Exim Academy

Trade Receivable Discount System (TReDS) Cash is the lifeblood of any business.  However, profitable the company is, unless the cash cycle is regular, the operations of the company gets hit.  The cash burden is acute for MSME units. It is jocularly said that unit size and cash burden is in inverse proportion always.  Big units have the wherewithal to reach out to sources to tap money. Besides, they employ skilled finance professionals to manage their cash flows.  But MSME does not have such luxury.   The normal sources of funds of MSME are:   Internal generation Bank borrowings   Savings of the proprietor   Loans from friends and relatives   Chit funds   Many times, when all the above sources are exhausted, the entrepreneur has nowhere to go to meet his fixed expenses.  The expenses have time lines to be met, whereas the accruals do not.  In spite of the MSME Act that prescribes a fixed time limit for payment of outstanding by the big units in case of their procurement from MSME, s

 Sethusamudram Project  If there is one of the few projects that can transform the economic landscape of Tamilnadu, the first and foremost place should go to Sethusamudram project. Started with much fanfare amidst lot of expectations, the project had smooth start but ended up in legal tangles and is currently before the apex court.  The political dispensation both now and back in 2007 is the same.  That is why, there has been talk about revival of this project. While we leave the matter at this stage, let us explore what would be the advantages had this been project been executed! The narrow water passage that connects India and Srilanka is Palk straits popularly known as Gulf of Mannar.  This passage is too narrow lacking draft and thus unfit for mother vessel to traverse.  That is why, Indian containers go to Colombo and from there a detour is on to reach the European, US, Africa and South American countries. Hence this sea lane is an important trade lane and has immense strategic

Indian Customs Waters Image Courtesy: quora.com In this blog, I am exploring the extent of Indian waters in to the Sea.  Normally, in land, you will have signboards announcing the end of a particular place and the beginning of another place.  But such things are not available at sea. In the international law, a country’s sovereignty extends up to its Customs waters. In terms of Section 2 (28) Customs Act, 1962, Indian customs waters means the waters extending to the sea up to the limit of contagious zone of India under section 5 of the Territorial Waters, Continental shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime zones Act, 1976 and includes any bay, gulf, harbor, creek or tidal river. The section 5 of the Territorial Waters, Continental shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime zones Act, 1976 defines the limit to 24 nautical miles  In other words, Indian customs waters extend beyond the territorial waters by 12 nautical miles.  Indian territorial waters end wit

 Truck Drivers to Truck Pilots- Shape of things to come ! Image Source : Google Image The contribution of Drivers in combating Covid cannot be understated.  While we applaud their role not only in being a front line soldier in combating Corona but also in their contribution to economy. They are first and last in any supply chain link.  Under normal circumstance their profession must be lauded but do we? Ask any driver today whether he will permit his sibling to take over his profession. Most certainly No would be the answer. The country has 8 million drivers and 12 million assistants to drivers. Interestingly about 6% of this figure is the number of female drivers. In the picture you see Mrs. Yogita Raghuvanshi, a lawyer by qualification, but she refuse to take up lawyering for she needed money from the day one. She chose to become Truck driver treading the path of her father. Her father's early demise made her to resolve to contribute to family. At the moment country needs a

  World Population Day July11 Today as observe World Population Day (do we observe or celebrate?), India is poised to become the most populous country in the world surpassing China by the year 2050. At the moment, the Indian population stands at staggering 139 crores.   By popularly accepted standards, there can be no question of economic development that took place in India since 1947.   Of course, we have made rapid strides in communication, food production and self-sufficiency, vehicle production and science and technology.   But large amount of population continues to be unaffected by all these developments and remains marginalized.   What we see in India today is what we continue to see right from 1947.   The only difference is the change in magnitude. First and foremost is the continuous increase in the numbers of population that is worrisome.   As per 2011 statistics, the growth rate is annualized at 1.64%.   Needless to say, this means more mouths are to be fed. But this also

The Spiritual CEO Many books have been written on the subject of spirituality, self development and Executive excellence.  This book The Spiritual CEO links spiritual development of the self to organizational growth. I have heard many CEOs lamenting about the work of their predecessors and that they have inherited problems that impede development. Like individuals inheriting their karma, organizations also inherit karma. Karma is nothing but product of one's past thoughts, words and actions. The Author Prakash introduces the concept of companies inheriting karma from their past actions. The book is quite brief running to 140 pages and encompasses vast knowledge from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata (I prefer to use the term epics rather than mythology) and feeds the reader how a CEO can transform not only himself but also his organization in the process. The size of book is brief but contains extreme potency. The book has to be read and re read several times for it takes time to

High Sea Sales  High Sea Sales is an interesting concept and is old as International business.   As the very name reveals it is a sale that happens in High seas.   But then, what are High Seas?   The Oxford dictionary calls it as ‘the open ocean especially that not within any country’s jurisdiction ‘.   The sale that takes places when the goods are on high seas is High Sea Sales.     How does it work?   Imagine an importer dealing in MDF particle board having a no of buyers in India.   He uses his skill in sourcing the same from Malaysia.   He regularly places order for these boards.   Because of the bulk nature of his order, the supplier in Malaysia provides not only competitive rates but also credit terms.   So, the Importer here in India has double advantage of less price and easy credit terms.   The importer knows the pulse of the market in India.   He places order with the Malaysian supplier for ten 20’ containers.   The voyage from Malaysia to Chennai, India is about 3-4 da