Iran ends free shipping of oil to India: Dharmendra Pradhan
Iran has ended free shipping of crude oil to India and has asked refiners like Mangalore Refineries (MRPL) and Essar Oil to arrange for freight, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. Iran had in November 2013 offered free delivery of crude oil to Indian refiners as tough Western sanctions crippled its exports. With shipping lines refusing to transport Iranian crude for fear of being sanctioned, Iran used its shipping line for the delivery and did not charge for transportation. “From April 2016, NIOC has informed oil-importing companies like MRPL and Essar Oil that the future delivery would be based on Free on Board (FOB) basis and the freight has to be arranged by the buyer,” Pradhan said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha here. FOB is a trade term requiring the seller to deliver goods on board a vessel arranged by the buyer. During the last two-and-a-half years, Iran sold Indian refiners crude oil on cost, insurance and freight (CIF) basis. CIF is a trade term requiring the seller to arrange for the carriage of goods by sea to a port of destination. Pradhan said the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), however, has agreed to provide vessels and insurance till such time Indian companies are able to arrange the same. Iran came out of western sanctions in January and has since then made several changes in the way it trades its vast oil. Besides ending free shipping, it has terminated a three-year-old system of getting paid for half of the oil dues in rupees. “NIOC has asked for all the payments in euros,” he added. Iran wants all bills raised from April to be settled in euros and the nearly USD 6.5 billion that refiners like Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MPRL) owe it in past dues, to also be cleared in euros. Since February 2013, Indian refiners like Essar Oil and MRPL paid 45 per cent of their import bill in rupees to the UCO Bank account of the Iranian oil company. The remaining has been accumulating, pending finalisation of a payment mechanism. With the lifting of sanctions, the payment channels will reopen and Iran is seeking the pending dues in euros. MRPL owes close to USD 3 billion to Iran while Essar Oil has an outstanding of about USD 2.5 billion. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) owes over USD 580 million to Iran while smaller payments are due from HPCL-Mittal Energy (HMEL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. Iran has accumulated about Rs 12,000 crore in the UCO bank account which it could use to make payments for imports of steel and other commodities from India. “In the international market, contracts for supply of crude oil are negotiated on FOB or CIF basis. Hence, the cost of import of crude oil from Iran during 2016-17 will depend on the negotiated terms and conditions between NIOC and Indian oil companies,” Pradhan added. Jason Spezza Authentic Jersey
Tens of Thousands of Gallons of Crude Oil Spill Into Gulf of Mexico
The Coast Guard said that the spill had been contained and that two companies were being contracted to begin clean-up operations. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which is part of the U.S. Interior Department, said Shell Offshore Inc. reported that production from all wells that flow to its Brutus platform, about 90 miles south of Timbalier Island, Louisiana, had been shut off. No injuries or evacuations were reported, the safety bureau said. Shell said Thursday night that a company helicopter spotted the sheen near its Glider subsea system at the Brutus platform. No drilling occurs at the site, which is an underwater pipe system that connects to a central hub, the company said. “No release is acceptable, and safety remains our priority as we respond to this incident,” Shell said. Adam Joseph Duhe Womens Jersey
Smart infra: Modi govt’s Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor SPV+ Telangana search for foreign partners
The Indian government’s newly formed SPV Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) has started scouting for foreign partners in a bid to converge next generation technologies across infrastructure sectors. The corporation has already held talks with technical partners in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Germany and Sweden, before it floats an RFQ (request for quotation) in June to select partners for specific projects. Following the RFQ, the DMICDC would appoint a transaction adviser to finalise a detailed project report and select partners. While visiting the Volvo Experience Center at Gothenburg in Sweden recently, DMICDC CEO and managing director Alkesh K Sharma told FE that there were opportunities in developing electric and hybrid energy based transportation in the newly conceived eight smart cities across the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and generating hybrid energy with a mix of solar, biogas, wind and tidal was also a possibility. Such hybrid energy could be transmitted through micro and mini grids in the residential zones of smart cities and DMICDC was weighing those options, he added. European companies like FOB Biogas, PPAM Solarcraft and Team Maksus were already running mini and micro grid pilot projects with hybrid power in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Volvo has already introduced hybrid and mini buses for the European market. The Indian smart cities could be another market for them if DMICDC agreed to incorporate infrastructure for running hi-tech vehicles. “We will incorporate facilities in our trunk infrastructure to run electric and hybrid buses in the smart cities,” Sharma said after meeting Haken Agnevall, president, Volvo Bus Corporation. MG Gopal, special chief secretary in the Telangana government, who also visited Volvo’s Gothenburg experience center, said there were opportunities to create hi-tech infrastructure in Telangana since the government there would have to start most of the things from scratch. Sharma said the first phase of developing a smart city and investment region at Dholera in Gujarat was in the offing, entailing an investment of `40,000 crore. The investment would be basically used for creating trunk infrastructure,” Sharma said, adding that the project work would take off through first constructing a `2,300-crore international airport followed by a complete aerotropolis project. He said DMICDC would source funds from infrastructure financing companies like IFCL and HUDCO. The corporation would also issue land and infra bonds to raise money. “We are looking at the time frame between now and 2030 and there will be a point of time when we will run into deficit financing. So, we will have to work out a mix of financing options like sovereign funds and external commercial borrowings. But all such financing options will be used for funding the entire $100-billion project which would comprise trunk infrastructure for eight smart city projects across the entire Delhi–Mumbai Industrial Corridor,” Sharma said. Although Japan government is partnering with the government of India in implementing the project, DMICDC will keep options flexible for participation of foreign partners. “We can make outright offer of land, it can be a leasing model depending on the type of financing the developer is looking at. Even DMICDC can give a hand-holding support to a technological partner by picking up majority stake in certain trunk infrastructure projects,” he added. At an interactive session with investors at Gothenburg organised by India Unlimited, an initiative of the Indian embassy in Sweden, Telangana special chief secretary Gopal said, in case of selecting technological partners, the Telangana government under its Industries Development Enabling Act can depart from the traditional route of competitive bidding and adopt a process of reverse bidding for unsolicited proposal. “In case the initial proponent matches the best price proposal in the reverse bidding, the initial proponent will be roped in as the qualified bidder,” he said, adding that industrial projects can be started at Telangana through self-certification and online application, which gets clearance in 15 days. Meanwhile, Akash Passey, Volvo Buses’ vice-president-Business Region International, said Volvo would start exporting India-made buses to Europe this year, initially on a small scale to a select few countries. Earlier, Volvo announced its plan to export India-made buses to Europe in 2015. Ryan Hartman Authentic Jersey
Indian Railways to lay tracks at 7.7 km per day, save thousands of crores with new techniques
Indian Railways is set to commission 2,800 kms broad gauge track at the rate of 7.7 km per day, a senior railways official said. V.K. Gupta, member engineering (ME) of Railway Board said that railways has commissioned around 4,800 km of broad gauge track in the last two years which includes about 1,200 km of new line, 1,900 km of gauge conversion and 1,700 km of doubling. “In the North-East region, Indian Railways commissioned about 900 km of broad gauge in the last two years, leaving only about 50 km of metre gauge lines to be converted in 2016-17. In addition, a 132 km part of third alternative connectivity route to the North-East (New Maynaguri – Jogighopa) was also commissioned,” Gupta said here. “Udhampur-Katra (25 km) railway line in Jammu and Kashmir, Rangapara-Murkongselek and Balipara-Bhalukpong (362 km) section in Arunachal Pradesh, Lumding-Silchar (210 km) gauge conversion in Assam are some of the important railway lines commissioned in the last two years,” he added. He further said that railways was committed to bring the North-East region on the railway map. “Passenger services have been introduced between Silchar and Agartala, thereby bringing, the capital of Tripura on broad gauge. Similarly, Dudhnoi-Mendipathar (20 km) new line has brought Meghalaya on Indian Railway broad gauge network. With the commissioning of Kathakal-Bhairabi and Arunachal-Jiribam sections, the states of Mizoram and Manipur have also come on broad gauge map of the country,” he informed. He added that railways have adopted innovative techniques in the last two years which resulted in savings of hundreds of crores. “Many innovations were done in design of bridges, formation etc. resulting into an immediate saving of about Rs. 700 crores for Northern Railway. In fact, these innovations would result in perpetual savings of thousands of crores every year for Indian Railways,” he concluded. Walter Payton Jersey
Kishore Biyani believes online fashion retail won’t click
Fashion retailers such as Aditya Birla Group, Reliance Retail Ltd and Arvind Ltd may have taken the plunge into the online fashion retailing business, but the man once described as India’s Sam Walton, Kishore Biyani, isn’t budging. The “model of spending so much money to acquire a customer”, doesn’t appeal to him, admits Biyani, chief executive officer of Future Group. “The cost of doing business in online fashion retail is not profitable,” he said on Thursday, during the relaunch of the Future Group’s Central store in Bengaluru. It’s a relaunch that has cost the company around Rs.88 crore—all spent on making the 110,000 sq. ft outlet in the city’s Commissariat Road neighbourhood more upscale. That may seem counter-intuitive, especially because fashion is the most profitable category for online retailers such as Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong and Amazon India. Then, Biyani has always been a contrarian. And this time, his contrariness is backed by numerical logic. “In the online model, the minimum cost of acquiring a customer is 20% of total sales, but for us, it 2-2.5% of total sales. So, there is no comparison between the two models. At the moment, no, we won’t get into online fashion retail,” said Biyani. He still recognizes the competition posed by these firms, though. That’s one reason for the relaunch of Central. The store now houses designer brands such as Satya Paul and high-street fashion brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Global Desi. It has also more than doubled the number of brands available in the store from 200 to 500. “Competition is making us work harder. To compete with the new businesses, we need to make it all about the experience and seduction in order to make them spend more money,” said Biyani. The store has fashion consultants with whom shoppers can schedule sessions. It will also help customers find garments they have seen somewhere and want. Indeed, customers can even Instagram a picture of a garment and the store can help find it. Biyani expects all these efforts to lead to at least a 100% increase in the ticket size when it comes to spending. He didn’t disclose the takings of the store. An expert says Biyani may be missing a trick: “Online retail cannot be ignored, as the demand in a country like India is extremely scattered. It is actually a perfect solution to cater to customers that exist beyond the top 20 cities where brick-and-mortar retailers exist,” said Harminder Sahni, founder and managing director of Wazir Advisors, a retail consultancy firm. Still, the decision to go premium is a good one, he added. “Indian customers are aspirational. Anyone who is trying to go cheaper is dead,” says Sahni. The chain of Central stores comes under the listed entity Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd, which also has other retail stores such as Brand Factory. Future Lifestyle earned a profit of Rs.18.55 crore in 2014-15 on revenue of Rs.3,134.09 crore. Biyani is happy that the government’s new regulations for online marketplaces places constraints on indiscriminate discounts. Biyani also says he has picked up some valuable lessons from his online competitors. “I think online business has taught us about velocity—how fast you pick up stock, how fast you deliver, how fast you sell. We are now making velocity a key driving force in our company. We are very slow now. I can’t tell you the current velocity rate, but it is very low. But we want to get to a place where we will be selling everything in eight weeks.” So, is there anything that will make Biyani take up online retailing of fashion? “The world has to change. The one where it thinks of profitability,” he said. Online retail is now a $14 billion market compared to the $1 billion it was in 2012. This growth has been fuelled by venture capital investors, who pumped in more than $9 billion into the business over the past two years alone. A huge chunk of this money has been spent on luring customers through advertising and, more importantly, discounts. Michael Strahan Womens Jersey
Cabinet approves National Intellectual Property Rights Policy
The Union Cabinet yesterday approved the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy that will lay the future roadmap for intellectual property in India. The Policy recognises the abundance of creative and innovative energies that flow in India, and the need to tap into and channelise these energies towards a better and brighter future for all. The National IPR Policy is a vision document that aims to create and exploit synergies between all forms of intellectual property (IP), concerned statutes and agencies. It sets in place an institutional mechanism for implementation, monitoring and review. It aims to incorporate and adapt global best practices to the Indian scenario. This policy shall weave in the strengths of the Government, research and development organizations, educational institutions, corporate entities including MSMEs, start-ups and other stakeholders in the creation of an innovation-conducive environment, which stimulates creativity and innovation across sectors, as also facilitates a stable, transparent and service-oriented IPR administration in the country. The Policy recognizes that India has a well-established TRIPS-compliant legislative, administrative and judicial framework to safeguard IPRs, which meets its international obligations while utilizing the flexibilities provided in the international regime to address its developmental concerns. It reiterates India’s commitment to the Doha Development Agenda and the TRIPS agreement. While IPRs are becoming increasingly important in the global arena, there is a need to increase awareness on IPRs in India, be it regarding the IPRs owned by oneself or respect for others’ IPRs. The importance of IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool also needs to be recognised. For this, domestic IP filings, as also commercialization of patents granted, need to increase. Innovation and sub-optimal spending on R&D too are issues to be addressed. The broad contours of the National IPR Policy are as follows: Vision Statement: An India where creativity and innovation are stimulated by Intellectual Property for the benefit of all; an India where intellectual property promotes advancement in science and technology, arts and culture, traditional knowledge and biodiversity resources; an India where knowledge is the main driver of development, and knowledge owned is transformed into knowledge shared. Mission Statement: Stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced intellectual property rights system in India to: o foster creativity and innovation and thereby, promote entrepreneurship and enhance socio-economic and cultural development, and o focus on enhancing access to healthcare, food security and environmental protection, among other sectors of vital social, economic and technological importance. Objectives: The Policy lays down the following seven objectives: i. IPR Awareness: Outreach and Promotion – To create public awareness about the economic, social and cultural benefits of IPRs among all sections of society. ii. Generation of IPRs – To stimulate the generation of IPRs. iii. Legal and Legislative Framework – To have strong and effective IPR laws, which balance the interests of rights owners with larger public interest. iv. Administration and Management – To modernize and strengthen service-oriented IPR administration. v. Commercialization of IPRs – Get value for IPRs through commercialization. vi. Enforcement and Adjudication – To strengthen the enforcement and adjudicatory mechanisms for combating IPR infringements. vii. Human Capital Development – To strengthen and expand human resources, institutions and capacities for teaching, training, research and skill building in IPRs. These objectives are sought to be achieved through detailed action points. The action by different Ministries/ Departments shall be monitored by DIPP which shall be the nodal department to coordinate, guide and oversee implementation and future development of IPRs in India. The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy will endeavor for a “Creative India; Innovative India: ???????? ????; ????? ????”. Matt Moulson Womens Jersey
Air India Group to add 100 planes to fleet in 4 years: Chief Ashwani Lohani
Switching into expansion mode, the Air India Group has decided to add 100 planes to its current fleet of 132 in the next four years. All airlines within the group — parent AI, AI Express and Alliance Air — will get more aircraft under the plan. This time the airline will opt for leasing, unlike the 111-aircraft order of UPA-I when planes were bought. “By March 31, 2020, AI group will have 232 planes. While nine aircraft (six Boeing 787s and three B-777) are from the previous order (of 111 planes), the rest will be new orders for leasing planes. We are going to grow aggressively and fight for leadership across segments,” AI chairman Ashwani Lohani told TOI. The parent AI currently has 41 wide-body aircraft of Boeing including 747, 777 and 787. “We will induct 14 more wide-body aircraft. By the end of this year when we get some Dreamliners, we will add Delhi-Madrid and have direct connectivity between India and Spain. This will be a first for India,” Lohani said. AI is looking at launching one-stop flights to US, apart from its trademark non-stop. AI will take on lease 40 more Airbus A-320s for the erstwhile Indian Airlines that serves domestic and nearby international routes. It currently has 66 Airbus family narrow-body planes. AI’s regional arm, Alliance Air, currently has 12 turboprops and five of them will return by the year-end, leaving it with seven planes. “We will order 35 more turboprops,” said Lohani. The airline will get 10 more ATR-72 by the end of this fiscal and is aiming for a fleet size of 43 by the end of 2018. “AI Express, which currently has 17 Boeing 737s, will get 18 more B-737s,” the chairman said. He added the airline will simultaneously start working on crew recruitment and finalising other logistics for the proposed fleet expansion. AI is going to have a small operating profit this year and is focussed on increasing its revenue. However, the annual debt servicing of Rs 4,000 crore remains a sore point with the airline. Air India chief Ashwani Lohani had recently told AI employees in a letter that the Maharaja’s “survival will remain at stake” till it is able to cover the annual debt servicing cost of Rs 4,000 crore. “This (operating profit) is just the first milestone and the airline still has a long way to go to meet its total costs…. The target for full turnaround is FY 2018-19, maybe a year earlier and till then our financial position shall continue to remain tight,” he said in the letter to employees. AI has loans of Rs 48,400 crore. Ryan Fitzpatrick Authentic Jersey
Initiative of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on the New Excise Policy 2016 by Government of Bihar
1. Recently, Government of Bihar has announced New Excise Policy, wherein total ban has been imposed on liquor in Bihar. Government of Bihar had requested Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to explore whether the oil companies would be able to lift the entire ethanol produced by the distilleries in Bihar. 2. The Central Government is keen to undertake developmental works more specifically for the agriculture sector in the State of Bihar. The proposal of Government of Bihar has been considered by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in consultation with Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). OMCs under MoP&NG have informed that about 6 crore litres of ethanol may be produced in Bihar through molasses route. OMCs will strive to absorb this ethanol for EBP to help the State of Bihar. This initiative is likely to give approx. 300 crore to the farmers of the State through sugar mills / distilleries. This will also ensure proper utilization of molasses in the State. 3. This Government is committed to promote alternate renewable source of energy such as Bio-ethanol and Bio-diesel which would reduce our dependency on import of crude oil, address growing environment issues and provide better remuneration to the farmers. As a step in this direction, Government of India is running Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme in 21 States and 4 UTs with immediate target to achieve 10% ethanol blending in Petrol. In-order to support the Domestic Industry, Government has also decided to source ethanol from domestic sources only. 4. In the past, Ethanol supplies were enough to meet only 30% of the blending requirement. During the sugar year 2013-14 only 38 crore litres of ethanol could be supplied for EBP Programme. In-order to give a stimulus to this programme, Government in December’2014 enhanced the Ethanol procurement price and opened alternate route including Lignocelluloses route for Ethanol production. Oil Marketing Companies also eased the procurement process for the benefit of suppliers. ? 5. All these steps have helped in doubling the ethanol supplies during the Sugar Year 2014-15 wherein 67.42 crore litres have been supplied for blending in Petrol. This year OMCs have floated tender for 266 crore litres of ethanol procurement to meet 10% blending target. There is considerable improvement in the response from the Sugar Industry which has offered more than 135 crore litres for the current sugar year. 6. Other plans specifically for the State of Bihar include, capacity expansion of IOCL Barauni Refinery from 6 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA, up gradation of this refinery to produce BS-VI quality products, integration of this refinery to produce other value added options/specialty products and establishment of Petro-chemical complex at Begusarai, Bihar. Shaq Mason Jersey
Despite low internet use, India’s e-commerce market triples in five years
Although India’s use of the internet is lower than many poorer countries, the country’s e-commerce sector tripled – or grew by 209 percent over the last five years – from $4.4 billion (Rs.20,020 crore) in 2010 to $13.6 billion (Rs.83,096 crore) in 2014. This data was contained in a reply given to the Lok Sabha in March 2016. India’s e-commerce market is likely to reach $38 billion (Rs.252,700 crore) in 2016, according to an Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (Assocham) report released in January 2016. The online retail sector in India is expected to be a $1 trillion (Rs.660,000 crore) market by 2020, according to a recent report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte, a consultancy. The study indicates that more e-commerce will trigger big innovations in India. The Goods and Services Tax, once implemented, is expected to boost the growth of e-commerce by simplifying taxation and logistics, said the CII-Deloitte report. Internet penetration across the country is rising with as many as 354 million users reported as of September 2015. Online shoppers in India have increased from 20 million in 2013 to 39 million in 2015, an increase of 95 percent over three years. India’s e-commerce market rises despite low net use But India’s internet penetration – the percentage of Indians who use the net – is low, 19 percent in 2014, as IndiaSpend reported earlier. Compare this with Australia (90 percent), the US (87 percent), Japan (86 percent), Brazil (53 percent) and China (46 percent). In 2014, only 18 of 100 Indians used the internet, against 49.3 for China and 48.3 for Vietnam. Even poorer countries, such as Ghana, had greater internet penetration – 18.9 users per 100 people, according to a Mint report. Similarly, mobile subscriptions in India were 74 per 100 people in 2014, lower than Bangladesh (80), China (92), Indonesia (129) and Vietnam (147). Mobile internet spend has increased from 54 percent to 64 percent from 2014 to 2015, attributed to high-speed 3G and 4G internet connectivity at some of the world’s lowest prices, fuelling e-commerce growth. Despite the rise in broadband and mobile internet users, speed remains a major constraint. The average broadband speed in India is 2 mega bits per second (mbps), ranking 115 globally, IndiaSpend has reported. Similarly, the average mobile internet speed is 1.7 mbps, ranking below Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. In March this year, the government allowed 100 percent foreign direct investment in online retail marketplaces-electronic platforms that connect buyers and sellers. India’s e-commerce giants battle a survival of the fittest As competition grows, and international competitors step in, domestic online retailers will struggle, experts predict. US retailer Amazon became the second-largest online marketplace by shipments in India last month, after domestic rival Flipkart, pushing former number two, Snapdeal, to third place. Flipkart’s growth has virtually stalled since the middle of last year and the leadership team hasn’t figured out a way to kick-start sales, according to India Value Fund Advisors partner Haresh Chawla. “Its gross merchandise volume (GMV) – sales or revenue in online retailing – sold over a given period of time has not grown substantially, which had grown by over 200 percent per annum for the past three years,” Chawla added. Similarly in the taxi business, multinational Uber is in race with India’s Ola, the current domestic-market leader. Last month, Uber claimed it would overtake Ola by market share within 30 days. Jabong – an online fashion portal – reported a drop in sales and cut losses in 2015 and is now struggling to find a buyer. “Consumer internet start-ups find it difficult to navigate slowdowns,” said Chawla. “Traditional companies usually recover from these cycles. But technology-led companies simply go bust. They have very little consumer loyalty to start with. Most bribe consumers to grow rapidly and cutback (on profits), causing them to implode.” Michael Matheson Womens Jersey
Startup rush: Number of new private companies up 36% in 2015-16
The burgeoning startup ecosystem seems to have boosted growth of non-government or private companies. During the year 2015-16, as many as 60,414 private companies with an aggregate authorized capital of Rs 10,845 crore were registered (statistics are up to December 31) -a hike of 36% over the previous corresponding period. Experts say that a private company is the best legal entity form for incorporation of a startup, especially one which is growth-oriented. At the same time, traditional businessmen functioning as solo proprietors continued to show their preference for one-person companies (OPCs), with registrations almost doubling to 2,761during the financial year 2015-16 (up to December 31), according to the latest annual report released by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The collective authorized capital of the newly regis tered OPCs was nearly Rs 67 crore. The business services sector dominated, with 58% of OPCs falling in this category .While OPCs enable a single proprietor to corporatize his business, it isn’t an ideal entity for startups claim experts. Lionel Charles, CEO of Indiafilings.com, says, “Venture capitalists (VCs) do not recommend OPCs as the shares can be held by one person only and equity funding by VCs isn’t feasible. An OPC is also required to mandatorily convert into a private company once its turnover exceeds Rs 2 crore or share capital exceeds Rs 50 lakh.” Harish H V , partner at Grant Thornton, says, “Typically, startups have more than one founder. They also aim at equity infusion from angel investors and VCs. Esops are also granted to employees who ultimately hold a stake in the startup. This makes a private company form more suitable. Moreover, a minimum share capital of Rs 1 lakh is no longer required for incorporation, adding to their popularity .” Government officials are of the view that the current year will see a further increase in the number of registrations of private companies in the backdrop of the `Startup India’ programme. Recently , the goverment carved out a separate definition for startups and offered various sops, including a tax holiday . Eligible startups, subject to meeting certain conditions, are entitled to a tax holiday for a block of three out of the initial five years. To claim eligibility, the company must be incorporated between April 1, 2016 up to March 31, 2019, its total turnover must not exceed Rs 25 crore in any financial year and it must have obtained a certificate of eligible business from the Inter-Ministerial Board. An amendment to the Finance Bill added limited liability partnership (LLP) in the definition of the term `startup’. LLPs are a hybrid model which provides personal immunity to the partners and offers a corporate structure. In India, professional services companies have largely adopted the LLP structure. However, for startups, especially those looking at VC funding, an LLP structure in not ideal in the long run. Orlando Brown Jr. Womens Jersey