With 10 branches, first small finance bank kicks off operations

The bank’s business is projected to increase four-fold from Rs 3,000 crore as on March 31, 2016 to Rs 12,000 crore and branch network to 216 by March 2021.

Jalandhar-based Capital Small Finance Bank Ltd, India’s first small finance bank, has commenced operations. The bank kicked off operations with ten branches.

In the current fiscal, the bank would consolidate in Punjab by adding 29 branches. The bank’s business is projected to increase four-fold from Rs 3,000 crore as on March 31, 2016 to Rs 12,000 crore and branch network to 216 by March 2021.

Capital Small Finance Bank has been set up by converting the erstwhile Capital Local Area Bank Ltd. “Consequently, the bank ceases to exist with effect from April 24, 2016. It was one of the 10 applicants to be given in-principle approval for setting up SFBs as announced by the Reserve Bank in its press release dated September 16, 2015,” the RBI said.

Ten selected applicants include Au Financiers (Jaipur), Capital Local Area Bank (Jalandhar), Disha Microfin (Ahmedabad), Equitas Holdings (Chennai), ESAF Microfinance and Investments (Chennai), Janalakshmi Financial Services (Bengaluru), RGVN (Northeast) Microfinance (Guwahati), Suryoday Micro Finance (Navi Mumbai), Ujjivan Financial Services (Bengaluru) and Utkarsh Micro Finance (Varanasi).

The small finance bank will primarily undertake basic banking activities of acceptance of deposits and lending to unserved and underserved sections including small business units, small and marginal farmers, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.

There won’t be any restrictions in the area of operations of small finance banks. The minimum paid-up equity capital for small finance banks shall be Rs 100 crore.

The promoter’s minimum initial contribution to the paid-up equity capital of such a small finance bank should at least be 40 per cent and gradually brought down to 26 per cent within 12 years from the date of commencement of business of the bank.

The RBI had granted approval to 11 entities for launching payments banks in August 2015. It had given approval to IDFC and Bandhan to start universal banks last year.

Meanwhile, microfinance player Ujjivan Financial Services, which got the RBI nod for a small finance bank, will hit capital markets on Thursday to raise nearly Rs 885 crore through an initial public offering.

Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance to raise Rs 2,500 crore this fiscal

"The company is targeting to raise Rs 2,500 cr in FY16 through a mix of debt and deposits as part of the fund raising plans this year.

CHENNAI: City-based Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance, the home finance subsidiary of Sundaram Finance Ltd, is looking at raising funds worth Rs 2,500 crore this fiscal as part of its expansion plans.

"The company is targeting to raise Rs 2,500 crore in FY16 through a mix of debt and deposits as part of the fund raising plans this year. National Housing Bank has sanctioned a funding of Rs 1,000 crore," Sundaram BNP Paribas said in a statement.

The mortgage lender eyes Rs 100-crore business from the rural housing segment during the current financial year, Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance Managing Director Srinivas Acharya said.

The smart cities project announced yesterday could be a trigger to aid the recovery in the real estate sector that has been sluggish for the last couple of years, he added.

Meanwhile, Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance has registered a net profit of Rs 146.42 crore for the year ended March 31, 2015.

The Chennai-based company had registered a net profit of Rs 150.73 crore in the previous fiscal.

"The figures are not comparable as there was a deferred tax liability on special reserves, introduced for the first time in financial year 2015, to the tune of Rs 9.59 crore", Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance said in a statement.

On the aquisition of housing finance companies, Acharya said, "The company added business close to Rs 25 crore through acquisition of home loan portfolios of housing finance companies and through securitisation in the second half of last year."

"We will continue to explore opportunities in the area of acquiring home loan portfolios of HFCs. The company believes there is a potential to acquire home loan portfolio of HFCs to the tune of Rs 100 crore this year," he said.

On the outlook for the financial year 2015-16, Acharya said, "...in the short to medium term we may not see a rapid recovery in the real estate space. For the moment, we are adopting a wait and watch approach on the growth prospects for the year."

Sundaram BNP Paribas Home Finance is a 50.1 and 49.9 per cent joint venture between Sundaram Finance and France-based BNP Paribas.

Income from operations for the financial year ending March 31, 2015, grew to Rs 954 crore from Rs 887 crore registered during the corresponding period last year.

Loans under management stood at Rs 7,486 crore as on March 31, 2015. The total home loan disbursements for the financial year ending March 31, 2015 declined to Rs 1,939 crore from Rs 2,493 crore registered during same period of previous year.

Sundaram Home Finance crossed more than 50,000 customers in FY 2015. The company has 108 offices across the country, the statement said.

Roposo bags $5 million from Bertelsmann India Investments

NEW DELHI: Relevant E-solutions, which owns and operates fashion discovery app Roposo, has bagged $5 million (about Rs 33 crore) from from Bertelsmann India Investments (BII), the strategic investment arm of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann SE.

The latest round is part of the Gurgaon-based startup's $15 million (about Rs 100 crore) Series B round, which was first reported in August last year, and confirmed by the company, and has been led by its existing backer, Tiger Global Management, which has pumped in $10 million this time around.

While the terms of the investment were not disclosed, Roposo, which also counts early-stage venture capital firm India Quotient as an investor, has raised about $21 million (about Rs 140 crore) in external funding till date.

"While Tiger Global had committed to invest the entire $15 million, we wanted to bring in a new investor that would share the same philosophy as us, and support our growth, and had set aside about $5 million accordingly. We are fortunate to have Bertelsmann on board as a partner," said Avinash Saxena, co-founder of Roposo.

Seeded by Flipkart Co-founder and Chief Executive Binny Bansal, the less-than two year-old startup was founded by IIT Delhi alumnus, Saxena, Mayank Bhangadia and Kaushal Shubhank in 2014. Last year, Tiger Global had led a $5 million Series A round in the company.

The founders also confirmed that Bansal has exited his position in the company last year, as had another early investor in the venture, 5ideas Startup Superfuel.

"We see tremendous promise in Roposo as a social network and as a business model. With an extremely strong founding team, it has managed to capture immense mindshare in India within a fairly short span since inception. With leaders such as multi-channel network StyleHaul in the US and social network Mogujie in China in the Bertelsmann family, we are excited to now work with Roposo to make it the leading fashion destination in India," said Pankaj Makkar, managing director, BII.

The startup will use the proceeds from the round towards strengthening its technology, expanding its team, bolstering the product and enhancing the Roposo community.

"The company is growing at a tremendous pace. We are building a world-class product team, and expect to make some really interesting hiring-related announcements over the course of the year," Saxena said.

Roposo, which claims to have 2.5 million installations of its app till date, is targeting having 7-8 million active users on its platform by the end of the current fiscal.

While fashion and lifestyle are the dominant categories, the startup, which competes with the likes of Wooplr, WithMe and Styledotme, is evaluating entering newer ones, such as food, travel and home furnishings, amongst others.

"Altogether, we're doing about 250,000 posts a month. There is a tremendous amount of engagement taking place, and our central philosophy has always been about connecting users," said Saxena.

Repost's revenue model is centred around its affiliate channels, through its partnership with over 400 websites, including most major ecommerce ventures. It also has advertising and video channels.

"We are experimenting with various channels... The monetisation strategy will shape up by the end of 2016," Saxena said.

Sun Capital

Coming soon: a market for packaged air

Mumbai, March 21:  

There are many who believe, that a day will come when we pay for even the air we breathe. Probably that day has already dawned upon us. Today, consumer goods major RB announced the launch of Dettol Air Protect mask. The brand been exclusively launched on Amazon for Rs.699 and will soon be available in other e-commerce sites, according to a company statement.

The timing of the product launch could not be better, as a large part of the country gears up for Holi bonfires that are expected to send air pollution levels soaring high. Arjun Purkayastha, Marketing Director, Dettol, developing markets at RB, said: “The risk from air pollution is very real and getting worse by the day. While we all work towards a longer term goal of reducing pollution, it is also important to protect ourselves from its adverse impact on a daily basis.”

In Mumbai and Delhi, the severe air pollution in recent months is still fresh in public memory.

The Air Quality Index in Mumbai was still in a poor shape, according to data by SAFAR-MoES-IITM-IMD on Monday. Particulate matter (or small airborne particles) is among the most detrimental of these pollutants. Studies link it with increased rates of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease.

Air pollution can potentially cause some dangerous allergies as well, including coughing, rhinitis and asthma. Citing a WHO report the company statement says, 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India.

Growing demand

Saurabh Srivastava, Director Category Management - FMCG, Amazon India, said: “Customers today are very health conscious and we are witnessing an increase in demand for such products on our Health & Personal Care store." The e-tailing giant already sells a variety of air-filters and anti-pollution masks.

One such offering from innovation giant 3M retails for Rs. 125 on Amazon against the marked price of Rs.300. The Dettol Air Mask claims to protect from PM 2.5, bacteria, dust and even pollen. It is mean for daily use when there is haze, dust or pollution. The product comes with two replaceable filters for added protection.

Marketing consultants, however, told BusinessLine that the price tag might relegate the product to a niche. Another issue that could play a spoiler is the consumer behaviour in India where a majority of the population still believes in washing and re-using things. In this case, the product filters may not be as effective, if they are washed.

SUN CAPITAL

Hitachi invests Rs 100 crore to set up ATM making firm in India

Japan's Hitachi Group has set up an ATM manufacturing firm in India with an investment of Rs 100 crore to cash in on the growing number of banking users in the country.

Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions, which is globally developing the group's cash recycling ATM business, has set up Hitachi Terminal Solutions India in Bengaluru for manufacturing ATMs in the country.

The company will commence production in June and produce 1,500 ATMs per month by end of 2016, Hitachi said in a statement.

"To further accelerate the expansion of its ATM business in India, we have decided on local production," Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions President and Representative Director Tetsuji Shimojo said.

The move would allow Hitachi to accommodate the needs of the market, strengthen the cost competitiveness, shorten the production lead time from order entry to shipment and expand the business of ATMs, the company said.

Moreover, operations of the manufacturing company will contribute to job creation and economic development in India.

This initiative by Hitachi is aligned to the government's 'Make in India' program, it added.

"India is one of Asia's largest ATM markets on account of the country s high economic growth rate of (around) 7 per cent and because it is the world's second most populous country...

The Indian ATM market is expected to continue to expand in future," the company said.

Hitachi has deployed over 5,000 units of ATM in India by 2015 and at present, there are about two lakh ATMs and CDs (Cash Dispensing ATMs) operating in the country.

The Reserve Bank is promoting a financial inclusion policy, and financial institutions are increasing their investment in facilities and services. Therefore, further growth is expected in the ATM market in the future, Hitachi said.

Hitachi-Omron Terminal Solutions had entered Indian market on a full-scale basis in 2010 through sales of the cash recycling ATMs.

Sun Capital

SKS Microfinance raises Rs 214 crore through securitisation deal

In the current fiscal, the company has raised Rs 1,781.82 crore through securitisation.

SKS Microfinance has said it has raised Rs 214.61 crore through a securitisation deal.

In a BSE filing, SKS Microfinance said it has "on March 16, 2016, completed the sixth securitisation transaction during 2015-16 for a pool value of Rs 214.61 crore." With this transaction, the total sum of securitisation completed during the current fiscal (year-to-date) is Rs 1,781.82 crore, it said.

The entire pool qualifies for Priority Sector treatment as per the Reserve Bank of India's Priority Sector lending guidelines.

"The pool has been rated AA (SO) by a leading rating agency, signifying a 'high degree of safety regarding timely servicing of financial obligations'. Such instruments carry a very low credit risk," it added.

On the BSE, the company's stock was trading at Rs 528.30, up Rs 4.90 or 0.94%.

Top 10 tips to boost investing results in 2016.

1. Keep an eye on the Fed (and other central banks)

Central banks may not be in the driver's seat when it comes to world markets right now, but they definitely have a hand on the wheel. A few words from Federal Reserve Board Chair Janet Yellen or European Central Bank President Mario Draghi can send stock markets across the world charging upward or downward hundreds of points.

A big part of the investing story in 2016 will undoubtedly hinge on how well Yellen manages the U.S.'s transition to normal, non-zero interest rates. If she raises rates too quickly, it could push the still-rickety U.S. economy back toward recession. If she raises rates too slowly, cheap credit could fuel a bubble in asset prices.


In general, higher interest rates mean slower economic growth and thinner profits for U.S. firms, so you'd think that the longer Yellen holds off in raising rates, the better for U.S. stocks.

But Yellen's reluctance to raise rates hasn't always been interpreted as a positive signal by the markets, perhaps because it's seen as evidence that the U.S. is on shakier economic ground than we'd like to think.

In short, the Fed is a wild card this year.
One stable investment is a certificate of deposit. Find the best CD rates.

2. Get ready for some volatility in 2016

A number of studies have shown that periods of intense volatility tend to cluster together. The 2nd half of 2015 featured several months of intense volatility, so that would seem to augur for more of the same in at least the 1st half of 2016.

On top of that, changes to the federal funds rate have tended to be accompanied by volatility in the markets over the past few decades, so it's shaping up to be a bumpy ride in 2016.

3. Keep enough cash on hand to avoid liquidating assets

In low-volatility times when asset prices are on an upward trend, it's tempting to be invested in the market as much as possible. Why hold cash that's earning next to nothing, the thinking goes, when you can have your money working hard in the markets for you? In an environment where the market is continually setting record highs, you can always liquidate investments at full value to fund whatever cash needs you may have.

With volatility likely to be strong in 2016, it might make sense for those who depend on their portfolio to pay some or all of their living expenses to set aside a larger cash cushion ahead of time. That's so they don't have to sell assets at temporarily depressed prices in order to meet routine or unexpected expenses.

4. Be aware of assets outside of your brokerage account

When you're planning out your portfolio, it's easy to lose track of non-financial assets because they don't appear on brokerage statements. That can lead to accidentally concentrating too much of your overall wealth in some sectors and not enough in others.

For instance, say you decide you want exposure to the residential housing market, and you go out and put a sizable chunk of your stock portfolio into the SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB). If you're also a homeowner and have a big percentage of your net worth tied up in your home equity, as many homeowners do, your total exposure to residential real estate is your equity, plus whatever percentage of your overall assets are in XHB. At that point, you may be overexposed if the housing market goes sideways again.

The same applies to your human capital -- a complicated-sounding term that means the present value of all your future paychecks put together. For example, if you're a petroleum engineer, your paychecks, and consequently, the value of your human capital, are very much tied up in the fate of the oil industry.

If things go really bad, you could end up seeing your wages stagnate or, worse, you could become unemployed. In that case, it may not be a great idea to have a huge allocation to oil companies in your portfolio on top of that.

A good financial planner would take into account all of your assets, not just the financial ones, and so should you.

5. Make a plan and stick with it

When you see the value of your portfolio take a big hit, it's understandable to want to log on to your investment accounts immediately and sell, sell, sell.

But how do you avoid falling into the buy-high, sell-low trap? Mostly by having -- and sticking with -- a comprehensive investment plan. That plan should have 2 essential parts:

1. An investment policy statement, or IPS, that takes into account your particular time horizon, risk tolerance and goals.
2. A strategic asset allocation designed to help you reach the goals within the constraints outlined in your IPS.

Of course, your investment plan shouldn't be carved in stone. It's important to update it regularly, particularly if something fundamental changes with your investing needs or market conditions.
Stick to your plan through day-to-day fluctuations rather than going on a selling frenzy every time you get uncomfortable. Think of it as a guardrail to keep you between the ditches when market turns get twisty.

6. Dollar-cost averaging can be your friend

Research seems to suggest that if you have money on the sidelines, you're more likely to get better returns by putting it into the market all at once rather than making smaller securities purchases at regular intervals -- a practice known as dollar-cost averaging.

But dollar-cost averaging can have benefits from a behavioral finance perspective -- that is, it helps investors not to freak out and sell everything when the blue chips are down.

For example, say you get a $2,000 bonus at work and want to put some money into a tax-advantaged 529 college plan account for your kids' education.

If you put the entire lump sum in right before the market takes a big hit and your brand-new investments lose 10% of their value in a day, you're going to be tempted to sell it all and move into unproductive cash investments.

On the other hand, if you put $200 per month in for 10 months, day-to-day price fluctuations may not have the same emotional impact.

Particularly in a year that's looking to be fairly volatile, that type of strategy might be useful, especially for beginning investors.

7. Watch for bargains

When you're investing for the short term, big drops in asset values are bad news. The prices may never recover before you have to cash out, locking in your losses.

But when you're investing for the long term, bear markets and large-scale drops in asset prices should be looked at the same way you look at a buy-one, get-one-free sale at the supermarket -- as an opportunity to stock up (no pun intended) when prices are low.

There are a few key sectors that look likely to be depressed in 2016, most notably energy, materials and utilities. As long as it fits in with your overall investment plan, taking the opportunity to pick up some of the historically highest-performing companies in those sectors may help boost your returns over the long term.

8. Be skeptical of portfolio-based lending

Portfolio-based lending, or using securities in your portfolio as collateral for loans, has become a big business for banks' wealth-management arms. It's often sold this way: Why liquidate investments that are doing well when you can take out a low-interest-rate loan and pocket the difference?
But there's 1 big reason that portfolio-based loans are usually a bad idea: If the securities decline substantially in value, you could be on the receiving end of a margin call. If that happens, you may either have to put up more collateral or face having the loan come due immediately.

In an environment where security prices could be fluctuating more than in the recent past, that could end badly for investors. If you need cash to make a purchase, a better move might simply be liquidating part of your portfolio and using the proceeds from the sale instead.

9. Take advantage of tax management opportunities

One positive effect of rocky markets is that they allow for some substantial capital gains management on taxable investments.

Basically, any investment you own in a taxable account that has gone up in value a lot is a tax bomb waiting to explode and stick you with a bill for up to 20% of the gain, depending on your income.
The 1 thing that can defuse these tax bombs is using losses on investments that didn't work out to offset the gains.

Here's the basic trick: You see that stocks in a particular category are falling across the board because of some broad economic trend. You happen to own a stock in this category that's been a loser compared with its peers for some reason -- its products aren't as good, its management is clueless, whatever. You don't want to own it anymore, but you believe the sector it's in will recover at some point before the end of your time horizon.

But wait! There's another stock in that same category that's consistently beaten your bad stock and looks well-positioned for a comeback. You can sell the bad company's stock, use the proceeds to buy the good stock, and boom, you have a tax loss to offset gains elsewhere in your portfolio, and you haven't violated the wash-sale rule.
Times of elevated volatility, like 2016 is looking to be, are a perfect time to pull off just such a maneuver. So, if you have chronically underperforming investments that you've wanted to unload for a while and have some long-term capital gains issues that need to be addressed, keep tax-loss harvesting in mind.

10. Be aware of the difference between cyclical vs. secular trends

A cyclical trend is just what it sounds like: a market trend that will reverse itself within a few months or years and go back the other way, like how broad stock market indexes fall in the lead-up to a recession and then begin rising as an economy comes out of recession.

A secular trend is different. It's a longer-term trend in an industry or market brought on by some fundamental change, like the fall of Polaroid as digital cameras gained in popularity or the decline of newspaper stocks as Web-based news consumption became the norm.

Sometimes in the moment, it can be difficult to tell the difference between the 2. For instance, are current low oil prices a cyclical trend that will soon reverse, leading to prices rising to record levels in the future? Or are oil companies looking at more or less permanently slow growth, thanks to gains in renewable technologies and increasing environmental regulation designed to slow global warming?
Will financial stocks recover as they adjust to (and lobby against) new regulations designed to keep them from blowing up the global economy again? Or, are their low stock prices a symptom of disruption by prepaid debit card providers, robo-advisers and other fairly recent "fintech" competitors?

As the pace of technological change accelerates in 2016 and beyond, these types of questions will become even more pressing for investors, increasingly determining which investors win and which ones lose.

Sun Capital

PE inflows from foreign funds in real estate up 33%

Total private equity investments from foreign funds in Indian real estate increased 33%, from $1,676 million (around R11,306 crore) in 2014 to $2,220 million (around R14,974 crore) in 2015, according to latest findings of global real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

Total private equity investments from foreign funds in Indian real estate increased 33%, from $1,676 million (around R11,306 crore) in 2014 to $2,220 million (around R14,974 crore) in 2015, according to latest findings of global real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

Owing to high property prices and high investment potential, Mumbai was accounted for about 35% of the total foreign investments in 2015, followed by Delhi NCR accounting for about 25% of the investments.

Sanjay Dutt, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield India said, “The three large cities; Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi-NCR continue to attract the highest investments in India and account for about 75% of these investments.

However, with government initiatives to de-stress these cities, relaxed FDI norms and focus to improve infrastructure across the country, other cities in India are likely to witness rise in PE investments going forward.”

The structured debt deals accounted for almost half (49% in value terms) of the total PE investments in 2015.

The structured deals strategy, though moderated due to increased competition, offers returns in the range of 15% – 17% to its investors.

Sun Capital

Indiamart raises Series C funding from Amadeus Capital, WestBridge & others

IndiaMART InterMESH Ltd, which runs an online B2B platform for small and medium businesses connecting global buyers with suppliers under the brand Indiamart, has raised an undisclosed amount in Series C funding led by Amadeus Capital.

WestBridge Capital, Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund (managed by Quona Capital) in addition to existing investor Intel Capital, participated in the funding round.

The capital raised will be used to further power its B2B business by scaling up Indiamart.com along with Tolexo.com, the online marketplace for businesses it launched in 2014, it said in a statement.

“The Indian B2B sector itself is set to grow by 2.5 times and touch $700 billion by 2020. Given the socio-political and environmental forces in the country, we foresee larger strides being taken by MSMEs in the coming years,” Dinesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of IndiaMART said.

VCCircle had earlier reported that Indiamart had initiated talks to raise as much as $200 million for Tolexo Online Pvt Ltd.

IndiaMART has put in an initial capital of around Rs 100 crore to build Tolexo. Tolexo competes with other B2B focused e-com sites such as Industrybuying.com.

Indiamart co-founder Brijesh Agrawal is the CEO of the firm. Early last year, the company roped in Harsh Kundra as co-founder and head of product and technology. It also counts Navneet Rai, co-founder, Inkfruit.com (merged with private label fashion e-tailer Zovi.com back in 2013), as a co-founder.

Backed by Intel Capital and Bennett, Coleman & Company Ltd (BCCL), IndiaMART offers products that enable SMBs to generate business leads and use business information (finance, news, trade shows, and tenders, etc.).

Indiamart was founded by Dinesh Chandra Agarwal and Brijesh Agrawal in 1996.

IndiaMART was styled on the lines of China’s Alibaba. However, while Alibaba ventured into B2B and B2C online commerce space and scaled up to become the world’s largest online seller, IndiaMART confined itself to matching buyers and sellers.

Indiamart claims that its platform enables over 24 million buyers to search from over 30 million products and get connected with over 2.1 million suppliers.

This is the first investment in an Indian company by UK-based technology venture capital firm Amadeus Capital Partners, which had entered the Indian market early last year. The venture capital firm, with some £500 million of assets under management, had appointed Bhavani Rana, who was the investment director at Intel Capital, as a partner to lead the team in India.

Founded in 1997, Amadeus Capital Partners has made more than 90 investments in industries ranging from communications and networking and software, to e-commerce from 10 funds totaling over $1 billion in cumulative commitments.

The firm, which was co-founded by Hermann Hauser, has a presence across the US, Sweden, South Africa, Brazil and now India.

“The investment fits Amadeus’ strategy of backing entrepreneurs benefiting from increased penetration of digital technology in emerging markets. Through its subsidiary Tolexo, IndiaMART is able to utilise data to help consummate transactions within the platform,” Rana said.

Sun Capital

Banks disburse over Rs 1.15 lakh crore under PM Mudra Yojana

Banks have so far disbursed over Rs 1.15 lakh crore under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), financial services secretary Anjuly Chib Duggal said on Tuesday.

Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd (Mudra) focuses on 5.75 crore self-employed who use funds totalling Rs 11 lakh crore and provide jobs to 12 crore people.

Under PMMY, loans between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh are provided to small entrepreneurs.

"We have been working with Mudra. It has been a runaway success ... we are looking at Rs 1.15 lakh crore plus right now," she said at an event organized by MFIN here.

The scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in April last year.

Three products available under the PMMY are Shishu, Kishor and Tarun, to signify the stage of growth and funding needs of the beneficiary micro unit or entrepreneur.

Shishu covers loans of up to Rs 50,000 while Kishor covers those above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 5 lakh. Tarun category provides loans of above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh.

With regard to Banks Board Bureau, Duggal said, she would be meeting newly appointed chairman Vinod Rai this week to discuss operationalisation of this specialised body.

Last month Rai, a former CAG, was appointed head of Banks Board Bureau by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The bureau will give recommendations on appointment of directors in public sector banks and advise on ways to raise funds and mergers and acquisitions to the lenders.

There are 22 state-owned banks in India including SBI, IDBI Bank and Bhartiya Mahila Bank.

Besides, she said that there would be meeting of heads of the bank on March 22 to discuss about the recently launched crop insurance scheme by Prime Minister.

The crop insurance scheme scheme has already been approved by the Cabinet that would replace the existing ones to ensure that farmers pay less premium and get early claims for the full sum insured.

Investment Banking

Apollo Tyres enters two-wheeler segment with Acti series

To invest Rs. 4,000 cr on capacity expansion at Chennai centre.

Apollo Tyres has entered the two-wheeler segment with the launch of the ‘Acti’ series.

One of the leading tyre makers in the country, the company also said that it will invest Rs. 4,000 crore in the next financial year to expand its bus, truck tyres in Chennai.

Designed and developed at the company's global R&D centre in Chennai, the Apollo Acti series for bikes and scooters would cover nearly 85 per cent of the replacement market for two-wheeler tyres in India, the company said on Monday.

“The presence in the two-wheeler segment will help the company cement its leadership position in India. The Apollo Acti series will provide the best value proposition to our customers along with an enjoyable driving experience,” Onkar S Kanwar, Chairman, said here at the launch.

The two-wheeler category, which is growing at a CAGR of 8.5 per cent in India, holds huge potential for tyre manufacturers, the company said.

The company said it is looking at selling 1.20 lakh tyres each month initially, going up to five lakh tyres each month in the next two years. However, the company is sourcing the tyres from one of its vendors in Chennai and will decide on setting up a new plant or investment for two-wheeler tyres in the future.

“It depends on demand and branding of the tyres. We will be outsourcing the tyres for the next two years and we will decide on a greenfield or brownfield when the time comes,” Neeraj Kanwar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, told reporters.

To expand its existing tyre plants and capacities, Kanwar said Apollo will invest $600 million (around Rs.4,000 crore) next financial year to enhance capacity at its plants in India (Chennai) and abroad (Hungary).

He added that the company is also in the process of doubling the capacity of its Chennai plant to 12,000 truck and bus radials a day from 6,000 earlier.

The company’s shares closed at Rs. 170.35 on the BSE on Monday, up 2.65 per cent from the previous close.

Fund Raising

Developers in a consortium to be treated as separate tax units

This will enable these companies to set off losses from other projects and not attract the highest income tax rate.

In a major relief to infrastructure developers, the income tax department has clarified that companies which are part of a consortium in large infrastructure projects will be treated as separate taxable units.

This will enable these companies to set off losses from other projects and not attract the highest income tax rate.

In a clarification, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has now allowed the companies to be identified individually rather than as one taxable unit known as ‘association of persons’ or AOP.

Typically, consortiums are formed to implement large infrastructure projects in engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts as well as turnkey projects.

The income tax department considered a consortium to be one separate entity for tax purposes while the companies’ preferred to be treated individually. This led to many tax disputes, which the tax department has now sought to address.

Pointing out that there are differing court verdicts on what constitutes an AOP, the tax department said that with a view to avoiding tax disputes and to have consistency in approach, it has been decided that consortium arrangements may not be treated as AOP, provided that each member of the consortium is independently responsible for implementing its share of work, earns a profit or loss for that work and has its own personnel.

Another criterion is that the control and management of the consortium is not unified.

“Large turnkey infrastructure projects are executed by consortiums of construction companies through EPC contracts. There are certain cases where the tax authorities have taxed all the consortium members as one taxable unit, that is as an AOP. This leads to a number of issues like being taxed at the maximum marginal rate, inability to set off losses of other projects, non-availability of tax credit for non-residents, etc,” said Hemal Zobalia, partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells Llp, in a note.

“These issues bring in uncertainty and increase the overall tax cost. CBDT has sought to clarify the taxation of such EPC consortiums through this circular,” Zobalia added.

He said that the circular reiterates some of the principles which were already laid down by judicial precedents.

“However, this may not help in resolving all the issues surrounding AOPs as a lot is left to the discretion of the tax officer and the facts and circumstances of each case,” he added.

The move is also expected to attract more foreign investors to invest in infrastructure projects.

Akhil Sambhar, tax partner at EY, called it a positive move from the government.

“It is important for big projects like oil and gas where most of the work is done in a consortium. Any large project, be it power, metro or oil and gas, the magnitude of work is so much that the work needs multiple players. And with no clarity on taxes, it was leading to a large number of tax disputes,” he said.

“With this circular coming in, it will definitely encourage more foreign companies to come to India. In fact, it was a key issue for foreign companies working on EPC projects,” Sambhar added.

Structured equity

36 Websites That Will Save Your Startup Time and Money

Here is a list of some of the best sites to know. They range from project management to motivation to e-commerce.

If you're in the process of launching a startup, you'll be happy to know the internet offers you a wealth of resources that will make your job as an entrepreneur much easier. One of the best ways to boost your productivity and chances of success is to bookmark and review sites that will help you excel as a business owner.

Here is a list of some of the best sites to know. They range from project management to motivation to e-commerce. The sites are in no particular order.

1. Ideator

So you've got a great idea that you'd like to turn into a business? Start with Ideator. It's a platform specifically designed for entrepreneurs like you who want to bring their million-dollar visions to life.

2. Tony Robbins

If you want to succeed as a business owner, you're going to have to unlock your potential. To do that, learn from the best: Tony Robbins. No better person to follow and learn from as you grow.

3. Ecwid

If you'd like to create an e-commerce site in just five minutes, stop by Ecwid.com. Currently, more than 900,000 sellers from around the world use Ecwid to sell products.

4. QuickSprout

As the name implies, QuickSprout is all about growth. It is quite possibly the best site on the internet for learning about digital marketing.

5. LinkedIn

If you want to be successful in business, you're going to have to forge alliances and create professional relationships with other people. There's no better online site for business networking than LinkedIn.

6. Healthcare.gov

You're going to need health insurance after you quit your job and launch your own business. Also, if you have employees, they'll need health insurance as well. Be sure to visit Healthcare.gov for your coverage options.

7. Inc.

You are on Inc.com now, so you know its great. But you can never learn too much about being an entrepreneur. There's always something more to know about the latest in marketing, financing options, management, and professional development. That's why you should bookmark Inc.

8 & 9. HipDial & Google + Hangouts 

To succeed in your entrepreneurial efforts, you'll almost certainly need to schedule group conference calls on occasion. For that, you should use HipDial. It is so simple and easy, which is why startups love it. An alternative option that incorporates video conferencing is Google + Hangouts. 

10. SBA

Uncle Sam has an organization that exists to help entrepreneurs just like you. It's called the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA's website is packed with helpful resources.

11. Due

If you want to streamline your invoicing and time tracking processes, you can't go wrong with Due.

12. WordPress

To create a successful online presence, you'll need a blog. Simply put, there is no better blog platform on the market than WordPress. But do not use Wordpress.com; instead, install the Wordpress content management system on your site.

13. TradeAway

If you're bootstrapping your way to success with limited resources, you might be able to get some professional assistance from somebody else who will ask for your assistance in return. Check out TradeAway for a place to barter your services in exchange for somebody else's.

14. Square

It's tough to make it in business these days if you don't take credit cards. Square gives you the opportunity to swipe cards from virtually anywhere.

15. Kayak

You're likely going to be doing some traveling as an entrepreneur. If you want to find the best flight and hotel deals, check out Kayak.

16. FreshBooks

Once upon a time, QuickBooks was the only "go to" solution for accounting. Nowadays, some entrepreneurs are flocking to the cloud-based solution offered byFreshBooks. Both are great solutions. Take your pick. 

17. BaseCamp

If your team is widely distributed across the continent, or even the world, you'll need an online hangout where you all can communicate, collaborate, and coordinate. For that, use BaseCamp.

18 & 19. Dropbox & Google Drive

If you're looking for a cloud-based solution for file storage, Dropbox and Google Driveare your two best bets. Both are free until you hit a certain limit.

20. LanguageTranslation

It's a global economy. You might want to translate your website into another language (in fact, I recommend it). For document translation services, enlist the aid of a company like LanguageTranslation.com.

21. StartupGrind

StartupGrind is a website where you can rub shoulders with like-minded business owners. There are over 400,000 active members in 85 countries. 

22. forEntrepreneurs

The name "forEntrepreneurs" is fairly descriptive. It's a blog run by David Skok, a five-time entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. It's a great site to visit from time to time for sage business advice.

23. A Smart Bear

A Smart Bear is a blog run by Jason Cohen, who offers advice for entrepreneurs. As of this writing, more than 40,000 people subscribe to Cohen's lessons.

24. Rocket Lawyer

You are going to have legal issues. For that, use Rocket Lawyer. I've used this on more than one occasion and saved thousands of dollars.

25. The Startups Subreddit

You might think of Reddit as a great place to check out funny cat photos or participate in an "Ask Me Anything" exchange with a famous celebrity. It's also a great place for gleaning information. Specifically, check out the Startups subreddit.

26. Copyblogger

Content marketing is an important part of online marketing. To that end, make sure you visit Copyblogger regularly.

27. CrunchBase

For practical purposes, everything you need to know about startup funding can be found at CrunchBase.

28 & 29. Search Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land

If you want to keep up with the latest buzz about SEO best-practices, bookmarkSearch Engine Roundtable and Search Engine Land.

30 & 31. Upwork and Elance

If you're running a solo shop and you need some affordable, temporary help for your startup, be sure to visit Upwork and Elance. You'll find plenty of contractors who are more than happy to work with you at rock-bottom rates.

32. Fiverr.com

Another great site for finding affordable contract work for a variety of purposes (spanning everything from SEO to logo design) is Fiverr. As the name implies, prices for service start at just $5.

33. 99 Designs

If you're not an artist but are in desperate need of quality design work, visit 99 Designs. It is pretty unique the way it works. You actually launch a contest and then choose the winner, giving lots of options.

34. Marc & Angel Hack Life

As an entrepreneur, you'll always be in need of some great self-help tips. For some of the best life hacks, be sure to bookmark and regularly browse Marc & Angel Hack Life.

35. Moz Local

Moz Local is an especially great site to visit if you're a brick-and-mortar business that's in need of local SEO.

36. Ignite Visibility University

Another great library packed with information that will help you excel as a startup in the digital marketing area is Ignite Visibility University.

Sun Capital