H1B VISAS THROUGH LOTTERY

The much sought H-1B work visas could be decided through lottery this year, industry experts and officials feel, based on initial feedback from companies, as the US starts accepting applications from tomorrow. If it happens it would be for the first time since 2008 that the fate of thousands of applications for H-1B visas would be decided by a computerised draw of lots. Even Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said it expects the cap for H-1B visas to be filled in the first five days itself. According to Congressional approved mandate, USCIS can reward a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas for the fiscal year 2014 beginning October 1, 2013. In addition, the USCIS can also reward 20,000 H-1B visas for those having masters or higher degree from US academic institutions. This limit on H-1B visas has been in place for more than two decades now. For three years from 2001 to 2003, Congress had increased the cap to 195,000; which was not reached. "Based on feedback from a number of stakeholders, USCIS anticipates that it may receive more petitions than the H-1B cap between April 1, 2013 and April 5, 2013," USCIS said in a statement early this month. If USCIS receives more petitions than it can accept, it will use a lottery system to randomly select the number of petitions required to reach the numerical limit. USCIS will reject petitions that are subject to the cap and are not selected, as well as petitions received after it has the necessary number of petitions needed to meet the cap. The lottery for the H-1B cap was last used in April 2008, when the cap was filled on the first day itself.

RAREST ACHIEVEMENT

Nurturing the ambition to make it big in the finance arena, a 23-year-old Delhi girl has qualified as chartered accountant, cost accountant, and also company secretary -- becoming possibly the youngest person to complete all the three professional accounting courses. A Delhi University commerce graduate, Pallavi Sachdeva admires ICICI Bank chief Chanda Kochhar as a role model and has already got her dream job with an offer from international finance major, Barclays Plc. "Once you understand the subject, it will not be difficult," Sachdeva said when asked how tough it was to clear all the three courses -- Chartered Accountancy, Cost & Works Accountancy and Company Secretaries -- at such a young age. She has cleared her CA, CS and CWA courses from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), New Delhi the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), New Delhi, and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI), Kolkata, respectively. Speaking to PTI over phone, Sachdeva said she always believed that a good understanding, rather than mugging up the things, makes it easier to learn any subject. Talking about the way forward, Sachdeva said she is all set to realise her dream next month by joining Indian operations of UK-based global banking giant Barclays. "My dream was to get into an international financial company and I have received the job offer from Barclays Plc," said Sachdeva, who is currently working with a Noida-based pharmaceutical firm and is associated with the company's IPO plans. "I admire Chanda Kochhar a lot," she said when asked about her role model.

MARKETS MAY BE SHAKY THIS WEEK

) Indian equities may see sluggish trading sentiment early this week following data that India's CAD touched a record high of 6.7 per cent in the October- December quarter, but the markets are expected to bounce back in view of the recent downtrend. Analysts said the sentiment is likely to be subdued as investors may react to the Current Account Deficit data that was made public by RBI in its report on Balance of Payments - released after market hours on Thursday, followed by long weekend because of Good Friday holiday. CAD, which is the difference between inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, widened from 5.4 per cent in Q2 (July- September) to a record high of 6.7 per cent of the GDP in Q3 of 2012-13 fiscal, driven mainly by large trade deficit.

SENSEX IN THE FY 2012-13

However, some analysts said that the recent downtrend in the market may prompt some value buying and push it up after the initial reaction to CAD, if any. "The recent sharp fall in the market suggests that much of the negativity may be discounted and it can see a bounce back," Milan Bavishi-Head Research,Inventure Growth and Securities. The BSE 30-stock index, Sensex, has lost over 2 per cent in the last 15 trading sessions.
Auto and cement stocks will be in focus as companies from these two sectors unveil monthly sales data for March from Monday. Besides, HSBC India manufacturing PMI for March will also be announced on Monday, while the performance of services sector will come out on Wednesday. According to Rakesh Goel, Senior Vice President, Bonanza Portfolio: "This week, 5,700 shall be crucial deciding level for Nifty in near-term and the index is likely to witness further buying above this level."
Stock specific action will be seen in IndusInd Bank, NMDC, Siemens and Wipro. IndusInd Bank and NMDC will be part of the Nifty index with effect from Monday, replacing Siemens and Wipro. Stock markets closed the fiscal 2012-13 on a positive note, coming off four-month lows and with the BSE benchmark Sensex rising by 0.53 per cent last week.

DUBAI 2nd BEST IN THE WORLD

Dubai International Airport has been confirmed as the world's second busiest for international passenger traffic, moving ahead of Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport for the first time, it has been announced. Since the start of the year Dubai International has moved up two positions in the global rankings and now has London Heathrow's title as the world's busiest international airport firmly within its sights. The rankings were confirmed by the latest figures published by Airports Council International, the Dubai Airports company said in a statement. Dubai Airports has maintained its impressive passenger growth in 2013, with passenger traffic at Dubai International rising 13 per cent to 10,640,120 passengers in the first two months of this year, up from 9,413,286 for the same period in 2012. "It is extremely gratifying to see Dubai International leap up two places in the international passenger rankings in a single year. It is a clear signal that more people are choosing Dubai as their preferred hub not only for its extensive global network but the superb facilities on the ground too. Given our surging growth rate and London Heathrow's capacity constraints we are well placed to overtake them as the world's busiest airport for international traffic by 2015," Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths said.

TV IS STILL POPULAR MEDIUM FOR NEWS

Television is still the preferred medium for news consumption for most people, rather than laptops, smart-phones and tablet PCs, a study said today. According to the study conducted by InSites Consulting for BBC World News, respondents said 42 per cent of their time for news consumption was spent on TV, while that on laptops was 29 per cent, on smart-phones 18 per cent and tablets 10 per cent. It also added that rather than competing, the different platforms complemented one another. "There's been speculation for years that mainstream uptake of smart-phones, laptops and tablets will have a negative impact on television viewing, but this study has found that the four devices actually work well together, resulting in greater overall consumption rather than having a cannibalising effect,

" BBC Global News CEO Jim Egan said. Smart-phones and laptops are most popular during the working day, while TV usage spikes dramatically from evening onwards and its usage is 50 per cent higher than any other device around primetime. The study was conducted across more than 3,600 owners of digital devices in Australia, Singapore, India, the UAE, South Africa, Poland, Germany, France and the US.
About 43 per cent of the tablet users said they consume more TV than they did five years ago, while 83 per cent said they use their tablets while watching television. The study also found that in breaking news situations, most users turn to television as their primary and first device (42 per cent); the majority (66 per cent) then turning to Internet to investigate stories further. Respondents rated national and international news as most important (84 per cent and 82 per cent, respectively), followed by local news (79 per cent). Financial and business news (61 per cent) were more highly valued than news about sports (56 per cent) and arts/entertainment news (43 per cent), it added.

PREOPEN CALL OPTION TO ALL SCRIPS FROM 1st APRIL

Leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE will extend the pre-open call auction facility to all shares and introduce a periodic call auction for illiquid scrips from the next month following market regulator Sebi's directive."Exchange shall extend pre-open session to all securities with effect from April 1, 2013. Exchange shall introduce periodic call auction for illiquid securities with effect from April 8, 2013," BSE and NSE said in similar circulars.
The bourses said they would soon announce the list of securities eligible for pre-open and call-auction session.
In a call auction, buyers set a maximum price at which the shares can be bought while the sellers keep a minimum price for selling the scrips. The facility, conducted before start of trading session, helps reduce price volatility.Currently, the pre-open call auction sessions are in place on pilot basis Sensex and Nifty shares. The 30-stock Sensex is the BSE index, while the 50- share Nifty is the benchmark of the National Stock Exchange.Besides, it is also available for Initial Public Offering (IPO) as well as re-listed shares.The Securities and Exchange Board of India announced last month that it would extend the pre-open call auction facility to all shares available on all stock exchanges.At the same time, the regulator also introduced a periodic call auction sessions for illiquid shares, which are traded very infrequently in the stock exchange.
Besides, the illiquid scrips are required to be identified by the stock exchanges at the beginning of every quarter.

FISCAL DEFICIT PEAKED

The government's fiscal deficit touched 97.4 per cent of the budget estimates (BE) in the April-February period of the current fiscal. In absolute terms, the fiscal deficit, or gap between expenditure and revenue receipts, stood at over Rs 5.07 lakh crore at the end of February, according to the data released by Controller General of Accounts (CGA) today. The Government has estimated the fiscal deficit for current fiscal at Rs 5,13,590 crore, or 5.1 per cent, of GDP in the budget for 2012-13. However, in the revised estimate, it pegged the deficit to be at 5.2 per cent for the fiscal ending March 31. The fiscal deficit rose from the budgeted levels due to the rising subsidy outgo. To contain it at 5.2 per cent, the government has taken a number of steps like rationalisation of expenditure including 10 per cent mandatory cut on non-plan expenditure. Besides, steps have been taken to cut the subsidy outgo on petroleum products. The fiscal deficit in the corresponding period last year was 94.6 per cent of the budget estimates. Expenditure during the April-February period of current fiscal was 85.2 per cent of BE against 83.9 per cent in same period last fiscal. Total expenditure during the April-February period stood at over Rs 12.19 lakh crore. Total receipts stood at over Rs 7.12 lakh crore, or 78.3 per cent of the BE. Tax revenue during the period was over Rs 5.71 lakh crore, 77.1 per cent of BE, compared to 76.9 per cent achieved in the same period last year. The government has rolled out the fiscal deficit road-map for the 12th Five Year Plan. It estimates fiscal deficit to come down to 4.8 per cent in 2013-14 and to 3 per cent of the GDP by 2016-17. The government bridges its fiscal deficit through market borrowings.

BUY NOW PAY AFTER ONE YEAR

Car buyers are being bombarded with "buy now, pay later" offers after once-booming sales skidded to a 12-year low, highlighting the struggle to stimulate consumer demand in a sagging economy. "Go ahead, pinch yourself," says an ad for German giant Volkswagen's $13,400 Vento sedan, giving buyers a chance to trade in their old car, make a one Rupee (two-cent) down payment and start paying for the new one a year later. Other offers dangled include interest-free repayments and up to 20 per cent discounts to lure buyers back into showrooms and reduce unsold vehicle pile-ups in Asia's third-largest car market.
"The slowdown has forced automakers to cut prices and offer massive discounts to move the metal," Ammar Master, India manager at global industry forecaster LMC Automotive, said. Passenger car sales fell 26 per cent from a year earlier in February alone, the worst performance since 2000, and are projected to record their first full-year dive in the financial year to March 31 in a decade, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Sugato Sen SIAM deputy director general, blames India's sharp economic slowdown in which growth is expected to be just five percent this year -- the weakest in 10 years. "If people don't have to buy a car, they aren't buying, they're holding back on discretionary spending," he said.

The downturn in India's car market comes as sales in China, the world's biggest market, have been gaining traction -- highlighting the divergence between the two billion-plus population nations. China "keeps running out of (manufacturing) capacity in contrast to India where manufacturers right now are facing an excess capacity situation," said Deepesh Rathore, India managing director of industry forecaster IHS Automotive. India's car numbers are a sharp turnaround from scorching growth in years up to 2010-11 when sales expanded by 20-30 percent annually, prompting foreign automakers to drive into the nation to offset weakness in developed markets. They poured billions of dollars into plant investment but now are seeing the market shrink at a time when European sales have been dramatically contracting due to the eurozone crisis.

Ford, which has been betting big on India, reported its February Indian sales slid by 44 per cent to 4,490 units, citing a "tough" market. GM's domestic sales fell 20 per cent to 7,106 units while Volkswagen's sales were down eight percent. But India's largest domestic vehicle maker Tata Motors, part of the Tata steel-to-tea conglomerate and maker of the world's cheapest car, the Nano, suffered most, announcing passenger car sales down 70 per cent in February.

R.C. Bhargava, chairman of Japanese-controlled carmaker Maruti Suzuki, which sells around one out of every two cars in India, said last week he did not want to fan "any optimism" and forecast next year would not be "any different". "The industry is not going through a good phase," he said. "The trend can change only with better economic growth and more money in the hands of people."

To reduce inventories, automakers have been shutting production lines but investment slowdowns loom if the situation fails to improve, analysts warn.

More broadly, analysts say the market's woes reflect a wider malaise in the economy, plagued by weak consumer demand, stubbornly high inflation, high interest rates and a subsidy-swollen fiscal deficit, "People aren't getting the right vibes from this economy" to buy cars, IHS's Rathore said. The lone bright spot has been sales of SUVs, which have become hugely popular with affluent consumers seeking a status vehicle offering more protection on India's lethal roads. SUV purchases soared 35 percent in February.

French carmaker Renault, which re-entered India's market just two years ago, has fared specially with its $14,300 Duster SUV that lifted its total car sales 10-fold to 6,723 units in February. Longer term, India and its BRICS peers -- China, Russia and Brazil -- are still seen as the industry's future. "The headroom in the Indian industry is tremendous," remarked SIAM's Sen, noting just 12 out of every 100 Indians own a car.

FIAT BETS ON SUV, SPORTY CAR

Italian Car Maker FIAT bets big on Indian Market with SUV and SPORTY CARS. It want to adopt GO SPECIALIST AND GO ALONE policy. That's Fiat SpA's new mantra for India, the world's seventh-largest car market. Fiat, one of the first Western carmakers to enter India but now the worst performing. Rather than launch a new model in the cheap, small car segment Fiat plans to tap into fast-growing areas like sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and sporty cars. It will bring its Chrysler Jeep SUV to the country this year and build a small version of the car there by 2015, as well as take aim at the higher end of the market with Abarth, the sports version of its 500 and Punto models. Analysts think it will be a challenge, but could work. "I think Fiat's focus is on launching a couple of niche products and rebuilding the customer experience," said Deepesh Rathore, Managing Director of IHS Automotive India. "It's painful but it's the time to tell the customer that Fiat is different from the image he or she has had in mind."
 Now is not a great time for a relaunch. Car sales in India are set to fall this financial year for the first time in a decade, hurt by high interest rates and slowing economic growth. Yet the potential is there. LMC Automotive expects India's car market, currently around 2.6 million vehicles, to grow to about 6.9 million in 2017. That's around half its forecast for western Europe, although well below its projections of 16.9 million for the United States and 31.5 million for China.

A boxy Fiat sedan, built by Premier Automobiles from 1964 as the Fiat 1100 Delight, is a familiar sight in Mumbai where many still ply roads as Premier Padmini taxis. But more recently, its Punto hatchback and Linea sedan have not caught on. Fiat simply did not get the product offering right, Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne admitted earlier this month.

 Fixing it means introducing the Jeep Cherokee and Wrangler models this year, to grab a piece of India's booming SUV market, which LMC Automotive sees reaching more than 1 million by 2019 from just 363,000 last year. Fiat also plans in 2015 to begin production in India of a new mini-SUV Jeep currently under development, which will be sold locally and also exported to other markets, Atanasio said. Fiat took control of Chrysler in 2009, and has slowly been adding the U.S. carmaker's brands to its stable worldwide. In all, Fiat-Chrysler plans to launch nine new or refreshed models in India in the coming years, Atanasio said. Recently, India was the only place where Fiat was selling just one brand.
It will not, however, launch a new model in the low-priced small car segment which accounts for around 70 percent of sales in India as middle class families trade in their motorcycles for four-wheeled status symbols. Instead, it will modify the models it does sell in India to suit local conditions, like the Linea sedan, built with a higher ground clearance for India's pot-holed roads. "Fiat will have to get its pricing and marketing strategy right for this model (segment) if its wants to be successful in India," said Ammar Master of LMC Automotive in Bangkok.

TAKEOVER NORMS MORE STRINGENT

In order to prevent promoters from influencing stock prices through frivolous open offers, Sebi today said no offer can be withdrawn on the ground that it is not successful. The decision was taken to address the concerns that some acquirers use the public announcement as a means to influence the market price and subsequently attempt to withdraw the offer on the pretext that the acquisition was not successful. In a notification, Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) said: "An acquirer shall not withdraw an open offer pursuant to a public announcement made...even if the proposed acquisition through the preferential issue is not successful."
Sebi said that a company can acquire the shares of the target company through preferential issue or through the stock exchange settlement process, other than through bulk deals or block deals, in case such shares being kept in an escrow account. However, the acquirer firm can not exercise any voting rights over such shares kept in this account.

The regulator said that these shares can be transferred from the escrow account to the acquirer after the expiry of 21 working days from the date of the detailed public statement, provided the acquirer deposits 100 per cent of consideration payable in cash in the escrow account.
At present, takeover regulations do not allow completion of acquisition of shares or voting rights which triggers the open offer obligations until the expiry of the offer period. Currently, such acquisition can be completed after the expiry of 21 working days from the date of the detailed public statement, provided the acquirer deposits 100 per cent of consideration payable in cash in the escrow account.
Sebi also said that where open offer obligations are triggered - pursuant to an agreement or otherwise in combination of any modes of acquisition - the relevant date for making the public announcement and determination of offer price would be the earliest date on which obligations are triggered. In order to avoid any uncertainty or controversy about the exact date on which share price or valuation would take place, Sebi said date of the board decision would be effective.
Sebi said that if voting rights of a shareholder, not part of buyback arrangement, goes beyond the threshold level, the open offer requirement would not be triggered. In such cases, Sebi noted that open offer requirement would not be triggered if voting rights are brought below the threshold limit within 90 days from the date on which the voting rights so increase. Besides, Sebi said that any entity or person acting in concert holds more than 5 per cent shares or voting rights in a target company, is required to disclose this even if such change results in shareholding falling below five per cent.

MOTOR INSURANCE MORE COSTLY

Motor insurance premium is set to become more expensive, with IRDA allowing up to 20 per cent increase in third party rates from April 1 in view of rising inflation and the history of claim settlement. "The overall percentage increase in the motor third party portfolio works out to 18.9 per cent. The above rates will be effective from April 1, 2013," IRDA said in a notification. Charges for the third party insurance cover as per the notification will go up for two-wheelers, passenger cars and commercial vehicles. For passenger cars not exceeding engine capacity of 1,000 cc, the revised third party premium is proposed to be hiked by 20 per cent to Rs 941 per annum. For two-wheelers exceeding 350 cc, the premium would go up by 18.30 per cent to Rs 804. For goods carrying vehicles, excluding three-wheelers, with carriage capacity exceeding 40,000 kg, the premium would be Rs 15,035 per annum. There is no increase in case of three-wheelers used for carrying passengers for hire or reward with carrying capacity not exceeding 6 passengers. In case of four-wheelers used for carrying passengers with carrying capacity exceeding 6 passengers for hire, the increase is to the extent of 20 per cent from the existing level. The earlier hike which was done in March 2012 was disputed by transporters’ association which had fought a legal battle with IRDA and general insurers in the Calcutta High Court. However, after eight months of litigation, the court had passed verdict in favour of the hike. Earlier in 2012, while asking domestic general insurers to hike the provisioning — capital to be set aside to pay the future claims as it takes years to settle claims under this category — against the third party motor portfolio, IRDA had assured general insurers that it will allow them to hike the third party motor rates gradually. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) had dismantled the third party motor insurance pool from April 1, 2011 thereby linking premium rate with the prevailing market rate.

NATIONAL PROPERTY INDEX INCHES UP BY 3 %

Despite weak buyer sentiment, the National Property Index went up by over 3 per cent in the October-December quarter over the preceding three months last year, a survey has said. National Property Index (NPI) is a weighted average of supply and prices across 11 cities. Of the 11 cities in the apartment index, nine saw a marginal rise, while one recorded stable values and the other registered a small drop in the city index, leading property portal MagicBricks.com said in its report titled PropIndex. "Ghaziabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gurgaon and Noida witnessed a rise in city index values. 
"On the other hand, Ahmedabad registered stable values and Bangalore remained largely stable with a small two per cent drop in the index value during the October-December 2012 quarter," the report said. The report observed that cities such as Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Bangalore received greater demand for premium properties as compared to Delhi and Mumbai. "This was due to a significant difference in capital values," it said. According to the report, multi-storey apartments remained the most preferred property type across the country, where six out of 11 cities witnessed over 65 per cent demand for multi-storey apartments, it said. Further, residential property worth Rs 30-50 lakh registered maximum consumer demand of 24 per cent. Affordable properties, in the price bracket of up to Rs 20 lakh, witnessed second highest demand at 16 per cent, the report said.

SEPARATE DEVELOPMENT BANK FOR BRICS

In a major achievement for India in its campaign for reforming the international financial architecture, BRICS nations today decided to establish a new development bank to finance infrastructure and to create a USD 100 billion Contingency Reserve Arrangement to tackle any financial crisis in the emerging economies. The decision was taken at the BRICS Summit here which also launched a Business Council to encourage investment and trade in member countries and to expand business cooperation. Leaders of the inter-continental grouping including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, met here this morning for an extended session and accepted the report of their finance ministers saying "we are satisfied that the establishment of a New Development Bank is feasible and viable". "We considered that developing countries face challenges of infrastructure development due to insufficient long-term financing and foreign direct investment, especially inestment in capital stock. "This constrains global aggregate demand. BRICS cooperation towards more productive use of global financial resources can make a positive contribution to addressing this problem," the laders said in a statement after the two-hour summit. However, the leaders did not decide on the capital for the proposed bank leaving it to the finance ministers to negotiate this and other issues before September.

BUFFET UNSEATS ORTEGA TO 4th PLACE

Within weeks of publishing its annual global rich list, Forbes today said legendary investor Warren Buffett has become the world's third richest person, unseating Zara billionaire Amancio Ortega. At the end of trading session on Monday, Buffett's net worth stood at USD 54.9 billion, while Ortega's market capitalisation stood at USD 54.5 billion. "After Monday's markets closed, Ortega was down USD 2.5 billion from his net worth at the time we finalised our numbers for the 2013 Forbes billionaires list, which we published on March 4 using February 14, 2013 stock prices. Buffett, by contrast, was up USD 1.4 billion," Forbes said.

On Monday, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway shares rose 0.03 per cent, while Ortega's Inditex, sank 0.15 per cent on the Madrid exchange. "Those are tiny shifts, but given the concentrated holdings each of the billionaires has in these companies, coupled with the constantly moving dollar-to-euro exchange rate, the changes were enough for the billionaires to flip- flop positions on the Forbes ranks," Forbes said. As per the annual ranking published by Forbes on March 4, Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim was the wealthiest in the world with a networth of USD 73 billion, followed by Bill Gates (USD 67 billion), Amancio Ortega (USD 57 billion), Warren Buffett (USD 53.5 billion).Besides, the flip flop in the rankings of Buffett and Ortega, other rankings in the Forbes list remain unchanged.According to the latest Forbes ranking Mukesh Ambani was ranked 22nd, while the second-richest Indian Lakshmi Mittal is at 41st position with a networth of USD 16.5 billion.

NANDITA DAS GAUTAM GAMBHIR INVITED TO DEA RETREAT

Bollywood actress Nandita Das and cricketing star Gautam Gambhir are likely to provide company to the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) officials who are going on their annual break next week. "Actress Nandita Das and cricketer Gautam Gambhir are invited for the sixth Annual Retreat of DEA officials, which will be held on April 5-7 at the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM) in Faridabad," a senior finance ministry official said. Finance Minister P Chidambaram is also likely to attend the retreat. He had attended such retreat in 2008 also, the official added. Traditionally, the annual retreat used to be held in the month of January, ahead of the Union Budget. However, this time, it is being organised in April as the Finance Minister was not in the country.

During the retreat, DEA officials would participate in various activities such as yoga sessions and playing a cricket match with NIFM trainees. Officials of rank of deputy directors and above will also be a part of the retreat. DEA Secretary Arvind Mayaram will also attend the event. The annual retreat was started six years ago by the then DEA secretary D Subbarao to promote camaraderie among officials of various ranks and provide a break from office work. Last year, Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh and lyricist Javed Akhtar had attended the retreat. At the 2009 retreat, the ministry had invited filmmaker Shekhar Kapur to hold a workshop on cinema in Sohna while in 2010, actor Aamir Khan had attended the retreat held in Faridabad.

MUMBAI RANK SLIPS TO 66

India's financial capital Mumbai slipped to 66th rank in the list of world's leading financial centres, but New Delhi failed to make a mark, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) released today. GFCI which provides profiles, ratings and rankings for 79 financial centres worldwide ranked Mumbai at the 66th place, down three places from last year when it was ranked 63rd on the coveted list.
Mumbai is the only Indian city on the list, which was topped by London.
New York was ranked second in the list followed by Hong Kong and Singapore in the third and fourth place respectively. Others in the top 10 are: Zurich (5th), Tokyo (6th), Geneva (7th), Boston (8th), Seoul (9th) and Frankfurt (10th).
Although New Delhi, the country's political hub, was added to the GFCI questionnaire recently and its progress was being monitored it failed to make it to the list. Almaty, Baku, Busan, Guangzhou, Liechtenstein, New Delhi, Riga, Santiago, Tel Aviv and Tianjin have been added to the GFCI questionnaire recently and "we track their progress with interest" GFCI said, adding that "they have yet to acquire sufficient assessments to be included in the Index".
As many as 26 financial centres improved rankings from last year, 44 centres declined, 7 showed no change and 2 (Panama and Cyprus) entered the list for the first time.
All but six centres in the GFCI experienced a rise in the ratings.
According to the index, the 10 centres that are likely to become more significant in the next few years are: Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Luxembourg, Istanbul, Beijing and Moscow. Interestingly, nearly 40 per cent of the centres included in the GFCI ranking are located in emerging markets as they gain prominence in the global economy and the financial world.

NEW TATKAL CHARGES IN INDIAN RAILWAYS

NEW RESERVATION FEES ON TRAINS

SATYAM MERGER EXTENDED BY 6 MONTHS

Tech Mahindra today said it has extended the proposed merger of Mahindra Satyam with itself for six months. The company in a BSE filing said that its "board of directors extended the validity of the (amalgamation) scheme by a further period of six months i.e. up to September 30, 2013." The board has extended "scheme of amalgamation and arrangement of Venturbay Consultants Pvt Ltd and Satyam Computer Services Ltd and C&S Systems Technologies Pvt Ltd and Mahindra Logisoft Business Solutions Ltd and CanvasM Technologies Ltd with Tech Mahindra Ltd and their respective shareholders and creditors", it said. Tech Mahindra took over reins of the scam-tainted Satyam Computers in April 2009 and rebranded it as Mahindra Satyam. Last year, it had announced the merger of two companies and have secured the mandate of both the boards and shareholders, barring the minority ones, who have challenged the swap-ratio in the Andhra Pradesh High Court. In February this year, Tech Mahindra had expressed the hope that the proposed merger of Mahindra Satyam with itself will be completed shortly. Shares of Tech Mahindra today fell by 0.19 per cent to settle at Rs 1,045.80 apiece from their previous close at the BSE.

SMALL SAVINGS UNATTRACTIVE

Millions of small savers and PPF account holders will earn less on their post office savings schemes, with the government deciding to reduce interest rates on them marginally by 0.10 per cent. The interest rate of Public Provident Fund (PPF) has been lowered from 8.8 per cent to 8.7 per cent with effect from April 1, 2013, said a Finance Ministry statement.However, the rates on savings deposit schemes and on fixed deposit of up to one year run by post offices has been kept unchanged at 4 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively.

Further, Monthly Income Schemes (MIS) of 5 year maturity will earn an interest of 8.4 per cent.
The National Savings Certificates (NSC) having maturity of five and 10 years will now attract 8.5 per cent and 8.8 per cent interest respectively, down 0.10 per cent each. The interest rates would be applicable for the entire 2013-14 fiscal. The rate for senior citizens savings scheme (SCSS) will now stand at 9.2 per cent, down from 9.3 per cent. The revision in interest rates follows a decision taken by government last year to link the small savings returns with the market rate. The new rates are required to be announced at the beginning of a financial year. The decision is in line with the recommendations of Shyamala Gopinath Committee, which had suggested that returns should be in sync with market rates determined by the returns offered by other securities.

GOLD ETF IS STILL ATTRACTIVE

Despite the falling prices of the yellow metal, gold ETFs (exchange traded funds) will remain attractive as an asset class in the near future, say industry players. "Gold ETFs will remain attractive as an asset class. A trend can't be drawn from the fall in the AUMs for one short period," IDBI Mutual Fund Chief Executive Debashish Mallick has told PTI. After recording net inflows for seven consecutive months, gold ETFs witnessed a net outflow in February as investors booked profits to invest in equities and other asset classes. The net outflows, although a small amount of Rs 8 crore, has happened on the back of falling gold prices, which witnessed a dip of around 2.5 per cent drop in the first three months of 2013. Mallick also said though it is difficult to take a call on the price movement of the yellow metal, gold ETF remains a good source for portfolio diversification for an investor. Similarly, Reliance MF Chief Executive Sundeep Sikka said gold remained a source of sound return for retail investors. "We see gold as a very attractive return asset class for retail investors," Sikka said. Quantum MF also said this trend of outflow may not continue in the near future. "Equities have not preformed on the expected lines as projected before. Also, there is only a chance of arbitrage in the fixed income category. So, gold ETFs remain as an attractive category despite the recent outflow," Quantum MF Chief Executive Jimmy A Patel said. He further said the latest data of outflow in gold ETF couldn't be regarded as a generic trend.

FII FLOWS ROBUST DESPITE DULL MARKET

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) continued buying into Indian markets despite the lacklustre earnings performance holding up the market. FIIs have injected nearly USD 34 billion since January 2012, which led to multiple expansions, while earnings growth remained flat, HSBC Research said in its earning season analysis here. In Calendar Year 2012, FIIs inflow in Indian market stood at USD 24 billion taking FII ownership to record levels. The reform process initiated by the government since September 2012 has fuelled strong foreign inflows into India. Out of the largest 200 companies listed, foreign investors were net buyers of 145 companies in the quarter ending December 2012, while their ownership in nearly 50 companies was at record high levels, the report said. It pointed out that the revenue growth of Indian corporates, however, turned out to be the worst in the last three years. Revenue growth came down from 27 per cent year-on-year in March 2010 to 10 per cent y-o-y in December 2012. Sector wise, telecom, industrials, and consumer discretionary saw their earnings contract in the quarter ending December 2012, while defensives sectors such as consumer staples, IT, healthcare and utilities saw the highest earnings growth in the same period, it added. HSBC report said that telecom, consumer discretionary, and materials were the worst performers. Telecom sector saw the highest earnings contraction (-56 per cent y-o-y earnings growth) mainly because of Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom company, which posted 12th consecutive quarterly drop in net profit. Bharti's profit tumbled 72 per cent to Rs 2.8 billion hit by high interest costs, forex fluctuation and tax provisions.
Consumer discretionary was the second worst performing sector missing street estimates by 23 per cent, mainly on account of poor show by Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp, the report said. Industrial and materials were the other sectors which missed street expectation - some of the biggest disappointments in that space were BHEL, Jaiprakash Associate, Ambuja Cement, ACC, Sesa Goa and Jindal Steel and Power. On the other side, defensive and export-oriented sectors, such as consumer staples, healthcare, IT and utilities were the best performing sectors, it said. Private banks continues to report healthy top and bottom line growth, while public banks continue to have a poor run. Most of the big private banks, such as ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank saw earning growth of more than 20 per cent. "With significant slowdown in the Indian economy, we expect overall corporate revenue to remain below par. Defensive and export oriented sectors will continue to see double digit revenue growth on the back of rupee weakness and constant demand regardless of the economic cycle. While there is a greater risk to cyclical sectors such as metals, industrials, real estate and public sector banks," the report added.

$10-billion in equity market in 2013 so far

Overseas investors have poured in USD 1.4 billion into Indian equities in March, taking the total investment tally to USD 10 billion for the calendar year 2013 so far. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) infused a net amount of USD 1.4 billion (about Rs 7,547 crore) in Indian stock market in March so far taking the total inflows to USD 10 billion (Rs 54,045 crore) in less than three months of 2013. FIIs had pumped in USD 4.57 billion (Rs 24,440 crore) in February and USD 4.05 billion (Rs 22,000 crore) in January. Market analysts attributed huge inflows into Indian equities to a slew of measures taken by the government, including the postponement of General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) implementation by two years to April 1, 2016 and partial decontrol in diesel prices. Additionally, easing of interest by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and subsequent impact of improved liquidity position have further boosted FIIs inflow. During March 1-22, FIIs were gross buyers of shares worth Rs 57,303 crore, while they sold equities amounting to Rs 49,756 crore, translating into a net investment of Rs 7,547 crore (USD 1.4 billion), as per Sebi data. Foreign fund houses also infused a staggering Rs 7,373 crore (USD 1.35 million) in the debt market so far this month. This takes the overall net investments by FIIs into debt markets to Rs 14,322 crore (USD 2.65 billion) so far this calendar year. "FIIs have been infusing money into the Indian market on account of various reform measures taken by the government and change in RBI's monetary policy that has added liquidity to the system. This liquidity will help in growth of the country," Wellindia Executive Director Hemant Mamtani said. Earlier this month, RBI has slashed repo rates by 25 basis points to 7.5 per cent in its mid-quarter monetary policy review. FIIs bought equities worth USD 24.4 billion in 2012, about USD 5 billion below record purchases two years ago. As on March 22, the number of registered FIIs in the country stood at 1,757 and total number of sub-accounts was 6,322. 

BILL GATES USD 1 MILLION GRAMT FOR NEXT GEN CONDOM

Got an idea how to come up with the 'next generation condom'? You may bag upto one million dollars from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation is offering USD 100,000 of initial funding, with up to USD 1 million of possible continued funding to whoever comes up with a viable proposal. Ideas for a better condom are being accepted at GrandChallenges.org. Ideas that may prove too expensive for widespread use in the developing world, or those that doesn't do the job of preventing pregnancy or disease transmission will be dismissed right off the bat. The next-generation condom challenge is part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Grand Challenges Explorations," a continuing initiative to fund programs geared toward improving the lot of the world's poorest citizens. "To overcome persistent health and development problems, we need new, game-changing ideas," said Chris Wilson, Director of Global Health Discovery & Translational Science at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in a statement. "Inspiration can come from anywhere and we are hopeful that this new round of Grand Challenges Explorations will uncover innovative approaches to improve lives around the world," Wilson added. 
Through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife work to eradicate poverty and increase access to healthcare. Founded in 1994, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the largest private foundations in the world. Now, with the USD 100,00 grant offered through the Grand Challenges in Global Health Program, they are hoping to find anyone - students, scientists or entrepreneurs - to reinvent the condom. "The primary drawback from the male perspective is that condoms decrease pleasure as compared to no condom. So a 'next-generation' condom would, perhaps, find some way to increase sensation to get men to use them more often — purely in the name of global health, of course," says a statement describing the requirements of the challenge. "Female condoms, meanwhile, suffer from some of the same liabilities as male condoms, require proper insertion training and are substantially more expensive than their male counterparts," says the foundation. Thus, the foundation thinks that a cheaper, simpler female condom might also help reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies and spread of sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.

RIL BAGS REFINER OF THE YEAR AWARD

Reliance Industries today said it has been awarded the prestigious 'International Refiner of the Year' 2013 at HART Energy's 27th World Refining & Fuel Conference at San Antonio, Texas, USA. "The award was presented to RIL for producing cleaner, higher-quality gasoline and diesel fuel, operating with the highest international refining standards and innovative use of resources in diverse environments and for innovation, global vision, and ability to chart future changes," the company said in a statement.
K Balachandran, Chief of Operation (Jamnagar Refinery and Petrochemical Complex) accepted the award on behalf of RIL and its employees. This is the second time that RIL has received this Award for its Jamnagar Refinery, the first being in 2005. RIL is the only Asian refiner to have been conferred this award twice.
RIL operates two of the world's largest and most complex refineries. With 1.24 million barrels per day of crude processing capacity, RIL is the largest refiner at any single location in the world. The company had a 33 million tons refinery and a few years ago added an only-for-exports 29 million tonne unit that transformed its Jamnagar complex into the 'largest refining hub of the world'. RIL is among the Top 10 private sector refining companies globally, and owns 25 per cent of the world's most complex refining capacity.

AAKASH FAILS TO TAKE OFF

The fate of the much touted low- cost computing device Aakash looks uncertain with the government today conceding that there has been a "failure" in its production. Concerned over the tardy progress, the HRD Ministry has written to IIT Bombay (the executing body) to ensure the vendor (Datawind) meets the terms and conditions and the supply order by March 31 in letter and spirit, failing which action could be initiated against it. The ministry is also awaiting a report from a committee headed by Rajendra Pawar before taking a call about the prospects of the device on which many students had pinned their hope. "... the other challenge is productionising it. That is where the failure has come. If the productionisation had happened on time, students would have accessed to it. The product exists but we are not able to productionise it as much as required," HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju told reporters here. The tablet was promised to be made available to students at a subsidised rate of Rs 1130. Datawind was asked to supply one lakh pieces initially, which never happened. Raju, though, maintained that the project has created an environment for similar other devices in the market which a students as well can go for instead of being too "obsessed" with the device. "Aakash is a tablet which will enable you to access the content. But there are others who have come up...students will pick up whatever serves the purpose better and affordable. We will continue to work on the product as long as development of the product is concerned," he said, when asked if the tablet should be opened to market force which can determine which product can survive in the rather than focussing on it solely. He hoped in due course, other vendors could also chip developing the device. Raju said the ultimate aim should be to enable a student to access content at an affordable price through enabling environment and exploiting the 'National Mission on Education using ICT' platform.

ANMI PLANS TO DOUBLE RETAIL INVESTORS

The Association of National Exchange Members of India (ANMI) today said it is aiming to double the retail investor base in the country to over 2.5 crore in the next three years. Currently, the retail investor base in India is at 1.3 crore. "... plans to double the retail investor base in India by 2016 from an existing 1.3 crore to over 2.5 crore through a series of direct and indirect measures and endeavours," ANMI said at Asia Forum for investor Education (AFIE) Conference. ANMI, which comprises the trading members of all the leading bourses in the country, said this target can be achieved by increasing banking facilities among others. Speaking on the occasion, AFIE President Rakesh Somani said: "ANMI believes that increased sophistication of product offerings is widening the gap of investor understanding." "The objective of ANMI is to move to create a base of retail investors who are financially aware of working of the financial market before they educate them of investing in sophisticated products. ANMI is working closely with the SEBI and AFIE to create investor awareness of financial products," he added. He also said that government, Reserve Bank and capital market regulator have been taking various steps which would help in widening the investor base in the country. "RBI's plan to expand the number of bank branches to 82,000 by 2020, new investment products by Mutual Funs and exchanges aimed at the youth and low age earners and the over 2 lakh pan India brokerage terminals, would substantially contribute towards our mission to double the number of demat accounts," Somani said.
The event was attended by many international delegations from countries like Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey.

BRITISH ASIAN BILLIONAIRES DOUBLED

Britain's Asian entrepreneurs have defied the recession with some becoming billionaires from millionaires, according to a latest report on some of the country's richest businessmen. The 'Eastern Eye Asian Rich List 2013' found that the number of billionaires in the annual list more than doubled to seven, up from three in 2012. The net worth of the country's top 101 wealthiest Asians also registered growth from 41.2 billion pounds to 45.6 billion pounds, signifying a 10.7 per cent increase. This year's top 101 wealth creators will be unveiled at an annual Asian Business Awards ceremony here, later today. The list is reportedly topped by the Hinduja brothers, at the helm of one the UK's largest industrial groups. They are set to displace steel tycoon Lakshmi N Mittal, whose fortunes took a tumble over the last year as a result of a global slowdown in the steel industry. Most of the entries in the list are family-run enterprises, with the younger generation of entrepreneurs seeking to build on the wealth and reputation of their parents who came to Britain as migrants. "Britain is richer for its diversity, and turning adversity into opportunity is something that's in the blood for Asian businessmen," said Kalpesh Solanki, managing editor of the Asian Media and Marketing Group, publishers of the Asian Rich List. "Many came to this country from India and Africa with very little money, and through sheer hard work and sacrifice, they have built their companies from scratch into world-class enterprises. The Asian Rich List shows that if you work hard and are open to new challenges and seize opportunities, then success isn't far behind," he added.

DIRECT SELLING SECTOR TO REACH Rs. 10,843 CRORES

Direct selling sector in India is expected to grow at the rate of 20 per cent year on year and reach up to Rs 10,843.6 crore in the financial year 2014-15, according to a report. As per the annual survey on the Indian direct selling sector by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, undertaken in association with Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA), the size of segment was pegged at Rs 6,385.1 crore in 2011-12.
Commenting on the growth of the sector, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Economist and Head of Research SP Sharma said: "The Indian direct selling industry has scaled remarkable growth over the years and has been expanding its horizons in India as a rapidly emerging alternate distribution channel."
Growth drivers have been wellness, healthcare segment followed by beauty, cosmetics and personal care segment, survey said. Products related to wellness have contributed 44 per cent to the total sales revenue at Rs 2,745.5 crore followed by beauty, cosmetics and personal care products contributing 33 per cent to the total sales for 2011-12, it added. Direct selling companies have been increasingly contributing to the nation's economy by way of direct taxes, IDSA said in a statement. "Total tax paid by IDSA member companies amount to Rs 821.2 crore in 2011-12 as compared to Rs 647 crore in 2010-11. The growth in tax collection from the direct selling firms has increased by about 26.9 per cent in 2011-12" IDSA Chairman S Subramanian said. The industry has also contributed significantly to the self-employment generation in the country. "Total distributors base of the Indian direct selling industry during 2011-12 stood at 48,53,232 lakh. It is expected to reach 80,00,000 lakh by 2014-15," Subramanian added.

ONLINE STOCK TRADING GETS MOMENTUM IN YOUNGSTERS

 Online share trading has seen a sharp rise of over 72 per cent in the last two years among young investors who use the platform as a source of additional income with easy availability of gadgets, use of technology and access to analyst information, an Assocham survey said. In its survey conducted under the aegis of its Social Development Foundation in January-February on 'Boom time for online share trading: Online trade is a fast growing biz', Assocham today said online share trade industry is growing by 150 per cent year-on-year and the value of all trades executed through Internet has grown more than ten-times in two years. "Online share trading has become a major fascination by large number of young energetic and intelligent population mostly professionals or unprofessional and employed or unemployed," said Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat. Delhi ranks first in online share trading followed by Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Dehradun. According to majority of the respondents, "Stock trading is the new age thrive, every youngster is looking towards improving the income levels. Online trading is the most profitable business, which just requires knowledge of the trading concept." Majority of the respondents doing Internet trading belong to the age group of 18-23 years followed by (24-29 years). Similarly, there were people in 30-35 age group. On the other hand, only 8 per cent were each from the age group of 36-41 years and above 42 years, the survey said. Out of 2,500 respondents, 62 per cent were male, while 38 per cent were female. Nearly, 32 per cent people were doing job in private organisations, while only 16 per cent were having their own business. On the other hand, 20 per cent people were government employees and only 12 per cent were professionals. Over 56 per cent were unmarried and 44 per cent married. According to the survey, majority of young investors (64 per cent) like to trade in futures and options segment. "The emerging scenario makes it necessary for broking companies to identify investor's perception of level service quality, which strongly influence their behavioural intentions. "This would facilitate the process of categorising, determining and measuring, controlling and thereby improving the investor interest in online trading," Rawat added.

HOUSE SALES PICKS UP IN DELHI NCR

Housing demand has picked up in the national capital region (NCR) with sales rising by 46 per cent in January this year to nearly 9,000 units mainly on the back of clarity in land acquisition issues in Greater Noida, property research firm PropEquity said. Housing sales in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), however, dropped by 14 per cent, according to PropEquity that tracks over 45,000 projects of 8,200 developers in over 40 cities. The total absorption in NCR stood at 8,812 units in January 2013, a 46 per cent increase from last year's January figure of 6,032 housing units. "This revival in NCR is caused by higher sales velocity in Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway, Noida Extension and Faridabad. "The clearing up of the land acquisition issues lumbering upon the area along with the highly affordable units available in Yamuna Expressway and Noida Extension have resulted in the sale of 3,998 units in January 2013," PropEquity Founder and Chief Executive Officer Samir Jasuja said in a statement. Last year sales numbers for the month of January for Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway, and Noida Extension stood at 694 units, he added. However, Jasuja said Gurgaon is still not very upbeat and witnessed a 4 per cent drop in absorption numbers during the period under review. The new launches in NCR dropped by 35 per cent to 5,208 units from last year January’s 8,041 units. Jasuja said the developers in key cities of NCR and MMR have controlled new launches keeping in mind the liquidity crunch as well as the piled up unsold inventory (except Gurgaon). Lower sales during last year forced the market to align itself to buyer sentiment and developers have started launching projects at lucrative rates to boost sales, he added. "This low scale correction along with the latest 25 basis points repo rate cut by RBI will support the market. The market requires at least 75 basis further dip in repo rates to strengthen sales," Jasuja said. In Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), PropEquity said that the total absorption during January stood at 5,130 units, a drop of 14 per cent from 5,983 units in January 2012. The new launches declined by 48 per cent in MMR during January 2013 to evade any significant demand supply mismatch.

MATH FAVOURS INDIA

India will add a significant part of the next 5 billion Internet users, with maths suggesting that it is the country to look out for, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said today."This place is going to be rocking," said Schmidt, who is in the national capital for the Google's Big Tent Forum. "In the short term it is China, but math favours India. And I'm a mathematician," Schmidt said when asked by Guardian's Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger on his choice on India and China. Speaking at the question and answer session with Rusbridger, Schmidt expressed great hope for the growth of Internet and broadband users in the country.
He said: "(There are) roughly 600 million mobile phone users in India, there are about 130 million Internet users, (but) there are only about 20 million broadband users. So by any definition India is under-penetrated. And in our book... we talk a lot about the importance of the next 5 billion. "There are only 2 billion people on Internet in the world today. And many of those 5 billion would be coming from India. So imagine a situation 5 to 10 years from now. When there is a billion people on the Internet. Will they be significantly different from the first 100 million users. I'm sure there will be many more languages and they won't be so English focused."
However, Schmidt added that to achieve this growth India needs to build out the infrastructure and to lower the cost of devices. "I think the sum of all that is that this place is going to be rocking." On regulation in India, especially clauses pertaining to the liability on the intermediary, he said it is important for service provider to check offensive data being put on the Net.
"India is a country with very very strong element to free speech and public discussion, which is admirable with a strong and vibrant democracy with a strong legal system. There are some clarifications that you needed to some of the aspects of law (section 66) and intermediate liability."The reason is that you want entrepreneur to be willing to take risks and if they do take a risk don't want them to be going to jail, unless they are very evil. So for example when content is put up, it is offensive...it will take time to discover its offensive and take it off."

PROTECT FAKE NOTE VICTIMS

A Parliamentary Panel today suggested that the government should make amendment in laws to provide protection to victims of counterfeit operations. The Committee are disappointed to note that no steps to amend the penal provisions for providing protection to the hapless victims of counterfeit operations have been initiated by the government, a panel headed by senior Congress leader Jagdambika Pal said in the report tabled in Parliament. The Committee on Public Undertaking said, "this is all the more imperative since more and more law enforcing agencies are being involved by the government to curb and control this problem of gargantuan proportion." Taking a note of various measures taken by the government to effectively control the menace of counterfeit currency, the report said "the Committee, therefore, reiterate their earlier recommendation and desire that Government initiate appropriate steps in this regard immediately. " For selecting new security features for the new series of bank notes, steps have already been initiated by the Ministry of Finance and RBI and a high level steering committee of experts to improve design of Indian bank notes has been constituted, it said. "The Committee trust that efforts initiated by the government for introduction of easily recognisable anti counterfeiting security features would fructify at the soonest and will help in controlling the menace of counterfeit currency notes," it added. With a view to further strengthen the systems of handling banknotes by the banks, it said, RBI has issued a direction to all its scheduled banks that banknotes in denomination of Rs 100 and above should be re-issued by banks over their counters or through ATMs only if those banknotes are duly checked for authenticity/genuineness and fitness by machines.

MAKE ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS ONLY

Market regulator Sebi has asked all listed companies to use electronic mode for making cash payments to investors, a move that would help check misuse of funds. The Securities and Exchange Board of India in a circular said that listed companies can utilise electronic payment modes approved by the Reserve Bank for cash payments.
To ensure cash payments are done through the electronic mode, companies are required to keep bank account details of investors. Electronic Clearing Service (ECS), National Electronic Clearance Service (NECS) and National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) are among the payment systems approved by the RBI.
The circular, which would help in ensuring more transparency in market dealings, is aimed at curbing misuse of investor funds."For investors that hold securities in demat mode, companies or their RTI (Registrar to the Issue) and STA (Share Transfer Agent) shall seek relevant bank details from the depositories," the circular said. In case of investors holding physical share or debenture certificates, the listed firms have been directed to take necessary steps to "maintain updated bank details of the investors".
According to the market regulator, companies can opt for physical payment instruments for paying cash to the investors if there are problems in electronic mode such as those related to MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) and IFSC (Indian Financial System Code).
"Companies shall mandatorily print the bank account details of the investors on such payment instruments," it said. Sebi has also asked stock exchanges to bring the circular to the notice of all listed companies.

M&M, NARAYANA HRUDAYALAYA GOT FT ARCELOR MITTAL AWARDS

India's Mahindra & Mahindra and Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals have won two of the top seven 2013 Boldness in Business Awards instituted by the Financial Times (FT) and Arcelormittal. At a function held at the Royal Institute of British Architects here last night, Mumbai-headquartered Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd won the Emerging Markets Awards. Mahindra and Mahindra is ranked 21st in the list of top companies of India in Fortune India 500 in 2011. The Bangalore-headquartered Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals bagged the Corporate Responsibility Award. The Bangalore cardiac unit of Narayana Hrudayalaya is one of the world's largest paediatric heart hospitals. It is the brainchild of renowned cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty. Narayana Hrudayalaya also receives patients from outside India and it has created a record of performing 15,000 surgeries on patients from 25 foreign countries. It is a renowned centre for telemedicine and it offers this service free of cost. Other recipients of the awards were Ivan Glasenberg, Chief Executive, Glencore (Person of the Year), Mondragon Corporation (Driver of Change), 3DSystems (Technology), GoPro (Smaller Company) and SoftBank (Entrepreneurship). Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMuittal, said: "This year's winners represent a wide variety of businesses who have uniquely demonstrated new and brave thinking to transform and succeed under challenging circumstances."

NO INCOMING ROAMING FOR VEDEOCON MOBILE USERS

Telecom operator Videocon Mobile Services today said its subscribers will not be charged roaming fee for incoming calls. "We reiterate our commitment towards 'One Nation – Free Roaming'...our subscribers roaming across Videocon Network will stand to benefit from free incoming calls," Videocon Mobile Services CEO Arvind Bali said.
The company said subscribers will not be charged roaming fee for incoming call, irrespective of its origin. Videocon operates in four circles-- Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat-- while it has licence to operate in seven. The company is finalising its plans to start operations in rest of the circles-- Bihar, Uttar Pardesh East and West. "We will absorb the expenses that will be incurred on free incoming calls while roaming. There are no strings attached to the proposition, no special vouchers or recharges required. This is yet another 'Industry first' by Videocon," Bali said.

OBAMA'S DATE WITH MISS ISRAEL

Amid a flurry of political engagements, Barack Obama, America's first black president, has invited Israel's first black beauty queen to dine with him. 21-year-old Yityish Titi Aynaw, an immigrant from Ethiopia who was an unknown face till about a month ago when she was crowned miss Israel, will attend the state dinner hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres for Obama today. In an interview to a local TV channel, Titi described Obama, 51, as a role model for her and the chance to see him as a dream coming true.

"It's a huge honour for me to meet him. I know his life story and I know he is a strong man and he is a role model for me, and I am very very excited to meet him," she said. Asked what is she going to talk about with the US President, it seems she would narrate her own life story and the story of her acceptance in the Israeli society. "I am going to tell Obama that I was born in Ethiopia and I came to Israel and the Israelis helped me feel at home and they helped me overcome," Titi said. "It was hard in the beginning to be here, and my friends in Israel helped me. They taught me Hebrew and they helped me with everything here, the culture and the Hebrew, everything". "My life has changed now and I feel amazing and proud to represent Israel," she said with a glee on her face. Asked if she fears that First Lady Michelle Obama will get jealous with her talking to her husband, she responded, "No, I am not worried." "She is a beautiful woman and she looks like a model, really...I don't think she will be jealous," she responded.