Horticulturists are incurring huge losses, with the lockdown forcing the closure of several mandis and disrupting transport to functioning markets. According to a research report by Credit Suisse, “With the rabi harvest season now in full swing, market arrivals should have be picking up for crops such as wheat, pulses, and summer fruits like mangoes. However, despite anecdotal evidence of a bumper harvest, market arrivals are down 50-95 per cent compared to year-ago levels.” Neelkanth Mishra, Research Analyst, Credit Suisse said, “Only a fraction of the nearly 7,000 wholesale markets in India are reportedly functioning. For…

You’ve got to stay focused on a single market until you prove loyalty and expertise. April 8, 2020 5 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Digital marketing agencies are some of the top businesses in the entrepreneurship sphere. It’s estimated that the digital marketing software industry will grow by 15.2 percent by 2025, and it was already estimated at $35.24 billion in 2017. For newcomers to the digital marketing scene, it can be challenging to establish authority right off the bat with so much competition in the space unless there’s something about your product or service…

As governments around the world take special measures to confront the COVID-19 global health crisis, people are grateful for their actions. In the end, every leader is responsible for his or her own choices, and leaders, at all levels, will have to make tough decisions that have consequences. What leaders need is courage, including the courage to prioritize. As soldiers say: Those who defend everything in effect defend nothing. If everything is a priority, then nothing becomes a priority. So I urge our leaders in both government and business to be brave. At times of crisis, it is not always…

Prices of most agricultural commodities have slipped below their minimum support prices (MSP) due to issues such as chronic labour shortage and stoppage of transport following the 21-day nationwide lockdown brought into force on March 25 to contain the coronavirus (Covid-19). The situationhas created supply pressure at mandis close to the farms, as cultivators are not able to get their produce to the much larger Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMCs) located quite some distance away. Worse, with very few hands working on the fields, a large part of the crop has not been harvested and risks…

Go back to basics with these proven methods of effective marketing. April 7, 2020 5 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Startups operate under extremely tight budgets, which makes it almost impossible for them to set aside a marketing budget. With their tight budgets, they have to pay employees and rent, buy raw materials and cater to their huge overhead costs. Ignoring marketing and advertising becomes an easier option for them. But then, without vigorous marketing strategies, startups do not stand any chance of growth or even staying afloat in today’s extremely competitive market. If you…

The Life Insurance Council on Monday said all the insurers are duty-bound to settle claims if a death occurs due to COVID-19. All life insurers, both public and private, are committed to process any death claim pertaining to COVID-19 at the earliest,the Council said in a statement. It said the clauseof Force Majeure’will not apply in case of COVID-19 death claims. Force Majeure is described as an event or effect that can be neither anticipated nor controlled. ALSO READ: Coronavirus impact: Private insurers bat for standard treatment rates…

Pharma sector funds are seeing sharp uptick in returns as China’s recoveryfrom coronavirus outbreak has eased concerns on supply chain issues, and fund managers are expecting pharma companies’ toplines to gain amid high domestic and global demand for hydroxychloroquine, anti-malarial drug considered key in treatment of coronavirus. According to data from Value Research, the one-week returns of pharma sector funds were 6.3 per cent. Among the equity categories, it is the only category to have given positive returns. Fund managers say pharma funds face near-term challenges, but there are positive triggers with…

Many marketers will tell you their engagement rates need to improve. Here’s how to not be one of them. April 3, 2020 5 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The way people interact with your emails tells you everything about your marketing strategy. Are you sending valuable content? You’ll see the feedback reflected in your open and click rates. Is your email list accurate? Your bounce rates, spam complaints and other metrics will show you. If those numbers aren’t making you happy, it’s in your power to improve them.  To see where you stand, let’s take…