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Wednesday, April 30, 2014

200 Metro services to run daily on Versova-Ghatkopar section The First Phase Of Mumbai’s Much-Delayed Metro Railway Will Be Operational Within A Week After It Receives Safety Clearances

Metro One plans to operate around 200 services every day on the 12-km long Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar corridor, which is likely to open for commuters this month if it receives the safety certification. 

    "During peak hours we will run trains every four minutes, at other times the frequency will come down to 8-10 minutes," said Abhay Kumar Mishra, chief executive officer of Mumbai Metro One Private Ltd (MMOPL). The Rs 4,321-crore project promises to reduce travel time between the eastern and western suburbs, bringing the Andheri-Ghatkopar commute down to 21 minutes. Mishra said the Metro will initially handle around 7 lakh commuters every day. The line is estimated to cater to nearly 11 lakh passengers daily when the number of coaches are increased to six. 
    While final safety inspections of the Metro have been concluded, it is waiting for the certificate to begin operations. "Commercial operations can begin in seven days from the date of receipt of the safety certificate from the Commissioner of Metro Railway Safety (CMRS)," Mishra said. 
    The CMRS completed the safety inspection on April 28. Sources said he was waiting for certain approvals, regarding rolling stock and electricals, from the railway board before issuing the certificate, adding the process may take at least a week. 
    The Metro has a total of 16 rakes in its fleet, each fitted with advanced systems to ensure zero collision. The fully air-conditioned coaches are built with fire-retardant material and have wheelchair facilities for the differently abled. The trains will also have additional features like 
dynamic route maps and LED destina
tion signage. 
    Officials said commuters will have multiple ticketing options. "Apart from tokens and smart cards, commuters can also buy tickets from ticket-vending machines that can accept all forms of currency, except Re 1 coins which are smaller in size and weight," an official said. 
    MMOPL officials said the company has tied up with several health care agencies and instituted measures to evacuate people within four minutes in an emergency like a fire, over-crowding and other major technical breakdowns. 

EMERGENCY RESPONSES 
In the event of an emergency, stations will be evacuated in 4 minutes 
Victims/patients will be shifted to the nearest hospital in 10 minutes, owing to tie-ups with ambulance services along the route 
Platforms and concourse will have emergency remotecontrolled doors, which can be opened in case of smoke 

THE METRO STORY JUN 21, 2006 | Prime Minister Manmohan Singh carries out bhoomipujan FEB 8, 2008 | Work starts MAY 1, 2013 | Trial run from Versova to Azad Nagar, flagged off by chief minister Prithviraj Chavan JUNE 2, 2013 | Trial run extends till Airport Road NOV 9, 2013 | Trial run conducted on entire stretch 

WAIT ENDS 
After several missed deadlines, the route is expected to be commissioned by May 2014






Friday, April 25, 2014

Weak monsoon may hit recovery India Inc Fears ‘Below Normal’ Rains Will Affect Demand, Sentiment

New Delhi: With the economic growth hovering around 5% and the job scenario remaining weak, a "below normal" monsoon will be the first challenge awaiting the new government that will take charge just before the rainy season sets in. The already-stretched finances of the Centre will only add to the pressure. 

    While economists warned that below normal rains do not necessarily mean a drought or significantly hit the growth rate, Corporate India is already talking about the monsoon further denting the already-battered sentiment and impacting sales at a time when it was sensing a reversal in fortunes. 
    Private agencies had warned of the monsoon being 
below normal and, on Tuesday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that rains will be below the average level. Coupled with that is the fear of the El Nino weather phenomenon impacting precipitation further. 
    Videocon Group chairman V N Dhoot said that a bad monsoon may impact demand, especially in rural areas that depend on the farm sector. "It's not good news at all. Even though the dependence on monsoon has gone down, it will affect sentiments and it will come at a time when we are a little optimistic about a turnaround," added Anil Dua, senior vice-president (marketing & sales), Hero MotoCorp, the country's largest two-wheeler maker. Rural areas account for 48% of the company's sales. 
    Pravin Shah, CEO of Mahindra & Mahindra's automotive business, said, "It doesn't 
have an immediate impact but it does impact sentiments." Hero's rival and former partner Honda isn't reworking its targets just yet, although Y S Guleria, the head of sales and marketing at HMSI, says that monsoon and economic growth are inseparable. 
    Economists are also not changing their forecasts just yet. "The government should be on alert, we should prepare ourselves to deal with the prospects of below normal rains but there is not need to panic," said Ashok Gulati, chair professor for agriculture at the 
Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). 
    There may, however, be some impact on inflation. While north-west India, which has better irrigation facilities, may not be affected significantly, Gulati said there may be some impact on the western region which grows oilseeds, cotton, sugarcane and onions. 
    With record food stocks, the government seems to be wellpositioned to deal with demand for grain. But a prolonged dry spell does impact milk production and may even hit prices of vegetables such as onions, which has been a political hot potato in recent years. 
    "It is early to assess the impact on growth, but it is a warning signal and there is a need to keep a watch on food inflation. It will be an important issue for the new government and it will have to take 
steps from day one," said A Prasanna, chief economist at ICICI Securities Primary Dealership. 
    But the impact on overall growth is not expected to be significant. "If the total rainfall is 95% of the average with even spread of space and time, then the impact will not be very significant on agriculture production," said D K Pant, chief economist and head (public finance) at India Ratings, while sticking to his forecast of 3% farm sector growth this year. 
    Dhoot cautioned that the government may have to increase spending in the rural areas to counter any negative fallout if the rainfall is highly deficient. Typically, in a raindeficient year, the government gets banks to restructure farm loans and spends more on job-generating schemes in areas where there is severe shortfall.

DARK CLOUDS OVER GROWTH?

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Thousands of voters’ names go missing

Mumbai: Thousands of Mumbaikars, including several prominent personalities, were left vote-less on Thursday after their names were found missing from the electoral rolls. Many of them had cast their ballot in both the general and assembly elections in 2009 and carried valid voter identity cards. Others found their names on the deleted list of voters and were debarred this season. 

    The prominent citizens who could not participate in the election included HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani, and the chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange Ashishkumar Chauhan. "I went to vote along with my wife and son. But we were shocked to find our names missing from the list," said Parekh. 
    The BJP's candidate from Mumbai N-E Kirit Somaiya threatened to file a complaint at Mulund police station on Friday for "criminal negligence and conspiracy" after, he claimed, 1 lakh names had been either deleted or had simply gone missing across Ghatkopar, Mulund and Bhandup. AAP's Meera Sanyal said, "In south Mumbai, our party has found over 21,000 names missing." 
    The fiasco was a replay of the mess earlier this month in Pune and Nagpur, where too the electoral rolls were riddled with errors. Such was the 
commonness of the problem there that even Pune police commissioner Satish Mathur could not vote. And this, after the Election Commission revised the rolls in the state eight months ago. 
    In Mumbai, the glitches caused widespread frustration and dejection. They also perhaps diminished the percentage of the heartening voter turnout witnessed in a city that is usually known for its apathy in poll season. In several places, members of the same family found names missing; some were assigned different polling booths. 

GOING VOTE-LESS IN MUMBAI 
    
Thousands of citizens, including prominent names like HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh, lawyer Ram Jethmalani and BSE chairman Ashishkumar Chauhan found their names missing from the voters' list 
    Many of them had voted in the 2009 LS & assembly polls & had valid voter I-cards 
    Some found their names had been deleted, thus debarring them from voting this time 
Politicians allege foul play behind deletion of names from electoral rolls 
    Thousands of Mumbaikars could not vote on Thursday because their name were found missing from the electoral rolls. In several parts of the city, voters were confounded because first names were bunched with middle and last names, or just misspelt beyond recognition. Disappointed by the anaemic supplementary list, a few voters checked the 'mother list' and reported the serial number to the poll officers, after which their names were spotted. Others simply went back dejected. 
    In Mohammed Ali Road, Dongri and Nagpada, residents complained of names missing in bulk. About 750 people had voted in 2009 from Kashmiri Building at J B Shah Marg in Mumbadevi; this time, just 35 of the names were on the list. At nearby Tawakkal Manzil, 40 voters were dropped. "There seems to be a conspiracy to deprive valid voters of their constitutional right," alleged MLA Amin Patel. None of the eight family members of Moosa Siddiqui (75), who lives near Zakaria Masjid, Mohammed Ali Road, could vote. "Last time we voted with the same voter ID but today we are returning home disappointed," he said. 
    Wadala, Bandra and Khar had bulk misses as well. At 11am, police resorted to lathi-charge after voters from Alka building near SIWS College argued with cops and EC officials amid allegations of bogus voting. Around 300 people protested outside the Wadala EC office and demanded a re-election. Angry voters at Bandra's R V Technical School demanded that the polling booth be closed down. 
    In Khar, media veteran Pradeep Guha, who has been a "conscientious voter" since four decades, could not vote. He first went to Lakshmi Narayan School booth in Khar, where he was told his name was not on the list. He was then referred to a booth nearby, where he got the same response. "And all this happened despite me carrying my voter's identity card," a disappointed Guha said. 
    In south Mumbai, Arun Arora, chairman of Edvance Pre-Schools, who has been voting since 35 years, was anguished to find his name not there on the rolls. "We approached the authorities for achange of address from Tenerife, Malabar Hill, to Somerset in the Sophia College Lane in December 2013 and received a slip confirming acceptance of our request. Now our names do not appear in the new list and have been deleted from the old one. We feel robbed of the fundamental right to vote," he said. 
    Colaba resident Subhash Motwani managed to get his mother to vote despite her name not being on the voters' list thanks to the pointers TOI published on April 24. He posted these pointers online to help others in a similar situation. 
    Matunga resident Dushyant Mehta had postponed his foreign holiday so the family could vote but was upset to find his name missing. At Sahakar Nagar Municipal School in Wadala, the queue of people whose names were missing was longer than those who could vote. 
    Politicians alleged foul play behind the sudden deletions. Kirit Somaiya complained that several voters were dropped from the list in Mulund-Ghatkopar. "There are many families in which the names of wives and sons or daughters have been deleted. Election officials did not follow the proper procedure of issuing a 14-day notice and doing spot surveys before deleting names abruptly," the BJP leaders said. He alleged that there were complaints from 50,000 voters whose names were deleted in Mulund East, West and in Bhandup; also 50,000 more names were missing from Ghatkopar. 
    (With inputs from Piyush Pandey, Linah Baliga, Swati Deshpande, Partha Sinha, Somit Sen, Mohammed Wajihuddin, Bhavika Jain, Vijay Singh, Vijay V Singh, Shibu Thomas, Sandhya Nair) 
WAY OFF THE MARK 
The voting process became a testing time for numerous Mumbaikars as they stepped out to exercise their franchise. Many names were found missing from the electoral rolls or misspelt on them. What were the reasons for these problems? And what should be done to avoid them in time for the Assembly elections in the state? 

I came to Mumbai just to vote: Ram Jethmalani 
    
Eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani who travelled to Mumbai from Delhi to exercise franchise, had to return without the electoral stain on the forefinger. His name, he said, could not be found on the voters' list. Initially hassled about the inability to exercise his "democratic right" in his constituency of Mumbai South, the noted jurist reconciled to the fact later. "I came to Mumbai a day before specifically to cast my vote. I will take action against the Election Commission. I will write to them. My cook's name was there on the list. Mine wasn't," he said. "But one vote, I support, will not change the formation of the government."— Swati Deshpande 

Many dead people still on voters' list 
    
The incompleteness of the electoral rolls' revision was evidenced by the prevalence of the names of deceased people on them. Mani Patel, a resident of Bandra, said her brother died last year, after which she "filled out a form and submitted the death certificate to EC to delete the name from the voters' list". But it was still there. Similar cases abounded. Manohar Vichare died 11 years ago, but his name was on the voters' list in Virar. John Rodricks, who lived in Sterling Apartments, and Rose Gonsalves, who lived in Ann Abode, were two of the many names not deleted in Bandra. — Linah Baliga 
Professor detained from poll official's office 
    
Apolitical science professor was detained for hours by Khar police from the office of a returning officer when he tried to find out why some voters' names were missing from the electoral rolls. Al-Nasser Zakaria, who teaches at a suburban college, was confined for "disturbing the poll process," the police claimed. But the professor explained that he was just helping an HC judge and his wife. The couple had come from Aurangabad to cast their vote in Khar. When they could not find their names on the list, their son, who is an acquaintance of Zakaria, sought help. Zakaria went to the returning officer's office, but was detained while trying to enter it. — Vijay V Singh 
Bandra residents' hopes raised & dashed 
    Around 3.30pm on Thursday, a text message did the rounds in North-Central constituency that gave hope to people who could not vote because their names were not on the electoral rolls. The text said an 'Absent, Shifted Residence or Dead' (ASD) list had been circulated to the polling booths in Bandra (W), which
contained 18,000 names of voters who were not present in the area during the electoral rolls' revision. It added that those unable to vote could revisit their polling booth and search for their name in the ASD list. Many, including Bandra resident Anslem Pereira, took the advice, only to be disappointed again. — Linah BaligaPROBLEMS THEY FACED 
CHANGE IN POLLING BOOTH 
Names were shifted from one polling booth to another without intimation. Many voters had always voted in one booth but could not find their name there this time. Some of them ran between polling booths until their name was found 
MISSING COMPLETELY | Complaints of voters not finding their name on any list were not uncommon. Many demanded to see the electoral 'mother roll', but these were not available at all polling booths 
NAMES DELETED | Names were found deleted from the voters' list. Normally, deletions happen in cases of change of address or death. But, even people staying at the same address for years found their names 
in the deleted list 
MISSPELLINGS & MIX-UPS | 
    
Voters had a 
    tough time 
    finding their 
    name 
    because they 
    had either 
    been wrongly spelt or mixed up. In many cases, first names were spliced with middle or last names, or interchanged 
REASONS EC guidelines require 900-1,500 voters be assigned per polling booth. If in a registration drive, the number of voters increases, some names are shifted from one booth to another 
    There is a mismatch between the data given by voters and the data compiled by the EC. This explains the misspellings and the mix-up in the names 
SUGGESTIONS | EC should keep voters in the loop about changes in polling booths. It should create databases that can be easily accessed and searched. More outlets should be provided for lodging complaints 
Election commission reacts 
An EC official said: "It is the responsibility of citizens to register themselves as voters as per the Representation of the People Act. Block officers are a proactive arrangement of the state. People can't blame the machinery. Block officers visited every house while updating the list and have done 
panchnamas after finding houses locked and after inquiring with neighbours. Deleted names were uploaded on the website for objections." 
Suburban collector Shekhar Channe said merely 400-500 names were missing in each of the four constituencies in the suburban region. 

I went to vote along with my wife and son. But we were shocked to find our names missing from the list, so we could not vote. But my servant, who hails from Bihar, was lucky to have his name on the list 
Deepak Parekh | 
HDFC CHAIRMAN 

Disenfranchised. I am keen to find out what process was followed in deleting someone's electoral right. The PIL seems to be a good route to take 
Somasekhar Sundaresan | CORPORATE LAWYER 

I run a firm with 200 employees and I granted them leave so they could vote. But I did not find my own name or that of my grandparents on the list — Pratik Gupta | WORLI 

    Fifty people, 
    including me, from Srishti Apartments did not find our names on the list despite having voter ID cards and despite voting the last time 
Shashi Shrivastav | 
MIRA ROAD 

    As we were talking to EC 
    officials about our missing names, my daughter angrily left the room. The door accidentally hit a policeman. He asked her to pay a fine of Rs 1,200 
Dr Pankaj Naik | NEHRU NAGAR, KURLA 

    I am in Mumbai since 29 years and 
    at my current place of residence for over four years. My wife and I could not vote as our names were missing from the list. The disappointment was compounded because the polling booth was next door — Ashishkumar Chauhan | MD, BSE | MALABAR HILL 

I am 76 and have voted in almost every election in the last 50 years. This time my name and that of my wife was missing. If EC officials are deleting names, isn't it their responsibility to inform us — Bhupatram Shah | SINDHI COLONY, SION










Wednesday, April 23, 2014

In a first, Amazon takes kirana route to deliver goods


Singapore: E-commerce giant Amazon, whose founder and CEO Jeff Bezos recently spoke of the possibility of drones dropping goods to US homes in the near future, is embracing the neighbourhood kirana store to push the delivery advantage in India. 

    In what's a first in India, Amazon started piloting the concept of enlisting kiranas as delivery points this week in Bangalore. The move can help overcome the problem of failed deliveries, a pain point for most e-tailers globally, making the last-mile logistics less complicated. 
    "We are continually innovating to find solutions that enhance convenience and experience for our customers. We are running a pilot for in-store pick-up service in Bangalore. We have identified and trained staff at small kiosks and sto
res, run by individual entrepreneurs, to be our shipment pick-up points," Amazon India country head Amit Agarwal told TOI last week. 
    What is significant is how this move from Amazon will help create a hybrid model where online players leverage corner shops to boost customer convenience. 

GOING GLOCAL 
Amazon launches pilot project for in-store pick-up service in Bangalore. If plan succeeds, will be expanded 
Enlisting kirana stores can help overcome the hurdle of failed deliveries 
Says move aimed at enhancing customer convenience and experience 
The project may turn up heat on rivals Snapdeal, Flipkart 
Amazon turns up heat on Flipkart, Snapdeal 
Bangalore: E-commerce biggie Amazon has launched a pilot project in Bangalore that sees it using kirana stores as delivery points. "Depending on the results, we will take a call on how and what we want to roll out nationally at an appropriate time," Amazon India country head Amit Agarwal said. Amazon will pay a fee to these smaller brick-and-mortar retailers, but the world's largest online retailer did not give details of its financial arrangement with the offline stores. 
    The project is an indigenous improvisation on Amazon Lockers, which the company operates in the US and some other markets. Amazon Lockers act as self-delivery locations to pick up parcels from. "We want to be inventive in executing our global strategy locally. We have a team of passionate builders in India," said Agarwal, who has had a 15-
year career with the Seattlebased Amazon, including a stint as executive assistant to the much storied Bezos. 
    The India head of the $75-billion internet giant, which started off by selling books 
two decades ago, said the domestic e-commerce market "is still in its early days" and possibly some of the present bigger names wouldn't exist in the future. 
    Amazon is turning up the heat on incumbent market leaders like Flipkart and Snapdeal with its trademark aggression focused on customer convenience, lower prices and a gargantuan collection. Both Flipkart and Snapdeal, which operate on the same marketplace model like Amazon, are well-funded by VCs and strategic players like eBay. The Indian e-commerce market, estimated at $2 billion at present, is expected to grow to $8.5 billion by 2016, according to projections by venture fund Accel Partners. 
    "The India operation is one of the fastest build-outs for Amazon globally—in terms of selection, sellers, traffic and even mass media 
advertising," Agarwal said. Amazon has been particularly sharp-focused on its oneday delivery in top 20 cities and recently introduced a 'scheduled delivery' programme for high-value products like televisions. 
    It entered India ten months ago with a marketplace model since Indian laws place restrictions on foreign investments in multibrand retail. It had earlier tied up with India Post Services to leverage the government postal system's extensive reach. "We use IPS for over 19,000 pin codes through 1,40,000 post offices across all 35 states and Union Territories in India. The number of deliveries through India Post has increased from 800 last June to over 10,000 by March this year," Agarwal said. 

    Two months ago, it got on board oil marketing company Bharat Petroleum Corporation to use its In & Out convenience stores as pick-up points. Amazon sells over 15 million products across 22 categories currently. It has revved up in-stock merchandise to over 1,80,000 and supports most of the 4,000-odd merchants selling goods on Amazon through in-house logistics.

AGGRESSIVE PLAY

Follow Buffett’s Path To Wealth Creation Though very simple, not many investors actually choose this road to riches


Over an investm e n t c a re e r spanning more than seven decades, Warren Buffettt, widely considered the most successful investor globally, has given several nuggets of advice to investors, mostly from his own experience. If followed diligently, his advice could make one a superior investor. Here is a compilation what 'Oracle of Omaha' advises. Two financial planners, Amar Pandit (AP) and Pankaj Mathpal (PM), explain how it cam be implemented. 
WARREN BUFFETT: I made my first investment at age 11. I was wasting my life 
up until then. 

AP: Time creates money. In other words, compounding and its direct effects will work wonders on your portfolio. Let's take an example of just starting early by one year. If you 
start at 39 and invest Rs 10,000 per month in an investment that yields 12%, you will have Rs 1.12 crore when you are 60. However, if you start at 40 and invest exactly similarly, you will have Rs 98.9 lakh at 60. The difference is Rs 13.8 lakh even though you started investing just one year late. 
    Now consider the difference at 15% annual return. It's a staggering Rs 25 lakh. Staring at 39 and investing Rs 10,000 per month in an investment yielding 15%, you will have Rs 1.75 crore 
at 60. But if you start at 40 and invest similarly, you will have Rs 1.5 crore at 60. The above figures mean that when it comes to mone y, t i m e i s probably the most important factor in the growth process. So start now. A delay of even a year can cost you a fortune. 
WB: You don't have to be a genius to invest well. But master the basics. 
PM: Investment is more about having patience and following discipline. Equity has always outperformed other asset classes in the long term and it has the potential to create wealth. Investors who have limited knowledge about equity market have the
choice to invest through the mutual fund route. These funds are managed by professional who try to reduce risk and maximize returns. There is a variety of mutual fund schemes available based on the objective and risk appetite of the investor. An informed decision can help investor create wealth and achieve their financial goals. 
WB: You can't make a good deal with a bad person. 
AP: When it comes to making your investments, the first investment you must make is in choosing the right adviser. This is one cardinal area you cannot really go wrong on. To do 
so, first understand that there is no person on earth who can protect you from every economic uncertainty and at the same time give you the best returns. If someone tells you so, please fire him or her. 
    So it is important to de
fine a process of selecting a good person as your adviser. It's important to differentiate between honest people and the glitz/glam of the financial services industry. I am often shocked to see how even the most sophisticated investors choose their advisers. They focus on big brands and often get relationship managers to pitch against each other. On the other hand, they speak with multiple people thinking they will get to hear about more opportunitiesand thus the focus is always on returns, returns and products. This is an absolute recipe for disaster. Thus most people end up with a bad mix of products, a very suboptimal asset allocation and many unnecessary investments. So spend time initially in selecting a good advisor and have a process in place to do so. 
WB: Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy 
when others are fearful. 
PM: Everybody understands this but hardly anybody follows it and the one who does makes money. Price of stock or units of mutual fund are always high when the time is favorable and everybody is interested to invest but the same stocks are available at lower valuation when people are fearful. Not going very far, I remember in 2007 when markets were at peak, every other person was either advisor or investor but after market started falling in 2008 most of those investors got fearful and went away from the market. Imaging if you had invested in equity directly or through equity-oriented mutual fund schemes when nifty was as low as 2,524 in 2008, you could simply earn CAGR of 20% at current market levels. But I remember that investors got so fearful then that even they cancelled their SIPs. 
    Amar Pandit is founder 
    & CEO, My Financial 
    Advisor; and Pankaj 
    Mathpal is MD, Optima 
    Money Manager





Thursday, April 17, 2014

SC: CAG can audit pvt firms in revenue-share deals with govt Telecom Verdict May Affect Other Sectors Like Coal Mining, Gas

New Delhi: In a path-breaking judgment, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) can audit account books of private companies which are doing business using national wealth or natural resources on a revenue-sharing basis with the Centre. 

    Though the judgment has a direct bearing on telecom service providers doing business using spectrum on a revenue-sharing basis, it will also have a vital impact on private firms engaged in natural gas extraction and coal mining as these sectors too operate on the basis of variants of revenue-sharing models, mostly termed as production-sharing contracts. "When nation's wealth, like spectrum, is being dealt with either by the Union, state or its instrumentalities or even the private parties, like service providers, they are accountable to the people and to Parliament. Parliamentary democracy also envisages the accountability of the council of ministers to the legislature," said a bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and Vikramjit Sen. 
    The verdict comes at a time when the SC is dealing with the 2G spectrum scam, coal block allocation irregularities and also hearing arguments on MP Gurudas Dasgupta's petition alleging that Reliance and the Union petroleum ministry were hand-in-glove to give RIL 'windfall profit' causing consequent loss to exchequer.
SC: Govt is sometimes hand in glove with licence providers 
    The bench said such audit by CAG was important when the Executive dealt with natural resources, like spectrum, which actually belonged to the people of India.Writing a judgment that paves the way for CAG to audit private telecom companies, Justice Radhakrishnan said the Supreme Court was of the firm belief that CAG must audit the accounts of private firms because "instances are not rare where even the Executive, at times, acts hand in glove with license providers, who deal with the natural resources, hence, necessity of parliamentary control over the resources." 
    Dismissing petitions by Association of Unified Tele Services Providers and Cellular Operators Association of India, the 
bench said: "CAG's examination of the accounts of service providers in a revenue sharing contract is extremely important to ascertain whether there is an unlawful gain to the service provider and an unlawful loss to the Union of India, because the revenue generated out of that has to be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India." 
    "Parliament should know how the nation's wealth has been dealt with by the Executive and even by the UAS License holders and the quantum of revenue generated out of the use of the spectrum and whether the same has been properly assessed, collected and accounted for by the Union and the license holders," the bench said. 
    The court rejected the telecom service providers' argument that CAG could not be given unhindered access to the account books and could look into only those relating to revenue sharing. "We are of the view that unless the underlying records which are in the exclusive custody of the service pro
viders are examined, it would not be possible to ascertain whether the Union of India, as per the agreement, has received its full and complete share of revenue, by way of licence fee and spectrum charges," the bench said.

‘Forcing Jobs out of Apple was a mistake’ Steve Of 1985 Was Not The Same When He Returned To Tech Giant In 1997: Sculley

New Delhi: John Sculley was hired from PepsiCo by the iconic but temperamental Steve Jobs with a legendary pitch, "Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or, do you want to come with me and change the world?" Sculley went on to join Apple, but ended up becoming part of a corporate legend by firing Jobs from the company he had founded. Jobs came back later and turned around the then-ailing Apple into the world's biggest technology company. 

    As he gears up to start a new venture focused around India for selling low-end mobile phones (not competing with Apple's top-notch devices), Sculley — now 75 — tells TOI that he regrets the decision taken in 1985 by the Apple board of directors to move Jobs out of the company. "I think, in hindsight, for the founder to leave was a mistake and I was a part of that. But, Steve in 1985 was not the same as the Steve in 1997. By the time he came back, he was a much more matured and experienced executive, while back in the eighties, he was still a young learning executive." 
    Sculley, who was one of the stars in the US corporate world after doing wonders for Pepsi-Co, was hired by Apple to get consumer marketing insights into the technology world. However, he developed differences with Jobs over the issue of subsidizing the struggling Macintosh by digging into the resources earned from the profitable Apple 2. Sculley opposed the move. "That was all the profit of the company. I never thought there was merit in lowering the price of the Ma
cintosh. I never regretted that decision." 
    However, he still feels that some way would have been found to have them both work for the company and this could have been facilitated by Apple's board then. "I think there could have been a way, in hindsight, where Steve and I did not need to have a confrontation, and we could have 

worked it out. And, perhaps the board could have played a bigger role in that. But you can't change history." 
    Sculley-founded Inflexionpoint, an IT and telecom supply chain company, will be launching its phones in India under the Obi Mobiles brand. While the devices will be sourced from China, as is being done by most of the phone companies, Sculley feels that the India-experienced team chosen for the venture will help them crack 

the market faster. Ajay Sharma, who was head of smartphone division with homegrown maker Micromax, has been hired as CEO for Obi Mobiles, while some other officials have been poached from domestic companies. 
    Sculley said while the Indian smartphone market remains competitive, the high
paced growth here means that there is space for everyone. "We feel that this is the right time to enter the Indian smartphone market as sales are booming and there is a shift from 2G to 3G and further to 4G. We feel there is an opportunity to build another brand in India that would combine global branding skills that we have learnt around the world with 
companies like Apple and Pepsi and to go into price points that are more like the local brands — in the Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 range. That is what we will do." 
    Sculley said he admires Indian companies like Micromax and Karbonn, which have managed to corner a significant market share in India and are also exporting products. "They have done well and will continue to do so. Our goal is not to replace them, but to come and help expand the market even faster." 
    When asked about why an Indian brand has so far not made it big globally like an Apple or a Microsoft, he said they are not very keen to take risks. "Indian culture does not give you permission to fail in a manner the Silicon Valley does. In the West, it is part of a learning curve and there is no penalty. In fact, if you have not failed, you have not taken any risk." 
NEW ENTRANT Backed by ex-Apple CEO, Obi to sell Android phones 
New Delhi: Obi Mobiles, firm backed by ex-Apple CEO John Sculley, said on Thursday that it would start selling Android smartphones in India from May. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Obi Mobiles is backed by InflexionPoint, an IT supply-chain company co-founded by Sculley. The firm will be led by Ajay Sharma, who had earlier worked with HTC and Micromax in leadership roles. 
    "Due to the delay in imple
mentation of 3G services and high smartphone prices, the smartphone share in India is only 20%, leaving larger part of the ground with opportunities yet to be tapped... (It is) a 
favourable and attractive chance for us," said Sculley. 
    Obi Mobiles said that it would invest $20 million this year in the Indian market to set up the supply chain, design centre and after-sales centres in 
key locations. The firm plans to sell affordable smartphones, hoping to woo consumers with lower prices. Sharma said that the firm would specifically focus on youngsters. "Obi Mobiles will be catering to the needs of young Indians who want to own a mobile phone with latest technology, features and are also seeking value for money," he said.According to IDC, in 2013, over 44 million smartphones were sold in India, marking an annual growth of over 200%.


IT Majors Ride Global Revival, Forecast Better FY15 Wipro Q4 profit up 14% at $371m

Bangalore: Wipro's guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 is likely to disappoint stakeholders, but the company said the quarter was likely to be an exception and the full year looked good based on the order book position. 
    India's third-largest IT company has projected sequential revenue growth between -0.3% and 2% for the ongoing June quarter. That's a step-down from the past three quarters when revenue grew sequentially by 2.5% to 3%. 
    Wipro CEO T K Kurien, however, said the Q1 guidance should not be read as a precursor to the full year. "Wipro's Q1 is traditionally a lean one. Our order-book in the last quarter saw a significant increase and is one 
of the highest ever, and that momentum is continuing into the current quarter. Our win rates in contracts have increased by 50% from where we were some time ago. You will see growth come back in Q2," he said. 
    Kurien said revenues from Indian government projects, which is relatively significant for Wipro, peaks in Q4 and drops to a low in Q1, impacting sequential growth in Q1. "Our forecast this year for Q1 at the lower end is up 8% compared to Q1 
of last year," he said. Considering that the full year growth last year was 6.4%, the company's commentary indicates a significant improvement the ongoing year. 
    In the just concluded quarter, the company's revenue grew sequentially by 2.5% to $1,720 million, which was within its guidance of 2% to 4%, but closer to the lower end. Net profit, however, increased sharply by 14% sequentially to $371 million, and operating margin rose 150 basis points to 24.5% — 
the highest in three years. 
    Company CFO Suresh Senapaty said three factors contributed roughly equally to the margin increase — currency changes, employee utilization increase, and a mix of automation, use of more tools and higher throughput. 
    For the full year (2013-14), IT services revenue was up 6.4% at $6.6 billion. That's just about half of the industry growth rate of 13%. The company has done some major restructuring to get back to industry average rates, including sharpening its sales team and creating new divisions to address emerging areas like digital, cloud, mobility and analytics. "There is no issue of demand in US or Europe. We have to go out there and win orders and ensure we execute well," Kurien said.



Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Rd is complete, will open today

 The Santa Cruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR), work on which started about a decade ago, has been declared complete. The 6.5km road, which provides quick east-west connectivity, will be opened to traffic at 8am on Friday. It will reduce travel time between the Western and Eastern Express Highways to merely 15-20 minutes from 60 minutes. 

    The SCLR will be commissioned without fanfare or official ceremonies as the code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections is in force. 
    The SCLR comprises a 560m Kurla-Kalina flyover (opened in August 2012) over LBS Marg, and a doubledecker flyover (the country's first and of a combined length of 1.8km) above the Harbour and Main line tracks in New Tilak Nagar. Motorists can access the Kurla-Kalina flyover from Kurla (West) near Buddha Colony, Dairy Road in Nehru Nagar, Tilak Nagar, Eastern Express Highway and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. Of the double-decker flyover, the top deck connects Kurla (West) and Tilak Nagar, and the bottom deck LTT and Nehru Nagar. 
    With the SCLR, motorists heading for the EEH from the WEH will no longer have to take a detour via Sion-Dharavi Road or LBS Road via BKC and Kalina. 
    The SCLR missed 12 deadlines, the last on March 31, since construction began in 2006 (the project was planned in 2002). The delays were due to reasons like not getting permission from the railways to build the doubledecker flyover, and the rehabilitation of more than 3,500 families in Gazi Nagar, Buddha Colony, Sable Nagar, Rahul Nagar and Indira Colony, and of commercial units in Kurla and Chembur. The delays resulted in the cost of the project to escalate from Rs 115 crore to Rs 450 crore. 
    An MMRDA official said, "The SCLR was part of the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport-I project aimed at improving rail and road infrastructure in Mumbai. Mumbai has always had an excellent rail transport network, which offers linear connectivity between the suburbs and the island city. But east-west connectivity has always been poor."


Monday, April 14, 2014

For first time, an opinion poll gives NDA a clear majority Big Wins In UP, Maha, Bihar, MP Predicted

New Delhi: For the first time in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, a poll on Monday predicted a clear majority for any pre-poll alliance, with NDTV projecting that the NDA would get 275 seats in the 543-member House. This is 16 seats more than the poll had predicted last month. 

    The BJP on its own would win 226 seats, the highest tally ever for the party and the best by any party since 1991, the poll done by Hansa Research estimated. The UPA would win just 111 seats, with the Congress sinking to its lowest tally ever of 92 seats, it said. 
    The NDA's projected victo
ry is based on impressive gains compared to 2009 in Uttar Pradesh (a gain of 41 seats), Maharashtra (17), Rajasthan (17), Bihar (12), Andhra Pradesh (12) and Madhya Pradesh (10). In just these six states, it stands to gain 109 seats. In most other states too, the Narendra Modi-led alliance is projected to gain, though by more modest amounts. 
    The only major states in which the NDA could do worse than five years ago are Karnataka (a loss of seven seats), Chhattisgarh (two) and West Bengal (one), according to the NDTV poll. 
    In contrast, the UPA is predicted to lose seats viz-a-viz 
2009 in almost every major state, with Andhra Pradesh being the worst case, where the Congress tally could drop from 33 five years ago to just six this time. 
    Barring Karnataka and Chhattisgarh, the only states 
where the UPA stands to gain are Assam (a gain of two seats) and Bihar, where the gain of six is really only because the RJD is now part of the alliance unlike in 2009. 
'Soren wanted 50L for CIL CMD post' 
    
Former coal ministers Shibu Soren and Dasari Narayan Rao "pestered" a top Coal India Ltd official for payments and demanded Rs 50 lakh from him in return for being appointed as CIL's CMD, former coal secretary P C Parakh has written in his book "Crusader Or Conspirator? Coalgate And Other Truths". P 7 
Vinod Rai defers memoirs till June 
    
The Congress, which is reeling under disclosures by the PM's former media advisor Sanjaya Baru and ex-coal secretary P C Parakh, can breathe a sigh of relief with former CAG Vinod Rai deciding to defer his memoirs till the polls, sparing the party of what could have been a triple whammy. P 7 
Poll: TMC third largest with 30 seats he largest parties after the BJP and Congress would bethe TMC with 30 seats, the AIADMK with 22, SP with 14 and BJD with 13. The DMK, with its allies is likely to win 14 seats and the Left 22. AAP is projected to win just one seat in Delhi and 
none elsewhere, at least in the states for which details were available, which included all those with seven seats or more. 
    None of these parties, however, will be of much significance if the poll's predictions come true, since the NDA will not need any post-poll allies to form government.



Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Economy to grow at 5.4% in FY15: IMF Sees Recovery On Back Of Global Cues

New Delhi: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected India’s economy to grow by 5.4% in 2014-15 and 6.4% in 2015-16 on the back of strengthening global growth, improving export competitiveness and implementation of recently approved investment projects. 

    In its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO), the IMF said overall growth is expected to firm up on policies supporting investment and a confidence boost from recent policy actions, but will remain below trend. IMF projections are based on market prices whereas estimation by the country’s statistics office is on the basis of 2004-05 prices. 
    But the latest forecast from the IMF should bring some cheer to the policymakers battling to restore faltering growth in Asia’s third-largest economy. Growth has slowed sharply and has become a point of debate in the ongoing national polls. It said consumer price inflation is expected to remain an impor
tant challenge but should continue to move onto a downward trajectory. Retail inflation has moderated in recent months on the back of slowing food inflation but has remained above the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort level. 
    IMF said the global recovery is becoming broader, but the changing external environment poses new challenges to emerging market and developing economies. The multilateral agency forecasts global growth to average 3.6% 
in 2014 — up from 3% in 2013 — and to rise to 3.9% in 2015. 
    “The recovery which was starting to take hold in October is becoming not only stronger, but also broader,” said IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard. “Although we are far short of a full recovery, the normalization of monetary policy — both conventional and unconventional — is now on the agenda.” Blanchard cautioned, however, that while acute risks have decreased, risks have not disappeared. 

‘Re, stocks to rally if Modi forms govt’ Mumbai: Japanese brokerage Nomura has said a Narendra 
Modi-led government will help the rupee jump to 58 against the dollar and trigger up to a 10% rally in the stock market. The report titled ‘India’s defining moment’ is authored by Nomura India chief economist Sonal Varma and her team and the brokerage’s global political analysts Alastair Newton and Craig Chan. “We see the forthcoming elections as a make-or- break event for the medium-term prospects,” the report says. The Modi-effect can prop the rupee to 58 to the dollar and GDP to 6% in 2015, says the report, adding that it will have only a little impact on growth this year as it sees the economic expansion to be just 5%. AGENCIES


US may allow spouse to work on H1-B visa

Washington: Spouses of H-1B visa holders with technical skills may be allowed to work in the US under a new initiative by the Barack Obama administration. 

    The department of homeland security will soon publish several proposed rules that will make the US more attractive to talented foreign entrepreneurs and other high-skill immigrants who will contribute substantially to the US economy, create jobs, and enhance American innovative competitiveness, the White House said in a statement. 
    “The proposed regulations include rules authorizing employment for spouses of certain high-skill workers on H-1B visas, as well as enhancing opportunities for outstanding professors and researchers,” it said on Monday. 
    However, spouses of all H-1B visa holders are unlikely to get a blanket nod to work in the US. Only certain category of spouses may get the approval. AGENCIES

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Latest polls predict rout for Congress

The Congress and UPA are facing decimation in a wide swathe of states from Delhi and Rajasthan in the north to Bihar and Jharkhand in the east, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in the centre, Maharashtra in the west and Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in the south. 

    In sharp contrast, BJP and its allies are riding high in almost all these states, with TN being an exceptional case of neither major alliance doing well, according to an opinion poll done for a TV channel. 
    The poll by Hansa Research for NDTV and re
leased on Thursday estimated that BJP would win 21 of 25 seats in Rajasthan, 25 of 29 seats in MP, eight of 11 seats in Chhattisgarh, 10 of 14 seats in Jharkhand, 16 of 28 seats in Karnataka and four of seven in Delhi. Thus, in these six states combined, the party would bag 84 out of 114 seats on its own. The BJP with its allies would win 21 of Bihar’s 40 seats, 36 of Maharashtra’s 48, 16 of AP’s 42 and three of Tamil Nadu’s 39, leading to a total of 76 out of 169 seats in these four states. 
    As against this, the poll predicts that Congress will win just 29 seats in AP, TN, Karnataka, MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Delhi put 
together, while the party and its allies will win 25 seats in Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. In short, the overall tally in all of these states put together would be 160 for NDA and a mere 54 for UPA. 
    In TN, the poll predicts AIADMK will win 25, the DMK alliance 11 and the BJP alliance three seats, leaving Congress facing a blank slate. 
    In Andhra, there would be two distinctly different battles — mainly between TDPBJP and YSR Congress in Seemandhra and between Congress and TRS in Telengana. 
    In Maharashtra, NDA will win 36 seats and UPA just 10, the poll predicted. In Bihar, the NDA gets 21, the UPA 11.


Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Scrap fines for inadequate a/c balance, RBI tells banks

Mumbai: Customers may soon be spared penalties for non-maintenance of a minimum balance in savings accounts, with the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday asking banks to cut down services on low-balance accounts and do away with fines. Banks, however, say the new regime will lead to higher charges on services for customers. 

    In its first bi-monthly policy on Tuesday, the RBI said it proposes to frame comprehensive consumer protection regulations based on domestic experience and global best practices. 
    “Banks should not take undue advantage of customer difficulty or inattention. Instead of levying penal charges for non-maintenance of a minimum balance in ordinary savings bank accounts, banks should limit services available on such accounts to those available to basic savings bank deposit accounts and restore the services when the balances improve to the minimum required level,” the RBI said. 

Bank licences likely for Bandhan, IDFC 
icrofinance entity Bandhan and leading financial player IDFC are likely to get new bank licences after the Election Commission on Tuesday gave the green signal to the RBI to announce new entrants in the banking sector, ending weeks of uncertainty over the crucial reforms measure. P 21 RBI proposal may pinch customers more: Banks 
Mumbai: The RBI has asked banks to do away with the practice of imposing fines on customers who do not maintain a minimum balance in their savings accounts or reduce services on such accounts. Many account holders who maintain dormant accounts which are short of the Rs 10,000 insisted on by most private banks have, at times, found their balances vanishing as the banks have deducted a penalty every quarter for not maintaining adequate balance. Basic savings bank accounts have to be mandatorily offered without any minimum balance requirement. They can be used only for cash deposit and withdrawal or money receipt. There are no other services like cheque books. 
    Banks, however, say the new norms will hit customers as the sum of all charges for in
dividual services they avail of will be higher than the penalty. “The consumer will end up paying more. On the minimum balance of Rs 10,000, we earn only Rs 400 against which we provide ATM transactions, statements and cheque books. The break-even for providing these services is a minimum balance of Rs 30,000. The alternative is that we have to charge for these services as against the Rs 400 we earn on minimum balance and the customer may end up paying more than the penalty if he regularly uses cheques and other services,” said Aditya Puri, MD, HDFC Bank. He added that this was not yet a directive and Indian Banks Association must get back to the RBI with the viewpoint of banks that the customer may actually suffer. 
    K R Kamath, Punjab National Bank chairman and IBA head, said, “The direction is very clear. You create a set of accounts where you do not charge for not maintaining a minimum balance, but you will be entitled to only limited services. If you want more, you will probably have to pay for it.” The RBI also said banks, in the interest of consumers, should consider allowing borrowers the possibility of prepaying floating rate term loans without any penalty. It has also asked banks to limit the liability of customers in electronic banking transactions in cases where banks are not able to prove customer negligence.

If you want more, you will probably have to pay for it 
K R Kamath 
| CMD, PUNJAB NATIONAL BANK

 

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