How can I exchange old Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes?

Modi has taken a bold and effective step to curb black money. If you don’t have a black money, it should not bother you much. Your hard earned money will always be yours. You have enough time and opportunities to exchange the old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes to legally valid currency notes.

1. You can deposit in your account in any bank or post starting from 10/11/2016 to 30/12/2016. There is no limit for this deposit.
2. Once you deposit your Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes, you can withdraw in legally valid currency notes up to Rs 10000 per day and Rs 20000 per week from the bank or post offices.
3. One can exchange the notes at banks or head and sub post offices producing identification documents like PAN, EPIC, Adhar, Passport etc. This kind of exchange of notes is capped at Rs 4000 up to 24/11/2016 and Rs 20000 from 25/11/2016 to 30/12/2016.
4. Even if you can not exchange your old Rs 1000 and Rs 500 notes during the given period up to 30/12/2016, you can exchange notes at specified RBI offices with a declaration up to end of this financial year.
5. One can withdraw up to only Rs 2000 at ATMs as of now from 10/11/2016 and it will be increased to Rs 4000 soon.

Mutual fund investors forget common sense, they are net sellers when market is low

I have seen many mutual fund investors complaining their investments in mutual funds not yielding expected returns. When someone invests in mutual funds, entry and exit timings are also the deciding factors of your returns on investments. I have seen a number of my investors asking for suggestions for funds when the market is high. They are lured by the reports which mention the double digits numbers in returns column when the market is high. They are afraid of investing in equity and equity funds when the market is low. Their sentiments are purely governed by the short-term fund performance reports like 6 months or a year which are usually negative during the lower performance of stock markets. Anyone who has common sense can tell this is against common sense.

MF Inflows and market performance. Pic courtesy : Moneylife

Moneylife Advisory has published an article in their blog, comparing the fund flows in equity funds and market performance.  The article has proved with data that the mutual fund's investors tend to buy high and sell low. Indian share market was low in February 2016 and started recovery in March 2016. The net investment in mutual funds would have been positive or at least stagnant during this period to make the attractive returns. Mutual fund investors have done the reverse, net fund flow is negative during this period. There was more redemption than purchase. They have withdrawn from mutual fund rather investing when the market is low. During August 2016, the stock market is witnessing a huge inflow of funds, both foreign and domestic pushing the market to an all-time high. The mutual fund investors have also enthusiastically invested in last month. Investing in mutual funds when the market is high does not make much harm if someone is looking at a long horizon. But redeeming funds when the market is low will definitely make harm to your returns. 

I have some investments in SBI Magnum Tax Gain. My lock in period in the fund was over and was planning to redeem to make fresh investments for present year tax exemptions. If I had redeemed when the market was low, I would have got around Rs 100 per unit. Now I am getting Rs 125 per unit. I am getting 25% extra return for waiting just 5 months!! My three years waiting could have gone in vain if I was also one among them who made the net inflow negative when the market was low. (This fund is an example, I am not suggesting this fund)

Be a wise investor and use common sense. Invest low and redeem high.

Subramanian Swamy rightly said replace private bank's shares in GSTN with PSBs

GST bill became law previous week after president signed it post ratification by the majority of states. GST brings most of the indirect taxes under one roof. As always, the banks will be playing a major role in collecting the taxes and providing the data of collected taxes to the concerned departments. This needs a huge infrastructure to maintain, process, analyse and to connect the government department with the banks network.

Goods and Services Tax Network, (GSTN) is a Section 25 (not for profit), non-Government, private limited company. It was incorporated during the previous UPA regime to provide IT infrastructure and services to the Central and State Governments, tax payers and other stakeholders for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). We can see the first two parties, state and central governments in the share holdings of GSTN. The important stake holders- Public Sector Banks which collects the taxes for the government are not in the scene. The government of India holds 24.5 per cent stake in GSTN while states together hold another 24.5 per cent. Balance 51% equity is with non-Government financial institutions like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd, LIC Housing Finance and NSE SIC.

GSTN has applied for loan of Rs 550 crores from IDFC. The central government is standing as guarantor for this loan though it is not a majority share holder. This is questioned by Mr Subramanian Swamy- why the majority stake holders are not the guarantors for this loan? In a way he right, but the government's interest in faster implementation of GST is not questionable. His comments on shareholding of GSTN makes the issue interesting.

Subramanian Swamy

As Mr Swamy's says partnering with private institutions to set up an institutions like GSTN to handle highly sensetive data is the matter of worry. I am not saying ICICI, HDFC or LICHF are unreliable, but when someone inside the house are capable of doing some job, calling an outsider to do the same job makes no sense. Firstly, public sector financial institutions holds the majority of share in banking industry and they are capable of partnering with government for implementation of such a high aimed mission like GST even during the period of high bad debts. Secondly, it is not ICICI or HDFC would be collecting the majority of the taxes, but it is definitely SBI, a public sector bank will be the indispensable tax collector for the government even in future. Third reason is by making public sector banks to hold stakes in GSTN, goverment would have had better control over it. Mandatory audit by CAG is always better than an offer to CAG audit. Mr Swamy's proposal to replace GSTN share holding of  private banks with public sector banks makes some sense because tax data is sensitive and also confidential. 

A reply to heavy weekend tax players

A reply to WhatsApp message complaining government imposes heavy tax on their weekend merry.

People say they are being taxed heavily.

But I am not.

I earn 10 lakhs per annum and I pay only 56,650/- per annum as the tax. That means just 5.66% tax on my total income. Where my friends in the USA are paying 30% flat of their income!

I own a two wheeler and a four wheeler. Roads are smoother and better than UPA government, wear and tear lesser than yesterday; vehicles are BS IV and I am getting BS-IV petrol everywhere. I am getting extra mileage than yesterday's, which saves me a lot.

I am health cautious and do not eat junks on every weekend. I never want to pay extra hard earned money for the lights, cushions and English speaking waitress in restaurants. I get rice, vegetables, fruits and every agriculture products without tax. My family gets LPG subsidy for cooking healthy food. We enjoy tax-free eating.

I invest in equities and equity oriented mutual funds and I have the patience to wait for at least a year. India being the fastest growing economy, I am getting good tax free returns. My investment returns are not taxed, unlike your fixed deposits returns.

If you feel your goods are taxed more than double the value it has, ask your congress MPs to support GST Bill to remove recurring taxes on goods and services.

I thank my government for taxing those who do not know how to invest and save tax, but to go on outing every weekend to eat junks and spoil their health.

I am happy to pay the taxes.

Forward this message to every responsible citizen of India.

Panama Papers Offshore Leaks explains how Vijay Mallya siphoned off the money

While banks are having a hard time with Vijay Mallya being unable to recover a huge NPA, Mallya is  said to be holidaying in London. The banks are complaining he has siphoned off the loan given to Kingfisher Airlines.

When I searched few names in Offshore Leak, the web page returned the name of Dr Vijay Mallya. I was well expecting his name in the Panama Papers. Dr Mallya owns Venture New Holding Ltd in the tax heaven of North East Carribean nation- British Virgin Island. He is also the beneficiary owner of this firm. This holds another firm Sharecorp Ltd which is registered in India. Through this company Vijay Mallya was able to have business links with different countries like Singapore, China, Britan, Italy, USA to name few. He could have siphoned off the money through this network, also avoiding the taxation. The profit was routed back to him through Venture New Holding Ltd, legally avoiding the tax, being registered in the tax heaven, British Virgin Island.

Vijay Mallya holding shadow company in British Virgin Island.
Click on the image to view larger image.

He could have owned the asset through these firms more than that is required to liquidate his loans. It is impossible for anyone to hold a company in a tax heaven like British Virgin Island without any interest of siphoning off the money or tax avoidance. The banks should pursue the matter with the investigation agencies to look into the Mallya's case in a different angle.

Bihar's Jungle Raj is back in form: Youth killed for overtaking JD(U) leader's son's vehicle

Imagine. You are driving your car on a highway in Bihar. You overtake an SUV. The people in SUV questions you for driving your vehicle faster than their vehicle. As a punishment for your superfast driving and overtaking them, you are shooted and killed.

This is happening in Bihar. JD(U) and RJ(D) alliance has brought the Jungle Raj back in Bihar. The politicians are acting as if they are the kings in the Jungle Raj.

"The Hindu" news clipping on this incedent:

"The incident happened when the son of a prominent businessman of the town, Aditya Sachdeva, a plus-two examinee, was traveling in his Swift car with his friends and allegedly overtook the SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) driven by Rocky Singh Yadav, son of JD(U) MLC Manorama Devi under Rampur police station of the district. Rocky was travelling in his car along with a security guard provided by the Bihar Police for the politician.

“We’re returning from Bodh Gaya and soon after we overtook the SUV they started firing in the air and made us stop. Then they forced us to get out of the car and started punching us. When we tried to leave the spot, someone fired and my friend got hit”, said friend of Aditya Sachdeva who was accompanying him in the car."

This is not a stray incendent. These kind of news are frequently being reported from Bihar after JD(U) and RJD coallition assumed power.

Modus operandi of MGNREGA at Grass Root Level

I don't think it is necessary to explain anything theoretical about one of the prestigious project of Government of India for fulfilling the right to work under MGNREGA- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. You will get millions of pages over internet on the theoretical functioning of the project. But I felt it necessary to draw a sketch on how it actually functions at the grass root level.

The government seems to be relaxing by believing that at least 100 days of guaranteed wage is reaching the beneficiaries after making it mandat

ory to disburse the wage through the bank accounts. When the project was started, the wage was being given in the form of food grains like wheat, jowar and rice. The officials/sarpanchs/panchayat members/local contractors used to complete the works  using the the machines like earth movers or some times completion on on papers and make money by selling those grains. Later wage in the form of money was introduced, it was much easier than earlier. The MGNREGA card holder to put his thumb impression or sign in non vernacular language and get the commission for signing, not the complete wage as guaranteed. No need to say again where it reached?

Did the direct transfer of wages through bank accounts have solved the problem? Yes, off course! That of contractors!

What is the Modus operandi?

Mr B, a Panchayat Member approaches Shri/Smt A, who has MGNREGA card, to open an account in a Nationalised Bank. The bank opens Shri/Smt A's account who had just learned to move the pen to sign in non vernacular language and issues an ATM card. Mr B deposits the minimum amount in the account and pays one days wage to Shri/Smt A for taking trouble of opening a bank account. Mr B grabs ATM card along with its PIN and the bank passbook of newly opened account. Panchayat officials identifies some work say 'cleaning of sewage on both side of the village road' to be done under MGNREGA. Mr B pays the pre-decided standard bribe to those officials and give the list of the MGNREGA card holders along with their account numbers. He, being the owner of the JCB gets it done in the matter of an hour. Or if he is influential, he gets id done on papers. Few days later he visits the ATM and withdraws the wages of hundred of MGNREGA beneficiaries without much effort than entering the ATM PIN. And it repeats.

Rahul save MGNREGA!

Cap on subsidised LPG cylinders is a good move

Industrialist and Congress MP Naveen Jindal- 369
Vice-President Hamid Ansari- 170
Vice-President Hamid Ansari- 62
Former Chief Minister Mayavati- 91
Tihar jail favorite, ex telecom minister A Raja -47
Diseased Former Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar- 48

These numbers are the subsidized LPG cylinders delivered to the house of the ministers when the subsidy burden on LPG is estimated to be about Rs.25,000 crore. Subsidy is nothing but tax payers money which has multiple developmental use. By supplying one subsidized cylinders every day to rich industrialist like Naveen Jindal, the oil companies did nothing but pushing some tax payers money to industrialists’ house.

There are many small shops were one can get LPG car filled with subsidized LPG. Many restaurants use subsidized LPG cylinders. Many marriage halls used domestic subsidized LPGs to cook food for thousands of people. The tax payer’s money went in drain. If this was curtailed we could have saved thousands of crore rupees and used it for development purpose.

Restricting subsidized LPG to 6 cylinders a year is a good move by Government of India. Six cylinders may be the minimum requirement for a small family of 4. On average one LPG connection per family got 8 cylinders a year last year. While getting 6 on subsidy a family can get another two cylinders by paying full amount. This will definitely curtail the misutilization of subsidized LPG.

For government, reducing the subsidy expenditure will help in maintaining lower fiscal deficit. Lower fiscal deficit lowers the external borrowing. In total, though it is viewed as a tough decision by the government will definitely help in country’s prosperity.

Government should take some more brave steps to pay subsidy amount directly to the beneficiary through their bank account. This UID- unique identification – Adhaar number based subsidy scheme is already under pilot run in Mysore. This will definitely give justice to both the tax payer’s money and subsidy.

Akhand Bharat- Dream and the Reality

Akhand Bharat is a dream of many Hindu organizations in India and abroad. They want establish a Hindu Nation by uniting the Indian subcontinent which includes Pakistan, Bangladesh and some times even up to Malaysia where there are traces of monarchy of Indian kings were present. I strongly believe this idea of Akhand Bharat is unrealistic and be harmful to the nation. Recently Narandra Modi has revealed another face of Akhand Bharat.

In his most famous interview to Shahid Siddiqui of Urdu weekly Nai Dunia, Narendra Modi expressed his views on Akhand Bharat “My dream is that from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, people should be ek and nek (one and good)... It is the imperialists in Pakistan who are running a campaign for Akhand Bharat, so that Pakistan, India and Bangladesh can become one and this can be a Muslim-majority country... These people want to place Indian Muslims on the frontline and create tension.”

In reply to this opinion working president of Vishwa Hindu Parshad Dr Pravin Thogadia tweeted “No Hindu votes to him after he said: Those who campaign for Akhand Bharat are Pakistani Imperialists: In interview given to Shahid Siddiqi”. This tweet shows the tensed relationship between the Hindu organization and Modi. But Narendra Modi is partly right in his opinion about the Akhand Bharat. If Pakistan and Bangladesh unites with India the situation in India worsens as the majority Muslims of these countries will be welcomed by
pseudo secularists of the country and the life of citizens of India becomes miserable. We are already experiencing the tension in Assam due to the soft corner towards the Bangladeshi Muslims in Assam.

But John R Schmidt who served as political counselor at the US embassy in Islamabad, in his latest book ‘The Unravelling - Pakistan in the Age of Jihad’ tells the day might come when Pakistan might be reabsorbed into India the political unrest it may face in the future. Islamic terrorists might be able to seize a warhead and either use it for nuclear blackmail. Then US and India will be left with no other alternative option than “destroy all that was left of the Pakistani armed forces through the use of air power, with the US providing the air power and India the bulk of ground forces” He also tells "Once the dust had settled, the Indians and their US allies would then face a critical political question: what to do about the areas of Pakistan that had been brought under their control," they might incorporate the occupied territories into India, bringing about the final unravelling of the Pakistani state.

If it happens, dream of Hindu organizations may partially come true. Nothing can be ruled off in the present situation of terrorism and unrest in Pakistan. But I wish it won't happen.

Bhutan is all about Happiness

Public policies of governments in any nation should aim at the happiness of its citizen. Though many governments tell, their every policy is meant for creating happy nation, most of the times it fails. Our policies aimed at development of the nation in terms of GDP fails to keep the citizens happy, fails to meet sustainable development and protecting culture and environment. But in Bhutan "gross national happiness"(GNH) is important than Gross National Product.

I came across Bhutan's GNH and National Happiness Commission very recently when I was reading some piece of article on development. I was ashamed to be ignorant of such a beautiful system of governance, present at the neighbouring and most friendly country to India.

I was also surprised to read there is no National Planning Commission like one in India. Instead Bhutan has Gross National Happiness Commission. Every government policy has to pass through NHC so that the policy is in accordance with the four pillars of GNH viz promotion of sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.

Bhutan has the policies that least 60% of the country's land must remain under forest cover at all times. It imposes the tariff of $200 a day for each foreign visitor to control the tourist and protect the environment and culture. Sale of tobacco products is completely banned. All Bhutanese are required to wear the national dress, and all buildings must conform to the national architecture to preserve the country's distinctive culture. Can we even expect such policies from our governments? Or ever our government will be think of implementing such policies against the hypocrisy?

It is not surprising fact that Bhutan is better in terms of life expectancy, GDP, GNI and Per Capita Income than other neighbouring Asean countries. One can google the data.

Inflation and developing economy

As an economy develops the per capita income also increases. Benefits of the development start reaching the bottom of the economical structure. Their purchasing power and thus demand increases, this increases the price. Increase in the price pushes them to earn more. They become more efficient to earn more to meet their requirement. Hence contributes in the development. Inflation causes the development. According to a Times report, inflation had been used as the tool by the Latin American governments for the economical development.

When the inflation becomes higher, government starts spending more on curbing inflation than development works. Giving subsidized food to the poor usually controls food inflations, which costs more for the government. The central bank increases the lending rates, which in turn pressurizes the banks to push their products at higher interest rate. The growth slows down.

Most challenging problem in the developing economy arises when it faces the problem of wage-price-spiral. When the economy develops, the industries see prosperity the workers demand for higher wage. Higher wages increases the cost of the products. Hence the manufacturer and the service providers increase the price of the product. This in turn affects the society and again a demand for the higher wage. This cycle is called as wage-price-spiral. Presently Indian economy is facing this problem and central bank accepts it is very difficult control wage-price-spiral.

Moderate inflation is always good for the developing economy. But development should not be an excuse for the central government and central bank for its failure to curb the problematic inflation.

Inflation is the second nature of developing economy. But development should always be the first nature.

Jul 1: State Bank Day

You might have seen front page advertisements by State Bank of India in today's major news papers across the country. State Bank celebrates State Bank Day by doing remarkable community service every year on 1st Jul, this year 14000 branches of SBI donated 140000 fans to the schools. So what is this State Bank Day?

Intention of forming State Bank of India post independence was to make the formal banking and financial service reach the every corner of the country. Though SBI has grown far bigger than any private profit making banks, its basic intention was social banking. Imperial Bank of India was functioning as commercial and as well as central bank during the period of British rule in India. But our leaders felt there should be our own, state owned banking institution to make the financial services reach the every corner of the country. In the year 1955 Reserve Bank of India acquired the central bank functioning from Imperial Bank. Similarly to perform the commercial bank functioning the Imperial Bank of India was renamed as State Bank of India.

This major break through in the Indian banking industry was started with an parliament act in the year 1955. State Bank of India was given legal recognition by the provisions of the State Bank of India Act of 1955 which came into force from 1 July 1955. This parliament act enabled SBI to be considered as 'state' and the employees to be 'public servant' giving more responsibility in making the banking service reach the public. On that day SBI had 480 branches. Immediate requirement was to expand its presence to make reach banking service to every citizen. Now State Bank controls nearly quarter of the banking business in the country.

So the day on which the new era of the Banking Industry in India has started i.e. July 1st is celebrated by State Bank of India and its subsidiaries as State Bank Day.

Why Should Change the Movie Title Dandupalya? Why Not Name of the Village?

“Why can’t you change the name of your village as Florida?”

This could be one of the funniest ever sentence told by the court. This happened during the public interest litigation filed by the villagers of Dandupalya, a village in Hoskote, near Bangalore to change the name of the title of the Kannada film Dandupalya.

Villagers claimed that the movie Dandupalya, pictured the notorious gang from the village Danduplaya which involved in robbery and murder later sentenced to death, impacts the image of the village. They also informed the court that due to these few criminals from the village, the whole village has got bad name and the villagers are suffering. Youngsters from the village are not getting seats in the colleges. It has become difficult for the villagers to get married due to the notoriety of the gang identified with the name of their village Dandupalay. They claimed the movie will further worsen the situation.

 “Why can’t you change the name of your village as Florida,” a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen and Justice B.V. Nagarathna observed in a lighter vein, The Hindu reported on 29 June 2012.

Madan Patel directed movie Nityanada is also facing title dispute raised by the supportersof self portrayed god-man Swami Nityananda and Nithyananda Dhyana Peetam. Next time I wish it could be Swami Nityanada to get his name changed to protect himself from the impact of the movie Nityananda.

Also read Pooja Gandhi Nude for Dandupalya(?)

Hidden Agenda of Sending Pranab to Rashtrapati Bhavan

Why  Pranab Mukharjee should become president of India? Sonia Gandhi has reasons:
 
The Corporate Pressure: Sonia Gandhi is always known to have good relationship with corporates since from Bofors deal. Few important decisions of Pranab Mukharjee made the eyes of corporate red. He introduced retroactive tax in the 2012-13 budget, with regard to capital gains tax payable to the government on transfer of Indian corporate assets through Vodafone-style M&A deals held abroad. This provision angered British Prime Minister Tony Blair, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had taken up the issue directly with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A report tells seven top US industry, trade and securities associations had sent written complaints against his 2012-13 budget to the US treasury secretary and secretary of state and wanted them to convey their concerns to the highest level of the UPA government. He was also keen in recovering the tax loss of Vodafone deal. So there was a corporate pressure to exit him from finance ministry to enjoy the loop holes of tax framework to enjoy the benefits of  tax heavens.


To make him exit from Finance Ministry: Sonia Gandhi was unhappy with Pranab Mukharjee for not convincing alleys in the recent decisions of finance ministry like the FDI in retail, foreign participation in pension fund management, foreign control in banking and insurance sectors and fuel price increase. A high inflation was seen during last couple of years leading to high interest rates which made industrial and development activities come down. This again resulted in a slow-down in FDI and FII inflows. So the prime minister and the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi were looking for the exit of Pranab Mukharjee from the finance ministry.

To decide the next prime minister: Yet another most important reason why Pranab Mukharjee should be the President. Definitely PM Mr Singh will make way for new face in prime minister's office in next general election. Pranab was a potential candidate after Singh. Congress does not have another unquestionable leader to replace Mr Singh as Pranab will be in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Rahul Gandhi's way to PMO will be clear now. Or it may be Sonia Gandhi, as Mr Kalam is not there to stop her from becoming PM.

What Happened to Subhiksha?

 Once a favorite model of retail success, now a study of financial failure

It was in 1996 that the idea of Subhiksha (prosperity in Sanskrit), organized retail services came to the mind of Subramanian, and IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad alumnus. He opened the first shop in Chennai in March 1997. By March 1999 there were 10 Subhiksha shops in Chennai. Its unique discounting model enraged the retail trade in Chennai

By 2000 Subhiksha grew to nearly 50 shops in Chennai retailing groceries and medicines. ICICI Venture's decision then to pick up a 10 per cent stake in Subhiksha for Rs 15 crore gave the retailer enhanced credibility in the market. This money was used to expand outside Chennai, into the rest of Tamil Nadu. By 2002-03, Subhiksha had 140 stores across 30 towns in Tamil Nadu. Sales grew steadily. Cash flows were reasonable and debt, at Rs 15 crore against the net worth of Rs 23 crore, was comfortable.

Tamil Nadu was not enough for the growth of Subhiksha. Subramanian wanted to expand it all over the nation. There was two choices- expand Subhiksha in one state by one and expand many states at a time. The subhiksha model proved to be successful. He choosed second option. Between late 2004 and early 2007, Rs 160 crore worth of equity was raised. That apart, a debt of Rs 220 crore and a bridge loan of Rs 125 crore (for pending raising of equity from capital markets) was arranged to fund the national rollout.

On an average, 60 to 70 stores were added in a month. The pace of rollout is evident from the fact that till September 2006, Subhiksha had a store count of just 160, but by March 2007 it had shot up to 670 and by March 2008 to 1,320. By September 2008, it was 1,650-in all 1,500 stores were added ih just 24 months. 2006-07 and 2007-08 Subhiksha doubled the stores, tripled revenues and almost quadrupled profits

At the time of tough retail competition with the entry of Reliance, Tata and Aditya Birla group into the field Subhiksha had become the country's largest mobile phone retailer with an annual turnover of Rs 1,000 crore. The performance of Subhiksha attracted the investors. Wipro Chairman Azim Premji, in March 2008, picked up the 10 per cent stake in Subhiksha that was offloaded by ICICI Venture for Rs 230 crore, pegging the company's valuation at Rs 2,300 crore.

That was the time for Subhiksha to capitalize Premji’s interest in the company. Company kept postponing the IPO. It did not want to dilute the shareholders interest. So it continued to raise money through debts. During September 2008, people lost their interest in share markets. There was a complete collapse of equity market. At the time when liquidity was tight, Subhiksha needed Rs 125 crore in cash to repay the loan.  It was due for Subhiksha to repay the bridge loan. The working capitals were diverted to rescue and expand Subhiksha with the hope of IPO in the confidence of success of the model. Working capital eroded. Many shops were closed as a rescue measure. Suppliers stopped supplying. Shops’ stands became empty. The security guards did not turned to the work. These all happened in less than 3 months. And finally in February 2009 there were not a single Subhiksha faced even cheque bounce case. Ajim Premji accused him for financial fraud. ICICI asked for detailed investigation of financial mismanagement. And he and his company became defaulter for over Rs 750 crore to 13 banks.

Probably, if IPO was done instead of postponement, equity could have been used to reduce the debt and Subhiksha would have survived.

Adopted from a case study in IGNOU MBA question paper.

9 VTU colleges in The Week’s top 100 Engineering Colleges

12 of India's top 100 engineering colleges are in Karnataka

Karnataka has its own name in the quality engineering colleges. Bangalore is always a favorite choice for the technology education. The Week, India’s leading weekly has published the list of 100 top engineering colleges in the country in its June 17, 2012 issue. 12 institutions of Karnataka have secured their place in the list. Out of 12 best engineering colleges in Karnataka, 9 are affiliated to VTU. Other three intuitions are National Institute of Technology (NITK), Surathkal at 15^th place, University Visweswaraya College of engineering at 37^th place and Manipal Institute of Technology Manipal at 38^th place. The 9 best engineering colleges in Bangalore and Karnataka according to The Week which are affiliated to VTU (some are autonomous) are as follows:

No	Rank	College	Place
1	16	RV College of Engineering	Bangalore
2	29	PES Institute of Technology	Bangalore
3	51	Sir M Visvesvaraya Institute of technology	Bangalore
4	56	M S Ramaiah Institute of Technology	Bangalore
5	59	Acharya Institute of Technology	Bangalore
6	64	BMS College of Engineering	Bangalore
7	68	Sri Jayacharajendra College of Engineering	Mysore
8	74	National College of Engineering	Mysore
9	91	MVJ College of Engineering	Bangalore

In my personal view the list may interchange. But definitely all are good colleges and felt the The Week- Hansa research survey is fair. Even the ranking may change engineering stream wise. One should also enquire about department in a particular college before taking an admission into it. A best college may a bad department. Thankfully few institutions like New Horizon college of Engineering which used to advertise as India’s second best college through a result of paid survey have not made entry into list to misguide the students. Surprisingly very few colleges of Tamil Nadu are in the list though it has a huge number of engineering colleges. Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has the highest best affiliated colleges.

Made in China and the Common Man

In a management class, a lecturer told that he had taken an oath not to use any made in China products to protect the economy of the country, even in broader sense the economy of the rest of the world except china. He also told he did not have a single made in china product with him. I pointed out his Nokia mobile. Obviously it is from Finland and he was confident of that. I asked him to remove the back cover and see the battery; the original battery in it was made in China. This is an example, how we are forced to use made in china products.

I started counting the made in China products. My notebook is manufactured for Lenovo and made in China. I have no doubt on ZTE and Huawei modems from China. 99% of my desktop PC components are made in China. My mobiles phones are made in china though they are branded. Even the tennis racket like mosquito bat we have at our house is Made in china. I had used many toys that were made in China when I was a kid. I can definitely tell; I have used products from China more than any country, may be more than that of my own country.

I have many friends who don’t like to buy made in China products. They are ready to compromise with the brands they like to buy a product not having china tag. But they are helpless many a times. Many a times there are no alternatives for made in china product. Some people tend to buy non-branded made in China products. They know the poor quality of the product they are buying, but they feel it is worth for the price it is being offered. It again increases our dependency on China. We, the common people never think in macro level. But even in micro level, China products are found to be harmful. Many food products imported from China has chemicals that are not suitable for human consumption. The toys and other electronic items have harmful metals on the surface for attractive finishing. Though we can’t completely get rid of made in China, at least let us try to decrease the number of such items we buy.  

The Monk’s Ninth letter: Stand for something bigger than yourself

The series of nine secret letters from the monk who sold his Ferrari ends with the ninth letter in front of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Taj Mahal. Julian, the monk himself arrives at Agra, India to hand over Talisman and the letter to Jonathan. He tells we should try to leave the world something on the scale of Taj Mahal.

There are no extra people alive today. Every single one of us is here for a reason, a special purpose - a mission. Yes build a beautiful life for yourself and those you love. Yes be happy and have a lot of fun. And yes become successful, on your own terms rather than on those suggested to you by society. But-above all else -be significant. Make your life matter. Be of use. And be of service to as many people as possible. This is how each of us can shift from realm of the ordinary into the heights of the extraordinary. And walk among the best who has ever lived.

Download the secret letters from the monk who sold his Ferrari in pdf format free:
Download all the 9 secret letters with the talisman pictures in .pdf format from Google Docs.

The Monk’s Eighth letter: The purpose of life is to love

It is Phoenix, Jonathan meets Mrs Ronnie who was in her sixties. Ronnie’s story of her life teaches the importance of love in life. Talisman for this eighth secret letter is a silver heart. A two line secret letter from the monk who sold his Ferrari reads as follow.

How well you live comes down to how much you love. The heart is wiser than the head. Honor it. Trust it. Follow it

You can download all the 9 secret letters with Talisman pictures of  the secret letters of the monk who sold his Ferrari at the 9th letter here.

The Monk’s Seventh letter: Life's simplest pleasures are life's greatest joys

Mr Gao Li is a businessman in Shanghai. He is the richest and successful person Jonathan could ever imagine. His office was so posh and made Jonathan to rewrite the standard of luxury he knows. But he is leading a very simple life in an old apartment with a Volvo car instead of Lamborghini which the successful businessman like him drives. He knew Life's simplest pleasures are life's greatest joys. Talisman is a simple ordinary sea-shell.

Most people don’t discover what’s most important in life until they are too old to do anything about it. They spend many of their best years pursuing things that matter little in the end. While society invites us to fill our lives with material objects, the best part of us knows that the more basic pleasures are the ones that enrich and sustain us. No matter how easy or hard our current conditions, we all have wealth of simple blessings around us - waiting to be counted. As we do our happiness grows. Our gratitude expands. And each day becomes a breathtaking gift.

You can download all the 9 secret letters with Talisman pictures of  the secret letters of the monk who sold his Ferrari at the 9th letter here.