DEEPAVALI SPECIAL TRAINS

DEEPAVALI SPECIAL TRAINS

Southern Railway will run the following special trains to clear extra rush of passengers during Deepavali Festival.

1.     Chennai Central – Tirunelveli – Chennai Central Superfast Specials: T.No.0601 Chennai Central – Tirunelveli Superfast Special will leave Chennai Central at 18.15 hrs. on 4.11.2010 and arrive Tirunelveli at 07.45 hrs. the next day. T.No.0602 Tirunelveli – Chennai Central Superfast Special will leave Tirunelveli at 14.00 hrs. on 5.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Central at 03.40 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be  1 AC  2-tier, 1 AC 3-tier, 8 Sleeper Class, 4 General Second Class and 2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. The trains will stop at Arakkonam, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Salem, Erode, Karur, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudunagar, Sattur, Kovilpatti and Vanchi Maniyachchi. T.No.0602 will stop at Perambur also.

2.     Chennai Central – Tuticorin Superfast Special and Tuticorin – Chennai Central Special: T.No.0613 Chennai Central – Tuticorin Superfast Special will leave Chennai Central at 20.35 hrs. on 6.11.2010 and arrive Tuticorin at 10.00 hrs. the next day. T.No.0614 Tuticorin – Chennai Central Special will leave Tuticorin at 15.45 hrs. on 7.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Central at 08.20 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 1 AC 2-tier, 1 AC 3-tier, 8 Sleeper Class, 4 General Second Class and         2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. The trains will stop at Arakkonam, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Salem, Erode, Karur, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudunagar, Sattur, Kovilpatti, Vanchi Maniyachchi and Milavittan. T.No.0613 will stop at Tuti-Melur also. T.No.0614 will stop at Tiruchchirappalli and Perambur also.

3.     Chennai Central – Nagercoil Superfast Special and Nagercoil – Chennai Central Special: T.No.0603 Chennai Central – Nagercoil Superfast Special will leave Chennai Central at 23.30 hrs. on 3.11.2010 and arrive Nagercoil at 14.00 hrs. the next day. T.No.0604 Nagercoil – Chennai Central Special will leave Nagercoil at 16.15 hrs. on 4.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Central at 08.20 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 3 AC 2-tier, 2 AC 3-tier, 12 Sleeper Class, 2 General Second Class and         2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. The trains will stop at Arakkonam, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Salem, Erode, Karur, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudunagar, Sattur, Kovilpatti, Vanchi Maniyachchi, Tirunelveli and Valliyur. T.No.0604 will stop at Perambur also.

4.     Chennai Central – Tirunelveli – Chennai Central Specials (via. Chennai Egmore) : T.No.0629 Chennai Central – Tirunelveli Special will leave Chennai Central at 19.30 hrs. on 3.11.2010 and arrive Tirunelveli at 09.35 hrs. the next day. T.No.0630 Tirunelveli – Chennai Central Special will leave Tirunelveli at 14.55 hrs. on 4.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Central at 05.00 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 13 AC 3-tier coaches. The trains will stop at Chennai Egmore, Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Vriddhachalam, Tiruchchirappalli, Dindigul, Kodaikanal Road, Madurai, Virudunagar, Sattur, Kovilpatti and Vanchi Maniyachchi. T.No.0630 will stop at Mambalam also.

5.     Coimbatore – Chennai Central – Coimbatore Superfast Specials: T.No.0622 Coimbatore – Chennai Central Superfast Special will leave Coimbatore at 23.55 hrs. on 2.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Central at 08.20 hrs. the next day. T.No.0621 Chennai Central – Coimbatore Superfast Special will leave Chennai Central at 22.30 hrs. on 3.11.2010 and arrive Coimbatore at 06.50 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 1 AC 2-tier, 2 AC 3-tier, 13 Sleeper Class, 2 General Second Class and       2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. The trains will stop at Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Jolarpettai, Katpadi and Arakkonam. T.No.0622 will stop at  Perambur also. T.No. 0621 will stop at Coimbatore North also.

6.     Nagercoil – Chennai Egmore Superfast Special and Chennai Egmore – Nagercoil Special: T.No.0642 Nagercoil – Chennai Egmore Superfast Special will leave Nagercoil at 17.00 hrs. on 7.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Egmore at 06.05 hrs. the next day. T.No.0641 Chennai Egmore – Nagercoil Special will leave Chennai Egmore at 14.40 hrs. on 8.11.2010 and arrive Nagercoil at 05.35 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 1 AC 2-tier, 2 AC 3-tier, 12 Sleeper Class, 3 General Second Class and         2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. The trains will stop at Valliyur, Tirunelveli, Vanchi Maniyachchi, Kovilpatti, Sattur, Virudunagar, Madurai, Dindigul, Tiruchchirappalli, Vriddhachalam, Villupuram, Chengalpattu and Tambaram. T.No.0642 will stop at Mambalam also. T.No.0641 will stop at Ariyalur also.

7.     Chennai Central – Tuticorin – Chennai Central Superfast Specials: T.No.0619 Chennai Central – Tuticorin Superfast Special will leave Chennai Central at 20.35 hrs. on 3.11.2010 and arrive Tuticorin at 10.00 hrs. the next day. T.No.0620 Tuticorin – Chennai Central Superfast Special will leave Tuticorin at 14.05 hrs. on 4.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Central at 03.45 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 1 AC    2-tier, 1 AC 3-tier, 8 Sleeper Class, 3 General Second Class and 2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. The trains will stop at Arakkonam, Katpadi, Jolarpettai, Salem, Erode, Karur, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudunagar, Sattur, Kovilpatti, Vanchi Maniyachchi and Milavittan. T.No.0619 will stop at Tuti Melur also. T.No.0620 will stop at Perambur also.

8.     Tiruchchirappalli – Chennai Egmore Special and Chennai Egmore – Tiruchchirappalli Superfast Special (via. Mayiladuthurai): T.No.0646 Tiruchchirappalli – Chennai Egmore Special will leave Tiruchchirappalli at 21.00 hrs. on 1.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Egmore at 04.30 hrs. the next day. T.No.0645 Chennai Egmore – Tiruchchirappalli Superfast Special will leave Chennai Egmore at 22.45 hrs. on 4.11.2010 and arrive Tiruchchirappalli at 06.00 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 1 AC    2-tier, 2 AC 3-tier, 11 Sleeper Class, 2 General Second Class and    2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. The trains will stop at Thanjavur, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Sirkazhi, Chidambaram, Tiruppadiripuliyur, Villupuram, Chengalpattu and Tambaram. T.No.0646 will stop at Mambalam also.

9.     Chennai Egmore – Nagercoil Superfast Special and Nagercoil – Chennai Egmore Special: T.No.0635 Chennai Egmore – Nagercoil Superfast Special will leave Chennai Egmore at 18.50 hrs. on 2.11.2010 and arrive Nagercoil at 08.05 hrs. the next day. T.No.0636 Nagercoil – Chennai Egmore Special will leave Nagercoil at 13.30 hrs. on 3.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Egmore at 04.25 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 1 AC 2-tier, 2 AC 3-tier, 11 Sleeper Class, 2 General Second Class and         2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. The trains will stop at Tambaram, Chenglpattu, Villupuram, Vriddhachalam, Tiruchchirappalli, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudunagar, Sattur, Kovilpatti, Vanchi Maniyachchi, Tirunelveli and Valliyur. T.No.0636 will stop at Mambalam also.

10.  Chennai Egmore – Sengottai Special (via.Mayiladuthurai) and Sengottai – Chennai Egmore Special (via.Vriddhachalam): T.No.0661 Chennai Egmore – Sengottai Special will leave Chennai Egmore at 22.45 hrs. on 3.11.2010 and arrive Sengottai at 12.30 hrs. the next day. T.No.0662 Sengottai – Chennai Egmore Special will leave Sengottai at 16.45 hrs. on 4.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Egmore at 06.05 hrs. the next day. The composition of the trains will be 1 AC    2-tier, 1 AC 3-tier, 8 Sleeper Class, 4 General Second Class and          2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches. T.No.0661 will stop at Tambaram, Chengalpattu, Villupuram, Tiruppadiripuliyur, Chidambaram, Mayiladuthurai, Kumbakonam, Thanjavur, Tiruchchirappalli, Dindigul, Madurai, Virudunagar, Tiruttangal, Sivakasi, Srivilliputtur, Rajapalayam, Sankarankovil, Pamba Kovil Shandy, Kadayanallur and Tenkasi. T.No.0662 will stop at Tenkasi, Kadayanallur, Pamba Kovil Shandy, Sankarankovil, Rajapalayam, Srivilliputtur, Sivakasi, Tiruttangal, Virudunagar, Madurai, Dindigul, Tiruchchirappalli, Vriddhachalam, Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Tambaram and Mambalam.

11.  Ernakulam Jn. – Chennai Central Special and Chennai Central – Ernakulam Jn. Superfast Special: T.No.0652 Ernakulam Jn. – Chennai Central Special will leave Ernakulam Jn. at 18.55 hrs. on 4.11.2010 and arrive Chennai Central at 07.45 hrs. the next day.  T.No.0651 Chennai Central – Ernakulam Jn.  Superfast Special will leave Chennai Central at 20.35 hrs. on 5.11.2010 and arrive Ernakulam Jn. at 08.05 hrs. the next day.  The composition of the trains will be 1 AC 2-tier, 1 AC 3-tier, 7 Sleeper Class, 2 General Second Class and 2 luggage-cum-brake van coaches.  The trains will stop at Aluva, Thrissur, Palakkad, Podanur, Tiruppur, Erode, Salem, Jolarpettai, Katpadi and Arakkonam.  T.No.0652 will stop at Perambur also.  T.No.0651 will stop at Coimbatore and Ernakulam Town also.

Advance reservation for the above trains will commence on 22.9.2010.

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Virtual employment exchange launched

Chennai, Sep 15 (PTI) The Tamil Nadu Government today launched a virtual employment exchange for aspiring job seekers and for those already registered at employment exchanges to renew their applications and add additional qualifications online.

Inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister M K Stalin, the portal- www.tnvelaivaaipu.gov.in, would now remove transportation and other expenses incurred by candidates for visiting the employment offices.
Users can easily upload their scanned qualifications along with other details on the website. Details of about 65 lakh registrants have also been made available at the website.

The registrants can verify their profiles by visiting the website, developed by the State Government owned Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT).
In the second phase of the project, all potential employers from the private and public sector would be able to access online profiles of candidates registered with the Labour Department.

Stock exchanges to start mobile trading from October

Mumbai: As the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cleared the way for use of wireless technology in securities trading, stock exchanges are all set to start mobile trading from early October. All registered brokers will be able to trade from anywhere in the country through their mobile phones. Apart from this, clients can also place orders, view positions and view trades, reports K. Raghavendra Rao of Business Line.

Mobile trading will be facilitated on NOW software which will be provided free by NSE to its brokers, the exchange said. It further added that the market data will also be provided free on the brokers' cell phones.

There are two main counts on which the exchanges need to emphasize while testing the readiness of every technology, one is the strength of the data transfer process between the client and the server and the other one is the usage of the digital signature certificate. The digital signature certificate is the only legally valid digital certification approved by the Information Technology Act.

The major vendors of this technology include Financial Technologies, 3i Infotech, Omnesys and Technova Religare.

According to Ravi Jagannathan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, 3i Infotech Consumer Services, only after obtaining a digital signature certificate, an investor can transact using his handset. It will take at least 10 days for the implementation of this system and in three-four years, around 40 percent of retail investors could be transacting using this mode, he added.

Investors who possess a digital signature certificate will be provided a small device called the crypto-token (a small pen drive), which will contain the private key to be used while placing an order. The server would immediately be able to recognize whether the transaction has originated from an authentic person or not by recognizing the private key.

Brokers, on their part, are also ready to offer these services to their clients. Brokers have to shell out cost of platform installation while usage costs would be borne by the client. 

Source - http://tinyurl.com/326ekv2

 

Your landline may soon sport a 10-digit number

Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday recommended that fixed line telephones should have 10-digit numbers like mobile phones to avoid a situation in which there are not enough numbers due to growing demand.
TRAI has called for the new phone number system to be implemented by December next year.

However, TRAI said, "The existing 10-digit numbering scheme for mobile telephony should be continued to avoid inconvenience to the customers that would accompany any move to shift to an 11-digit numbering scheme," in a statement.

In January this year, TRAI had initiated a consultation process on several important issues related to numbering resources, as it was anticipated that there would be a shortage of numbers to be allocated given the explosive growth in the Indian telecom industry.

"Both fixed line and mobile phones will have a 10-digit number. This would make available enough numbers to cater to expansion of existing services and introduction of new services for the next 30-40 years," TRAI added.

The move will also facilitate extension of number portability to fixed lines, it added.

The authority said that while all preparations for extension of the 10-digit numbering scheme to fixed lines will be complete by September 30, 2011, the actual migration should be completed by December 31, 2011.

Once the recommendations are accepted, TRAI proposes to go ahead with the preparation of a detailed plan for migration to the integrated numbering scheme.

The existing national numbering plan 2003 was designed for 750 million connections, including 450 million mobile connections. Expected to be applicable till 2030, the numbering plan has come under severe strain, with the number of mobile subscriptions surpassing the expectations in 2009 itself.

With the number of subscribers likely to exceed 1 billion by 2014, the situation calls for an urgent review to facilitate continued availability of numbers with minimum disruption to any service.

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/aug/20/your-landline-may-soon-sport-a-10-digit-number.htm

E-Ticket:- Credit Card also as ID Proof

Now credit cards (with laminated photograph) issued by Banks can also be used as the ID proof with E-Tickets. Here is the link for the latest circular.  Click the below link to see the official announcement from Indian Railways.

http://www.indianrailways.gov.in/indianrailways/directorate/traffic_comm/COMM-CIR-2K10/CC_36_2010.pdf

Cashless treatment denial? Insurance co to pay damages

An insurance company has been directed by a consumer court to pay a compensation of Rs 7,000 for failing to settle a medical claim of a patient despite receiving all the necessary documents from him.
The East Delhi District Consumer Forum directed the Reliance General Insurance Company Limited to reimburse medical expenses of Rs 90,688 to the complainant, who had taken the cashless scheme from it.
The insurance company had alleged that despite repeated reminders, the complainant had not submitted any necessary documents for the purpose of settling the claim.
"The objection taken by the insurance company in not settling the claim of the complainant can not be sustained," the forum bench, comprising President U C Tiwari and Members T Vijayan and M Saxena, said.
"The objection raised by the company in claiming that the dispute can only be decided in the civil court after leading of evidence, is without merit and appears to be aimed to frustrate his claims," the forum said.
Mahender Kumar, the complainant, had underwent medical treatment from Ram Singh Hospital and St Stephens hospital in 2008 but he was denied cashless hospitalisation by the insurance company.
Kumar moved to the consumer court seeking directions to the company to reimburse his medical expenses, besides paying a compensation.

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/aug/04/cashless-treatment-denial-insurance-co-to-pay-damages.htm

Demat accounts without PAN to go defunct

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchnage Board of India (Sebi) is going to ban demat accounts, which do not have permanent account numbers (PAN). Non-PAN demat accounts will become inoperative from August 16, said Sebi.

The market regulator had already 'suspended for debit' (selling of shares) the demat accounts for which PAN details have not been verified. From August 16, it plans to make them even 'suspended for credit' (buying of shares).

"It has come to our notice that despite follow up, investors are not furnishing the PAN details," Sebi said.

"In order to ensure better compliance with the Know Your Client (KYC) norms it has been decided that with effect from August 16, 2010 such PAN non-compliant demat accounts shall also be 'suspended for credit' other than the credits arising out of automatic corporate actions," Sebi said leaving room for certain benefits like bonus issues and stock splits.

However, the regulator clarified that other credits including credits from IPO/FPO/Rights issue, off-market transactions or any secondary market transactions will not be allowed into such accounts. 

Source - http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Demat_accounts_without_PAN_to_go_defunct-nid-70225.html?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Subscriber

No withdrawal of cashless facility at hospitals: FM

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday allayed fears of withdrawal of the cashless mediclaim facility by public sector general insurance companies, saying these firms have not done away with these schemes and are only standardising the rates for various hospitals. 

 

"The public sector general insurance companies have not, I am emphasising on, have not revised or withdrawn the facility of cashless treatment," Mukherjee said in the Lok Sabha.

From July 1, public sector insurance companies had suspended about 150 hospitals from their list of preferred provider network healthcare companies which provide cashless hospitalisation services to policy holders under the mediclaim scheme.

This was interpreted by some as withdrawal of the cashless mediclaim facility by these insurers. "The companies have started rationalising empanelment of hospitals and the standardisation of rates and specified procedures followed by these hospitals," Mukherjee said.

Last week, insurance regulator IRDA chairman J Harinarayan had expressed hope that hospitals and insurers will be able to arrive at a mutual solution.

The state-run insurers had alleged that the hospitals were billing patients higher if they came under mediclaim, whereby the claims were higher than the premium received by the insurers.

At a meeting of private hospitals and public sector insurance companies last Friday, both the parties had agreed to restore the cashless treatment facility under the mediclaim policy within 10 days.

The hospitals have already restored the cashless facility for emergency, ICU, cardiac care and trauma cases. 

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/aug/02/no-withdrawal-of-cashless-facility-at-hospitals.htm

Why and how to trade in Nifty futures

An index future is a derivative, similar to a stock future, whose value is dependent on the value of the underlying, in this case, the index like the S&P CNX Nifty or BSE Sensex. 

By trading in index futures, an investor is buying and selling the basket of stocks comprising the index, in their respective weights. 

Stock index futures are traded in terms of number of contracts. Each contract would be to either buy or sell a fixed value of the index. The value of the contract would be the lot size multiplied by the index value.

About Nifty futures

Nifty futures are index futures where the underlying is the S&P CNX Nifty index. In India, index futures trading commenced in 2000 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). 

For Nifty futures contracts, the permitted lot size is 50, and in multiples of 50. Like other futures contracts, Nifty futures contracts also have a three-month trading cycle -- the near-month, the next month and the far-month.

After the expiry of the near-month contract, a new contract of a three-month duration would be introduced on the next trading day. Investors can trade in Nifty futures by having a margin amount in their account. This margin is a percentage of the contract value. It is usually about 10-12 per cent.

Why should you go for them?

Hedging. In simple terms, hedging is a strategy that helps limit losses. Exposure to a stock is equivalent to exposure to an index. This is because most stocks move in tandem to the market. Exposure to index futures helps hedge this risk.

Speculative gains. If you are certain about future market movements, you can make profits through index futures. If you bullish on the market, buy index futures. If bearish, you should sell index futures.

How do they work? You enter into a Nifty futures contract at a specified index value. On the expiry of the contract, the investor's profits would be the difference between the level of the index on expiry and the level specified in the futures contract at the time of purchase.

Strategies

Short stock, long index futures. There are times when you sell the stock, but there is an upside in the market, thus resulting in lost potential profits. Index futures help you mitigate this risk. By buying index futures when you are short on the stock, you can minimise the amount of potential profits lost.

Equity portfolio, short index futures. There are times when you own a portfolio and are uncomfortable about market conditions. You can hedge this risk by selling index futures. The concept vests on the fact that every portfolio has index exposure and risks are accounted for by fluctuations in the index.

Long Stock, Short Index Futures

Suppose you are long 500 shares of Reliance Industries at the price of Rs 1,000 per share; spot Nifty is at 5,000; and Nifty futures is at 5,020.

To protect your Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) position from a market downturn, you need to sell 100 Nifty futures. Suppose on the expiry date, the spot/futures Nifty is at 4,750 (5 per cent fall). On closing, both the positions, you would earn Rs 2,000. 

Your position in Reliance Industries would have dropped by Rs 25,000 and the short Nifty would have gained Rs 27,000 [i.e., 100 x (5,020-4,750)]

Short Stock, Long Index Futures

Suppose you are short 400 shares of Infosys Technologies at the price of Rs 2,500 per share; spot Nifty is at 5,000; and Nifty futures is at 5,050.

To protect your Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) position from a market upside, you need to buy 200 Nifty futures. If, on expiry, the spot/futures Nifty is at 5,250 (5 per cent rise), on closing both positions, you lose nothing.

Your position in Infosys would result in a loss Rs 50,000 and the short Nifty would have gained Rs 50,000 [i.e., 200x(5,250-5000)]

Hedging Portfolio Risk

Suppose the spot Nifty is at 5,000 and the three-month Nifty futures at 5,015. To protect a portfolio of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) from a drop in the market, you need to sell 100 December Nifty futures.

Suppose on the expiry date, the spot/futures Nifty is at 4,500 (10 per cent fall). Your hedging strategy would earn you a profit of Rs 51,500[i.e., 100x(5,015-4500)], which compensates you for the Rs 50,000 (10 per cent) fall in your portfolio.

Source - http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jul/28/slide-show-1-perfin-why-and-how-to-trade-in-nifty-futures.htm

First government website on Taj Mahal launched

AGRA: Panoramic views, along with complete historical background, timings and ticket rates - the first official government website on the Taj Mahal takes visitors on a virtual trip to one of the seven wonders of the world.

Uttar Pradesh's director general of tourism and secretary tourism Ananeesh Kumar Awasthi Thursday launched the website - www.tajmahal.gov.in - ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Awasthi said the website would not only create more interest, answer questions but also provide solutions to many problems that tourists face.

"Subsequently other monuments like Fatehpur Sikri, Sikandra, Etmauddaula and Agra Fort too will have their websites," tourism officials told IANS.

Efforts are also being made to incorporate Urdu and Hindi versions.

The historical background given on the website provides some fresh and interesting insight into the monument's architectural styles.

One particular interpretation linking it with a Hindu scripture, says that the use of

red sandstone and white marble traced its roots to earlier Hindu practices, set out in the Vishnudharmottara Purana, which recommended white stone for buildings for the Brahmins (priestly caste) and red stone for members of the Kshatriyas (warrior caste).

"By building structures that employed such colour coding, the Mughals identified themselves with the two leading classes of Indian social structure and thus defined themselves as rulers in Indian terms," it says.

"Red sandstone also had significance in the Persian origins of the Mughal Empire, where red was the exclusive colour of imperial tents," it adds.

Hindu historians like P.N. Oak have been saying it all along. However, eminent Mughal historian R. Nath makes no mention of this in all his books on Mughal architecture.

Nath told IANS on phone from Ajmer: "The inference is preposterous, not based on facts. No historian of Shah Jahan's time mentions any such thing.

"Use of white marble was evolutionary as it was abundantly available. Such absurd interpretations should not have been on a government website, as they tend to send wrong messages," he said. 

Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/ites/First-government-website-on-Taj-Mahal-launched/articleshow/6204067.cms

Meet the world's largest exporter of roses

He is the world's largest exporter of roses. His company has leased 3,000 sq km of land (that is five times bigger than Mumbai, which is 603.4 sq km in size!) in Ethiopia. Here is his amazing story...

After completing his engineering and MBA, it was but natural for Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi to join his family business. A three-year stint and he realised that he wanted to explore new pastures and not stick to his father's business.

After toying with various options he finally settled for floriculture -- he decided to cultivate and export roses. But cultivating flowers in India is an expensive affair. After a chance meeting with a former colleague he moved to Africa, where the seeds of his fortune were sown.

With 15 per cent of the global market in his grasp, Karuturi, today, is the world's largest exporter of roses. Three years ago, he added agriculture to his bandwagon. Today, his company Karuturi Global Ltd has 3,000 sq km of agricultural land in Ethiopia (that is 5 times the size of Mumbai!) and 239 hectares of land for rose cultivation.

The company's turnover in 2009 was Rs 650 crore (Rs 6.5 billion).

Here's his story in his own words:

The beginning

Since I come from a business family, entrepreneurship was the only option open to me. My father, though he is 76 years old, still runs many businesses, including power transmission. It was like I was in a business school from age three!

After I completed engineering, I went on to do MBA in the United States. While my father taught me the essence of business, the management degree added a structured dimension to the existing knowledge and taught us all about supply chain and marketing. I came back and joined the family business and worked with my father from 1990 to 1993.

Starting own enterprise- the flower business
In 1994, I zeroed in on the flower business. I was immensely influenced by management guru Michael Porter's theory of 'Sustainable Competitive Advantage'. I was looking at any business that has sustainable competitive advantage from India into the global market.

I never looked at a business that supplied into India or into a particular region. I wanted to start an enterprise that would sustain itself globally. I was looking at a variety of businesses and the flower business appealed to me the most.
When I visited Israel, I perceived the enormity of the flower businesses, and it left a mark on me. I fell in love with this business, and my passion for it has not dimmed in all these years.

I started with a shoe-string budget of Rs 133,000 which was what I had in my bank account then. Bank loans were easy to get for this sector and many others were also getting into the business with crores of rupees. Then, my father gave me a seed capital of Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 million). I approached IDBI and they sanctioned Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million).

I completed the project by 1996. I bought around 28 acres of land in Doddabellapur, 40 km from Bengaluru, and built a couple of green houses.
Mind you, I did not import them. I got my green houses built on the footpaths of Bengaluru, literally. They were designed by the Indian Institute of Science. I bought steel from the market and got it fabricated at a roadside workshop. We made it at a third of the cost at which our competitors were importing it. 

When our competitors were importing rose shrubs at Rs 80 per plant, I got them from the local nurseries. They wanted me to import the basic bud wood so that they could make the varieties here in Bengaluru itself. I got them imported from Germany and Holland and it cost me only Rs 5 a plant.

The building block of our success started with frugality and the Indian way of stretching the rupee thin. Our capital and revenue costs were kept very low.
I built this business on very strong foundations of keeping costs low and that has helped us reach where we are today!

Roses to the global market
When I started the business, I never thought of looking at the Indian market as the consumption pattern here did not favour this kind of product. But, now, I stand significantly corrected.

Today, the Indian market is very, very important to us. As a matter of fact, the flowers that we grow in Bengaluru are hardly exported and sold mostly within the country. 

We have our own retail chain, the Flower Express, and franchisees in all the major cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. And they are all doing very well.

The Indian consumer has evolved into a consumerist model and they don't flinch at the idea of spending on flowers. 

When we started, people preferred buying a stainless steel tiffin case worth Rs 50 rather than buying a bouquet, as a gift. But things have changed and flowers have become a serious gifting option. However, it is still an urban upper middle class phenomenon.

Our first overseas destination was Holland, as it was 'the' market at that time. The first export was not entirely disappointing and it was not exhilarating either. It was a mixed bag. Initially the profits were low and the first one or two years went by in establishing our credibility and exploring the right markets. 

Soon, we were exporting to Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore, Canada, the US, Malaysia, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia, Brunei, and the Middle East. I travelled a lot to get connected to all these markets. Australia was a big challenge but it proved to be a very lucrative market.

During the European summer, when the prices are weak, Australia helps us. Singapore is an advantage because of the proximity and the lower cost of freight. For a long time, the Singapore market sustained our business. We don't supply to Singapore any more because it's too small a market for us now.
The Middle East has become a very big market. The regional market is so huge that I don't think anybody is seriously exporting to the European market from India. We are not competitive to Europe. That was why the second phase of my journey started with exploring Africa.

Moving to Africa
We had about 10 hectares of farmland in India and we had reached about Rs 4-5 crore (Rs 40-50 million) of sales when I thought of expanding our horizon.
I found that we were not competitive in Europe because they had an import duty on Indian products which our competitors from Africa didn't have to suffer from. So, they had a 9 per cent cost advantage.

Freight costs were also lower. They were paying 25 per cent to 30 per cent lower airfare than what we were paying to Europe. We just couldn't compete with Africa. We looked all over India but could not get contiguous land.
So, in 2000, I decided to move to Africa. The idea came to me when I bumped into a former manager of ours who had migrated to Africa. Till then, Africa was a faraway land where somebody was doing something.

When I went to Africa, I was astounded by the scale, the profitability and the sustainability of the business. I realised we had a 40 per cent cost advantage there.

Units in Ethiopia and Kenya
I decided to set up a unit in Ethiopia in 2004. The Ethiopian ecosystem was quite welcoming. It was easier buying land there than in India. I started with Rs 18 lakh (Rs 1.8 million) and it was like testing the waters. By the end of the first year, we had invested Rs 7 crore (Rs 70 million). Over the years we went on investing in land and today, we have close to $170 million invested there.

We are now the world's largest rose company. We produce one-and-a-half million stems of roses every day in Ethiopia and Kenya together. We employ about 9,000 people there and 1,000 here in India.

In Africa, we run our own hospitals, schools and football clubs. We employ only the locals. We take good care of them and they take good care of our business.

Today, we have a 9 per cent market share in Europe and we are heading for a 15 per cent market share as we are doing a lot of expansion.
Today, we produce 650 million roses a year, which is about 2 million roses a day. We are looking for a billion rose stem capacity! Every day, we send one charter flight from Africa to Europe.

The Indian production goes mainly to the Indian market. We don't export from India any more. Today, 95 per cent of our production is in Africa. So, I spend 15 days a month in Africa.

We harvest roses five times a day and process them the same day. They are despatched early next morning, and they reach the destination by the end of the day. They are sold on the third day.

Moving to agriculture
Three years ago in 2007, we decided to buy land in Ethiopia for agriculture. Today, we have 3,000 sq km of land which is 5 times the size of Mumbai, and it makes us one of the world's largest landlords! I never thought of becoming a landlord, much less one of the world's largest. That was not a goal at all.
We harvest rice, maize, vegetables, palm oil, and sugarcane. We produce about 5 million tonnes of rice which we export to many countries. That is about one per cent of the world's rice production and 20 per cent of the traded volume in the global market.

We also hope to be a significant player in the maize, sesame, soya and sorghum markets. Palm oil also will be produced in around 100,000 hectares and we will be one of the top five palm oil producing companies.

We have already been rated by UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) as a member of the 25 largest transnational corporations in agriculture. I want to be ranked among the top 5 and make every Indian proud that one of their own has reached the heights, not in IT but in agriculture.

Future plans
Though horticulture is the main driver of our business, in the next 24 months, agriculture will be twice as big as horticulture.

We expect incremental revenues from agriculture to go past $600-700 million and I don't see horticulture revenues going past $200 million (it is currently $150 million).

My target is to take this company to the billion-dollar club by 2015. So, the next five years' journey is going to be very enjoyable and fulfilling.

Advice to entrepreneurs
My advice to young entrepreneurs is that there is no substitute for hard work and passion. If you are passionate about your work, you can excel in it. You cannot just be passionate and not be hard working; they go hand in hand.

Source - http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jul/22/slide-show-1-meet-the-worlds-largest-exporter-of-roses.htm#contentTop

Sebi makes cell ban in dealing rooms official

MUMBAI: Most mutual funds have barred use of mobile phones in their dealing rooms to prevent front-running, though regulations didn’t require them to do so until recently.

Last week, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) made this ban official on the heels of its recent order, which pulled up an equities dealer at HDFC Asset Management for leaking information of its planned trades to a few other investors.

In a communication to mutual funds, the market regulator, in addition to the ban on mobile phone usage in dealing rooms, also asked asset management companies (AMCs) to record telephone calls from or into dealing rooms. Also, recorded calls by dealers should be regularly monitored by its compliance department, Sebi said.

Mutual fund officials said the practice of front-running is unlikely to cede, following the new rules by Sebi, as most AMCs already have such systems in place. “It doesn’t say anything more than what we are already doing,” said a top official with a private mutual fund.

Mutual fund officials said more steps are already in place to check front-running than what are mentioned in the circular. These include having restrictions on the rates at which dealers can place the ‘buy’ or ‘sell’ order in a day and checks on any changes in their lifestyles.

“If a dealer suddenly manages to buy a house in a plush locality or even a luxury car, then, we step up our vigilance. Similarly, we look if any particular broker talks more to a particular dealer than the fund manager...These are leads for us,” said the chief investment officer with a private mutual fund.

In a mutual fund, the practice of front-running harms unitholders, as it increases the cost of share purchases or reduces the realisations from share sale, thereby depressing returns.

Some mutual fund officials and brokers said Sebi’s emphasis to tackle front-running only in the dealing rooms is misplaced. “The focus is more on the small fish (dealers), while big sharks (some fund managers and market operators) have been let off the hook,” said a fund manager with a bank-owned mutual fund. “The profits made by the dealer (HDFC AMC) and his associates are paltry compared with what is being made outside the dealing room,” he said.

The three investors, who placed orders in the same set of stocks just before those were traded by dealer Nilesh Kapadia on HDFC AMC’s behalf, made combined profits of about `2 crore in four months, according to the Sebi order on June 17.

Brokers said fund managers, who usually buy or sell shares ahead of their employers, escape the regulatory radar by spreading their trades across various brokers. “Fund managers ensure that there is no pattern in the way any person or broker, who has been assigned to buy shares on their behalf, has done the trade,” said a broker, who is familiar with such trades. “There is no way that the regulator can catch them in the existing regulatory situation,” he said. 

Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/SEBI-makes-cell-ban-in-dealing-rooms-official/articleshow/6198615.cms

Now, buy mobile recharge coupons at rail stations, PCOs

Thanks to Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, you can now buy mobile recharge coupons from the public telephone booths on railway platforms and also on stations.

Just look for the sign 'recharge coupons for mobile phones available' at those booth.

An official announcement said that the booths can sell the coupons by paying an additional licence fee that varies from Rs 200 to Rs 500 a month.

The fee is Rs 500 a month for A and A-1 stations, Rs 300 for B and C category stations and Rs 300 for stations of D, E and F categories.

It said that the scheme would initially be valid up to June 30 and would be reviewed by the Railway Board on the basis of the booths opting for it and money earned by the Railways from the additional fee.

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/22/now-buy-mobile-recharge-coupons-at-rail-stations-pcos.htm

Have DTH? Pick & choose channels from Sep

Come September and subscribers of direct-to-home services would be able to pick and choose the channels they want to watch but have to pay a minimum of Rs 150 per month for a bouquet of channels of their choice. 

In its tariff order for 2010, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India also included provisions to protect the consumers from rise in rates, like no increase in subscription charges in the first six months of enrolling. 

The rates can, however, be decreased in those six months and the consumer can opt for any other service provided by the DTH operators. 

The composition of the bouquet of channels should also be the same as those for the normal cable subscribers.
"Every service provider providing broadcasting services or cable services to its subscribers using an addressable system shall offer. . .to its subscribers on a-la-carte basis," the order, which will come into effect from September 1, said. 

As of now, pay channels on DTH are not available on a-la-carte or individual basis. In case DTH operators or cable service providers in conditional access system areas are not able to offer all its pay channels to its subscribers on a-la-carte basis from September one due to technical reasons, then they will have time till January next year to upgrade their services. 

With a view to provide some relief to the operators, the order has fixed Rs 150 as the minimum monthly subscription that a consumer will need to shell out for any number of channels. 

The channels of Doordarshan should be a compulsory part of each bouquet, it said.
Trai, however, refrained from fixing the retail tariff for the pay channels.
"As the market forces appear to be operating effectively, the authority is of the view that there is no need for regulatory intervention in the matter of retail tariff fixation at present". 

However, the order said the fees that a operator has to pay to broadcasters for a channel should not be more than 35 per cent of that being paid by a normal cable operator. 

The broadcaster, the regulating body said, should specify a minimum subscription period not exceeding three months for a subscriber.
TRAI further said that replacement of the consumer's faulty equipment like set-top boxes and dish antennas and their repair should be done without any payment.

The recommendations said that the broadcaster has to report the rate of individual channel and bouquets of channels on its website. It should also publish such rates on its website.

Any change in prices shall be reported to the authority 30 days in advance and any new pay channel has to be notified 30 days in advance on the broadcaster's website as well as to the authorities.

Any broadcaster of a free to air channel intending to convert the channel into a pay channel or vice-versa shall, at least one month before the scheduled date of conversion, inform the authority about the intended conversion and give a public notice about the intended conversion.

The information about the intended conversion should also be published in at least two newspapers of which one should be a national newspaper and one in the same language as the channel.

The notification comes a day after TRAI had submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court informing about its plans to cap the monthly cable charges at Rs 250 across the country, except for pockets where conditional access system has been implemented.

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/22/tech-have-dth-pick-and-choose-channels-from-sep.htm

India draws roadmap for new domain name protocol

NEW DELHI: With the domain name bandwidth for web addresses expected to get exhausted by March 2012, the government has drawn up a roadmap for the transition into a newer version of Internet protocol that will enable unlimited options for users.

"Over 18.4 million registered addresses in India have overburdened the initial version of address platforms, which is expected to exhaust the available space globally by March 2012," a statement issued by the ministry of communications and information technology said on Wednesday.

The roadmap, spelt out by the technical arm of Department of Telecommunications (DoT), will be implemented by all telecom and Internet providers, central and state government departments, industry associations, education institutes and equipment manufacturers, the ministry said.

"This roadmap and the formation of the IPv6 task force together will enable citizens to start using IPv6 services by March 2012," Communications Minister A. Raja said. "For this all telecom and internet service providers are required to become IPv6 compliant by December-2011," he said.

"Internet Protocol is slowly emerging as a global standard for communication. The current Internet protocol IPv4 served well in last 25 years but it has practical limitations," added Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot.

"The new Internet protocol will give practically unlimited addresses besides a host of new and advanced features for running the future communication networks."

Officials said the new protocol was a scalable technology with the potential to spread the Internet reach to each of India's 1.17 billion people of India. It is already being implemented in the US, EU and Japan, among other countries.

Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/internet/India-draws-roadmap-for-new-domain-name-protocol/articleshow/6197400.cms

Now use scratch cards for online learning

And you thought scratch cards can only win you television sets, gold coins and holiday vouchers!
Macmillan India imprint Full Marks has come out with a support website for students of class VI-XII mainly following NCERT (National Council of Education Research and Training) books that can be accessed by using a scratch card.
The website can be accessed by students, teachers and parents who bought the Full Mark Series of books by registering using a unique access code - the Scratch Card Number - printed on the inside of the back cover.
The number can be viewed once a user scratches over the box marked for the purpose. After registration, one can login using a user name and password and access the website.
According to Full Marks, its website offers plenty of practice exercises and assignments different from the ones given in its books to build clarity and proficiency in the subject.
"Fullmarks.org marks our commitment to be a complete player in the education business. The website opens a world of possibilities for students. Access to over 24,000 questions for students appearing in entrance examinations like AIEEE, PMT and IIT-JEE makes their task easier and faster," says Macmillan Publishers India Ltd managing director Rajiv Beri.

According to him, the website is an attempt to provide complete tutorial support to students so that they can master the art of writing perfect answers to different types of questions given in their course books developed by NCERT.

"Taking advantage of the fact that the Internet is a knowledge resource and digital library, this website offers useful links for further references which might be of use to the students," says Beri.

Students can also ask questions to the authors to clarify a concept or seek solutions to problems and questions given in the textbooks.

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/22/now-use-scratch-cards-for-online-learning.htm

In a few days, vehicle & licence details will just be a click away

NEW DELHI: The government will soon create an online database of all registered vehicles and driving licences, a move that will benefit banks, insurance companies and police departments.

An integrated platform, being developed by the ministry of roads and transport, will allow authorised agencies to verify the details of a vehicle or driver by sending an SMS.

“This will make it easier for us to locate stolen cars and track traffic offenders,” said a senior official with Delhi Police. The ministry initiated the project last year to prevent drivers from submitting forged documents to escape penalties. Police departments have been complaining that vehicles of criminals are difficult to trace because they do not have the required information.

The ministry will set up state registers, which would compile the data online, in a few days. The ministry has developed special software for this purpose.  The database will help banks to check the hypothecation information of vehicles. It will also help various inter-state check posts to verify whether road tax has been paid for a particular vehicle, or whether it should be penalised for overloading.

Police departments require such data to check fraud and track stolen vehicles. Forged documents produced by drivers can now be verified easily.   National registers, which will act as a backup for all such data and help customers access information from anywhere within the country, will also happen within the end of the year, says a report prepared by the ministry. The applicants will be able to visit the website of the transport department and avail the services by filling online forms and paying through payment gateways. The list of services offered online will include everything from the application of a learner’s licence to online payment of permit fees and road tax.

In India, 25 states have 100% connectivity with around 85% of state registers established, with Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh having the highest connectivity with all their RTOs connected to SRs. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has been facilitating the process of computerisation in approximately 1000 RTO’s across the country in the last 5 years. 

Source - http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6189492.cms

Bill to replace ULIP ordinance soon

Amid the Reserve Bank expressing reservations over the Unit Linked Insurance Products (ULIPs) ordinance, the Finance Ministry on Tuesday said a bill to replace the ordinance would be placed in the forthcoming session of Parliament beginning July 26.

"Regulators have raised their points of view. The Finance Minister has taken note of those issues. The ordinance in whatever form has to be placed before Parliament. It is matter of a few days when this (bill) will be tabled and everybody would know what the future course of action on this particular piece of regulation is," Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla said.

After market watchdog SEBI and insurance regulator IRDA locked horns over jurisdiction of ULIPs, the government issued an ordinance giving IRDA the powers to regulate these schemes. 

ULIPs are insurance schemes whose value is linked to the market value of shares they have been invested in. However, a few days later RBI Governor D Subbarao met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and suggested the government to reconsider the ordinance.

 "I have come to meet the Finance Minister in connection with the ordinance that they have issued regarding settlement of the dispute on regulatory jurisdiction. The RBI has certain reservations and concerns, which we have expressed in the letter," Subbarao had said after the meeting.

Currently, inter-regulatory issues are looked into by a High Level Coordination Committee, comprising financial sector watchdogs and Finance Ministry officials and is headed by RBI. Later, Mukherjee said his ministry will not intervene in the autonomy of regulators, amid reservations expressed by the Reserve Bank over the Ordinance on ULIPs. 

"The intentions are quite clear. We are not going to intervene in the autonomy of regulators," Mukherjee had said. To a query on sovereign wealth fund, Chawla said on the sidelines of a CII conference that the government has taken no decision in this regard.

"Proposal has been mooted by some people. We will consider carefully as there are both points, in favour and against. At this point, no decision has been taken," he said. 

On the status of the proposed Financial Stability and Development Council  announced in Budget 2010-11, Chawla said, "FSDC...is supposed to be non-statutory forum of finance ministry and the regulators. So, its work is in progress. It will start meeting as and when necessary but it is not as if it has to go through any legislative process." Some regulators are understood to have expressed reservations over any kind of role as an arbiter for the proposed body

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/20/bill-to-replace-ulip-ordinance-soon.htm

IRDA writes new norms for insurance agents

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) now wants a complete overhaul of the rule governing insurance agents. CNBC-TV18’s Avni Raja reports that the insurance regulator is pushing for a change in rules so that insurance is sold as long-term products. 

Insurance agents will now be bound by new rules laid down by the insurance regulator IRDA. The idea behind the regulations is to encourage investors to stay invested in the long-term. These rules are aimed at reducing the surrender rate and the number of policies that lapse. So what is the regulator proposing?

If any agency's annual persistency ratio is less that 50%, the agency's license will not be renewed.  Persistency ratio is a measure of the number of policyholders who stick on to the period of the policy. Every agent will have to sell at least 20 policies and procure a minimum of 1.5 lakh new business premium every year.

Family members of employees of insurers cannot be recruited as agents by the same insurer. And finally, in case a policy lapses, the agent's commission will be withheld in the first year and paid only on the basis of persistency in later years. 

IRDA data reveals that the current persistency rate in the industry through agents is not very high. One in five policies sold lapse in the first year itself. By the 5th year, nearly half of the policies sold end up lapsing.

 

Source - http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/economy/irda-writes-new-norms-for-insurance-agents-_471155.html

How mutual fund agents are duping clients

Some mutual fund distributors are swindling customers by investing the latter's money in their own names through front entities. They do so by taking advantage of a rule allowing registrars to accept third-party cheques with application forms.
According to industry officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, fund houses have received complaints from customers who have been cheated using this method.

This is how it works. A customer approaches the distributor to invest in an MF scheme. He gives him an application form, with a cheque in favour of the scheme. Instead of giving the customer's form, the distributor substitutes it with his own and gives it to the registrar and transfer agent.

As the form is in the name of the distributor, RTA records his details and units are allotted to him. To keep the customer in the dark, the distributor issues a forged statement showing the customer has got the allotment.

Recently, a New Delhi-based MF distributor invested money given by a customer to buy schemes of three fund houses in his employee's name, causing a loss of about Rs 1 crore (Rs 10 million) to the customer.
"It's a criminal case of breach of trust," said Maju Nair, associate vice president, distribution, at Mumbai-based ShareKhan. "However, banning third-party cheques for buying MF products is not the solution," he added.
To prevent this type of fraud, he says, it should be made mandatory for customers to write their name, application number and contact number on the reverse of the cheque. "So that if RTA finds any mismatch between the details given in the form and on the cheque, it can contact the customer directly," he said.

An MF official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it should be made compulsory for distributors to take the signature of customers on the form. "Registrars can match the signature of a customer on the form and the cheque. If there is a difference, they can alert the customer," he said.
An e-mail query sent to the Securities and Exchange Board of India's spokesperson on the issue remained unanswered.

Source -  http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/21/how-mutual-fund-agents-are-duping-clients.htm

BSE to launch SME exchange by year-end

The Bombay Stock Exchange will start a separate platform for the small and medium-size enterprises by the year-end, a top bourse official said on Wednesday.
"We are awaiting Sebi approval. I am hopeful that in 3-6 months we will start the SME exchange," BSE Deputy CEO Ashish Chauhan said.

The exchange submitted the preliminary application to capital market regulator Sebi earlier this month seeking permission to launch the SME exchange.
With the exchange going live, the SMEs will be able to raise money from the market. The Asia's oldest bourse is in discussion with various merchant bankers and brokers to get their feedbacks on the endeavour. 

Currently, there are almost 3,000 SMEs trading through the BSE platform. Besides BSE, National Stock Exchange and MCX Stock Exchange have also shown interest in setting up such platforms for the SMEs. Sebi laid the groundwork to allow the SMEs to get enlisted on such exchanges recently.

The regulator has already notified the guidelines for the exchanges and now it is up to them to set up the platform.In November last year, Sebi had issued guidelines for setting up SME exchanges in India and for the SMEs wanting to get enlisted in such exchanges.

The guidelines released by Sebi last year relaxed the listing and disclosure requirements for the SMEs. It removed the need to comply with the eligibility norms for initial public offerings and follow-on public offerings as prescribed by Sebi's (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2009.
Further, it also removed the requirement of an SME to have a track record to be listed on the bourse, thereby making it even possible for start-ups to approach the equity market. 

The submission of their financial results will also be done on a half-yearly basis instead of quarterly.Experts say these measures would considerably reduce the expenses associated with public issues and the subsequent listing on exchanges.

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/21/bse-to-launch-sme-exchange-by-year-end.htm

High Court grants bail to Rama Raju in Satyam case

Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday granted bail to B Rama Raju and three others accused in Satyam scam.

The multi-billion Satyam scam, which had hit the headlines in early 2009, washed away over Rs 14,000 crore from the investors' kitty while the accused Ramalinga Raju and his relatives had allegedly made a handsome Rs 2,700 crore through fraudulent dealings in shares.

Source - http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/news/show/high-court-grants-bail-to-rama-raju-in-satyam-case-83584

Zoozoos take a break, parrot does the trick for Vodafone!

After taking the nation by storm last year, the cute Zoozoos in Vodafones ad are slowly losing out on their novelty factor leading to the introduction of an animated parrot in the telecom giants latest commercials. 

"When the Zoozoos were introduced, they were something out of the world. But it is not going to be the same now.
"It has become familiar to everyone, so its not going to surprise us each time," Rajiv Rao, national creative director of Ogilvy and Mather, the ad agency handling the campaign, told PTI. 

The simple, innocent and funny acts of the alien-like white, egg-headed creatures with balloon bodies created a phenomenon in the Indian advertising industry. 

Besides securing a number of awards, the adorable Zoozoos quickly went on to become a darling of both the consumers and the advertising fraternity. 

With more than six lakh fans on social networking site Facebook and lakhs of views on YouTube, their popularity, however, has failed to take a dip ever since they invaded television screens during the 2009 IPL matches. 

But in the latest series of advertisements promoting its offering of a bonus card of Rs 4, Vodafone chose to create an animated parrot with actor Boman Iranis voice-over. "We don't want to overdo the Zoozoos. 

We love them but at the same time, we didnt want to get repetitive with them," the adman known as the father of the Zoozoos said. 

The Zoozoos, whose main motto was to showcase the various value added services that the company provides, were not deemed fit to deliver the new advertising message of the brand. 

"For each message, we look at it very differently. And in this one, the Zoozoos didnt fit in. The product is clearly on tariff, and thats why we chose a different route," Rao said. 

Vodafone Essar Indias vice president (marketing), Anuradha Aggarwal, indicated that the Zoozoos were rested lest a fatigue factor might work against them. 

"Using Zoozoos was not appropriate at this point. They are special and if we use them unnecessarily all the time then we are not going to do justice to them and on the message that we need to deliver. Therefore, we will keep doing different things," she said. 

For Zoozoo fans, the good news is that the company seems to be in no mood to phase out the superstar characters now. 

"The Zoozoos will not be phased out. The consumers have a lot of love for them. They will not go anywhere, we will keep them alive," Aggarwal said when asked whether the company would bid farewell to them.
Adman Rao said they want to make sure that the next time viewers see Zoozoos, it should, once again, be surprising, refreshing and clutter-breaking in the crowded media space. 

"The challenge is to keep refreshing the brand, keep surprising the viewers, and not being repetitive," he added. 

The company, however, is tight-lipped on when will the old Zoozoos be back on television screens to entertain people. 

To bring a fresh look to the brand and to communicate with changed target audiences, many brands have earlier killed their popular mascots. Inextricably linked with Hutch, the endearing pug gradually disappeared from its advertisements as part of a re-branding exercise after Hutchison Essar was acquired by Vodafone in 2007. 

Similarly, the humble Maharajah with his striped turban, big moustache, traditional churidar kurta and pointy shoes, who became Air Indias mascot in 1946, was phased out after the airline merged with Indian Airlines.
To re-launch the brand, electronics maker Onida had decided last year to say goodbye to the 'devil', the company's mascot that for years aroused envy of neighbours who didn't own its TV sets. 

The company's 'devil' ad campaign, whose tagline was 'neighbour's envy, owner's pride, was a rage at one point of time. 

Created by RK Lakshman in 1954, Gattu, a naughty but hard working boy, served as the mascot of Asian Paints for many years before dying a natural death for want of fresh faces. 

Source - http://business.rediff.com/report/2010/jul/19/tech-zoozoos-take-a-break-parrot-does-the-trick-for-vodafone.htm