What a decade it has been for Indian entrepreneurship in the technology and internet space. India emerged as the last big frontier for global investors hoping it would become the next China. Big money started to flow in post-2014, with Alibaba’s IPO. Two years later, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries launched its telecom venture Jio, offering dirt-cheap mobile data, which took the internet to the remotest regions. India had the perfect concoction — abundant capital, more than 400 million internet users and a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem buoyed by a tribe of young IITians starting up.

Publication: The Economic Times

Date: January 24, 2020

Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer that opened its first India store in Hyderabad in 2018, may now foray into developing shopping malls along with flagship outlets, two people familiar with the development said. Ikea is exploring possibilities of building shopping malls and entertainment facilities next to some of its upcoming standalone stores, or developing multi-storey shopping centres with Ikea as an anchor store, depending on land availability, they said. The company will lease out mall space to other brands and retailers.

Publication: The Economic Times

Date: January 24, 2020

The argument is straightforward. Tax revenues of any economy grows in line with its nominal GDP growth. In other words, there is a tight relationship between nominal GDP growth and tax revenues collected, also called “tax buoyancy” by economists. In the past, India’s gross tax revenues have largely grown in line with nominal GDP, except during the years of severe external shocks such as demonetisation and GST.For tax revenues to grow much faster than the nominal GDP in a particular year, either the tax rates have to be hiked or collection targets for tax officials have to increase to collect more from existing taxpayers and/or bring new tax payers, a license for tax harassment.

Publication: Hindustan Times

Date: January ...Tax Revenue Growth

World’s largest furniture seller Ikea aims to reach 100 million people in the coming two years, for which the company plans to invest at least 1.5 billion euros for expansion in India. In cities like Pune, the company has taken the online route to get to customers faster.”Pune is the second market in India after Mumbai to make an online presence without any physical stores. This is in line with the ambition to reach many more customers in India faster,” the company said.

Publication: The Times of India

Date: January 22, 2020

Despite an economic slowdown, various regulatory challenges, and an unfavorable taxation system, the Indian startup ecosystem thrived in 2019, raising close to $11.1 billion in funding. Now, Indian startups are eagerly waiting for Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget on February 1 with the hope that it would bring measures to facilitate the ease of doing business in the country and solve some knotty tax issues around ESOPs, LTCG, and GST.

Publication: YourStory

Date: January 23, 2020

Holding a piece of yarn that she expertly weaves, Sridevi says she is grateful for her job. “Working here has not only ensured a livelihood for me, it also helps me maintain a family of five.” Like Sridevi, there are a few hundred women working at the 10,000sqft hub, engaged in various activities, including weaving, making bowls, baskets, and vases, all using natural and sustainable materials. They are all working to build Hantverk, Swedish furniture brand Ikea’s limited edition product range, comprising cushion covers, throws, baskets, bowls, vases, and more, made using banana fibre, handmade paper, ceramic, and cotton.

Publication: Yourstory

Date: January 23, 2020

The Indian startup ecosystem is eagerly waiting for Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech on February 1, with the hope that there would be measures that facilitate ease of doing business in the country, while at the same time solve some knotty tax issues around ESOPs, LTCG, and GST. The startups in the country have been on an upward curve, but the larger concern surrounds issues like crunch in the working capital and the easy flow of investor money into the ecosystem.

Publication: Yourstory

Date: January 22, 2020

The Swedish furniture retailing giant Ikea Group has recently launched its online store in Pune to reach out to more Indian households. The company is reportedly getting ready to set up a brick-and-mortar store in Navi Mumbai, along with small-format stores in Mumbai later this year. The home furnishing and accessories major has a “35-year-old love story” with India and is witnessing “a steady increase in visitation”, its CEO Jesper Brodin told CNBC-TV18’s Shereen Bhan in Davos in an exclusive interview.

Publication: CNBC TV18

Date: January 23, 2020