Indian startups need govt support to minimise failures:

Startups in India face numerous challenges at different stages in terms of incorporation, fund raising and hiring and they need adequate support to tide over these difficulties and minimise failures, says a report. |  Indian startups need govt support to minimise failures: Report Startups in India face numerous challenges at different stages in terms of incorporation, fund raising and hiring and they need adequate support to tide over these difficulties and minimise failures, says a report. The government should provide incentives to investors in startups and direct funding on the basis of monitoring and evaluation as India has the potential to become a major hub for startups, industry body Ficci said in the report. The report on the vibrancy of the startup ecosystem in the UK and its lessons for India's developing startup scene observes that while in global hubs like London failure for such venture is accepted, entrepreneurs in countries such as India could be seen as braver as they are taking comparatively greater risks in the face of adverse situations. "There are a number of challenges for Indian startups, from the stage of incorporation through the stages of raising capital, hiring resources, scaling up and making an exit. "There is a need to address such bottlenecks to minimise failures and ensure that the startups graduate to becoming scaleups," Ficci said. Corporates can act as hotbeds for co-creation with startups, provide market opportunities through procurement and encourage a wider culture of entrepreneurship.

Virtual currencies pose real financial risk:

RBI's Gandhi Reserve Bank Deputy Governor R Gandhi today raised concerns over virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and said they pose potential financial, legal, customer protection and security-related risks. | Virtual currencies pose real financial risk: RBIs Gandhi Reserve Bank Deputy Governor R Gandhi today raised concerns over virtual currencies such as Bitcoin and said they pose potential financial, legal, customer protection and security-related risks. He said such digital currencies are not created by any authority but more and more people have started accepting them. "We can see that in these types of virtual currencies there is no central bank or monetary authority. They pose potential financial, operational, legal, customer protection and security-related risks," Gandhi said at a Fin Tech conference organised by Ficci, Indian Banks' Association and Nasscom. Gandhi said virtual currencies are stored in digital electronic form and are prone to losses arising out of hacking, loss of password, and malware attacks. "No established framework for recourse to customer problem, disputes and grievances is feasible with this (virtual currencies) kind of framework." The Deputy Governor said a number of cases have been reported in which virtual currencies have been used for illicit and illegal activities. "My arguments against virtual currencies stem from two elements -- the concept of confidence and anonymity.

BMC polls: 19% winners face criminal cases

 43 winners in the just concluded Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are facing criminal cases, says a report. |BMC polls: 19% winners face criminal cases, says report As many as 43 winners in the just concluded Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections are facing criminal cases, says a report. This implies that nearly 19 per cent of the newly elected corporators have criminal charges against them, including for offences like attempt to murder and rape, as per an analysis of the affidavits of 225 winners out of the total 227 in BMC polls recently done by NGOs Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Maharashtra Election Watch Maharashtra Election Watch's state-cordinator Sharad Kumar said,

Demonetisation: Premium properties, land worst affected Priyansh Jain

 A textile merchant from New Delhi, has an independent three-storeyed property in upmarket Pitampura locality. He has a large joint family and is now looking to sell his property and relocate to R Priyansh Jain, a textile merchant from New Delhi, has an independent three-storeyed property in upmarket Pitampura locality. He has a large joint family and is now looking to sell his property and relocate to a bigger house. However, over the last one year, he has seen a drastic fall in property rates. “What was selling for Rs 20 crores at one point of time in 2015, was in the range of Rs 8-10 crores, in 2016. The recent demonetisation has added to the problems of the property market it seems,” says Jain. The situation seems similar in other metro cities and tier-2 cities. Take for example the case of Mumbai’s upmarket Bandra region, where high-end properties have seen a correction of more than 10%. “Given that old currency notes are no longer valid, home buyers/investors using unaccounted wealth to carry out transactions in cash, are facing a tough time and developers accepting cash components are facing a higher liquidity crunch than those accepting all payments through cheque/ bank transfer,” says Anuj Puri, former head of JLL India.