
NGO turns angel for disadvantaged entrepreneurs
Fourty-four year old Shailendra Singh, a matriculate from Sikri village in Faridabad and Amin Almel, a 29-year-old diploma engineer from Pune, are entrepreneurs with a difference.
They both started with virtually nothing but their hard work and basic skills, and they were also not helped either by banks or venture capitalists, who usually aid only towards highly qualified executives or technology experts.
The Bhartiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), a non-governmental organisation set up in 1992, helped them with funding and mentoring, helping them find their place in the sun. Singh and Almel have won the JRD Tata Young Entrepreneur Award for disadvantaged entrepreneurs that the BYST has instituted.
Singh, who supplies blue-collar workers to malls and hospitals, started with Rs. 32,000 loan from BYST after banks turned him down. Almel, whose firm makes nitrogen tyre inflators, got Rs. 50,000. Singh now employs 3,200 people, while Almel’s business has revenues of Rs. 1.75 crore.
“My first business of a flour mill failed but I started afresh and now have an annual turnover of Rs 4 crore,” says Singh.
“I did not have any credibility but only ideas,” said Almel, who is now looking to expand his business after starting exports to Egypt, Africa and United Arab Emirates.
“Our aim is to provide lending and mentoring at the grassroot level,” Lakshmi N Venkatesan, founding trustee and executive vice president of BYST told Hindustan Times. The NGO, with presence in Delhi, rural Maharashtra, Pune, Haryana, Hyderabad and Chennai has generated 20,000 jobs through 1,600 entrepreneurs and has close to 1,500 active mentors.

Centre, states need to discuss fuel taxes, says Sitharaman
- In an interaction with members of the Indian Women’s Press Corps (IWPC), Sitharaman said that consumer sentiment about the tax burden on auto fuel was understandable.

Reliance to bear the cost of covid shots for its staff
- Nearly 1.1 million vaccine doses were administered to people above the age of 60 and those in the 45-59 age group till Thursday.

Govt plans to scrap 6,000 compliances
- Mohapatra said the idea came during Modi’s meeting with Marriott International president and chief executive Arne Sorenson, who complained about the complex regulations in starting and running a hotel in India.

ICICI cuts home loan rates to a decadal low
- ICICI Bank’s move comes days after rival lenders such as State Bank of India (SBI), Kotak Mahindra Bank and Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd cut their home loan rates.

Voting on corp resolutions compulsory for MFs: Sebi
- These votes will have to be disclosed to unit holders under existing regulations. Voting will be at the MF level (rather than scheme level).

Toyota SUV sales may skid on gaps in chipset supply
- Supply of vehicles from Maruti Suzuki India Ltd—as part of the alliance with Suzuki Motor Corp—has helped Toyota increase its domestic market share in the premium hatchback and entry-level SUV segment, where it was not present before.

Total factories in India grew by 2% in 2018-19
- The top three states by GVA were Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. They had a share of 41% in the total GVA. Rural India added nearly as much GVA (49%) as urban India (51%).

How do India’s fuel taxes impact the less affluent?
- Using average consumption shares to calculate the burden of an indirect tax has a problem.

India says OPEC+ decision to extend oil output cuts will hit economic recovery

Gender inequality has cost world USD 70 trillion since 1990, finds report

Gold price falls further to ₹44,344, sets retail buyers on buying spree
- Retail buyers continued to purchase gold in India as prices declined to a near one-year low.

Sebi lays guidelines on votes cast by mutual funds

India's forex reserves increase by USD 689 million to USD 584.55 billion: RBI

OPEC ignores India's call; Saudi asks New Delhi to use cheap oil bought last yr
