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IPO-bound car search platform <keyword id="1945738" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="cardekho" source="Orion">CarDekho</keyword> Group on Monday said it registered 81% growth in consolidated revenue from operations, increasing to ₹1,598 crore in FY22 from Rs 884 crore in 2021. A $1.2 billion unicorn, the company said it narrowed its losses by 28%, to Rs 246 crore in FY22 from Rs 341 crore in FY21. The company informed that it has ₹1,000 crore in net cash and has a clear path to achieve profitability by FY24. "The stellar business growth is a testament to the trust reposed in CarDekho Group by over 50 million visitors, over 5,000 used car loan agent partners, more than 50,000 insurance partners in over 1,300 cities and more than 3,500 used car dealers as of March 2022," said Amit Jain, Co-founder and CEO, CarDekho Group. The group has multiple brands such as CarDekho, BikeDekho, InsuranceDekho, <keyword id="13718937" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="rupyy" source="Orion">Rupyy</keyword> and <keyword id="32880" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="zigwheels" source="Orion">Zigwheels</keyword>, etc. "We are confident that our homegrown insuretech and fintech solutions, InsuranceDekho and Rupyy, will remain strong growth engines contributing to a significant profit pool," Jain added. In November last year, CarDekho said it aims to infuse $100 million in its fintech entity called Rupyy in a mix of debt and equity. To date, the group has helped issue 16 lakh insurance policies and facilitated the disbursal of over 1 lakh auto loans in FY22. The company added that its current international operations, spread across Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, are gaining significant traction "The group continues to focus on driving profitable growth coming from the benefits of operating leverage, continuous focus on improving unit economics across all our business lines, and implementing technology-led innovations across the platforms," said <keyword id="918804" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mayank-gupta" source="Orion">Mayank Gupta</keyword>, Group Chief Financial Officer. On the IPO plans, <keyword id="6356160" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="gupta" source="Orion">Gupta</keyword> said that public listing will be one of the key milestones in the company's journey. "We are definitely evaluating it subject to requisite approvals and conducive market conditions," said Gupta. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/jsw-group-mulls-foray-into-evs-to-manufacture-4-wheelers/articleshow/96673259.cms">JSW Group mulls foray into EVs, to manufacture 4-wheelers</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/data-breach-reported-by-toyota-kirloskar-motor/articleshow/96674229.cms">Data breach reported by Toyota Kirloskar Motor</a>

CarDekho logs ₹1,600 cr in revenue in FY22, narrows losses by 28%

Finance Minister <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword> called startups the ‘strength of India’ as she pushed “job seekers” to turn “job creators”. In a big move, employees at startups who have stock options will be exempt from tax if they leave the company or sell their shares in the first five years. She proposed the tax relief given to startups. Earlier, a startup with turnover up to ₹25 crores was allowed 100% tax deduction on profits for seven years. The budget also proposed to expand it on two counts that can include older startups and those which are larger too. Here are some top reactions: Neelesh Talathi, CFO, Pepperfry 
 
 <div type="image" title="Neelesh Talathi, CFO Pepperfry" msid="73843354" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Neelesh Talathi, CFO Pepperfry&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 “The Finance Minister has been empathetic about no tax harassment, resolving litigations. Resolving credit issues, app-based working capital solutions and more strategic aspects like National Logistic Policy are all initiatives that address core issues of our MSME sector.” “While these efforts will help boost the economy, it is imperative to arrest slippage in the Fiscal Deficit. To augur investment in our economy an aggressive disinvestment agenda, reforms including that of the government machinery etc. would have been welcome." <keyword id="258109" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Kumar">Mayank Kumar</keyword>, Co-founder and MD of upGrad 
	
 
 <div type="image" title="Mayank Kumar" msid="73843449" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Mayank Kumar, Co-founder and MD of upGrad&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 We at upGrad believe that upskilling is the critical route to steer India towards becoming a $5 trillion economy. But I would have been happier if the Government had taken steps to encourage investment in reskilling among professionals by allowing them a tax-break privilege under Section 80C from the Income Tax Act, 1961, like that of Mutual Funds or Life Insurance." Kunal Bahl, CEO &amp; Co-founder, <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> 
	
 
 <div type="image" title="kunal snapdeal" msid="73843509" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Kunal Bahl, CEO &amp;amp;amp; Co-founder, Snapdeal&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 “We are thankful for accepting the start-up sector's request for ESOP taxation reforms. Also, the higher time &amp; turnover limits for carry forward of losses for start-ups will enable them to optimize growth decisions in formative years." Overall, <keyword id="7836802" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Budget-2020">Budget 2020</keyword> is a thoughtful weaving together of specific proposals to tackle varied issues. Measures to improve access to finance for MSMEs and reduced taxation for the middle-income segment are welcome steps. Boosting physical infrastructure, expanding digital connectivity and growing use of technology in government functioning are important building blocks for the long-term growth of the Indian economy." Vivek Goyal, Co-Founder, PlayShifu 
	
 
 <div type="image" title="play" msid="73843683" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Vivek Goyal, PlayShifu&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 "One of the core reasons behind a successful startup is the ability to hire from a very talented pool and to keep them motivated during the long and hard journey of scaling. This is the reason why startups from hubs like Silicon Valley grow up to become world-renowned and add value to society at large. The tax deferment on ESOPs will prove to be one of the significant factors and levers in motivating growth-enabling employees, a great step in helping startups in India to scale by hiring and retaining them! Reforms like these give more power to the Indian startup hub to make a mark on a global scale and contribute towards India's $5 Trillion vision by 2025." Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, India and APAC, Coursera 
	
 
 <div type="image" title="coursera" msid="73843748" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, India and APAC, Coursera&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 “It is a progressive budget that acknowledges the role technology can play in addressing challenges and improving access to quality higher education and employment opportunities for India's youth. Government's announcements related to the development of emerging technologies like AI, ML, Data Analytics ecosystem in the country and skilling opportunities for the youth, clearly reflect the focus on preparing the youth for jobs of tomorrow." <keyword id="36872" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vamsi-Krishna">Vamsi Krishna</keyword>, CEO &amp; Co-founder, Vedantu 
	
 
 <div type="image" title="Vamsi Krishna, CEO and Co-founder of Vedantu" msid="73843907" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Vamsi Krishna, CEO &amp;amp;amp; Co-founder, Vedantu&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div>





 “The vision of making education accessible to the farthest corner of the country will greatly benefit students. The allocation of budget to hone the skill sets of teachers and educators will positively impact quality learning and thereby provide a boost to the education sector. Additionally the allocation of budget to BharatNet will also have a deep impact on skilling rural India as it has the potential to open up online learning to students and professionals from remote villages. With better bandwidth internet, a qualified teacher located in a metro city can impart LIVE online classes to students in small town India, where there’s a dearth of quality education. Technology will soon disrupt the entire concept of the classroom and make it an extremely personalized, one to one teaching-learning experience tailored for each mind.” Ola Mobility Institute “The clean-air fund of Rs 4,400 crores to be provided in the form of incentives to be notified by MoEFCC should consider measures to link the incentives to the electrification of vehicles and associated infrastructure such as battery-swapping and charging." Padmaja Ruparel, Founding Partner, IAN Fund “The budget 2020 represents a big win for the country’s startup ecosystem. The Government has paid heed to our concerns and rolled out reforms like a 5 year tax holiday for ESOP. This positive sentiment is evident in the Government’s drive to roll out “no tax harassment” policies along with the establishment of the investment clearance cell for assisting entrepreneurs in India." See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/startup-esops-to-be-non-taxable-for-five-years/articleshow/73824551.cms">Good news for startup employees - your ESOPs won’t be taxed for five years</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/ikea-furniture-and-jimmy-choo-shoes-will-get-costlier-after-budget-2020/articleshow/73841697.cms?src=hp_latest">IKEA furniture and Jimmy Choo shoes will get costlier after budget 2020</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/budget/news/new-education-schemes-reforms-policies-in-budget-2020/articleshow/73836166.cms?src=hp_latest">Budget 2020: Indian education sector will now get students and funds from foreign lands</a>

This is how top startup founders reacted to budget 2020

<keyword id="351" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Yuvraj-Singh">Yuvraj Singh</keyword> means business, whether on or off the field. Online education services marketplace <keyword id="1066163" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Edukart">EduKart</keyword>.com has raised $1 million (about Rs 6.4 crore) in a fresh round of funding led by cricketer Yuvraj Singh's newly-launched <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> fund <keyword id="2797838" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="YouWeCan-Ventures">YouWeCan Ventures</keyword> and United Finsec, the family office of the Holostik Group. 
 
The Delhi-based startup will use the proceeds from the latest round of fundraising, which also saw Dave McClure-led seed stage accelerator and fund 500 Startups invest in the venture, to ramp up its team, marketing and technology while bringing more courses and course providers on to the platform. 
 
"India's education industry continues to be an extremely fragmented market. We are hoping to provide students with far greater depth through EduKart," said Ishan Gupta, co-founder and chief executive of the company. 
 The company's existing group of angel investors also participated in the latest round of equity financing. The group includes Vijay Shekhar Sharma, chairman and managing director of mobile commerce and recharge venture Paytm, Patni scions Amit and Arihant Patni, and <keyword id="2913729" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Manish-Kheterpal">Manish Kheterpal</keyword>, the former director of private equity fund Providence Equity Partners. 
 
Till date, EduKart has raised angel funding of about $2 million (Rs 12.8 crore). 
 
Yuvraj Singh said, "Focus on education is also a must in today's cut-throat competitive environment. EduKart can really become your trusted partner in making the right choices." 
According to industry data, India's education sector is pegged at about $60 billion (Rs 3.8 lakh crore). But the total amount of foreign direct investments inflow into the sector stood at just $1.07 billion (Rs 6,848 crore) between April 2000 and January 2015, according to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion. 
 Edukart, which was founded in 2011 by the unrelated duo of Stanford Graduate School of Business alumni Ishan Gupta and IIM Kozhikode graduate <keyword id="918804" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Mayank-Gupta">Mayank Gupta</keyword>, is now targeting listing of 10,000 courses and 500 course providers on the marketplace. Mayank Gupta, however, is no longer with the company. 
 
The startup currently has 2,000 courses listed on its platform and it works with over 90 education organisations including coaching centres, universities and institutions such as Indian School of Business and Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. 
"Education spending is on the rise among the tech-savvy Indian middle class. I believe that the online distribution of education products and services will have significant growth in the coming years," said Pankaj Jain, partner at 500 Startups. 
 
EduKart is targeting revenue of $8-10 million (up to Rs 64 crore) and looking to announce its first profit by the end of this fiscal.

Yuvraj's Youwecan Ventures invests in EduKart

<ul><li>When considering the <keyword id="47201" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="income" source="Orion">income</keyword> of minors, distinguish between two forms of income - earned and unearned.</li><li><keyword id="19679475" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="earned-income" source="Orion">Earned income</keyword> isn’t clubbed with the parent’s income.</li><li><keyword id="6306327" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="unearned-income" source="Orion">Unearned income</keyword> offers certain deductions to the parent. </li></ul>12-year old Mayank has become the youngest child to win ₹1 crore at the ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 15’ in its ‘KBC Juniors Week.’ When talented kids like Mayank win prize money in contests and shows, how is the income taxed? Also, how is other income of a child taxed? We take a look. How the income of a <keyword id="43583" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="minor" source="Orion">minor</keyword> is taxed Income earned by a minor child from activities involving their skills, talent, or specialised knowledge, such as winnings from contests like KBC, is generally subject to taxation. “According to section 115BB of the Act, minors are required to pay tax on this income at a flat rate of 30% on a gross basis. Additionally, there's a health and education cess of 4 % on the basic tax liability,” says Abhishek Soni, CEO, Tax2Win.in, a tax filing platform. The entity that disbursed this income would have already deducted tax from the prize money at a flat rate of 30%, plus health and education cess of 4%. Importantly, no tax deduction or exemption is allowed against this type of income for minors. Distinguishing between ‘earned’ and ‘unearned’ income When considering the income of minors, it is important to distinguish between two forms of income - earned and unearned income. Earned income: If the child earns income through prizes in competitions, shows, sports, or engages in personal business must be treated as earned income. “Basically, earned income refers to the money a minor earns through manual work or by applying their skills, talents, specialised knowledge, or experience. Earned income will not be clubbed with parent’s income. It will be taxed in the hands of the minor,” says Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO, Clear, a fintech company. Unearned income: Under the <keyword id="6354751" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="income-tax" source="Orion">Income Tax</keyword> Act, if a minor receives funds as gifts or earns interest through savings, fixed deposits, or investments made in their name by parents, relatives, or friends, it's categorised as unearned income. This includes interest accrued from savings accounts or investments in the minor's name facilitated by parents. “According to section 64(1A) of the Act, any such income received by a minor is included in the parent's income, known as "clubbing of income”, says Soni. Here, there can be two scenarios. Minor's income up to ₹1,500/-year: If the minor's annual income remains within ₹1,500, it won't be added to the parent's income. Section 10(32) allows for tax exemption on income up to ₹1,500 per child, with a maximum of two minor children. This exempted income can include amounts transferred by parents, grandparents, or any other person. Minor's income exceeding ₹1,500/year: If the minor's income exceeds ₹1,500 annually, it will be clubbed with the higher-earning parent's income for tax purposes. However, a tax exemption of ₹1,500 per child per year, up to a maximum of two children, is available to parents. This exemption is claimed under section 10(32) of the Income Tax Act. However, the parent claiming this deduction on the minor's clubbed income must opt for the old tax regime; it's not applicable in the new tax regime. Tax implications when income of a minor is invested Parents can invest in bank fixed deposits (FDs) or various post office schemes in the name of their minor child. When it comes to investing in mutual funds or equities in the name of a minor there is no restriction. However, this process usually requires offline procedures, including physical documentation. “Parents cannot make these investments online on behalf of their children. For investing in equities, a parent can open a demat account specifically in the name of the minor. This account allows for the purchase and holding of shares in the minor's name,” say Soni. Income from any such investment falls under the category of unearned income and is hence taxed in the way mentioned above. Does a child need to file income tax returns? A minor can have a PAN card. The parents or guardian can apply for a PAN card on behalf of the minor child. “If the minor child’s tax returns are being filed independently, he will need to have a PAN card along with other details like bank account, mobile number, e-mail ID etc,” says Gupta. So, if a minor generates income from sources like winnings in competitions, performances, sports, or through personal business, self-employment, or part-time work, it qualifies as earned income. This income remains separate from the parent's or guardian's earnings. The minor must file an income tax Return (ITR) and must obtain a PAN card for this purpose.

Tax implications on income of a minor – What every parent should know

<ul><li>The event focuses on Web3, D2C, metaverse, SaaS, in addition to conversations around corporate governance and building resilient businesses.</li><li>The event will include over 50 speakers, over 20 investors and has more than 20 sessions that include keynotes, masterclasses, panel discussions and exclusive lunch table sessions.</li><li>The 2-day event is spread across <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword>’s leading sStartup hubs – Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru.</li></ul>Dubbed as India's largest and most definitive startup event for tech entrepreneurs, TiE Delhi-NCR’s India Internet Day (iDay) is all set to commence. The event will be held at two different locations and nation’s leading startup hubs. It is slated for September 1-2 in Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR. The theme for iDay 2022 is ‘Riding the wave: Building Winning Businesses Today’. Over 100 key industry stakeholders, ace investors, unicorn founders will be a part of conversations revolving around building resilient businesses, trends in D2C, Web3, metaverse, SaaS, crypto and beyond. Now in its 11th edition, the iconic India Internet Day has been running successfully for over a decade, curated by key leaders from the Indian startup ecosystem. iDay will showcase best practices, exciting opportunities and defining future trends. Expected attendees include tech pioneers, innovators, ideators, investors, mentors, incubators, accelerators, evangelists and budding entrepreneurs. The conference plays host to in-depth sessions, engaging keynotes by leading founders, investors and market experts of the digital world, in addition to exclusive lunch table sessions. “It has been an honour to co-chair this edition of India Internet Day, which has always been the premier event for tech entrepreneurs. The importance of this platform is even more amplified now, when founders need to learn from one another on how to build enduring, resilient businesses. Like they say - when the going gets tough, the tough get building,” said Mayak Khanduja, partner, elevation capital &amp; co-chair, India Internet Day. The exceptional line up for the event includes institution builders, leading tech entrepreneurs, nation’s best investors and policy makers including Deepak Bagla, Invest India; Mayank Khanduja, Elevation Capital; Rajan Anandan, Sequoia India &amp; SEA; Deep Kalra, MakeMyTrip; Mohit Bhatnagar, Sequoia India; Mukul Arora, Elevation Capital; Kiran Vasireddy, Kalaari Capital; Ashwini Asokan, Vue.ai, Blox.ai; Upasana Taku, Mobikwik; Ravi Chhabria, NetApp India; Gaurav Gupta, Squareboat; Ashish Hemrajani, BookMyShow; Ashish Singhal, CoinSwitch; Vidit Aatrey, founder &amp; CEO, Meesho &amp; many more. “Over the past decade, India Internet Day has emerged as a leading platform showcasing India’s internet growth story. After a resounding debut in 2012, it has grown from being relevant to being indispensable for stakeholders across the ecosystem. iDay hosts the entire gamut of the internet mobile industry in India like no other forum,” said Geetika Dayal, executive director, TiE Delhi-NCR. “This year iDay focuses on building robust, resilient &amp; future ready companies which can survive &amp; succeed in the midst of headwinds. We are happy to bring iDay to Bengaluru in collaboration with TiE Bangalore this year,” added Dayal. The conference is supported by <keyword id="3003094" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="startup-india" source="Orion">Startup India</keyword>, Elevation Capital, Sequoia Capital, Microsoft, AWS, Squareboat, Netapp Excellarator, Kalaari Capital, Client Associates, Google Cloud, Kalaari and NTT Data-TiE Pune. As a commitment towards being a responsible organization TiE Delhi-NCR is continuing to build on its initiatives to adopt sustainability and make its events truly sustainable. As a first formal step towards being carbon neutral, it is tracking its carbon emissions for the India Internet Day and adopting steps to reduce emissions, waste generated and water wastage. India Internet Day 2022 is going to officially be a carbon neutral event. All the emissions offset undertaken, shall be published for public knowledge, post third party validation. About TiE Delhi-NCR’s India Internet Day From its inception #iDay has set out to be a leadership conference that looks to set conversations around vision 2025 for the industry. It’s one of India’s most exciting gatherings of the internet community designed to deliver powerful content and showcase the possibilities, which the internet holds for the present and the future. The conference sees participation from all major and relevant technology companies from across the country. India Internet Day 2020 co-chairs include – Mayank Khanduja &amp; Ashwini Asokan along with the team Abhishek Gupta, Alok Mittal, Arvind Jha, Deep Kalra, Dev Khare, Gautam Gandhi, Karan Mohla, Latika Pai, Miten Sampat, Prasanto K Roy, Rajan Anandan, Rajat Garg, <keyword id="262068" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rajesh-sawhney" source="Orion">Rajesh Sawhney</keyword>, Ravi Gururaj, <keyword id="8713499" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="shereen-bhan" source="Orion">Shereen Bhan</keyword>, <keyword id="3380503" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="suchita-salwan" source="Orion">Suchita Salwan</keyword> and Vani Kola – who are the torchbearers who put together the conference that has emerged as the voice of India’s internet industry. About TiE Delhi-NCR TiE Delhi-NCR is among the most active and vibrant chapters across the vast TiE network. In the last two decades, it has continuously taken the lead in creating an increasingly positive ecosystem for entrepreneurs and investors. With a strong mentor support base, marquee events and focused workshops throughout the year it has emerged as one of the most valuable platforms supporting entrepreneurship, nationally. TiE Delhi-NCR conducts a wide range of programmes to help entrepreneurs. These include TiEcon, Startup Expo, TiE Institute, TiE Young Entrepreneurs along with Special Interest Groups (SIGs) across sectors.

India’s largest event for tech entrepreneurs, TiE Delhi-NCR’s India InternetDay - now connects two startup hubs

<ul><li><keyword id="404121" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="clear">Clear</keyword>, formerly known as <keyword id="2763190" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cleartax">ClearTax</keyword>, is planning to hire across verticals like tech, product and marketing.</li><li>The company is reportedly in talks with Tiger Global to raise $100 million, at a valuation of $800 million.</li><li>The company claims to facilitate 10% of India’s B2B invoices, with a trade value of $300 billion, annually.</li></ul>Fintech software-as-a-service (<keyword id="6395918" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="SAAS">SaaS</keyword>) company Clear, formerly known as ClearTax, has been going aggressive about its growth plans since the start of 2021. It started with the rebranding, to launching of new products, to the recent acquisition of yBANQ. But this plan does not end here. In order to accelerate growth and become a full stack financial services provider, Clear would be focusing on two core strategies — hiring and acquisition. The company plans to hire more than 100 employees across verticals to aid its organic growth, the company’s cofounder Srivatsan Chari told Business Insider in an exclusive interaction. The hiring would range across leadership roles, mid-senior positions to junior roles. According to the company’s website, there are vacancies in marketing, finance, sales, human resources, engineering, design, product, strategy, category, support and legal roles. Earlier in January, Clear on-boarded former MedLife executive <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/paranth-thiruvengadam-2567719/?originalSubdomain=in">Paranth Thiruvengadam </a>as chief technology officer (CTO) of the company. Since then, the company has made several changes across product and technology teams. Key changes at Clear in the last six months: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Paranth Thiruvengadam </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">CTO </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Akhil Bansal </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Product </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Naveen Kumar Jain </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director of Engineering </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Pranesh Vittal </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director of Engineering </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Vinish Varghese </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Design </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ankit Saxena </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Head of Operations </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amit Gupta </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">National Sales Head, Enterprise </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sandeep Singh </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Senior Director of Product </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Esha Savla </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Customer Experience </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ankur Agrawal </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Strategy </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Mayank Parihar </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:0pt 2pt 0pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Director, Business Finance </td></tr></tbody></table> On the acquisition side of the plan, it has already acquired Y Combinator-backed business-to-business (B2B) payments startup yBANQ to enter the B2B payments and credit market. There is more to come in the near future. Chari told Business Insider that they are currently building several products, particularly for small and medium enterprises (SME) domain and enterprises, in-house. However, they will be relying on acquisitions to enter more niches and segments. “There are capabilities or certain industries, like payments, where you want a lot of experience or technologies. So that's basically where acquisitions come in, so it is going to be a multi-pronged strategy. We are going to build and we will be acquiring also to just leapfrog our growth.” — Clear cofounder Srivatsan Chari told Business Insider in an exclusive interaction. Clear’s product journey from e-filling to full stack payments system Clear was founded by Archit Gupta, Ankit Solanki and Srivatsan Chari in 2011 as ClearTax. The company started its journey as a fintech startup that offers solutions for income tax filing online. The company witnessed its first surge in 2016, when the Indian government made e-filing mandatory. This was also the year the Indian government introduced the Goods and Service Tax (GST) that came into force on July 1 of 2017. Clear made the decision to expand their business offering, by providing tax-filing services to enterprises. The company offers solutions, including GST and e-filing bill software, along with business incorporation and compliance services for enterprises. It had also launched a wealth management platform for tax saving and mutual funds in January 2020. The Bengluru-based startup, across its verticals, caters to four groups — consumer, small medium business (SMB), enterprises and tax experts such as chartered accountants (CA) or accountants. "We have evolved from income tax compliance to full-stack compliance, invoicing, and financial serices firm. We cater to not only individual taxpayers, but also businesses, tax experts, and accountants. Today, we process about 10% of India's B2B invoices, over $300 billion of trade value every year, and contribute to 10% of India's e-invoice generation," Clear founder and chief executive (CEO) Archit Gupta told news agency PTI in a previous conversation. Upcoming fundraise still on the table The company currently has a customer base of 5 million Indian taxpayers, over one lakh tax practitioners, six lakh small businesses and 2,000 large businesses as well as brands. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Year </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Round </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Investors </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2014 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Undisclosed </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sumon Sadhu </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2016 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$1.3 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Max Levchin, Scott Banister </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2016 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$2 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Founders Fund, Sequoia Capital </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2016 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$12 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Elevation Capital </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2018 </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">$50 million </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.9375pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.9375pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Composite Capital Management </td></tr></tbody></table> The company has raised $65 million of equity funding from marquee investors like PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, Max Levchin, Composite Capital, <keyword id="122716" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia-Capital">Sequoia Capital</keyword>, and <keyword id="161314" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SAIF-Partners">SAIF Partners</keyword>. It was the first Indian startup to have raised funding from Y Combinator. Clear is now said to be in talks with Tiger Global to raise a <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/funding/tiger-global-may-lead-cleartax-funding-round-at-750-850-million-valuation/articleshow/81620600.cms">$100 million </a>funding round, at a valuation of $750 million-$800 million. The company’s co-founder Chari referred to these reports as media speculations, however, he also added that the company is in talks with certain undisclosed investors. Chari did not share any more information on the potential fundraising or valuation. "Conversation with people happen, but we don't have any news to share at this point," Chari told Business Insider. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/rolex-rings-ipo-last-day-for-subscription-allotment-on-august-4/articleshow/84864899.cms">Today is the last day of Rolex Rings’ ₹731 crore IPO with a price band of ₹880-900</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/nasa-has-delayed-boeings-spaceship-flight-after-a-russian-module-pushed-the-space-station-out-of-position/articleshow/84876573.cms">NASA has delayed Boeing's spaceship flight after a Russian module pushed the space station out of position</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/googles-sundar-pichai-has-teased-the-whitechapel-chipset/articleshow/84853916.cms">Google teases Whitechapel chipset that may power Google Pixel 6 devices</a>

Clear(Tax) is planning for major acquisitions as it looks to 'leapfrog' its growth

<ul><li>Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on February 1, 2022.</li><li>Struggling with high inflation and tepid rural demand, FMCG companies were hopeful for some positive news, steps and reforms that would help boost consumption in the economy.</li><li>However, with no changes in personal tax, there isn’t for hope for a drastic change in consumption and demand.</li><li>At the same time, there are enough subsidies to support the rural areas of the country.</li><li>Here’s what leading FMCG companies have to say about the Union Budget 2022-2023.</li></ul>The Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitaraman presented the Union Budget for 2022-2023 on February 01, 2022. The government announced that 5% of the annual collections under the Universal Service Obligation Fund will be allocated to improve broadband and mobile service penetration in rural India. This move will allow Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brands and all businesses to cast their net a little wider in rural areas via mobile services. The government’s plan to expand the National Highway network by 25,000 KM, the Gati Shakti plan to strengthen seven engines of infrastructure, the launch of 100 new cargo terminals, will further open up new roads for brands and improve logistics efficiency. It will also create new job opportunities in rural areas, improving consumption and demand. The finance minister also mentioned that the government intends to pay ₹2.7 lakh crore worth of minimum support price (MSP) direct payments to wheat and paddy farmers. The government is also looking to deploy drones for agriculture monitoring, crop assessment, digitisation of land records and spraying of insect pesticides. These initiatives will help boost rural incomes and aid the growth of FMCG companies. The Union Budget aims to facilitate ease of doing business and give a push to consumption by providing employment opportunities, improving infrastructure, focusing on technological advancement and accessibility. Here’s how these subsidies for rural India will pave the way for FMCG growth: Mayank Shah, Senior Category Head, Parle Products: First of all, putting money in the hands of consumers really helps, so they go out and buy products. So that was more on the front of ensuring that the demand remained robust given that we have gone through two years of pandemic. That was something that industry expected, either by tax cut, or by increasing the slabs tax brackets or by probably increasing the standard deduction limit. Those were the things that we expected but not much has been done there. However, on the second front of job creation, the government has done a lot. The budget talks about seven engines driven by PM GatiShakti that will definitely boost employment and increase the number of jobs. The budget also talked about 60 new jobs to be created in the next five years. That is relatively a longer process compared to the first expectation which was putting money in the hands of consumers, which would have yielded immediate results. A 20,000 crore boost in transportation infrastructure will definitely help in terms of job creation going forward. Another thing the government would have ensured on the rural front was increased allocation to MGNREGA or direct benefit transfer. In Fact they chose the other way. In terms of rural demand, when you're talking about putting money in the hands of rural consumers by increased MSP and increased MSP allocation, it is also going to have an impact on the inflation because if you increase the MSP, that eventually is going to increase the cost of agri products, primary inputs in food processing. So procurement is going to be increased. The current challenge ahead of most FMCG companies, which is managing inflation, probably would be aggravated, so I consider it to be neutral. Probably placing this money in the hands of consumers through MGNREGA or DBT would have ensured demand to remain robust. Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India: Reviving economic growth, increasing consumption, and fostering investment to fuel post-pandemic growth have been key objectives for the government, and the <keyword id="12134566" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-budget-2022" source="Orion">Union Budget 2022</keyword> reflects this very intent. This year's Union Budget lays forth a vision for India at 100 years. The Government is leading from the front by raising public sector spending to keep the economic recovery on track. Digitization combined with infrastructural creation will accelerate economic development, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship enhance living standards while keeping sustainability at its core. The increased outlay for PM Gati Shakti projects for multi-modal connectivity including 100 new railways logistics hubs coupled with steps like enhancing local oilseed production, extending the last date for starting production for new manufacturing units, encouraging alternate cropping will aid growth of the FMCG sector and further strengthen Govt’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Saugata Gupta, MD and CEO, Marico Limited: With this Union Budget, the government has laid out a growth oriented, future focused blueprint for India. By prioritising job creation, infrastructure growth and strengthening digital capabilities while making ‘inclusive development’ and ‘financing of investments’ two of the key focal points of the Budget, the government is successfully laying the groundwork for faster financial inclusion and expansion of the credit ecosystem. It has undertaken some key initiatives targeted towards credit growth, farmer welfare, improving the health and education infrastructure, digital currencies and start-ups which will benefit young aspirational Indians. If executed well, the budget will trigger the virtuous cycle of economic growth and employment creation, leading to momentum in growth. I believe that the budget has several inclusive measures and policies that balance consumer needs with industry requirements. It encapsulates the spirit of an Atmanirbhar Bharat and takes strong steps towards fulfilling that vision. Venkatesh Vijaraghavan, Director &amp; CEO - FMCG, CavinKare: We welcome the futuristic, investment-led, growth-oriented Budget with a strong impetus to infrastructure and capability building, which would boost GDP, Atmanirbartha, economic stability and job creation, thereby reaping demographic dividend. Ghanshyam Khandelwal, Chairman, BL Agro: The budget was as expected. We didn't anticipate the industry to take centre stage because several schemes for the FMCG sector have already been implemented in recent years. However, the mention of a rationalised strategy to improve domestic oilseed production and minimise reliance on imports was welcomed. A more promising statement was the package that centers on farmers adopting appropriate fruits and vegetables, as well as proper harvesting practices. The move will go a long way towards uplifting the food processing sector. Harsha V. Agarwal, Director, Emami: A very forward-looking budget with focus on capital expenditure which should drive growth. The ease of business in India has also been prioritised. So over all the budget pulls no surprises and focuses on growth of the Indian economy. Amrinder Singh, Director, Bonn Group of Industries: As the social security benefit of state and central government employees has been enhanced in this Union budget 2022, we are expecting that it will spur the consumption. The government has put money in consumer’s hands and ensured that the demand is not getting affected by increasing the tax deduction limit by 14 percent of the state government employees. Vikram Agarwal, Managing Director, Cornitos: The Union Budget 2022-23 is a progressive budget, our Government is concentrating on infrastructure, employment generation, and future developments. This appears to be a growth-oriented budget as efforts are being made to reduce compliance burdens and improve ease of doing business. The Budget has given an extension of the ECLGS Scheme which would provide much-needed help to the MSME sector especially the hospitality and related food processing segments. The past few years have been tumultuous for the hospitality segment and I am hopeful that this initiative gives the industry a much-needed boost.

Union Budget 2022-2023: Here’s how FMCG brands reacted to the budget

New Delhi, Apr 20 () India on Monday started a staggered exit from the world's biggest lockdown as curbs on economic activity in rural areas were lifted but business remained sporadic as some companies decided to wait for the complete lifting of restrictions on goods and people's movement.The government had last week allowed industries in rural areas and farmers as well as makers of information technology hardware to resume operations as it looked to revive stalled economic activity that suffered an estimated Rs 7-8 lakh crore of loss.FMCG companies, like many other industries, had to face major hassles of supply chain disruption and fall in available labourers following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdown imposed to curb its spread, are looking to maximise production with easing of curbs.Major auto OEMs, however, are looking to restart operations in a phased manner only post-May 3 when the extended lockdown is scheduled to be lifted. This because functional retail and vendor network are still absent, blocking cash flows.Work from home is expected to continue for employees in the information technology and business process management industry for some more time as many states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana have decided to continue with full lockdown without any relaxations.The three states house a sizeable number of IT-BPM firms.The government on its part looked at public sector firms for anchoring the biggest part of economic revival. To begin with, state-owned oil firms have decided to resume as many as 511 projects involving over Rs 42,000 crore of investment with immediate effect.Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), Indian Oil Corp (IOC), GAIL, Oil India Ltd and six other public sector firms identified projects that either in rural areas or have in situ labour for the resumption of work, oil ministry sources said. These projects will involve Rs 2,210 crore of payout to suppliers and labourers in the first month and generate around 7 crore man-days of employment.With the government allowing manufacturing-related relaxations in certain green zones starting Monday, FMCG companies hoped this will help them indirectly in restarting activities in industrial clusters. But, full ramp-up of the supply chain may take 30-40 days, once the lockdown is fully lifted.Consumer goods companies are expecting to ramp up production capacity to 60-65 per cent from current levels of 40-50 per cent.While the government has permitted restarting construction activities, real estate developers continue to face problems particularly over the availability of labourers.Most migrant labourers had returned to their native state following the imposition of nationwide lockdown on March 25. The government has not yet started the inter-state movement of labourers and so companies continue to face the problem.Companies like Patanjali, Ruchi Soya, Dabur and Parle Products that have been operating their plants in a scaled-down manner during the first phase of lockdown with limited workforce suggested giving manufacturing permission to their several suppliers, which are mostly MSMEs and fall within the city radius, as it is affecting the smooth functioning of the supply chain."Factories of Patanjali and Ruchi Soya were operational even during the lockdown because we operate in food and essentials. However, there were issues regarding transportation and supply chain, etc during the lockdown, which I expect to ease out slowly," Yoga Guru Ramdev told .According to him, Patanjali witnessed almost two to three-fold jump in the demand for its several products and expected that the supply of such products would be increased in the market going forward.Similarly, Dabur India Executive Director-Operations Shahrukh Khan said, "Almost all of Dabur's factories are operational today, producing a range of ayurvedic medicines, hygiene products like hand sanitizers, hand wash, and daily essentials, with strict implementation of SOPs for social distancing at offices, workplace, factories, proper sanitization of buildings, factories".He further said, "We are now trying to maximize production, given the supply chain constraints, and material and manpower availability".Parle Products Category Head Mayank Shah said that food was exempted and factories were open but at a reduced capacity of around 40-45 per cent following the restraint imposed by the government on the number of workforce.IT companies are still awaiting clarity from a few other states to determine the future course of action.Industry body Nasscom had advised members that where state-specific approvals come in, members should look at a staggered approach and start with 15-20 per cent workforce in the first phase, and subsequently scale it up depending on the situation on the ground."The home ministry guidelines had allowed IT-ITeS companies to operate with up to 50 per cent strength from April 20 and we had suggested member companies to take a staggered approach and start with 15-20 per cent workforce in phase I, and then increase it depending on the on-ground situation," Nasscom Senior Vice-President and Chief Strategy Officer Sangeeta Gupta told .However, states also have their own rules that have to be followed for allowing IT companies to open offices, she said, adding that Uttar Pradesh and Delhi have already clarified that no such activity will be allowed."Also, IT companies are just settling into the work from the home mechanism, they have taken requisite permissions from clients for this, and so I do not think they will be in a hurry to get employees back to offices and risk their health," Gupta said.About 90 per cent of IT employees and 70-80 per cent of BPO and small and medium businesses in the sector are estimated to be working from home to ensure business continuity. KRH SR MBI RKL ANZ BAL

Lockdown curbs ease but business activity remains sporadic

<keyword id="84065" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="FMCG-companies">FMCG companies</keyword> including <keyword id="6369697" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Godrej">Godrej</keyword> and Parle backed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate bracket between 16% and 18%. 
 The second <keyword id="3680839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="gst-council-meeting">GST Council meeting</keyword> failed to reach a consensus on the <keyword id="6412918" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="GST-rate">GST rate</keyword> but decided on compensating states for any losses. 
 
"As long as daily consumption and mass products fall under lower slabs, GST will be beneficial and spur growth, and is much needed,” Saugata Gupta, managing director at consumer staples firm Marico, told ET. 
 
Experts say GST rate at 17% or 18% will spur growth and reduce warehousing and logistical requirements. 
 
"Our main concern is the tussle about different rates between central and state governments. We are also unsure on what are the exemptions. Yet, we feel that a 16-18% tax bracket would be positive for our industry,” said Mayank Shah, deputy marketing manager at biscuit maker Parle Products. 
 
Meanwhile, Godrej Consumer Products managing director Vivek Gambhir told ET the company is awaiting clarity on applicable GST and is yet to ascertain their impact on categories. "If the GST rate for FMCG is above 22%-23%, it could be inflationary and may further delay the recovery of the sector. Alternatively, a rate of around 18% would spur growth. Consumers would consequently benefit from the lower tax rates and we could witness an uptick in demand,” he said. 
 
The next GST council meeting is scheduled for first week of November.

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