Ginni Systems is a provider of retail solutions to small and medium enterprises. Prashant Lohia, its CEO, tells Rajiv Shirali that SMEs in the retail space are strengthening their back-end infrastructure, adopting information technology solutions and ensuring greater efficiencies in business. Edited excerpts:How did you decide to zero in on SMEs as your target customers?The requirements of SMEs are different from those of large established businesses. They require far more customised products to cater to the challenges of their unique business models. Initially, the scale of the business might be small but there is potential for aggressive growth and expansion.Standardised solutions lacking flexibility can't help such SMEs. When we entered the market, there were complex ERPs around to cater to the top retailers of India, but none which were stable, scalable and secure, and which could be implemented in a simple enough way for a SME business. We were able to identify this as an opportun

SMEs are aggressively penetrating apparel, food and groceries segments: Prashant Lohia

Business Standard

Interview with Founder and CEO, Power2SME

We help SMEs reduce their purchase costs: R Narayan

More than 17 million households accounted for the middle class in India in 2011. Of the major economies, India will still have a young population in 2030 at a median age of 31.5, and is expected to be an urban majority country by the late 2030s. With a growing, young and urban middle-class, consumption in India must meet the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet needs. However, research shows that there is a clear gap between consumers&rsquo; intentions and actions when it comes to sustainability.

The imperative of promoting sustainable consumption

A Norwegian writer's elegy on Chernobyl, the world's worst nuclear disaster

Unsafe at any cost

Small and medium-sized enterprises in India suffer multiple handicaps &mdash; poor access to credit, inadequate managerial resources, a low technology base, lack of marketing expertise and a complex regulatory regime. CRISIL SME Ratings Director Yogesh Dixit explains to Rajiv Shirali why SMEs would benefit immensely by outsourcing their non-core functions.

Outsourcing will improve the creditworthiness of SMEs: Yogesh Dixit

The author&rsquo;s central thesis is that every major change in modern India has come about in the wake of a crisis &mdash; due to accidents of history, not through decisive action or the exercise of vision or imagination.

India in crisis-reform mode

Sanjeev Sanyal describes his account of the rise and fall of urban civilisations in India as &ldquo;a journey from Gondwana to Gurgaon&rdquo;. Gondwana is the super continent of which India was part &ndash; along with Africa, South America, Antarctica and Australia &ndash; millions of years ago, and Gurgaon, the author says, is &ldquo;the face of twenty-first century India &hellip; chaotic, unplanned, infuriating but undeniably dynamic&hellip;.

Land of the Seven Rivers

After a partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) that lasted more than a quarter of a century, the World Economic Forum has decided to go it alone. In the process it has dropped the &lsquo;Indian Economic Summit&rsquo; nomenclature for its annual Indian event, and adopted the &lsquo;World Economic Forum on India&rsquo; branding. India has been upgraded to the status of countries such as China and Russia, which merit a &lsquo;Forum&rsquo; branding.

We wish to give greater recognition to India's growing role as a G20 economy: Sushant P Rao

Water supply crises, a growing gap between rich and poor, terrorism and cyber attacks are among the top global risks most troubling India&rsquo;s experts, according to the World Economic Forum&rsquo;s latest Global Risks Perception Survey. In an interaction with Rajiv Shirali, W Lee Howell, Managing Director, WEF and Head of its Risk Response Network, dwells on the Indian&rsquo;s government&rsquo;s effectiveness in dealing with risks.

'Corruption, water crises and income disparity biggest risks for India'

Crisil pioneered the concept of ratings for the SME sector in India and launched it in 2005.In just seven years it has completed more than 30,000 SME ratings. Sachin Nigam, Senior Director, Crisil Ratings, tells Rajiv Shirali in an e-mail interview that many rated SMEs have used the ratings as a stepping stone to move to the level of mid-sized companies.

Ratings drive the entire SME ecosystem towards higher levels of transparency: Sachin Nigam

While the reports were flooding in a day before that Rohit dropped himself from India's Playing 11, stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah revealed at the toss on Friday that Rohit thought about the team

Rohit Sharma

Though captain dropping himself has happened for the first time in India's cricket history, here are six notable examples in cricketing folklore.

IND vs AUS LIVE CRICKET SCORE: Bumrah says Rohit opted to rest himself. India make two changes in India's Playing 11. Prasidh replaces Akash in India's XI

India vs Australia 5th Test Day 1 live score updates from Sydney

The much-anticipated interest rate cut cycle may be delayed, but experts believe the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will reduce rates in 2025

Fixed Deposit, FD

The aviation analytics firm analyzes more than 25 million data points from 600-plus sources each day to determine whether airlines are meeting their scheduled arrival times

Flight, plane, Airplane

Markets Today Highlights: Bulls dominated Dalal Street as all constituent stocks of the Nifty50, barring Sun Pharma and Britannia, ended in the green, with gains extending up to 8.55 per cent

Indian markets

Regulator has barred the infamous stock operator for front-running trades pertaining to a US based FPI, directed disgorgement of illegal gains of Rs 66 crore

sebi

The development follows the interrogation of Bhupendrasinh Zala, the alleged mastermind behind the ponzi scheme

Shubman Gill

The real problem with India's trade policy lies in a seemingly innocent administrative procedure that doesn't sound half as dangerous as tariffs

Exports, Export

Stocks to Watch, Jan 2, 2025: From auto stocks to NMDC here is a list of stocks that will remain in focus today

Stock market

Nifty Bank index is currently trading near its key support zone of 50,650-50,600. A close below this range would open the door for further downside, with immediate support levels at 50,250 & 49,650

market, stocks, stock market trading, stock market

Under Uttar Pradesh's One District-One Product' scheme, Yoga guru Ramdev has decided to buy turmeric grown in the Bahraich district.
Ramdev has signed an agreement with three Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) of the district at Patanjali Yogpeeth on Saturday.
A senior official on Monday said that under the agreement, Ramdev will buy 50,000 tonnes of turmeric from Bahraich every year.
"Bahraich district was selected for products made from turmeric in the One District-One Product' (ODOP) scheme, Bahraich District Magistrate Monica Rani on Monday told PTI.
The DM said that it is the result of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's efforts for the farmers that the Yoga guru has come forward to buy turmeric from Bahraich.
The area of Mihipurwa tehsil connected to Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in the district is an ideal place for agriculture as it is rich in natural resources, has fertile land and favorable climate, she said.
Turmeric, jimikand (Elephant Foot Yam) and green vegetables 

Ramdev

Bangladesh's interim government led by Muhammad Yunus has announced that it has decided to prepare a proclamation of July uprising, a day after it distanced itself from a proposed declaration with an identical title by the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement that led to an upheaval four months ago.
We hope within few days the proclamation will be prepared with the participation and consensus of all and presented before the nation, Shafiqul Alam, Press Secretary to the chief adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh, Muhammad Yunus, told reporters in a midnight press conference.
Addressing reporters in front of Yunus' official Jamuna residence, Alam said the declaration would be based on the views of all participating students, political parties, and stakeholders, including the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League regime on August 5.
Alam said the government took the initiative to prepare the proposed ...

Muhammad Yunus, Yunus

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Illustration: Binay Sinha

On Friday, the raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza has put approximately 75,000 Palestinians still remaining in the northern part of the enclave at risk

Palestinians walk by houses destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza. The resurgence of Hamas has cast doubt on Israel’s goal of eliminating it as a military threat.

Palestinians walk by houses destroyed by Israeli strikes in Gaza. The resurgence of Hamas has cast doubt on Israel's goal of eliminating it as a military threat

India's growing external and internal threats demand urgent shifts in fiscal focus to strengthen defence, policing, and cyber capabilities

Defence

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has released the CTET Answer Key 2024. Candidates who have appeared for CTET can download the answer key via official website at ctet.nic.in

CTET 2024

The output of eight key infrastructure sectors slowed down to 4.3 per cent in November 2024 against 7.9 per cent growth registered a year ago, according to official data released on Tuesday.
On a monthly basis, the production growth of these sectors was higher than the 3.7 per cent expansion recorded in October 2024.
In November, production of crude oil and natural gas contracted.
The production growth of coal, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, and electricity moderated to 7.5 per cent, 2.9 per cent, 2 per cent, 4.8 per cent, and 3.8 per cent, respectively, against 10.9 per cent, 12.4 per cent, 3.3 per cent, 9.7 per cent and 5.8 per cent in November last year.
However, cement output rose to 13 per cent in the month under review.
The growth of core sectors -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity -- was 4.2 per cent during April-November this fiscal. It was 8.7 per cent in the same period last fiscal.
The eight core sectors

Infrastructure, Infra

While Swiggy Instamart recorded its largest order of Rs 70,325 from a user in central Goa, Blinkit reported an order worth Rs 64,988 from a Kolkata user

food delivery

The Forum for People's Collective Efforts has urged the Ministry of Consumer Affairs to implement stricter guidelines and enforce penalties for non-compliance with advertisement guidelines

The year was a mixed bag for the real estate industry as housing supply slowed down but record investments came in. Industry experts believe that demand will stabilise as sales are likely to be lower compared to 2023.

Rajiv Shirali

Rajiv Shirali

Page 3 - Rajiv Shirali

SMEs are aggressively penetrating apparel, food and groceries segments: Prashant Lohia

We help SMEs reduce their purchase costs: R Narayan

The imperative of promoting sustainable consumption

Unsafe at any cost

Outsourcing will improve the creditworthiness of SMEs: Yogesh Dixit

India in crisis-reform mode

Land of the Seven Rivers

We wish to give greater recognition to India's growing role as a G20 economy: Sushant P Rao

'Corruption, water crises and income disparity biggest risks for India'

Ratings drive the entire SME ecosystem towards higher levels of transparency: Sachin Nigam

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