The growth of entrepreneurship in India has resulted in a plethora of startups and many large companies in recent years. Yet, the country continues to lag other Asian nations in innovation, according to a new research report. In contrast, the report shows that Asia has driven a boom in recent years in terms of R&D spending, venture capital funding, academic publications, and patents. The report by Lux Research titled: “State of Innovation in Asia: Key Industries and Players Shaping Asia’s Innovative Ecosystem,” showed that in 2018, China, Japan and South Korea spent a combined $613 billion on R&D, bagging three of the top five spots globally.

Publication : CXO Today 

Date : January 11, 2020

Fitch Solutions has said international e-commerce firms in India face the risk of increasingly coming under pressure in the current year due to key policy changes and Reliance Retail venturing into the digital market space. While an e-commerce policy is still in the works, it is likely to take effect in March, Fitch Solutions said in a statement. In addition to the earlier draft guidelines, which ban global online retailers from selling products from companies or affiliates in which they own an equity interest, the government is examining the possibility to set up a regulatory authority to resolve disputes between large online retailers and small enterprises in the country.

Publication : ET Tech 

Date : January 11, 2020

A growing number of brands are deciding they no longer need Amazon. Earlier this week, Ikea became the latest brand to cut ties with Amazon when it said it would not to continue a pilot program that began in 2018. The Swedish retailer joined the likes of Nike, Birkenstock and PopSockets, which decided selling on Amazon wasn’t worth the hassle, and opted to pull out instead. The moves have sparked fears that Amazon will soon see more big brands flee the site. Even if brands end their relationship with Amazon, shoppers can still purchase their products on the site via third-party sellers.

Publication : CNBC

Date : January 10, 2020

Startups have received a lot of appreciation from all quarters about their role in the growing Indian economy, yet these ventures continue to be bogged down by red tape. Entrepreneurs, already hard-pressed for time to raise funds and scale their businesses, have to spend a considerable amount of time and energy sorting out tax issues and coping with frequent regulatory changes. They are now hoping for faster processing of tax refunds and taxing of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) only at the time of sale.

Publication : The Economic Times 

Date : January 11, 2020