Draft National Logistics Policy for Synergistic Progress

Draft National Logistics Policy for Synergistic Progress The biggest bottlenecks that plague the agri-commodities sector in India are insufficient formal sector finance and inadequate logistics (which encompasses storage). While the Government is doing all it can to professionalize this space, a shot in the arm to logistics in India, coupled with a technology booster, will make the entire agri-commodity value chain more robust and hel....

Grass-root entrepreneurship for harnessing the demographic dividend

The economic survey for 2016-17 pointed out that India's young working-age population is likely to peak in 2020, adding, "The growth boost from the demographic dividend is likely to peak within the next five years, as India's share of working-age population plateaus."  Demographic Dividend With a population of roughly 1.25 billion, of which around 50% is below the age group of 25 years and about two thirds is below the age of 35 yea....

Independence Special

Commodity Markets down the Years With its long and illustrious history of trade in cotton, indigo and spices, ancient India always had some informal form of trading in commodity derivatives. Organized commodity trading in India, however, started only in the 19thcentury, with the constitution of the Bombay Cotton Trade Association in 1875. Following this, Gujarati Vyapari Mandali was set up in 1900 to carryout futures trading in ground....

Is it a good time to invest in commodities?

Anytime is a good time to invest in commodities, as it is possible to enter both long and short positions in commodity futures. The key to success is understanding what drives commodity movements and knowing when to exit…Is it a good time to invest in commodities? The simple answer: It’s always a good time to invest in commodities. The most obvious reason for this is that both short and long positions are allowed in the commodities fu....

It's stock pickers market, will, give 15% plus return over 5-10 years

Look for vibrant sectors of economy

The rising role of data analytics and algorithms in Micro Finance

The rising role of data analytics and algorithms in micro finance Microfinance is all about empowering the most underprivileged sections of society. Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) offer loans to people from disadvantaged backgrounds, especially women, who have no access to loans from formal financial channels. Facilitating this segment of the population, with loans, hasthe indirecteffect of created self-employment opportunities and....

The microfinance industry landscape in India is evolving very rapidly, thanks to policy changes a....

Digital Disruption of Microfinance In its Bharat Microfinance Report – 2016, Sa-Dhan, the Association of Community Development Finance Institutions in India, suggests that the Indian microfinance industry is pegged at Rs. 63,853 crores (~ US$ 10 billion). Yet a majority of our population still depends largely on informal and expensive sources of credit (NSS data, 2013). But micro-financing is at a point of inflection today due to the....

Harvest and Post-harvest losses amount to a staggering Rs 92,651 crore, according to data publish....

Infrastructure and Financing issues in the post-harvest agri-commodity space India is one of the largest producers of over 80% of agricultural products, including many cash crops such as coffee and cotton. However, largely due to storage, logistic and financing infrastructure inadequacies,harvest and post-harvest losses of India’s major agricultural produce is estimated at Rs 92,651 crore ($13 billion), according to data published by....

Growth Through Acquisition

Organized Financing and Transactional Transparency – A Prerequisite in the Agro-Commodity Sector

The agro-commodity sector in India has managed to function despite, rather than due to the age-old methods of funding from the informal sector. Formal funding has broadly eluded the sector, partly due to the lack of transparency and partly due to the absence of conducive structures and regulation. Yet without adequate organised funding, this sector will not be able to grow and prosper. Opaque markets At present, due to the fragment....

Kharif crops – Production to touch record highs

Kharif crops – Production to touch record highsWith food inflation hovering around 18 percent (18.18 percent in August month), there are concerns among policy makers ahead of elections. Despite better monsoon and estimation of record production, food prices have been rising due to short supplies in this lean season especially commodities like onions and vegetables.Rainfall during south-west monsoon (1 June – 25 September) is 5 percent above Lo....