Proposal To Reduce Margin Money Requirement From 25-15 Percent For Start-Ups Is Welcome Move

Quotes from start-up founder Rohit Gawli, Chief Executive Officer of Lokal Kitchen, a food-tech start-up focused on marketing, selling, and delivering home-cooked meals to households and offices. 

"Compliance requirements for start-ups consume a lot of time, effort and resources. By proposing to reduce the margin money requirement from 25% to 15% for start-ups, I think our Government is really trying to acknowledge the need of easing up compliances to encourage more activity in this ecosystem. Moreover, the Finance Minister has also proposed to revise definition under Companies Act, 2013 for small companies by increasing their threshold for capitalization to not exceeding Rs 50 lakh to not exceeding Rs 2 crore and turnover not exceeding Rs 2 crore to not exceeding Rs 20 crore. Currently, a firm can only be labelled as a start-up if their annual turnover cap is of Rs 100 crore. Increasing this threshold will allow exemptions to companies to over Rs 100 crore and hence supporting them in their growth story. It would encourage further expansion of companies like these."

"Lastly, I am truly thrilled about the new initiative ‘one man show’ wherein one-person companies will be allowed now. There will be no restriction on paid-up capital and turnover, this will definitely incentivise more incorporation of one-person companies. This will also enable non-resident Indians to incorporate one-person companies in India. This initiative is an example of how our government truly understands that India needs more such reforms to support its budding entrepreneurship eco system."

Agriculture Is Central Pillars Employing 15% Of India's Population

 
Post Budget Reaction from Nikhil Das, Founder, Agdhi 

The budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman Ji today acknowledged the importance of agriculture in India’s economy as one of the central pillars employing 15% of the population. The central budget has shown confidence in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime and has upheld it for the farmer. The budget has promised 1.5 times MSP against the cost of production across all commodities. This is likely to bring in more innovation and adoption of technology in farming. Besides this, the budget has proposed an increase in agriculture credit.

The budget has realized the importance of start-ups in job creation and has extended the tax holiday for startups till March 2022. Already withering under the impact of the pandemic, the announcement has come as a big relief for startups that have become a critical employment generator with 4,70,000 jobs. Such measures are likely to boost sentiments across the board among potential entrepreneurs who are keen on entering the market with their business ideas.

These announcements in the budget were preceded by some welcome news for startups that included the broadening of the definition of startups and approval of the “Startup India Seed Fund Scheme” which comes with a corpus of Rs 945 crore. Overall, the budget has decided on supporting sectors that generate employment and seeks to revive an economy that has been severely hit by a global pandemic.

The Budget Was With A Clear Aim To Empower India: Yogendra Kashyap, CEO, RapiPay Fintech

Reaction from Mr. Yogendra Kashyap, CEO, RapiPay Fintech Pvt. Ltd, an SK Narvar promoted entity.

“Today’s budget was with a clear aim to empower India with a special focus on building infrastructure and creating a digital ecosystem to enhance the economy. As a  push towards growth in last mile delivery of financial inclusion, the Finance Minister has proposed a Rs 1,500 crore-scheme, which will be marked as financial incentives.  India has witnessed speedy growth in assisted payments post the pandemic, especially from the marginalized population of Tier II & III areas. Further, the government has also proposed to set up a world-class fintech hub near Gandhinagar to augment India’s fast-growing fintech market and boost self-employment under the Prime Minister's Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision. This would help in growing the payments infrastructure in our country.”

Healthcare At forefront Of India’s Growth, Says Vishal Bali Of Asia Healthcare Holding

Healthcare At forefront of India’s Growth, “Healthy India is core to India’s economic growth reflects in the 137% increase in  outlay for health at Rs 2,23,846 cr in budget 2021. The focus on healthcare with Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana with an outlay of Rs 64, 180 CR over 6 years shows that healthcare capacity building is now a key priority for the Govt. The 35000 cr earmarked for COVID 19 vaccination drive will create the safety net for the country. The overall capital expenditure increase of 26% should drive infrastructure acceleration, the much needed GDP growth driver. Insurance sector which is an important pillar for any country should see an exponential growth with enhancement of FDI limit to 74% from 49%. Overall a forward looking budget to drive the 11% GDP growth for India in FY22 as pegged in the Economic survey 2020.”

Dubai Forms Vaccine Logistics Alliance To Speed Up Distribution Of COVID-19 Vaccines

The move follows a World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to equitably distribute two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021

Dubai has launched a vaccine logistics alliance to expedite the distribution of vaccines around the world, with a focus on hard-hit developing countries.

The move follows a World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to equitably distribute two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021.

The alliance harnesses the capabilities of several Dubai-based companies including Emirates, DP World, and Dubai Airports.

“Each alliance partner brings to the table a specific and complementary set of strengths and capabilities in vaccine distribution,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and CEO of Emirates said in a statement.

The distribution, the statement added, will focus on “emerging markets, where populations have been hard-hit by the pandemic, and pharmaceutical transport and logistics are challenging.”

The alliance is also working with manufacturers, government agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to achieve its goals.

Dubai is an ideal hub because of its central location, CEO of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths said.

“Dubai’s central location means it is easily accessible to almost 80 percent of the world’s population within just four hours, making the decision to join forces and develop the world’s preeminent distribution hub a very strategic one,” he explained.

Tata Motors Logs Domestic Sales Of Over 57k Units In Jan 2021 Rising By 28% YoY

* The total domestic sales in January 2021 were at 57,742 up by 28% from 45,242 units last year in January 2020.

While it registered domestic sales of 57,742 units in January 2021, a growth of 28% over last year.

In the commercial vehicles segment, total domestic sales were at 32,909 units lower by 3% from 33,860 units in January 2020.

Total passenger vehicle units in January 2021 stood at 26,978 up by 94% from 13,894 in January 2020.

Koo Parners With Jan Ki Baat To Deliver The Election Options In Indian Languages

India’s largest micro-blogging platform ‘Koo’ announces its partnership with Jan Ki Baat to further reach and encourage Indian audiences to express their thoughts and opinions on everyday trending news.

As part of the partnership, Pradeep Bhandari will use Koo, as a platform to run opinion polls, post the latest updates on election analysis and allow followers on Koo to express their thoughts and opinions on the elections. All you need to know about the upcoming elections in Bengal, Tamil Nadu and other states will be shared by Pradeep Bhandari on the platform. This election year Jan Ki Baat will initiate conversations in regional languages, set the agenda & shape the narrative on Indian politics and Indian elections through factual, educative, data driven on-ground analysis through the Koo platform. Koo and Jan Ki Baat partnership will be seen on the Koo App and across Jan Ki Baat platforms starting 1st February 2021.

Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-Founder and CEO of Koo, said “Pradeep is the master of election result predictions and his on the ground approach is what the youth of India would love to follow. The tie up with Pradeep and Jan Ki Baat will allow a vast audience who love local Indian languages to connect with him as he travels across India to bring the latest on elections in Indian languages on Koo.”

Pradeep Bhandari, Founder and CEO, Jan Ki Baat said, “As India completes 75 years of independence in 2022, Indian languages will strongly shape & dominate the discourse of patriotic youth of India. I have personally experienced the power of Indian languages while travelling across 400 constituencies & connecting with people. Collaboration with 'Koo' will help 'Jan Ki Baat' reach the masses and involve them in this patriotic journey.”

Jan Ki Baat and Koo will collaborate with Koo editorially and seamlessly integrate their content. Koo is an award winning app which has won the Aatmanirbhar Bharat App award, Google Play Store’s Best Daily Essential App of 2020 and has had a special mention by the Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat. Koo is a perfect example of the quality of product and team that has taken up the call to build India’s own tech ecosystem. 

About Koo:

Koo was founded in March 2020, as an inclusive micro-blogging platform in Indian languages where people from across different regions in India can express themselves in their mother tongue. Just 10% of India speaks English. 90% prefer Indian languages. There’s no place on the internet for them to express themselves in their native language and discover others from the same community. Koo provides a voice to Indians who prefer Indian languages. This is how Koo has become a game-changer that is available in multiple languages such as Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, etc. 

About Jan Ki Baat:

'JAN KI BAAT' is India's youngest and most followed brand on psephology, political analysis and data insights. It was founded in the year 2017 by the dynamic and popular media entrepreneur, PRADEEP BHANDARI. Since its inception in 2017, JAN KI BAAT led by PRADEEP BHANDARI has predicted 16 out of 18 elections in India accurately. As the name suggests, 'JAN KI BAAT' is strongly connected with citizens on the ground, it understands, analyses and decodes their pulse to predict its impact on Indian polity. 'JAN KI BAAT', a unique brand, has gained immense popularity among masses because of  PRADEEP BHANDARI's electrifying TV presence. His sharp political analysis and accurate prediction rate even earned him the 'election wizard' moniker on National Television.