New Delhi: High-end and super-expensive Italian shoemakers are looking at India as a replacement for their production base in Europe, increasingly a high-cost location for them. These brand manufacturers are also scouting for local partners. Some of these are leading brands such as Baldinini, LORIBLU, Giovanni Fabiani, NeroGiardini, Janet & Janet, FABI and Fratesi.
Another attraction is growing demand here for their products, unlike in Europe, though their footwear could cost anything between Rs 29,000 to Rs 1 lakh for a pair.
“Italian producers and manufacturers are looking for countries where the labour cost is lower, which is why they are looking at India,” Amedeo Scarpa, trade promotion attaché at the Italian embassy, told Business Standard.
He said these brands were exploring markets in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India. China and South Africa) countries, where the raw material cost is lower than in Europe. Analysts said China could give competition to India in this respect but India was increasingly having the advantage in terms of cost of labour.
“We are looking at more and more joint ventures and collaborations with Indian producers because Indian industry gives us the volume that these companies are now looking for,” said Scarpa. Around 40 high-end European leather and footwear brands, including those from Italy, Germany, France, the UK, Spain and Austria, are going to showcase their products at the Expo Riva Schuh India, an international shoes and leather accessories show, here on July 4-6.
“We want to shift from a concept of ‘Made in Italy’ to ‘Made with Italy’ as we go for more and more joint collaborations. This will be our way in entering the market,” said Scarpa. Adding, however, that the Indian market had a lot of trade barriers which sometimes affect the ease of doing business here.
“We have to find the part of the global value chain and where there is competitiveness. So, the more you lower your barriers, the more attractive investment destination you will be,” he said. Italian companies, said Scarpa, were also eagerly waiting for the India-European Union free trade agreement (FTA), under negotiation for a long while, to be signed. It could help them get more access to the Indian market, with the lowering of tariffs.
According to Carla Costa, fair manager of Riva Del Garda Fierecongressi, the demand for shoes of this type which can cost ¤^400-2,000 (Rs 28,780-144,000) each, was growing in India.
In Europe, the number of buyers are declining. Besides shoes, these brands also produce luxury bags, belts and wallets.
“India has a huge population and demand for such goods is on a rise here compared to Europe, where buyers are not ready to buy these costly shoes. So, we are now looking to go out of Europe. Prices in Europe are very high. The real demand is here,” adds Costa.
Overall, the Indian footwear market is estimated at about Rs 19,900 crore, with a yearly growth rate of eight to 10 per cent. The market includes casual, formal, semi-formal and sports shoes, along with sandals for men and women.
The men’s segment is 59 per cent of the market. The overall share of organised retail is 20 per cent and is expected to reach 25-30 per cent by 2015.
Of the total market, the super-rich segment might constitute only a small portion but Italians believe it would still be higher than demand for their products in Europe, facing low economic growth.
Success in my Habit
Monday, May 27, 2013
Bharti Airtel bags most new rural subscribers, India adds 3.5 million
Mumbai: India added net 3.5 million GSM subscribers in April largely driven by increase in rural areas, according to two statements released by the Cellular Operators Association of India on Friday.
The association said rural India added 3.8 million subscribers, of which 1.66 million joined Bharti Airtel, making the Indian bellwether the largest rural player again. However, on an all-India basis, Bharti added merely 601,252 subscribers in April, and the GSM industry association said the Sunil Mittal-promoted telco had lost around a million customers in urban areas.
Vodafone had pipped Bharti Airtel as the largest rural operator last month, but in April it had 83.8 million rural subscribers compared with 83.4 million of Vodafone.
In March Vodafone, which had tweaked its distribution model to boost sales in the villages, had 82.24 million, a shade above Bharti Airtel at 82.16 million.
For a few operators like Aircel and Tata Teleservices subscriber figures fell because customers stopped using their second mobile connection. Typically in rural areas many users take two connections to avail of discount plans offered by newer operators.
The overall largest gainers continue to be Vodafone India and Idea Cellular with 1.4 million and 1.3 million subscribers.
Subscribers on the network have long been a yardstick for growth and profitability of telecom operators. But in recent months the focus has shifted to revenue figures as a higher number of subscriber additions may also result in added costs for the operator due to initial plans and processing. Given the high churn and dual phone connection phenomenon in India some of these customers leave the operator's network before they start making a profitable contribution to revenue.
In terms of overall subscribers however, Bharti continues to be the leader with 188 million users, Vodafone 153 million and Idea Cellular 122 million.
In the first couple of months of 2013 several operators pared low-revenue customers to focus on more loyal ones.
Rural subscriber addition is a sign of revival of investment in those areas from operators.
The association said rural India added 3.8 million subscribers, of which 1.66 million joined Bharti Airtel, making the Indian bellwether the largest rural player again. However, on an all-India basis, Bharti added merely 601,252 subscribers in April, and the GSM industry association said the Sunil Mittal-promoted telco had lost around a million customers in urban areas.
Vodafone had pipped Bharti Airtel as the largest rural operator last month, but in April it had 83.8 million rural subscribers compared with 83.4 million of Vodafone.
In March Vodafone, which had tweaked its distribution model to boost sales in the villages, had 82.24 million, a shade above Bharti Airtel at 82.16 million.
For a few operators like Aircel and Tata Teleservices subscriber figures fell because customers stopped using their second mobile connection. Typically in rural areas many users take two connections to avail of discount plans offered by newer operators.
The overall largest gainers continue to be Vodafone India and Idea Cellular with 1.4 million and 1.3 million subscribers.
Subscribers on the network have long been a yardstick for growth and profitability of telecom operators. But in recent months the focus has shifted to revenue figures as a higher number of subscriber additions may also result in added costs for the operator due to initial plans and processing. Given the high churn and dual phone connection phenomenon in India some of these customers leave the operator's network before they start making a profitable contribution to revenue.
In terms of overall subscribers however, Bharti continues to be the leader with 188 million users, Vodafone 153 million and Idea Cellular 122 million.
In the first couple of months of 2013 several operators pared low-revenue customers to focus on more loyal ones.
Rural subscriber addition is a sign of revival of investment in those areas from operators.
Societe Generale's ALD Automotive bullish on India car lease biz
Mumbai: It is the world’s third largest player in car leasing, with nearly a million vehicles in 37 countries. Yet, ALD Automotive, the 100 per cent arm of the Societe Generale Group, has little to show in India, with just 8,000 cars leased over the past seven years.
All that is going to change, reiterates Tim Albertsen, Deputy CEO of ALD International, who was here recently to review operations. “We plan to double our size to over 15,000 units in the next three years given India’s potential,” he told Business Line.
While Western Europe accounts for a lion’s share of the ALD fleet with nearly 8.5 lakh leased cars, Albertsen says things will change dramatically during the course of this decade. Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Russia and India are now seen as countries with tremendous potential.
Oddly enough, China has not taken off even though it is the world’s largest car market today. ALD started operations there in 2005 - around the same time as India. Yet, the country accounts for only 1,500 cars. “China is still five years behind India because the company car market has not developed. Only the top management gets a vehicle,” Albertsen says. He also believes India will catch up with Russia (which is comfortably ahead now) and actually beat it in five years.
Admitting that the market here is “not where it should be,” Albertsen says the time has come to take business to the next level.
Indian companies are going global and increasingly seeking ALD’s leasing services in other countries. In addition, the SME (small and medium enterprise) market here is promising. “We need to target them as they are critical growth drivers,” he says.
Suvajit Karmakar, CEO of ALD’s Indian operations, says it is important to reach out to SMEs and explain the benefits of leasing, especially from the viewpoint of better cash flows. “We are seeing a good response to this effort,” he points out.
According to him, in the West, mobility is imperative for sales personnel, rather than for the CEO. In India, conventional hierarchy allows the top management a car while the sales team uses public transport.
Karmakar makes an interesting point on some Indian pharmaceutical companies with operations in Russia. “They give cars to each of their medical representatives in the country while it is the exact opposite in India, where only the senior management is entitled to this, ” he says.
However, things are gradually changing. “We are seeing a trend where companies are leasing cars for their sales people because they realise employee retention is important,” Karmakar says.
Another critical customer base for ALD in India comprises agriculture companies whose operations are largely in rural areas and employees “cannot wait forever for a bus”. This perhaps explains why ALD has a sizable fleet in Andhra Pradesh, which is home to many agriculture ventures.
All that is going to change, reiterates Tim Albertsen, Deputy CEO of ALD International, who was here recently to review operations. “We plan to double our size to over 15,000 units in the next three years given India’s potential,” he told Business Line.
While Western Europe accounts for a lion’s share of the ALD fleet with nearly 8.5 lakh leased cars, Albertsen says things will change dramatically during the course of this decade. Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Russia and India are now seen as countries with tremendous potential.
Oddly enough, China has not taken off even though it is the world’s largest car market today. ALD started operations there in 2005 - around the same time as India. Yet, the country accounts for only 1,500 cars. “China is still five years behind India because the company car market has not developed. Only the top management gets a vehicle,” Albertsen says. He also believes India will catch up with Russia (which is comfortably ahead now) and actually beat it in five years.
Admitting that the market here is “not where it should be,” Albertsen says the time has come to take business to the next level.
Indian companies are going global and increasingly seeking ALD’s leasing services in other countries. In addition, the SME (small and medium enterprise) market here is promising. “We need to target them as they are critical growth drivers,” he says.
Suvajit Karmakar, CEO of ALD’s Indian operations, says it is important to reach out to SMEs and explain the benefits of leasing, especially from the viewpoint of better cash flows. “We are seeing a good response to this effort,” he points out.
According to him, in the West, mobility is imperative for sales personnel, rather than for the CEO. In India, conventional hierarchy allows the top management a car while the sales team uses public transport.
Karmakar makes an interesting point on some Indian pharmaceutical companies with operations in Russia. “They give cars to each of their medical representatives in the country while it is the exact opposite in India, where only the senior management is entitled to this, ” he says.
However, things are gradually changing. “We are seeing a trend where companies are leasing cars for their sales people because they realise employee retention is important,” Karmakar says.
Another critical customer base for ALD in India comprises agriculture companies whose operations are largely in rural areas and employees “cannot wait forever for a bus”. This perhaps explains why ALD has a sizable fleet in Andhra Pradesh, which is home to many agriculture ventures.
AP gets 3rd national investment, manufacturing zone
Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh will get its third National Investment Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) in Prakasam district.
“Andhra Pradesh will be the second state in the country to have more than two NIMZs being set up in line with National Manufacturing Policy of 2011,’’ Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce told newspersons here on Saturday.
The other two zones are being set up in Medak and Chittor districts.
With this, the total number of zones being set up would go to 13 in the country. A host of incentives such as exemption from capital gains tax and liberalised labour and environmental norms are being offered to these zones.
When asked on the investments being mobilised under the initiative, the Minister said its quantification could not be done at this juncture.
“We have made good progress over last year. Japan, Germany, the UK, Russia and China have shown keen interest in investing and things are moving towards paper work,’’ he said.
To create necessary talent for increasing exports an Indian Institute of Foreign Trade would be set up in Visakhapatnam besides a world pharma trade centre at Hyderabad, he added.
Earlier, while speaking after laying the foundation stone for the National Institute of Design at Gachibowli here, Sharma said job-creation was a priority.
“Services sector cannot grow beyond a point. Given the fact that over 150 million youth will be joining the workforce by 2025, jobs will come only from manufacturing sector,” he added.
“Andhra Pradesh will be the second state in the country to have more than two NIMZs being set up in line with National Manufacturing Policy of 2011,’’ Anand Sharma, Union Minister for Commerce told newspersons here on Saturday.
The other two zones are being set up in Medak and Chittor districts.
With this, the total number of zones being set up would go to 13 in the country. A host of incentives such as exemption from capital gains tax and liberalised labour and environmental norms are being offered to these zones.
When asked on the investments being mobilised under the initiative, the Minister said its quantification could not be done at this juncture.
“We have made good progress over last year. Japan, Germany, the UK, Russia and China have shown keen interest in investing and things are moving towards paper work,’’ he said.
To create necessary talent for increasing exports an Indian Institute of Foreign Trade would be set up in Visakhapatnam besides a world pharma trade centre at Hyderabad, he added.
Earlier, while speaking after laying the foundation stone for the National Institute of Design at Gachibowli here, Sharma said job-creation was a priority.
“Services sector cannot grow beyond a point. Given the fact that over 150 million youth will be joining the workforce by 2025, jobs will come only from manufacturing sector,” he added.
Indo-Dutch agri initiative plans 10 centres of excellence
New Delhi: The Indo-Dutch joint initiative in agriculture envisages setting up about 10 centres of excellence (CoEs) in Punjab, Gujarat, Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka in the next few years, a move that could help raise output and yields.
dairy, banana
Of this, three CoEs are to come up in the dairy sector in Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat, showcasing the latest processing technologies.
Four CoEs are to be set up in horticulture in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Punjab.
“One centre each for piggery and banana ripening will be set up in Kerala,” said Arie Veldhuizen, Counsellor for Agriculture, Embassy of the Netherlands, in New Delhi.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on ‘How to double food production in five years,’ organised by Confederation of Indian Industry and the Netherlands Embassy, Veldhuizen said the State governments had shown keen interest in setting up these centres.
improving yield
“We will showcase our technology in these centres and see how we can help the Indian farmers in improving the yield,” he added.
Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands, said India had to intensify its agriculture to enhance output and at the same time prevent losses in the food supply chain.
The joint initiative is all about the Indian and Dutch authorities and the private sector sharing technology know-how and developing skills to double food output here, he added.
dairy, banana
Of this, three CoEs are to come up in the dairy sector in Kerala, Punjab and Gujarat, showcasing the latest processing technologies.
Four CoEs are to be set up in horticulture in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Punjab.
“One centre each for piggery and banana ripening will be set up in Kerala,” said Arie Veldhuizen, Counsellor for Agriculture, Embassy of the Netherlands, in New Delhi.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar on ‘How to double food production in five years,’ organised by Confederation of Indian Industry and the Netherlands Embassy, Veldhuizen said the State governments had shown keen interest in setting up these centres.
improving yield
“We will showcase our technology in these centres and see how we can help the Indian farmers in improving the yield,” he added.
Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands, said India had to intensify its agriculture to enhance output and at the same time prevent losses in the food supply chain.
The joint initiative is all about the Indian and Dutch authorities and the private sector sharing technology know-how and developing skills to double food output here, he added.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Daimler to develop India ops as export hub
Chennai: As part of an integrated Asia strategy, German automobile giant Daimler is developing its Indian commercial vehicle operation as an export hub. Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), its truck and bus making Indian subsidiary, will export locally assembled trucks from the conglomerate's Mitsubishi Fuso range in 15 markets in Asia and Africa like Indonesia , Thailand, Malaysia, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Mauritius and the Seychelles.
The first export market will be Sri Lanka in June 2013, followed by Bangladesh, Zambia , Kenya and Brunei later this year. DICV launched the local production of its new product range under the Fuso brand on Thursday at its Oragadam plant, near Chennai.
Said Albert Kirchmann, head, Daimler Trucks Asia and president & CEO, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC): "We are developing India as an export hub under our Asia strategy. Currently 19 plants across the world produce 1,75,000 Fuso trucks sold in 150 countries. The Oragadam plant along with the Kawasaki plant in Japan will be our two global competence centers." Although the new lineup will be branded Mitsubishi Fuso in export markets, in India they will be badged Bharat Benz, Daimler's Indian brand. "There will be some product differences too - though they will be from the same platforms , the products will be market specific," said Kirchmann .
India's status as an export hub will also offer the opportunity for global sourcing of components. "We are working on it and India will become more important for parts supply globally as the first and second phase of localization kicks in," said Kirchmann.
Daimler has a range of global brands including Mitsubishi Fuso in its truck and bus stable. However, said Kirchmann, there are no plans to introduce any of those brands in India. But, he said, the Actros truck will continue to be branded Mercedes Benz. "It's a high horsepower , high payload, low volume , low localization niche product whereas our Bharat Benz range has 80-90 % local content and targets big volumes so that it can be badged differently," said Marc Llistosella , MD and CEO, DICV. The Fuso range to be manufactured at DICV's Oragadam plant will comprise five models spanning medium/heavyduty (25-49 tonne referred to as 'FJ' , 'FO' & 'FZ' ) and light/ medium-duty (9-16 tonne referred to as 'FA' & 'FI' ).
DICV's truck focus means it's not thinking buses right now. Nor will it even consider the newly introduced category of quadricycle. "Buses for now are not a part of our strategy as we are focussed on truck launches," said Llistosella . "As for quadricycles, that's not even something we're thinking about."
The first export market will be Sri Lanka in June 2013, followed by Bangladesh, Zambia , Kenya and Brunei later this year. DICV launched the local production of its new product range under the Fuso brand on Thursday at its Oragadam plant, near Chennai.
Said Albert Kirchmann, head, Daimler Trucks Asia and president & CEO, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC): "We are developing India as an export hub under our Asia strategy. Currently 19 plants across the world produce 1,75,000 Fuso trucks sold in 150 countries. The Oragadam plant along with the Kawasaki plant in Japan will be our two global competence centers." Although the new lineup will be branded Mitsubishi Fuso in export markets, in India they will be badged Bharat Benz, Daimler's Indian brand. "There will be some product differences too - though they will be from the same platforms , the products will be market specific," said Kirchmann .
India's status as an export hub will also offer the opportunity for global sourcing of components. "We are working on it and India will become more important for parts supply globally as the first and second phase of localization kicks in," said Kirchmann.
Daimler has a range of global brands including Mitsubishi Fuso in its truck and bus stable. However, said Kirchmann, there are no plans to introduce any of those brands in India. But, he said, the Actros truck will continue to be branded Mercedes Benz. "It's a high horsepower , high payload, low volume , low localization niche product whereas our Bharat Benz range has 80-90 % local content and targets big volumes so that it can be badged differently," said Marc Llistosella , MD and CEO, DICV. The Fuso range to be manufactured at DICV's Oragadam plant will comprise five models spanning medium/heavyduty (25-49 tonne referred to as 'FJ' , 'FO' & 'FZ' ) and light/ medium-duty (9-16 tonne referred to as 'FA' & 'FI' ).
DICV's truck focus means it's not thinking buses right now. Nor will it even consider the newly introduced category of quadricycle. "Buses for now are not a part of our strategy as we are focussed on truck launches," said Llistosella . "As for quadricycles, that's not even something we're thinking about."
IT spending by banking, securities firms to touch Rs 42,200 crore
Mumbai: Indian banking and securities companies will spend Rs 42,200 crore ($422 billion) on IT products and services in 2013 — a 13 per cent rise from Rs 37,300 crore a year ago.
IT services is the largest overall spending category at Rs 13,200 crore in 2013. This confirms the strong focus on the financial services sector by IT service providers, according to a study by research and analyst firm Gartner.
Software is forecast to achieve the highest growth rate among the top-level IT spending categories at about 18 per cent in 2013. The forecast includes spending by financial institutions on internal IT (largely personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications.
“The expansion strategy of banks is still paramount in India, as well as in other countries of the APAC region. The Reserve Bank of India is making plans to increase the penetration of banks across the country and even opening up the market to new entrants,” said Gartner Research Director, Vittorio D’Orazio.
“In these cases, the front office technologies for the branch will be very attractive. However, to increase their penetration in India, banks will follow the leverage your customer device (LYCD) trend. This will evolve the relationship between the bank and its customers over the mobile channel without remarkably increasing IT costs. In fact, we see the penetration rates of the smartphone devices in the triple digits range, which is far greater than any branch expansion rate,” D’Orazio said.
IT services is the largest overall spending category at Rs 13,200 crore in 2013. This confirms the strong focus on the financial services sector by IT service providers, according to a study by research and analyst firm Gartner.
Software is forecast to achieve the highest growth rate among the top-level IT spending categories at about 18 per cent in 2013. The forecast includes spending by financial institutions on internal IT (largely personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications.
“The expansion strategy of banks is still paramount in India, as well as in other countries of the APAC region. The Reserve Bank of India is making plans to increase the penetration of banks across the country and even opening up the market to new entrants,” said Gartner Research Director, Vittorio D’Orazio.
“In these cases, the front office technologies for the branch will be very attractive. However, to increase their penetration in India, banks will follow the leverage your customer device (LYCD) trend. This will evolve the relationship between the bank and its customers over the mobile channel without remarkably increasing IT costs. In fact, we see the penetration rates of the smartphone devices in the triple digits range, which is far greater than any branch expansion rate,” D’Orazio said.
Insurers in operation for 3 years eligible to set up foreign office: Irda
Mumbai: Indian insurance companies in operation for at least three years will be eligible for opening offices outside the country. In a set of fresh guidelines, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) said life insurance, non-life insurance and reinsurance companies should have a net worth of Rs 500 crore, Rs 250 crore and Rs 750 crore, respectively, to apply for opening offices abroad.
According to Irda, the term ‘foreign insurance company’ would mean a company registered outside India, whose paid-up capital was subscribed to by an Indian insurance company. It shall include a foreign subsidiary company wherein the Indian insurance firm has a holding of more than 50 per cent of its paid-up capital or is in a position to control the composition of its board of directors. It shall also include a branch office of the Indian insurance company.
The guidelines said the registered Indian insurance company should not suffer from any adverse report of the authority on its record of regulatory compliances, for three years out of the past five years from the date of application.
The applicants would need to have booked profits for the three years out of the past five years. “Indian insurers should formulate an ‘investment policy’ to suit the scale, nature and area of operations of the foreign branch offices apart from business considerations and submit the same before its board of directors for approval,” Irda said.
Apart from compliance with the host country solvency requirements, Irda has asked the companies to comply with the know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines.
On a quarterly basis, these insurers should report business numbers of foreign branch offices, claims performance and expenses incurred.
Irda said the company board should be responsible for monitoring the functioning of its foreign operations at regular levels and report to the regulator any event/development, which could impair the functioning of foreign operations.
"Any foreign insurance company with the approval of the Authority shall be closed only with the prior approval of the Authority and subject to compliance of the host country rules and regulations," said Irda.
According to Irda, the term ‘foreign insurance company’ would mean a company registered outside India, whose paid-up capital was subscribed to by an Indian insurance company. It shall include a foreign subsidiary company wherein the Indian insurance firm has a holding of more than 50 per cent of its paid-up capital or is in a position to control the composition of its board of directors. It shall also include a branch office of the Indian insurance company.
The guidelines said the registered Indian insurance company should not suffer from any adverse report of the authority on its record of regulatory compliances, for three years out of the past five years from the date of application.
The applicants would need to have booked profits for the three years out of the past five years. “Indian insurers should formulate an ‘investment policy’ to suit the scale, nature and area of operations of the foreign branch offices apart from business considerations and submit the same before its board of directors for approval,” Irda said.
Apart from compliance with the host country solvency requirements, Irda has asked the companies to comply with the know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) guidelines.
On a quarterly basis, these insurers should report business numbers of foreign branch offices, claims performance and expenses incurred.
Irda said the company board should be responsible for monitoring the functioning of its foreign operations at regular levels and report to the regulator any event/development, which could impair the functioning of foreign operations.
"Any foreign insurance company with the approval of the Authority shall be closed only with the prior approval of the Authority and subject to compliance of the host country rules and regulations," said Irda.
MSMEs share in exports to grow to 50 per cent by 2017
New Delhi: The contribution of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in India’s total exports in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) is expected to grow to 50 per cent from 36 per cent, according to Mr K H Muniyappa, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for MSME, Government of India.
The growth is expected on back of increasing demand from the western and emerging markets.
MSMEs contribute 8 per cent to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 45 per cent to its manufactured output. It provides employment to over 80 million people engaged in over 36 million units, producing more than 6,000 products.
Adequate credit is paramount to the success of micro and small units, said Mr Muniyappa. To ensure better flow of credit to MSMEs by minimising risk perception of banks/ financial institutions in lending without collateral security, the Government is implementing the Credit Guarantee Scheme, further added Mr Muniyappa. The scheme provides guarantee cover of up to 85 per cent on collateral free credit facility and is extended by lending institutions to new and existing units for loans up to Rs 10 million (US$ 179,663).
Till April 2013, more than 1.1 million proposals have been approved under the scheme providing guarantee cover for total sanctioned amount of Rs 54,322 crore (US$ 9.76 billion), said Mr Muniyappa.
The growth is expected on back of increasing demand from the western and emerging markets.
MSMEs contribute 8 per cent to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 45 per cent to its manufactured output. It provides employment to over 80 million people engaged in over 36 million units, producing more than 6,000 products.
Adequate credit is paramount to the success of micro and small units, said Mr Muniyappa. To ensure better flow of credit to MSMEs by minimising risk perception of banks/ financial institutions in lending without collateral security, the Government is implementing the Credit Guarantee Scheme, further added Mr Muniyappa. The scheme provides guarantee cover of up to 85 per cent on collateral free credit facility and is extended by lending institutions to new and existing units for loans up to Rs 10 million (US$ 179,663).
Till April 2013, more than 1.1 million proposals have been approved under the scheme providing guarantee cover for total sanctioned amount of Rs 54,322 crore (US$ 9.76 billion), said Mr Muniyappa.
Indo-Australia pact to train farm workers
Chennai: India and Australia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in training farm workers that could grow to 12-15 million in the coming decades. The training will be an industry-oriented one. The MoU was signed between the Agriculture Skills Council of India and AgriFood Skills, Australia. It also aims to set benchmarks for certification and information.
A brainchild of the Prime Ministers of both the countries, the MoU is part of a larger collaboration in other fields such as telecommunication, retail, mining, media and entertainment. Satender Arya, CEO, Agriculture Skill Council of India, and Arthur Belwitt, CEO, Agrifood Skills Australia, signed the partnership pact in the presence of Patrick Suckling and Dilip Chenoy, CEO of the National Skills Development.
A brainchild of the Prime Ministers of both the countries, the MoU is part of a larger collaboration in other fields such as telecommunication, retail, mining, media and entertainment. Satender Arya, CEO, Agriculture Skill Council of India, and Arthur Belwitt, CEO, Agrifood Skills Australia, signed the partnership pact in the presence of Patrick Suckling and Dilip Chenoy, CEO of the National Skills Development.
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