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As PC and laptop makers urge the government to rethink its decision on import licensing requirements accompanied by a quota, the industry stakeholders have met <keyword id="296566" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="it-ministry" source="Orion">IT Ministry</keyword> officials to seek solutions on the matter. The meeting discussed proposed changes, like linking the import of IT hardware to the local manufacturing of a company value and its export value of electronic items, according to sources. The meeting on Friday was called to give suggestions on how the proposed import management system should work and get the stakeholders' feedback. Another meeting is likely to happen again next week to continue discussions on the issue. Last month, the <keyword id="7825659" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india-cellular-and-electronics-association" source="Orion">India Cellular and Electronics Association</keyword> (<keyword id="6816005" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="icea" source="Orion">ICEA</keyword>) wrote to the IT Ministry, requesting the government to rethink its decision on import licensing requirement accompanied by a quota, which was extended by 3 months until October 31, fearing that this may lead to price rise in consumer electronics products as companies are not yet prepared for manufacturing PCs, laptops and servers domestically at scale. The letter said that an overarching factor that should be taken into consideration in "avoiding supply chain disruption till domestic production ramps up" is that any "reduction in supplies or even an indication will lead to hoarding and market distortion". This, in turn, can push up consumer prices, "which will adversely impact not just key stakeholders such as students, but also those who are the core of growing the digital economy, i.e. start-ups, IT and ITES firms, BPOs". The industry seeks at least nine-month breather after the PLI for IT Hardware was launched. "The government may undertake a re-assessment of the investment pipeline and the supply situation before inviting the industry to discuss whether any further policy intervention is needed at that stage. It may be too early to assess the full implication of the new scheme before then," according to the letter. Where servers are concerned, the ICEA has received inputs that companies in that sector seek a relook at their inclusion in the proposed intervention. The Central government earlier deferred its decision to restrict the import of certain categories of laptops and computers until November 1, allowing companies three-months time to import these devices. Post November 1, no entity will be allowed to import laptops, computers, and related items without a license. The PLI 2.0 for IT hardware has garnered applications from 40 companies including global and domestic. The expected incremental production under the scheme is around Rs 3.35 lakh crore. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/g20-leaders-summit-adopts-new-delhi-declaration/articleshow/103535369.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/g20-leaders-summit-adopts-new-delhi-declaration/articleshow/103535369.cms" target="_blank">G20 Leaders Summit adopts New Delhi Declaration</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/g20-summit-pm-modi-announces-launch-of-global-biofuel-alliance/articleshow/103535675.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/india/news/g20-summit-pm-modi-announces-launch-of-global-biofuel-alliance/articleshow/103535675.cms" target="_blank">G20 Summit: PM Modi announces launch of Global Biofuel Alliance</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/webstories/from-dream-girl-2-to-tootsie-epic-roles-which-saw-male-actors-crossdress/slidelist/103525812.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/webstories/from-dream-girl-2-to-tootsie-epic-roles-which-saw-male-actors-crossdress/slidelist/103525812.cms" target="_blank">From Dream Girl 2 to Tootsie – Epic roles which saw male actors crossdress</a>

PC manufacturers meet MeitY officials on import curbs, seek solutions

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Indian government came to power, it had flagged off a <keyword id="3520268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bpo-promotion-scheme">BPO promotion scheme</keyword> with an outlay of nearly Rs 500 crore and mission to create 1.5 lakh jobs; almost 60 companies bid in the first round. 
 
But, the response has been quite lukewarm as bids coming in from companies formed only one-fourth of the total capacity. 
 
Most of the top order BPO did not take up the scheme as many of them do not have operations in small towns and cities. 
 
"I won't say that the response was bad, but we were expecting more participation," a government official told ET. 
 
ET quoted two officials who said that the ministry of electronics and IT (MEIT) received bids for only 11,500 seats from 60 companies out of the total 48,000 seats on offer in the first round that closed in the first week of July. 
 
An industry executive told ET that despite the attractive government subsidy, the scheme was not lucrative enough since most of them already have operations in tier-II and III towns and the government disallowed expansion under the policy. 
 
"In a way, the government is trying to reward us 10 years later for starting operations in the small towns which we began in 2005," Bhupender Singh, CEO of Intelenet Global Services, told ET, adding “50 per cent of the company's India business is already delivered from non-metro centres in places such as Puducherry, Guwahati and Agra.” 
 
Sanjay Mehta, chairman of the BPO committee of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, told ET, “The industry makes $25 billion in revenues and almost $2 billion in profits every year, perhaps it doesn't need any freebies. But, what it does need is confidence in clients that they can be serviced well out of these small town centres which the government could have provided through some marketing in the UK and the US, which contribute almost 90 per cent of the industry's revenues.” 
 Even though some companies stayed away from the project, Tata Consultancy Service (<keyword id="6357150" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="TCS">TCS</keyword>), took up the scheme and had proposed to set up 3,000 seats - 1,000 seats each in <keyword id="6354814" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="prime-minister-Narendra-Modi">Prime Minister Narendra Modi</keyword>'s constituency Varanasi, <keyword id="3081185" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="IT-minister-Ravi-Shankar-Prasad">IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad</keyword>'s home town Patna, and Nashik.

Indian Government’s Rs 500 crore BPO promotion scheme fails to create magic, gets tepid response

<ul><li>The IT Minister announced the government’s plans of establishing the largest National Data Centre in <keyword id="6355556" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhopal">Bhopal</keyword>. </li><li>The rural BPO promotion scheme will be increased to 1 lakh seats from the current 48,000. </li><li>Other schemes like Aadhar, eSign, BHIM App and DigiLocker are also expected to be expanded.</li></ul>On Monday, the IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/government-plans-largest-national-data-centre-in-bhopal/articleshow/64636749.cms">got on a soapbox</a> in front of some journalists on the completion of four years of the present government. Following the inauguration of a National Data Centre (NDC) in Bhubaneswar this May, Prasad announced the government’s plans of establishing the largest National Data Centre in Bhopal. Prasad also announced that the NDC will have a capacity of five lakh servers. Throwing in some more announcements at the occasion, the minister mentioned that the rural BPO promotion scheme will be increased to 1 lakh seats from the current 48,000. So, what will the National Data Centre do? A National Data Centre’s primary aim is to provide ‘the citizens with online services and the e-Governance projects launched by the government’, according to the<a href="https://datacentres.nic.in/"> official website</a> of <keyword id="6373306" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="national-informatics-centre">National Informatics Centre</keyword> (NIC), the organisation under the government’s IT Department that is responsible for the establishment of the NDCs. As <keyword id="3658" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> becomes the largest data consumer, there is a pressing need to increase data storage for apps and websites of these services. And this is exactly what the new NDC will cater to. However, this is not the first in the country, there are four other NDCs in Delhi, Bhubaneswar, Hyderabad and Pune; but this is expected to be the largest. NIC has announced that the Madhya Pradesh Government has already made the land available for the project and the centre should come up within the next two years. Rural BPO promotion scheme Prasad, who wants to make India the ‘hub for BPO movement’, said that the expansion of the rural BPO promotion scheme would bring about several benefits. The scheme is aimed at increasing employment in India, both directly and indirectly - employment related to creating the BPOs and working for them once they are created. An added perk would be finding this sort of employment near your home, in small towns. Currently, people from small towns have to relocate to bigger cities to work in these BPOs. With this being the election year, the government is also making sure it makes the right statements about policies that have already been implemented. In his speech, Prasad mentioned that Aadhar, world’s largest biometric identification with 121 crore unique IDs, is already benefiting the public. According to the minister, Aadhar has helped in the direct benefit transfer of <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/india-s-largest-national-data-centre-to-come-up-in-bhopal-118061900020_1.html">₹4 trillion</a> to the poor. Furthermore, ₹900 billion have been saved by removing the fictitious beneficiaries from this list, said Prasad. The government is now aiming at making the Aadhar more “robust” along with the expansion of other digital services like BHIM App, DigiLocker and <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/govt-plans-largest-data-centre-in-bhopal/article24195005.ece">eSign</a>.

India’s largest National Data Centre to be established in Bhopal

<ul><li>A leaked draft report from the <keyword id="159763" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="National-Sample-Survey-Office">National Sample Survey Office</keyword> (NSSO) has found that unemployment in the world’s fastest growing economy is at its highest in 45 years. </li><li>“There is enough evidence to show that employment has increased,” Rajiv Kumar, the vice chairman of <keyword id="2665691" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Niti-Aayog">Niti Aayog</keyword>, a government think tank chaired by the country’s prime minister.</li><li>However, to quash the findings of the report, the government has only been able to offer data on a rise in call centre positions, taxi drivers, construction workers and employees working at startups. </li></ul> India’s Narendra Modi government is facing a moment of truth. A leaked draft report from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) has found that unemployment in the world’s fastest growing economy is at its highest in 45 years, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/unemployment-in-india-is-at-its-highest-in-45-years-says-an-indian-daily-citing-an-undisclosed-jobs-survey/articleshow/67769020.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">reported</a> <keyword id="189015" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Standard">Business Standard</keyword>. Obviously, the opposition parties wasted no time in using the news to corner the incumbent government. The defense took its time but what they put out is a different story altogether. While the defendants refused to comment on the undisclosed survey, still, a denial was probably in order . “There is enough evidence to show that employment has increased,” Rajiv Kumar, the vice chairman of Niti Aayog, a government think tank chaired by the country’s prime minister. Kumar went on to substantiate it, not with employment numbers, but something he thought was close enough. “That 11-12% (nominal GDP) growth cannot happen if employment hasn’t grown,” Kumar argued. The point did seem to stump the rather combative press, but not for more than a moment. Soon after the CEO, from the same think tank chipped in with more numbers. In the case of Ola, the number of registered drivers went up from 37,000 to near a million in four years, and Uber has over 1.2 million drivers now, Amitabh Kant said. “14 million jobs were created in the transport between 2014 and 2018,” Kant said. A lot of them are delivery boys and truck drivers working for the big e-commerce companies. Kant cited three million jobs created in road construction, 14.6 million jobs in tourism, and another 1.5 million in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry. “There are 19,000 startups in the country,” Kant roared right after. In India, numbers can be tricky. The website for Startup India, a dedicated government programme, says 15,649 startups recognised till date. 
	
 Then came the Mudra loans, a programme launched in April 2015 has been a big defence for the Modi government. The state offers loans without collateral for people to start micro and small businesses. Loans worth ₹7.43 trillion have been approved under the Mudra scheme to 154 million applicants, 74% of them are women, according to Kant. However, a recent <a href="https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/reality-check-how-mudra-missed-its-mark-1441995-2019-01-29">survey</a> India Today published on January 29, showed that many of these small unsecured loans are just waiting to turn sour for various reasons. Far from being a source of livelihood, or a job-creating investment, these loans are at best being used in unproductive ventures. But it remains a fact that the government has facilitated these loans, and may have even arm twisted unwilling bankers to lend more under the Mudra scheme, as found by the same India Today survey. It is a different matter that these loans have failed to produce profit or jobs. So, in 2019 India, it’s great if you have an idea for a startup. If not, there are jobs as drivers for Ola and Uber, vacancies in BPOs, placements in e-commerce deliveries, gigs in road construction and some openings, thanks to tourism. For everyone else, there are Mudra loans, which you may not have to return. The opposition may not have expected this defence from the government after a similar faux pas by none other than the prime minister himself. In an interview in 2018, Modi said, “If someone opens a 'pakoda' shop in front of your office, does that not count at employment? The person's daily earning of Rs 200 will never come into any books or accounts. The truth is massive people are being employed.” His trolls had a field day then. It’s unlikely his critics will miss another opportunity now.

Unless you want to be a street vendor, a cab driver, or a road construction worker, please start your own business -- because there are no high-paying jobs in India

In an attempt to attract tourists and ensure Internet connectivity, the government has decided to provide free Wi-Fi service at <keyword id="6355354" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Taj-Mahal">Taj Mahal</keyword>, Sarnath and <keyword id="6364856" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Bodh-Gaya">Bodh Gaya</keyword> among other places in India. 
 “We have already started providing free Wi-Fi service at Varanasi ghats. The government has also started the facility of providing e-visa to tourists," <keyword id="422454" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Information-Technology-Minister">Information Technology Minister</keyword> <keyword id="8748" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ravi-Shankar">Ravi Shankar</keyword> Prasad said while attending an event in Delhi. 
	 

	He said his ministry has formulated a new policy to make tier II and III cities as IT hubs. "We are setting up call centers and BPOs at small towns and creating 48,000 jobs in the first phase. We will give subsidy to take IT revolution to smaller towns," he added. Regarding the e-Commerce industry, he said it is a big opportunity to bring economic growth. “We are roping in the <keyword id="53988" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Department-of-Posts">Department of Posts</keyword> to deliver goods to small towns and villages. Postal department has become a reliable partner for big eCommerce companies to deliver their goods. 
	 

	Talking about the digital India that aims to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots by using telecom and IT as a tool, Prasad said India would soon have 100 crore mobile subscribers, while within two years Internet connections would grow from 30 crore to 50 crore. 
	 

	He said around 2.5 lakh village panchayats would have broadband service soon. 

	 
	(Image: Reuters)

Wah Taj! India’s prime tourist spots to be now Wi-Fi enabled

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholas_t/4656564831/in/photolist-86u7ux-b5w64n-dTf7HD-rgnq4j-v16RN-b76QSv-4fhPHP-8um1SL-5cskgd-hAJUUW-9BBKLF-b2wayH-b2wapa-c7r8KN-cXmPNA-8KKocH-9ogvpV-v16S7-3LRCUg-q9Sbf1-hC4UPm-anyhmF-DZZHYM-qbohgT-6bRxLV-eeGchL-hC4cTV-hC4mPm-jkAZK6-7FAGPW-bH39J-6YTfBr-hC4mAf-b2w8SR-bxi8YT-aEo99b-hC4USY-cjcpVS-bhjqZt-hC5KSR-bhjnYa-8LS6mP-3bjSgt-hC4mfL-6YTfBF-hC5LbX-pn3rCG-CMADBy-hC4MEx-6YTfBv">Nicholas A. Tonelli/Flickr</a></div></div></div><ul><li>Large investors are increasingly using so-called broker price opinions (BPOs) to value and purchase thousands of homes on the brink of foreclosure.</li><li>This method is used instead of traditional appraisals, which are done by licensed professionals and usually cost more. </li><li>The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether companies are using BPOs to wrongly inflate property values. </li></ul>A method of valuing homes that was outlawed for most people after the financial crisis is still popular among large Wall Street investors. According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/whats-a-house-worth-wall-street-turns-to-drive-by-appraisals-1516536001">The Wall Street Journal</a>, investors including Blackstone Group are increasingly turning to so-called broker price opinions, or BPOs, to value tens of billions of dollars worth of homes.Sometimes, the report says, the price evaluations are done remotely: outsourced to India and conducted by real-estate agents using online listings and Google Earth searches. That's different from traditional appraisals, which involve visiting homes and estimating their value while noting details that might impact that value - like moldy walls.After the housing bubble popped a decade ago, Congress outlawed BPOs as the primary way to value a home for the purpose of getting a loan. But large Wall Street firms that want to buy up several thousands of houses that are typically in foreclosure are still allowed to use this cheaper method. "There's a reason why they are $50," Jonathan Miller, CEO of the real-estate appraiser Miller Samuel, told Business Insider. "It's just a way to put papers in a file to comply with regulations." The Journal noted that for large investors, having an appraiser visit every home that needs to be valued is not always the most efficient route. However, Miller contends that the extra cost of using a traditional appraiser is a rounding error in valuing the homes in question. "There are nuances between properties that you don't get from a BPO or outsourcing to India," Miller said.The Securities and Exchange Commission is also scrutinizing whether companies are wrongly inflating BPOs. Besides determining the value of a home, BPOs are used to value securities that are then sold to investors. In May, the mortgage insurer Radian Group said in a regulatory filing that one of its units was among those that the SEC asked about its practices. <h2><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/whats-a-house-worth-wall-street-turns-to-drive-by-appraisals-1516536001">Head over to The Wall Street Journal for the full story »</a></h2> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-some-people-believe-the-world-is-flat-according-to-an-astronomer-2018-1">This is why some people believe the world is flat, according to an astronomer</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Big investors are valuing homes with a method outlawed for everyone else after the housing crash - and the SEC is asking questions

<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/small-business/companies/Indias-Essar-deal-with-Russias-Rosneft-does-not-violate-sanctions-by-the-US/articleshow/54901296.cms">Essar Group</a>, led by the influential <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/latest/Industrialist-Pawan-Ruiaarrested-on-charges-of-theft-of-railway-equipments-in-West-Bengal/articleshow/55920192.cms">Ruia </a>family, has announced the sale of its BPO company Aegis Ltd to private equity fund manager <keyword id="2038547" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Capital-Square-Partners">Capital Square Partners</keyword>, based in Singapore, thus exiting BPO business. 
 
The deal has been estimated to be worth $275 to 300 million. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Indias-biggest-deal-worth-Rs-72800-crores-Essar-oil-sellsto-Russias-Rosneft/articleshow/54877758.cms">India's biggest deal worth Rs 72,800 crores: Essar oil sells to Russia's Rosneft</a> 
 
Aegis had a global presence in the BPO business, with operations in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Peru, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and the UK. With around 40,000 employees, it had 47 BPOs in these 10 countries and had $400 million worth of revenue. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/lic-wants-essar-to-clear-all-dues-to-give-noc-to-its-deal-with-rosneft/articleshow/57807554.cms">LIC wants Essar to clear all dues to give NOC to its deal with Rosneft</a> 
 
"AGC Holdings Ltd (AGC) Mauritius, a wholly-owned portfolio company of Essar Global Ltd, has entered into a definitive agreement with Capital Square Partners (CSP) to sell 100 per cent of its stake," said a statement from Essar. 
 
"Net proceeds of this sale will be used to retire Essar's debt," it added. 
 
It was in 2004 that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/enterprise/Essar-Oil-posts-record-Rs-1063-Crores-Q1-profit/articleshow/48269986.cms">Essar </a>had entered the BPO business after acquiring the US-based Aegis Communications Group, which it later sold in 2014. 
 
"This transaction is in line with our strategy of incubating, building and operating world-class businesses, and being open to monetising them at a premium value when the market conditions are favourable," said Uday Gujadhar, Director-AGC. 
 
(Image source The Indian )

Essar has sold Aegis to a Singaporean private investment firm

Aiming for a comprehensive development for non metro cities and its dwellers, National Association of Software and Services Companies, or <keyword id="6372077" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nasscom">Nasscom</keyword> has proposed an innovative concept, which if implemented will result in a greater good. 
 
In what would be a boom in the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) business and help to multiply its total revenue from about Rs 1,38,000 crores to Rs 5,52,000 – Nasscom in its policy recommendation paper wants the government to expand the BPO industry to non metro cities of India. 
 
As per a news report by The Economic Times, Nasscom said expansion into non-metro locations has the potential to generate over one million skilled jobs, enumerating five points focused on employment generation as the central pillar of the BPO industry that employs over 10 lakh people. 
 Thanks to India’s low-end technology services, the BPO industry has evolved in full pace since early 90s. However, over the years, <keyword id="3750" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Philippines">Philippines</keyword> and <keyword id="13486" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vietnam">Vietnam</keyword> being more cost effective given the government aid they receive, have ensured many international BPOs to shift their base. 
 "We have identified 18-20 more locations in the country where we have created the infrastructure for employment. It is not only competitiveness but also the development of emerging cities, harmonising and galvanising the talent pool that is available... and creating digitisation capabilities," KS Viswanathan, vice-president at Nasscom told the financial daily. These locations include Agartala, Belagavi, Chhindwara, Hazira, Karnal, Shivamogga, <keyword id="41568" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Srinagar">Srinagar</keyword> and <keyword id="50365" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vellore">Vellore</keyword>. 
 
(Image : Reuters)

More than 1 million BPO jobs awaiting you!

India is one of the youngest nations in the world with more than 54% of the total population below 25 years of age. Yet today less than 5% of the potential workforce gets formal skill training to be employable and stay employable. In order to generate employment, the <keyword id="6387077" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Narendra-Modi-government">Narendra Modi government</keyword> has come up with initiatives like Make in India and Skill India. 
 It seems that these initiatives are paying off and creating job opportunities and scope for the development of the talented workforce in India. The country seems to have added more than double the number of <keyword id="11018" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jobs">jobs</keyword> between July and December 2014 as against the corresponding period of the previous year revealed in an Economic Times report. 
 
According to the ET report, a labour ministry survey, which was released on Wednesday, stated that 2.75 lakh jobs were created in eight key sectors during the six months, registering an increase of 118% over 1.26 lakh jobs created in the year-ago period. 
 
The survey further stated that the number of jobs created in the October-December quarter at 1.17 lakh was, however, less than 1.58 lakh jobs created in the previous quarter or 1.82 lakh jobs created in the April-June quarter. 
 To accelerate job creation in the country, one of the 10-point economic agenda of the <keyword id="1225747" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="BJP-led-NDA-government">BJP-led NDA government</keyword>, the Centre set up a dedicated skill development ministry to focus on imparting skills to millions of youth in the country to make them employable. 
 It is estimated that 12 million youth enter the country's workforce each year and over 5% of this are <keyword id="78342" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Skilled-workforce">skilled workforce</keyword>. Rituparna Chakraborty, president of the <keyword id="807111" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Staffing-Federation">Indian Staffing Federation</keyword>, said, "There is certainly an upswing in the number of jobs created in the country. But that is largely because of improvement in sentiments and the huge optimism around the initiatives of the new government. However, the real test is now and it is time that the government actually took steps to execute some of its labour related initiatives so as to sustain the momentum.” 
 
This survey covered 2,077 sample units across eight selected sectors that included apparels, leather, metals, automobiles, gems &amp; jewellery, transport, IT/BPO and handloom/powerloom. It also revealed, IT/BPOs led the sectors in job creation, with 89,000 new jobs, followed by 79,000 jobs created in textile and apparels and 1,000 in leather sector. 
 
The survey concluded, "While employment of direct workers went up by 1.01 lakh, hiring of contract workers was up by 16,000 during the quarter ended December, 2014 and a significant portion of the workforce were employed in units catering to the domestic market with employment in non-exporting units higher by 82,000 while number of people employed in exporting units up by 35,000 during the October-December quarter." 
(Image: www.lloydengg.com)

​Indian skilled workforce’s ‘Achche din’ have arrived

India’s flourishing start-up culture implies people here are increasingly interested in starting their own venture. But most of them accept defeat even before starting one. “Where am I going to get the funds from?” – the thought plagues their minds and keeps them away from taking that giant leap. Leaving a stable, secure and smooth life in service to jump into a risky business affair is not an easy decision after all. Lack of funds, therefore, is the plight of every new kid on the block wanting to foray into the world of <keyword id="428085" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="start-ups">start-ups</keyword>, more so in India. 
 
With no social security like in the US, difficulty to get loans from banks until one has collateral and with venture capitalists not ready to invest less than Rs 7-8 million, where can Indian start-ups today raise money from? 
 
The answer is: Angel investors or angels as they are better known as. A group of angels invest nearly 2-3 crore in a start-up if they see potential and future proposition in their business plan. 
 But it’s not that simple is what we realized after talking to one of India’s first angels and now a key player in the entrepreneurial eco system, <keyword id="164919" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Padmaja-Ruparel">Padmaja Ruparel</keyword>. 
 
 She is the first to have set up an angel network in India, which is now called the <keyword id="328347" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-Angel-Network">Indian Angel Network</keyword>. It comprises over 350 investors including the who's who of successful entrepreneurs and dynamic CEOs from India and overseas who bet their money on start-ups. She claims of having invested in 20 start-ups out of which merely 2 have failed so far. Business Insider spoke to Padmaja to bring you five things angel investors look for in start-ups before parking their money in them. Here's what they are: 
 
MASS APPEAL OR NICHE? 
 An angel investor is more likely to invest in your company if you are a <keyword id="6357823" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Big-Bazaar">Big Bazaar</keyword> than a <keyword id="667" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ritu-Kumar">Ritu Kumar</keyword> sort of fashion label. That means companies catering to large and high growth market are what angel investors look at, because mass appeal equals to high returns. 
 
“We look at need value over aspiration value. So start-ups catering to the needs of large section of people would be our choice over those who are targeting a niche segment and are more of aspiration value to masses,” says Ruparel. 
 
INNOVATION 
 
Innovation attracts angel investors for sure – be it a product design innovation, improvement in a current product’s performance, in its delivery system or a complete new innovation in what you have for your target audience. It should be a crucial innovation that either solves your customer’s pain point, makes things easier for them or gives them a new experience altogether. 
 
“When mobile phones came, they corrected the reception quality of landline phones and also helped people in moving around easily while talking. It was not only improvement but also value addition for customers. Another example is companies today have outsourced several business processes to BPOs. These third party service providers have created that space for themselves. So, innovation either needs to be something different or a business done differently,” explains Ruparel. 
 
FOCUS ON SETTING UP BUSINESS OR RAISING MONEY? 
 
If you want to build and run a successful business, an angel investor is interested in you, however, it’s not if you simply aim to raise money from them. 
 
“Raising money should be one of the milestones in your journey to establishing a full-fledged business. Only then will investors, who are themselves at high-risk in investing in start-ups, come to you,” says Ruparel. 
 
IDENTITY, OBJECTIVE AND A CLEAR BUSINESS PLAN 
 
Get your basics clear if you seek angel investment. So before pitching, ask yourself “am I a product or a service, what is my differentiator in the market, who is my competition, who is my target audience, am I addressing a pain point of the target customers or am I adding value, what’s is my business proposition.” If you have clear-cut answers to these questions, you are in! 
 
TALENT 
 
A talented and passionate team to drive your start up and make it a success – this is one of the most crucial things you need to impress angels. Ruparel says 75 per cent of her evaluation is usually on the talent of the team and their ability to pull off the plan. 
 
“Start-ups don’t have a large team. The small pool of resource that they have needs to be a talented lot. It’s tricky because talent comes with money and start-ups don’t have the money. That’s a challenge but if you can work it out, you are good to go,” says Ruparel. 
 
“I’d personally prefer an A grade team with a B grade business idea than a B grade team with an A grade idea, because great ideas are only great when they are implemented well and you need a fantastic team to do that,” she concludes. 
 
(Image credits: BCCL)

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