir fest that concluded in Kozhikode on Saturday had good…
Mobile banking sees dramatic surge in India
The value of transactions concluded over smartphones surged in recent months as banks encouraged businesses to manage their finances using mobile phones and mobile usage among retail customers expanded rapidly. The value of mobile banking transactions jumped 46% to `49,029 crore in December from …
HAL to rope in more vendors from MSME sector for its indigenisation projects
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is selecting more vendors for some of its indigenisation programmes in the aerospace sector. “Currently, the company is working with over 2,000 vendors in the MSME segment,” said A Selvaraj, Head, Indigenisation Cell of HAL. “This is required as we have to hast…