#ankit agarwal

The Ultimate Journey of Ankit Agarwal – Talking about Passion, Art & Work

The Ultimate Journey of Ankit Agarwal – Talking about Passion, Art & Work “Life is about making an impact, not making an income,” quotes Ankit Agarwal, the Founder of Essence of Qatar. He is a passionate entrepreneur with experience and skills in multiple fields. Let’s learn more about him through our interview below. The Emirates TImes: Would you like to tell us something about yourself? Ankit…

According to the website of Phool.com, the founder Ankit Agarwal was sitting on the banks of the river Ganga at Kanpur when the idea of the company came to his mind. It was the day of Makar Sankranti which is celebrated by taking a dip in the holy river. Agarwal observed that temple flowers were being dumped into the river. As these flowers are filled with pesticides, the chemicals mix with the river water and create harmful compounds.

After enough research and data, Agarwal came up with ways to recycle the flowers from the temple. He along with Prateek Kumar, both IIT Kanpur graduates, then founded HelpUsGreen in 2017 which was later renamed, “Phool.com”. They started making rose incense cones, Phool vermicompost, and other products using flowers from temples across India.

Their first challenge was convincing people that flowers, once used, could be incorporated into new products. The idea wasn’t considered as something to be taken seriously. The team spent hours experimenting, meeting stakeholders, and pitching their idea of managing temple waste in the country. It took a year and a half of research in a makeshift lab for them to develop flower incense, their first recycled flower-based product. Besides providing a livelihood to local people, the company also wanted to preserve the Ganga river.

The company raised $1.4 million in a pre-Series A funding round in October 2020. It was led by IAN Fund and San Francisco-based Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. The startup has developed several eco-friendly and flower-based products like “Florafoam” and “Fleather. Floral foam is a 27 percent cheaper alternative for thermocol.  In February 2020, this startup was presented with PETA India’s ‘Best Innovation in Vegan Fashion’ award for using Fleather as an alternative to animal leather.

Talking about the vision of the company Agarwal says, “Through our efforts, we aim to build natural alternatives to synthetic chemical-based products by using deep-tech and research. We are perhaps India’s first natural incense brand taking a digital-first approach and have a first-mover advantage as bio-leathers are barely available in India. Phool.co has expanded its operations to Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.”

In October 2021 Actor Alia Bhatt joined in as an investor of the company. “Phool incense stands out for its fine natural fragrances and amazing packaging. I admire the founder’s vision of making incense and bio-leather from recycled flowers that contribute to keeping our rivers clean, creating a humane alternative to leather, and employing women in India’s heartland,” said Alia.

#Alankit Raised Arbitration Against #NSDL Over Long-Pending Dues

E-governance service provider and Govt’s authorized GST Suvidha Provider — Alankit said that it has initiated arbitration proceedings against NSDL over its dispute related to payment of long-pending dues and the matter is pending for adjudication.

“Alankit Ltd had initiated arbitration against NSDLin pursuance of which Alankit had approached the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. The dispute has now been…

Navi Technologies aquires Bengaluru-based MavenHive

New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) Sachin Bansal and Ankit Agarwal-led Navi Technologies (formerly known as BAC Acquisitions) has acquired Bengaluru-based tech consulting firm MavenHive for an undisclosed sum.

As per the deal, along with other employees of MavenHive, the company’s founders, Bhavin Javia and Anandha Krishnan will join Navi.

The deal is expected help Navi boost its product development…

The Modi government will present the first Union Budget of its second term on July 5. In the present circumstances when the tax collection was below the target in May, giving any relief to taxpayers would be a challenge, but the assessees pin hopes on getting some relief. 

The Tribune spoke to masses about their expectations on the personal taxation front.

Benefits for taxpayers

“We are anticipating a Budget proposal that clearly defines the priorities of the government, something which aims to bring a lot of benefits not only for the taxpayers but also for MSMEs, traders, pensioners, poor and backward sections of the society. We expect the proposals will steer towards its successful implementation after the Budget session in July,” said Ankit Agarwal, Managing Director, Alankit Ltd.

Higher exemption limit

In the Interim Budget, the government had announced that there would be no tax for individuals having income up to Rs 5 lakh (after deductions). However, the government did not increase the basic exemption limit from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. Taxpayers were of the view that tax for income up to Rs 5 lakh would be NIL, 10% for income up to Rs 10 lakh, 20% for income up to Rs 20 lakh and 25% for income beyond Rs 20 lakh. Also, the exemption for reimbursement of medical expenses and transport allowance may be reintroduced along with a standard deduction of Rs 40,000.  

Deduction u/s 80C

The current deduction limit of Rs 1.5 lakh for investments under Section 80C has not changed in the past five years. With the increase in cost of living and to boost savings, the limit of deduction under Section 80C needs to be hiked from Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh to provide saving opportunities for public at large.

Higher rebate on home loan 

“To support home buyers, we expect the government to increase the deduction on home loan interest, thus reducing the EMI burden. With three consecutive repo rate cuts in the RBI policy, the government has taken measures to improve the flow of money. In this Budget we expect the government to frame some concrete policy which will help the home buyers,” said LC Mittal, Director, Motia Group.

No tax on interest income

Investments made through mutual fund debt scheme offers tax advantage over bank deposits, postal saving scheme or bonds. “We suggest that this tax arbitrage should be done away with. Interest income in the hands of the end-user should be made tax-free. This relaxation will give banks and financial institutions leeway to raise deposits at lower cost and will also increase credit offtake,” said Nandakumar, MD & CEO, Manappuram Finance.