Is Delhi better than Mumbai

The city with a soul, the bustling metropolis that never sleeps, the country’s tinsel town and commercial capital - for years on end, Mumbai has been all of the above for people from all walks of life. The ‘Maximum City’ has also been home to the country’s top industrial houses, produced enough good cricketers and actors and actresses, so much so that for long it gave an impression of monopolising Talent Inc in the country. A well-connected public transport system wired by the railways, with steep realty rates and a high standard of living has only added to Mumbai’s commercial appeal, bringing it at par with the likes of Shanghai and New York. Add to that its resilience, zest for life, cultural richness, active nightlife, and you have the best that you could have ever asked for. So, when consulting firm Ernst & Young revealed in its latest survey that Delhi is the best place to live in among 48 Indian cities, including Mumbai, quite a few eyebrows were raised, and a few hearts were broken. Better infrastructure, long winding roads, numerous highways to deflect traffic congestion, a better travel network in the form of Metro and not-so-high real estate property - Delhi seemed to have scored over the country’s entertainment capital. While Mumbai boasts of paying the most in taxes, it is the Capital that takes the lead on city prosperity index in the survey due to its low population and high per capita income. And while Delhi does have an image of being an unsafe place, especially for women, Mumbai, too, has had a dent in its image equity, after the horrific serial blasts of July 2006 and the deluge of 2005. So, in real terms, does that mean that country’s political capital is better to live in than its commercial capital?

Students can become interns in UID project

After roping in techies as volunteers, and on sabbatical from the private sector, the government's unique identity project led by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani has now decided to cast its net wider to even include students in its functioning. "We want to bring in those studying in universities and researchers to work for us as interns for a specified period so that they can also contribute to the success of the venture," Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) director general & mission director R S Sharma told TOI on Monday. "They can work on designated projects as summer interns, for example. We will come out with the internship modalities shortly, which will contain details of the kind of people we are looking for," he added. Sharma said there had been a "wonderful" response from IT companies to Nilekani's request to send some of their best minds to work for the UIDAI on a temporary basis. "We are still processing many of the applications but some have already joined us (on a sabbatical)...we will write to Nasscom thanking them for their help in this regard," he added. In January, Nilekani had requested the software industry body to urge their members to send engineers, having expertise in the development of large-scale software systems, on a sabbatical to the Authority so that their abilities could help fast-track the roll-out of the UID project. Sharma said the UIDAI - which has already signed MoUs with states like Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh - hoped to do so with Maharashtra shortly. "Draft MoUs have been sent to all states and Union Territories. Following some points raised by the states, we have also fine-tuned the MoUs," he added. Constituted as an attached office under the Planning Commission, UIDAI's mandate is to develop and implement the necessary legal, technical and institutional infrastructure to issue an unique identity number to Indian residents, as well as authenticate the identity of a person who is in the UID database. As chairman of the UIDAI, Nilekani enjoys the rank of a Cabinet minister.

Bachchan's detractors the 'Taliban of untouchability': Modi

Lashing out at those objecting to Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan's presence at a government function in Mumbai, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi has dubbed them as "Talibans of untouchability". Writing on his blog, Modi described 67-year-old Bachchan as a great artist with legendary humility and even taller achievements who has chosen to celebrate the glorious heritage of Gujarat even while facing a lot of criticism from many quarters. "This is inspiring", he said on Sunday. A controversy erupted over Bachchan attending at a government function in Mumbai where Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan was also present. A section of Congress took objection to his presence as he is the brand ambassador for BJP-ruled Gujarat. The Bachchan-Congress row took a new twist on Sunday with the megastar claiming that his son Abhishek's posters were removed from the venue of WWF's Earth Hour event in Delhi on Saturday evening attended by Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and saw a "pattern" behind such acts. Modi said the anti-Gujarat game plan behind the opposition and the controversy over senior Bachchan stood exposed in daylight now. "These 'Talibans of Untouchability' have lost all their sensibilities in their pursuit of anti-Gujarat attitudes. "They may well in future tell us not to eat even salt. They may even ban the eating of Amul butter and milk and order our young people not to wear denim jeans! And guess why? Because Gujarat produces these things," he said. "Friends, my heart is still unwilling to believe that these Talibans are unaware of the damage they are causing to this nation and to our society," said Modi. The Gujarat chief minister also wrote about his marathon grilling by the Supreme Court-appointed SIT in connection with a Gujarat riots case. "I have cooperated with the process of law and accepted its supremacy. I heartily express my thankfulness to the people for their support and prayers in this difficult moment," his blog entry read. Modi was grilled for over nine hours on Saturday for his alleged role in the Gulbarg Society massacre in which 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri were killed.

Mumbai Indians beat Deccan Chargers by 41 runs

Harbhajan Singh cracked a stunning 18-ball unbeaten 49 and then grabbed three wickets as Mumbai Indians crushed Deccan Chargers by 41 runs in an Indian Premier League match on Sunday
Harbhajan turned the game around for MI with a stunning innings laced with eight fours and two sixes as he single handedly took them from 119 for seven to 172 for seven after the home side were sent into bat and captain Sachin Tendulkar (43-ball 55) had held the innings together with his fourth IPL 3 half century. The fiesty off-spinner, who opened bowling for the home side, then took three wickets - including that of dangerous Adam Gilchrist - for 31 runs from his four overs as Deccan Chargers were all out for 131 in 17.4 overs in chase of 173. Harbhajan got superb support from pacers Lasith Malinga, who took three for 12 from his 3.4 overs, and Zaheer Khan who returned with figures of 3/21 from his three overs as MI put up a brilliant bowling effort to notch up a comprehensive victory despite the dew playing a part, though small, at the DY Patil Stadium at Navi Mumbai.

Indian American appointed US chief Agriculture Negotiator

An Indian American has been appointed as the chief agriculture negotiator of the United States, who would carry out all critical negotiations for the country in the crucial Doha round and other bilateral discussions. Welcoming Dr Islam A Siddiqui as Chief Agricultural Negotiator, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk yesterday said Siddiqui brings to this office incredible agricultural expertise built over years of work in both government and private sectors. Speaking on Dr Siddiqui, Kirk said "(he) can be counted on to stand up for American farmers, ranchers, and families in all our negotiations - from the Doha round talks to bilateral discussions." Currently serving as a consultant to the USTR, Dr Siddiqui formerly served as Vice President for Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife America, where he was responsible for regulatory and international trade issues related to crop protection chemicals. "If we want to double American exports in the next five years, we have to seize every opportunity to grow agricultural exports, as well as exports of goods and services. Isi (Dr Islam Siddiqui) is going to make sure we don't leave any of those opportunities on the table," Kirk said.

Companies target young Indians to boost growth

Companies target young Indians to boost growth
The strong purchasing power of upwardly mobile young Indians is prompting corporate groups, which have been around for long, to adopt a fresh approach to market their products in a bid to remain relevant. At least two such groups are consciously making efforts to take on a more contemporary look — the Godrej group and Bombay Swadeshi Stores. Both the over hundred-year-old groups may be vastly different in their business profiles, but their objective is the same. From product range and image makeovers to tapping social networking sites, these traditionally run groups are aggressively pitching themselves to a younger audience with a clear objective to grow. The Godrej group has set up a special taskforce to ensure that its products continue to meet modern consumer needs. ‘‘Godrej would like to increase the proportion of youth, especially in metros, using four or more Godrej products to rise to a level of 44% over the next three years as against the current 39%,’’ said Tanya Dubash, executive director & president (marketing), Godrej Industries. The group recently launched an online platform (GoJiyo) for its brands to engage with the youth and is now extending the vision to its productline too. Within Godrej’s portfolio, there has been a perceptible shift in the pivot of a vast array of Godrej brands towards a younger audience. Launches like the Krsna Mehta range of Godrej Interio products, Godrej Eon Mirror Star air-conditioners, Yummiez, Good Knight Naturals and Yummiez, have been the vanguards of this youth-centric movement from Godrej. ‘‘There is a lot of innovation happening in the group to appeal to a younger, optimistic and ambitious target consumer. GoJiyo will be an extremely powerful platform for these future launches too,’’ said Dubash. Bombay Swadeshi Stores, which runs ‘The Bombay Store’, on the other hand, is tapping social networking sites to attract consumers and is soon going to launch its own e-commerce business to deliver products across India. ‘‘We are planning to relaunch an entire range with designer Krsna Mehta,” said Asim Dalal, MD , Bombay Swadeshi Stores.

9 players to bid for 3G, no new entrants in fray

NEW DELHI: Nine players will participate in the auctions for pan-India 3G spectrum, which will begin on April 9. In addition, the department of telecom has received 11 applications to participate in the auctions of broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum, making for a total of 20 applications. Predictably, the 3G auctions have attracted only existing 2G players -- Aircel, Bharti, Etisalat, Idea, Reliance Telecom, S Tel, Tata Teleservices, Vodafone and Videocon Telecom -- with not a single new entrant, global or Indian, in the list. TOI was the first to predict, way back on August 12, 2008, that new players would probably stay away from the 3G auctions after the auctions were first announced. Even after the guidelines were revised for the 2010 auctions, the barriers for new entrants remained unchanged. The absence of global bidders is likely to ensure that the bidding will be conservative, and probably lower than the ambitious Rs 40,000 crore revenue target first announced by telecom minister A Raja. The BWA list has four new players -- Augere, Tikona Wireless, Infotel Broadband Services and Qualcomm -- while Spice is making a comeback into the telecom space. Infotel belongs to Anant Nahatta, the son of HFCL owner Mahendra Nahatta. It could not be confirmed if these are all pan-India applications or if players will eventually bid only for select circles. DoT is meeting at 11.30am on Saturday, March 20 to screen the applications. "We will check to see if the applicants meet the licence criteria. For example, no company can hold more than 10% in another applicant company," a senior DoT official told TOI.

Headly Accepted the charges Against Him in America

Gain from Headley bargain: Watertight case against Lashkar
The agreement between David Coleman Headley and US authorities, under which he pleaded guilty to being part of the 26/11 plot in order to dodge the death sentence and extradition to India, has considerably abated the fear here that the Americans would let off Headley aka Daood Gilani, a suspected "double agent", lightly. It also marks a big boost to New Delhi's efforts to expose Pakistan's propaganda to project Lashkar as a group focused on J&K. Details of the "guilty" plea made by Headley validate India's claims about the Lashkar leadership masterminding 26/11, and suggest that the American jihadi may not be able to get away lightly as was being feared. What should temper the disappointment in certain quarters over Americans agreeing to Headley's condition not to extradite him to India is that the deal marks the first time that top Lashkar leaders -- mentioned in the agreement as Lashkar Members A, B, C and D -- have been held responsible for the killing of American citizens in a US court.

Home, car loans to get costlier
PRABHAKAR SINHA
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Interest rates on home, car and other retail loans are set to firm up in near future as the RBI on Friday hiked the rates at which it takes deposits, and lends short-term funds to banks by 25 basis points.Home, car loans to get costlier
PRABHAKAR SINHA
df('20 Mar 2010, 00:51',3);
Interest rates on home, car and other retail loans are set to firm up in near future as the RBI on Friday hiked the rates at which it takes deposits, and lends short-term funds to banks by 25 basis points.

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank on Friday raised its key short-term lending and borrowing rates by 25 basis points each as part of its tight money policy to combat inflation, which the government feels is a cause of concern. The repo and reverse rate (short-term rates at which RBI lends and borrows from banks) were hiked to 5%t and 3.5% respectively and could make banks commercial lending dearer. "These measures should anchor inflationary expectations and contain inflation going forward," the Reserve Bank said a month ahead of the announcement of its annual monetary policy on April 20 for 2010-11. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has expressed concern saying inflation is heading to double digits from to 9.89% at present while at the same time not giving up on growth. "As liquidity in the banking system will remain adequate, credit expansion for sustaining the recovery will not be affected", RBI said.

SPLIT in JD(U) OVER WOMEN,s RESERVATION BILL

Sharp divisions emerged among the opponents of the women's reservation bill with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar supporting the measure pitting himself against his party President Sharad Yadav who is opposed to it. "When I was a member of the Joint Parliamentary Committee, I had given a dissent note (more than a decade ago). Now the time has come to give women reservation in Parliament and State Assemblies. I will talk to Sharadji and appeal to him to ensure passage of the bill," Kumar told reporters in Patna. However, JD(U) President Sharad Yadav, a strong opponent of the Bill ever since its introduction in 1997, said his party's opposition to the measure in its present form would continue. The Constitution amendment bill seeking to provide reservation for women in Lok Sabha and Assemblies is slated to come up for consideration on Monday in Rajya Sabha, where the JD(U) has seven MPs. The party also has 20 MPs in the Lok Sabha. The government is happily placed in the 245-member Rajya Sabha, where it has the support of 138 members of Congress, BJP and Left parties besides a number of small parties, which takes the backing to more than 165. The special majority required in the House with an effective strength of 233 is 155. Kumar said that it would be good if the government accepts the demand for introducing quota within quota but it would not be appropriate to block the bill on the issue. "Ideally, women of extremely backward and backward castes should be provided reservation in both Parliament and Assembly. We will keep our efforts on for getting it," he added. On Kumar's stand, Yadav told reporters in Delhi that the chief minister had also talked to him about his "suggestion" and pointed out that he had strongly opposed the measure in the past demanding quota within quota for women belonging to backward castes. Asked whether he was rejecting Kumar's suggestion, he evaded a direct reply saying,"the answer is in what I have said." To a question whether the party would oppose the Bill when it comes before Rajya Sabha, Yadav said that his party's opposition was not of one day. Yadav dared both BJP and Congress to seek passage of the bill without issuing any whip to their members. "If they are saying that they have majority then I challenge them not to issue any whip to their members on the issue. JD(U) will also not issue a whip and then if they succeed in passing the bill, I will be the first to accept it," Yadav said adding this will reveal to both the parties what is the internal situation in their organizations over the issue. Yadav also stressed that it was former BJP leader Uma Bharti, who along with Nitish Kumar and few others had given her dissent to the Bill more than a decade back. He also accused the proponents of the Bill of "bulldozing" 80% of the population and said that they are the real opponents of the empowerment of women. "We are in favour of the empowerment of the majority of women but it is being said that we are opposing it," Yadav said adding that those, who are pushing for the Bill in its present form "at the instance of some NGOs and women in Delhi" are its real opponents.

ASHOK VERMA
PGDM II sem

Gearing Ratio should be based on market value of debt, equity

International Accounting Standard (IAS) 1, Presentation of Financial Statements, requires an entity to disclose information that enables users of its financial statements to evaluate the entity’s objectives, policies and processes for managing capital. To comply with this requirement, an entity discloses qualitative information about its objectives, policies and processes for managing capital and also the summary data about what it manages as capital. Usually, entities manage capital structure in the light of changes in the business environment and the risk characteristics of the underlying assets.....
Analysts and entities monitor capital on the basis of the debt-to-adjusted capital ratio. This ratio is calculated as net debt divided by adjusted capital. Net debt is calculated as total debt (as shown in the balance sheet) less cash and cash equivalents. Adjusted capital comprises all components of equity (i.e. share capital, share premium, non-controlling interests, retained earnings, and revaluation reserve). Some analysts prefer to exclude revaluation reserve in calculating the amount of equity. Another alternative is to monitor the gearing ratio, which is calculated by dividing net debt by the total of net debt and adjusted equity. Classification of debt and equityAppropriate classification of capital into debt and equity is important for the calculation of the gearing ratio. According to the principles stipulated in IFRS, in case of equity capital the entity has no obligation to repay the originally contributed capital or to pay a return on capital, while in case of debt, the entity has an obligation to repay the capital and to pay a return on capital (interest) as stipulated in the debt covenant.
Therefore, under IFRS, redeemable preference shares are classified as debt, while under the Indian GAAP (schedule VI to the Companies Act), it is classified as equity. Similarly, under IFRS, the proceeds from compound instruments (e.g. convertible debentures) are allocated between equity and debt. Under Indian GAAP, the total proceeds from compound instruments are presented as debt. Book value and market valueThe gearing ratio is useful for two reasons: first, it gives holders of equity an idea of the extent to which leverage in the firm's financial structure magnifies the volatility of the returns that they get; second, it gives an idea of how likely the firm is to go bankrupt. For both these reasons it is better to use the market value of equity than its book value. In well-functioning capital market values reflect the present value of the firm's future earnings. If the firm’s market value in such a well-functioning market goes up, it is a signal that the firm is going to earn more in the future. But by the very nature of loan from financial institutions and other debt which are not traded in the market, the claims from debt holders will remain unchanged.
Therefore the volatility in the equity-holders' returns and the probability of the firm going bankrupt would now be less and this fact should now be reflected in a decreased gearing ratio. If the debt is traded in the market (e.g. debentures), the market value represents the exit value, that is the price at which the firm can buy back the instrument and extinguish the liability. Therefore, in case of traded debt, the market value is the appropriate measure of the liability and it should be used to calculate the gearing ratio.
ConclusionEntities should not use gearing ratio calculated on the basis of book values of debt and equity to monitor and manage the capital structure. They should use gearing ratio based on market values of debt and equity. Use of book-value based gearing ratio may lead to sub-optimal use of debt in the capital structure. Banks and other financial institutions should also use the market value based gearing ratio otherwise good assets in their books may appear to be risky assets.
Moreover, the use of the book value of equity in calculating the gearing ratio being monitored by lenders leads to accounting manipulation such as capitalisation of development expenditure, netting of loans against assets, and structuring lease so as to classify it as an operating lease rather than a finance lease. Therefore, it is the high time to have a re-look at the current policy of using book-value based gearing ratio.

ASHOK VERMA
PGFM IIsem

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