Indian startups can test their technology ideas in true gangnam style
For early startups looking to test out their technology ideas in the South East Asian markets, the first K-Startup Grand Challenge promises an invitation to accelerator programme Gangnam-style and more. “Over the last three to four years we have shifted focus to globalisation and establishing an open ecosystem for the Korean startups. With a population which is an early adapter of technology we want global startups to look at Korea as a testing bed for the launch of their product in South East Asian market,” says Kyung Hwan Lee, executive director of National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) at Korea-India SW Cooperation Center. He adds that the programme also looks at diversifying the startup ecosystem within the country where market leaders in the technology and on-demand space have been startups from Korea focused on the domestic market. As fintech becomes a major area of interest across India and South East Asia, Lee adds that payments and on-demand services are sectors which will pick pace in a growing startup economy. “In the Indian startup scenario, we have seen that ecommerce companies from Korea find it difficult to integrate payments services and this is an area which will be of great interest. Secondly, through our lived experience in Korea, we have seen that as the system matures, hedonic services take over the utilitarian on-demand app,” says Lee. Last year Korean ecommerce startup Coupang raised $1 billion from SoftBank, while adtech company Yello Mobile has raised over $100 million in funding. According to data from Tech in Asia, the total amount of investments made in the Korean startup ecosystem last year adds up to $1.7 billion. “Close to 85% of investments by Korean investors have been in domestic companies, followed by the US, Japan and China. India has evolved as a good bet for the investors in the Asian market and it will take time for them to understand the ecosystem,” adds Lee. The K-Startup Grand Challenge will see selected startups interacting with accelerators and conglomerates in Seoul, $33,000 for starting a legal entity in Korea and office space at Pangyo, close to the startup hub in Gangnam. The programme will select 80 startups across the US, Latin American, European Union and South East Asia for the first phase based on applications received before June 14. The final shortlist will select 40 companies. Rob Ramage Womens Jersey
PM Modi asks railways to speed up redevelopment of stations
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asked the railways to speed up redevelopment of stations and substantially raise its “level of ambition” in this regard as he reviewed the performance of the sector at a meeting here. At the meeting where the performance of Roads and Highways Ministry was also assessed, Modi pitched for more private investment in the sector and adoption of best practices in road development after studying various models across the country. He stressed the need for decongesting critical stretches of highways and adoption of latest technologies for toll collection. In the course of the review of the railways sector, it was noted that the capital investment in 2015-16 was over Rs 93,000 crore, “which represents a massive increase of 65 per cent over the previous year, and is the highest-ever”, a PMO statement said. “The Prime Minister stressed upon the need to speed up the redevelopment of Railway Stations, and urged the railways to substantially raise its level of ambition in this regard,” it added. He emphasized the need for the railways to upgrade and diversify the uses of its infrastructure, the statement said. “Centre is working on upgrading rail infra. In rural areas this will boost skill development & increase non-fare revenue for railways,” Modi tweeted later. “Progress in commissioning of lines & electrification of lines has been commendable. Discussed speeding up process of redeveloping stations,” he said in another tweet. The PMO added that 1780 km of rail lines have been commissioned and 1730 kms electrified during 2015-16, which represent the best performance on these metrics in railway history. “As far as roads are concerned, completion of highways is going on at remarkable pace. Spoke on need of more private investment in the sector,” the Prime Minister said in a tweet. “Also emphasised on decongesting critical stretches and invigorating the roads & highways sector with latest technology,” he added. At the meeting, the the Prime Minister was informed that over 6000 kms of highways were completed in 2015-16, while contracts for another 10,098 kilometres were awarded in the same period, the PMO said. “Also emphasised on decongesting critical stretches and invigorating the roads & highways sector with latest technology,” he added. At the meeting, the the Prime Minister was informed that over 6000 kms of highways were completed in 2015-16, while contracts for another 10,098 kilometres were awarded in the same period, the PMO said. He stressed on the need for studying various models of road development across the country, and adopting the best practices, so that more private investment can be brought into the highway construction sector, it added. He also stressed the need for decongesting critical stretches, and adopt latest technologies for toll collection. David Krejci Womens Jersey
Venkaiah Naidu to visit Germany to boost investments in Smart Cities
Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu will attend a three-day conference on ‘Smart City Mission’ starting tomorrow in Berlin to promote investment in the urban development sector in the country. Three Indian cities are to be developed as smart cities in collaboration with Germany. The Union Urban Development Minister, who leaves for Berlin tonight, will hold detailed talks with his German counterpart and senior officials on the roadmap for developing the Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Kochi (Kerala) and Coimbatore ( Tamil Nadu ) as smart cities with German assistance, an official statement said. The three cities have been identified further to consultations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Angela Morkel in October last year here. Naidu’s visit is also aimed at “intensifying high-level engagement for identifying new opportunities” for German companies in the urban development sector offered by the initiative of development of 100 smart cities, it said. Torey Krug Womens Jersey
NHAI awards Rs 2,640-crore road projects in Gujarat
To connect important religious and tourist places between Bhavnagar and Somnath in Gujarat , four road projects worth Rs 2,640 crore have been awarded, National Highways Authority of India ( NHAI ) said today. “Two hundred and fifty six km long Bhavnagar to Somnath section of NH-8E (New NH-51) is an important link to connect religious and tourist places of Talaja, Mahuva, Palitana, Island of Diu, Somnath Temple, Gir National Park, Porbandar and Dwarka…. NHAI has awarded contract for 4-laning of four packages of the section of a total length of 175 km,” NHAI said in a statement. Among the companies that bagged the contracts are Sadbhav Infrastructure, MEP Infrastructure Developers and Sanjose India Infrastructure & Construction (in JV), and Agroh Infrastructure & Developers. “The total cost of these four packages is Rs 2,640 crore (civil construction cost) and project road would be a cement concrete highway,” NHAI said. The project will also provide improved connectivity to ports of Alang (the biggest ship breaking facility and recycling yard of India), Pipavav, Jafarabad, Gogha and Veraval (fishery collection and trading centre), it said. Tim Brown Womens Jersey
1,780 km rail lines commissioned, 6,000 km highways built in 2015-16
The government has commissioned 1,780 km of rail lines and also completed over 6,000 km of highways in 2015-16 period, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement on Monday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was reviewing the progress in the key infrastructure sectors of railways and roadways on Monday. The PMO said that 1,730 km of rail links have also been electrified in 2015-16. In the course of the review of the railway sector, it was noted that it had received a capital investment of over Rs 93,000 crore in the last fiscal. “This represents a massive increase of 65 percent over the previous year, and is the highest-ever investment in railways in one year. The figures also represent the best performance on these metrics in railway history,” the statement said. It added that the prime minister has stressed the need to speed up the redevelopment of railway stations and has urged the ministry to upgrade and diversify the uses of its infrastructure. In the meeting, Prime Minister Modi was informed that over 6,000 km of highways have been completed in 2015-16, while contracts for 10,098 km were awarded in the same period. Modi has also stressed the need to decongest the critical highways by adopting latest technologies for toll collection. He has asked the officials from the union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to study various models of road development across the country and adopt the best practices so that more private investment can be brought into the highway construction sector. Jack Tatum Authentic Jersey
Gujarat to get Rs 2 lakh crore for infra development: Nitin Gadkari
Centre will allocate Rs 2 lakh crore to Gujarat for the development of roads and ports during the next three years, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said today. He made the announcement at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the construction of the 256-Km long four-lane national highway connecting pilgrimage town of Somnath with Bhavnagar, at Somnath town in Gir-Somnath district. Notably, Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is going to polls next year. The project has been undertaken by the National Highway Authority of India ( NHAI ) and expected to complete in two years at the cost of Rs 4,876 crore. Allocation of Rs 2,00,000 crore will be made for the development of roads and ports for the next three years in Gujarat, an official release quoted the Minister for Road Transport, Highways and Shipping as saying. Ben Ijalana Womens Jersey
GAIL spuds 2nd exploratory well in Cambay Basin
GAIL (India) Ltd has started drilling its second exploratory well as an operator in its New Exploration Licensing Policy – IX block at the Cambay Basin. “The well is situated in the Nabhoi village in Tarapur Tehsil of Anand District in Gujarat. The ‘spudding’ operations started on May 27. The first well was spud in this block on March 27. Drilling of a target depth of 2,200 meters of this well is scheduled to be completed in 30 to 35 days,” an official statement said. GAIL is the lead operator of the block with 25 per cent participating interest. Other partners in this block are Bharat Petro Resources Ltd, Engineers India Ltd, Monnet Ispat Energy Ltd and Bharat Forge Infrastructure Ltd. The consortium will drill eight exploratory wells in the initial exploration phase as per minimum work commitment of production sharing contract, the statement added. Zach Cunningham Jersey
ICRA forecasts 16.6% growth in non-aeronautical revenues of airports by 2025
Ratings agency ICRA BSE -1.30 % has forecast that non-aeronautical revenues at Indian airports will grow by 16.6 per cent to touch Rs 16,150 crore over the next 10 years, driven by increase in scope of activities there and growing commercial orientation of the operators. Revenues from such activities primarily consist of fees for the rights to operate businesses at the airport, and rental of leased land and premises. Some of the common non-aeronautical activities include food and beverage business , duty-free shops, leasing of terminal space, and running car rentals/parking and hotels/motels. Over the last 10 years, non-aeronautical revenues at domestic airports have increased at a CAGR of 22.9 per cent — from Rs 450 crore in fiscal 2005 to Rs 3,500 crore in 2014-15, according to ICRA. Over the next 10 years, ICRA estimates that the per passenger non-aeronautical revenue for Indian airports would grow from the current levels of Rs 182 to Rs 410, at a CAGR of 8.4 per cent, the ratings firm said in its forecast, released today. “The total non-aeronautical revenues at Indian airports are expected to reach Rs 16,150 crore in FY2025 at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 16.6 per cent,” it said. Significantly, ICRA’s projections comes at a time when Indian carriers have reportedly sought a ban on the sale of liquor in the security hold area (SHA) at domestic terminals of airports on the ground that drunk passengers on board can be a “safety threat.” At presenet, sale of liquor is allowed both at shops and pubs inside the SHA at airports after passengers have checked-in and undergone the security check. Noting that over the years, airports have evolved from being purely an infrastructure provider to a sophisticated market entity with diversified revenue streams, ICRA said, “this has led to the emergence of non-aeronautical revenues which have become a key contributor to an airport’s revenues.” “As many international airports have evolved over the years in terms of generation of non-aeronautical revenues, the same can be expected from the Indian airports. “The increase in scope of activities at the airports and growing commercial orientation of the airport operators are expected to drive the growth in non-aeronautical revenues at Indian airports,” ICRA AVP for corporate ratings, Harsh Jagnani said. Non-aeronautical revenues constitute 25 per cent of the total revenues for Indian airports, whereas their contribution stands at 37 per cent for the ICRA Sample of international airports. On a per PAX basis, the non-aeronautical revenue in India stands at Eur 2.52 (for FY2015), which is significantly lower than Eur 5.80 for the ICRA Sample of international airports, Jagnani said. For this purpose, ICRA has analysed 25 international airports/airport groups together encompassing 132 airports and including 21 of the 50 busiest airports in the world , with a total passenger base of 1,700 million and non-aeronautical revenues in excess of Eur 11 billion. Andrew Adams Authentic Jersey
ONGC Videsh, Azerbaijan’s SOCAR to jointly trade oil: Source
India’s ONGC Videsh (OVL) is set to make a foray into oil trading and has signed an initial pact with the trading arm of Azerbaijan’s state energy company SOCAR, a source privy to the agreement said. OVL, the overseas acquisition arm of India’s biggest explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp, plans to initially sell its share of oil from the large Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) group of fields in Azerbaijan through the new venture, the source said. “At a later stage, OVL will look at opportunities to market its oil from other assets through the planned trading company with SOCAR,” the source added. OVL, which has stakes in oil and gas assets in 16 countries including Russia, Sudan and Brazil, produced about 178,400 barrels per day of oil and gas equivalent in the fiscal year to March 31, 2016. Currently, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, a subsidiary of ONGC, trade oil produced by assets of OVL. Stephen Curry Authentic Jersey
B2B e-commerce market 6 times larger than B2C: SME lenders
Companies like Capital Float, Lending Kart and Indifi Technologies that lend to small and medium enterprises are increasingly partnering with B2B ecommerce platforms such as OfBusiness and Tolexo to provide financing options to sellers and buyers on the marketplaces. The lenders say B2B ecommerce -where the transaction is between businesses, unlike in B2C where one party is the consumer – could become their strongest segment by 2017, as they estimate 25-30% of the profit to come from this space. “This is a very crucial segment for lending companies,” said Gaurav Hinduja, cofounder of Capital Float. “We can expect to see up to 20x growth in applications this year; we are expecting to receive up to 500 applications from buyers and sellers on a monthly basis.” The loan size could range from a few thousand rupees to Rs 5 lakh for Capital Float. The company offers a paylater option to sellers and buyers, with it making upfront payments for the goods and collecting payments in 30-60 days. According to Hinduja, providing financing options to sellers on the B2B platform is different from the B2C space, where sellers are limited to retailers and wholesalers. “The B2B platform gives access to unorganised and diverse sectors from manufacturing, apparel and healthcare sellers, sourcing both raw materials and consumer durables. Many of them are traditional businesses entering the digital ecosystem,” he added. Companies such as Indifi and LendingKart also expect B2B to see more trac tion than B2C. “Working capital cycles for B2B are longer, they need higher financing and there are also buyers looking for credit options to purchase products. The loan ticket sizes of companies generating Rs 1-50 crore annual revenue could range from Rs 5-35 lakh,” said Alok Mittal, cofounder Indifi. According to Mukul Sachan, cofounder of LendingKart, India’s B2B ecommerce market is six times larger than B2C and is expected to reach $700 billion by 2020.”There is massive untapped potential within this segment and that’s why we have closed several partnerships with players in this space,” he said. B2B platforms view these partnerships as a positive sign as abundant credit options are lik ely to lead to a dramatic increase in their average order value. SME lending companies offer interest rates of 15-19%.Through credit card, these are 24-36%. Since it is the nascent stage of the partnerships, SME lending players could not comment on the default interest rate in the B2B ecommerce segment. Kyle Juszczyk Womens Jersey