Business Standard brings to you a snapshot of average current rates and unit sizes in localities that offer property in the price range of Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.5 crore.

Realty check

Business Standard

Complex pricing of energy always causes a cascading set of problems. Consider the recent decision taken by the United Progressive Alliance government to allow oil marketing companies the freedom to alter diesel prices at the pump in small doses. The idea is to eventually wipe out under-recoveries â€” losses on each litre of diesel sold â€” which eventually find their way into the governmentâ€™s accounts and push up the fiscal deficit, already unsustainably high.

Keeping it simple

Inevitably, much attention this past weekend was devoted to the official elevation of Rahul Gandhi to the number two position in the Congress party. Yet the events at the Jaipur &ldquo;chintan shivir&rdquo;, or party retreat, where he was appointed to the apparently largely ceremonial post of Congress vice-president, do not even finally settle the question of whether he will be a prime ministerial candidate next year.

A change of emphasis

I am 35 and earn Rs 10 lakh a year. I plan to pursue an MBA in the next two years. I don&rsquo;t have any liabilities by way of any kind of loans. I have savings of Rs 7 lakh in equity and debt mutual funds, bank fixed deposits and some cash in a savings bank account.

Financial Planning: Malhar Majumder

A price index for agri commodities: A Business Standard and Indicus Analytics initiative

Indicus price monitor

The patent wars between global smartphone majors have taken a new turn after the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) rejected three key Apple patent claims that featured in lawsuits brought by Apple against Samsung, HTC and Motorola Mobility (now part of Google). After the rejection, the award of $1.05 billion by an American jury to Apple against Samsung for patent violation is likely to be reviewed. This is also likely to be a consideration when US courts examine Apple&rsquo;s plea for injunctions against the sale of several Samsung products in America. European patent offices are more conservative than the US in granting sweeping patent claims. Hence, Apple&rsquo;s chances of getting these patents granted in other jurisdictions are not so good. Courts in Japan, Korea and Germany have also delivered more nuanced judgments in Apple vs Samsung lawsuits with, for example, a Korean court finding that Apple and Samsung had violated each other&rsquo;s patents.

A patent revolution

Yes, there can be, depending on the equity holding period. If one redeems equity investment over a very short period on a regular basis, say a few weeks or three months, the tax department can term it business income. Any income from share sale made for earning profit is called business income. Whereas, investments made for earnings through dividends are called capital gains, where the holding period should either be one year or less but more than three months.

Tipping point

Every Monday, Business Standard analyses one family&rsquo;s finances and suggests a suitable way forward(Click on graphics)

Case study

GREATER integration between India and Pakistan, including economic integration, seems to have been put on hold by recent events at the Line of Control. This is in spite of the fact that the countries were on the brink of reversing the recent slide, seen in Table 1, in the (already small) relative importance of bilateral trade. Pakistan&rsquo;s concerns of a trade imbalance with India seem borne out by the data.

StatsGuru-21-January-13

Bad loans or non-performing assets (NPAs) in the banking sector have been steadily increasing, and bankers are, understandably, not happy at being constantly questioned on the issue. Recently, on the sidelines of an event, an irate Union Bank of India Chairman and Managing Director D Sarkar said, &ldquo;Do not blame the banker by saying they are increasing NPAs. We, too, are very much under stress. Except my family members, everyone else is asking me about NPAs.

NPAs a tough ask

Despite security and cost issues, IT managers are keen on investing in virtualised data centres.

Data centre for cloud deployment

This refers to the editorial &ldquo;Taxation, not litigation&rdquo; (January 17). Since litigation is part of our democratic rights, it might not be possible to reduce tax litigation substantially. But it could be minimised by better tax administration and judicial reforms. There is not enough coordination between the Income Tax and the Central Excise departments of the finance ministry. Information-sharing between the two departments can be easily done through a computerised database. Further, there is a strong tendency to resist any reform that may result in a possible reduction of discretionary powers of tax officials at various levels. Last, any government that uses its resources properly is always in a position to get citizens involved in its efforts to reduce tax evasion. The incumbent government has hardly anything to offer on this front.

Letters: Better tax administration

This refers to Subir Roy&rsquo;s column &ldquo;The next step for Indian banking&rdquo; (Value for money, January 16). Despite vigorous branch expansion, the present banking system &ndash; both private and public &ndash; has not been able to ensure that the vulnerable sections of the population utilise basic banking services. Against this background, it is worthwhile to note that several Asian and African countries have established microfinance banks that cater to basic banking requirements (both credit and savings) of low-income communities with relatively hassle-free procedures. Even a small country like Pakistan has 10 microfinance banks &mdash; the last one having been inaugurated last week in Karachi. Then, the Central Bank of Nigeria created a record of sorts by licensing 37 microfinance banks in Kano on a single day on January 13. Indian microfinance institutions could also be considered for conversion into microfinance banks under the New Branch Licensing Policy.

Letters: Microfinance banking

Reliance Infrastructure&rsquo;s Delhi Airport Express, the first public-private partnership in Metro rail services, is set to restart operation from 5 am on Tuesday, after remaining shut for six months. The train will run at 50 kmph. An expert panel of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation will review the speed periodically. The line was designed for 120 kmph, covering the 23 km in 18 minutes.

Airport Metro back on track

Sharp hikes in the prices of essential commodities over the past year have dented the monthly budgets of Indian households, particularly the urban middle-class ones. Taking into consideration the rise in the cost of just a few essentials such as transport, power, food items, in Mumbai, for example, the average expense rise comes to 14%.

Household expenses soar

After several tumultuous quarters, corporate India&rsquo;s earnings are turning positive. The ongoing earnings season has started rather well, with even laggards beating most estimates. The 170 companies that have reported their third-quarter numbers for 2012-13 so far have seen revenues grow by 18.5 per cent and profit after tax jump by 42 per cent compared with what they recorded in the same period last year.

No real recovery

Congress workers who expect to see the dawn of a new era with the appointment of Rahul Gandhi as party vice-president at the &ldquo;Chintan Shivir&rdquo; in Jaipur on Saturday may have cause to be a little concerned. Their new leader may have a problem distinguishing night and day. His acceptance speech was delivered in both English (for his southern audience) and Hindi. Maybe it is the varied ways night and day are defined in different cultures that caused him to say in the English speech, &ldquo;This morning I got up at night, 4 o&rsquo;clock in the morning. I got out into the balcony. I thought, &lsquo;Now you have a big responsibility in front of you&hellip;&rsquo;. It was dark and it was cold&hellip;&rdquo;. Or, maybe Gandhi was just overwhelmed by the occasion.

Night and day

Conventional wisdom has it that highway construction companies mainly face problems of environment and forest clearances or land acquisition. But, according to the chief executive officer (CEO) of one such company, they are also up against the demands of those members of Parliament and members of legislative Assembly who own land along a highway alignment. All of them invariably want a flyover in front of their houses or lands but no one wants a toll plaza to come up in their area.

Political speed bumps

Ruling and Opposition parties rarely see eye-to-eye in India, and Tamil Nadu is no exception. The political rivalry between members of the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in the state is such that they don&rsquo;t appear to recognise each other even at events that have nothing to do with politics. At a recent pre-Budget meeting, the printed speech of Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thiru O Panneerselvam addressed Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Minister of State Namo Narain Meena, finance ministers of state governments and officials from the Centre and other states. But it didn&rsquo;t mention the name of his fellow Minister of State S S Palanimanickam, who was present but belongs to the DMK.

Telling omission

This refers to Ashoka Mody and Michael Walton&rsquo;s article &ldquo;The inflation elixir&rdquo; (January 17). The recent shift in the government&rsquo;s policy in the name of &ldquo;second dose of reforms&rdquo; has hastened the process of transfer of resources from the poor to the rich. Political parties with varying interests that form the ruling United Progressive Alliance government make it expedient for the BPL (businessmen-politician-lawyer) combined to get &ldquo;majority&rdquo; support in legislature for different conflicting initiatives, at different times, using the carrot and the stick approach. In this light, the impact of rising inflation and dwindling return on savings has not been properly discussed. The plight of those who retired in the 1990s and had anticipated a return of 12 per cent per annum on their retirement savings could be a case study for the present government that is pushing a New Pension System (NPS).

Letters: Saving for survival

Apropos T N Ninan&rsquo;s column &ldquo;Moving on wheels&rdquo; (Weekend Ruminations, January 18), the writer uses an apt metaphor of the automobile industry to show how changes in the sector reflect changes in the economic growth of a country. This analogy could be extended to cover two other features of Indian economy. First, the invasion of the industry by manufacturers from other countries, such as the US, Germany, Japan and Korea, is proof of the success of India&rsquo;s 1991 policy of liberalisation and globalisation. What is striking is that foreign players are the major market players, particularly in the passenger car, three-wheeler goods carrier and two-wheeler scooter sectors, with more than 50 per cent market share. They dominate the passenger car sector (which accounts for 66 per cent sale of passenger vehicles) with 88 per cent share. However, the triumphant entry of Tata Motors abroad shows that it is not a one-way traffic.

Business Standard

Business Standard

Page 785 - Business Standard