Thursday, 17 September 2015

RBI approves 10 entities to set up small finance banks
Sep 17,  7:11 AM
Seeking to promote financial inclusion, the RBI has granted approval to 10 entities, in principle, to set up small finance banks to provide basic banking services to small farmers and micro industries. The approval granted yesterday includes Ujjivan Financial Services and Equitas Holdings.
The approval has been granted within a month of the RBI giving nod to 11 entities for launching Payments Banks. The RBI statement said that the in-principle approval will be valid for 18 months to enable these entities comply with the guidelines on Small Finance Banks.
The small finance banks can provide basic banking services like accepting deposits and lending to the unbanked sections such as small farmers, micro business enterprises, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities.
The central bank had received 72 applications for setting up small finance bank.
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Nepal’s parliament approves new constitution after 7 years
Sep 17,  7:59 AM
Nepal’s Constituent Assembly has approved a new constitution after seven years of painstaking efforts and deliberations. The new constitution, which was approved yesterday, has split the country into seven federal provinces. Constituent Assembly Chairman Subash Nemwang announced the charter was passed by a 507-25 vote in the 601-seat Assembly after the voting.The bill will become Nepal’s new charter once the lawmakers sign and the Constituent Assembly Chairperson authenticates it.
The constitution was pushed through the assembly despite protests by ethnic minority groups. Some ethnic groups have opposed the makeup, borders and size of the provinces. The lawmakers from Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and UCPN- Maoist supported the draft constitution.
The voting was boycotted by smaller opposition parties. After announcing the result of the voting, Nembang asked the lawmakers to sign on the dossiers on Friday. In the CA meeting scheduled for September 20, President Ram Baran Yadav will announce the promulgation of new constitution through the sovereign body elected by the people.
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Ban Ki-moon calls for expanded Security Council
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for an expanded Security Council to make it more broadly representative, democratic and transparent. Speaking to reporters ahead of the 70th General Assembly session, he termed the adoption by UN General Assembly of a document on Security Council reform as a process in the right direction.
He said, the world has changed and considering such huge, dramatic changes in the international community, the Security Council should also be able to adapt to this changing situation.
He said he has taken note that the General Assembly has adopted the resolution to continue text-based negotiations on reforms in the current session.
Ban said he will convene a high-level meeting on September 30 to mobilise a “humane, effective and rights-based response” to a global crisis that has seen 60 million people flee their homes by an unprecedented number of brutal conflicts, the breakdown of basic governance and mounting economic despair.
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NGT passes directions to prevent pollution of Yamuna river
With the festive season soon approaching, the National Green Tribunal, NGT has passed a slew of directions to prevent pollution of the Yamuna river. It includes a ban on immersion of idols except those made from bio-degradable material.
A bench headed by the NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar yesterday said, idol immersion should be allowed only of the ones which are made from bio-degradable material and not plastic or plaster of Paris. Only those colours should be used on the idols which are environment-friendly.
Favouring designated sites for immersion of idols, the tribunal directed Irrigation Department of the Delhi government and Uttar Pradesh to hold a meeting with the Vice Chairman of Delhi Development Authority to immediately identify such sites.
The tribunal has directed the authorities concerned to notify and publicise about immersion of idols on ghats to enable the people know about the identified sites for immersion.
It has also ordered all the public authorities including the Delhi government to provide mobile toilets or bio-toilets near the ghats.
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Vice President Shri M. Hamid Ansari Addresses at Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The Vice President of India Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that India and Cambodia share the common heritage of Buddhism and the philosophy of compassion, tolerance and non-violence. Addressing at the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia today, he said that our shared legacy is reflected in the religious and cultural ties that bind us. Hinduism and Buddhism spread out across Asia from India. The structures at Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon and other historical sites bear testimony to the flourishing exchanges and cultural synthesis between our peoples.
He said that our exchanges and cultural flows were disrupted in the period of colonialism. After India won her independence in 1947, we have made a conscious effort to re-engage with our brothers and sisters in South East Asia. Our early political cooperation in the Non-Aligned Forum and the re-invigoration of our relationship since 1981, provide us with a strong and much trusted base upon which a towering edifice of friendship can now be built.
The Vice President said that the Cambodia today has transformed itself in the last two decades. Emerging from a period of strife and disturbance, the Cambodian nation today is stable and peaceful with a growing economy and is playing its rightful role in the region. This is an inspiring story.
He said that Cambodia, like India, has a young population. In order to address the aspirations of our youth, we have embarked upon a strong skill development programme in India. We have a partnership with Cambodia for capacity building, as well as several training and educational programmes. I am very happy to learn that a large number of Cambodians have benefitted from these. The Entrepreneurship Development Center established in Phnom Penh with Indian assistance has been contributing fruitfully to this end. We would look forward to strengthening and augmenting the facilities there.
The Vice President said that the current economic relationship between India and ASEAN countries presents a multitude of industrial, commercial, and investment opportunities. India has welcomed ASEAN’s plans to establish economic and political relationships with neighboring nations, and India and ASEAN have increasingly supported bilateral trade, promoted foreign investment, and strengthened diplomatic relations. Even among our ASEAN partners, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Vietnam, which form the CLMV countries, are of particular interest to India. These countries include some of the fastest growing economies in the region, are primarily agrarian, and have enjoyed certain degree of macroeconomic stability in recent years, with vast potential for future development.
He opined that we need to delineate more precisely the contours of our relationship in the coming years. Our glorious past and shared cultural ties create a strong platform for cooperation in the future. Despite extremely cordial political relations the diverse areas of cooperation, our bilateral trade and investments remains much below its potential. Cambodia has maintained a growth of 7% in the last few years. Your Government is also undertaking policies to further attract investments and broad base the economy. The recent launch of the new Industrial Policy is a step in that direction. In India too the economy is back on an upward trajectory and we hope to maintain good economic growth in the foreseeable future.
Following is the text of the Vice President’s address :
“Excellency Mr. Sok An, Deputy Prime Minister of Kingdom of Cambodia, Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a privilege to be here with a distinguished gathering of leaders, scholars, and officials.
This is my first visit to your beautiful country and though I have spent only about a day so far here, I am deeply struck by the friendship and affection for India and Indians among the Cambodian people.
Perhaps such amity and warmth is natural given our cultural linkages.
We share the common heritage of Buddhism and the philosophy of compassion, tolerance and non-violence.
Our shared legacy is reflected in the religious and cultural ties that bind us. Hinduism and Buddhism spread out across Asia from India. The structures at Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon and other historical sites bear testimony to the flourishing exchanges and cultural synthesis between our peoples.
The waters of sister rivers – Ganga and Mekong – sustain our cultures. The centrality of rivers in our civilization gives us shared traits, ethos and sensibilities.
Our exchanges and cultural flows were disrupted in the period of colonialism. After India won her independence in 1947, we have made a conscious effort to re-engage with our brothers and sisters in South East Asia.
Our early political cooperation in the Non-Aligned Forum and the re-invigoration of our relationship since 1981, provide us with a strong and much trusted base upon which a towering edifice of friendship can now be built.
We have a similar world view. We share many challenges and have the same opportunities of growth ahead of us. Our shared socio-economic compulsions make for a strong case of cooperation- particularly in the economic development of each other.
The Cambodia I see today has transformed itself in the last two decades. Emerging from a period of strife and disturbance, the Cambodian nation today is stable and peaceful with a growing economy and is playing its rightful role in the region.
This is an inspiring story.
The desire and efforts of the Government of Cambodia to continue on the path of economic progress and work towards social uplift of its peoples is deeply appreciated in India.
We, in India, also have similar objectives. My visit provides an opportunity to convey to people of Cambodia, the deep commitment of the Government and People of India to the enduring friendship and co-operation between our two nations.
Our cooperation is for mutual benefits and is guided by the requirements and priorities of the people and Government of Cambodia. As countries where agriculture plays an important role in the national life, we understand the need for harnessing and utilization of the abundant water resources that your country is blessed with. Development of water resources is a mutually identified area of cooperation and in future also we would continue working with the Cambodian Government in this area.
Cambodia, like India, has a young population. In order to address the aspirations of our youth, we have embarked upon a strong skill development programme in India.
We have a partnership with Cambodia for capacity building, as well as several training and educational programmes. I am very happy to learn that a large number of Cambodians have benefitted from these. The Entrepreneurship Development Center established in Phnom Penh with Indian assistance has been contributing fruitfully to this end. We would look forward to strengthening and augmenting the facilities there.
We have also enhanced our cooperation with Cambodia under the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation Initiative. I am informed that the Asian Traditional Textiles Museum in Siem Reap which showcases our collective cultural heritage has been successfully built with Indian assistance.
In my meeting today with Prime Minister Hun Sen, I have conveyed the decision of Government of India to support several projects under Mekong Ganga Cooperation programme targeting the health sector, agriculture and women’s empowerment. We hope that these projects would benefit local communities, and contribute to improvement of public welfare.
The temples at Angkor are a reflection of our shared cultural heritage. We are very proud of our association in the restoration of historical heritage of Angkor Wat temple complex as well as other sites. We have recently completed major restoration project at Ta Prohm temples and look forward to starting a new phase of restoration there soon.
Given our close cultural ties and civilizational links, we see a strong potential for tourism to develop between our two countries. Happily, we have been able to sign this morning a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance tourism. I amhopeful that this will boost tourist exchanges.
Our shared world view is reflected in our close cooperation on regional and international issues. We in Indiavalue greatly the support that Cambodia has extended to us in the ASEAN-India context. It was for us a matter of pride that Cambodia in 2002 hosted the first India-ASEAN Summit. We greatly appreciate Cambodia’s support to our initiatives including our efforts to reform the UN, make it more representative and secure for India the permanent membership of the Security Council.
Since 1991, India has assiduously followed a Look East policy. This policy emanates from a realization that our economic progress and well being is intimately linked to the growth and prosperity of the entire Asian continent, especially of our friends across the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea.
In recent months we have enhanced our engagement in the East. This was reflected in Prime Minister Narendra Modi remarks last year in the India—ASEAN summit at Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar: “India’s ‘Look East Policy’ has become ‘Act East Policy’. A rapidly developing India and ASEAN can be great partners for each other. We are both keen to enhance our cooperation in advancing balance, peace and stability in the region”.
The current economic relationship between India and ASEAN countries presents a multitude of industrial, commercial, and investment opportunities. India has welcomed ASEAN’s plans to establish economic and political relationships with neighboring nations, and India and ASEAN have increasingly supported bilateral trade, promoted foreign investment, and strengthened diplomatic relations.
Even among our ASEAN partners, Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Vietnam, which form the CLMV countries, are of particular interest to India. These countries include some of the fastest growing economies in the region, are primarily agrarian, and have enjoyed certain degree of macroeconomic stability in recent years, with vast potential for future development.
This creates strong complementary interests between Indiaand the countries in the region on the basis of a tripod: Commerce, Culture and Connectivity. These are sustained by more frequent political exchanges. The India – ASEAN relations are thus poised to scale new heights.
My visit to Cambodia underscores the importance India attaches to Cambodia as part of our increasing engagement with the region. Geographically, Cambodia lies at the heart of ASEAN. For us in India, our relationship with Cambodia is a key element of our engagement with ASEAN. We look forward to Cambodia’s strong support in building bridges and deepening of our relationship with the entire region.
We need to delineate more precisely the contours of our relationship in the coming years. Our glorious past and shared cultural ties create a strong platform for cooperation in the future. Despite extremely cordial political relations the diverse areas of cooperation, our bilateral trade and investments remains much below its potential. Cambodia has maintained a growth of 7% in the last few years. Your Government is also undertaking policies to further attract investments and broad base the economy. The recent launch of the new Industrial Policy is a step in that direction. In India too the economy is back on an upward trajectory and we hope to maintain good economic growth in the foreseeable future.
These trends provide us a very good basis to strengthen our economic ties. Government of India has made clear its intention to partner Cambodia in its economic development. As part of our initiatives, the Government has recently set-up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to attract Indian investments into Cambodia and other CLMV countries. We hope to launch this new initiative soon and I am confident that in the near future more Indian companies will explore the investment opportunities here.
There is good scope for sharing experiences for mutual benefit between our two countries. Agriculture and agro processing sector, mining, oil and gas and small and medium enterprises offers opportunities for trade and investment by Indian business houses and it will be our endeavor to encourage our companies and businesses to explore the emerging opportunities in these areas. For this, we look forward to support not only from Government of Cambodia but businesses here.
Another area is defence cooperation. India is happy to have been involved in training efforts for the Cambodian defence forces. We will continue and enhancethese training efforts.
The spreading tide of extremism and terrorism is a threat we both face. Successfully dealing with such threats requires strong cooperation among like-minded partners. I am glad that we have taken some steps to institutionalize cooperation in this area. We will continue to pursue more regular exchanges between our security personnel.
Allow me to conclude by asserting that as two of the fastest growing economies in the world, the potential of our joint efforts to enhance our bilateral trade and investment, our collaboration in science and technology, our co-operation in human resource development and, of course, our cultural exchanges, is boundless.
As India embarks on the new phase of its Act East Policy, and as Cambodia prepares for successfully integrating economically in to the ASEAN Community, we hope to work with our Cambodian partners to realize this potential.
Thank You.”
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8.3 quake, over two dozen aftershocks shake Chile

Chile quake intensity urges  one million  evacuated and toll of  at least 5 dead & 20 injured
Brazil, many people on social networks reported that they also felt a slight tremor. There are also reports coming from São Paulo, Santos, Campinas, Belém, São Luís and Pouso Alegre (MG). Firefighters from Sao Paulo received 50 calls from people who felt the quake, UOL News International reports.
In Argentina, internet users reported tremors in the cities of Santa Fe, Mendoza and Buenos Aires.
National Emergency Office (ONEMI) to issue a tsunami alert for the entire coastline, as it urged people to “remain calm and go to the meeting points in security zones.
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VentureNursery Graduating Start-ups::

Mr Sagar
Here is an update on angel-backed start-up accelerator VentureNursery, its co-founders Ravi Kiran and Shravan Shroff, and some of its graduating start-ups for your background reading for possible use in your writings on start-ups.
Shall be happy to help connect you with any of the founders for a possible interaction for one of your forthcoming stories.
Cordially
Sanjiv Kataria
Strategic Communications and PR Counsel
Sanjiv.kataria@gmail.com
+91 9810048095
VentureNursery
VentureNursery (VN), India’s first angel-backed start-up accelerator, aims to prepare start-ups and founders for #PolePosition.
VentureNursery was established in March 2012 by two like-minded Angel Investors —Shravan Shroff, Founder and former MD, Fame Cinemas and Ravi Kiran, former CEO-South East & South Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group, Co-Founder, Friends of Ambition and Co-Founder, DazzleToday.
Shravan Shroff and Ravi Kiran in their individual capacity have made over sixty angel investments in sectors ranging from Hospitality, Enterprise Technology, E-Commerce, E-Services, EduTech, Cloud Telephony, Crowdfunding, TravelTech, toMobile Solutions, Gaming,Social Commerce, Location Technology, Computational Science and Analytics and more. They are also limited partners in several Venture Funds and Private Equity funds.
Until September 2015, VentureNursery has accelerated 21 start-ups, of which 15 have graduated and 13 are active and growing well.
Based on its belief that the venture ecosystem needs to focus primarily on maximising the success potential of founders and start-ups, VentureNursery undertakes an intensive and immersive coaching and mentoring role in the chosen start-ups and helps each with end-to-end infrastructural and learning support.
With an obsessive focus on quality, VentureNursery currently conducts four boot camps a year in Mumbai and accommodates two start-ups in each. Following a customised curriculum, delivered by industry leading mentors, the three most important things each start-up learns during the program are identification of right problems, achieving product-market fit and decision making. At the end of each program, start-ups graduating successfully, are evaluated for investment by VentureNursery’s members, a strong group of committed and seasoned angel investors.
Beginning with 10 members (including Shravan and Ravi Kiran) in 2012,VentureNursery currently has 30 members in addition to over 80 mentors-in-residence.
VentureNursery Alumni include branded budget hotel chain OYO Rooms, video interview platform Talview, fashion and lifestyle social commerce platform Klip, crowd-funding platformCatapooolt, travel start-up SeekSherpa, artificial general intelligence companyInvenZone, last minute hotel booking company Hotels Around You and curated activity and hobby classes company FindUrClass, an on-demand home beauty and wellness services platform The Home Salon, and Fixy an on-demand service platform for Handyman, Repair and Home Maintenance Services.
OYO Rooms
Gurgaon
Founder: Ritesh Agarwal
VentureNursery graduate from its first Boot Camp Ritesh Agarwal founded OYO Rooms is India’s largest branded network of hotels. Ritesh was also India’s first winner of the Thiel Fellowship, a program started by Paypal founder, Peter Thiel.
It currently operates in more than 100 Indian cities including major metros, regional hubs and top leisure destinations. OYO Rooms promise comfortable and delightful stays in AC rooms with free breakfast, Wi-Fi and 24×7 customer service support.
OYO Rooms, a winner of several accolades is backed by leading investors including the Softbank Group, Greenoaks Capital, Sequoia Capital and Lightspeed India.
www dot oyorooms dot com
Klip
Mumbai
Founders:Harsh Gadia and Maneesh Madambath
Klip is a Social Commerce App for Fashion Discovery. It curates and gives personalized product recommendations to users from all online stores at one place. Klip caters to Young Indian Shoppers in Fashion and Lifestyle category, one of the fastest growing segments in Indian e-Commerce space.
www dot klip dot in
Talview
Bangalore
Founders: Sanjoe Tom Jose, Tom Jose, Jobin Jose. Subramanian K
Talview is a video interview platform which helps employers build a high performing workforce by reaching out to and screening more candidates using lesser time and resources than traditional hiring processes.
Talview has served clients across 102 countries and counts ABB, Avery Dennison, Cognizant, GlaxoSmithKline, NTT Group, Tata Group, Unicef, VF Coporation and Wipro among its customers.
www dot talview dot com
Catapooolt
Mumbai
Founder: Satish Kataria
Catapooolt, India’s leading Crowdfunding and community engagement platform, endeavours to bridge ideas, innovations and upcoming ventures with potential funders, supporters and lovers!
Till date, the platform has helped over 30 projects raise over Rs 100 Lakh from amongst over 2000 contributors. Always at forefront of promoting crowdfunding in India, Catapooolt is backed by some interesting partnerships – including that of PayBack and Economic Times.
www dot Catapooolt dot com
SeekSherpa
Gurgaon
Founders: Dhruv Raj Gupta, Sukhmani Singh
SeekSherpa is a hyperlocal platform connecting travellers and locals over unique local experiences. SeekSherpa works with cool and eclectic city locals (Sherpas) in setting up interesting micro tours. These tours are then offered to travellers and city residents looking for things to do or sightseeing solutions in their city.
www dot seeksherpa dot com
FindUrClass
Mumbai
Founders: Rina Nathani, Aakash Jethwani
FindUrclass.com is a search and discovery platform that enables parents to find the RIGHT activity or hobby class for their kids. Educators are curated and listed online across various interests including – art and craft, sports and adventure, fitness and health, cooking, dance, music and singing, beauty and fashion, photography, languages, film and acting etc.
www dot FindUrClass dot com
HotelsAroundYou
Mumbai
Founder: Harsha Nallur, Mohsin Dingankar, Animesh Chaudhary
HotelsAroundYou is a mobile only, on demand, last minute hotel booking platform for travellers to book quality hotels at significantly discounted prices; while simultaneously allowing hotels to sell their distress inventory. It currently caters to major Indian metros, with India wide expansion on the anvil.
App available at www dot hotelsaroundyou dot com
The Home Salon
Mumbai
Founders: Rishika Chandan, Nihar Thanawala
The Home Salon is an on-demand home beauty and wellness services platform is co-founded by husband-wife duo Ms Rishika Chandan and Mr Nihar Thanawala, both graduates of the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad. The entrepreneurs graduated from VentureNursery’s Season 6 acceleration Program in June 2015.
The Home Salon (THS) connects stylists, therapists and beauticians to customers who are looking to indulge in convenient and prompt home services and treatments, a click of a button away. THS operates as a controlled market place that curates and controls the supply, product and customer with their app-based model.
Their unique business model provides scalability, while differentiating the model through stringent ownership over the entire value chain.
THS aims to disrupt the market with highly trained beauty experts catering to customized requirements through the click of a button.
www dot thehomesalon dot in
Fixy
Mumbai
Founders: Tufayl Merchant, Nabeel Merchant]
Fixy is an on-demand service platform for Handyman, Repair and Home Maintenance Services in urban India. Currently operating in Mumbai, Fixy operates in an unorganized sector which has an addressable market size of over two million urban homes with a potential of INR 10,000 crore.
By seamlessly connecting Handymen and other professionals to Home Owners through the Web and Mobile Platform, Fixy intends to make Home Care & Maintenance a breeze, opening up more possibilities for Home Owners and more Business for local handymen and home maintenance companies.
www dot fixy dot com
‘Arya’
Mumbai
Founders: Vinay Kumar, Deekshith
‘Arya’ is artificial general intelligence based application that powers machines to be interactive and intuitive with human-machine conversations in natural language in both text and visual formats.
‘Arya’ uses proprietary deep learning architectures to learn faster and adapt to multiple domains. It assists humans in making effective decisions at a faster pace and automating execution of tasks cost effectively.
It started off while working on InvenZone, the platform for STM researchers and scientists to simplify the intellectual knowledge sharing conversations between peers. Since then, ‘Arya’ is being evaluated in various business verticals and for various use cases like automating the customer relationship management, in conversational commerce and as advisory in purchase decisions.
Founded by IIT, Mumbai postgraduate and Nanotechnology researcher Vinay Kumar and JNTU, Hyderabad graduate and Natural Language Processing researcher Deekshith, ‘Arya’ targets businesses dependent on information gathering and information retrieval both in B2C and B2B space as also research focused institutions.
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