News

MSMEs, affordable housing will be our focus areas: ESAF Microfin CMD

With the final approval coming through from the RBI for small finance bank, Thrissur-based ESAF Microfinance is all set to start banking operations by the first quarter of 2017. The bank will target the MSME and affordable housing sectors. In an interview, K Paul Thomas, Chairman and Managing Dir…

A mobile app that helps small Indian businesses go cashless

Tackling digital payments may seem daunting for a shop owner who has always operated with cash, Singapore-based Shopmatic has released a product that might help. Shopmatic lets users in India, Singapore, and Hong Kong build their own online stores, complete with a payment gateway. This month, the…

Rise & fall of the Banarasi handloom sari

In 1968, 21-year-old Ashok Dhawan, on the verge of joining his family’s wholesale business of Banarasi saris in Varanasi, was asked by his father to go sight-seeing. From Agra’s Taj Mahal and Fatehpur Sikri to other places known for Mughal monuments, Dhawan was to observe the finer points of the …

Demonetisation | Why NBFCs with strong connect will weather the crisis

Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) which account for 15 percent credit share in our financial system have achieved the present state of vibrancy largely on account of the inherent capabilities they wield. Rising up to their mandate to facilitate financial inclusion for the country, NBFCs are…

Demonetisation to create jobs, reduce lending rates

Vadodara: Manufacturing and trade may have taken a hit after demonetisation but the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) feel that the move will help their sector in the long run. Members of industrial associations and chambers in Gujarat said that the small and medium sector firms that emp…

Small industry under pressure to repay loans

With businesses taking a major hit since demonetisation was announced, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) are now facing a new challenge — how to repay their existing loans on time and avoid having their loans be declared as Non-performing Assets (NPAs). NCR Chamber of Commerce and In…

Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd to get Khadi products at hefty discount

Kolkata: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) announced a tie-up with the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited [PGCL], a PSU under the Ministry of Power. The agreement, employees of the PSU would be provided a discount of 30% by KVIC. The discount that can be availed against a purcha…

Tata Teleservices to double SME customers

New Delhi: Tata TeleservicesLtd (TTSL) is aiming to double the number of its local customers from the small and medium enterprise sector to 1 lakh, with the help of marketing and connectivity solutions. Tata Teleservices is also making significant investments towards its new Internet of Things (I…