Page 3 - Women Entrepreneurs

Budget 2024 LIVE news: Auto firms seek continued push for green mobility

Budget LIVE: Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting the interim budget on February 1, catch all the Budget related updates here

Budget expectations: Income tax benefits, support to women entrepreneurs

An increase in income tax exemption limits, support to women entrepreneurs, a long-term taxation policy and steps to boost consumption and savings are among the expectations of experts from the interim budget which will be presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 ahead of Lok Sabha elections. They also demand for parity in taxation among companies, partnerships and limited liability partnerships. "This is going to be an interim budget but at least there may be some indications of full-budget benefits. There may be some concession to be offered to individual taxpayers under section 87A under which the overall tax exemption limit may be increased to Rs 8 lakh from now Rs 7 lakh, inclusive of rebates," All India Federation of Tax Practitioners national president Narayan Jain said. Bharat Chamber of Commerce president N G Khaitan said there is a need for a long-term taxation policy and parity in taxation among companies, partnerships and limited liability ...

Assam CM unveils scheme to assist 4 mn women to become micro-entrepreneurs

Asserting that all welfare programmes of Assam will be linked to population control measures, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday announced a scheme to develop 40 lakh self-help-group (SHG) members as rural micro-entrepreneurs and help them become 'lakhpati baidos (elder sister)'. The scheme, 'Mukhya Mantri Mahila Udyamita Abhiyan', will be implemented at an estimated cost of Rs 4,000 crore and offered to those SHG members who are willing to undertake a personal business plan along with their group activity, the chief minister said at a press conference here. Sarma also said Assam is following a policy to control the state's population growth. "All our welfare schemes will be linked to population control measures for the benefit of our mothers and sisters", he said. Speaking on the entrepreneurship scheme, he said each eligible woman will be provided with Rs 35,000 over three years in their endeavour to become 'lakhpati baidos'. Over the next two years, each beneficiary

L'Oreal heir Francoise Meyers becomes first woman with $100 bn fortune

The milestone came as shares of L'Oreal SA, the beauty products empire founded by her grandfather, rose to a record high, with the stock set for its best year since 1998

Venture capital funds backing fewer women startups than men-led ones: Irani

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Friday hit out at venture capital funds for not backing women-led innovative startups, and instead taking bets on entities founded by men. The Union Minister for Women and Child Development said there are many women innovators in science and technology, but rued that their strides are not getting translated into commercial ventures. "Even today, risk taking by VCs for women-led initiatives which are based on innovation is far lower as compared to those by men," Irani said, addressing an event organised by MentorMyBoard. One has to check how many women do not become a part of the corporate boardrooms despite being innovative, she said. Irani acknowledged that her recent statement in Parliament opposing period leaves for women has caused an "uproar", but stuck to her stance saying allowing so will have deep concerns on privacy. "Can you imagine a scenario where the HR head of your company knows your menstrual cycle every month. Can you imagine the scen

Securing funding major challenge for women entrepreneurs, say founders

Securing funding is a major challenge for women entrepreneurs along with balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with traditional gender roles and expectations, say women business leaders. Creating an inclusive work environment and addressing key areas like easy entry into workforce, financial autonomy and healthcare would help women lead and make an impact, women entrepreneurs said on the occasion of Women Entrepreneur Day. According to Assiduus Global CEO & founder and Niti Aayog advisor Somdutta Singh, securing funding is a significant challenge for women entrepreneurs along with balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with traditional gender roles and expectations. Historically, many business networks have been male-dominated, making it harder for women to access key connections and opportunities. I am constantly working to create a diverse and inclusive work environment. I am involved in building networks that support women in entrepreneurship. "I am always advocating for

Women accorded top priority under PM Mudra Yojana scheme, says Sitharaman

Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said women entrepreneurs are accorded first priority under the Centre's flagship Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana scheme which offers financial assistance to beneficiaries. Distributing sanction letters to beneficiaries under the PM SVANidhi Se Samriddhi programme which offers loans to street vendors, here, she said officials of the municipalities should identify the uncovered street vendors and help them avail benefits of this scheme. SVANidhi Se Samriddhi is an additional component of the PMSVANidhi scheme to facilitate access to eight central government schemes to eligible PM SVANidhi beneficiaries and their family members for their holistic development and socio-economic upliftment. Recalling the launch of Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile Trinity, Sitharaman said through the JAM Trinity, AADHAR card was provided to a beneficiary after which he or she can open a bank account and directly the financial aid from the Centre

Women-led MSMEs avail Rs 430 crore in loans in FY2023: Impact report

Nearly Rs 1,900 crore in loans were distributed to MSMEs, with women-led businesses making up 24% of the loans disbursed

Madhya Pradesh is emerging as a hotbed for start-ups led by women

Women entrepreneurs run 1,140 of the state's more than 2,600 registered start-ups, according to data shared by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) department

270 mn loans to women under MUDRA; here's all you need to know about scheme

The MUDRA loans are given by commercial banks, regional rural banks, small finance banks, microfinance institutions, and non-banking financial institutions

Stories of Bihar women entrepreneurs to be showcased during G20 events

The Bihar government will highlight the rise of rural women entrepreneurs breaking all barriers and the success of the World Bank-backed village livelihood programme Jeevika' among several other socio-economic programmes during G-20 events to be held here in June, an official said on Saturday. The G20 meetings in Patna are expected to be held on themes such as women and future of work and upskilling of the women workforce in tech-intensive work environment. During two-day G-20 programmes on June 22 and 23, the Bihar government will showcase women's upliftment and development in the rural sector, besides the state's rich cultural heritage. How rural women are defying odds to become entrepreneurs in Bihar through different initiatives taken by the state government, how Jeevika' has become a revolution and changed the lives of rural women and their families will be presented before G20 delegates, Art and Culture department secretary Bandana Preyashi said. She also said how women in Bi

100% exemption in stamp duty for women entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh

The state has also notified 100% stamp duty exemption for setting up of solar energy units, solar energy projects or solar energy parks in the state

Goldman Sachs says 2,400 women entrepreneurs funded under its programme

Goldman Sachs, which has funded the business and management education of 2,400 women in India, has claimed these beneficiaries have helped create around 12,000 new jobs as well as add Rs 2,800 crore in revenues to the country's economy in the past 18 months. The investment banking major first launched the graduation programme in the country in 2008. It relaunched the same 18 months ago when it claims to have funded the business and management education of 10,000 women under its 'Womeninitiative'. The numbers, it said, are based on a study carried out by the Indian School of Business (ISB) among 2,400 women entrepreneurs who participated in Goldman Sachs women initiative. The study found that these 10,000 women have doubled their existing workforce, quadrupled their revenue, and increased their productivity by five times on an average, within 18 months of graduating from the programme and most of them expect to increase hiring and grow revenue. Sonjoy Chatterjee, chairman and chief

PM Modi to address inaugural session on 'Economic Empowerment of Women'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the inaugural session of the post-budget webinar on "Economic Empowerment of Women" on Friday. The webinar is being organised by Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of Rural Development. It is part of a series of post-budget webinars being organised by the government with an aim to brainstorm and firm up pathways for sustainable growth of women-owned and women-led business enterprises, and develop a strategy and blueprint for implementation of the announcement, according to an official statement. Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani, Union Minister of Rural Development Giriraj Singh, Minister of State of Women and Child Development Mahendrabhai Munjpara will also join the inaugural session.

Logistics firm UPS inks pact to train 500 women entrepreneurs in India

US-based logistics major UPS has inked a partnership with India SME Forum to train 500 women entrepreneurs in India in export and related business areas, according to a company official. The training will be provided through experts via online and offline modes, said Laura Lane, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer, UPS. The official was in the national capital to sign the pact with India SME Forum. "The experts will educate the women entrepreneurs of the SME segment on rules related to export, help them identity markets for their products, packaging etc.," Lane said. The company will initially train 500 women and later plans to expand the programme later, she said. Post-pandemic, women-owned businesses have increased in India, Laura said, adding that taking them to export markets will help in their economic empowerment. "Many women have started their businesses in India, but due to various reasons, they may not find the right market for

Kerala government announces major schemes for women entrepreneurs

On the International Women's Day, the Kerala government unveiled major schemes to support women entrepreneurs in the State including raising of the loan limit for women under the 'We-Mission Kerala' initiative of KSIDC to Rs 50 lakh from Rs 25 lakh with a five per cent interest from April 1. Announcing the decision at the women entrepreneurs' meet organised by the Department of Industries and Commerce here on Wednesday, Industries Minister P Rajeeve said the doubling of the loan amount will help women entrepreneurs under 'We-Mission Kerala' project of Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) to scale up their businesses. Also, the moratorium period under the scheme, aimed at identifying, supporting and promoting women entrepreneurs, will be raised to one year from the current six months, the Minister said. Rajeeve announced a composite grant of Rs five lakh for women cooperative societies, which will be available to the co-operative societies that commence operation i

Great strides made but much room for improvement, say women entrepreneurs

Aside from factors such as social stigma, gender biases, insufficient capacity building and access to actionable knowledge, a pressing challenge for women entrepreneurs is access to capital, especiall

SIDBI to partner with AMFI to support Bengal's women entrepreneurs

Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) will partner with the Association of Microfinance Institutions of India (AMFI) to support women entrepreneurs in the backward districts of West Bengal. Deputy Managing Director of SIDBI, Sudatta Mandal, said that the women entrepreneurs will also be helped in terms of getting market and credit linkages. Speaking at the AMFI-WB micro-finance summit here, Mandal said SIDBI has already spearheaded the project in Odisha and it has been very successful. "Six backward districts of West Bengal have been identified for this purpose and 12,000 women will be given credit so that their incomes rise. This will be a two-year intervention by SIDBI," he stated. By this intervention, the average income of women will rise by at least 30 per cent, Mandal added. Alok Mishra, CEO of MFIN, a self-regulatory organisation (SRO) in the micro-finance sector, said the basic idea is of financial inclusion which had been the focus of successive governments s

Google India to mentor 1 mn Indian women entrepreneurs: Antony Blinken

Applauding the efforts of the US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment that connects the private sector and civil society to help women grow their businesses, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Google India has committed to mentoring 1 million Indian women entrepreneurs. Launching US Strategy on Global Women's Economic Security here on Wednesday, Blinken also said that the Biden administration will promote women's entrepreneurship by addressing some of the challenges that too often hold women back, including a lack of mentorship and training opportunities. "We're working to both create and also, as appropriate, replicate efforts like the US-India Alliance for Women's Economic Empowerment," Blinken said. "That connects the private sector and civil society to provide Indian women with technical skills and networking opportunities to help them grow their businesses. At the alliance's launch, Google India committed to mentoring one million Indian women ...

Women leaders: A way to IPO success?

Indian society may be more advanced than we think it is