RBI modifies Gold Deposit Scheme guidelines to be complied by Banks for dealing in Gold

 


Gold Deposit Scheme

 R B I CIRCULAR DBOD.No.IBD.BC.81/23.67.001/2012-13, dated 14-1-2013

The Central Government, with a view to bringing privately held stock of gold in circulation, reduce the country’s reliance on import of gold and providing its owners with some income apart from freeing them from the problems of storage, movement and security of gold in their possession, had notified Gold Deposit Scheme 1999 on September 14, 1999. Accordingly, Reserve Bank of India vide circular No IBS 912/23.67.001/99-2000 dated October 5, 1999 had formulated guidelines for Gold Deposit Scheme to enable banks authorized to deal in gold to prepare their own Gold Deposit Schemes.

2. The Central Government (Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance) has now issued a Notification No.G.S.R.46(E) dated January 24, 2013 enabling Mutual Funds/Exchange Traded Funds registered under SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations to deposit part of their gold with the banks under the scheme.

3. In view of the above, the guidelines enclosed with our circular dated October 5, 1999 for operation of the Gold Deposit Scheme have been modified as under:

 (i)  Under para 5, presently the banks may either issue a passbook/statement of account or a certificate/bond to the depositors for deposit of gold, which will be transferable by endorsement and delivery.

In terms of the Government Notification dated January 24, 2013, the Gold Certificate would also mean the final receipt, in dematerialised form or otherwise, issued to a subscriber of the Scheme after the gold tendered by him has been assayed as specified in para (ii) below and accepted as deposit by the bank. The gold deposit certificate shall be transferable by endorsement and delivery, as hitherto. However, in case of certificates issued in dematerialized form, the depository rules for transfer would apply.

(ii)  Under para 6 it is stated that there will be a preliminary assay to ascertain gold content/caratage in jewellery by a non-destructive technique such as X-Ray/karat meter followed by a fool-proof method like fire assay.

It has now been decided that the exception from fire assay / destructive assay will be provided for physical Gold tendered by Mutual Funds/ Gold Exchange Traded Funds approved by SEBI and complying with the Good delivery norms of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) having a fineness of 995.0 parts per thousand accompanied by a certificate acceptable to the designated bank.

(iii) Under para 7, the Resident Indians (Individuals, HUF, Trusts, Companies) may invest in the scheme.
In terms of the Government Notification dated January 24, 2013 referred to above, a Trust including Mutual Funds/Exchange Traded Funds registered under SEBI (Mutual Fund) Regulations may deposit under the scheme.
(iv)  Para 12 states that the deposits may be made available within a maturity range from three to seven years.
It has now been decided to change the maturity period, of gold deposits, ranging from six months to seven years.
(v)  Para 22 mandates that details of the scheme designed date from which it will be operational and the branches from which it will be operated, may be advised by the banks proposing to introduce a gold deposit scheme to RBI for obtaining its approval.
It has now been decided that authorised banks would not be required to obtain prior approval of RBI for introducing the scheme. Banks should, however, inform the details of the scheme including names of branches operating the scheme to RBI. Banks would be required to report the gold mobilised under the scheme by all branches in a consolidated manner on a monthly basis in the revised format (Annexure).
4. Other guidelines enclosed with the above mentioned circular, as amended from time to time, will remain unchanged.

ANNEXURE

GOLD DEPOSIT SCHEME STATEMENT FOR THE MONTH

A. MOBILISED DURING THE MONTH/YEAR ________________________________
Sl. No Category of Investors Gold Deposits Total Illustrative Term of Deposits
Jewellery Non-Jewellery No. of Depositers Weight 6 mths – 3 years 3-5 years 5-7 years

No. of Depositers Weight In grams No. of Depositers Weight in grams (Col.3+5) (Col.4+ 6) Weight in grams of gold received
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1. Brought Forward  
2. Additions during month  
a. Individuals/HUF  
b. MF/Gold ETFs  
c. Others  
3. Closing Balance  
 
B. DEPLOYMENT OF GOLD MOBILISED DURING THE MONTH (Weight in Grams)
1. Brought Forward
2. Deployment during month
a. Sale to Banks
b. Sale to Others
c. Loans to Domestic Jewellers
d. Loans to Jewellery Exporters
3. Less: Repayments during the month
4. Closing Balance

C. REDEMPTION/PREMATURE WITHDRAWAL (Weight in Grams)
1. Brought Forward
2. Individuals/HUF
3. MF/Gold ETFs
4. Others
5. Closing Balance

D. SUMMARY OF TRANSACTIONS SINCE THE LAUNCH OF THE SCHEME (Weight in Grams)
1. Total mobilization (closing balance of section A Col.8)
2. Total Deployment (closing balance of section B)
3. Total Repayment (closing balance of section C)
4. Balance in Hand

Govt may infuse Rs 20,000 cr capital in PSU banks in FY'14

Reuters  |  New Delhi  February 13, 2013 Last Updated at 19:51 IST


Government banks have submitted a capital requirement plan to FinMin

The government is likely to infuse additional capital of Rs 20,000 crore in the public sector banks next financial year to meet Basel III global capital risk norms.

As per the capital requirement plan submitted to the Finance Ministry, public sector banks would require about Rs 20,000 crore in 2013-14, official sources said.

"The final amount may be less which will be decided in consultation with the Department of Expenditure under the finance ministry," sources added. The announcement of capital infusion will be made by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Budget on February 28.

Last month, Chidambaram had said capital can only be provided by shareholders.     The government is the majority shareholder in banks and would like to maintain its control and majority shareholding in them, he had said, adding, the government is committed to keep all the state-owned banks financially sound and healthy so as to ensure that the growing credit needs of the economy are adequately met.

Implementation of Basel III capital regulations envisaged to enhance requirement of core equity capital by banks due to higher capital ratios. The Basel III capital ratios will be fully phased in as on March 31, 2018.

Meanwhile, the RBI has extended the implementation date for Basel III by three months to April, 1, 2013. During the current, the government has approved infusion of Rs 12,517 crore in around 10 state-owned banks.

The government infused about Rs 20,117 crore in public sector banks during 2010-11, and Rs 12,000 crore in 2011-12. As per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) estimate, the government will have to pump in additional Rs 90,000 crore to retain its shareholding in the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) at the existing level to meet the the Basel III norms over the next five years.   
"... If the Government opts to maintain its shareholding at the current level, the burden of recapitalisation (in PSBs) will be of the order of Rs 900 billion," RBI Governor D Subbarao had said last year.

He had said the government has two options-either to maintain its shareholding at the current level or bring down its shareholding at 51%. However, he had said that if the government decides to reduce its shareholding in every bank to a minimum of 51%, the burden reduces to under Rs 70,000 crore.

Read More

CBI may seek cancellation of Sanjay Chandra’s bail

The audio tape controversy linked to the ongoing 2G spectrum trial is set to get murkier. It is learnt the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is ...

NASSCOM announces winners of the Annual Global Leadership Awards

15 th Feb 2012


NASSCOM announces the 8thAnnual Global Leadership Awards


Recognizes leaders for their endeavor in building business excellence and technology leadershipMumbai, February 14, 2012: The National Association of Software & Services (NASSCOM) today announced the winners of its 8thAnnual Global Leadership Awards. The winners were honored at a propitious evening awards ceremony chaired by Hon'ble Mr. P Chidambaram, Minister for Home Affairs, Government of India,  on the sidelines of the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2012. The winners were recognized for their role in building business excellence and technology leadership within their organizations. 

The awards were presented under four categories, the  Global Business Leader, the 
Business Transformation Leader, Global CTO, and the  Innovative Leader Award. These 
awards are an endeavor to recognize the work and achievements of thought leaders who 
have continuously led their organizations towards achieving excellence in IT usage, 
technology innovation, thought and business leadership. 

Speaking on the occasion,  Mr. Som Mittal,President NASSCOM, said, “I would like to 
congratulate all the winners of Annual Global Leadership Awards for their continuous 
contribution towards driving excellence and innovation in business. Leaders play a crucial 
role in shaping up the future of not only their organization but also guiding the industry into the next phase of development. In today’s time of uncertain global business environment, a leader’s job stands all the more crucial in steering the organization and the eco-system to a brighter tomorrow. And this is where I believe, hyperspecialization and leadership complement each other.”


The Award winners :-

 NASSCOM Global Business Leader:
Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla 
Group

 NASSCOM Business Transformation 
Leader: 
Paul Coby, IT Director, John Lewis

 NASSCOM Global CTO:
Padmasree Warrior, Senior VP, Engineering, 
Chief Technology Officer, Cisco

 NASSCOM Innovative Leader Award:
Darcy Antonellis - President, Technical 
Operations, Warner Bros.


The Global Business Leader Award was given to Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group,  for taking his USD two billion company to $35 billion empire across 33 countries spanning over a period of 17 years. 

Business Transformation Leader was awarded to Mr. Paul Coby, IT Director, John Lewis, whilethe Award for the Global CTO was conferred upon  Ms. Padmasree Warrior, Senior VP  -Engineering, Chief Technology Officer, Cisco.

 The Innovative Leader Award was awarded to Ms. Darcy Antonellis - President, Technical Operations, Warner Bros.

Now, produce a movie with one rupee only

 B S :Digbijay Mishra  |  Kolkata  February 11, 2013 Last Updated at 15:10 IST

How crowd-sourcing is catching up among the film fraternity

At a time when headline inflation is close to7%, a rupee may not fetch you much but it will certainly give you a chance to co-produce a movie.

You can now contribute as less as one rupee and 

become a co-producer of Kolkata based filmmaker's 

independent film―Diamonds In The Sky.

Anamitra Roy, an aluminus of the film studies department of Jadavpur University, floated The One Rupee Movie Project on Facebook on February last year where one can contribute as less as Re 1 and get their names on the credit list as a co-producer. 

It has already raised more than 50% of the total production cost, estimated to be around Rs 2.5 lakh― and the film is set to be released in May this year. 

Two promos of this unique movie have already gone viral on the net.

The concept, according to many experts can be termed as crowd funding, and is quite popular in foreign countries. This the first time that a independent movie is being made by contribution of just one rupee.

Though there is no upper limit to what one can pay, you could become a producer by paying only a rupee.

As a return, all the contributors will get a copy of the DVD and their names will feature as co-producers in the credit list. The filmmaker has already collected around 1.65 lakh in and hopes to release the film in May. The budget of the film is Rs 250,000.

Roy's wife Sriparna Dey also is the part of the project as co-director.
 
For making contribution to the film the director has created a blog, apart from the Facebook page,  athttp://onerupeefilm.blogspot.in where the details are given. You can send it to a certain mentioned bank account or use Paypal to send money to the director.

The idea came out of nowhere and once we floated the page on Facebook it started receiving good response. I was very sure of the creative content and was not ready to compromise on with that so funding from mid-corporates as out of question. Infact many investors approached on our Facebook page but the typical investor mentality clashed with our motive. So, just to try out we launched the One Rupee Film Project and since then the going ha been good,” said Roy

Roy has created multiple slabs for the people and based on the amount of their contribution one may also get to be the associate producer of the film. For example, if one gives Rs 10,000 then the person will be the honorary associate producers.

Long back in 1976, when celebrated filmmaker Shyam Benegal made Manthan, he had got a substantial amount of funding of the film from the Gujarat Milk Co-operative members. Slowly and steadily crowd funding is catching up in other regions of the country as well.

In South too, John Abraham, not the bollywood actor but a famous theater artist, had made a film named Amma Ariyan which was also received critical acclaim. According to Roy, some independent directors are trying to make short films in Assam, Bihar through crowd funding.

Going forward the director duo plan to send the movie for global film festivals which would propel into a bigger  release domestically. We have some plans to participate in various film festivals.  We don't have heavy connections but we are hopeful that the content of the movie will sail through,” added Roy.

Experts on film making cite  Onir's example for his  National Award-winner 'I Am'. Onir which tapped into social networking sites to find prospective people to  'co-produce' the film by pitching in with small contributions. But Roy feels treating his film and other films such as  Onir in the same category would not be fair as those people have got big names attached with them.


Roy's film revolves around a young filmmaker who works in the fringes of the industry to earn a living. He is passionate about films and believes in creative independence more than anything.

Wipro’s Premji may be preparing for a generational shift

Earlier this year, Azim Premji became the non-executive chairman of a company unit when Wipro hived off its non-IT business into Wipro Enterprises, a sign that he’s started putting together a plan to formally step down. Photo: Aravind Teki/Bloomberg

Live Mint :Pankaj Mishra :Mon, Feb 11 2013. 09 53 AM IST

Premji has started preparing to hand over responsibilities to professional managers,
 elevate son to board seats

Bangalore: It’s difficult to imagine Azim Hashim Premji , 67, not actively involved in the company he transformed from a vegetable oil maker into a nearly $7.3 billion conglomerate. He still reviews allWipro Ltd businesses every quarter and travels across the globe meeting hundreds of customers and partners every year. Last month, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he attended more than 40 meetings in three days.

But Premji, the billionaire chairman of Wipro, may have begun setting the stage for his retirement, according to people working directly with him and several others tracking him from outside.

Premji has in the past few months started preparing to hand over executive responsibilities to professional managers and elevate elder son Rishad to board seats across different company units before 2015, people working directly with him said.

“He’s started switching off from many things,” said a person who works closely with the Wipro chairman, but requested anonymity because Premji has not publicly spoken about his retirement plans. “From the way he’s going about everything, I wouldn’t be surprised if the big succession at Wipro happens within two years.”

Earlier this year, Premji became the non-executive chairman of a company unit when Wipro hived off its non-information technology (IT) business into Wipro Enterprises, a sign that he’s started putting together a plan to formally step down. An overhaul of Wipro’s board, adequate grooming of Rishad to manage ownership across the businesses, and an established family office to manage the endowment for his philanthropic activities are his top priorities ahead of stepping down, three people tracking him closely said.

“At the 32,000ft level, it’s quite clear that all of this—hiving off non-IT business, stronger push for family office and endowment—are pieces of a bigger succession plan,” said a second person, requesting anonymity. “In the current context, I would imagine another two years at best for this transition to happen.”

Premji was not available for an interview, a Wipro spokesperson said when Mint approached his office last month.

People who have worked with Premji and are still associated with Wipro say his legacy will be a tough act to follow for anybody who takes over.

“There are three things that stand out about him—his value system, the autonomy he gives to people, and his systematic approach to work,” said Shankar Jaganathan, who worked directly with Premji during his early years and spent nearly two decades with Wipro as corporate treasurer. “These are personal traits tough to replicate for anyone.”

Already, Premji is considering naming Rishad as a director on the Wipro Enterprises board to represent family ownership. If this happens, it will be the second time the Premji scion gets on the board of a Wipro business unit; he joined the company as a manager in 2007 and is now the chief strategy officer of Wipro’s IT business. Rishad already sits on the board of Wipro GE Medical Systems Ltd. If he joins the Wipro Enterprises board, it will be the first business completely owned by Wipro where he gets a board seat.

Before joining Wipro, Rishad, 35, who has an MBA from Harvard Business School, worked at GE Capital in the US for four years and with Bain and Co., London, for two years.

A non-executive role for Premji that will allow him to ensure sufficient grooming for the next generation looks a possibility now, said Kavil Ramachandran, a professor at the Indian School of Business who specializes in family businesses and wealth management.

“I am sure he would move on and continue to be on the board as chairman emeritus or non-executive chairman for some time till he is sure that this young man (Rishad) is able to carry on,” Ramachandran said by phone. “I think this process is very much on; sometimes the 60s kind of time is good because you can start preparing well and even compress the grooming period required for the next generation. Now he has to accelerate the process of transition.”

Another person who also worked directly with Premji until a few years ago and is still in touch with him said the Wipro founder may have already delayed the transition.

“If I were him, I would have stepped down by 2003. This notion of the next gen not being prepared does not always make sense—when Premji took over Wipro, he was just 19 years old,” this person said, requesting anonymity because he did not want to upset Premji by making a public comment on this issue.

Other experts said Premji must retire from executive roles now if he wants to take his philanthropic initiatives to a higher level.

The Azim Premji Foundation works in the area of primary education and has been receiving financial support from the Premji Trust. In December 2010, Premji transferred 213 million shares, an 8.7% stake in Wipro out of the 79.5% he held at the time, to the trust. The transferred shares were then worth Rs.8,846 crore.

“I completely agree that over the past few years, he’s been increasingly getting involved in education and other philanthropic activities. And he put the best talent he had to back these projects,” said Rishikesha T. Krishnan, who teaches corporate strategy at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. “It’s very clear he is working towards that transition. And if he wants to build the university and the foundation in his lifetime, he would need enough time to do. Logically, in two-three years would be the right time.”

The bigger issue, though, is whether Wipro will miss Premji and even face any business issues when he steps down, especially at a time when the company is attempting to regain double-digit growth rates in its IT business.

Some experts said Wipro may actually benefit if Premji’s over-arching presence takes a back seat.

“Azim Premji has always been firmly embedded into everything Wipro does—it is his DNA. I find it hard to see him pulling back much while he is still on Planet Earth,” said Phil Fersht, founder of outsourcing advisory firm HfS Research in the US. “However, if I am to be proved wrong and he is genuinely taking a back seat, this may prove to be a blessing for the firm.”

“We are entering a new age in the services industry where firms like Wipro need to invest more in its consultative and business alignment capabilities—not solely the old-world outsourcing model of low-cost labour and efficient performance,” Fersht added. “Wipro needs to assert itself in the market and having some fresh blood up top could well provide the answer. Moreover, TK (T.K. Kurien, chief executive of Wipro’s IT business) needs to be given the freedom to drive Wipro forward without Azim looking over his shoulder every minute of every day.”

Kurien is trying to help Wipro regain the momentum lost after several years of lagging rivals in revenue growth by collapsing old management structures and hiring senior executives from other firms. The December quarter net profit for Wipro’s IT business beat estimates, but the volume of business declined, a sign that the turnaround is still a work in progress. The company is hoping to catch up with its rivals in the pace of growth by the April-June quarter this year.

For now though, the question is whether Premji may delay this transition further and wait for 2016 when he will complete 50 years at Wipro, apart from spending more time in the business while Rishad is still being grooming. “He will need a much stronger board with a mix of leaders who understand Wipro and its values, apart from some folks from the industry who can bring fresh and bold perspectives to take the company to next level,” said another person familiar with Premji’s thinking, also requesting anonymity.

Chapattis..Lifebuoy..Maha Kumbh Mela... Brilliant advertising idea.

Kumbh Mela: Of clean hands and rotis

Ogilvy Action tied up with over 100 dhaba owners in the vicinity of Kumbh Mela and handed out more than 2.5 million chapattis stamped with the Lifebuoy message.

'B T :Ajita Shashidhar February 9, 2013  | 09:55 IST

Did you wash your hands with Lifebuoy?' 

That was the message, in Hindi, stamped on over 2.5 million chapattis at the Maha Kumbh Mela , the largest congregation of human beings on the planet. 

The unusual advertising medium certainly had pilgrims taking notice. The campaign enabled Unilever, the company that makes the soap, to reach a large audience in a low-cost but effective manner.

Rotis with a message

Unilever has the advertising agency Ogilvy Action to thank for the brilliant advertising idea. 

Vipul Salvi

Vipul Salvi, the 34-year-old National Creative Director of Ogilvy Action, is the one of the people behind the campaign. He says the idea needed to be big and innovative. "The obvious options were to put up stalls and play games around health and hygiene, but that would have been too gimmicky," remarks Salvi. 

Those ideas were rejected since the Maha Kumbh is a spiritual affair. The mandate, therefore, was to look at other ways of getting the consumer in touch with the brand. 

The ad agency deliberated over the campaign for close to eight months and came up with over 200 ideas before zeroing in on the roti campaign. 

Rotis being stamped with the message

A heat stamp was specially made to make an impression on the chapattis. The agency tied up with over 100 dhaba owners in the vicinity and handed out more than 2.5 million chapattis stamped with the Lifebuoy message. 

The heat stamps used to make an impression on the chapattis

Lifebuoy achieved its aim of increasing awareness and getting people in touch with the brand. And many of the millions at the Maha Kumbh Mela ate with cleaner hands.

Words of Wisdom - Albert Einstein-01