Books :Top 10 Excerpts From 'Playing It My Way'

NDTV Sports :6 Nov 2014

Sachin Tendulkar officially released his autobiography 'Playing It My Way' in Mumbai on Wednesday. The book grabbed headlines even before the launch with Tendulkar attacking former India coach Greg Chappell, calling him a "ringmaster."

Tendulkar has made some startling revelations in the book and has used uncharacteristically strong words. (Tendulkar's Career Would Have Been Incomplete Without World Cup: Akram)

Here are the top 10 quotes from Playing It My Way that are sure to stay in public memory for a long time:

1)"No one from the BCCI managed to call me or inform me of my removal as captain before someone from the media called to say I was no longer captain. I felt extremely humiliated to hear this."

2.)"I told myself that the BCCI mandarins might be able to take the captaincy away from me, but no one could do the same as far as my own cricket was concerned."

3)"I want to state very clearly that the (Monkey Gate) incident arose because Andrew Symonds had been continually trying to provoke Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) and it was inevitable that the two would have an altercation at some point."

4)"I still believe that the (Monkey Gate) matter would not have been blown so out of proportion if (Ricky) Ponting had discussed it with the captain Anil Kumble, Harbhajan and the Indian team management before reporting the incident to Mike Procter, the match referee."

5)"Kapil Dev's method (as India coach) of involvement and his thought process was limited to leaving the running of the team to the captain, and hence he did not involve himself in strategic discussions that would help us on the field."

6)"Just months before the World Cup, (then India coach) Greg Chappell had come to see me at home and, to my dismay, suggested that I should take over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid."

7)"I hated losing and as captain of the team I felt responsible for the string of miserable performances. More worryingly, I did not know how I could turn it around, as I was already trying my absolute best."

8)"It (losing) was hurting me badly and it took me a long time to come to terms with these failures. I even contemplated moving away from the sport completely, as it seemed nothing was going my way."

9)"Mind you, there is little doubt in my mind that we would have drawn (Sydney Test of 2008) had it not been for what seemed to us to be mistakes by the umpires and some rather unsportsmanlike conduct by a few of the Australian players."

10)The best of the best: Ian Chappell in 2007, had written in a column that Tendulkar should look at the mirror and ask himself if he was good enough to continue playing cricket.

Tendulkar responds: "I showed him the size of the mirror in 2008 when we toured Australia (Sachin was man of the series in the VB Series) He should have realised that the man he is asking to stand infront of the mirrior has played more cricket than him"

Prevent cheque frauds :RBI prescribes measures for banks to prevent cheque frauds

BL Mumbai Nov 5, 2014

In view of the rise in the number of cheque related fraud cases, the Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to put in place preventive measures including sending an SMS alert to payer/drawer when cheques are received in clearing.

Further, to prevent cases of suspicious or large value cheques (in relation to an account’s normal level of operations), the central bank has advised banks to alert customers by a phone call and get the confirmation from the payer/drawer.

The RBI has told banks to ensure the use of 100 per cent CTS (cheque truncation system) - 2010 compliant cheques.

Under the CTS environment, electronic image of the cheque is transmitted to the drawee branch through the clearing house, along with relevant information such as data on the MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) band, date of presentation, and presenting bank. Cheque truncation obviates the need to move the physical instruments across branches

According to a RBI notification on preventive measures for cheque related fraud cases, banks are required to strengthen the infrastructure at the cheque handling Service Branches and bestow special attention on the quality of equipment and personnel posted for CTS based clearing, so that it is not merely a mechanical process.

Banks have to ensure that the beneficiary is KYC (know-your-customer) compliant so that the bank has recourse to him/her as long as he/she remains a customer of the bank.

The RBI said banks should put in place a mechanism whereby all cheques beyond a threshold of say, Rs. 2 lakh are examined under UV lamp. Checking should be done at multiple levels, of cheques above a threshold of say, Rs. 5 lakh.

The threshold limits mentioned above can be reduced or increased at a later stage with the approval of the Board depending on the volume of cheques handled by the bank or its risk appetite.

Banks are required to closely monitor credits and debits in newly opened transaction accounts based on risk categorization.

In its notification, the RBI said “the rise in the number of cheque related fraud cases is a matter of serious concern. It is evident that many of such frauds could have been avoided had due diligence been observed at the time of handling and/or processing the cheques and monitoring newly opened accounts.”

Therefore, banks have been advised to review and strengthen the controls in the cheque presenting/passing and account monitoring processes and to ensure that all procedural guidelines including preventive measures are followed meticulously by the dealing staff/officials.

Referring to some cases where even though the original cheques were in the custody of the customer, cheques with the same series had been presented and encashed by fraudsters, the RBI said banks should take appropriate precautionary measures.

The precautionary measures have to ensure that the confidential information -- customer name/account number/signature, cheque serial numbers and other related information are neither compromised nor misused either from the bank or from the vendors’ (printers, couriers etc.) side.

The RBI also said due care and secure handling is also to be exercised in the movement of cheques from the time they are tendered over the counters or dropped in the collection boxes by customers.

Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography 'Playing It My Way' officially released

Sachin Tendulkar's tell-all autobiography 'Playing It My Way' was officially launched on Tuesday - ending the wait of cricket fraternity and fans around the globe.

The gala event took place in Sachin's hometown Mumbai after he offered the first copy of the book to his mother - similar to the manner he dedicated his Bharat Ratna to all the mothers in the world.

ALSO SEE I showed Ian Chappell the size of mirror with batting: Sachin

It's hardly known what's beyond Sachin Tendulkar, the cricketer. How's Sachin the family man - the father, the son, the brother and the husband? Enough has been known, written and read about his cricket and the milestones he crossed in a decorated career. But very little, if any, about Sachin as an individual when he is away from cricket. And his autobiography is expected to introduce his fans to all that.

Having retired almost a year ago, on November 16, 2011, Sachin said it took him three years to write this book, which tells that he was working on it during the last two years of his career.

ALSO SEE Wanted to boycott Aus tour during 'Monkeygate': Sachin

"This book is a sincere attempt. I want people to know what my life has been. It has taken three years to write this autobiography. It was nice to relive the moments I have lived in the last 41 years," Sachin said.

The evening began with Harsha Bhogle inviting Sachin's seniors Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri on the stage, who shared their experience of watching Sachin for the first time as a 15-year-old and how he evolved into a champion batsman.

ALSO SEE I didn't know, so didn't comment: Tendulkar on fixing

It was an awe-inspiring moment when the 'Fab Four' of Indian cricket - Sachin himself, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman - were together on the stage sharing stories from the days they played together for India, scoring more than 45,000 Test runs together.

And then The Tendulkars - Sachin, Ajit and Anjali - graced the stage. While Anjali told how he first saw Sachin at an airport and was charmed by his cuteness, Sachin told how he asked Anjali to go and talk to his parents about their marriage when he was away on the New Zealand tour.

ALSO SEE Not privy to Sachin-Chappell discussions: Dravid

Ajit, who introduced Sachin to cricket, said he always discussed Sachin's dismissals and never celebrated his hundreds, fearing his brother might feel he has done enough.

This was followed by the official launch of the book, which ended with Sachin thanking all those involved in the effort.

"Playing It My Way' is a different sort of innings for me, and was in the making for the last three years. As with the game, I have been honest and sincere in putting together various aspects of my life, and the book is something I hope readers will enjoy," he said.

"I would like to thank those who helped me put this book together, it took three years and the last eight months were really taxing: Sachin".

Managing Director of the books' publishers Hachette India, Thomas Abraham, said, "This is an absolutely outstanding book - at once cricketing history and personal narrative; and will delight every cricketing fan. We are delighted to welcome Sachin Tendulkar to our list and are proud to be publishing this landmark autobiography which we're sure - like its author - will go on to set new records."

The book has, in fact, already set the Indian record for the largest adult hardback orders on day of release with 100,000 copies being released by the publishers. While lucky guests got the chance to purchase early 'launch' copies, the book is heavily embargoed and was transported across the country under security for simultaneous release on the 6th of November.

IBN Live  6 th Nov 2014

Gold :Gold Sinks to Fresh Four-Year Low

By 

TATYANA SHUMSKY

WSJ : Nov. 3, 2014 2:38 p.m. ET

NEW YORK—Gold extended its four-year low on Monday as the dollar advanced against other currencies and stocks hit record highs.

Gold for December delivery, the most active contract, fell $1.80, or 0.2%, to $1,169.80 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. This was the lowest settlement since July 29, 2010.

Gold prices continued to give way to the dollar, which climbed against other currencies amid expectations of stimulus by foreign central banks. Last week, the Bank of Japansurprised markets with plans to boost its bond-purchasing efforts. This week, the European Central Bank is due to meet, with investors hoping to see a more proactive stance from officials.

By contrast, the Federal Reserve concluded its bond-purchasing program last month and is drawing closer to raising interest rates.

The shifts in global monetary-policy trends have bolstered the dollar and weighed on gold. As the greenback strengthens, dollar-denominated gold becomes more expensive for buyers who use other currencies to fund their purchases. Moreover, gold doesn’t earn interest or dividends and has a tougher time competing with bonds and stocks when interest rates climb.

“With the interest-rate hike anticipated next year, there’s a fear that everyone will run to cash and so far, they are,” said John Payne, senior market analyst with Daniels Trading in Chicago. He added that gold has become one of the main casualties of this shift.

Fresh records in U.S. stocks further tarnished gold’s appeal.

A steady stock market also weighed on gold’s appeal to investors. The S&P 500 index touched an intraday record of 2024.46 and was recently up 0.2% at 2021.

While some investors buy gold on the belief it will hold its value better than other assets during periods of economic upheaval, they tend to shed the precious metal in favor of riskier investments such as stocks when the economic outlook brightens.

Meanwhile, platinum and palladium prices got a shot in the arm from stronger U.S. car sales, with auto makers reporting company figures throughout the day. Edmunds forecasts U.S. car sales will rise 6.3% in October, though several car makers predicted stronger results.

While most investors are familiar with platinum and palladium’s use in jewelry, the white metals are also widely used in car-exhaust filters where they help break down pollutants.

Nymex palladium for December delivery rose $12.60, or 1.6%, to $804.40 a troy ounce, the highest settlement since Sept. 24.

Platinum for January delivery climbed $7.60, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,242.80 a troy ounce.

IFVs :A new financial institution from govt.

H : T Ramakrishnan : 6 Nov 2014

It will provide fillip to the implementation of infrastructure projects

: Aimed at providing a fillip to the implementation of infrastructure projects, the government has decided to establish a fourth-generation financial institution and create three infrastructure finance vehicles (IFVs), including a mutual fund.

The Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund Management Company (TNIFMC), approved at a meeting of the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Development Board in September, will be set up in partnership with banks, insurance companies and reputable private financial institutions. Funds, to be raised from potential investors in India and abroad, will be used to lend to or invest in public projects, public-private partnership (PPP) and private projects.

Need for such a financing mechanism was felt after the government decided to implement infrastructure projects to the tune of Rs. 15 lakh crore under the ambit of the Tamil Nadu Vision 2023. Recent regulatory changes also enable new and innovative IFVs, says an order issued by Chief Secretary Mohan Verghese Chunkath about a week ago.

Earlier, the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation (TIIC) was set up in 1949 under the Companies Act, the Tamil Nadu Transport Development Finance Corporation in 1975 [registered as a non-banking finance company with Reserve Bank of India] and the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited in 1996 as a PPP entity.

To augment the resource base for infrastructure projects, the IFVs – infrastructure debt fund (IDF), alternative investment fund (AIF) (category-I) and infrastructure investment trust (InvIT) - would be formed, the order said.

While the IDF would be like any other debt mutual fund with the TNIFMC functioning as the asset management company, the AIF would be a privately-pooled investment vehicle, collecting funds from investors.

InvIT, the concept of which was announced in the last Union budget, was meant for attracting long-term finance from foreign and domestic sources, including NRIs. The TNIFMC would be the fund manager for both the AIF and InvIT.

 It would run with a highly credible and independent Board of Directors, the order added.