Beedi manufacturers in Tamil Nadu are moving their manufacturing activities to West Bengal due to rising wage costs, labour shortages and central and state government policies. The recent state government decision to enforce value added tax (VAT) on tobacco-related products is also affecting the industry.

Tamil Nadu beedi makers move to West Bengal

Business Standard

Ban on mining in Bellary halts supplies of iron ore &mdash; a key input.

Foundry industry in Rajkot hits road block

The growing power crunch in Karnataka will have a huge impact on the small and medium industries in the state, said the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI). The state has small and medium industries like the textile, machine tools, automobile ancillary among others.

Power cuts to hit SME sector hard

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) feel that adverse market conditions and an unfavourable policy and business milieu raises the transaction cost of business, which eventually brings them to the verge of sickness.

Unfriendly biz milieu causes sickness: survey

With the SME Exchange of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) set to be launched after Diwali, Ashok Monga, the managing director of Rhydburg pharmaceuticals, a Dehradun-based small company, is busily studying the nitty-gritty of planning an initial public offer (IPO) to raise capital.

SME exchange targets small towns, cities

Our client had supplied certain goods to various SEZ units during the last two to three years. Unfortunately, no bill of export was prepared for the same to claim incentives like Duty Drawback/DEEC benefits, etc. However, ARE1 is prepared and the same are duly endorsed by SEZ Customs. Even jurisdictional Central Excise Authority has admitted proof of exports against UT-1 on the basis of ARE1 endorsed by SEZ Customs.

'Bill of export cannot be filed after goods have been supplied'

The number of units that may list from day one is likely to dip from what was envisaged about three months ago.

Market volatility clouds Gujarat SMEs' listing dreams

A large majority of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the building and construction sector are upbeat about the future and are looking to expand their business.

Small units are optimistic

Indian brick makers, a majority of whom are SMEs, are undergoing a complete makeover through the adoption of mechanisation following the entry of international technology providers and producers. Entrepreneurs are also bringing in product innovation.There are about 35 plants across India, including semi-automatic and fully-automatic ones, which are already operational. Many other modern plants are under construction. Analysts believe that increased difficulties in handling labour, maintaining quality and meeting the increased demand for better-quality bricks have forced brick kiln entrepreneurs to rethink their production processes and also led to product innovation. As a result, many entrepreneurs are diversifying into resource efficient bricks (REBs) by importing machinery from overseas.

Brick industry opts for automation, innovation

A large majority &ndash; 76.7 per cent &ndash; of the companies participating in a survey of SMEs in the Indian electronics and electricals industry, carried out by IndiaMART Knowledge Services, expects their growth prospects to improve in the next quarter. Only 11.9 per cent said they have low expectations from the next quarter, and 11.4 per cent see no change.

Electricals industry upbeat on growth prospects

We had obtained an advance authorisation. We got the authorisation invalidated for direct imports and obtained the inputs from local suppliers against the invalidation. We could not export the final products. Now, we have been asked to pay the notional customs duty on the locally procured inputs. We are of the view that on locally procured goods, we should be asked to pay only the excise duty.

'Goods needed for multilaterally funded projects exempt from CVD'

Private Equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) investment rose by 29 per cent to $648 million (around Rs 2,916 crore) in the period January-September 2011, compared to $500 million (around Rs 2,250 crore) in the corresponding period of 2010. The number of deals rose by 21 per cent during this period.

PE, VC investments in small units rise 29%

The MSME sector provides livelihood to more than 60 million people, adds 1.3 million jobs every year and contributes 17 per cent of our GDP. Yet, the government does not give this sector high priority, and a policy shift is needed, says Gaurav Marya, president of Franchise India Holding Limited, an integrated franchisee solution provider company.

Q&A: Gaurav Marya, President, Franchise India Holding Limited

The growth of Indian leather exports &ndash; a sector dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) &ndash; is likely to stall this year due to volatile economic conditions in the European markets and the steep increase in raw material and input prices, which has eroded margins by 50 per cent, said industry representatives.

Leather export units hit

The 100 units that are part of the cluster have benefitted immensely.

Mohali cluster helps bath fittings units

We had imported certain goods and stored them in a bonded warehouse. Now, we want to export the same to another party (not the supplier).

'Importers of goods free to re-export for forex'

India is on the verge of signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), but a concerned auto component industry has started raising its voice against such agreements because they have adversely affected domestic manufacturers, dominated by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Auto parts industry opposes FTAs

IndiaMART.com, one of India&rsquo;s largest online B2B marketplaces, connects Indian suppliers with domestic and international buyers. Established in 1996, it is also one of the world&rsquo;s top-10 B2B marketplaces. Prior to setting it up, Founder and CEO Dinesh Agarwal worked with HCL Technologies (America), Centre for Development of Telematics (C-Dot) and CMC Limited.

Q&A: Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com

Struggle with rising raw material costs, and power and labour shortages.

Tamil Nadu industrial estates lose business

The International Copper Association, an NGO with a membership strength of 40 global companies, aims to make copper motor rotor (CMR) technology available to small-and-medium-sized motor manufacturers.

Q&A: Ajit Advani, Director, International Copper Association

The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) is planning to create a sector skill council (SSC) in the healthcare segment to overcome the shortage of skilled manpower.

NSDC to set up skill council in healthcare

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