Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron have called for enhancing trade and investment ties between their countries and committed to further deepening their engagement in the Indo-Pacific. They discussed a full spectrum of bilateral relations, including key global and regional issues, and stressed the urgent need for reform in the United Nations Security Council. The leaders also underscored their commitment to ensuring the global AI sector can drive positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
The Kerala unit of the Congress instantly gets a headache when Shashi Tharoor lets loose one of his observations showering flowers on enemy territory. With every such action triggering controversy within a nervous Congress party, some feel it is high time Tharoor showed a degree of solidarity with the ideals of his party, notes Shyam G Menon.
'It is the responsibility of industry to take the very bright talent whose knowledge of software engineering basics is very high, and then give them additional skills.'
'Make your child solve his/her problems on his/her own. Let the child see parenting as a partnership between you and your child.'
The China threat continues to resonate in the strategic partnership between India and the USA, points out Rup Narayan Das.
The country's top three venture debt firms -- Alteria Capital, Innoven Capital, and Trifecta Capital -- combined deployed about $300 million (Rs 2,200 crore) in start-ups such as BigBasket, Cure.fit, Ninjacart, Dunzo and Lendingkart till April end, according to the government's Investindia website.
The start-up story appears to be losing its sheen due to corporate misgovernance, financial mismanagement and gender discrimination.
E-commerce startup Dukaan has replaced 90 per cent of its customer support team with an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, founder and CEO Suumit Shah informed on Tuesday. Attributing the decision to prioritising profitability, he said customer support costs reduced by 85 per cent while resolution time went down from over two hours to three minutes. "We had to lay off 90 per cent of our support team because of this AI chatbot. Tough? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely," Shah tweeted.
A strong start-up ecosystem can propel investment, jobs, and demand creation, and for that, substantial growth capital is required.
Family offices are increasingly looking to invest directly in start-ups rather than through investment in venture capital (VC) firms. The shift is happening because of multiple reasons. Next-generation scions of wealthy families are conversant with how the start-up world works after they have spent time in Silicon Valley; start-up investment is rising to 10-15 per cent of family offices' portfolios from single digits; and they do not want to share gains of investment with VC firms. "While earlier they would prefer to invest in this asset class via venture capital (VC) funds as LPs (limited partners), now they are making direct investment in start-ups.
Billionaire and Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra along with top Silicon Valley investors Naval Ravikant and Balaji Srinivasan are backing space tech start-up Agnikul as part of a new funding round. Chennai-based Agnikul said, on Thursday, that it has raised $11 million in Series A funding round led by Mayfield India. It is the largest funding round for a private Indian space technology company in the country. Existing investors pi Ventures, Speciale Invest and Artha Venture Fund also invested in this round.
The Chinese government is imposing severe restrictions on their tech companies - whether it is on data security, marketing practices or floating an IPO. Should this be music to the ears of Indian start-ups and home-grown private equity (PE) funds? Ask Indian start-ups and the answer is a resounding "yes".
'Start-ups that generate a majority of their income in India are likely to opt for an Indian listing.'
In two years, the start-up Overqualified Housewives has helped over 6,000 women across India find flexible-job roles across India from salaries ranging between Rs 8,000 to Rs 80,000, making them financially independent.
Tech start-ups will continue to take the lead in bolstering the regional economy, says Murali Talasila.
Read this and rest assured you can be on your own against venture capitalists and angel investors
Companies that do not know why they are doing good also do not know why they are failing when they are on a downward slide, notes Baqar Iftikhar Naqvi, founder and CEO, Upriver, a sales accelerator firm.
Over the years, start-ups are struggling more to garner funds as they pass the elementary stages of growth.
Investing in start-ups can be highly rewarding, but direct investing is not meant for everyone. For the majority of wealthy investors, taking the private-equity route could still be the better option.
The move is expected to create space for more budding entrepreneurs in the country to be eligible for self-certification, relaxed public procurement norms, rebate in patent filing, start-up funding, investment and easier closure compliance.
Various start-ups have raised concerns on notices sent to them under the Section 56 of Income Tax Act to pay taxes on angel funds received by them.
While participation of start-ups in the space sector has largely been minimal so far, their involvement will be key towards building India's very own aerospace companies such as Maxar, Elon Musk's SpaceX and Rocket Labs, according to experts.
'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese funds.' 'Government policy must not remain indifferent to the problems India's start-up ventures are likely to face after the change in FDI rules,' says A K Bhattacharya.
The solution works on the pricing and scheduling algorithms that define key parameters necessary for most efficiently matching the supply and demand of freight and trucks.
Also, a dedicated cell, headed by a member of the Central Board for Direct Taxes (CBDT), will be set up to address concerns faced by start-ups.
Perhaps, the most misunderstood aspect is the role of the state.
With the amended rules, companies can now have up to 74 per cent Differential Voting Rights shares of the total post issue paid up share capital.
Regularly monitor your account for any suspicious activity. Keep your devices updated with the latest security patches to prevent vulnerabilities. Ensure the physical wallet you use is stored securely to avoid loss or theft.
Vetting by inter-ministerial board removed for benefits under Startup India Action Plan
Budget 2016 may hold some answers to start-up cooncerns.
Pankaj Mohite and Bhavani Rajput produced solid shows as Puneri Paltan and UP Yoddhas played out a 29-29 draw in the Pro Kabaddi League at the Noida Indoor Stadium on Tuesday.
rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa offers advice on how you can pick the right course and career.
To resolve the so-called 'angel tax' issue, the start-ups and their investors who file requisite declarations and provide information in their returns will not be subjected to any kind of scrutiny in respect of valuations of share premiums, she said.
Ratan Tata was one of the world's most influential industrialists yet he never appeared on any list of billionaires. He controlled over 30 companies that operated in over 100 countries across six continents yet lived an unpretentious life. Ratan Naval Tata, who died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night at the age of 86 years, enjoyed a perhaps unique status -- a corporate titan who was considered a 'secular living saint' with a reputation for decency and integrity.
Eruditus runs on a partnership model with top global universities such as MIT, Columbia, Harvard, Cambridge, INSEAD, Wharton, and UC Berkeley, offering courses in coding, data science, fintech, block chain, and entrepreneurship.
Deposit amount can equal investor's stake, won't impact his holding as it is a loan
Seed and early-stage start-ups are high-risk businesses, rarely have collateral and only 1 in 10 of them makes it to becoming a viable company.
The $306-million investment in Ola Electric Mobility by SoftBank Corp, Arun Sarin Family, Ratan Tata and Matrix has been the biggest funding in this space in value terms this year.
Let start-ups be start-ups until they become grown-ups, let young entrepreneurs be experimental and bold, let VCs do their job, but for God's sake, the nation must prime the real grown-ups to solve the imminent issues., says R Gopalakrishnan.
Close to 9,000 start-ups are currently banking with HDFC Bank and it has the bank now dedicated SmartUp zones in 70 branches in 30 cities across India.
