The earliest ones included whistles shaped like birds, toy monkeys that could slide down a string and small carts made from materials found in nature such as sticks, clay and rocks. While there might be no disputing India's rich toy-making tradition, the industry is languishing for lack of investment and technology, and also owing to competition from cheap imports. And though it has been listed among 24 key sectors under the government's Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan, the question remains: will this push help place it in the global game? Currently, 80-odd per cent of the toys sold in India are imported - nearly 60 per cent of them from China.
For existing technologies, unless appropriate financing is available, deployment at scale is difficult.
Highlighting the role of MSMEs in enhancing exports and helping the country achieve self reliance, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Monday said India does not need to import from China. "Already in automobile sector, in many sectors now, in agriculture, automobiles, everywhere, we have already found the solutions. Now we don't need to import from China," said the minister. He observed that India was exporting a lot of items instead of importing them.
Blind categorisation of OTTs with TSPs is damaging as the two are fundamentally different. It is naive to claim 'same service, same rules' when the services are so utterly different, says T V Ramachandran.
Blind categorisation of OTTs with TSPs is damaging as the two are fundamentally different. It is naive to claim 'same service, same rules' when the services are so utterly different, says T V Ramachandran.
The western world had largely considered India to be a production hub, and also, a good potential geography for clinical trials, and a big market. But in Covid-19 research, Indian companies and government researchers are also researching new drug candidates and potential vaccines, says Prosenjit Datta.
10 stocks which are most popular with brokerages right now and are expected to deliver maximum upside over the next 12 months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hard sold his government's reforms spanning from manufacturing to taxation to labour, saying they have changed the world perception about the country from 'why India' to 'why not India' and went on to quote record foreign investment during the pandemic as a testimony to that. Speaking at industry association Assocham's Foundation Week event, Modi also said agriculture reforms brought by his government six months back have started benefiting farmers. The reforms in the last six years have influenced in changing the sentiment of the industry from 'why India' to 'why not India' in investing.
A flower has been named in honour the Indian prime minister.
Enthused by India's financial inclusion drive, US-based Accion, one of the biggest micro finance organisations in the world, has renewed its focus in India. Michael Schlein, bottom, left, chief executive officer of Accicon, tells Namrata Acharya in an email interview the Wall Street and Silicon Valley are eager to participate in opportunities presented by the issuance of the small finance and payment bank licences, the expanded banking correspondent opportunities, and the Jan-Dhan Yojna.
'I told myself, I will be 23 next year. Why can't I be a billionaire too?'
Although large companies like Nestle, Dabur or HUL have been impacted by this slowdown in demand, it was the small, local players that have been hit harder.
Today Aashirvaad, ITC says, has 75 per cent of the market.
Expansion of distribution network, venturing into new markets, supplementing production capacity, and ramping up workforce are all on the cards. Instead of trying to fight with brands having massive war chests, it will pass on the benefits to consumers by offering them phones at lower prices.
Industries with the highest number of top-rated companies at risk were hospitality/travel, media and entertainment, retail, financial services and consumer goods/manufacturing
Only 11 antibiotics in clinical trials have received qualified infectious disease product status from the US FDA, of which five are Wockhardt's drugs.
At times of slow growth, India has seen number of graduates doubling since 2008 to almost 25 million in 2016
Over the past year we have heard a lot about policy reforms to improve the ease of doing business in India.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to stop the entire rule from going into effect.
Nokia is one of the leading telecom equipment manufacturing companies in India
Under Neemuchwala's digital-first vision, Wipro has accelerated investments in automation, analytics, cloud and cognitive technologies over the past three years, says Ayan Pramanik.
From linking innovation with supply of inputs to providing contract farming, the private sector can help agriculture move to the next stage of development.
Bombay Dyeing is betting on creating a range of unique, customised textile products, a route that is largely unexplored by the home textiles players although several industry reports and consumer behavior studies have talked about the potential for personalisation.
'It says, we are not just an overseas player -- we are Kia India and here for good'
The commercial vehicle business is one of the mainstays for the Tata group, highlighting the importance of Girish Wagh's appointment.
'What has gained prominence are 'human' skills like creativity, originality and initiative, critical thinking, persuasion, and negotiation, as well as attention to detail, resilience, flexibility and complex problem-solving.'
'India has the potential to reduce its trade deficit with China by $8.4 billion in FY21.'
Intrapreneurs are more diverse in their skill sets and backgrounds, more digitally native, more networked and connected, and more ambitious to do bigger things. A fascinating excerpt from Simone Ahuja's Jugaad 3.0: Hacking The Corporation To Make It Fast, Fluid And Frugal.
US to fix the immigration system that keeps American firms from hiring the top world talent they need.
Brokers like Vasudevan are struggling to keep themselves in tune with this super-informed, new-generation retail investor.
'Our technology is going to help Indian agriculture the way the White Revolution helped milk production.'
'One out of three phones sold in India is a Xiaomi phone.'
The RBI panel has also recommended a government-sponsored 'fund of funds' of Rs 10,000 crore to support the venture capital and private equity firms investing in the MSME sector.
TCS, Infosys and others are banking on automation to protect their turf in the US, but building a successful revenue model around it may prove difficult
'What volumes will we have with a Rs 1 lakh product?' 'As a company, we will not restrict it to a segment.'
Advantages are not being leveraged fully mainly because of lack of funds, say experts.
With scrutiny that comes with a public listing, Deepinder Goyal's leadership could face its sternest test yet.
A single format and simpler, uniform rules would have kept the service going. In other parts of the world including in the US, managing demand and capacities along with ensuring preventive measures were an issue, but there was hardly any administrative hurdle anywhere.
Internet users in India is attracting cyber criminals, as these are first-timers, who can be duped easily
