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Just in:   • Biden administration forgives $4.7 billion loans to Ukraine  • Women entrepreneurs driving innovation, growth in gem & jewellery sector: Smriti Irani  • India’s export outlook brighter as manufactured goods gain share: RBI  • India’s consumer durable makers to log 11-12 pc growth in FY25  • SEBI’s proposal on SME IPOs: striking a delicate balance  Last updated: 21 Nov, 2024   Politics again wins over economics Bikky Khosla | 29 Dec, 2015 The winter session of Parliament ended last week, but the question will continue to haunt us: when will the nation get rid of obstructionist politics? Ever since the NDA came to power, the opposition-controlled Rajya Sabha has remained unacceptably unproductive, resulting in slower pace of reform than expected.     Read more.... Mid-year review: Reform must go faster Bikky Khosla | 22 Dec, 2015 The Mid-Year Economic Review for 2015-16 tabled in Parliament last week gives a mixed picture of the economy. It says macroeconomic stability has improved considerably and so the economy is now in a better position to absorb adverse external shocks, such as the recent US Fed hike.    Read more.... Fed hike, GST woes loom over economy Bikky Khosla | 15 Dec, 2015 Factory output growth for October surprised economic observers with its best showing since October 2010. Industrial production for the month rocketed to 8 percent, much higher than the expectation of around 7.5 percent.    Read more.... GDP data: Recovery on but concerns remain Bikky Khosla | 08 Dec, 2015 India has cemented its place as the fastest growing major economy. As per recent official data, the country's GDP grew 7.4 percent in the three months ended September 30, from 7.0 percent in the previous quarter. China, during the same period, grew 6.9 percent.    Read more.... 'Reaching out' revives GST hopes Bikky Khosla | 01 Dec, 2015 The past week came with a great piece of news: the Prime Minister reached out to top Opposition leaders to discuss differences over the GST Bill. In a 45-minute meeting, Modi and some other senior ministers discussed the proposed legislation with Congress President Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh.    Read more.... Exports sops welcome, but not enough Bikky Khosla | 24 Nov, 2015 India's exports fell for the eleventh consecutive month in October, and it finally prompted the government to announce some incentives for the sector. Last week, duty refund rates were increased on a host of items, including iron, steel, garments and marine products.     Read more.... Reforms on track Bikky Khosla | 17 Nov, 2015 In a big reforms push, the Centre last week eased FDI norms for 15 sectors, including construction, banking, defence, broadcasting and retail. The decision came on the heels of the Bihar election results, raising question from some quarters about the timing of the announcement, but there is not an iota of doubt that the move is a welcome one.    Read more.... Bihar elections: Now focus on economy Bikky Khosla | 10 Nov, 2015 The battle for Bihar is over. The Grand Alliance decimated the BJP-led NDA, scoring a landslide two-thirds majority in the assembly polls. It secured 178 seats in the 243-member House — RJD: 80 seats, JD(U): 71 seats and Congress: 27 seats.    Read more.... Secularism: Time to mend the trust Bikky Khosla | 03 Nov, 2015 Multiple incidents of religious intolerance were reported in recent days, and unfortunately they attracted far less attention from the Government than they deserve. It sparked protest -- first by writers, followed by artists, filmmakers, historians and scientists. At least 35 leading authors and poets have returned coveted awards;     Read more.... E-commerce: Sky is the limit Bikky Khosla | 27 Oct, 2015 As the festive season is at its peak, the online marketplace has become a hive of activities. Retail biggies are buzzing around, attempting to lure in customers with massive discounts and offers, and taking on each other.     Read more.... NJAC debate: Political say in judges' appointment Bikky Khosla | 20 Oct, 2015 Should politicians have a say in the appointment of judges? The Supreme Court last week struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act as "unconstitutional and void". It viewed that the Act was against the concept of "separation of powers" and thus violated the "basic structure" of the Constitution.     Read more.... Bank loans: SMEs deserve friendlier treatment Bikky Khosla | 13 Oct, 2015 The CBI last week registered a case against some fraudulent account holders and unknown bank officials in a public sector bank, the nexus of which is alleged to siphon off black money worth over Rs.6,000 crore overseas    Read more.... Rate cut: What is next Bikky Khosla | 06 Oct, 2015 Finally, it is done. Last week when the central bank Governor went for a higher-than-expected 50 bps cut, the move immediately invited praise from all quarters. There was a sense of euphoria all around. Industry experts hailed the move, with hopes that the rate cut would give a big boost to investment and consumption demand to prop up growth.    Read more.... MUDRA: Will it solve MSME credit crunch Bikky Khosla | 29 Sep, 2015 Public sector banks have organized a mega campaign from September 25 to October 2 to give a push to the Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana. The scheme was launched in April and as of September 22, a total of 35.60 lakh borrowers have availed credit totaling Rs.24,123 crore.    Read more.... Export woes: Where the blame lies Bikky Khosla | 22 Sep, 2015 It is quite unacceptable. Exports fell 21 percent to $21 billion in August. It is the ninth straight month of decline and yet the government has failed to come up with a plan to prevent this freefall. There is a lot of talk, but little action.    Read more.... Manufacturing on revival path Bikky Khosla | 15 Sep, 2015 Industrial output grew 4.2 percent in July against a marginal rise of 0.9 percent in the corresponding month of last year. This is the second successive month of over 4 percent growth during the current financial year.    Read more.... Start-up India: Where do we stand? Bikky Khosla | 08 Sep, 2015 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech last month, announced a new campaign 'Start-up India, Stand up India' to encourage entrepreneurship among the youth of the country. Addressing the nation from the Red Fort, he said, "We are looking at systems for enabling start-ups. We must be number one in start-ups ...    Read more.... Can India become global growth engine Bikky Khosla | 01 Sep, 2015 Is the China slowdown an opportunity for India? The Chinese crisis may be roiling global markets, but policy makers in India have had a uniform response: India is resilient to the crisis and China's loss is going to be India's gain.    Read more.... Market mayhem: China too big to ignore Bikky Khosla | 25 Aug, 2015 The yuan woes have now spread like wildfire. The impact of the recent surprise move by China to cheapen its currency spilled across the world markets. The last week was a total disaster for investors across the globe and the crisis seems to be deepening daily.     Read more.... Yuan devaluation: Time to act Bikky Khosla | 18 Aug, 2015 Exports fell for the eighth straight month by 10.3 percent in July to USD 23.13 billion, pushing the trade deficit to USD 12.81 billion. Sectors that suffered the brunt of this trade decline include petroleum products, leather and leather goods, marine products and chemicals.    Read more.... Parliament chaos wipes away reform hopes Bikky Khosla | 12 Aug, 2015 The monsoon session of the Parliament will officially end on August 13 and till now there is no end in sight to the ongoing deadlock. Productivity of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha stood at 10 percent and 7 percent respectively till July 30. It has become clearly evident that the opposition has held the Parliament to ransom while the government has failed in its responsibility to manage the floor efficiently. The Congress is doing the same what the BJP did when it was in opposition and in this politics of obstructionism, reform hopes are fading away.     Read more.... Turf battle over monetary policy Bikky Khosla | 04 Aug, 2015 Conflict between the RBI and the Centre is nothing new. We have seen it time and again over the years, especially at times of monetary policy reviews and over growth versus inflation dilemma. But now the power struggle has intensified to a new level    Read more.... Tight credit: MSMEs in dire need of a solution Bikky Khosla | 28 Jul, 2015 Lack of adequate, low-cost and timely credit, along with reputation of small business lending as being highly risky, poses hurdles before the micro, small and medium enterprises, the MSME minister informed the Parliament last week. Over 5 lakh MSME units, which are owed over Rs 33, 378 crore to commercial banks, have been reported sick as on March 2015.     Read more.... DoT report a blow to net neutrality Bikky Khosla | 21 Jul, 2015 A recent report by the Department of Telecommunications has rekindled the fire over net neutrality. India is a land of the Buddha, who preached the middle path, the report - which wants the government to bring VoIP based domestic calling services under licensing - points out.     Read more.... Road to recovery: Hopes and fears Bikky Khosla | 14 Jul, 2015 Not all is well with India Inc. Several recent media reports clearly point to this situation. Factory output growth fell to 2.7 percent in May, dragged down by manufacturing; business confidence has hit a six-year low in June    Read more.... Greek crisis: How safe are we Bikky Khosla | 07 Jul, 2015 The Greek voters have overwhelmingly rejected the EU bailout offer. In a crucial referendum on a debt deal of billions of euros in exchange for more austerity measures, 61 percent of voters voted "no" while 39 percent voted "yes", raising fear of a chaotic departure of the country from the common European currency.    Read more.... MSME registration gets easier Bikky Khosla | 30 Jun, 2015 The MSME Ministry has come up with a new idea to make the registration process easier for the small business sector. According to media reports, it has sought - on social media network sites - suggestions from stakeholders on Udyog Aadhaar card, a new initiative to enable small business units get registered on the basis of self certification of their existence, bank account, business activity details, employment and ownership information and other basic information.    Read more.... How to prevent exports downfall? Bikky Khosla | 23 Jun, 2015 Exports fell by 20 percent in May to $22.34 billion. This is the sixth straight month that our overseas shipment saw negative growth. In April the decline rate was 14 percent and in March it is 21 percent. Needless to say the situation demands urgent attention. Otherwise the economy is sure to be hit.    Read more.... Maggi controversy: More than a two-minute concern Bikky Khosla | 16 Jun, 2015 Maggi is in the soup. The Bombay High Court has declined Nestle's plea for stay on orders of the food regulators banning nine variants of the noodles brand.     Read more.... Skill development: Reaping demographic dividend Bikky Khosla | 09 Jun, 2015 The MSME Minister recently declared that the government would set up 500 incubation centres on PPP model across the country. Needless to say this will be a positive step toward skill development, but in a country where around 65 percent of the population is below 35 years of age and only 2 percent of them are skilled, steps like this sound grossly inadequate. We need a comprehensive plan to skill our workforce and make the best of our demographic potential.    Read more.... One year of Modi government Bikky Khosla | 02 Jun, 2015 The Modi government has completed its first year and a reading into the developments in the economy during this period certainly gives us a positive picture. When the NDA came to power after winning a high decibel election campaign, expectations from it were unrealistically high and the real achievements now hardly meet them, but it will be wrong to deny the government credit where it deserves. Everybody is expecting more, but the economy is much better off now than one year ago.    Read more.... Tradeindia ties up with PayPal Bikky Khosla | 26 May, 2015 Handling payment is one of the biggest challenges for small and medium enterprises. I hear daily from small businesses owners, both buyers and sellers, that they see payment processing as a cumbersome - if not difficult - task.     Read more.... High time to cut rates Bikky Khosla | 19 May, 2015 A number of recent macroeconomic developments, positive as well as negative, have strengthened the case for a rate cut by the RBI, when it meets on June 2.     Read more.... The fall of the rupee Bikky Khosla | 12 May, 2015 The fall of the Indian rupee in comparison to the US dollar has raised concerns. In the new financial year, the currency has fallen nearly 3 percent, initially due to a rising strong dollar and more recently triggered by stock selling by overseas investors.    Read more.... Is policy paralysis back? Bikky Khosla | 05 May, 2015 Nothing is happening on the ground to boost the economy - that's what more and more people are saying these days. A year ago, when the BJP government stormed to power with a clear majority in the lower house, there was widespread expectation that the new government would bring an end to the so-called policy paralysis that had throttled the Manmohan Singh government.    Read more.... MAT row: Lack of policy clarity proves fatal Bikky Khosla | 28 Apr, 2015 It seems the Centre has failed to pacify the foreign institutional investors. Around two weeks ago, our Finance Minister said that the government would press ahead with Rs 40,000 crore tax demand on FIIs. "I can change the face of India's irrigation with that Rs 40,000 crore," he claimed.    Read more.... Exports must for economic growth Bikky Khosla | 21 Apr, 2015 We missed the export target. Latest foreign trade data released last week shows that India's merchandise exports for the last fiscal fell to $310.53 billion from $314.41 billion in 2013-14.     Read more.... Industrial output data signals turn of cycle Bikky Khosla | 14 Apr, 2015 Industrial production for February grew to 5 percent, compared to 2.8 percent y-o-y in January. This growth can largely be attributed to a low base effect, but it is difficult to ignore the green-shoots of economic recovery and sustained IIP growth.    Read more.... A forward looking foreign trade policy Bikky Khosla | 07 Apr, 2015 Finally, after a long wait, the Centre released the Foreign Trade Policy for the term 2015-2020 and it was well worth the wait. The document is characterized by freshness in approach and I find no dearth of reasons to cheer this superbly drafted document.     Read more.... Exports grounded, all eyes on FTP Bikky Khosla | 31 Mar, 2015 The export sector is not doing well. Overseas shipments fell for the third consecutive month in February by a record 15 percent to 21.5 billion.     Read more.... Mass awareness key to success of MSME programmes Bikky Khosla | 24 Mar, 2015 There is no dearth of schemes meant for the micro, small and medium enterprise sector. The MSME ministry alone offers close to 58 of them, and if we add to them those offered by other bodies such as NSIC, KVIC, and Coir Board the list will get much longer. But compared to that the awareness level about these schemes and programmes is very poor.     Read more.... Exports documentation gets easier Bikky Khosla | 17 Mar, 2015 Documentation is one of the most nettlesome issues for exporters. It is no less than a nightmare for starters. Additionally, long hours of waiting, high costs, irritating haggling with unresponsive officials and anxiety involved with documentation can make your life much more difficult.     Read more.... Credit crunch: RBI puts forward 'solution' Bikky Khosla | 10 Mar, 2015 The RBI has recently released a report on priority sector lending which puts forth a number of recommendations on lending to the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.     Read more.... Union Budget: MSMEs deserve more attention Bikky Khosla | 03 Mar, 2015 The Budget is over. During the last few weeks we discussed a number of issues facing the micro, small and medium enterprise sector. The expectations were high and if we compare them now with what has been offered in the Budget 2015, we will obviously find a number of pain points.     Read more.... Budget 2015: Will MSMEs get a booster? Bikky Khosla | 24 Feb, 2015 The Budget is ahead and I don't want to miss this opportunity to call for stronger support for the micro, small and medium enterprise sector. Over the past few weeks we have discussed a number of challenges facing the sector and measures that are considered urgent for addressing them.    Read more.... Industry dwindling, Centre must come to the rescue Bikky Khosla | 17 Feb, 2015 All is not well with Indian industry. Our exports fell over 11 percent y-o-y in January, the steepest decline in two-and-a-half-years. December industrial production rose only 1.7 percent against 3.9 percent in the previous month.    Read more.... No business is too small to export Bikky Khosla | 10 Feb, 2015 Why don't you export? When I ask this question to small business owners, the typical answers I receive are, "We are too small to do it" or "It is too complicated to export".     Read more.... Marketing communication: Take an integrated approach Bikky Khosla | 03 Feb, 2015 Which marketing communication channel brings you the highest engagement, conversion and sales? This may sound like a simple question, but is it?     Read more.... SME policy: What China is doing and we're not Bikky Khosla | 27 Jan, 2015 With the country's economic growth slowing down, China is doubling down its policies to support its small business sector. Last year, a preferential income tax policy was introduced to provide a corporate income tax rebate to low-income SMEs.     Read more.... RBI rate cut: It's government's turn to make a move Bikky Khosla | 20 Jan, 2015 The long wait is finally over. Last week, the RBI cut interest rates for the first time in nearly two years. The unexpected move ahead of the scheduled monetary policy announcement has been cheered up by the Indian industry.     Read more.... MSME reform: Will Budget 2015 start the ball rolling Bikky Khosla | 13 Jan, 2015 The pre-Budget consultations have begun. As the Modi-government gears up for its second Union Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met industry and trade groups last week, seeking suggestions on the General Budget 2015.    Read more.... Land ordinance: A bold step forward Bikky Khosla | 06 Jan, 2015 The Modi government has tweaked the land acquisition norms. The Land Acquisition Act 2013 came into force last year, replacing an archaic law enacted in 1894.     Read more.... New service on TradeIndia Communities for queries on legal and regulatory issues Bikky Khosla | 08 Jul, 2014 The more I interact with SME friends the more I realize that one of the most vexatious topics that comes up is that of legal and regulatory issues.    Read more.... 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