A Tribute to Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was a wildly idiosyncratic figure and one of the most important and influential musical figures of the 20th century. He changed the music world and millions grew up with MJ’s songs. He gave to world the ecstasy of divine union through his music & dance.

His groundbreaking Thriller— still the biggest selling album of all time —won a record eight Grammy Awards in 1984. Virtually every song became a hit single and it changed the industry's thinking about how albums were put together and marketed.

MJ's lifetime record sales is believed to be around 750 million, which, with 13 Grammy Awards makes him one of the most successful entertainers of all time.

MJ's life in recent years is nothing short of tragic. Probably no celebrity has been as revered and reviled as Michael Jackson

His music resonated and will continue to do so around the world. His music will be kept alive by the de facto artists influenced by him- Jay-Z, Kanye West, Akon, Britney Spears, Usher, Justin Timberlake, R.Kelly, Chris Brown, sister Janet, and dozens of others

Michael Jackson legacy will continue to live in our musical hearts. May his soul rest in peace.

Need for capital infusion in the Indian insurance sector

An unprecedented growth of over 200% is likely to be seen in Indian insurance business by 2010-11 in which private insurance business would grow is expected to grow at 140%. Total insurance business is estimated to reach level of Rs.2000 billion in next 2 years from current level of Rs. 500 billion, according to an assocham report.

However to grow insurance companies needs more funds. But they are unable to raise funds through IPO and holding companies. In most of the cases, the limit of 26 per cent foreign investment has been reached. Except for Reliance Life Insurance, Sahara Life Insurance and Life Insurance Corporation of India, foreign strategic investors have already 26 per cent stake in the Insurance JVs.

Most of the joint ventures in the Indian insurance sector. would be able to get fresh infusion of funds, once the limit for foreign investment is increased to 49 per cent from the current level of 26 per cent in the insurance JVs.

ATMs in India- Banknetindia.com

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) have gained prominence as a delivery channel for banking transactions in India. Banks have been deploying ATMs to increase their reach. As at the end of December 2007, the number of ATMs deployed in India was 32,342.

ATM's per million people approximately is 33 units is very low. Experts forecast that the growth rate (CAGR) is expected to grow 18 percent up by 2013. Banks going into a self service model can have huge saving potential for banks and may also increase the convenience for the customers.

From first day of April 2009, entire ATM network is now available to customers from any bank for transactions for no fee at all, irrespective of the banks in which they have their accounts, Now Customers will not be levied any fee on cash withdrawals using ATM and debit cards issued by other banks. This will in turn increase usage of ATMs in India.

Banknet India has recently launched a Special Section on ATMs in India". This is the most comprehensive section on ATMs in India. This exclusive section provides Interbank Networks, ATM Fraud Prevention, Uses of ATM, ATM Vendors, ATM Helpline, ATM News.

Banknet India has also brought out a comprehensive "Report on the Indian ATM Industry
Click Here For "Special Section on ATMs in India"

Indian Banks reduce lending rates, but demand yet to pick up

Most of the public sector banks are continuing with reducing their prime lending rates, the benchmark interest rate, to which all loans are linked from November 2008. This was following the Reserve Bank of India's slashing reserve ratios and cutting short-term rates and the government’s assurance of favourable policy measures.

Number of public sector banks have gone for second round of interest cuts.In the latest announcements- Union bank of India, Bank of Baroda & Bank of India will be going for further prime lending rate (PLR) cut from 1st April 2009.

State Bank of India has already frozen interest rates for car loans at 10%, home loan rates at 8%, Credit to farmers at 8 per cent for a year to stimulate the demand.

HDFC, the country’s largest housing finance company, has announced a 50 basis points reduction in its retail prime lending rate (RPLR) to 14% effective March 25, 2009. This is second time in three months that HDFC has cut its benchmark lending rate.The lending rate has been brought down by 100 basis points since December 2008

A borrower first take into consideration the price and than only look at the interest rates. The demand for loans will pickup only after builders & manufactures pass benefits of various financial stimulus measures announced by Indian Government and Reserve Bank of India by reducing the rates.

Click here for latest bank lending rates in India

Bank Holidays in India-BanknetIndia.com

India is a multicultural and multireligious society and celebrates holidays and festivals of Hindu, Islam, Sikh, Christian, Jain & other religions. There are three national holidays in India: Independence Day, Republic Day and Gandhi Jayanti.

India is a federal union of states. Many states and regions have local festivals depending on religious and linguistic demographics. India thus remains a country with perhaps the largest number of holidays in the world.

Bank holidays are generally public holidays. These are the days when banks don't operate. In India bank holidays are declared under the Negotiable Instruments Act.

Banknet India has launched a Special Holidays Section. This is the most comprehensive listing of bank holidays in India. This exclusive section provides bank holidays in year 2009 for all the twenty-eight states and seven union territories. In addition to holidays it is also a good primer on the major festivals in India.

Bank holidays have always been on the public scanner. There have been instances when these holidays combined with weekends, have hampered economic activities to a great extent.

Click Here For Bank Holidays in India

Financial services to move from survival mode to sustainable strategy

The global financial crisis has impacted the financial services including banks across the globe. The working environment has changed & financial services (FS) providers are grappling with new challenges as well as substantial erosion in the credibility.

According to the PwC paper, a distinguishing feature of the new landscape is an accelerated shift of economic power towards the East; a simpler more transparent form of banking based on a more classic banking model; Governments “inside the tent", raising significant conflicts of interest; a stricter governance structure based on national and international regulation.

Financial services including banks will need to change their traditional models to face new challenges and will have to move from survival mode to work on sustainable strategy model with a long term perspective.

Trust is vital to surviving global downturn

C K Prahlad’s closing keynote address at Nasscom India Leadership Forum 2009 made it very clear that to tide over the crisis, industry must learn the art of managing volatility and uncertainity. Some of the key suggestions made by him included- wage a war on waste (be it inventory, receivables etc), don’t build stock or bench, lower breakeven point, focus on core competencies, shift to newer business line as long as the same skill set is retained etc. This also requires seemingly conflicting ability of having long term clarity while being extremely agile in the short run. And, this also means that management mindset should be one of anticipate and create rather than wait and react.

Maybe due to time constraints, Dr Prahlad missed out to talk about importance of trust & visibility in these tough days. Trust is vital to surviving global financial downturn. All companies including the small & medium companies (SMEs) will have to go back to trust and relationship focused way of doing business. When buy are few and far between, companies will also need to make sure that they are visible in the minds of their target clients. For this they can use cheaper & more effective ways of marketing themselves through focused networking events & internet.

Will BFSI continue to bank on IT?

Certainly, BFSI will continue to bank on IT, was the view of the speakers from various global banks at the session on “Will BFSI continue to bank on IT” at the NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2009.

BFSI will continue to committed to technology implementation, implementing real time systems, agility and redeploying resources were really the cornerstones for a bright future ahead. IT is now more important than ever. IT can enable growth, manage risk, align with all business lines, customers, partners and external agents.

But there may be renegotiation with vendors to get the maximum value for money. IT will need to be a cost enabler and technology will need to be cost effective & efficient. The need of “knowing” your customer was never more important. Now there is an increased importance to focus on Disaster Recovery. IT will also be required for security of data and assets.

The Research Director of TowerGroup was of opinion that political risks were fast becoming a reality and organizations need to factor that into their business plans. Protectionism in outsourcing was another area which needs to be looked into.