Rs 1,700-cr Diwali bonanza for exporters

Source :BL: Oct13,2011

The Centre has announced incentives worth Rs 900 crore for exporters.

The beneficiaries include the engineering, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and electronics sectors and those exporting to Latin America, Africa and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

This package, as well as restoration of the interest subsidy scheme by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday for carpets, handicrafts, handlooms and small and medium enterprises, has taken the total ‘Diwali bonanza' for exporters to around Rs 1,700 crore.

These measures — aimed at market diversification, export basket expansion and procedural simplification — come at a time when the country's export growth has slowed down owing to a fall in demand in traditional markets such as the US and the European Union.

Push for apparels

Noting the decline in apparel exports to major markets, the Government has extended the Market Linked Focus Product Scheme for exports from this sector to the US and the EU. The duty credit for exports from this sector has been extended till the end of this fiscal.

The sops announced by the Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, on Thursday have been incorporated in the Foreign Trade Policy (2009-14).

Mr Ramu S. Deora, President, Federation of Indian Export Organisations, said, “It will help exporters to offer products at competitive prices at a time of weak demand in advanced economies.”

The Government would also soon announce extension of the Zero Duty Export Promotion Capital Goods Scheme and the Status Holders Incentive Scheme till this fiscal end. Mr Sharma has held meetings with the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, in this regard.

arun.s@thehindu.co.in

The life and times of Jobs

Source : BL:

A history of the life and times of Apple founder, 

Steve Jobs.

For someone who said “We do no market research. We don't hire consultants,” Steve Jobs sure did manage to make products that tapped the computing needs of millions.

 Here is a look at the life of the man who revolutionised personal computing.

TIMELINE

24{+t}{+h} Feb, 1955 – Born to a Syrian Muslim father and Swiss-German mother, he is given up for adoption and taken in by Paul and Clara Jobs.

1960 - The Jobs family relocates to Palo Alto, the heart of Silicon Valley.

1972 – Steve Jobs meets Steve Wozniak, an employee of Hewlett-Packard, while working at the company as a summer employee.

1973 – Steve spends one semester at Reed College, Oregon, and then drops out.

1974 – Steve gets a job at Atari, and makes a trip to India to seek enlightenment.

1975 – 1975, Jobs and Wozniak begin working on the Apple I in Jobs' bedroom.

1977 – Apple is incorporated by its founders and a group of venture capitalists. It unveils Apple II, the first personal computer to generate colour graphics. Revenue reaches $1 million.

1983 – The Lisa is launched , only to be pulled two years later. Jobs lures John Sculley away from Pepsico Inc. to serve as Apple's CEO.

1984 – The iconic 1984 Macintosh computer goes on sale.

1985 – Jobs and Sculley clash, leading to Jobs' resignation. Wozniak also resigns from Apple this year.

1986 - Jobs starts Next Inc., a new computer company making high-end machines for universities. He also buys Pixar from Star Wars creator George Lucas for $10 million.

1989 - First NeXT computer goes on sale with a $6,500 price tag.

1991 - Apple and IBM Corp. announce an alliance to develop new PC microprocessors and software. Apple unveils portable Macs called PowerBook.

1996 –Apple announces plans to buy NeXT. Jobs is appointed an adviser to Apple.

1997 - Jobs becomes interim CEO at Apple.

1998 - Apple launches the candy-coloured iMacs, discontinues the Newton.

2000 – Jobs is appointed as the CEO.

2001 - The first iPod goes on sale, as do OS X and iTunes.

2003 - The iTunes Music Store is launched with 2 lakh songs at 99 cents each and sells 1 million songs in the first week.

2004 – Jobs undergoes surgery for a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer.

2005 – Apple expands the iPod line with the tiny Nano and an iPod that can play video.

2007 - Apple releases its first smartphone, the iPhone.

2009 – Steve Jobs announces he is taking a six-month leave of absence to focus on his health.

Jan 2010 – Steve Jobs unveils the first iPad. What was looked at by critics as a giant iTouch sold about 1 million units in less than a month.

Aug 2011 – Apple announces that Jobs is resigning as CEO. Tim Cook takes the CEO title, and Apple names Jobs chairman.

Oct. 5, 2011 – Jobs dies at 56. Apple announces his death without giving a specific cause.

FROM THE MAN HIMSELF

A couple of quotable quotes that reveal a lot about him.

Fascinating foresight

“You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new.”

(Interview with Inc. Magazine, 1989)

Money matters

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me ... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me.”

(The Wall Street Journal, 1993)

Peer pressure

“The only problem with Microsoft is they just have no taste. They have absolutely no taste. And I don't mean that in a small way, I mean that in a big way, in the sense that they don't think of original ideas, and they don't bring much culture into their products.”

(Triumph of the Nerds, 1996)

On Apple products, while he was away

“The products suck! There's no sex in them anymore!”

(BusinessWeek, 1997)

On computers

“We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on.”

One Dollar CEO

“I make 50 cents for showing up ... and the other 50 cents is based on my performance.”

(AppleInsider, 2007)

His magic mantra

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it.”

(COMPILED BY TEAM E-WORLD)

Keywords: Steve Jobs, 

RBI hikes Paypal payments ceiling to $ 3,000

Source :BL :PTI :NEW DELHI, OCT 14:2011

 

Users of online payments gateway PayPal in the country can now receive up to $ 3,000 per export-related transaction in their accounts, with the RBI raising this limit from $ 500 per transaction earlier.

The increase in the limit is with immediate effect, but merchants using Paypal accounts to receive funds would need to add their PAN (Permanent Account Number) and bank account details to comply with the RBI guidelines, PayPal said here on Friday.

The step will help the Indian SMEs and consumers who use Paypal to receive their payments. In addition, the move will support PayPal and the budding India business of its parent company eBay, an online marketplace.

“This is a huge step forward for PayPal and for Indian SMEs, who can grow their export business through e-commerce by tapping our 100 million active users in 190 markets across the globe, right from the US to the UK to Australia,” PayPal India Country Manager Mr Mayur Patel said in a statement.

“We are thrilled about the increase in transaction limit and would like to thank the RBI for understanding and being supportive of the needs of SMEs who wish to expand their business through cross-border trade,” Mr Patel added.

eBay, which claims to have an online community of 2.5 million in India, has about 12,800 registered merchants in the country, who consider selling through eBay either their primary or secondary source of income.

The Indian merchandise popular among foreign buyers includes precious stones and diamonds, jewellery, leather goods, handcrafts, furniture and ethnic wear.

eBay India Director — Category Management Mr Kashyap Vadapalli said: “This is exciting news especially for eBay India merchants and Indian entrepreneurs who want to grow their business through retail exports and sell to millions of eBay’s customers globally.”

“Today’s news can help these SME’s sell higher valued hand-made jewelry, leather products, ethnic Indian clothing and even motor vehicle parts of up to $ 3,000 per transaction to buyers across the globe,” he added.

E-Gold: New Way to Invest in Gold

Source:Investment Yogi :Good returns : Thursday, October 13, 2011, 10:25
 




Looking at the Indian tradition and culture most of common man are attached to gold in various forms i.e. gold coins, bars, jewellery, etc. 


You would invest in gold to hedge against rising inflation cost or for short term to earn some profit in rising gold prices. 


Now-a-days while investing in gold retail investors take into consideration the liquidity, cost, quality and security of this gold as an investment.


 But, it’s difficult to answer which option is best while investing in gold among various alternatives and how secure your investment is…??


To benefit investors in gold National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), India has come up with the handsome solution for the problem mentioned above by offering E-series to invest in gold.


 In this, Indianretail investor can trade in commodities especially precious metal like gold in e-form. Like equities one can keep their gold in demat form, which not only saves on insurance cost and locker rent but also invest in small denominations.


Points to remember while investment in gold as e-form


1) Retail investors are require to open a demat account with any of the Depository Participant (DP) of NSEL, India. You need to have a separate demat accounts for commodities and for equities.


2) Trading settlement is done on T+2 days.


3) You can take physical delivery of gold by surrendering the required units to the exchange.


 Presently there are three delivery centers of gold in India i.e. Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad.


Pros of investing in gold as e-form


1) An investor can buy and sell gold in small denominations. For example: 1gm or 2gm of gold.


2) Transaction reflects in your demat account.


3) Gold rates on NSEL are based on Indian market rates.


4) Transparency in pricing and seamless trading is key advantages of trading in e-product.


5) No holding cost.


6) E-gold gives better returns as compared to ETFs, since fund houses charges some        additional costs. NSEL charges 0.4% while it is 2.5% for ETFs.


7) Easy liquidity as you can sell it off whenever required.


Cons of investing in gold as e-form


1) There is no personal feeling of holding the gold in hand as DP holds it on our behalf.


2) Hacking of account sometimes an issue leading to security part.


3) Custody charges 60 paise per unit per month.


comparative chart to analyze investment in Gold ETFs v/s E-gold:





Investors who take an advantage of E-gold and include them as part of their investing strategy reap many of these benefits.


 There is only one transaction per trade, so commissions are on lower side. E-gold more or less is also a "tax friendly" investment product in comparison to gold ETFs without any fund management fees. 


The risks involved in gold ETFs are not visible while investing E-gold. Also, E-gold, in comparison to the ETFs, is fairly straightforward as investors are able to buy or sell gold at their discretion.


To conclude would like to mention one should choose e-gold as an investment avenue while comparing to gold ETFs and physical gold because there is no tension of theft, burglary and losses due to any such kind.


 You will get more safety and security at lesser cost going e-way while investing in gold..!!!

Bi-annual review of Exim Bank financed overseas projects: Govt

Source : PTI :New Delhi, Oct 12,2011




With an aim to monitor end use of soft loan assistance by the Exim Bank to other countries, the Finance Ministry today said that all such projects will be monitored twice a year by a special committee.

The Bank provides Line of Credit (LoC) under the Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme to poor, low and medium income countries.

"There shall be a periodic (bi-annual) monitoring of all LoCs issued under this scheme by a committee comprising officers of Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Economic Affairs and Export-Import Bank of India," the Finance Ministry said.

During 2010-11, 22 LoCs aggregating USD 2.38 billion were extended by the Exim Bank to support export of projects, goods and services from India.

As on March, 2011, the Bank has in place 138 LoCs covering 72 countries in Africa, Asia, CIS, Europe and Latin America with credit commitments aggregating USD 6.66 billion.
Revising the guidelines for LoCs, the ministry also has asked borrowing governments to set up suitable monitoring mechanism in association with the Exim Bank and respective Indian missions.
This is to ensure that the work on the Exim Bank financed projects are executed as per the agreement without time or cost over-runs.

"Regular progress reports on the utilisation of Government of India supported LoCs, implementation of the projects covered under the LoCs and servicing of the LoCs should be made available to MEA every six months through the concerned Indian missions," it added.
The new guidelines also mandate that a status report on execution of the projects should be submitted every six months by the executing authorities.

In case of delay in any project under Exim Bank''s LoC, the concerned Indian diplomatic mission has been directed to coordinate a joint site visit with the respective government to ascertain the reasons and redress them.

The Finance Ministry said that in case of granting Exim Bank loans the government''s priority would be export of goods and services required in the markets of the recipient countries and to facilitate bilateral trade.

"The mission may also provide to the Government of India input on long-term economic interest that these LoCs have resulted in creating in the recipient countries," it said.

Export-Import Bank of India is the premier export finance institution and also facilitate and promote foreign trade of India. It was set up in 1982.