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Punjab is future growth engine, says minister
Biz
Talk
Kingfisher pilots may go on strike from today |
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Top 8 firms add Rs
37,399 crore
Investor Guidance
personal finance
Invest Wisely: Understand Mutual Funds
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Punjab is future growth engine, says minister
Chandigarh, September 9 The study had termed the state as "future growth engine that would propel the nation's economic growth," he said. "In a latest study of World Bank about the Investment environment in the country, Punjab has been declared as the most preferred destination for investors," Joshi said here. He said the report of World Bank was based on various parameters including record investment by the incumbent government on the infrastructure such as roads, air and rail
connectivity and incentives announced by the Punjab government. The minister said that the Punjab government has set an investment target of Rs 1 lakh crore in the state and to meet this, he has already held series of meeting with big industrialists at New Delhi. Besides, the World Bank study specially talked about the integrated check-post (ICP) at Attari CP and Rs 21,300 crore project Guru Gobind Singh Refinery at Bathinda, which would change the face of industrial development in the state. In past, investors were facing shortage of electricity, which is going to become the strength of the state as in next one year all three Thermal Plants would become operational, Joshi claimed. He said the integrated check-post at the Wagah border would be a boon for trade in Punjab as it was a natural trade route to Central Asia for centuries. Joshi said that keeping in view the interests of traders, the Union government should enhance the number of items to be exported via ICP from 137 to 6,000 as in Mumbai port. — PTI |
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Biz
Talk
Q: Could you take us through the journey of Reliance Digital? A: Since its inception in 2007, the Reliance Digital has come a long way and is now India’s fastest growing consumer durables and IT (CDIT) retail chain. Its growth has been more than three-folds. Last year, the number of stores rose to 89 from 27. Reliance Retail is present across various geographical locations of the country. It is most preferred electronic shopping destination in Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Q: What are the various offerings Reliance Digital has on its display? A:
Reliance Digital has over 200 international and national brands and over 5000 products at amazing prices, it has the largest display of models to help you find the right solution that fits into your lifestyle. The range spans audio and video products, digital cameras, durables like air conditioners, refrigerators, gaming consoles and games, computers and peripherals, mobile and fixed line instruments as well as a wide range of accessories covering all major product categories. The entire range of Apple products is also available there. Q: Highlight some features of your differentiation strategy? A: At Reliance Digital, you get to touch, try and feel every product before you make your buying decision. The specially designed Experience Zones (for high-end entertainment systems like home theatres, televisions, smartphones, laptops & IT products) simulate exact conditions to familiarise you with your products. It is backed by Reliance ResQ, the service arm that is available to support customers all 7 days and fully geared to provide end-to-end solutions. Q: What are the new offerings initiated for the shopping experience of customers? A: We have embarked on a campaign named “Mission Happiness” where the entire shopping experience for electronic and digital products has undergone a unique transformation. Q: What about after sales services for products? A: We have an inhouse after sales wing ResQ where, installation, maintenance and repair are undertaken for all products. The engineers are available 365 days a year, from 10 am to 10 pm. It claims to offer 'lifetime product and service support' through a single window. Q: Does Reliance Digital have its own private label? A: Yes, Reliance Digital has its own private label called Reconnect where products like televisions, AC’s, small appliances, and accessories are retailed. Q: Throw some light on brand Reconnect. A: Currently, the plan is to sell Reconnect only through Reliance Digital stores. The idea behind Reconnect is to address price and product gaps existing in any product portfolio. These products will be sold wherever we have Reliance Retail outlets selling consumer durables IT, telecom and associated accessories. Q: What exactly is the iStore? A:
iStores are our digital stores where the latest range of only Apple products like Mac Book, iphone, ipod and ipad are available. There are 19 iStores in the country. Q: How Reliance Digital sights its future? A: A number of key initiatives have been lined up for this year to further boost the business and to strengthen the Reliance Digital brand for the better customer experience. |
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Kingfisher pilots may go on strike from today
Mumbai, September 9 A section of the engineers of the Vijay Mallya promoted airline is not reporting to duty since Wednesday over non-payment of monthly dues since March. "All Kingfisher Airlines pilots have threatened to strike work from Monday over non-payment of salaries since March," a source said. It would be for the first time that pilots from both Delhi and Mumbai will be striking work .— PTI |
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Top 8 firms add Rs 37,399 crore
The companies saw rise in market capitalisation amid an overall rally in the stock market, where the BSE 30-stock index, Sensex, rose by about 2 per cent to 17,749.65 during the past week. ITC and HDFC Bank, however, saw erosion in m-cap. The BSE and the National Stock Exchange held a special trading session for about two hours on Saturday. — PTI
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Growth funds have an edge over dividend ones
by A.N. Shanbhag Q: How will I calculate taxable income when arrears are distributed or disbursed in two instalments instead of one. How does the calculation change? — Prashant A: You will need information about the time period for which the first instalment of arrears is paid. Then you will need to do the following calculations. For current year, calculate the tax payable with or without arrears. The difference is the extra tax that you are paying on account of receiving the arrears. Next, calculate the tax payable with and without the arrears for each year for which you are receiving the arrears. The difference is the extra tax that you ought to have paid had you received the arrears, not as arrears but as regular pay. You need to subtract the aggregate of the extra tax that you ought to have paid from the extra tax that you are paying this year. Any positive difference is the Section 89(1) deduction. Q: For investing in mutual funds, which is a better option growth or dividend? Are there better returns in the growth options? — Mark A: Returns for growth and dividend options are not different as the dividend is assumed to be reinvested in the scheme. Therefore, you will find whenever the returns for any particular fund are published, there is only one figure and not different ones for growth and dividend options. If the investors want to reinvest dividends in another equity fund, it amounts to reinvestment in the same asset class. Therefore, in our opinion, the growth option works the best. But as explained above, it is not because the return from growth option is higher. Q: I missed the last date of filing a tax return. Can I file it now? If so, would there be any penalty or fine payable? — Samip A: For FY2011-12, you may file a tax return till March 31, 2013 without any penalty. However, if any other year’s tax payable by you, interest at the rate 1% per month will be payable from March 31, 2012 onwards, till the time you actually pay the tax.
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Why should I continue my life insurance plan?
Retention of earlier policies and continuation of all policies without allowing them to lapse is the best strategy for strengthening life insurance protection Deepak Yohannan Rahul Bajoria, a friend of mine, had come to me asking for "insurance shopping" advice. He is married and stays with his wife, a 2-year-old daughter and aged parents. Before asking him about his future needs, I asked him about his investment and insurance history. He honestly admitted that out of the three policies, two were purchased by his father and one by himself, but none of them are in force now. Due to lack of knowledge, guidance or so-called fund availability, all his policies had lapsed. However, he claimed that he has now understood the need for protecting his family and thus required an advice to protect his family with an adequate cover. From this experience, I realised that many of us are quite serious at the time of taking an insurance policy, but for some reason or the other we do not want to continue our policies till the entire term. So, the purpose of insurance is lost half-way and somehow the need is forgotten eventually resulting in a policy lapse and the common question arises is "should I continue my plan or take a new one?" No wonder, the insurance companies have full-fledged departments to collect renewal premiums. They know that the customers are not willing to make a conscious effort to pay the premium on their own. Let's understand as to, why people do not continue their life insurance policies till the end of the term, why people ask whether they should continue the plan or not? Blind trust on an agent- sheer ignorance Unaware of key features of a policy- how many of us have bought the policy after 'understanding' it? Or how many of us know the fivemain benefits of the policy that we own? Well, we are very much dependent on what an agent is telling us that we do not actually verify the same information with the policy documents or even try to understand the features of the policy. All we do is ask the agent and say, "I trust you. Kindly, suggest something good". Mis -selling Mis-Selling - since we are not aware of the policy details, the agents get away with their mis-selling. They obviously try to push forward the product with the highest commission. Neither people understand their insurance requirements nor they analyse the products before investing. Insurance is not investment Insurance is not the same as an investment. Many of us still feel that the insurance is an investment … Well, no! It is not an Investment; it is a combination of savings and protection. Once this view is clarified, a lot of confusion will be cleared and people will willingly pay-up the premium just to "protect" their family. Once you eliminate all above mentioned notions and start analysing your requirements, make efforts to understand the policy details and look at insurance as a protection tool, you will surely realise the need of continuing the policy till the end. Your focus towards continuing the insurance policy will be just like your love and need for protection of your family which stays forever. Besides protection, savings resulting from the insurance are always handy to take care of any future uncertainties. Continuing a policy- a win-win situation It has been proved over and over again that if the need analysis had been properly done and the policy had been sold, then there would not be any doubt in the customer's mind about continuing the plan or not. But since that aspect had been skipped, the customer gets confused about the reason for which he had initially bought the plan and the agent loses his renewal commission. Hence, the policy should be continued till the very end for maximum benefits and it is a win-win situation for the agents and the customers. The author is the CEO of MyInsuranceClub.com, an online insurance price & features comparison portal. The views expressed are his own. Things to keep in mind before buying a plan
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Invest Wisely: Understand Mutual Funds
Today, India has around 35 to 40 asset management companies (AMCs), which provide variety of mutual fund schemes to investors. Investors are not aware of the risks associated with various schemes and in which kind of securities these schemes invest. They have a misconception that mutual funds invest only in equity markets and are less risky as compared to direct equity investments. Here, I will explain you in which kind of mutual fund scheme you should invest by taking into account your financial goals and investment time horizon.
Equity Diversified Funds Equity Linked Savings Schemes
(ELSS) Funds Balanced Funds MIP Funds Debt Funds / FMP's Liquid Funds Gold Funds Index Funds This way you are well equipped to know which kind of mutual fund is appropriate for you. The most important thing is that you should review your investments periodically and accordingly switch your investment to some other funds if your existing fund is under performing. The author is a research analyst at Apnapaisa, an online insurance price & features comparison engine for loans and investments. The views expressed are her own |
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Rahul Bajoria, a friend of mine, had come to me asking for "insurance shopping" advice. He is married and stays with his wife, a 2-year-old daughter and aged parents. Before asking him about his future needs, I asked him about his investment and insurance history.
He honestly admitted that out of the three policies, two were purchased by his father and one by himself, but none of them are in force now. Due to lack of knowledge, guidance or so-called fund availability, all his policies had lapsed.
Reliance Digital, a specialty format of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail, is the fastest growing digital retail chain in the country. In the recent annual general meeting (AGM) of the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Ambani said that almost 30 lakh consumers shop every week in the different stores of the Reliance Retail and the target is to take that number to 1 crore in the next 3-4 years with revenues of Rs 40,000 crore. In an interview to Sanjeev Sharma, Reliance Digital CEO Brian Bade talks about the format’s growth, strategy and various consumer initiatives taken by the firm.
Mumbai, September 9
