Limit for retail investment in IPOs to be raised
Retail investors will now get to subscribe more in initial public offers (IPOs). The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has proposed to raise the investment limit for retail investors from the current Rs1 lakh to Rs2 lakh.
The move is seen as an intermediate step before increasing the limit to Rs5 lakh and is expected to help companies obtain more retail subscriptions in IPOs. Currently, individual investors are classified as retail only if their investment is Rs1 lakh or less. Some 35% of the amount to be raised by IPOs is reserved for retail investors, but due to the low investment limit, very often they are undersubscribed. According to the regulator, the proposed increase in the investment limit is intended to keep pace with inflation and also the changing nature of market valuations. While inflation is close to double-digits, the market has risen over 125% since 2005. Rs1 lakh does not fetch the retail investor too many shares, given the bloat in share valuations.
According to a discussion paper released by Sebi, large-sized public issues easily require between 1.5-2 lakh applications to meet their retail quota. 10mg cialis This is much higher than the 35-70,000 applications received from retail investors in recent issues. Sebi has invited comments on the discussion paper till September 3. Sebi has also noted that in recent public offerings, approximately 75% of applications in the retail category cialis trial pack have come in the size of Rs80,000-Rs1 lakh. The number of applications in the non-institutional category, which is used by high net worth individuals, is usually above Rs5 lakh, but retail investors avoid investing in this segment since the reservation of shares is only 15% against 35% for retail.
Source: DNA India
India still vulnerable to economic shocks
India is still vulnerable to economic shocks and this calls for carefully determined policy measures to sustain income gains of the growing middle class in the longer term, warns cialis 5mg side effects a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report.
Although there has been a substantial increase in the middle class in India – an addition of 205 million between 1990 and 2008 – the ADB has noted that more than 75 per cent of the middle class in India remain in $2-$4 (Rs 93-186 approximately) daily consumption bracket, the lower end of the $2 to $20 range, leaving them at risk of falling back into poverty in the event of a major economic shock. cialis review The ADB defines India’s middle class as those consuming between $2 and $20 a day. There is also the risk of runaway inflation in India eating into the real incomes of those forming part of the lower middle class ($2-$4) said Dr Jong-Wha Lee, Chief Economist, ADB.
“Clearly, policies are needed to both bolster the new status of the middle class and deal with its adverse consequences. There is need for policies that encourage the creation of more well-paid jobs, advanced education and skill development to help prevent slippage back into poverty,” Dr Lee, said after the launch of ADB’s flagship annual statistical publication – Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific 2010. To help unlock the full potential of the Indian middle class as consumers and drivers of growth, the ADB report has said that the Government must continue to remove structural and policy impediments.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
A unique way to ensure learning
Within the government primary school system cialis 20 mg cost across the country, the primary questions government schools ask, for instance, are whether children have access to a school and whether children get uniforms, books and mid-day meals. A consistent worry here is that there is little or no information on the actual learning levels of a child prior to her first “public” exam…… Read More
In the context of the Right to Education Act, which came into effect on 1 April, it is time to relook and see how we as a society could create a primary education system that would serve of the needs of all our children. To make this happen, it is necessary to gather enough data at the child level so that the right levels of interventions are focused on the appropriate target groups. A unique identity that is assigned to a child from birth through till the end of her education, and this unique ID will help in ensuring that all her rights as a child are available to her and that she receives quality education.It would be meaningful if data on children regarding their health and learning abilities is maintained so that, at the appropriate age, children are admitted to primary schools and aware of every child’s capabilities.
Having a unique ID for every child and using this to track her progress through the process of education will certainly improve the education system. However, for this system to work, there is definitely a need for multiple departments within government to use this methodology. The departments of education, women and child development, health and labour, which can track different facets of a child’s life, as a minimum should use such a system. These separate parts of the government should come together to input multiple applications and reports on this common electronic-based system. The success of such an initiative depends on the number of applications in this system: The more the children tracked, the more its utility to public education. Maybe then India can finally get an end-based cialis reviews education system which gets us the right outcomes.
Source: Live Mint
Rising defaults in study loans
With a rising proportion of non-performing assets (NPAs) in education loans, banks have approached the government, seeking protection in the form of a credit guarantee fund of at least Rs 2,500 crore.
According to estimates given by bankers to the Union finance ministry, NPAs had risen above two per cent of the educational loan portfolio, as on March 31, from an insignificant figure before 2004-05, when a set of more liberal rules gave such loans a boost. By way of comparison, Reserve Bank of India data cialis pro showed the ratio of net NPAs of commercial banks to net advances rose only marginally to 1.1 per cent as at end-March 2009, from 1 per cent as at end March 2008, while gross NPAs to gross advances remained constant at 2.3 per cent.In the educational loan scheme, it is possible to borrow cialis dosage information up to Rs 10 lakh for domestic education and Rs 20 lakh for studying in foreign colleges. Borrowers need not pay during the tenure of the course plus one year after. The repayment period is five to seven years.
For loans up to Rs 4 lakh, banks cannot ask for any collateral. This particular clause is thought by bankers to have made loans more prone to be defaulted. State Bank of India is the largest in the segment, with around 25 per cent of the market. Banks have requested the government to create a credit guarantee fund for educational loans, on the lines of the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) jointly set up by the government and Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi).
Source: Business Standards
Telecom market has weakened: Nokia India
Mr D. Shivakumar, Vice-President and Managing Director, Nokia India is probably facing one of the toughest telecom markets ever since he took up the reins of India’s largest mobile handset brand.
The past year has seen a lot of activity in the telecom sector in terms of new players, auction of spectrum, low tariffs.” If I look at the entire telecom ecosystem, equipment providers like Nokia Siemens, Ericsson will have a good time because they will get their orders on 3G. If you look at the operators, they are in desperate trouble as the new operators have cut price to such a bare bone that it’s hurting the industry. That’s why valuations are down. This has become value destructive. In the next two years I see a lot of operators dying. You already see senior managers leaving some of the new companies. Then, in the handset segment you are seeing an influx in dual SIM market. That’s where traditional handset-makers have been caught short And the final part is the applications segment, where you buy cialis tadalafil are seeing a dramatic uptake in applications as phones are getting smarter and consumers want more.” remarked Shivakumar on the present Telecom market.
“We definitely need standards. EU, America have standards, but India does not have standards for mobile phone. Issues related to radiation, how much plastic… should be addressed. Products should have a basic safety standard. Over the last few months, a growing market like telecom has been weakened due to value destruction by substandard phones, low pricing by new operators.” He added. Regarding the number of new handset-makers that have entered the market and its effect on Nokia’s market share, he said, “ Innovation cannot be outsourced. You need strong IPR and R&D team. Innovation also has to be relevant. Yes, the window of opportunity for the new players is in the dual SIM, so they are trying to grab that opportunity and nothing more. They advertise for a bit, but some guys run cialis dosage daily out of money.”
Source: The Hindu
India testing ways to access BlackBerry emails
India’s security agencies are testing ways to access corporate email on BlackBerry devices by obtaining encrypted data in a readable format. “There have been a number of suggestions offered and this is one of them. A technical team will check those suggestions over the next few days,” said a senior government source……. Read More.
Research In Motion (RIM) faces an 31 August deadline to give Indian authorities the means to track and read BlackBerry enterprise email and its separate BlackBerry messenger service. The government, concerned about the potential for militants to use the secure BlackBerry network to carry out attacks, has vowed to shut the services if RIM fails to comply, cutting it out of one of the world’s fastest-growing telecom market. A RIM technical team in New Delhi has cialis canadian pharmacy been working with the Department of Telecom (DoT) and security agencies to find a way out.
RIM uses powerful codes to scramble, or encrypt, email messages as they travel between a BlackBerry device and a computer known as a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) that is designed to secure those emails. Indian telecom officials said they had been told by RIM the only way an email could be intercepted is when it temporarily stores itself in an Enterprise server in a decrypted form while travelling between two BlackBerry devices. Indian agencies are now checking if they have the technology to monitor emails when they get briefly stored in an Enterprise server. India is one of the number of countries putting pressure on RIM, which has built the reputation of the BlackBerry, popular with business professionals generic cialis forum and politicians, around confidentiality. A shutdown would affect about 1 million users in India out of a total 41 million BlackBerry users worldwide, allowing them to use the devices only for calls and Internet browsing.
Source: Live Mint
Jewellery Sector:India Shining
August glittered for India’s gems and jewellery sector, with demand from domestic as well as foreign markets rising sharply ahead of the festival season. Indications of revival in the global economy ensured robust jewellery demand in the US market. Experts believe the trend will continue for the rest of the financial year, on stable gold prices and positive global economic indicators.
“Demand from the Americas have rebounded, with the 40 per cent growth we have witnessed in jewellery sales there,” said Mehul Choksi, chairman of Gitanjali Gems, which runs a chain of 130 retail shops in the world’s largest jewellery consuming market, contributing 13 per cent of the company’s turnover. Since the US alone constitutes nearly 40 per cent of global retail jewellery sales, the rebound in the country’s overall sales is good news for us, Choksi added. The strength of the jewellery industry, one of the country’s leading foreign exchange earners, was seen over the last year, when cialis to buy it continued with plans of penetrating newer markets. According to Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), India’s cut and polished diamond exports reported 74 per cent rise in rupee terms to Rs 27,149.7 crore during the first quarter of the current financial year. In dollar terms, generic cialis 10mg the growth was even higher, at 85.4 per cent, to $5,946.6 million.
India’s diamond share in the world market also witnessed an increase in this period in value terms, increasing from 60 per cent to 70 per cent Every 9 out of 11 diamonds worldwide are processed in India. “Jewellery sales started recovering since April and continued until now. But demand, especially from the US, Europe and Asian countries grew faster than expected on stabilisation of gold prices and beginning of buying seasons,” said Vishal Doshi, Group Executive Director of Shrenuj & Company Ltd.In India, post-monsoon seasonal demand begins with the onset of the festival season, which is starting with Raksha Bandhan on August 24, followed by the Ganapati festival on September 11 and continues until May next year.
Source: Business Standards
Auto components $3 bn investment every year
The Indian auto component sector is expecting an investment of USD 3 billion every year for the next decade, mainly in capacity enhancement, to meet the growing demand, industry body Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) said in a statement.
“In this year, the industry is expected to add USD 2 billion in capacity enhancement. We hope that this will be USD 3 billion on an annualised basis from next year for the next one decade,” ACMA President Jayant Davar said. The industry is growing at a rapid pace of about 20 per cent and the momentum cialis free is expected to continue, he added. Davar said the demand-supply mismatch of auto parts is limited to only some specific components for some particular models. “While adding the new capacity, there is still a level of scepticism, whether this growth is sustainable or not in the long term,” he added.
According ACMA estimates, the sector witnessed a total sales of about USD 22 billion in 2009-10, out of which exports contributed approximately USD 3.8 billion. Driven by record sales in passenger car and two-wheeler segments, the Indian automobile industry posted its best ever monthly sales in July, growing by 31.50 per cent at 12,37,461 units compared to 9,41,070 units in the same month last year. ACMA also said it is pressing the government for safeguard measures against cheap imports of finished parts, primarily for those coming from China.
Source: Economic Times India cialis buying Times