Rajasthan Education Summit 2026 Highlights AI‑Driven Vision for Learning & Talent

Positioning Rajasthan as a future hub for AI-driven learning, innovation, and skilled talent emerged as the central focus of the Rajasthan Education Summit 2026 held in Jaipur on Friday. Organised by ASSOCHAM Rajasthan State Council in collaboration with IIHMR University the summit deliberated on the theme “Empowering Rajasthan through AI-Driven Education & Vision 2030”.

Dr. Prem Chand Bairwa, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Technical and Higher Education, Government of Rajasthan, along with more than 150 delegates, focused on strengthening Rajasthan’s education ecosystem through responsible integration of AI, industry-academia collaboration, digital transformation, skill development, innovation-led learning, and future-ready curricula.

Speakers including Vice Chancellors, Directors, policymakers, researchers, principals, entrepreneurs, and industry representatives highlighted the importance of ensuring that technology-driven education remains accessible, inclusive, and employment-oriented, particularly for students from emerging and underserved regions.

Dr. PR Sodani, President, IIHMR University, shared, “The future of education will be defined by how effectively we integrate technology with human-centric learning. AI-driven education is not only about digital transformation but also about creating equitable opportunities, strengthening critical thinking, and preparing youth for emerging global challenges. Platforms like these are important for fostering collaboration between academia, government, and industry.”

Discussions explored how AI can support personalised learning, improve educational governance, enhance research capabilities, and contribute to building a globally competitive talent pool from Rajasthan.

Importance of COVID-19 Testing for Return to Work - Timely Detection will Reduce Impact of 3rd Wave in India

The number of positive cases which was around 20 percent till last month has come down to less than 4 percent now, this was possible only because of timely detection and treatment all across the country, this would also be instrumental in reducing the negative impact of the third wave of the pandemic in India stated Dr Anil Kumar, Deputy Director General of Health Services, Government of India at the webinar – ‘Importance of COVID 19 Testing For Return to Work’ organised by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Speaking at the virtual event, Dr Kumar mentioned that the level of testing and the speed at which the results are analysed would help in the early detection of the infection and the same can be treated early.

“This would help in reducing the transmission of the virus to others. The government agencies too can use this data to determine the level of infection in a particular locality and also take corrective measures to tackle the same,” Shri Kumar mentioned.

According to Dr Kumar, there are more 2500 active laboratories actively working on the testing of these cases.

“Almost 70 percent of these laboratories with their branches belong to the private players which is a good thing as it is helping in early detection of the cases. We believe that early detection coupled with vaccination would help in reducing the impact of the third wave,” he said.

Abhimanyu Roy, Executive Director, Avalon Consulting mentioned that the work from home option is not a possibility for a large section of the society.

“There are still a majority of the work force out there who would still need to go out to work like the manufacturing or the construction sector. So this concept is not feasible for all the industries in the country,” he said.

Mr S Y Siddiqui, Executive Advisor, Maruti Suzuki India informed that companies who would want their employees to return to work needs to have a very careful approach towards handing their operations.

“The approach should not be on building their operations, but be towards taking care of their employees. The top priority should be towards the health of the employee,” he said.

He also explained that the responsibility of the company should not be just towards their own employees but also to the community and the government.

“Our own company was earlier involved in the manufacturing and supplying of ventilators used for the treatment of these COVID cases. Now we are looking at how to boost the manufacturing of oxygen generator plants,” he said.

Mr Vijay Nair, VP, Employee Relations, Mahindra and Mahindra that today most companies have stopped relying on traditional structures and have completely adopted digital technology to take decisions.

“So we have more of flexible workplaces and have a majority of our staff working from remote locations. Never in the 37 years of my career, had I thought that a company involved in engineering would have its staff working from home,” he said.

Ms Sangeeta Gupta, Senior VP & CSO, NASSCOM explained that thought many companies have made plans to get their employees back to workplaces, but then the virus is totally unpredictable.

“The situation is still very critical. By vaccinations and COVID appropriate behaviour, many are looking to slowly open up their work places post September. By the end of July, many are expecting majority of their workforce would get vaccinated. We have similar plans, but we like others also have plans behind those plans,” She said.

Dr Ravi Gaur, Director, Oncquest Labs explained that people were always at work even during the pandemic, now they just have to reorganise themselves to go back to their work place.

“One of the reasons for the second wave is that people just did not adhere to COVID appropriate behaviour. But now testing too has undergone a lot of changes. This has added to a lot of hope,” he said.

He added that the results of the tests which would take 24-48 hours earlier now can be done in just 8-10 hours, so early detection helps in timely prevention of further transmission.

Mr Anubhav Kumar, Head Strategy, Boeing India explained that their company is working on futuristic technology for disinfecting airplanes which would prevent microbes from transmitting to passengers.

“We have also offered $10 million emergency aid to India in our support to the country’s response against the second wave. We just did not offer aid, but also helped set up medical facilities with 100- 200 beds in states like Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh,” He added.

Ms Urvashi Singh, Sr. VP- HR, Genpact India explained that the pandemic has changed the future of working everywhere in the world. “It is never going to be a 100 percent work environment now. People would have their employees at off shore, onshore and even working from home environment. However there would be some need for basic socialisation that some employees may come back to workplaces. At the moment, there is less than 5 percent of the staff who are doing that,” She said.

She explained that going forward as well, the health and safety of the employees would be the primary concern for businesses. “Almost 60 percent of the transmission is happening due to asymptomatic cases, so companies too are looking for strategies to tackle these issues before opening up their workplaces completely,” She informed.

Presence of appropriate technology platforms for COVID testing were also discussed during the seminar, It was agreed by all the participants that use of Rapid Antigen tests, Self-tests and other point of care solutions will have an instrumental impact in the Return to Work preparations.

Cdr Navneet Bali, Co-Chair, ASSOCHAM National Healthcare Council & Director, Northern Region, Narayana Health explained that the scale and the magnitude of the pandemic were such that no one could have been prepared for the same. “Most of the people getting infection were younger lot. We have to realise that uncertainty is the new normal now. But with some positivity in the environment, we need to come out with out-of-the box solutions to transit from out of home work environment to working from office workspaces,” he said.

Let India’s 7 Crore Traders become Ambassadors of Vocal For Local, Says Experts At ASSOCHAM’s ‘Wisdom Series’

The lecture was a part of the third edition of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat - Vocal for Local – Moving towards Self-Reliant India'

• Standardisation and quality control can capture both domestic and global consumer
• Government should incentivise manufacturers by rewarding good manufacturing and distribution practices
• Crucial to maintain inventory of existing industries to be able to map potential for domestic production of products that are generally imported

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), one of the apex trade associations of India in association with ITC Sunfeast concluded the third edition of its Wisdom Series lecture titled 'Role of Consumer Voice' on the theme of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat - Vocal for Local – Moving towards Self-Reliant India'. The event saw an expert panel consisting of Prof. Bejon Kumar Misra, International Consumer Policy expert, Shri Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders and Mr Anil Rajput, Chairman, ASSOCHAM FMCG Brand Promotion and Protection Council holding an insightful discussion on retail chain utilisation, quality control of products and role of small and medium-sized enterprises to promote local MSMEs and industries to achieve a self-reliant India.

Highlighting the crucial role played by retail traders in pushing the agenda of Vocal for Local, Mr. Praveen Khandelwal said, "Traders can play a major role here as India's 130 crore population have the first contact with the trader. For any kind of requirement, they approach a trader first. We have more than 7 crore traders and they can play a crucial role in this aspect. Every trader in the country can be a brand ambassador for Vocal for Local and Aatmanirbhar Bharat. This can be a great contact point for launching a vicious campaign as to why we need Vocal for Local and Aatmanirbhar Bharat as there are several in this country who do not know the real value of buying local."

He further added on how liberating traders from license raj can propel consumption, "Today if you want to start a business or manufacture a product, then you need 28 types of licenses. How can manufacturers plan to produce if they have to get 28 licenses? Most of these licenses are redundant and they have been existing since pre-Independence era. The producing sector should be liberated to the extent that it becomes easy for the sector to concentrate on producing more and not put their mind on how to reduce costs. They need to be given freedom from the command of multiple authorities."

Furthering the discussion by focusing on how small traders in the value chain can be amply used to realise the goal of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, Mr. Bejon Kumar Misra said, "There should be an inventory of the existing industries we have, their capacities, their core competencies and what are the other applications of their skills. Then we need to have an inventory list of products that are being imported but can also be manufactured domestically. Once these two lists are matched and steps like incentivising small scale manufacturers, linking of medium-scale manufacturers to large-scale manufacturers by becoming an ancillary part of them in terms of outsourcing and sub-contracting are taken then am sure that we will be able to utilise a lot of unexplored capacities. In order to utilise the full potential of small manufacturers, they need to be helped which means our internal procurement system, be it government or private, must develop a good supply chain."

Both the experts agreed that there needs to be a standardization of manufactured products to encourage domestic and global consumption. Mr. Bejon Misra in this regard said, "The cornerstone of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is quality. We must bring in standards and regulations that assure the consumer of quality and safety. If we want to become a manufacturing hub then we need to bring in the best quality of the world in the goods manufactured in India. If we can produce the best quality domestically, then we will not only capture the Indian consumer but also the global consumer. Government must incentivise local manufacturers not just through subsidies but by upgrading their technology, knowledge and incentivising good manufacturing and distribution practices."

Mr Anil Rajput, Chairman, ASSOCHAM FMCG Brand Promotion and Protection Council while moderating the discussion presented insightful questions before the panellists and highlighted the role of consumers in promoting domestic consumption. "The recent pandemic has brought many changes in consumer behaviour and their pattern. While shopping malls and multiplexes were closed, small grocery shop and vegetable and fruit vendors delivered essential items at the doorstep of every citizen's houses. This led to citizens opting for small grocery stores and vendors selling goods nearby their living area and saw many businesses reinvent their products, services and distribution channel. This shows that consumers have a very important role to play to make the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat successful by promoting local products and increasing use of Indian products. This is an opportunity for local brands to establish themselves well in local markets and then promulgate at national and international levels."

ASSOCHAM initiated its endeavour of value creation for Indian industry in 1920. It was established by promoter Chambers, representing all regions of India. Having in its fold over 400 Chambers and Trade Associations and serving over 4.5 lakh members across India. ASSOCHAM has emerged as the fountainhead of Knowledge for Indian industry, which is all set to redefine the dynamics of growth and development in the Knowledge Based Economy. More information available on www.assocham.org

ASSOCHAM Launches CoE for Tribal Entrepreneurship Development

Apex industry body ASSOCHAM has set up the ‘Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Tribal Entrepreneurship Development’ and will work in partnership with Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India.

The Centre of Excellence for Tribal Entrepreneurship Development was virtually inaugurated by Shri Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Government of India. The event was attended by several dignitaries from the Central and State Governments.

Noting that potential of Indian tribal community has largely remained untapped due to various reasons, Shri Munda said “There is lack of awareness about tribal heritage and ignorance about the range and diversity of tribal produce across the country.”

Lauding the chamber's efforts, the Union Minister added, “A differentiated value proposition mooted by ASSOCHAM should help position and develop tribal offerings and in turn create better livelihood opportunities for tribal artisans and the community at large.”

Highlighting the need for collective stakeholder participation, Shri Munda said, “I call upon all the stakeholders, including the industry members, to join in the efforts of developing the potential of the tribal communities and building their capacities to enhance their contribution in socio-economic growth thus fulfilling the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”


ASSOCHAM also conducted a webinar titled, ‘Khadi: Symbol of independent Atmanirbhar Bharat,’ to commemorate the birth of Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi and to celebrate upliftment, inclusion and empowerment of India underprivileged, marginalized and impoverished communities.

The discussion focused on the urgency to promote and support entrepreneurship of the tribal communities in the country.

Sharing his views, ASSOCHAM president, Dr Niranjan Hiranandani said, “Given the often-remote locations where these tribal populations live, delivering essential services and ensuring they can benefit from economic growth, remains a crucial challenge for the country. Considering that scheduled tribes are almost 20 years behind the average Indian population in terms of their development, the potential of approximately 8 percent of our population must be fully developed and leveraged. The ‘Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme’ would optimize their contribution to the growing economy of our country and support India's vision of becoming Atmanirbhar.”


Echoing similar sentiment, ASSOCHAM secretary general, Mr Deepak Sood said, “In a bid to promote and support entrepreneurship across Indian tribal communities, efforts are underway in connecting agriculture and forest produce with markets using technology, creation of self-help groups, empowering women, and creating self-sustainable enterprises. However, there are several challenges and bottlenecks that impede the growth of this process. The ‘ASSOCHAM Centre of Excellence’ will strive to address these issues, explore avenues of promotion to create a robust tribal brand identity and in the process - build and enhance the entrepreneurial capabilities of the tribal artisans.”

Mr Sood added that the ‘Tribal Entrepreneurship Development Programme’ is aimed at ensuring the quality of life to the last man in the line and strengthening tribal entrepreneurship.


Amid others who shared their views on tribal development included - Mr Deepak Khandekar, secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India; Dr Naval Jit Kapoor, joint secretary and Mr Vineet Agarwal, senior vice-president, ASSOCHAM.


Also present on the occasion were Dr Atul Kochhar, CEO, National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH); Dr Manish Pande, director & head, Project Analysis & Documentation (PAD) Division, Quality Council of India; Dr Manu Gupta, co-founder Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS) along with other senior industry players.

About ASSOCHAM:

ASSOCHAM initiated its endeavour of value creation for Indian industry in 1920. It was established by promoter Chambers, representing all regions of India. Having in its fold over 400 Chambers and Trade Associations, and serving over 4.5 lakh members across India. ASSOCHAM has emerged as the fountainhead of Knowledge for Indian industry, which is all set to redefine the dynamics of growth and development in the Knowledge Based Economy.

ASSOCHAM- MeitY & DST Join Hands to Launch India’s 1st & Largest Exhibition on Smart Technology - SMARTecIndia2020 Virtual exhibition to be kicked off on Sep 25

Apex industry body ASSOCHAM in partnership with Ministry of Information Technology & Electronics, Govt. of India and Department of Science & Technology, Govt of India has announced the launch of SMARTecIndia2020 on 25 Sept 2020, which aims to be India’s first and largest Smart Exhibition of Smart Technologies. Biggest technology giant Ericsson has come on board as ICT Awards Partner to support the initiative.

As the whole world fights the challenge of the on-going COVID19 pandemic, the Industry sectors all over the world are motivated to moving towards digitization of their operations. Smart Technologies have truly become a boon for the businesses during such times, when almost every sector has started using AI, IoT and various other technology platforms to continue their operations and serve their customers.

In a bid to provide necessary boost to this sector and initiate a global dialogue on strengthening the policy framework, international business potentials, etc.

The uniquely curated confluence of smart technologies from all sectors will experience a week long virtual exhibition which will be attended by over 400 Exhibitors from India and various leading countries, live demonstrations and product launches of exciting products and services, participation from progressive state governments.

In order to celebrate the spirit of innovation, the initiative will also award 10 top innovations from various sectors on 27^th of September 2020 in the EnnovateIndia2020 conference.

Mr Deepak Sood, Secretary General of ASSOCHAM shared “We are experiencing a new normal and smart technologies are playing a very vital role in making, not only our lives smarter and simpler, but also making our businesses more efficient and competitive. Initially, only few sectors like Education, Manufacturing, Entertainment etc were using smart technologies, but I am glad to see sectors like Agriculture, Energy, BFSI etc also joining in. I am expecting huge growth of this sector in future, with more and more users and businesses coming up to start using them. I am glad, India is taking a lead here as well. ASSOCHAM has always advocated that economy of nations must continue and hence once again ASSOCHAM is taking lead in providing a timely and cost effective business development platform to businesses across globe.”

SMARTecIndia2020 platform is aimed to be a highly cost-effective sales tool for smart technologies which ensures round the clock global outreach to potential business prospects, providing complete flexibility of timing and convenience for visitors from any geography.

Countries like USA, Israel, Russia, Latvia, Kazakhstan, Germany, Peru, Estonia, Korea, Japan, Argentina, Canada, El Salvador, Chile, Costa Rica, Brazil, Mauritius and Singapore are expected to participate and showcase their unique propositions in the smart technologies from all sectors. Out of which Latvia & Israel have already confirmed their partnerships.

Shadowfax Ties Up with ASSOCHAM to Upskill and Employ Youth under the Skill India Mission

Shadowfax, India’s only crowdsourced, cross-category, full-stack logistics platform, has joined hands with the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India, ASSOCHAM, in a first-of-its-kind and an exclusive partnership to promote micro entrepreneurship in gig economy under the aegis of Government of India’s Skill India Mission initiative. 

With the gig economy gaining traction, logistics and delivery are the sunshine sectors providing immense employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. Under this partnership, ASSOCHAM, which is an independent body, will work closely with the government to create awareness about the benefits of working in this attractive sector and the right candidates shall be trained as per government standards to make them employment ready for the delivery & hospitality sector. 

Once trained, these fully skilled human resources will be provided business and entrepreneurship opportunities in delivery sector through the crowdsourced Shadowfax logistics platform. This first-of-its-kind socio-economic association is expected to create an additional resource pool of 1.6 lakh trained delivery personnel in the course of next two years across India including metros, tier 2, tier 3 cities and even rural areas. 

Sharing the details of the partnership, Saurabh Sharma, V.P. Growth & Expansion, Shadowfax said, “We are privileged to partnerwith ASSOCHAM in this socio-economic initiative under the Skill India mission. The Shadowfax delivery partners are all microentrepreneurs who, if they choose to, rewrite their destiny a little better every day. This partnership which seeks to upskill more than 150000 youth to make them employable, is in line with our corporate social mission to create a million microentrepreneurs by 2023. It is also in sync with our business goal to increase our footprints to a 600+ Indian cities and towns as the project will provide us a ready pool of trained delivery partners from across India including metros, tier 2-3 cities and towns and even rural areas including parts of J&K and North-East India. We expect this Shadowfax-ASSOCHAM partnership to set an exemplary instance of the best kind of socio-corporate tie-up."

Speaking on the occasion, Maninder Singh Nayyar, Co-Chairman, Skill & Entrepreneurship ASSOCHAM, said, “ASSOCHAM has found a worthy partner in Shadowfax, a company which believes in not only providing gainful employment but also in sowing the seeds of entrepreneurship in its workforce. Upskilling alone does not help our youth, they need enough business opportunities to prove their mettle. Our partnership with Shadowfax will provide our trained youth right and ample opportunities to make their mark. The project alone is expected to add approximately 20% more delivery personnel to the existing pool with reputed organizations like Bal Bharti Academy also supporting this initiative at pan India level."

Ajay Sharma, Assistant Secretary General, ASSOCHAM, added, “GOI has allocated handsome amount for skill development under various programs. ASSOCHAM will identify and train each selected youth as per standards set out by the government under the aegis of this initiative. The project is expected to add approximately 2 lakh delivery personnel to the current 10 lakh+ community."

About Shadowfax

Shadowfax - India’s largest crowdsourced logistics platform, was established in 2015 withthe vision of enabling commerce by empowering lives for everyone, everywhere. The Shadowfax technology platform optimizes for best-in-class partner efficiency and uniteconomics. It’s AI based location processing engine, using location data from orderprocessing, enables highest service levels among its competitors. Driven by a massiveword-of-mouth growth in the India market, Shadowfax has the lowest partner acquisition cost in its segment. Shadowfax APIs are available for small as well as enterprise businesses throughout India for seamless and trustworthy logistics service.

About ASSOCHAM

ASSOCHAM initiated its endeavour of value creation for Indian industry in 1920. Having in its fold over 400 Chambers and Trade Associations and serving over 4.5 lakh members across India. ASSOCHAM has emerged as the fountainhead of Knowledge for Indian industry, which is all set to redefine the dynamics of growth and development in the Knowledge Based Economy. 

India to Mark Fastest Growth in Digital Payments' Transaction Value between 2019 and 2023

Digital payments in India will more than double to $135.2 billion in 2023 from $64.8 billion this year, according to an Assocham-PWC India study.

“India is expected to clock the fastest growth in digital payments’ transaction value between 2019 and 2023 with a compounded annual growth of 20.2%," said the study released on Saturday.

The study also showed that India’s share of worldwide transaction value of digital payments is also set to increase from 1.56% to 2.02% in the next four years.

Among factors which led to the exponential growth in digital transactions are demonetization and discounts on mobile wallets and UPI transactions. Funding from a diverse set of domestic and international stakeholders also contributed to the growth in digital payments. The study stated that regulatory efforts and the early successes of wallets of non banking players (like Paytm) played a catalyst’s role in enhancing the digital landscape in the country in the last three years, with heavy traction in the past one year.

According to the study, the key growth driver for digital payment would be inter-operability between the pre-paid instrument (PPI) players, whose number has reached almost 50 in India.

“Interoperability is expected to remove such hindrances and enable users to make payments at any and all digitally enabled merchant outlets without the need to possess the same wallet platform. What makes interoperability possible today is the UPI, which allows users possessing accounts in different banks to transact with each other in real time," the study added.

The rise of digital commerce, innovation in payments technology using AI, blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT) and real-time payments and the introduction of mobile point of sale (POS) devices have also contributed to growth.

However, the study revealed that the digital payments industry would need to address challenges such as low margins primarily due to a cashback-driven culture, process inefficiencies like Know Your Customer bottlenecks and cyber security threats.

Recently, the Nandan Nilekani committee on digital payments had recommended that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the government must target growth in the volume of digital payments by a factor of 10 in three years, leading to doubling in value relative to gross domestic product. The committee also highlighted the need to expand the acceptance infrastructure across the country and also to reduce the interchange on card payments by 15 basis points. The panel also pushed for removal of all charges on digital payment transactions for the convenience of customers.

The Content first appeared in Business Standard

Startups Must Develop Stronger Biz Plans To Receive PE/VC Funding: Study

Startup ecosystem has become the buzzword in today’s time. And for any startup funding is the lifeblood for them. Industry experts, institutes, and ministries are trying their best to help aspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with solutions and researchers. Recently, in a report by Assocham-Hammurabi & Solomon, highlighted that startups need to develop stronger and sustainable business plans to receive private equity/venture capital (PE/VC) funding.

The ASSOCHAM-Hammurabi & Solomon joint report titled ‘M&A landscape in India,’ noted that after registering 26 percent dip in fund raising by PE firms last year i.e. from $5.7 billion in 2015 to $4.2 billion in 2016, the year 2017 could be the one for consolidation, with PE/VC (venture capital) firms chasing a business having a strong biz model with a focus on unit economics and profit.

Noting that PE has been a broad-based source of equity capital, both in terms of sectors covered and individual companies, the study said that PE in India has invested in over 3,100 companies across 12 major sectors like telecommunications and others which are critical to the country’s development.

Highlighting the role of PE investments in India’s economy, the study stated that the sector invested a total of more than $103 billion between 2001 and 2014.

It also said that despite a drop in 2008, capital inflows from PE have been more reliable than those from other sources of equity funding, including foreign institutional investment, IPOs and equity issuances, such as secondary offers and convertible instruments.

PE inflows have remained strong, even though India’s GDP (gross domestic product) growth rates have plunged from 9.6 per cent in fiscal 2007 to 4.7 per cent in fiscal 2014 amid high market volatility.Report further stated that to

Report further stated that to fulfill the expectations, the government provided a boost to startups with a number of favorable announcements in the Union Budget 2017, which also addresses certain other concerns of the PE/VC investor community.

The study also said that Indian PE industry, finds itself in the thick of opportunities to map a new route to re-emergence. “Factors like improving business sentiment, making the strategic benefits of PE familiar among Indian enterprises and a pro-reform government would accelerate re-emergence.”

According to the report, the core area to focus on should be the PE/VC exits to generate returns for Limited partners (Lps) and free-up capital for further investment. “M&A activity and a strong primary market are expected to buoy the exits.”

Not only this, the study further highlighted that a strong alliance between stakeholders within the industry and the country’s economic objectives would be required for PE to deliver its full potential to the country’s economy.

“The key factors for the success of private equity are – suitable growth opportunities for the industry and supportive regulatory framework,” said the ASSOCHAM-Hammurabi & Solomon joint study.

It also noted that regulatory framework governing the broader financial services and securities industry in India has a direct impact on private equity investors.

“With the introduction of safe harbor norms for offshore funds which are to benefit PE and VC industry and General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) from April 1, 2017, which is aimed at improving transparency in tax matters and help curb tax evasion the route to re-emergence looks more realistic now. Considering that external environment provides a unique opportunity similar to the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, floating a new campaign on the same lines – ‘Manage Indian investments from India,’ could increase capital investment from domestic and foreign sources. With PE contributing more than 40 percent of equity financing today, a set of cohesive and cogent policies specifically aimed at encouraging the flow of PE should be welcomed,” the report added.

Besides, PE appears to accelerate job growth through its portfolio companies. “Between 2001 and 2016, the number of jobs at companies backed by PE posted a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) on average of almost 9 per cent during the first five years after investment, while the annual growth rate at comparable companies without PE funds was just under three per cent,” concludes report.

Karnataka Government Funds 8 Tourism Startups Under Idea2POC Scheme

The Karnataka State Government has selected eight technology based startups who will work to promote the potential of the tourism industry. All the selected startups will get a grant ranging from Rs. 5 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh to develop ideas and products. The names of the all selected startups were declared on the World Tourism Day in the hackathon organized by the Karnataka Startup Cell and the State Tourism Department.

The offered funding is a part of the Idea to Proof of Concept Grant Scheme (Idea2POC) announced by the government under the Karnataka Startup Policy 2015-20. According to the government, total 127 applications were received for this program whereas the selected startups will share a total grant amounting to ₹1.8 crore. This Scheme is an attempt to recognize those startups that have innovative tech solutions that can be implemented immediately. This entire means, the government has chosen only those startups that are serious and have everything ready to put into practice. The grant was announced by IT, BT and Tourism Minister Priyank Kharge a few months ago. He confirmed the department had set aside Rs 2.5 crore to fund such startups.

The offered funding is a part of the Idea2PoC scheme launched by the Department of IT, BT and S&T, Govt. of Karnataka. It is an ‘Ignition Fund’ disbursed in the form of grant-in-aid but limited to a one-time grant of up to ₹50 lakh. Priyank Kharge, Minister of State IT, BT & Tourism said, “Idea2POC offers entrepreneurs a support system to explore, develop and launch their best ideas. The scheme is designed to identify, mentor and fund enterprising tourism start-ups in Karnataka that can create a deeper, immersive experiences around the State’s manifold riches.”

The funds shall be released in different parts based on the life cycle of the business plan. Basically, this grant was announced to enable technology innovators or entrepreneurs to pursue a promising technology idea, and validate proof of concept by Govt.

Karnataka as an Emerging Tourist Destination

Karnataka is emerging as a tourist destination and government is committed to provide all kind of support to give a boost to this industry. All the chosen startups are Bengaluru based and they have many other reasons to be delighted. The state attracted over Rs 11,000 crore of the total outstanding investments worth over Rs 93,400 crore attracted by the hotels and tourism industry in India in June 2016.

According to a report conducted by the industry body ASSOCHAM, “Karnataka can attract over 15 crore domestic tourists and about 10 lakh foreigners by 2019, if the state promotes more inclusive tourism policies to derive better synergy of tourism and infrastructure development.” The report also said that the state has acquired third highest share in investments attracted by hospitality business. It has estimated, “Domestic tourist visits in the state can grow at a rate of about 6 per cent considering the recent trends of rise in domestic tourist visits together with improvement seen in physical infrastructure, rise in income and an increasing thrust on tourism promotion by state government.” The report added, “About 12 per cent share in total investments attracted by hotels and tourism industry across the country, Karnataka ranked third after Maharashtra and Gujarat.”

The Chosen Startups

The eight startups which are selected include AAO Hostels, Aseuro Technologies, Highir Technologies, Highway Delite, DigiTour Technologies, Trip Dairy, Moving Up Products and Trip On Food . All of them have received the 1st instalment of funds from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The state government aims to nurturing 20,000 tech startups and 6,000 product startups under the startup policy.

State of E-Commerce in India - Flipkart-Myntra most visited sites with Total of 53.4million online shoppers

Comcast and ASSOCHAM's latest study conducted on the 'State of Ecommerce' in the country has thrown open some interesting facts about India’s internet usage and penetration of retail shopping using the digital medium in the country.

With more and more people becoming comfortable shopping online, the penetration of retail shopping using the digital medium has seen a massive increase of 65 percent in the country. According to Comcast and ASSOCHAM's report, the number of visitors on the shopping websites has increased to 53.4 million a month, which has resulted in an overall annual growth of 15 percent.

The report titled 'State of Ecommerce in India' also revealed that cosmetics, apparel, fragrances, health and home furnishings were the few categories which have had some growth in the past twelve years and out of these, apparel has seen the highest growth at 66 percent which is followed by cosmetics and fragrances at  12 percent.

According to the report, growth has come across in all retail categories and most of them show promising conversion rates and transactions along with increase in visitors.

The report also revealed one more interesting point, according to the report, the group of websites owned by Flipkart has taken the top position in the most visited retail sites of July 2014 with more than 26 million visitors in the month of July. Jabong acquired the second position with 23.5 million visitors and Amazon came in third at 16.9 million visitors.

The report also talked about the travel category and revealed that the category has seen an overall growth in all its sub categories which include online travel agents, car rental, airlines, and travel as well as hotel information websites.

According to the ‘State of Ecommerce in India’ report, the Indian Railways website with over 15 million unique visitors a month is among the most visited websites in the country. Cleartrip, Yatra and MakeMyTrip have an individual reach of 3.5, 7.6 and 8.9 % of the total online users respectively.

According to the report, India adds over seven million internet users among the BRIC nations and has the 3^rd fastest share in retail marketing.

 

State of E-Commerce in India - Flipkart-Myntra most visited sites with Total of 53.4million online shoppers

Comcast and ASSOCHAM's latest study conducted on the 'State of Ecommerce' in the country has thrown open some interesting facts about India’s internet usage and penetration of retail shopping using the digital medium in the country.

With more and more people becoming comfortable shopping online, the penetration of retail shopping using the digital medium has seen a massive increase of 65 percent in the country. According to Comcast and ASSOCHAM's report, the number of visitors on the shopping websites has increased to 53.4 million a month, which has resulted in an overall annual growth of 15 percent.

The report titled 'State of Ecommerce in India' also revealed that cosmetics, apparel, fragrances, health and home furnishings were the few categories which have had some growth in the past twelve years and out of these, apparel has seen the highest growth at 66 percent which is followed by cosmetics and fragrances at  12 percent.

According to the report, growth has come across in all retail categories and most of them show promising conversion rates and transactions along with increase in visitors.

The report also revealed one more interesting point, according to the report, the group of websites owned by Flipkart has taken the top position in the most visited retail sites of July 2014 with more than 26 million visitors in the month of July. Jabong acquired the second position with 23.5 million visitors and Amazon came in third at 16.9 million visitors.

The report also talked about the travel category and revealed that the category has seen an overall growth in all its sub categories which include online travel agents, car rental, airlines, and travel as well as hotel information websites.

According to the ‘State of Ecommerce in India’ report, the Indian Railways website with over 15 million unique visitors a month is among the most visited websites in the country. Cleartrip, Yatra and MakeMyTrip have an individual reach of 3.5, 7.6 and 8.9 % of the total online users respectively.

According to the report, India adds over seven million internet users among the BRIC nations and has the 3^rd fastest share in retail marketing.