Darwinbox, a human resources software-as-a-service (SaaS) startup, has raised $4 million (about Rs 25 crore) in a series-A round of funding led by Lightspeed India Partners. The company plans to leverage the new infusion of capital for product innovation and market expansion. Founded by Roh…
Govt to unveil package for Knitwear industry in 2 months
The government will announce a package for the country’s knitwear sector in the next two months, a top official said. The package is expected to provide a level-playing field to the knitwear industry, which is facing tough competition from countries like China owing to factors like lower au…
NITI Aayog looks to set up 1k tinkering labs
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has stated that this year, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) scheme will look to select 1,000 schools. They will receive a grant of about $31K (INR 20 Lakh) each. The money will be utilised to set up tinkering labs to foster innovation, as per a recent report. The repo…
Amitabh Bachchan to be the brand ambassador of GST
The government has roped in Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan to promote Goods and Services Tax (GST), ahead of the sweeping tax reform’s implementation scheduled from July 1. The Central Board of Excise and Customs will be making the 74-year-old Bachchan as the brand ambassador for GST. …
India plans SAARC meet for start-ups: Nirmala Sitharaman
India is planning to organise a meet of start-ups of the South Asian region for exchange of new ideas and promoting interaction among them. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also sought views of Indian start-ups to hold this programme. “I will be working towards having a SAARC (So…
BSE SME platform receives 214 draft prospectus
BSE’s Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) platform seems to be generating significant interest from investors with as many as 214 firms filing draft papers to raise funds through IPOs since the launch of the segment, nearly five years ago. Out of 214 companies, 183 of them are already listed …
Ministry of Corporate Affairs notifies operational & compliance relaxations for start-ups
In its bid to boost the ecosystem for start-ups, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified a slew of operational and compliance relaxations. Key among them is the ability to raise deposits from members, with exemption from procedural compliance for an extended period of five years. …
Kerala IT Secretary proposes govt partnered funding system for start-ups
Kerala’s IT Secretary M Sivasankar has proposed to set up a government partnered funding system for startups. The announcement was made during the two day (June17-18) ‘Seeding Kerala-2’ meet. The conclave was organised by Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in partnership with Let’sVenture, Konglo Vent…
View Point: ‘SME sector should get 6 months to ingest complexities of GST’
In its bid to get the maximum number of firms and individuals under the tax bracket, the Union government is boldly going ahead with the implementation of the game-changing reform of Goods and Services Tax (GST). This sort of tax disruption, virtually unprecedented in the country, might boost the…
Nirmala Sitharaman offers Rs 1.18 cr from MP fund to Mangaluru start-up incubator
Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman announced here on June 16 she will contribute Rs1.18 crore from her Member of Parliament Local Area Development fund, to a start-up incubation centre to be set up in Mangaluru. The Dakshina Kannada district administration and th…