Narendra Modi

Services Allowed During Lockdown 2.0

Lockdown implemented to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus has been extended till May 3. The Ministry of Home Affair has issued detailed guidelines regarding services that’ll remain operational and those not.

Some conditional relief may be seen in areas that are not hotspots for the novel coronavirus from April 20. Originally, the 21-day nation-wide lockdown was to end on April 14 but considering the rising number of cases, especially in Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, a majority of states agreed to extend the lockdown.

WHAT’S OPEN DURING LOCKDOWN 2.0

All kinds of essential services. These services include all health workers (doctors, nurses, hospital staff, and sanitation workers.)
Media persons belonging to print and electronic media (though they too can’t enter the containment zones, also known as hotspots.)
Homes of children, disabled, mentally challenged or senior citizens, women.
Movement, loading or unloading of goods cargo (both inter or intrastate)
MNREGA works are allowed with strict implementation of social distancing and use of face mask.
Hotels, homestays, lodges and motels.
Services provided by self-employed people, including electrician, IT repairs, plumbers, motor mechanics and carpenters will also remain operational.
Industries in rural areas, SEZs, and EOU zones, units making essential goods, food processing units, IT hardware companies, coal production will be allowed to function.
Construction of roads, irrigation projections, buildings and all kinds of industrial projects, including MSMEs, in rural areas and construction of renewable energy projects will be allowed.
Government will also ease restrictions for farmworkers (since the rabi crop harvest season has started in states like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.)
All security personnel, including police and security forces, are also exempted from the lockdown.
All kinds of essential service agencies, including cook gas agencies, fuel pumps, ration shops, wholesale and retail shops and vegetable mandis will remain open.
Pathology labs will also be allowed to operate amid the lockdown.
Goods trucks carrying goods — weather or not essential goods — within states and outside states will be allowed to operate during the extended lockdown period.
During a televised address to the nation on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India might have to pay a big economic price for the lockdown but there was no alternative to saving human lives.

All you need to know about the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana

The yojana looks to facilitate development and economic help to the non-corporate and non-agro sectors whose credit requisites are below 10 lakhs.

The current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has always stressed on the fact that the youth of the country should be job creators as opposed to job seekers. By supporting small scale industries, it ensures their survival as well as paves the way to success and prosperity of the country. This also allows a certain majority of the population to become self-sufficient and independent and set up their own businesses.

As opposed to large scale industries which employ a little more than a crore people, small scale industries employ almost twelve crore people in the country. Keeping these small scale industries in mind, the Government has come up with the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana under the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) bank.

About the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana:

The yojana looks to facilitate development and economic help to the non-corporate and non-agro sectors whose credit requisites are below 10 lakhs. All Non-Corporate Small Business Segment (NCSBS) such as food service units, food processors, machine operators, small shopkeepers etc will be eligible for economic support under MUDRA bank.

There are a few eligibility criteria that a person needs to meet before availing these loans:

• Applicant must be an Indian citizen and should be above 18 years of age.

• The business plan must contain the structure, investment plans, nature of product, marketing and future results as well.

• The type of industry should be non-agricultural.

• Other guidelines are same as the ones of RBI and MUDRA bank.

The segments:

The three types of schemes that have been devised to provide the small scale industries with loans are:

• Shishu scheme: Loans up to INR 50,000

• Kishore scheme: loans between INR 51,000 to INR 5,00,000

• Tarun: Loans between INR 5,00,000 to 10,00,000

7 skills CEOs should learn from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Read how CEO’s can become better business leaders by acquiring some of Narendra Modi’s skills.

If there is one personality you can’t possibly ignore nowadays, it is our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A true leader, Modi’s inspiring persona has everyone in awe of his leadership skills. Read how CEO’s can become better business leaders by acquiring some of Modi’s skills.

1. Creating direct connect with stakeholders

Modi has made it a point to reach out to his audience directly through every possible medium. He is staying directly connected with the masses through a medium like Mann ki Baat on radio, and has formed youth connection through social media. CEOs should remember importance of knowing pulse of the consumers, trade partners and investors alike. Forming a direct connect with stakeholders & engaging with them is one of the important things CEOs can learn from Modi.

2. Investing in right team creation & ongoing performance measurement

We have seen how Modi has almost handpicked his team to run the government, including his cabinet and bureaucratic line-up. A talented team is not only a strong foundation for an organisation, but also important in realising your vision. Not only that, he has also displayed how important an ongoing measurement of goals is, with the latest cabinet rejig being proof of that. As CEOs its important to not only invest in a great leadership team but timely and periodic review helps to make sure goals are being met.

3. Basics first

While having a long term goal and envisioning big picture is what a CEO must do, its critical to set the basics right. All plans and schemes Modi has introduced, such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Atal Pension Yojana, Swachh Bharat (including building of toilets), etc. aim at addressing basic socio-economical structure. Programmes like Digital India, Smart City Yojana, National Highway Programmes, and many more aim to fix elementary infrastructure. As CEOs its imperative to know that basics should be in place to have results in place.

4. Efficiency & productivity

At the age of 65, Modi can give any youngster a run for his money when it comes to high efficiency and unmatched productivity. Take for instance his chock-a-block schedule – back to back travel to multiple countries, catching up on sleep during flights, high-energy speeches at international platforms, 18 hour workdays, and the list goes on. To lead an organisation, this is the kind of determination and adeptness that is needed.

Related Post: How to get better at leadership?

5. Actions speak louder than words

Much uproar and criticism has always been around Modi’s silence on various issues that people, political parties and media have expected him to comment on. But he has set perfect example for business front-runners to talk less and do more. If your organisation is giving a great product with exceptional services and overall customer experience, you don’t need to spend on media and PR. Your work will anyways be spoken about and duly applauded.

6. Deployment of latest technology

Modi is highly tech-savvy unlike various other leaders of his age. We have not forgotten how deployment of 3D Hologram technology not only helped him multiply his reach to world’s largest electorate but how it became a huge talking point with it being a first in the Indian political scene. He has not only deployed tech for marketing but for improving processes too. A good CEO must know how to deploy tech to stay ahead of the curve.

7. It all starts with a healthy body & mind

Finally & most importantly staying fit physically & mentally is where it all starts. Only a fit mind and body can lead to effective leadership and better decisions. Leading by example, this 65 years old man exuberates immense energy and zeal in everything he does. Be it playing the drums in Tanzania or addressing a huge audience in USA, he has never looked low on energy and passion for his work. CEOs must include yoga or any other regimen to stay fit.

About the author:

Akshay Chaturvedi is the CEO of Housefull.com, former business head of Zigwheels.com. Prior to the Times Group, Chaturvedi was a retail and CPG consultant with KSA -Technopak, where he was instrumental in consulting retailers like Reliance Retail, Marks & Spencers, Bharti Walmart, Vision Express, Landmark Group, and Borders, among other marquee names. He has also consulted consumer goods majors like HUL, P&G, Marico and Microsoft for key assignments with respect to modern retail strategy.

5 Ways the Stand Up India scheme could benefit aspiring women and SC/ST entrepreneurs

The Stand Up India scheme, launched on April 5, ensures that women and SC/ST entrepreneurs have a fair chance at setting up their own businesses.

In January 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Start-Up India scheme, which gave new entrepreneurs a chance at making it big. Under the scheme, entrepreneurs could get loans from banks to kick start their businesses. Now, a new scheme, launching on April 5, will shift the focus to SC/ST and women entrepreneurs, to promote inclusivity.

The Stand Up India scheme provides loans to entrepreneurs of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, as well as women. The loans range from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 1 crore. According to the government, these are sectors of the population that are often underprivileged or under-served. Both these sectors are upcoming, and fast. The scheme helps them out by facilitating loans for non-farm sector entrepreneurship.

Loans for Women Entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs in India find it difficult to get funding for their startups. Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute (GEDI) published a global ranking that looked at how female entrepreneurs fare in the world. India was placed in the last five among the 30 countries that were analysed. It stated that about 73% women entrepreneurs failed to get funding from Venture Capitalists (VC). A study based in Karnataka found that about 90% women had only their own funding to rely on, while 68% found it tougher to get bank loans. All that is set to change once the Stand Up India scheme comes into action.

Refinancing Options

The scheme helps not just those who are in the initial stages of their entrepreneurial plans, but also those who have already set up their company but still fall under the startup category. Under the scheme, the government has opened refinancing options through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), at an initial amount of Rs 10,000 crore. Along with that, a corpus (principal amount) of Rs 5000 crore would be created, to ensure credit guarantee through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company. Along with the composite loan, they will also be provided with a debit card.

Support and Knowledge

A research done by YourStory in 2014 indicates that about 54% women have no idea what a startup should work like or how to work on problem solving. About 58% women need to be educated about entrepreneurial resources and techniques. However, provisions under the scheme also includes support for both women and SC/ST borrowers, all the way from pre-loan stage to operating stage. Besides familiarising them with bank guidelines and terminology, they will also know about registering online and how to use e-markets, and entrepreneurial practices. To bring together all the information related to the scheme, the government will be setting up a website for Stand Up India.

Substantial Reach for Maximum Benefit

While self-employed women working in the low-skill sector (such as manual labour or street vending) has increased to almost 1 crore between 2000 and 2010, the number of women in higher income entrepreneurship still remains low. To increase this number, the intention of the scheme is to get at least two entrepreneurial projects started in every bank branch in the country. The Stand Up India scheme is expected to benefit about 250,000 potential borrowers, according to its official statement.

Connect Centres Near Home

The number of SC/ST entrepreneurs is growing. For instance, according to The Hindu, there’s been an impressive rise in SC/ST entrepreneurs in Andhra Pradesh. The number of organisations set up by them went from 319 in 2004 to 2275 in 2012. To cater to the growing demand, Stand Up Connect Centres would be established at the offices of SIDBI and National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD). With country-wide presence of more than 15 regional offices and 84 branches accommodating more than 600 clusters, the reach of SIDBI is massive. The SIDBI would join hands with the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), among other institutions, to facilitate the loans.

This story was originally published in The Better India

Image credit: http://www.narendramodi.in/