Explore the knowledge

KYC--Important one As per Regulations of Banks

2013-09-10T21:16:00.000+05:30

1. What is KYC?

KYC is an acronym for “Know your Customer”, a term used for customer identification process. It involves making reasonable efforts to determine true identity and beneficial ownership of accounts, source of funds, the nature of customer’s business, reasonableness of operations in the account in relation to the customer’s business, etc which in turn helps the banks to manage their risks prudently. The objective of the KYC guidelines is to prevent banks being used, intentionally or unintentionally by criminal elements for money laundering.

KYC has two components - Identity and Address. While identity remains the same, the address may change and hence the banks are required to periodically update their records.

2. Is there any legal backing for verifying identity of clients?

Yes. Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines to banks under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and Rule 7 of Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records of the Nature and Value of Transactions, the Procedure and Manner of Maintaining and Time for Furnishing Information and Verification and Maintenance of Records of the Identity of the Clients of the Banking Companies, Financial Institutions and Intermediaries) Rules, 2005. Any contravention thereof or non-compliance shall attract penalties under Banking Regulation Act.

3. I want to keep a fixed deposit in a bank. Is KYC - applicable to me?

Yes. KYC is applicable to customers of the bank. For the purpose of KYC following are the ‘Customers of the bank.

a person or entity that maintains an account and/or has a business relationship with the bank;

one on whose behalf the account is maintained (i.e. the beneficial owner);

beneficiaries of transactions conducted by professional intermediaries, such as Stock Brokers, Chartered Accountants, Solicitors etc. as permitted under the law, and

any person or entity connected with a financial transaction which can pose significant reputational or other risks to the bank, say, a wire transfer or issue of a high value demand draft as a single transaction.

4. Is there any procedure specified for Customer Identification?

Customer identification means identifying the customer and verifying his/her identity by using reliable, independent source documents, data or information. Banks have been advised to lay down Customer Identification Procedure to be carried out at different stages i.e. while establishing a banking relationship; carrying out a financial transaction or when the bank has a doubt about the authenticity/veracity or the adequacy of the previously obtained customer identification data.

5. Once KYC requirements are complied with while opening the account, whether the bank can again ask for KYC compliance from me?

Yes. To ensure that the latest details about the customer are available, banks have been advised to periodically update the customer identification data based upon the risk category of the customers.

Banks create a customer profile based on details about the customer like social/financial status, nature of business activity, information about his clients’ business and their location, the purpose and reason for opening the account, the expected origin of the funds to be used within the relationship and details of occupation/employment, sources of wealth or income, expected monthly remittance, expected monthly withdrawals etc. When the transactions in the account are observed not consistent with the profile, bank may ask for any additional details / documents as required. This is just to confirm that the account is not being used for any Money Laundering/Terrorist/Criminal activities.

6. I had submitted my driving licence as a proof of identity and address but still the bank asked for telephone / electricity bill.

There are two aspects of Customer Identification. One is establishing identity and the other is establishing present residential address.

For establishing identity, the bank requires any authentic document carrying photo of the customer such as driving licence/ passport/ pan card/ voters' card etc. Though these documents carry the residential address of the customer, it may not be the present address. Therefore, in order to establish the present address of the customer, in addition to passport/ driving licence / voters' card / pan card, the bank may ask for utility bills such as Telephone / Electricity bill etc.

Quizzing Time-----

2013-03-29T01:10:00.000+05:30

1. Barack Obama Signed Into Law the Violence against Women Act Reauthorization 2013 at Washington. Which of the following statements in context of the statement are true?
I. The Violence against Women Act was first passed in 1994, re-authorised since then, the new Act offers support to the organisations which serve to the victims of domestic violence.
II. The Violence against Women Act of 1994 is primarily a US Federal Law which was signed in 1994 by President Bill Clinton.
III. The Act established the Office on Violence against Women in the Department of Human and Justice for mankind.
IV. The new Act creates as well as expands the federal programs for helping local communities for the purpose of law enforcement as well as helping the victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
a) Statements I, and III are true
b) Statements I, II and IV are true
c) Statements II, and IV are true
d) All the four statements are true
Answer: (b) Statements I, II, and IV are true

2. Name the person, who was the chief guest during the 45th Independence Day of Mauritius?
a) President of India, Pranab Mukherjee
b) Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh
c) UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi
d) Chairperson of BJP, Lal Krishna Advani
Answer: (a) President of India, Pranab Mukherjee

3. India and Bhutan signed Currency Swap Agreement worth 100 million Dollars. Which of the following statements in context of the statement are true?
I. It enables RMAB (Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan to make withdrawals of US dollar, euro or Indian rupee in multiple tranches up to a maximum of 100 million dollars or its equivalent.
II. The swap agreement is intended to provide a precaution line of funding for SAARC member countries to meet any balance of payments and liquidity crisis till longer term arrangements are made or if there is need for short-term liquidity due to market turbulence.
III. The arrangement would be for a three-year period and would help bring financial stability in the region.
a) Statements I, and III are true
b) Statements I, and II are true
c) Statements II, and III are true
d) All the three statements are true
Answer: (d) All the three statements are true

4. China on 10 March 2013 unveiled its Government Restructuring Plan. Which of the statements in context of the restructuring plan are true?
I. The Ministry of Railways will be dissolved with the Ministry of Aviation. The commercial functions of the Ministry of Railways will be taken over by the Ministry of Aviation. The Ministry of Aviation will be the in-charge of development and planning of the Chinese railways.
II. The National Family Planning Commission will be merged with the Ministry of Health. It is important to note that National Family Planning Commission is that agency of China which controls the one-child policy.
III. The new Government Restructuring Plan of China will have focus on boosting the food and drug safety by combining the responsibilities and duties of various agencies into the General Administration of Food and Drug.
IV. There will be a merger of two main media watchdogs- the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television as well as the General Administration of Press and Publication.
a) Statements I, and III are true
b) Statements I, II and IV are true
c) Statements II, III and IV are true
d) All the four statements are true
Answer: (c) Statements II, III, and IV are true

5. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on 11 March 2013 launched a 7.5 billion dollar gas pipeline project which will link Iran's gas pipeline to that of Pakistan. Which of the following statements in context of the pipeline construction are true?
I. Iran has constructed 900 km of the 1600-km pipeline on its soil.
II. Both Iranian and Pakistani firms have undertaken the construction of the remaining part in Pakistan.
III. The project is completed by mid-2014, as scheduled; Iran will export 21.5 million cubic metres of natural gas to Pakistan on daily basis.
IV. The work on the Iranian side is almost complete and on 11 March 2013 saw the construction work start on the Pakistani side. The total of 1780km of pipeline is to be built in Pakistan by December 2014.
a) Statements I, and III are true
b) Statements I, II and III are true
c) Statements II, III and IV are true
d) All the four statements are true
Answer: (b) Statements I, II, and III are true
6. The India-UK Summit talks took place on 19 February 2013 in New Delhi during the official visit of British Prime Minister, David Cameron to India. During the talks several issues were discussed between the two nations, which of the following statements are true in context of the summit?
I. The two nations considered the results of India-UK Education Forum meeting which took place on 30 January 2013 in London.
II. India welcomed the British Council’s programme for providing digital English language materials for Indian learners.
III. Both India and UK created limitations over welcoming legitimate travellers, including students, tourists, visitors, business people or qualified workers.
IV. UK Prime Minister David Cameron committed to facilitate India with cutting edge British technology, civil and military, in accordance with the international obligations.
a) Statements I, II and III are true
b) Statements I, II and IV are true
c) Statements II, III and IV are true
d) All the four statements are true
Answer: (b) Statements I, II and IV are true

7. India and Republic of Portugal Signed a Social Security Agreement on 4 March 2013. Which of the following statements in context of the signed agreement are true?
I. The agreement was signed at New Delhi during the India visit of Paulo Sacadura Cabral Portas, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Portugal.
II. The bilateral social security agreement would help in taking advantage of the emerging employment opportunities and strengthening the trade and investments between the two countries.
III. For short term contract of up to 10 year, no social security contribution should be paid under the Portuguese law by the detached workers, in case they are making their contribution of the social security payment in India.
IV. In case an employee is sent to Republic of Portugal by an Indian Company from a third company then also the benefits of the agreement will be available to the Indian worker.
a) Statements I, II and III are true
b) Statements I, II and IV are true
c) Statements II, III and IV are true
d) All the four statements are true
Answer: (b) Statements I, II and IV are true
8. Pranab Mukherjee and Sheikh Hasina Inaugurated Freight Train to Bangladesh. Which of the statements mentioned below in context of the event are true?
I. The locomotives and tank wagons being supplied to Bangladesh under 1800 million US Dollar line of credit that was provided by India.
II. The freight train was inaugurated at Dhaka cantonment railway station. The freight train comprised of twenty broad gauge tank wagons, two locomotives and one brake van.
III. Inauguration of the railway wagons as well as locomotives in Dhaka was a part of the implementation of 114 projects which were approved under the 800 million US dollar credit line provided by India to Bangladesh.
IV. Out of the total projects to be implemented, 12 are the railway projects which encompass four infrastructure development projects as well as eight rolling stock projects, which in turn will be implemented at an overall cost of 629 million US dollars approximately.
a) Statements I, and III are true
b) Statements I, II and IV are true
c) Statements II, and IV are true
d) All the four statements are true
Answer: (c) Statements II and IV are true

9. Japan and US agreed on Free Trade Auto Exception in the month of March 2013. Which of the following statements in context of the Agreement true?
I. Agreement on exemptions for the auto industry in a thoughtful Pacific-wide free trade pact was reached, with Japan showing its readiness to announce its entry into negotiations.
II. Both the Countries agreed in principle that the US will be able to keep tariffs on car imports — 2.5 per cent for passenger cars and 25 per cent on trucks — for at least five to 10 years under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
III. US auto sector also welcomed Japan’s entry, claiming Tokyo maintains non-tariff barriers on autos, and says a deal would give Japanese automakers unfettered access to their market, and allow them the same chances.
IV. The emerging pact could boost growth and set rules to govern trade in the dynamic but unwieldy region, which includes much of East Asia, as well as some American countries.
a) Statements I, and III are true
b) Statements I, II and IV are true
c) Statements II, and IV are true
d) All the four statements are true
Answer: (b) Statements I, II and IV are true

10. India in the month of March 2013 proposed the idea of a hydrocarbon pipeline with Kazakhstan that is intended to bring fuel through a five-nation route.
I. The proposed pipeline would cover about 1500 kms (no study has yet been done), thus making it longer than the planned Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline which will serve as the role model.
II. It will head from the former Silk Road caravanserai city of Shymkent, known today for oil refining, and enter Uzbekistan.
III. From there it will go to Afghanistan and then follow the route to be taken by the TAPI pipeline into India via Pakistan.
IV. It has the potential to be extended to Russia resolving the headache of transportation that has vexed Indian energy security managers when they scout for hydrocarbon collaboration with Moscow.
a) Statements I, and III are true
b) Statements I, II and IV are true
c) Statements II, and IV are true
d) All the four statements are true
Answer: (b) All the four Statements are true

Useful words-

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Unbanked-A slang term for people who do not use banks or banking institutions in any capacity. Unbanked persons generally pay for things in cash or else purchase money orders. Unbanked persons also typically do not have insurance, pensions or any other type of professional money-related services.

Man-Year - A method of describing the amount of work done by an individual throughout the entire year. The man-year takes the amount of hours worked by an individual during the week and multiplies it by 52 (or the number of weeks worked in a year). The man-year calculated will be different for various industries depending on the average number of hours worked each week and the number of weeks worked per year.

Collaborative Commerce (C-commerce)-Optimization of supply and distribution channels in order to capitalize upon the global economy and use new technology efficiently.

Noon Rate -A term used by the Bank of Canada to describe the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar. The rate is released by 12:45pm EST by the Bank of Canada on any given day, and is based on the trading that takes place from 11:59am to 12:01pm on that day. The noon rate is often used by companies as a benchmark for translating financial statements.

Procyclic -A condition of positive correlation between the value of a good, a service or an economic indicator and the overall state of the economy. In other words, the value of the good, service or indicator tends to move in the same direction as the economy, growing when the economy grows and declining when the economy declines.

Marketing Terms-

2013-02-04T12:29:00.000+05:30

Consumer buyers: Consumer buyers are those who purchase items for their personal consumption
Consumer durables: Consumer durables have low volume but high unit value. Consumer durables are often further divided into White goods (e.g. fridge freezers; cookers; dishwashers; microwaves) and Brown goods (e.g. DVD players; games consoles; personal computers)
Consumer markets: Consumer markets are the markets for products and services bought by individuals for their own or family use
Consumer Price Index: It is a price index covering the prices of consumer goods.
Consumer Price Index: It is a price index that features the rates of consumer goods
Contingency Fund: It is more or less similar to that extra little bit of savings that all mothers set aside in case of an emergency. Likewise, the government has created this fund to help it tide over difficult situations. The fund is at the disposal of the President to meet unforeseen and urgent expenditure, pending approval from Parliament. The amount that is withdrawn from the fund is recouped.
Continuous market research: Continuous research involves interviewing the same sample of people, repeatedly
Core product: The set of problem-solving or need-meeting benefits that customers are buying when they purchase a product. Customers are rarely prepared to pay a premium for these elements of a product.
Countervailing Duties (CVD): This is levied on imports that may lead to price rise in the domestic market. It is imposed with the intention of discouraging unfair trading practices by other countries.
CRR means Cash Reserve Ratio. Banks in India are required to hold a certain proportion of their deposits in the form of cash. However, actually Banks don't hold these as cash with themselves, but deposit such case with Reserve Bank of India (RBI)/ currency chests, which is considered as equivalent to holding cash with RBI. This minimum ratio (that is the part of the total deposits to be held as cash) is stipulated by the RBI and is known as the CRR or Cash Reserve Ratio. Thus, when a bank's deposits increase by Rs 100, and if the cash reserve ratio is 6%, the banks will have to hold additional Rs 6 with RBI and Bank will be able to use only Rs 94 for investments and lending/ credit purpose. Therefore, higher the ratio (i.e. CRR), the lower is the amount that banks will be able to use for lending and investment. This power of RBI to reduce the lendable amount by increasing the CRR, makes it an instrument in the hands of a central bank through which it can control the amount that banks lend. Thus, it is a tool used by RBI to control liquidity in the banking system.
Current Account Deficit: This deficit shows the difference between the nation's exports and imports.
Current Account Surplus: Excess of receipts over expenditure on current account in a country's balance of payments.
Custom Duties: These duties are levied on goods whenever they are either brought into the country or exported from the country. The importer or the exporter pays custom duties.
Customer demand: Consumer demand is a want for a specific product supported by an ability and willingness to pay for it.
Customer loyalty: Feelings or attitudes that incline a customer either to return to a company, shop or outlet to purchase there again, or else to re-purchase a particular product, service or brand.
Demand For Grants: It is a statement of estimate of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund. This requires approval of the Lok Sabha.
Direct marketing: The planned recording, analysis and tracking of customer behaviour to develop a relational marketing strategies
Direct Taxes: Taxes paid directly by the person or organisation on whom they are levied. Income Tax and Corporate Tax fall under this tax category
Disinvestment: It is the dilution of government's stake in Public Sector Undertakings.
Early adopters: People who choose new products carefully and are often consulted by people from the remaining adopter categories
ECB: External Commercial Borrowing
E-commerce: The use of technologies such as the Internet, electronic data exchange and industry extranets to streamline business transactions
Endorsement: The promotion of some kind of product recommendation or affirmation, usually from a celebrity, implying to the potential customer that a product is good
ESPO: Employee Stock Option Loan
Excise duties: These duties refer to duties imposed on goods manufactured within the country.
Finance Bill: It is the government's proposals for imposition of new taxes, modification of the existing tax structure or continuance of the existing tax structure beyond the period approved by Parliament.
Fiscal Deficit: It is the difference between the Revenue Receipts and Total Expenditure.
Fiscal Policy: Fiscal policy is a change in government expenditure and/or taxation designed to influence economic activity. These changes are designed to control the level of aggregate demand in the economy. Governments usually bring about changes in taxation, volume of spending, and size of the budget deficit or surplus to affect public expenditure.
FRBM Act: Enacted in 2003, the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act required the elimination of revenue deficit by 2008-09. This means that from 2008-09, the government was to meet all its revenue expenditure from its revenue receipts. Any borrowing was to be done to meet capital expenditure i.e. repayment of loans, lending and fresh investment. The Act also mandates a 3% limit on the fiscal deficit after 2008-09; one that allows the government to build capacities in the economy without compromising on fiscal stability.
Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT): It is the tax levied on the ‘fringe benefit' / perks given by a company to its employees. Companies could no longer get away with marking such expenses as ‘ordinary business expenses' and escape tax when they actually gave out club memberships to their employees. Employers had to now pay a tax (FBT) on a percentage of the expense incurred on such perquisites. This tax was introduced in the 2005-06 budget.
Gender segmentation: The segmentation of markets based on the sex of the customer. The cosmetic industry is a good example of widespread use of gender segmentation, Geographic segmentation, Geographic segmentation divides markets into different geographical units
Gross Domestic Product: Total market value of the goods and services manufactured within the country in a financial year. GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT Total market value of the finished goods and services manufactured within the country in a given financial year, plus income earned by the local residents from investments made abroad, minus the income earned by foreigners in the domestic market.
Growth stage: The stage at which a product's sales rise rapidly and profits reach a
GST: A GST (Goods and Services Tax) contains the entire element of tax borne by a good / service including a Central and a state-level tax.
Income Tax: This is the tax levied on individual income from various sources like salaries, investments, interest, etc.
Indirect Taxes: Taxes imposed on goods manufactured, imported or exported such as Excise Duties and Custom Duties.
Inflation: A progressive increase in prices of goods and services. It is the percentage rate of change in the price level. In inflation, everything tends to appear more valuable except money.
Internal marketing: The process of eliciting support for a company and its activities among its own employees, in order to encourage them to promote its goals. This process can happen at a number of levels, from increasing awareness of individual products or marketing campaigns, to explaining overall business strategy.
Laggards: The group of consumers who are typically last to buy a new product
Marginal Standing Facility Rate: Under this scheme, Banks will be able to borrow upto 1% of their respective Net Demand and Time Liabilities". The rate of interest on the amount accessed from this facility will be 100 basis points (i.e. 1%) above the repo rate. This scheme is likely to reduce volatility in the overnight rates and improve monetary transmission.
Market segmentation: Segmentation involves subdividing markets, channels or customers into groups with different needs, to deliver tailored propositions which meet these needs as precisely as possible.
Market targeting: Market targeting is the process of evaluating each market segment and selecting the most attractive segments to enter with a particular product or product line.
Marketing: The all-embracing function that links the business with customer needs and wants in order to get the right product to the right place at the right time"
Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT): It's known that a company pays tax on profits as per the Income-Tax Act. If a company's tax liability is less than 10% of its profits, it has to pay a minimum alternate tax of 10% of the book profits.
MODVAT: It stands for Modified Value Added Tax and is a way of giving some relief to the final manufacturers of goods on Excise Duties borne by their suppliers.
Monetized Deficit: Measures the level of support the RBI provides to the Centre's borrowing program.
National Debt: Total outstanding borrowings of the central government exchequer.
Non-Plan Expenditure: Expenses that don't form a part of the government's five year plan. These expenses consist of Revenue and Capital Expenditure on interest payments, Defense Expenditure, subsidies, postal deficit, police, pensions, economic services, loans to public sector enterprises and loans as well as grants to State governments, Union territories and foreign governments.
Non-Tax Revenue: Any loan given to state governments, public institutions, PSUs come with a price (interests) and forms the most important receipts under this head apart from dividends and profits received from PSUs. The government also earns from the various services including public services it provides.
Peak Rate: it is the highest rate of Custom Duty applicable on an item.
Per capita income: The national income of a country, or region, divided by its population.
Performance Budget: it is a compilation of programs and activities of different ministries and departments.
Plan Expenditure: Consists of both Revenue Expenditure and Capital Expenditure of the Center on the Central Plan, Central Assistance to States and Union Territories.
Plan Outlay: Plan Outlay is the amount for expenditure on projects, schemes and programmes announced in the Plan. The money for the Plan Outlay is raised through budgetary support and internal and extra-budgetary resources. The budgetary support is also shown as plan expenditure in government accounts.
Primary Deficit: Fiscal Deficit minus Interest payments
Product life cycle: The course of a product's sales and profitability over its lifetime. The model describes five stages, each of which represents a different opportunity for the marketer: - Development, Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline.
Product: A product is defined as anything that is capable of satisfying customer
Progressive Tax Structure: a tax structure in which the marginal tax rate increases as the level of income increases.
Promotion: One of the four "P's" of the marketing mix. Promotion is all about
Proportional Tax: a tax taking the same percentage of income regardless of the level of income.
Public Account: it is an account where money received through transactions not relating to consolidated fund is kept.
Public Debt: The difference between borrowings and repayments during the year is the net accretion to the public debt. Public debt can be split into two heads, internal debt (money borrowed within the country) and external debt (funds borrowed from non-Indian sources).
Regressive Tax: a tax in which the poor pay a larger percentage of income than the rich. It is the opposite of Progressive Tax.
Repo (Repurchase) rate: It is the rate at which the RBI lends shot-term money to the banks against securities. When the repo rate increases borrowing from RBI becomes more expensive. Therefore, we can say that in case, RBI wants to make it more expensive for the banks to borrow money, it increases the repo rate; similarly, if it wants to make it cheaper for banks to borrow money, it reduces the repo rate.
Revenue budget: Consists of Revenue Receipts and Revenue Expenditure of the government.
Revenue Deficit: It is the difference between Revenue Expenditure and Revenue Receipts.
Revenue Surplus: Opposite of Revenue Deficit, it is the excess of Revenue Receipts over Revenue Expenditure.
Reverse Repo rate is the rate at which banks park their short-term excess liquidity with the RBI. The banks use this tool when they feel that they are stuck with excess funds and are not able to invest anywhere for reasonable returns. An increase in the reverse repo rate means that the RBI is ready to borrow money from the banks at a higher rate of interest. As a result, banks would prefer to keep more and more surplus funds with RBI.
Revised Estimates: usually given in the following budget, it is the difference between the Budget Estimates and the actual figures.
SEBI: Securities and Exchange Board of India
Securities Transaction Tax (STT): STT is a small tax you need to pay on the total amount you pay or receive in a share deal. In the 2004-05 Budget, the government did away with the tax on profits earned on the sale of shares held for over a year (known as long-term capital gains tax) and replaced it with STT.
SLR: Statutory Liquidity Ratio. Every bank is required to maintain at the close of business every day, a minimum proportion of their Net Demand and Time Liabilities as liquid assets in the form of cash, gold and un-encumbered approved securities. The ratio of liquid assets to demand and time liabilities is known as Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR). RBI is empowered to increase this ratio up to 40%. An increase in SLR also restrict the bank's leverage position to pump more money into the economy
Special Economic Zone Scheme: A new export promotion scheme entitled ‘Special Economic Zone' (SEZ) was introduced in the Export and Import (EXIM) Policy which came into effect from 1.4.2000. The Scheme envisages a simple and transparent policy and procedure for promotion of exports with minimum paper work. The most important feature of the Scheme is that the SEZ area is considered essentially as a foreign territory for the purposes of trade operations, duties & tariffs. Therefore, goods supplied to SEZ from the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) are treated as deemed exports and goods brought from SEZ to DTA are treated as imported goods.
Subsidies: Financial aid provided by the Center to individuals or a group of individuals to be competitive. The grant of subsidies is also aimed at improving their skills of those who benefit from the subsidies.
Subvention: This is how a government bears the loss that financial institutions incur when asked to give farmer loans below the market rates.
Surcharge: This is an extra bit of 10% on the tax liability that individuals pay for earning more than Rs. 10 lakh. Companies with revenue of up to Rs. 1 crore are spared.
TRAI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
Treasury Bill (T-BILLS): These are bonds (debt securities) with maturity of less than a year. These are issued to meet short-term mismatches in receipts and expenditure.
VAT: This tax is based on the difference between the value of output and the value of inputs used to produce it. The aim here is to tax a firm only for the value it adds to the manufacturing inputs, and not the entire input cost. Thus, VAT helps avoid a cascading of taxes as a product passes through different stages of production/value addition.
Vote On Account: It is a sort of interim budget where the government presents accounts required to keep the process on until the next government takes over.
Ways And Means Advance (WMA): RBI is the banker for both Central and State governments. Hence, it provides a breather to manage mismatches in their receipts and payments in the form of ways and means advances.
What is the Union Budget?: The Union Budget is the annual report of India as a country. It contains the government of India's revenue and expenditure for the end of a particular fiscal year, which runs from April 1 to March 31. The Union Budget is the most extensive account of the government's finances, in which revenues from all sources and expenses of all activities undertaken are aggregated. It comprises the revenue budget and the capital budget. It also contains estimates for the next fiscal year.
Wholesale Price Index: Prices of goods that are dealt with wholesale (mostly inputs to production, rather than finished commodities).

Useful terms-

2013-01-15T00:05:00.000+05:30

Turnkey Cost- Costs and expenditures that must be covered before a product or service is ready to be sold and used. A turnkey cost may be a direct cost, such as materials, or an indirect cost, such as administrative expenses and product engineering. Turnkey costs are often quoted by manufacturers and real estate developers to describe the costs required to complete a particular project.

Real Estate Investment Trust -REIT-A security that sells like a stock on the major exchanges and invests in real estate directly, either through properties or mortgages. REITs receive special tax considerations and typically offer investors high yields, as well as a highly liquid method of investing in real estate.

Underwater Mortgage -A home purchase loan with a higher balance than the free-market value of the home. This situation prevents the homeowner from selling the home unless s/he has cash to pay the loss out of pocket. It also prevents the homeowner from refinancing in most cases. Thus, if the homeowner wants to sell the home because s/he can't afford the mortgage payments anymore, perhaps because of a job loss, the home will fall into foreclosure unless the borrower is able to renegotiate the loan.

Gazunder -A colloquial term used in the United Kingdom for the practice of a buyer lowering his real estate purchase offer below his previous offer when the transaction is already well under way. A gazunder typically happens when the market is weak and/or when the seller is coming from a position of weakness. "Gazundering" is not illegal, but many people consider it unethical. The seller may be forced to accept the lower price if it is a better option than continuing to pay the carrying costs on the property or continuing to hold it in a declining market.

Tenants By Entirety (TBE) -A method in some states by which married couples can hold the title to a property. In order for one spouse to modify his or her interest in the property in any way, the consent of both spouses is required by tenants by entirety. It also provides that when one spouse passes away, the surviving spouse gains full ownership of the property.

Oligopoly:

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When a few FIRMS dominate a market. Often they can together behave as if they were a single MONOPOLY, perhaps by forming a CARTEL. Or they may collude informally, by preferring gentle NON-PRICE COMPETITION to a bloody PRICE war. Because what one firm can do depends on what the other firms do, the behaviour of oligopolists is hard to predict. When they do compete on price, they may produce as much and charge as little as if they were in a market with PERFECT COMPETITION.

Financiaal Terms-4

2012-09-13T11:05:00.000+05:30

What is foreclosure?
Foreclosure is a legal procedure whereby property pledged as security for a debt is sold by the lender to pay the debt in the event of default in repayment.

What is VAR?
VAR, Value Added Risk is a single number (currency amount) which estimates the maximum expected loss of a portfolio over a given time horizon (the holding period) and at a given confidence level.

What is Securitization?
A process by which a single assets are transferred from the balance sheet of the originator (bank) to a bankruptcy remote SVP (trust) in return for an immediate cash payment.

Financial Terms-3

2012-09-11T10:58:00.000+05:30

Absolute advantage

This is the simplest yardstick of economic performance. If one person, firm or country can produce more of something with the same amount of effort and resources, they have an absolute advantage over other producers. Being the best at something does not mean that doing that thing is the best way to use your scarce economic resources. The question of what to specialise in--and how to maximise the benefits from international trade--is best decided according to comparative advantage. Both absolute and comparative advantage may change significantly over time.

Finacial Terms-2

2012-09-08T10:52:00.000+05:30

Arbitrage pricing theory

This is one of two influential economic theories of how assets are priced in the financial markets. The other is the capital asset pricing model. The arbitrage pricing theory says that the price of a financial asset reflects a few key risk factors, such as the expected rate of interest, and how the price of the asset changes relative to the price of a portfolio of assets. If the price of an asset happens to diverge from what the theory says it should be, arbitrage by investors should bring it back into line.

Financial Def--

2012-09-05T23:46:00.000+05:30

Autarky

The idea that a country should be self-sufficient and not take part in international trade. The experience of countries that have pursued this Utopian ideal by substituting domestic production for imports is an unhappy one. No country has been able to produce the full range of goods demanded by its population at competitive prices. Indeed, those that have tried to do so have condemned themselves to inefficiency and comparative poverty, compared with countries that engage in international trade.

Forbes World's Most Powerful Women 2012

2012-08-24T00:27:00.000+05:30

The annual Forbes ranking showcases women making a difference in the realms of politics, business, finance, entertainment and philanthropy.
1. Angela Merkel, Chancellor, Germany
2. Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, United States
3. Dilma Rousseff, President, Brazil
4. Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
5. Jill Abramson, Executive Editor, New York Times Co.
6. Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress, India
7. Michelle Obama, First Lady, United States
8. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
9. Janet Napolitano, Secretary, Department of Homeland Security, United States
10. Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
11. Oprah Winfrey, Entrepreneur, Personality
12. Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
13. Irene Rosenfeld, Chairman and CEO, Kraft Foods
14. Lady Gaga, Musician, Philanthropist
15. Virginia Rometty, President and CEO, IBM
16. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, President, Argentina
17. Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO, Xerox
18. Meg Whitman, CEO, Hewlett-Packard
19. Aung San Suu Kyi, Chair and Parliamentarian, National League for Democracy, Burma
20. Maria das Graças Silva Foster, CEO, Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil
21. Marissa Mayer, CEO, Yahoo
22. Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks, and President, Disney/ABC Television Group, Walt Disney
23. Diane Sawyer, Anchor of World News, ABC, Walt Disney
24. Angela Braly, CEO, WellPoint
25. Susan Wojcicki, Senior Vice President, Google

New innings of Sachin --

2012-06-08T18:04:00.000+05:30

Master-Blaster Sachin Tendulkar took oath as member of the Rajya Sabha making it clear that his focus would be cricket and hinting at concentrating on Parliament work after he stops playing the game.However, he hastened to add that he does not want rumours to swirl that he has stopped playing cricket for Parliament.

"I believe in the last 22 years of international cricket I have played, cricket has given me so many things in life...

"I always have this dream of giving back to cricket... I strongly believe whatever I am today is because of cricket," he said.

I do not have words to say that it is bad or good for Indian Politics. But this happens in INDIA only,where a sportsman who says that he would be devoting most of his time to the cricket has been sworn in as MP of Rajya Sabha. It is similar to a person on the first day of his job tells the boss that he has a personal business to take care of and if he gets time out of it, he would try to work for the company. That implied many things like not only he is getting the money for doing nothing also he is holding on to an important position and not delivering what it demands.

For --SSC

2012-06-07T15:11:00.000+05:30

1. Marx belonged to
(a) Germany
(b) Holland
(c) France
(d) Britain

The Correct option is – (a) Germany

2. Which one of the following is the guardian of Fundamental Rights?
(a) Legislature
(b) Executive
(c) Political parties
(d) Judiciary

The Correct option is – (d) Judiciary

3. Sarkaria Commission was concerned with
(a) Administrative Reforms
(b) Electoral Reforms
(c) Financial Reforms
(d) Centre-State relations

The Correct option is – (d) Centre- State relations

4. The Speaker of the Lok-Sabha has to address his/her letter of resignation to
(a) Prime Minister of India
(b) President of India
(c) Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha
(d) Minister of Parliamentary Affairs

The Correct option is – (c) Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha.

5. A want becomes a demand only when it is backed by the
(a) Ability to purchase
(b) Necessity to buy
(c) Desire to buy
(d) Utility of the product

The Correct option is – (d) Utility of the product.

6. The terms “Micro Economics” and “Macro Economics” were coined by
(a) Alfred Marshall
(b) Ragner Nurkse
(c) Ragner Frisch
(d) J.M. Keynes

The Correct option is – (d) J.M keynes

7. During periods of inflation, tax rates should
(a) increase
(b) decrease
(c) remain constant
(d) fluctuate

The Correct option is – (a) increase

8. Which is the biggest tax paying sector in India?
(a) Agriculture sector
(b) Industrial sector
(c) Transport sector
(d) Banking sector
The Correct option is -(b) industrial sector

9. “Economics is what it ought to be” – This statement refers to
(a) Normative economics
(b) positive economics
(c) Monetary economics
(d) Fiscal economics

The Correct option is – (a) Normative economics

10. The excess of price a person is to pay rather than forego the consumption of the commodity is called
(a) Price
(b) Profit
(c) Producers’ surplus
(d) Consumer’s surplus

The Correct option is – (c) producer’s Surplus
Next-Series

1. The art and science of map making is called
(a) Remote Sensing
(b) Cartography
(c) Photograrnmetry
(d) Mapping

The Correct option is – (b) Cartography

2. The age of the Earth can be determined by
(a) Geological Time Scale
(b) Radio-Metric Dating
(c) Gravity method
(d) Fossilization method

The Correct option is – (b) Radio-Metric Dating

3. The monk who influenced Ashoka to embrace Buddhism was
(a) Vishnu Gupta
(b) Upa Gupta
(c) Brahma Gupta
(d) Brihadratha

The Correct option is –( b) Upa Gupta

4. The declaration that Democracy is a Government ‘of the people, by the people; for the people’ was made by
(a) George Washington
(b) Winston Churchill
(c) Abraham Lincoln
(d) Theodore Roosevelt

The Correct option is – (c) Abraham Lincoln

5. The Lodi dynasty was founded by
(a) Ibrahim Lodi
(b) Sikandar Lodi
(c) Bahlol Lodi
(d) Khizr Khan

The Correct option is – (c) Bahlol Lodi

6. Harshvardhana was defeated by
(a) Prabhakaravardhana
(b) Pulakesin II
(c) Narasimhasvarma Pallava
(d) Sasanka

The Correct option is – (c) Narasimhasvarma Pallava

7. Who among the following was an illiterate?
(a) Jahangir
(b) ShahJahan
(c) Akbar
(d) Aurangazeb
The Correct option is – (c) Akbar

8. Which Governor General is associated with Doctrine of Lapse?
(a) Lord Ripon
(b) Lord Dalhousie
(c) Lord Bentinck
(d) Lord Curzon

The Correct option is – (b) Lord Dalhousie

9. India attained ‘Dominion Status’ on
(a) 15th January, 1947
(b) 15th August, 1947
(c) 15th August, 1950
(d) 15th October, 1947

The Correct option is – (b) 15th August, 1947

10. Despotism is possible in a
(a) One party state
(b) Two party state
(c) Multi Party state
(d) Two and multi party state

The Correct option is – (a) One Party state
Next -Series

1. Which of the following Indonesian regions was a victim of massive earthquake in 2004?

(a) Irian Jaya
(b) Sumatra
(c) Kalibangan
(d) Java

The Correct option is – (b) Sumatra

2. The first non-stop air-conditioned ‘DURANTO’ train was flagged oil’ between
(a) Sealdah — New Delhi
(b) Mumbai — Howrah
(c) Bangalore — Howrah
(d) Chennai — New Delhi

The Correct option is – (a) Sealdah — New Delhi

3. Which among the following agencies released the report, Economic Outlook for 2009-10 ?
(a) Planning Commission
(b) PM’s Economic Advisory Council
(c) Finance Commission
(d) Reserve Bank of India

The correct option is (b) PM’s Economic Advisory Council

4. India and U.S. have decided to finalize agreements related to which of the following?
(a) Trade and Investment
(b) Intellectual Property
(c) Traditional Knowledge
(d) All of the above

The Correct option is – (d) All of the above

5. Which one o[ the following states does not form part of Narmada River basin?
(a) Madhya Pradesh
(b) Rajasthan
(c) Gujarat
(d) Maharashtra

The Correct option is – (b) Rajasthan

6. Which of the following countries has recently become the third largest market for Twitter?
(a) China
(b) India
(c) Brazil
(d) Indonesia

The Correct option is – (b) India

7. The exchange of commodities between two countries is referred as
(a) Balance of trade
(b) Bilateral trade
(c) Volume of trade
(d) Multilateral trade

The Correct option is – (C) Volume of trade

8. Soil erosion on hill slopes can he checked by
(a) Afforestation
(b) Terrace cultivation
(c) Strip cropr ‘
(d) Contour ploughing
The Correct option is – (b) Terrace cultivation.

9. Who coined the word ‘Geography’?
(a) Ptolemy
(b) Eratosthenes
(c) Hacataus
(d) Herodatus

The Correct option is – (b) Eratosthenes

10. Which of the following is called the “ecological hot spot of India”?
(a) Western Ghats
(b) Eastern Ghals
(c) Western Himalayas
(d) Eastern Himalayas

The Correct option is – (a) Western Ghats
Next -Series

Directions (1-5): In the following questions, out of the four alternatives, choose the one which can be substituted for the given words/ sentence.

1. One who hides away on a ship to obtain a free passage
(a) Compositor
(b) Stoker
(c) Stowaway
(d) Shipwright

The Correct option is – (c) Stowaway

2. Clines available at a scene
(a) circumstantial
(b) derivative
(c) inferential
(d) suggestive

The Correct option is – (a) circumstantial

3. An unexpected piece of good fortune
(a) windfall
(b) philanthropy
(c) benevolence
(d) turnstile

The Correct option is – (a) windfall

4. An emolument over and above fixed income or salary
(a) Honorarium
(b) Sinecure
(c) Perquisite
(d) Prerogative

The Correct option is – (a) Honorarium

5. The animals of a particular region
(a) Flora
(b) Museum
(c) Zoo
(d) Fauna

The Correct option is – (d) Fauna

Directions (6-10): In the following questions, groups of four words are given. In each group, one word is correctly spelt. Find the correctly spelt word.

6. (a) parapharnelia
    (b) parsimonious
    (c) peccadilo
    (d) peadiatrics

The Correct option is – (b) parsimonious

7. (a) measureable
    (b) manageable
    (c) marriagable
    (d) manoevrable

The Correct option is – (b) manageable

8. (a) tussel
    (b) tunnle
    (c) tumble
    (d) trable

The Correct option is – (c) tumble

9. (a) populus
    (b) pompuous
    (c) prelious
    (d) presumptuous

The Correct option is – (d) presumptuous

10. (a) impromptue
(b) illustrious
      (c) illusery
      (d) impetous

The Correct option is – (c) illusery
Next -Series

Directions (1-5): In the following questions, out of the four alternatives, choose the one which best expresses the meaning of the given word.

1. DEBACLE
(a) decline
(b) downfall
(c) discomfiture
(d) degeneration

The Correct option is – (b) decline

2. OSTRACISE

(a) banish
(b) belittle
(c) beguile
(d) besiege

The Correct option is – (a) banish

3. PROPHYLACTIC
(a) antagonistic
(b) toxic
(c) preventive
(d) purgative

The Correct option is – (c) preventive

4. CODDLE
(a) huddle
(b) satisfy
(c) protect
(d) cheat

The Correct option is – (b) Satisfy

5. FLIMSY
(a) funny
(b) irrational
(c) weak
(d) partisan

The Correct option is – (c) Weak

Directions (6-10): In the following questions, a part of the sentence is printed in bold. Below are given alternatives to the bold part at (a), (b) and (c) which may improve the sentence. Choose the correct alternative. In case no improvement is needed, your answer is (d).
6. To get into the building I’ll disguise as a reporter.
(a) disgutse to he
(b) disguise as one
(c) disguise myself
(d) No improvement

The Correct option is – (c) disguise myself

7. He denied that he had not forged my signature.
(a) would not forge
(b) had forged
(c) did not forge
(d) No improvement

The Correct option is – (b) had forged

8. If I had played well, I would have won the match.
(a) I played well
(b) I play well
(c) lam playing will
(d) No improvement

The Correct option is – (d) No improvement

9. Since the records are missing, the possibility of paying more than one compensation for the same piece of land cannot be ruled aside.
(a) out
(b) off
(c) away
(d) No improvement

The Correct option is – (a) out

10. A callous system generates nothing but a mica mope
(a) develops
(b) induces
(c) produces
(d) No improvement

The Correct option is – (c) produces

Current Affairs May-2012

2012-06-01T14:40:00.000+05:30

1. India successfully test-fired the indigenously built Akash missile

2. Malaysian private equity company Navis Capital Partners acquired the stake of Samir Kuckreja the co-owner of Nirula’s to gain complete control over homegrown fast food chain

3. Kolkata Knight Riders beat Chennai Super Kings to win Indian Premier League Season 5

4. Praveen Rana, the young Indian wrestler, clinched the 66kg freestyle title on the final day of the first Hari Ram Indian Grand Prix wrestling championship

5. Sahara India Pariwar signed an agreement with the Bangladesh government to design and develop a new city Notun Dhaka (New Dhaka) on 28 May 2012

6. Cyrus Mistry, the Chairman-designate of Tata groups was appointed as an additional director on the board of Tata Steel on 21 May 2012

7. he Andhra Pradesh High Court on 28 May 2012 invalidated the 4.5 per cent sub-quota for minorities carved out of the 27 per cent

8. Tripura Industrial Development Corporation (TIDC) on 28 May 2012 announced to set up North-East India’s fifth Software Technology Park in Tripura

9. India’s third largest private sector lender Axis Bank on 28 May 2012 signed an agreement with Ahli United Bank B.S.C., Bahrain for remitting money from Bahrain to any person in India

10. Rahul Bhattacharya, the Delhi-based author, on 29 May 2012 won the prestigious Ondaatje Prize 2012 for his book The Sly Company of People Who Care.

11. Pakistan on 29 May 2012 successfully test-fired a short-range Hatf 9 (Nasr) missile. The missile which has a range of 60 kilometers

12. Mark Webber of Red Bull raced ahead to emerge victorious in the Monaco Grand Prix on 27 May 2012

13. India’s ace chess player Vishwanathan Anand on 30 May 2012 claimed the FIDE ( Federation Internationale des Echec) World Chess Title for the record fifth time

14. India’s leading telecom company Bharti Airtel on 23 May 2012, acquired 49 per cent stake in Qualcomm’s broadband wireless access

15. paniard Rafael Nadal defeated world no. 1 Novak Djokovic to claim his sixth Italian Open Title on 21 May 2012

16. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova defeated Li Na of China to retain the Italian Open title on 20 May 2012

17. Honda launched Dream Yuga, its first low cost mass motorcycle in Indian market on 16 May 2012

18. Jean-Marc Ayrault a moderate Socialist took over as the France’s new Prime Minister on 16 May 2012

19. Saurabh Chandra, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, was slated to hold the additional charge of the post of Secretary of the Department of Commerce

20. Malaysia defeated Pakistan to win the Junior Hockey World Cup 2012.

21. The Union Government of India appointed Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar as the new chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

22. akistan successfully test-fired Hatf III Ghaznavi missile on 10 May 2012

23. Vladimir Putin the former Russian Prime Minister and the president of the United Russia Party took the oath as the President of Russia

24. UTI Mutual Fund's Chief Marketing Officer Jaideep Bhattacharya stepped down from his post

25. Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on 4 May 2012 was elected as Chair of the Asian Development Bank’s Board of Governors

26. Union Rural development Ministry of India roped in National award winning actor Vidya Balan as the brand ambassador for improving the state of sanitation in the country

27. Seven-time World snooker champion Stephen Hendry announced his retirement 1 May 2012 after losing in the quarterfinals at the World Championships

28. RBI on 2 May 2012 published guidelines for implementation of the new global capital adequacy norms, called Basel III, by March 2018

29. BV Vanchoo was appointed the Governor of Goa on 28 April 2012. A 1976-batch IPS officer from West Bengal cadre

30. India's top-seeded snooker player Aditya Mehta defeated compatriot and seven-time world champion Pankaj Advani to win 28th Asian snooker title.

Positioning Strategies for Brands

2012-05-21T11:32:00.000+05:30

Positioning is the pursuit of differential advantage.

Brands can create franchises of loyal customers only when they are seen to be different in some way which is persuasive for the target segment. Recall that famous article by Prof. Levitt, “Marketing success through differentiation- of anything”. There is no such thing as a commodity, he argues. All goods and services are differentiable.

We know that as brands tend to become physically similar – as the better mousetrap is followed by a dozen “me too” mousetrap more or less equal in performance – the brand manager falls back more and more on non-functional factors to distinguish his brand. Persuasive differentiation becomes an increasingly difficult task.

One of the major contributions of positioning theories to marketing strategy has been in the ‘perceived space’ of the prospect and to uncover the many opportunities for such perceived differentiation based upon the capabilities of the product and its antecedents.

Positioning puts in the hands of the brand manager an entire array of differentiating strategies. He must judge which of these strategies can help him locate a niche in the market where his brand may be perceived by his target segment as unique and where it will hold a competitive advantage.

These strategies revolve around different aspects of the brand which can be expressed ss four questions posed on its behalf.

Who am I?

What am I?
For whom am I?
Why Me?

The answer to these would determine the brand’s position in the prospect’s mind.

GK

2012-05-18T11:28:00.000+05:30

1. Which recently was appointed Governor of Uttarakhand Congress leaders.

(A) Aziz Qureshi (b) Rashid Alvi (c) MK Narayanan

2. India is a missile, destroying the enemy's radar system to increase the ability to attack. L will. It will be the Sukhoi fighter plane. What is the name of the missile?

(A) anti-radiation missile (ARM) (b) Fire 5 (c) Earth

3. President Pratibha Patil to visit Seychelles and South Africa have been. Seychelles is a group of 116 Dbeepon, in which 15 people live. The population is just over 90 thousand. What is the name of the President of Seychelles?

(A) James Alix Michel (b) Botrs Ghali (c) Henry Clinton

4. These days in a Rajya Sabha nomination is discussed cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. But in 1978, which the player had turned down the Rajya Sabha to nominate?

(A) Sanjay Manjrekar (b) Kapil Dev (c) Vijay Merchant

5. April days are over, the Jammu - Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir will be the capital. It is known to move court. Maharaja Gulab Singh in the capital within six months of 1872 was beginning to change. From May to October is the capital Srinagar and Jammu from November to April. How many days takes to the capital.

(A) Three weeks (b) a week (c) two weeks

6. Indian Open badminton tournament men's singles title in South Korea which is the player's name.

(A) Wan Shan Ho (b) Jui (c) Tantovi

answer 1. (A) 2. (A) 3. (A) 4. (C) 5. (B) 6. (A)

Indian Rupee plunged at historical lowest

2012-05-17T11:19:00.000+05:30

Indian Rupee plunged to its historic low mark of 54.56 against the U.S. dollar on 16 May 2012. At the Interbank Foreign Exchange market, the rupee opened sharply lower at 54.06 and plunged to all time low of 54.56, surpassing the previous all-time low of 54.30 recorded in December 2011. It finally closed at 54.50.

A falling rupee will adversely affect the economy by raising the cost of imports, which in turn will hike the price of important items in the economy. The falling rupee is largely attributed to the factors like swelling trade deficit, which widened to over 10.9 per cent of gross domestic product in the fiscal years 2011-12, and grim economic outlook.

Rupee was not the only currency which fell down amidst the global pressure but many of the major currencies witnessed the same fate as the dollar was viewed by the investors as the safest bet. While Euro hit its four-month low mark, dollar geared up for its highest level since September 2010.

C Rangrajan, the prime minister's economic advisory council chairman advocated the use of India's foreign exchange reserves to keep in check the consistent depreciation of the rupee against the dollar. India has a total of nearly 290 billion dollar as its foreign exchange reserves.

ISHAQZAADE -A deadly romance!

2012-05-13T11:15:00.000+05:30

Ishaqzaade is a love story set against the backdrop of two political families – the Qureshis and the Chauhans – living in a small town called Almor in what looks like Northern India. The patriarchs of both families are fighting to become the next MLA, involving in caste politics to fill their vote bank. It’s an environment of hooliganism and hatred.

Parma Chauhan (Arjun Kapoor) and Zoya Qureshi (Parineeti Chopra) too get involved in the fight for power and supremacy. While Parmar wants to prove his worth to his grandfather, Zoya harbours political ambitions. Can love bloom between these two gun-toting hot blooded youngsters, amidst all the hatred and politics? It can and it does, as one would have expected it to from the beginning. But it is the ‘how’ that makes the film exciting.

The chemistry between Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra is excellent. Parineeti Chopra is outstanding! Watch her emote and deliver her dialogues. Parineeti definitely has the 'ingredient' to become the number one actress in Bollywood. Arjun Kapoor is fantastic too. He does complete justice to his role. Gauhar Khan is good and dances very well. Habib Faisal has managed to extract the best performance from all other actors as well.

The overt thrust on violence doesn't leave much scope for chemistry but the greenhorn cast must be applauded. Arjun Kapoor's scoundrel Parma is believable. The scenestealer, however, is Parineeti. The prop actress of Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl gets to sink her teeth in her first fullfledged heroine's role here. Watch her go, you won't dismiss her as the 'other Chopra girl' anymore.

Hatf III Ghaznavi missile

2012-05-11T11:22:00.000+05:30

Pakistan successfully test-fired Hatf III Ghaznavi missile on 10 May 2012. The missile has a range of 290 km and it can hit its target in India. The missile is capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The missile was launched at the conclusion of the annual field training exercise of Army Strategic Force Command.
Pakistan conducts missile tests on routine basis. The Muslim nation over the past few years has developed a good stock of nuclear arsenals, raising the concern of world community. Pakistan like India is not a signatory to the NPT.

Bajaj Pulsar

2012-04-23T02:15:00.000+05:30

April,01-16

2012-04-16T23:19:00.000+05:30

1. Samajwadi Party MLA Mata Prasad Pandey was unanimously elected Speaker of the 16th Uttar Pradesh Assembly .

2. The Union Cabinet gave its approval to the introduction of a Bill seeking an amendment in the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to include registration of marriages as well, so that the existing administrative mechanisms will be able to carry out such registration of marriages in accordance with the specified procedures and be able to maintain necessary records and statistics for registration of marriages also. The Cabinet also approved introducing a Bill in Parliament to further amend the Anand Marriage Act, 1909 to provide for registration of marriages under the Act.

The proposed Bill is set to benefit the women from unnecessary harassment in matrimonial and maintenance cases. It also seeks to provide evidentiary value in the matters of custody of children, right of children born from the wedlock of the two persons whose marriage is registered and the age of the parties to the marriage.

3. Credit rating agency Moody's downgraded the local currency rating of ONGC to Baa1 from A2 and that of GAIL to Baa2 from A3.

4. Union government approved Rs 30000 crore bailout for Air India. Rs 6750 crore would be infused immediately to meet the airline's working capital requirement.

5. The 18-year-old Shiva Thapa (56kg category) on 11 April 2012 became the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics.

6. The Supreme Court of India upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education Act, 2009, which mandates 25 per cent free seats to the poor in government and private unaided schools uniformly across the country. The apex court clarified that its judgment will come into force from 12 April 2012. However, the act will apply uniformly to government and unaided private schools except unaided private minority schools. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swantanter Kumar gave the ruling.Right to Education Act (RTE) was passed by the Indian parliament on 4 August 2009.The act came into force on 1 April 2010. It has the provision of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child.

7. The Union Cabinet approved a proposal to set up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) to help facilitate the smooth introduction of the new indirect tax regime.GSTN SPV is to be incorporated as Section 25 not-for-profit private limited company in which strategic control would be held by the Centre. It will provide IT infrastructure and services to various stakeholders including the Centre and states.The SPV will have an equity capital of Rs 10 crore, with both the Centre and states having stakes of 24.5 per cent each. Non government institutions would hold 51 per cent equity.

8. Union government made it mandatory for individuals with income above Rs 10 lakh to file their tax returns 2011-12 onwards electronically.

9. Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 April 2012 won a parliamentary seat in a historic by-election. It set the stage for her to take public office for the first time. Her party National League for Democracy (NLD) won 43 seats.

10. Geeta Kumari, the woman wrestler, won a gold in 55kg category at the ongoing Asian qualifying tournament in Astana.

11. Coal India Limited ( CIL) appointed S Narsing Rao as its full time Chairman and Managing Director.

12. SEBI issued broad guidelines on Algorithmic Trading based on recommendations of technical advisory committee (TAC) & secondary market advisory committee (SMAC)

13. US Senate on 30 March 2012 confirmed career diplomat Nancy Powell as ambassador to India.

14. Chandigarh girl Vanya Mishra crowned as the Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2012 in the grand finale of the 49th edition of the beauty pageant on 30 March 2012 in Mumbai.

Important interview Ques. 4 Banks

2012-04-01T02:06:00.000+05:30

What do you know BASEL norms?
What is CAR? (Capital Adequacy Ratio)
What is IMF?
What is ULIP?
What is microfinance?
What is Bank rate?
Repo Rate and Reverse Repo rate?
What is SEBI?
What is the current CRR and SLR?
What is inflation and deflation?
What is mutual fund?
What is Nostro & Vostro Accounts?
Differences you see in a private and public bank.
What is forex?
Have you heard about KYC? what is KYC?
About Credit Rating & Credit rating Agency?
What is Lead Bank Scheme?
Financial Inclusion.
what is special Drawing Rights SDR?

Important OnE-

2012-03-31T02:03:00.000+05:30

Cost-push inflation is a type of inflation caused by substantial increases in the cost of important goods or services where no suitable alternative is available.

Demand-pull inflation is asserted to arise when aggregate demand in an economy outpaces aggregate supply.

Low Inflation is a phenomenon when the prices of goods and services do not increase rapidly. This situation is not much harmful for any economy because it could be controlled by the adoption of certain measures unlike high inflation which is almost uncontrollable.

Stagflation is a situation in which the inflation rate is high and the economic growth rate slows down and unemployment remains steadily high.

Amazon.com-Brand built on cost advantege

2012-03-28T01:52:00.000+05:30

Amazon.com’s low price was achieved through structural cost advantage as well. Running a bookstore requires heavy capital investments and involves high fixed costs because books are bulky items that require physical display and storage space. Jeff Bezos’ genius was in moving the bookstore online.

ln the virtual world, you can display millions of books but not incur the kinds of fixed costs that would handicap any start-up. And Amazon.com also made arrangements to have orders shipped directly from publishers’ warehouses to the customer, thereby saving it a lot of money on warehousing. This structural cost advantage turned Amazon.com into the world’s No. I online book retailer and the world’s largest bookstore. While Dell’s strategy was to remove the middlemen from the equation, Amazon.com’s strategy was to insert itself as the middleman between the publishers and the customers using its virtual bookstore. But what both Dell and Amazon.com have done is to remove a very high-cost component from the business model and in Amazon.com’s case, it is the physical bookstore and the warehouse. Like Dell, however, Amazon.com is now using its well-established distribution channel to sell other items like CDs, DVDs, VCDs, etc. We feel it should stay focused on books because line-extending will dilute its focus and harm it in the longer run. But that’s another story for another time.

Spriteeeeee--

2012-03-27T01:35:00.000+05:30