Think India Foundation

Buy land directly to invest in Bihar, says official

Kolkata : 

Entrepreneurs wanting to invest in Bihar should acquire land directly from farmers as land acquisition by the government would cost more, a top government official said Friday.

"If you purchase land directly from the farmers, you will get it at a much cheaper rate than we can provide it to you," said Naveen Verma, director of Food Processing Industries, Bihar. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

American Business Centre launched in Patna

PATNA: US ambassador to India, Nancy J Powell here on Monday launched American Business Centre (ABC) which, she said, would act as a virtual incubator for stronger US-India business relationship. This would help Bihari entrepreneurs access technology and other information.

The ABC will function from the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) office here. It will act as a clearing house to connect Bihar-based companies with US-based companies with dissemination of catalogues of US products to potential buyers. ABC will also arrange workshops, including one on cold chain logistics programme. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Whither Bengali enterprise?

L’affaire Saradha highlights West Bengal’s inability to forge a genuine indigenous business class.

The statue of Dwarkanath Tagore, one of India's and Bengal's first entrepreneurs, at the State Bank Archive and Museum in Kolkata

Bengalis are perceived as singularly unsuited for doing business. Although second to none as far as intellectual abilities or educational/professional attainments go, the bhadralok Brahmins, Vaidyas and Kayasthas are considered to be devoid of entrepreneurial drive. The ones straying into trade and industry are either those with not-so-honourable credentials or real gentlemen, who may have done better confining themselves to the less murky world of Rabindra Sangeet, Satyajit Ray, Karl Marx and football. 

Such generalised caricatures as the above are bound to be reinforced amid the ongoing financial implosion involving deposit-taking companies in West Bengal. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

Raise your start-ups in a class

A global training company that offers classes in technology entrepreneurship is coming to India. It is setting up its first chapter in Bangalore

 Naveen Lakkur believes Bangalore has a large number of aspiring tech entrepreneurs. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint

Technology entrepreneurship that has taken India’s information technology (IT) giants years of planning and persistence can now be nurtured in a classroom. The Founder Institute (FI), a for-profit global training company that focuses on technology-related start-ups and helps entrepreneurs (existing and prospective) create meaningful technology companies through a four-month programme, is coming to India in June.

Whether it is Eren Bali, 28, CEO and co-founder of Udemy, an online learning company in the US that has raised $12 million (around Rs.65 crore), or Quang (who uses only his first name), chief operating officer of Appota Corp., a mobile content provider, in Hanoi, Vietnam, the FI has not only helped develop successful revenue models for technology start-ups but has also put its participants through the rigours of building a company from scratch. Maren Kate Donovan, founder of San Francisco-based Zirtual, a company that provides virtual assistants to handle the personal and official tasks of busy corporate executives, calls the FI a “boot camp for a tech start-up”. “They gave me basic building blocks of starting a company, especially in the very competitive Silicon Valley,” says Donovan, who attended the programme in 2010. Read more

Source : www.livemint.com

India to set up Rs.5,000 crore as innovation fund

Government of India has a plan to set up Rs. 5,000 crore fund to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, top official said Thursday.

An initial amount of $20 million (Rs.100 crore) would be provided to the India Inclusive Innovation Fund and the remaining amount would come via scheduled banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, corporates, high net worth individuals as well as bilateral and multilateral institutions, said Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram. Read more

Source : www.newstrackindia.com

Indian tech start-ups filing patents to get government funding

BANGALORE: The Centre has announced a scheme through which it will provide financial support to young technology companies filing international patents, a move that underscores the growing support for emerging ventures in the country. 

 

The Centre has announced a scheme through which it will provide financial support to young technology companies filing international patents

The five-year scheme that comes into force from this fiscal year will provide half the amount incurred in filing a patent and reimburse fees paid to an attorney, according to an official in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. "We will bear all costs up to a limit of Rs15 lakh for each patent application," said the person who did not wish to be identified. Technology ventures that have an annual budget below Rs10 crore for research and development will qualify for this scheme. The move is being welcomed by entrepreneurs who say the high cost of filing patents has been a major deterrent for young companies. Read more 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Ladies, awaken the entrepreneur in you

One organisation has taken the onus to empower women in Karnataka. Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE) has awakened, distilled and inspired the spirit of entrepreneurship in thousands of women in Bangalore and across the state.

The Entrepreneurship Development Program, which has played an instrumental role in transforming the lives of the women | EPS

In the backdrop of their ongoing The Entrepreneurship Development Program, which has played an instrumental role in transforming the lives of the women, City Express caught up with  the women who benefited out of it and also the organisers. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

Delhi Gains Ground as Startup Hothouse

New Delhi is encroaching on Bangalore’s long-held mantle as the hothouse for India’s startups.

A cyclist stood in front of a glass building in Gurgaon, Nov. 21, 2012.  Brent Lewin/Bloomberg News

New Delhi and its satellite cities are becoming hothouses for startups by some measures, encroaching on a title long-held by Bangalore.

While data on the exact number of startups launched per city in India isn’t available, venture capital activity in the National Capital Region, which includes Gurgaon and Noida, has been rising steadily in recent years. Read more

Source : stream.wsj.com

‘Bangalore needs innovative solutions to sustain growth’

 BANGALORE : If Bangalore has to sustain its rapid growth, innovative and sustainable solutions to manage its waste, water, environment and transport are the need of the hour, Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) member and waste management expert Kalpana Kar said.

Speaking at a panel discussion on sustainable cities on Saturday, she said, “The waste management crisis is an opportunity. There lies a business prospect in converting the inert waste into power. There is a lack of institutional capacity in the current structure to deal with solid waste management issues. Hence, it is an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to create innovative solutions which will lead to sustainable cities.” Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

IT start-ups to get support from IEEE

Institution of Electronics and Electrical Engineers (IEEE) Kerala Chapter is setting up mechanism to support all-woman start-ups in Information Technology and related technology domains.

 IEEE Kerala Section team is already working to get the first start-up under this programme in the social media space to be launched early next month. Read more

Source : newindianexpress.com

Greys of Bihar

Supoul/Darbangha/Madhubani : Four months back, Sarjug Mahto, 80, resident of village Prasad in Bihar’s Supoul district launched himself as an entrepreneur by setting up a tiny roadside grocery shop. “I sold off my one bigha land to marry off four daughters. My son, who works as a driver, has seven children to feed. I’ve lived in fear. Now I have something to do,” he says. Parmeshwari Devi, 65, took a loan to buy three katha (1/20th of a bigha) land on bharna (rent) and plans to buy more land next season. 

One farmer invested in a vermicompost unit. Others pooled money to buy tent house material. Some groups have started buying essential food items at bulk rates and are also setting up fodder and grain banks. A silent revolution seems to be happening. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Law to empower Indian street vendors soon: Maken

Millions of street vendors in cities and towns across India will soon be empowered to run their micro level business by law, union Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Ajay Maken said Monday.

"The union government will re-introduce the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill in parliament to empower them by law and give micro-level business its due," Maken said at a function here. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

India needs to create 15 mn jobs annually: Sam Pitroda

NEW DELHI : India needs to create 15 million jobs every year, the National Innovation Council Chairman Sam Pitroda said today.

“We need to re-create the entrepreneurial vigour so that we can ensure 15 million jobs every year because if we do not have entrepreneurs, innovation will be difficult,” says Sam Pitroda.

“We have about 550 million youths under 25 years of age and considering this, we also need to create 15 million jobs annually,” Pitroda said at a FICCI event on next generation entrepreneurs here. Read more

Source : www.thehindubusinessline.com

Karnataka plans VC fund for pharma sector

The fund will have initial corpus of Rs 50 cr

The Karnataka government has proposed to set up a venture capital (VC) fund with a corpus of Rs 50 crore to support budding entrepreneurs in the pharmaceutical sector.

The move to set up an exclusive VC fund for the pharma sector has been spelt out in the Karnataka Pharma Policy 2012, which was unveiled recently. Through the new policy framework, the state government aims to build a leadership position in the pharmaceutical sector. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

IIM graduate who drives autorickshaw business

NAGPUR: A degree from IIM Ahmedabad could have easily landed Nirmal Kumar a job with a fat pay packet at a multinational company. However, Kumar chose to earn Rs 45,000 a month, managing a fleet of 10,000 autorickshaws in Gujarat.

Nirmal Kumar comes from a modest background, with the family based in Siwan district of Bihar.

Haggling with an autorickshaw driver over fare changed the course of life for this physically challenged, 2008 batch graduate from the country's premier management school. Kumar was in the city on Sunday to speak at the TIECON meet on promoting entrepreneurship. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

MBA sabziwallas strike green gold

AHMEDABAD: They have an MBA from the most sought-after business school in the country but are busy selling vegetables. 

Nirmal Kumar and Kaushlendra Kumar — both graduates from IIM-Ahmedabad, have brought respectability to the business of vegetable selling through their innovative ventures. Read more

 

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Google’s $10 million 10,000 start-ups plan for India

A new Nasscom initiative will invest some $10 million to nurture 10,000 new businesses in five years

 Google chairman Eric Schmidt will on Wednesday launch the programme for technology entrepreneurs. Photo: Jin Lee/Bloomberg

Bangalore: Eric E. Schmidt, chairman of Google Inc., will on Wednesday launch an ambitious programme for technology entrepreneurs in India that will invest some $10 million to nurture 10,000 new businesses in five years.

This new initiative by industry lobby Nasscom, in partnership with firms such as Google and Microsoft Corp., seeks to put a better shine on the country’s poor technology start-up ecosystem. Read more

Source : www.livemint.com

Govt implementing scheme to augment foodgrains storage

Mumbai: The government is implementing the private entrepreneurs guarantee (PEG) scheme to augment the covered storage capacity through private entrepreneurs, central warehousing corporation (CWC) and state warehousing corporations (SWCs), according to the minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, K V Thomas.

While providing this information in Lok Sabha, Thomas said that the FCI guarantees to hire godowns constructed under this scheme for a period of ten years, thereby, ensuring for the investor, a fair return on his investment. A capacity of about 197 lakh metric tonne as on February 28, 2013 has been approved for the construction of godowns in 19 states out of which a capacity of 141.46 lakh metric tonne has been sanctioned for construction. A capacity of 46.88 lakh metric tonne has been completed. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

3,000 to be trained to become entrepreneurs

BANGALORE : 100 beneficiaries to be identified in each of the districts in State

Visitors going around exhibits at the inauguration of Coir Board Expo at Palace Grounds. Photo: V Sreenivasa Murthy

Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Independent Charge) K.H. Muniyappa has said that his Ministry has launched a national programme to impart entrepreneurship development training to 100 youngsters from each district. He urged Mr. Shettar to direct the Deputy Commissioners to identify 100 potential entrepreneurs in each of their districts in three months. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

MNREGS killing entrepreneurial spirit of rural AP, says study

HYDERABAD: The UPA government's pet programme - the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) - may have been started with the objective of securing the livelihood of the residents of rural India by providing assured employment for 100 days in a year, but has ended up choking the entrepreneurial spirit in the hinterlands of Andhra Pradesh.

These are the findings of a study conducted by a faculty of the Indian School of Business (ISB) that was funded by a World Bank arm and Ford Foundation. The study, carried out by ISB's assistant professor Shamika Ravi found that the assurance of paid work to those volunteering for casual labour in the rural areas has over time destroyed micro enterprises as they no longer find it viable to run such small businesses. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Not many do biz in business centre

69% Mumbaikars in salaried jobs, says report.

Though Mumbai is known as a business centre and the financial capital of the country, data show that a vast majority of the working population — about 69 per cent — is engaged in salaried jobs. Read more

Source : www.expressindia.com

Micro business centres to support poor artisans in UP

Lucknow In order to provide technical and marketing support to micro business entrepreneurs, especially local and small artisans producing handicrafts in urban areas, the department of urban employment and poverty alleviation is planning to establish micro business centres, a Government of India-sponsored scheme, in 10 earmarked districts of Uttar Pradesh.

The district magistrates of all the 10 districts have been asked to identify half-an-acre of land for construction of these centres. The districts include Kannauj, Rampur, Saharanpur, Etawa, Lucknow, Badaun, Azamgarh, Mainpuri, Ambedkarnagar and Varanasi. Read more

Source : www.expressindia.com

Entrepreneurship skill development scheme for Goa's tribals

PANAJI: The state's 12% tribal population will be benefited as the state government has notified the Goa Tribal's Employment Generation Programme(GTEGP) to develop entrepreneurship skills among the families of scheduled tribes.

This comes in the wake of the direction of planning commission, government of India to direct the benefits to the families of scheduled tribes. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

'Karnataka can achieve Rs 4 lakh cr revenues from IT exports by 2020'

ICT Group urges state govt to put in place a proper policy framework to tap the potential

Bangalore : The Karnataka Information Communication Technology (ICT) Group has estimated that the state can achieve a revenue of Rs 4 lakh crore from the ICT sector in the next eight years by initiating proper policy framework.

The ICT Group headed by TV Mohandas Pai, Chairman, Manipal Global Education Services, in its latest report submitted to state government noted that Karnataka has second largest technology cluster after the United States. The group submitted the report to state's Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, here on Tuesday. Read more

Source : business-standard.com

Srikanth hails Bihar CM for ‘conducive’ atmosphere

PATNA : Former cricketer K Srikanth praised Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for creating conducive atmosphere for the development of the State.

K Srikanth was in Patna on Saturday in connection with a job fair for the underprivileged section of the society, organised by National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development and an NGO. “The State is moving on the right track under the stewardship of Nitish Kumar,” he remarked. Read more

Source : www.dailypioneer.com

Now, Punjab willows to charge up Indian batsmen

LUDHIANA/CHANDIGARH: For nearly 60 years, Punjab's enterpreneurs based in Jalandhar have stylishly crafted bats for Indian batsmen that have tormented opposition bowlers at every cricket ground from Lords to Lahore .

Pilot willow trees in Ladowal, near Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) in Ludhiana.

Now add the state government's homegrown willow to the list, set to give India's much famed hitters much needed option of another blade -- beyond English and Kashmiri willow. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Orissa govt to impart trading skills to urban poor

BHUBANESWAR: The state government has decided to set up a micro business centre (MBC) in Bhubaneswar to promote entrepreneurship among slum dwellers. The maiden initiative by the state housing and urban development department (H&UD) would be commissioned at an estimated cost of Rs 80 lakh, sources said.

The proposed centre would impart trading skills among self-help groups and establish marketing linkage for their products. It would be set up in public-private-partnership mode. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Mamata Banerjee woos industrialists, sends personal e-mails

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wooed industrialists on Saturday asking them to send e-mails to her if they face any problems in their projects and lashed out against a 'section' which was giving her government a negative publicity.

“If you have any problem, you can send me e-mail. There will be no problem,” Banerjee told industrialists at a programme and appealed to entrepreneurs to invest in the state. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

Entrepreneurship awareness on a rise in the north

It is believed that better awareness and success stories of other entrepreneurs are encouraging people to foray into the sector

New Delhi/ Chandigarh : Awareness about entrepreneurship among individuals and shrinking employment opportunities amid economic slowdown has been driving the student community in north to opt for their own ventures.

Most business schools in the region are now having entrepreneurship cells to encourage students take up self run businesses as a career option. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Stanford B-school to start course in India

The part-time certificate programme for entrepreneurs will be launched from July 2013

Mumbai : Stanford Graduate School of Business is looking to kindle the innovative mindset of students by launching new courses for entrepreneurs across the world, with support from Silicon Valley experts. The institute will soon launch Stanford Ignite, a part-time certificate programme for Indian entrepreneurs in Bangalore. To be launched in 2013, the theme of the course will be entrepreneurship and innovation.

The highlight is that Silicon Valley professionals would be a part of this endeavour, guiding prospective start-up entrepreneurs in their endeavours. Read more

Source : www.business-standard.com

Mayor highlights developmental works undertaken in Gwalior

Highlighting the development of Gwalior during a conference of Real Estate Council of India organised in Bhopal on Wednesday, Mayor Sameeksha Gupta said after 50 years of its past the city of Gwalior has taken historical change today.

Gwalior, which is an important place from the historical and mythological view of archeology, is scaling new heights in the field of development. There are endless potentialities in the field of real estate in Gwalior. Read more

Source : www.dailypioneer.com

Can the 'American Dream' be reversed in India?

America's Silicon Valley has always been a hub for some of the brightest and best Indian immigrants to start businesses. Now, in a reversal, more people from the US are moving to the sub-continent with their ideas.

Californian Sean Blagsvedt exchanged Silicon Valley for Bangalore

Valerie Wagoner is a smart and articulate woman. Educated at Stanford University, and a former employee at the online auction site Ebay, her credentials could get her work anywhere in the world. Read more

Source : www.bbc.co.uk

Making entrepreneurship the epicentre of reforms

New Delhi : The amazing thing about India is that we have now gone through 20 years of economic reforms without actually articulating what it is we are reforming towards. At the end of the day, reforms are about the process by which an economy moves from one set of underlying principles (or philosophy, if you will) to another. In order for this process to be coherent, we have to define where exactly we wish to be. The reform processes that were undertaken in the past, and being discussed today, have never been placed in such a context, so it becomes impossible for us to take a view on what the next logical step should be. 

One characterisation that has been talked about at length has been that the reforms are aimed at moving India towards becoming a market economy. If this is the only objective of the reform process, then we appear to be very much there, with non-market decisions prevailing in only a few segments of our economy, which are pretty much known. This, however, is most unsatisfactory. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Kudumbasree to train Bihar men and women as entrepreneurs

Thiruvananthapuram (IANS) : Kudumbasree, the poverty eradication mission of the Kerala government, Monday inked a memorandum of understanding with the Bihar Livelihood Rural Mission to train men and women in two districts of the state as entrepreneurs.

"Our people will train selected 200 women and men from the districts of Gaya and Muzaffarpur. Of these, 30 would undergo a rigorous, seven-month-long training and would take on the role of master trainers, while 170 of them would be given an application-oriented training. They will go on to train about 64,000 locals there to become entrepreneurs," said Jagajeevan, an official of the Kudumbasree mission. Read more

Source : www.newstrackindia.com

India’s true spirit of enterprise lies in urban neighbourhoods

One of the most fascinating aspects of India to an outsider like me is the crowded urban neighbourhoods that play host to thousands of small businesses. 

In what are often one-room shops, men repair two-wheelers, operate lathes, mill or bake, printing presses run, wood is cut, garments are ironed, photocopying and desktop publishing, metal pipes and plastic tubing or family shops selling food. A dabha here, a rice trader, jeweller and a tailor there, every street is a hive of business activity. Read more

Source : www.deccanherald.com

Young entrepreneurs of BHU to promote solar energy

VARANASI: Unlike most of their classmates who wait for lucrative job offers in their final year of engineering courses, a group of fourth year students of Indian Institute of Technology Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) have set a different trend by starting their own company before completion of engineering and are aiming to help world face the challenges of power crisis in near future.

Using solar energy, the young entrepreneurs are developing and installing solar power plant, solar water heater, solar submersible pumps, solar lighting and other equipments. Adarsh Khandelwal, the chief executive officer of this company and a fourth year student of IIT BHU says, "Our vision is to make the country self-sustainable in energy needs in next few decades. We want to start it by making Varanasi a solar city and for that purpose we have already designed space and cost efficient solar energy system for Sankat Mochan Temple for making the temple self-sufficient in electricity needs". Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Be stakeholder in J&K growth: Guv to entrepreneurs

Srinagar: Young entrepreneurs should invest in Jammu and Kashmir and become stakeholders in its rapid economic growth, state Governor NN Vohra has said. 

"Young entrepreneurs should come forward in a big way and invest in the State and become stakeholders in the rapid economic growth of Jammu and Kashmir," Vohra said interacting with a delegation of Delhi chapter of Young FICCI Ladies Organisation (YFLO) here on Friday. Read more

Source : zeenews.india.com

Awe your guests with jute-made gifts

Wondering what to gift your guests this Navarathri season? You could then drop in at the exhibition organised by the South India Jute Association (SIJA) in Adyar to pick up products that are “attractive, durable, ethnic, eco-friendly and versatile,” which are made of jute. Well, if you thought jute was only for  movers and packers, think again. The colourful exhibits ranging from office bags, stationery, shopping bags, wallets, wall hangings, durries, jewellery, footwear and garments are sure to surprise you.

The exhibition is making its fourth annual foray in the city with around 21 stalls. Prices of the products range between ` 20 and ` 1,000. “The exhibition has been partly sponsored by the National Jute Board and partly by the entrepreneurs,” R P Srinivasan, coordinator, SIJA, told City Express. Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

Urban slum-dwellers to get help in setting up their own businesses

AHMEDABAD: Ashwin Pujjara, who runs an electric motor rewinding shop in Ahmedabad, earns Rs 25,000 every month. Life was not so kind to Pujjara, who comes from a slum in the city, till he was armed with the technology thread.

Similarly, Gitaben Vaghela's life was steeped in poverty till she decided to set up her own flour-grinding mill in Ahmedabad. Today, Vaghela earns Rs 3600 per month, which she claims is enough for her to meet her family's expenses. Read more

Source : articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Your desk or mine?

Mumbai : Pitching an idea to a potential client, media planner Bhushan Gaikwad walks away from his desk, leaving his neighbour Shravan Singh, an online video producer, to peacefully edit a video on his MacBook. Across from Singh, hunched over their laptops, 24-year-old Jayesh Gopalan and his team of two are desperately trying to crack a code for a new software solution. 

Amidst the buzz and chaos typical of any office, this pack of professionally-poles-apart freelancers and start-ups share workstations, a pantry, a meeting room and a smoking lounge with SutraHR, a four-year-old recruitment consultancy firm in Andheri, which for the past two years has been renting its spare workstations out for fixed monthly sums. Read more

Source : www.hindustantimes.com

Startup Village selects six innovative projects for incubation

Kochi: Imagine a wheelchair that moves on your instruction or through your movement of eyes! Think of a situation when you are desperately looking for an autorickshaw which is not to be found! But you send an SMS and your problem is resolved.

And wouldn’t you like your home garden or lawn to look lush green and its plants and grass healthy and brimming with life, with an easy technology? Read more

Source : indiaeducationdiary.in

IIT Gandhinagar centre to give business lessons

While graduates from Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar (IITGn) have landed themselves plum jobs in top-notch companies, the institute has recently launched an incubation centre to bring out entrepreneurial skills in students studying on its campus.

Currently operating from IITGn’s temporary campus in Chandkheda, IITGn Incubation Centre (IIC) aims to train their students in starting their own ventures. Like other incubation centres, IIC will provide budding entrepreneurs with mentors as well as infrastructural help. Read more

Source : www.dnaindia.com

3 years on, Technology Park’s entrepreneur centre may open soon in Chandigarh

Chandigarh : Three years after its completion, the Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC) — popularly called Incubation Centre designed to provide built-up space to budding entrepreneurs who have bright ideas but no capital — may soon become functional at Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park.

“The file to allot space to individual budding entrepreneurs and small as well as medium scale industries at the Information Technology Centre has been sent by the Information Technology Department to the adviser and then to the administrator,” said EDC manager Gitesh Raja. “The proposal sent by the Information Technology Department has suggested that built-up space for the EDC can be allotted to six bright entrepreneurs in addition to 11 small and medium software development companies.” Read more

Source : www.indianexpress.com

‘Emerging Kerala’ attracts investors from Gulf region

Kerala is set to roll out the red carpet to potential investors from the Gulf in September at one of the biggest investment branding exercises the South Indian state has ever undertaken as part of a major all-round growth drive initiated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, a senior government official said.

V. Somasundaram addressing the Indian Business & Professional Council’s ‘Emerging Kerala’ investors meeting in Dubai.

The first “Emerging Kerala” investment meet, to be held from September 12 to 14, 2012, in Kochi, will provide entrepreneurs an opportunity to explore, invest and establish their business interests in a state with a pro-active administration and investment-friendly policies, said V. Somasundaram, the state’s additional chief secretary (Industries). Read more

Source : www.khaleejtimes.com

Training women to take charge

K. Aravindavalli was a human resource manager at a German company for over a decade; she quit when travelling a long distance to work every day took a toll on her health. Yet, being busy was something she was accustomed to, and enjoyed. “Once you have had an active career, it is very difficult to sit at home,” she says.

Taking on prejudices: One of AWAKE’s biggest challenges is the social perception that women’s entrepreneurship can be taken lightly. File Photo: Special Arrangement

Today, Aravindavalli is an entrepreneur who owns Nammane Industries, a company that manufactures areca leaf plates, which are not only eco-friendly but also microwaveable. With the support of her family and the help of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE), Aravindavalli applied for the Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme and got a loan sanctioned. Other learnings from AWAKE have been to market her product better, build her network of contacts and find new means to buy raw material, which is seasonal. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

NABARD encourages setting up of soil testing labs

VISAKHAPATNAM : National Agricultural Bank for Rural Development (NABARD) is encouraging educated farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs to set up Soil Testing Laboratories (STL) at the block and mandal levels to reach the maximum number of farmers, by providing subsidy or refinancing.

A large number of farmers, instead of going for soil testing to determine the quality of their soil, were indiscriminately using fertilizer and pesticide without analysing land and soil quality. Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

Bringing out the entrepreneurial spirit

CHENNAI: Self help groups (SHG) have become synonymous with the economic empowerment of women in Tamil Nadu. And perhaps as a display of that phenomenon, a self help group Muluneelavu, formed by women from Mylapore and Old Washermanpet, had a handicrafts exhibition and sale in the city. “The self help group transformed us from housewives to entrepreneurs,” chimed the women in chorus. Indeed, these women who were finding it difficult to make ends meet, especially in times of rising prices, have found a fresh lease of life. Muluneelavu was started four years ago and has grown under the able mentoring of their group leader Geetha.

On Wednesday this SHG showcased its products in an exhibition at Srividhya Mahal, near Jayanthi Theatre on L B Road, Thiruvanmiyur. Geetha said, “When we started we were small, with a small funding of `60,000 from the government. With the hard work and commitment of our members, today we are in a position to get a fund of `4 lakh from the government.” Read more

Source : ibnlive.in.com

A highly profitable hobby

VISAKHAPATNAM : Ornamental fish are in huge demand all over the world

Ornamental Fish at an aquarium. Ornamental Fish culture is being encouraged by NABARD which has high export potential. Photo:C.V.Subrahmanyam

Among the multiple schemes promoted by the National Agriculture Bank for Rural Development (NABARD), ornamental fish rearing which has huge export potential is being encouraged under its fisheries division. The project can be taken up either as a community managed programme by the self help groups or by fish farmers and by individual unemployed youth. The project costing about Rs.7 lakh will be refinanced by NABARD apart from subsidies offered by Marine Export Development Authority (MPEDA). Read more

Source : www.thehindu.com

G-Auto among 15 selected for international mobility awards

AHMEDABAD: City-based G-Auto, founded by a graduate of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has been selected among top 15 entries for an international award called 'SMART Mobility EnterPrize Award'. 

The award is instituted by the University of Michigan's SMART initiative with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. The award, which is also known as 'Mobi Award', recognizes enterprises that demonstrate innovative and replicable solutions to local and global transportation challenges. Read more

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India to offer microloans for people living with HIV

India will tentatively dip a toe in the waters of microloans for people living with HIV with the creation of a pilot project to create small businesses in the state of Manipur.

It’s hoped that the initiative will allow people living with HIV to create small embroidery or weaving businesses, or even set up grocery stores. But with 38 000 people in the state, or a projected 19.8% of its HIV positive population, having contracted the virus through intravenous drug use, observers are urging caution. Read more

Source : www.cmaj.ca