Categories
Finance

MSME Credit Guarantee Scheme: Banks Disburse More Than Rs 1 Lakh Crore Under ECLGS as Part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Package

The banks have disbursed more than Rs 1 lakh crore under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector, the finance ministry said. The loans have been disbursed fall under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package. The latest numbers on ECLGS, as released by the finance ministry has disbursements by all 12 public sector banks (PSBs), 24 private sector banks and 31 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). The total amount sanctioned under the scheme by banks now stands at Rs 1,50,759.45 crore, of which Rs 1,02,245.77 crore has already been disbursed as of August 18. “Under the 100 per cent ECLGS backed by a Government of India guarantee, banks from public and private sectors have sanctioned loans worth over ₹1.5 lakh crore as of August 18, 2020, of which more than ₹1 lakh crore has already been disbursed,” the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The disbursement will largely help the MSME sector that has been impacted by the economic slowdown due to COVID-19. The ECLGS was announced by the Government as a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Package, to mitigate the distress caused by lockdown due to coronavirus lockdown by providing credit to different sectors, especially MSMEs.

Meanwhile, the sanctioned amount too have surged past Rs 1.50 lakh crore at the end of August 18 under the 100 per cent ECLGS for micro, small and medium enterprises. The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May.

Key Highlights:

1. Business units of Maharashtra have got the highest cumulative sanction of Rs 7,756 crore from banks, while disbursement stood at Rs 6,007 crore at the end of August 18.
2. Tamil Nadu is the second state which has received a sanction of Rs 7,740 crore, and disbursement of Rs 5,693 crore.
3. The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL facility during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31 or till the amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under GECL, whichever is earlier.
4. The top lenders under the scheme are State Bank of India (SBI), Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Bank of India, Union Bank of India and HDFC Bank.
5. The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL facility during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31 or till the amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under GECL, whichever is earlier.

The Finance Ministry said that under the ECLGS, Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have sanctioned loans of Rs 76,044.44 crore, out of which Rs 56,483.41 crore has already been disbursed whereas Private Sector Banks have sanctioned loans of Rs 74,715.02 crore out of which Rs 45,762.36 crore has already been disbursed. On May 20, the Cabinet approved additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore at a concessional rate of 9.25 per cent through ECLGS for MSME sector.

All MSME borrower accounts with an outstanding credit of up to Rs 50 crore as on February 29, which were less than or equal to 60 days past due as on that date, i.e., regular, SMA-0 and SMA-1 accounts, and with an annual turnover of up to Rs 250 crore, are eligible for GECL funding under the scheme.

Categories
Business motivation Motivational

World Entrepreneurs’ Day 2020: Celebrating Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Leadership by Spreading Awareness

An entrepreneur is someone who plays a vital role in developing the nation’s economy by solving the issues of unemployment and generating awareness regarding entrepreneurship. On Friday, the global fraternity will celebrate this day to honour these entrepreneurs, who work hard each day to innovate something new and lead from the front to boost the country’s financial situation.

We all know that India is affected by the coronavirus and its economic situation has taken a roller-coaster ride in the past few months. However, Indian entrepreneurs are trying their best to cope-up with financial instability. Not only these entrepreneurs are pacing up India’s economy with their latest innovations, but are also spreading awareness through their leadership skills. World Entrepreneurs’ Day 2020 allows honouring these hardworking entrepreneurs for all their efforts to keep India’s business sector move forward.

The special day is dedicated to founders, managers, producers, contractors, industrialists, innovators, administrators, designers and producers. As per Global Entrepreneurship Development Institute (GEDI) data, India currently stands at 68th position — out of 137 countries — in entrepreneurship development.

Considering the significance of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs need 3 Cs for success — capital, courage and conviction — to grow their business in the global market. It is said that without an enterprise and entrepreneurs innovation, productivity growth and new jobs are unthinkable. Through the World Entrepreneurs’ Day 2020, events like conferences, workshop and meetings, can spread awareness regarding leadership, innovation, creativity, design, entrepreneurship and other related topics.

Here are some tips to celebrate and honour entrepreneurs on World Entrepreneurs’ Day 2020:

1) Enterprises can organise conferences, workshops and meetings at various platforms. Through this, they can generate awareness regarding entrepreneurship and leadership.

2) Business Schools can organise conferences by collaborating with large enterprises. During the conferences, successful entrepreneurs can share their experiences with the upcoming entrepreneurs and motivate them.

3) Business firms can provide discounts and promotions during the World Entrepreneur’s Day.

4) Radio and television networks can prepare programs to highlight the importance of entrepreneurship. Also, talk shows can be scheduled to educate the population about entrepreneurship.

5) Universities, government organisations and private firms can organise a group seminar or workshop regarding government policies and hurdles associated with it. Also, discussing financial solutions to set up a firm and ways to sustain in the market would certainly motivate young entrepreneurs.

Apart from this, there are several ways to celebrate World Entrepreneurs’ Day 2020. However, the motto behind the celebrations should be spreading awareness and clearing doubts. Experts believe nourishing a healthy startup environment across the country is the most vital part for developing entrepreneurs. On this special day, lets help in igniting new minds and shape them in the right direction.

Categories
Business motivation

Business startup ideas after COVID-19

COVID-19 has taken its toll on the global economy in the most unthinkable and unimaginable ways and the global economy is experiencing an all-time low. This pandemic has inflicted damage and affected the overall health of the MSMEs and entrepreneurship that generate a heavy revenue contributing to the economy. It is crucial to think of how to stay relevant these days and to help you with that, we’ve shared a few start-up business ideas that won’t let you down.

There are some businesses that are either unaffected by COVID-19 or have flourished even more, standing the test of time. In this article, our objective is to introduce you to 4 such industries that have proved themself to be “corona-proof” and can end up being the best businesses to initiate your start-up.

 

1.    Over The Top Platforms/Online Gaming
Nobody can deny the fact that all we have been doing these lockdowns is watching movies and TV series on OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. This fact itself proved that viewers, who have been quite anxious about the ban on movie theatres and gaming parlours, have resorted to the over the top platforms and online games. The people, especially the older generation, who initially were not very comfortable with the change, are now welcoming this change with an open heart. This shift in the interests of the viewers has proved that this industry will continue to bloom even after the pandemic is over!

 

2.    EdTech
From the worried parents to many of us sitting ideal during these lockdowns, the EdTech industry has emerged to be the biggest support. Where on one hand, students were able to learn from home, millions of us across the globe have leveraged Edtech and enrolled ourselves in many courses. EdTech has not only helped students repair and recover their disrupted schedules, it has given many professionals a chance to develop new skills and hone the already acquired. Now that EdTech has proved its mettle, we cannot help but accept that, come what may, this industry is here to stay!

 

 3. The Health Industry
The health sector has been the one that has evolved dramatically of late. It has been the time where the health and wellness businesses have boomed because of how aware the world has become of their health and well-being. We all must have received this advice, directly or indirectly, to boost our immunity as it will help us keep fit and less prone to the infections out there. Making them most important in our lives in these unprecedented times, they are certainly going to experience a boom.

 

4. E-commerce platforms
We all know how brick and mortar stores have been hit the hardest as people have restricted their outdoor visits in a bid to maintain social distancing. The industry that has leveraged the most out of these restrictions is the e-commerce industry! There has been a major shift in the behavior of the consumer as they were forced to go online to make the necessary purchases. Now that the consumer has started to feel comfortable buying online, they are preferring to buy almost everything online. It goes without saying that this industry is cherishing this rise in the business and riding high on the pandemic boom.

 

 

Categories
Finance Strategy

GST Council Likely to Meet on August 27 to Discuss Compensation Payout to States

New Delhi, August 19: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is likely to meet on August 27 to discuss the compensation pay-out to states. The council will also discuss the opinion of the Attorney General on the legality of market borrowing to meet revenue shortfall. This will be the 41st meeting of the GST Council and will be held via video conference. Sources reveal that the meeting would be a single agenda meeting on states’ compensation.

A full-fledged meeting of the Council would be held on September 19, the agenda for which is to be decided, a report by news agency PTI said. The Attorney General, the chief legal officer of the government, is of the opinion that the Centre has no statutory obligation to make up for any shortfall in GST revenues of states from its coffers, sources revealed.

They had earlier indicated that following the AG’s opinion, states may now have to look at market borrowings to meet the revenue shortfall and the GST Council will take a final call. In March, the Centre had sought views from Attorney General KK Venugopal on the legality of market borrowing by the GST Council to make up for any shortfall in compensation fund – a corpus created from levy of additional tax on luxury and sin goods to compensate states for revenue shortfall arising from their taxes being subsumed into GST.

Reports inform that the Attorney General had also opined that the Council would have to decide on meeting the shortfall in the GST compensation fund by providing the sufficient amount to be credited to the fund. As per sources, the options before the Council for meeting the shortfall could be to rationalize GST rates, cover more items under the compensation cess or increase the compensation cess, or recommend higher borrowing by states to be repaid by the future collection into the compensation fund.

Under the GST law, states were guaranteed to be compensated bi-monthly for any loss of revenue in the first five years of the GST implementation from July 1, 2017. The shortfall is calculated assuming a 14 per cent annual growth in GST collections by states over the base year of 2015-16. Under the GST structure, taxes are levied under 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent slabs. On top of the highest tax slab, a cess is levied on luxury, sin and demerit goods and the proceeds from the same are used to compensate states for any revenue loss.

The GST Council has to decide how to meet the shortfall in such circumstances and not the central government, sources added.  Any borrowing of the central government is upon the security of the Consolidated Fund of India. Similarly, borrowing by a state government is upon the security of the consolidated fund of the state.

In either case, it would lead to increased general government debt burden and also a higher fiscal deficit. The payment of GST compensation to states became an issue after revenues from the imposition of cess started dwindling since August 2019 and the Centre had to dive into the excess cess amount collected during 2017-18 and 2018-19.

In 2019-20, the Centre had released over Rs 1.65 lakh crore as GST compensation. However, the amount of cess collected during the year 2019-20 was Rs 95,444 crore. The compensation payout amount was Rs 69,275 crore in 2018-19 and Rs 41,146 crore in 2017-18.

 

Categories
Startup

UP MSME Act of 2020 Introduced by Uttar Pradesh Government to Ease Conditions for Setting up Medium And Small Enterprises in State

Lucknow, August 20: Uttar Pradesh is bringing an Act to ease the conditions for setting up Medium And Small Enterprises (MSME) units in Uttar Pradesh. According to a Times of India report, under this Act, an investor will be given 1,000 days to get necessary clearances after the first go-ahead. The new UP MSME (Establishment and Operations) Act of 2020, was cleared by the cabinet recently.

How does it work?

A person will have to make an application through a Declaration of Intent to a district-level nodal agency, which will have to issue an acknowledgement within 72 hours of receiving the application. On the basis of this acknowledgement, one will be able to establish their unit. At present, if a person wants to set up an MSME unit in UP, they need to get clearances from 29 different departments.

Units Not Covered in this Act:

However, there are certain restrictions as there are certain units that will not be covered by the Act. From products, gutka, pan masala etc, alcohol, to plastic bags of 40 microns or less or as banned by the government from time to time, Also, any other item identified by UP Pollution Control Board as a red category is also not covered under this Act.

Categories
Business motivation

Start Business from Home With These Essential Steps

When time is harder, you get toughest. Amid this pandemic, when you think everything is difficult to catch up with, you need to find a solution. The pandemic has forced lots of small businesses to shut down and as per The Centre For Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), at least 5 million salaried people lost jobs in India in July 2020. The situation is grim, but at the same time, presents an opportunity for people to look at becoming entrepreneurs from home.

We bring you some ideas or ways for starting a business, being at home when everything is closed. Big businesses were not born overnight. Someone had an idea, concept, and worked on it. Here are some steps you need to keep in mind when planning to Start Business at Home –

  1. Assess Your Business Idea
    Start brainstorming your ideas or anything you believe you can be work on being at home only. One requires to have an idea before beginning anything. With various business options possible, you need to focus on one, which matches your skill.
  2. Consider Your Skills With Training
    Nobody is born without skill or talent. So pick something that you think you have an expertise in and start with what you have proper knowledge of. You can try some specialized courses also if need be. Additional skills will always help you improve your business.
  3. Write Down Your Project Report
    Your project report will define how well you have done your homework. The more uniqueness you offer, the faster you will be on the path of success. Study the markets well, be it domestic or international market, as per your business idea. Write down your report based on research, which may include a revenue model with cost and sales price, taxes, delivery charges, etc.
  4. Source of Funding
    The funds play a major role in any business, but small businesses or start-ups are either self-financed or acquired from friends and family. Therefore, you need to be careful with your finances as you need to keep your business running until you start earning profit. With this, you should have one backup for the funding source if something goes wrong.
  5. Fix Your Work Location
    As a small business, you need to own a small workplace, small shop, or an office. This is an essential aspect of your business because you require to register your business as you will receive a permit from the registration office for running your business, and this permission will help you get power and water permits.
  6. Registering Your Business
    Thanks to new direct instructions given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, you only need one working day for registering your business. Now the option of registering is available online and every necessary information is on the website.
  7. Launch a website
    In today’s time, owning a website plays a major part in any business for providing information on the products and business. It is a significant step for building a business and building trust among your target audience. There’re many websites that guide you and help you build your website.

These are seven simple yet essential steps to keep in mind for starting a small business while being home during these tough times.

 

Categories
Marketing Startup

5 Cost-Effective Marketing Strategies for Startups

The greatest challenge in front of startups is that they are usually on a tight budget. Even if they are not, it is very important, that they should wisely spend each penny for a better result which they can see tomorrow. Therefore, startups shouldn’t be focussing on big marketing spends, but their attention should be on strategies which will help them reach out to a wider audience with limited spends.

Let’s take a look at some cost-effective marketing strategies which startups should consider.

1) Create a company website

Make a proper website, which is easy to navigate and can be opened on all the platforms, like a laptop, mobile phone or on a tablet. It should have all the information about what the company does.

2) Focus on Good Content & SEO

Once your website is up and running, the next step should be to populate the website with relevant content. Equal importance should also be given on SEO for your content to be easily found on search engines.

3) PR and news articles

If you are new in the market, it is very important to spread a word in the media about your arrival with the help of good PR and relevant news articles about your company.

4) Social Media Marketing

Use social media to reach out to your potential customers within a fixed budget. Don’t bombard the audience with too much promotional content. It is very important to create a niche and credibility so that people can trust your brand. Startups can also try influencer marketing, it is a very popular marketing form involving endorsements and product placement from influencers, people and organisations who have an expert level of knowledge or social influence in their field.

6) Be Part of Relevant Forums & Groups

Join as many relevant business groups on social media. Try and look out for questions pertaining to your business. You might see someone asking a question that you can answer (with your expertise), and use it as an opportunity to promote your business.

The marketing strategy of a start-up in the initial few months should be to engage with the customers, and not just sell a product. Remember, you are a new brand and people are not aware of your existence, so it is very important to engage and create a relationship with your customers.

Categories
Business motivation

Maruti Suzuki Ties Up With IIM Bangalore to Help Startups Lead Innovations in Mobility Sector

Bangalore, August 20: In order to help start-ups working in technology-based innovations that can be applied in the mobility sector, Maruti Suzuki on Thursday announced a partnership with the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B).

Commenting on the tie-up, Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and CEO of Maruti Suzuki, said, “The mobility startup incubation programme addresses the needs of early-stage startups which have the potential of becoming large-scale businesses.”

According to an ANI report, this collaboration marks the first-of-its-kind initiative by an automobile manufacturing company to help early-stage startups become large scale businesses. In addition to this, the country’s biggest carmaker Maruti is hopeful that the collaboration with IIMB will help in the creation of jobs.

Under the partnership, early-stage startups will get incubation support and a chance for potential partnership with Maruti Suzuki to fast-track the growth of their venture. The programme will select professionals who have technology in digital, data and AI/ML in the fields of autonomous mobility, shared mobility, mobility solution for rural, connected cars, vehicle diagnostic, vehicle safety, advanced driver-assist system, supply chain management, blockchain, data security, warehousing, finance, advertisement and loyalty programme.

A mobility and automobile innovation lab was launched by Maruti in January last year to co-create innovative business solutions in the mobility space.

 

Categories
Startup

Dream11 Journey: From Fantasy Gaming Startup to IPL 2020 Title Sponsor, Here’s A Look At The Rise of The Unicorn

Mumbai, August 19: Dream11, Fantasy gaming startup has bagged the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 title sponsorship rights. Dream11 won the title sponsorship rights with a bid of Rs 222 crore, replacing Vivo for a four and a half month deal.

In India, the online fantasy sports gaming has seen exponential growth over the last three years. To quote, IFSG-KPMG report, the biggest player in this category is Dream11 which commands 90 percent market share.

Here are some interesting facts about Dream11 growth journey: 

  • Dream11 was co-founded by Harsh Jain and Bhavit Sheth in 2012. It is an India based app.
  • Dream11 is headquartered in the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra.
  • In April 2019, Dream11 became the first Indian gaming company to enter the ‘Unicorn Club’.
  • In 2014, the company reported 1 million registered users, which grew to 2 million in 2016 and to 4 million in 2018.
  • Dream11 was also recognised as one of the top 10 innovative companies in India by Fast Company in 2019.
  • China-based App development organisation called Tencent Games had invested in the application in the year 2018.
  • On the Dream11 platform, the share of cricket as a sport is 85 percent, and this explains why IPL is an important platform for the brand to be in.

Here’s how the game format works:

Dream11 provides a fantasy gaming platform for multiple sports such as cricket, football, basketball, kabaddi, hockey, volleyball, and baseball, handball. Here users create a virtual team of real-life players and earn points based on the performances of these players in real matches. In order to participate in a Dream11 game, a user must be at least 18 years old and needs to get their profile verified using their PAN.

 

Categories
Finance Startup Strategy

Narendra Modi Govt Operationlises Rs 20,000 Crore Stressed Fund to Benefit Around 2 Lakh MSMEs, Issues Guidelines for CGSSD Under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package

New Delhi, August 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union Government on Wednesday operationalised Rs 20,000 crore stressed fund aiming to benefit around 2 lakh MSMEs. Apart from this, the Union government has also issued guidelines for Credit Guarantee Scheme for Subordinate Debt (CGSSD) which was announced under the Atmanirbhar Bharat package.

According to the plan of the government, the subordinate debt that will be provided by the banks would be fully guaranteed through the Credit Guarantee Trust for Medium and Small Entrepreneurs (CGTMSE) and be counted as quasi-equity. In the subordinate debt, support of Rs 4,000 crore would be given by the government to CGTMSE. Through the CGSSD, a guarantee coverage will be provided for MSME restructuring. Under the scheme, 90 per cent guarantee will be covered by the trust, while 10 per cent will be covered by the concerned promoter.

Here’s the MSME tweet:

Who are eligible for CGSSD?

1) MSMEs whose accounts have been standard as on March 31, 2018, with regular operations — standard or NPA — through FY 2019.

2) Stressed MSME units which were SMA-2 and NPA as of April 30, 2020.

Requirements for availing sub-debt under CGSSD:

1) After fulfilling the eligibility criteria, all the promoters of the MSME units will be given credit equal to 15 per cent of stake in the company or Rs 75 lakh.

2) A separate loan account needs to be opened. All the promoters will have to infuse sub-debt or loan amount as promoter contribution.

3) As per RBI norms, all MSME loans would be linked to an external benchmark.

4) The maximum tenor for repayment will be 10 years, with a 7-year moratorium on principal payment.

5) Following the completion of the moratorium, principal amount to be repaid within 3 years. However, no additional charge will be levied in case of pre-payment of the loan.