Exploring Untapped Potential of Mutual Funds

The Mutual Fund industry has seen unprecedented growth in the past 3 years. In November 2016, total assets managed by mutual funds touched a record high of ?16.5 lakh crores rupees, a year on year growth of 27%.

Total number of folios in India also reached a record number of 4.7 crore. However, mutual funds still suffer extremely low penetration in India. A 7% share of Assets under Management (AUM) of Mutual Funds to GDP is significantly lower than some other emerging economies like Brazil (42%) and South Africa (33%).

Introducing Direct plans of mutual funds

MoneyFront aims to highlight the true potential of mutual funds to investors by firstly adopting the no-conflict option of direct plan of mutual funds. Direct plans are an alternative to the regular plans of mutual funds where you can skip the distributors and agents and invest directly with the Fund House.

Exploring Untapped Potential of Mutual Funds A direct consequence of this is an increase in returns by up to 1.5% annually, as the commissions paid to the distributors/agent are not charged to the scheme. MoneyFront, in its endeavour to provide maximum benefits to clients offers only ‘Direct Plans’.

For investors who are not well-versed about mutual funds or who need help with their asset allocation, MoneyFront also offers investment advisory that provides model portfolios and scheme recommendations tailor-made to the investor’s financial goals and risk tolerance levels. Over and above that, the investors have access to a vast library of news, views, developments, and statistics related to mutual fund schemes and everything else that impacts them.(read more...)

Your Loan Eligibility Holds the Key to Your Dream Home

LATEST NEWS – Have you ever been hounded by telemarketers urging you to apply for a loan? Calls, text messages, WhatsApp or even meeting you in person, representatives of financial companies leave no stone unturned when it comes to convincing you to take a loan.

But how is the LOAN ELIGIBILITY application processed? Do lenders really bend over backwards to hand you the loan cheque? It does not quite work that way.

Yes, sales personnel employed by financial institutions are aggressive in their attempts to lure you. They have to be; their commissions depend on it. And if one takes the bait and applies for a loan, the situation is likely to change by the time the application is processed.

It is the borrower who is expected to satisfy the credit parameters and fulfil all the eligibility criteria for the Home Loan.

Let’s get down to the basics. What do you think is the main eligibility criteria for taking a Home Loan?

The simple answer is the borrower’s ability to repay the loan.

This means the income of the loan applicant must be enough to pay the instalments on time. The lender provides a schedule for paying the equated monthly instalments (EMIs).

With interest rates favourable, now is as good a time to take a Home Loan as any. And non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) such as BAJAJ FINSERV offer instant approvals and Home Loans at attractive interest rates when you apply online.

Find out how:(READ MORE...)

Why are More People Applying for Personal Loans?

WHY DO PEOPLE PREFER PERSONAL LOANS

There are many factors that make Personal Loans more attractive.

• Easy to get: Personal Loans are easier to obtain than many other types of loans.
• Flexible usage: You can use the funds in a variety of ways. You can use it to pay for a vacation or a medical emergency. You can use it to fund a wedding, renovate a house, and more.
• Quick process: It can take as little as three days to get approval for a Personal Loan. Just make sure you have all the necessary documentation.
• No collateral: Personal Loans are unsecured loans. In other words, they are not backed by any collateral. This helps reduce the documents required for your loan application or even the duration of the vetting process.

You can even apply for a PERSONAL LOAN from the convenience of your home. All you need to do is visit the lender’s website. An application for a Personal Loan from Bajaj Finserv , for instance, usually takes seconds for approval and you can get funds of up to Rs.25 lakh in as little as 72 hours.

The bottom line

Personal Loans are popular today, but it is important that you opt for a professional lender to avail financing. Keep the various factors in mind when you apply for a Personal Loan and take the first step towards fulfilling your financial goals. (read more…)

Congress ruined Manipur, BJP will bring development in 15 months: Modi

Manipur Polls 2017 - amming the Congress party for "ruining" Manipur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said if the BJP comes to power in the state it will "do in 15 months what the Congress did not in the last 15 years".

He also assured there will be no economic blockade in the state.

"What Congress did not do in the last 15 years, I assure we will do it in 15 months. Wherever, Congress is in power there is no development, there is only corruption," said Modi at a public rally here.

"There will never be an economic blockade when BJP comes to power in Manipur, I assure you this," he added.

The Manipur assembly elections will be held in two phases - March 4 and 8 - to elect 60 members of the state legislative assembly.

"Unity of Manipur, welfare of its people and development of the state is our only goal. You gave them (Congress) 15 years, give us five years. I assure you we'll complete the pending work in 15 months," said Modi.

"Manipur has been ruined in 15 years. Who is responsible? Congress did no development, do they deserve to be here now?" Modi asked.

He added: "The corruption that took place in Manipur in last the 15 years will be exposed by our government."(Read More)

Nokia 3310 makes a comeback with 22 hours of battery life, dual sim

Breaking News - Finnish mobile device player Nokia is in reboot mode as it gets ready to bring to India its 17-year-old iconic Nokia 3310 handset for about Rs 3,500, along with its Android smartphones, next quarter.

"All the products that we have announced Nokia 3310, Nokia 6, Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 will be available in the second quarter of this year in India. Average global selling price for Nokia 3310 is 49 euros," HMD Global Oy Chief Marketing Officer Pekka Rantala said.

HMD Global has licence to design and sell Nokia branded phones globally as well as use technologies developed by Nokia Corporation.

"Now, we are celebrating the new era of Nokia brand that is the reason we are with HMD Global. Let me also be very clear that we would not license the Nokia brand to just anybody. It means too much to us. We chose carefully. We looked at the market. We looked at Google to be our brand licensing partner which could do this for a long time," Nokia President and CEO Rajeev Suri said.

HMD Global also unveiled Nokia 5 and Nokia 3 smartphones for 189 euros and 139 euros built on Google's Android platform. The company has already been selling Nokia 6 in China. One model of Nokia 6 with 3 GB RAM and 32 GB internal storage will be retailed at around 229 euros and the other one with 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal memory with support for external memory card will be available for around 299 euros.(Read More)

War rooms and UP polls 2017: Akhilesh Yadav takes on Modi at his own game

UP Polls 2017 - Prime Minister Narendra Modi out-campaigned all-comers in the 2014 general election but, as he faces his biggest mid-term test, he is up against a rival determined to beat him at his own game.

In Uttar Pradesh his opponent, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, has been repackaged as a youthful and media-savvy go-getter who seeks to steal a unique selling point of Modi's - development.

"I am taking it a bit beyond Modi: I work," Yadav told Reuters in an interview in Lucknow, capital of the state of 220 million that is holding the biggest democratic election anywhere in the world this year.

"My work speaks for itself. Modi's empty promises do not," said the 43-year-old leader of the Samajwadi, or Socialist, Party.

Yadav entered the vast election, being held over the course of a month, as a narrow favourite: He had just emerged from a power struggle with his domineering father and struck a pre-poll alliance with the Indian National Congress.(Read More)

BMC polls: BJP puts up best ever show with 81 seats, Sena bags 84

BMC Elections 2017 Results - The BJP is set to make decisive gains in civic polls in Maharashtra even as it is locked in a neck- and-neck fight with its bickering ally Shiv Sena in Mumbai, the latest counting trends suggest.

BJP put up its best ever show in BMC elections by bagging 81 seats, just 3 seats short of Shiv Sena.


The Congress and the NCP were headed for a rout across the state including some of their strongholds like Pune.

While the Shiv Sena slightly improved showing in Mumbai and Thane, the BJP is set to retain Nagpur, Akola and wrest Pune and Ulhasnagar from NCP and Nashik from the MNS.

But, as the counting progressed into final rounds, it appears that the Sena is unlikely to touch the half-way mark of 114 seats in Mumbai, where the BJP is poised for a big leap after fighting the polls on its own.

The BJP is likely to come to power in at least six civic bodies -- Pune, Nashik, Ulhasnagar, Akola, Nagpur and Amravati -- out of the 10 corporations for which the elections were held on Tuesday.(Read More)

UP elections 2017: Over 40% turnout till 2 PM in phase-IV

UP Polls 2017 - Over 40 per cent of 1.84 crore voters exercised their franchise till midday today in the fourth phase of polling in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

"Polling is underway at a brisk pace in 53 assembly constituencies spread over 12 districts, including the backward Bundelkhand region," the CEO office said here.

The pace of voting was slow in the first few hours but picked up as the day advanced.

The exercise was by and large peaceful in view of tight security arrangements.

Inter district and inter state borders have been sealed and patrolling by security forces has been intensified in poll-bound areas. Most of the sensitive polling centres are being manned by the personnel of Central Paramilitary Forces.

680 candidates are in the fray in this phase which covers Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh, Kaushambi, Allahabad, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur, Mahoba, Banda, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot and Fatehpur districts.

The BSP has fielded its nominees in all seats, while BJP's nominees are in 48 constituencies. The BJP has left 6 seats for its ally Apna Dal. The SP nominees are in contest in 30 segments and its ally, the Congress, is in contest from 25 constituencies.(Read More)

Bharti Airtel to buy Telenor India unit in response to Jio onslaught

Breaking news - Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom network operator, is buying Norwegian Telenor's India unit, in yet another consolidation move in India driven by upstart rival Jio's disruptive pricing.

Bharti Airtel said on Thursday it will buy Telenor (India) Communications Pvt Ltd, as part of which it will acquire the Norwegian company's operations in six Indian states. It did not disclose financial terms of the deal.

The entry late last year of Reliance Industries' wireless carrier Jio into India's crowded telecom sector with its free voice and deeply discounted data plans has pushed rivals to slash costs, sharply eroding their profits.


Bharti Airtel reported its lowest profit in four years in the October-December quarter while No. 3 player Idea Cellular posted its first-ever quarterly loss for the same period.

Jio's gameplan is also sparking consolidation moves.

Britain's Vodafone Group said last month it was in talks to merge its Indian subsidiary with Idea Cellular to create India's largest mobile operator with about $12 billion in sales.

And earlier, Reliance Communications had entered into an agreement to merge its wireless business with smaller rival Aircel.(Read More)

We messed up: Full text of what Kunal Bahl wrote to Snapdeal employees

Latest Business News - Exploring ways to optimise costs and rewrite its success story, Online marketplace Snapdeal has confirmed that it is undertaking layoffs within the company. Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal in an email to employees on Wednesday said they have had to take tough decisions to retain the company's profitability, which include - employee layoffs, 100 per cent salary cut for themselves, among others.

Quoting Zig Ziglar, Kunal said, "When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal, you do not change your decision to get there."

According to The Economics Times, here are key highlights of Kunal Bahl's email to Snapdeal employees:

* Snapdeal probably holds the record for the company that got written off the most number of times by Internet pundits.

* Have our company and industry been going through a troubled time? Absolutely. Did we make errors in our execution? No doubt about that(Read More)

Amid 600 job cuts, Snapdeal founders take 100% salary cut

Latest Business News - Snapdeal co-founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal have taken a 100 per cent salary cut, while many others at the firm have "proactively" offered significant reduction in compensation.

The SoftBank-backed firm, which has been struggling to raise fresh funding, is also laying off hundreds employees and eliminating non-core projects to focus on "profitable growth".



In an e-mail to employees, Bahl conceded that over the last 2-3 years, with all the capital coming into this market, the company and the entire industry "started making mistakes".

"We started growing our business much before the right economic model and market fit was figured out. We also started diversifying and starting new projects while we still hadn't perfected the first or made it profitable. We started building our team and capabilities for a much larger size of business than what was required with the present scale," he said.

Bahl cited examples of global companies like Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Netflix, Lego and Spicejet that "painted themselves into a corner many times over" before they became successful.(Read More)

Here is what Airtel, Idea and Vodafone are offering to counter Reliance Jio

Breaking news - Reliance Jio made a big announcement on Tuesday following which the road ahead doesn't look smooth for rivals Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone, among others. Although the free services provided since its launch, including 1GB data at 4G speeds every day, unlimited voice calls and unlimited text messages will be over after 31 March, the operator has introduced a new plan called Jio Prime which will allow users to avail the facilities for another year at a nominal price. 

Here are the key points:

• Membership: Jio Prime membership is limited to the 100 million existing Reliance Jio users as well as those who join the network before March 31, 2017. 
• Cost: All Jio members can enroll prime membership for a one time fee of Rs 99 (which is valid for one year). Additionally, to get the free mobile data and other benefits, users will need to pay another Rs. 303 per month for the next 12 months (which amounts to Rs 10 per day, approximately). 
• Subscription: To subscribe, users can go to any Jio store or Jio partner store. Besides, MyJio app and Jio.com website can also be used. 
• Commencement: Users can start subscribing to the plan from March 1. It will end on March 31.
• Offers: Under the plan, unlimited mobile data for a year (1GB daily FUP limit), media and content benefits associated with the Jio apps suite are available. "There will be many other attractive deals and offers from both Jio and its partners (for) the Jio Prime members," a statement released by the company said. Like the current offer, Jio Prime will also reduce the internet speed to 128kbps after the 1GB data per day limit is crossed.
• Users who do not subscribe: Reliance Jio users who opt not to subscribe the Jio Prime membership will have to pay for data and other services, but not voice calls (including on roaming). 

A quick look at the offers provided by Vodafone, Airtel and Idea

UP polls 2017: BSP has an edge and Mayawati is likely to return to power

UP Polls 2017 - Six months prior to the 2017 Assembly elections, the battle for power in Uttar Pradesh was seen as a fight between the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), which is presently ruling at the centre. The BJP's chances had dwindled slightly after its state vice president Dayashankar Singh made some inappropriate comments against Mayawati. At that point, the Samajwadi Party, the party currently in power, was widely perceived to be out of the race.

All of a sudden, a series of melodramatic incidents within the SP's ruling family catapulted Akhilesh Yadav from the status of 'half CM' to full chief minister and leader of the party. Earlier, he was often taunted to be subordinate to the SP's big four: his father Mulayam Singh Yadav, uncle Shivpal Yadav, uncle Ram Gopal Yadav and senior leader Azam Khan. The impression formed that since Mulayam was publicly taking the side of his brother Shivpal, party cadres would remain loyal to Shivpal if it came to choosing between him and Akhilesh. However, Akhilesh proved everybody wrong and now is the undisputed claimant to the chief ministership on behalf of the Samajwadi Party, with Shivpal and even Mulayam having been marginalised. The state witnessed a silent coup by a serving ruler who has been able to unshackle himself now.(Read more)

Reliance Industries hits over 7-year high as Jio promises to end freebies

Latest Business News - Reliance Industries (RIL) hit an over seven-year high of Rs 1,172, up 8% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), recording its sharpest rally in intra-day trade in past 21 months.

The stock hit its highest level since June 2009. Earlier, on May 16, 2014, it rallied 8.7% during intra-day trade. On the BSE, the stock hit high of Rs 1,187 on November 1, 2010, during intra-day trade.



In past two trading sessions, the stock surged 9% from Rs 1,075 on February 20, 2017 after Reliance Jio Infocomm (“Jio”), a subsidiary of RIL, announced that its tariff plans will become applicable from April 1, 2017.

The new offerings will no longer be free but Jio has priced its services attractively to retain its 100 million customers, who have signed up since September 5, when the services were first offered. Jio is seeking to retain them through special prime memberships at a one-time fee of Rs 99 and Rs 303 a month for unlimited voice, data and content.

“Consolidation within incumbents effectively improves their financial position and allows them to match JIO on pricing for longer, and this would be negative for JIO as it would bring down the industry ARPUs (average revenue per users) and lower margins. However, if JIO sticks to its stated or ARPUs where the actual base pack starts at Rs 499, it would be positive for JIO in the long term,” analysts at JP Morgan said in report dated January 31, 2017.

In brokerage view, JIO’s investment case depends on higher paying ARPU subs. 50 million subscribers paying Rs 400 APRU would likely be far more profitable than 100 million subs paying Rs 200 per month. RJio needs the higher paying ARPU subs as only they would be able to pay for more of the services that RJio plans to offer eventually.

CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT.

RBI Deputy Governor opposes free licensing of payment sector

Latest News - RBI's Deputy Governor Rama Subramaniam Gandhi on Monday said granting licences to payment service providers cannot be a 'tick box exercise' as entities will be entrusted with money, and so fit and proper criterion is important.

"There is an implied suggestion that this (payment) sector needs to be freed of licensing mechanism and once a set of criteria are fixed, any number of entities meeting those criteria should be allowed to function. We differ from this idea," Gandhi said at the launch of BharatQR, an inter-operable payment solution.

"Such a free entry may not be appropriate for payment industry. We must remember that the payment service provider is entrusted with money and therefore 'fit and proper' criterion is of utmost importance and consequently, free entry based on tick box exercise will not be right and it can pose a risky proposition to the system as a whole," he said.(Read More)

Note ban: You can withdraw Rs 50,000 from your savings accounts from today

Breaking news - The weekly limit on withdrawal of cash from savings bank accounts will be increased to Rs 50,000, from the current Rs 24,000, from Monday, and the limit will be removed from March 13.

"Effective February 20, 2017, the limits from cash withdrawal from savings bank accounts will be enhanced to Rs 50,000 per week from the current limit of Rs 24,000 per week (and) effective March 13, 2017, there will be no limits prescribed by RBI on cash withdrawal from savings bank accounts."

The Government and RBI had imposed limits on withdrawal of money from ATMs and bank branches in view of the currency shortage following demonetisation.

These limits, however, are being gradually eased, with RBI pumping in new notes of Rs 500 and Rs 2,000. (Read More)

Manipur elections: TMC to raise economic blockade issue in Parliament

Manipur Elections 2017 - The Trinamool Congress on Saturday said it would raise in Parliament the issue of the ongoing economic blockade in Manipur and already urged the Election Commission to take action to lift the blockade.

"We would raise the issue of economic blockade in Parliament. We are against any kind of blockade or shutdown. Recently I had met Election Commission and told them that they were required to act in order to lift the blockade as the model code of conduct is in force in the state," Roy told PTI.

Roy, who is presently in Imphal to campaign for TMC candidates contesting in Manipur elections, said that TMC would play a decisive role after the polls as "no party will be able to get a majority on its own."

"We are in a position to win at least seven to eight seats. We won seven seats in 2012 Manipur Elections. And in the post-poll scenario we'll play a decisive factor as no party will be able to get a majority on its own," Roy said.

TMC this time is fighting for 24 seats. Last time with seven seats TMC was the main opposition party in the state. Later, however, all the seven MLAs switched their loyalty to either Congress or BJP.(Read More)

UP elections 2017: Poll promises have not changed in 15 years; here's why

UP Elections 2017 - Pihani, Uttar Pradesh: For 16 years, Kailash Rai (not his real name), 49, has been commuting six hours every working day between his home in the state capital Lucknow and the government degree college where he teaches in Pihani, 135 km to the northwest.

A political-science lecturer, Rai cannot move with his family to Pihani, a cluster of over 100 villages (called a kasba) in Hardoi district, with less than 40,000 families as per Census 2011. When he started working there in 2000, it lacked the basic public facilities–regular power supply, good roads, public transport and good medical services.

Pihani remains an economic backwater. In the ongoing assembly elections, UP’s incumbent and contesting politicians are still promising the basic facilities they did 16 years ago: Electricity, buses and jobs, along with laptops and free data for poor youth.

A UP kasba: 100% rural, 83% farm workers
A community development block in Hardoi district, north-west of Lucknow, Pihani is an agglomeration of over 100 small villages. This rural administrative division is called a taluk or tehsil in other states. UP has 901 such blocks administered by a block development officer.

A third of Pihani’s population consists of people belonging to scheduled castes and tribes. Its literacy rate is 51%, and less than half its women (41%) are literate. Women in Pihani form about 14% of the workforce, nine percentage points less than the national average of 27% as IndiaSpend reported in April 2016.(Read More)

Amid defection, blockades, Congress hopes to retain power in Manipur

 Manipur Assembly elections 2017 - The recurring economic blockades by tribal groups is a major issue in Manipur where the upcoming assembly polls are witnessing a close battle between the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP.

Intriguingly, none of the parties has so far stressed on the important issue of employment generation, despite the state having over 800,000 educated unemployed youths out of its less than 2.8 million population.

With the 60-seat assembly slated to hold two-phase polls on March 4 and March 8, campaigning is slowly picking up. The Congress is eyeing a consecutive fourth term in office while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — which had only one legislator in the outgoing House — is throwing a determined challenge to wrest power.

The path ahead looks far from rosy for the Congress due to resignations, anti-incumbency factor and the warning from an outfit to tribal politicians not to contest on tickets of Congress.

Phungzathang Tonsing, the number two in the state cabinet for many years, resigned from the Congress despite being given a ticket. "Manipur is a small place and people know what the Congress is doing," Tonsing said cryptically, while declining to elaborate.(Read More)

UP polls 2017: SP-Cong alliance pins hope on note ban anger to fight BJP

Campaigning comes to an end for the third phase of Uttar Pradesh assembly elections 2017 today evening. As many as 69 seats across central UP’s Lucknow, Kanpur, Sitapur, Mainpuri, Etawah and adjoining districts will vote on Sunday. Samajwadi Party and Congress workers in the region are nervous. They fear a Hindu consolidation for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP believes the third phase will mark a revival of the party after a tepid response in the first two phases.

In the cities and towns of central UP, there is a positive buzz for Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav but the alliance’s hopes rest more on the mistakes of its rival. The alliance has tried to tap into the anger on the street for Narendra Modi government’s note ban decision, the perceived non-performance of BJP’s Lok Sabha members of Parliament and the infighting in that party’s ranks because of faulty ticket distribution.

But the cadres are also discovering a groundswell of support from the upper castes who wish deliverance from the “Ahir-Muslim” rule of the last five years. The BJP is sure that the patchwork of caste coalition of upper castes and non-Yadav OBCs would help it win majority of the seats in the region.

1. Hindu consolidation

2. Note ban

3. Non-performance of BJP MPs, poor candidate selection

4. Chinks in SP-Congress alliance

5. Anti-incumbency and law and order

6. Split in Muslim votes

Read More

Uber offers 21-year-old Delhi boy Rs 1.25 cr salary, job in San Francisco

Sidharth, a computer science engineering student of Delhi Technological University (DTU), has been offered an annual salary package of Rs 1.25 crore from United States-based app-based taxi aggregator Uber Technologies, reported The Hindustan Times on Friday.

While this is the second-highest pay package offered to a student from DTU, this is not the first time in the recent past that Uber has offered such a large package to a prospective employee. According to the New Indian Express, in December last year, during the placements in the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Uber offered an M.tech passout from the varsity an international profile for a pay package of Rs 1.25 crore.

According to the HT report, Sidharth, an alumnus of Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj, has been offered the position of a software engineer at the San Francisco office of Uber. The whopping salary package he has been offered includes basic pay of Rs 71 lakh and benefits, the latter of which take the package to Rs 1.25 crore.(Read More)

Apple to start India manufacturing in coming months with iPhone SE: Report

Apple Inc will in the coming months start assembling its lower-priced iPhone SE models at a contract manufacturer's plant in the technology hub of Bengaluru, an industry source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.

Apple's Taiwanese manufacturing partner Wistron Corp is setting up a plant in Bengaluru to focus solely on assembling iPhones, a separate source told Reuters earlier this month.

Apple's move comes as it seeks to boost its share in the world's fastest growing major mobile market, where handsets far cheaper than Apple's iPhones dominate. It also comes as smartphone sales growth is slowing in Asia's other massive market, China.


To lower prices, Apple has been seeking to set up local production and has been in talks with the Indian federal government regarding issues such as tax concessions.

The industry source told Reuters the initial manufacturing of the iPhone SE model was not contingent on those concessions.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Economic Times newspaper earlier on Friday reported Apple planned to initially assemble 300,000 to 400,000 iPhone SE handsets in India. The industry source told Reuters the numbers would be substantially lower to begin with.(Read More)

Visiting India on an e-visa? The govt will give you a free SIM card

Union Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma on Wednesday launched pre-loaded SIM cards for tourists arriving in India on e-visa.

These SIMs, which will be provided by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, will have Rs 50 talk time and 50 Mb internet data at free of cost.

"It will facilitate the foreign tourists in communicating with their acquaintances immediately after they land in India," Sharma said.

"Also, they can get information in their own language using our 24x7 Tourist Helpline, which provides service in 12 foreign languages. A Russian speaking or Japanese speaking tourist can use the helpline easily," he added.

The minister further said that the facility would be initially available at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, which will later cover the remaining 15 international airports in the country.

Tourism Secretary Vinod Zutshi said that the service was restricted to e-visa holders now since their complete information is accessed by the government before they arrive.(Read More)

BJP offered Rs 36 cr to contest Manipur polls, alleges Irom; Cong moves EC

Manipur Elections 2017 - The Congress on Wednesday moved the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the allegation made by Irom Sharmila that she was offered Rs 36 crore to contest elections in Manipur. The party has demanded an independent investigation by the EC and has asked for a quick response.

Social activist Irom Sharmila on Monday revealed that she was offered a hefty amount of money by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to contest elections on the saffron party's ticket.

Later in the day, BJP leader Ram Madhav rubbished Sharmila's claims calling it an 'absolute lie' on Twitter.

Sharmila, who ended her 16-year-long fast demanding repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) on August 9, 2016, formed the People's Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA). She may contest from two constituencies - Thoubal and Khurai, out of which she has a better hold in her home constituency Khurai. Thoubal is the constituency of Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh.(Read More)

Priyanka Gandhi wants to avoid people's questions, says Smriti Irani

UP elections 2017 - Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani on Wednesday attacked Priyanka Gandhi saying the Congress leader is not campaigning in Amethi as she cannot face people's questions.

The Union textiles minister addressed rallies and press conference here, where she did not give direct reply when asked if she would be the party's chief ministerial candidate if it comes to power.

Every BJP worker wants that the party forms the next government in Uttar Pradesh, she said on the question of chief ministerial candidate.

She said that despite losing the Lok Sabha poll from Amethi in 2014 to Rahul Gandhi she has been working for the people of the constituency.

But, Priyanka Gandhi has not gone to campaign in Amethi because of the "unfulfilled" promises, she said.

"Priyanka wants to avoid people's questions," she said.

Asked if Samajwadi Party-Congress (SP-Congress) alliance has in any way affected the prospects of BJP in the state, she said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav went with Congress because he was not confident of a victory alone.(Read More)

Isro creates history: PSLV-C37 takes off successfully with 104 satellites

The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) workhorse PSLV-C37 successfully lifted off from the Sriharikota space port near Chennai carrying 104 satellites with it, a first of its kind effort by any space agency in the world.

With the successful launch today, India scripted history by becoming the first country to launch more than 100 satellites in one go. ISRO made its second successful attempt after the launch of 23 satellites together in June 2015.

PSLV-C37, which was on its 39th mission, took off at 9:28 a.m. and it is carrying the 714 kg CARTOSAT-2 series satellite for earth observation, along with 103 co-passenger satellites.


While 96 co-passenger satellites belong to USA, five are from International customers of ISRO — Israel, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Switzerland and United Arab Emirates. Antrix Corporation Ltd (ANTRIX), the commercial arm of the ISRO, has made arrangements for the nano-satellites belonging to international customers.

Two other Indian nano satellites are also carried by the rocket, and the total weight it would carry is around 1,378 kg. The nano satellites will provide an opportunity for ISRO technology demonstration payloads, provide a standard bus for launch on demand services, said Isro sources.(Read More)

Uttarakhand Elections: The odds of a new chief minister

Uttarakhand Elections 2017 - Amid tight security, the polling for the single-phase Uttarakhand assembly elections began on Wednesday and the one question in everyone's mind is whether this Himalayan state, which was carved out from the gigantic Uttar Pradesh in 2000, is going to have a new chief minister or the incumbent supremacy will continue.

The rebel party leaders, certainly, hold the key in the outcome in the hilly state where two prominent parties – the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) and the Congress — are trying every bit to seek the favour of every section of voters. Both parties expelled many leaders ahead of the elections, who then walked into the rival camps. While the BJP has fielded candidates, who have served the Congress, from 13 seats, the grand old party is trying its luck with seven erstwhile-BJP MLAs.

In the last leg of the election campaign, the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi asked to waive off loans worth crores which were taken by some 50 rich families, instead of an initiative against black money as Prime Minister Narendra Modi projected.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Modi, in his last rally in Pithoragarh, tried to strike an emotional chord where the majority of people are in the Army and other security forces. Starting from OROP and surgical strike, he went on to announce many schemes for the betterment of Army personnel.

Reports of the cold war between Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Kishore Upadhyay emerged as the polls drew near. Besides fighting with the BJP, Harish Rawat is also combating for power within the state unit of his party.(Read More)

D-day for Uttarakhand today

Uttarakhand Elections 2017 - Only N D Tiwari has given a five-year-long stable government in to Uttarakhad. After Tiwari’s exit, political instability kept haunting the hill state as chief ministers were changed repeatedly by both Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress.

And last year, the instability reached its peak when the Harish Rawat government was dismissed and later reinstated.

On Wednesday, the state will see its Assembly elections after a year-long political instability, making it a day of reckoning. The polling will be held for 69 constituencies after the election for the lone Karanprayag seat was countermanded following the death of Kuldip Singh Kanwasi, a BSP candidate. The polling in Karanprayag will be held on March 9. “Preparations for the polling have already been made,” said an Election Commission official.

The ruling Congress is facing a stiff challenge from BJP in almost all the seats.

In more than 20 seats, the contest is likely to be very close. Even a difference of 100 votes can change dimensions, especially in Assembly seats such as Vikasnagar, Dehradun Cantt, Narendra nagar, Doiwala and Ranikhet, claimed political experts. But hours before the polling, a purported sting operation accusing Rawat of bribing Dan Singh Bhandari, a former BJP MLA, created flutter in the political circles of Uttarakhand.(Read More)

UP poll: No love lost between political rivals on Valentine's Day

UP elections 2017 - Even as the Valentine's Day falls today, there is apparently no love lost between the top leaders of major political parties as they crisscross poll bound Uttar Pradesh addressing public meetings and unleashing vitriolic attack on opponents.

The canvassing for the second phase of polling in 67 assembly constituencies across 11 largely western UP districts had come to an end on Monday evening with voting scheduled for Wednesday. The districts going to polls on February 15 include Saharanpur, Bijnore, Moradabad, Rampur, Sambhal, Bareilly, Amroha, Pilibhit, Kheri, Shahjahanpur and Badaun.

The politicking for the phase II polling nonetheless witnessed top mascots of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Congress upping the ante to corner their opponents with a view to consolidating their core vote banks.

Senior political leaders who addressed rallies on Monday across UP, included Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, BSP President Mayawati, SP President and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav.

While, Modi and Rahul addressed well attended public meetings in Kheri, Mayawati and Akhilesh were the star campaigners and speakers at election rallies in Etawah and Badaun districts respectively.(Read More)

UP polls 2017: More women losing deposits, fewer winning elections

UP elections 2017 - Poor, populous Uttar Pradesh (UP) was the first Indian state to have a female chief minister–Sucheta Kriplani from 1963 to 1967–but this pioneering effort has not improved prospects for women in elections.

As voter turnout has risen, more competitors have stood against women candidates, fewer women have won and a growing number have lost their deposits, according to an IndiaSpend and Swaniti Initiative analysis of electoral data of the last three state elections in UP since 2002.


The only exception was for the seats reserved for scheduled caste (SC) candidates. The proportion of women winning SC seats was more than double that of those winning general seats.

All this happened over a period when women in India’s most populous state became healthier and better educated, reinforcing the point that there is no correlation between these indicators and better political representation of women.
States with the worst sex ratios have more women members of legislative assemblies (MLAs), as IndiaSpend reported in September 2015.

Roughly over the same period of our study, female literacy in UP grew from 42.2% in 2001 to 59.3% in 2011, and the sex ratio improved from 898 to 908, according to census data compiled by the NITI Aayog. (Read More)

Sasikala convicted in DA case: How a Poes Garden raid did her in

Over the past week or so, one of the staunch supporters of VK Sasikala claim to form a government in Tamil Nadu was BJP leader Subramanian Swamy. He was seen openly supporting her in TV channels and even met the governor at Chennai. Ironically then, the final blow that dashed Sasikala's hopes of occupying the chief minister's chair came from a bullet fired by Swamy two decades ago.

In fact, while Swamy's complaint named only Jayalalithaa, a raid of Poes garden and evidences gathered there and other locations in 1996-97, brought in Sasikala, her nephew VN Sudhakaran and her sister in law J Elavarasi as accused no 2, 3 and 4 in what came to be known as the disproportionate assets (DA) case.

The trial court judgment by Justice John Michael Cunha in September 2014, records that the criminal law was set in motion against former Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa by Subramanian Swamy, the then president of Janata Dal.

He lodged a complaint on June 14, 1996 alleging that, subsequent to the assumption of the public office of the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa acquired properties and earned income disproportionate to her known source of income. The complaint came a month after the AIADMK was condemned to its worst defeat till date in the Assembly elections. Jayalalithaa herself lost in Barugur. Her party was reduced to four seats from 164, five years earlier.(Read More)

PM Modi's letter defending note ban gets delivered in every UP household

Election 2017- Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a letter addressing voters in Uttar Pradesh saying that his government's surprise demonetisation measure was necessary to root out corruption and prevent terrorism, reported The Economic Times on Tuesday.

According to the report, over 1,600 motorcycle-borne activists have been tasked with the duty of delivering the prime minister's letter to 2,75,000 households every day.

The move comes at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) might not be fairing as well in Uttar Pradesh as the party had initially thought. As reported earlier, there is a noticeable defensiveness among BJP voters and supporters this time around regarding the note ban and every time the questions related to the issue crop up. Further, the BJP’s local offices, which in 2014 brimmed with people prematurely celebrating Narendra Modi’s victory before counting, have been muted. (Read more)

A young party official of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh provenance in Rampur, who had his nose to the grindstone when the Lok Sabha polls were underway, told Business Standard that he “lost interest” this time. “I have nothing to say to our voters when they pose uncomfortable questions on demonetisation. I am packing my bags and taking a vacation in my village,” he said. The official’s main worry was that demonetisation had begun to "chip away" at Prime Minister Modi’s image. "Modiji has invested much personal and political capital in it but people ask me, does he not understand our hardships? Why did he make us suffer?" he added. (Read More)

Brand Akhilesh Yadav and the American style of campaigning

UP Elections 2017 - The 2014 general elections represent a watershed in the Indian electoral history in many ways. For one, it changed forever how campaigns are conducted in the country. The Lok Sabha poll campaign saw the then Gujarat chief minister, Narendra Modi, creating a parallel campaign machinery outside of the party to take his word to the people. His campaign to become the Prime Minister had, in fact, kicked off even before the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) named him its Prime Ministerial candidate.

Citizens for Accountable Governance (led by political strategist Prashant Kishor) helped Modi run a political campaign that could have given any MNC giant a run for its money. Through his 360-degree campaign, Modi reached out to disparate voters using their own communication mediums. What made it stand out was the campaign’s focus on modern technology – social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp were used extensively and effectively to create a cult following for Modi and turn the election into an almost Presidential campaign. The result: Narendra Modi seemed to be the only candidate around.

Lessons from this campaign have been learnt by other political parties as well – some more than the others. Later, similar ways were used in Delhi by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and in Bihar by Nitish Kumar, who built an unlikely alliance with his long-time bête noire Lalu Prasad, took his own message of good governance to the people, and returned to power with a landslide victory.(Read More)

UP: Woman who accused SP MLA of rape found dead in Sultanpur

UP elections 2017 - A 22-year-old woman, who had accused Samajwadi Party MLA Arun Verma of raping her along with some other youth in 2013, was found murdered near her house in Sultanpur, police said on Monday.

The body of the woman, who was missing since Saturday, was found on Sunday near a primary school in Jaisinghpur, they said. An FIR has been registered in this regard.

Police said the injury mark around her neck suggested that she was strangled to death. The body has been sent for postmortem to ascertain the cause of death.

The woman had alleged that the local MLA, who is also the SP's Sultanpur candidate for the February 27 polls, and some others had gang raped her in September 2013.(Read More)

Uttarakhand elections: Rahul Gandhi, Harish Rawat perform Ganga aarti

Uttarakhand elections 2017 - With just two days left for the Uttarakhand assembly polls and the state Congress striving hard to woo voters in the last leg of the election campaign, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister Harish Rawat took part in Ganga Aarti at Haridwar's Har Ki Pauri late night on Sunday.

Rahul also held a 75-km long road show and a Nukkad Sabha in the city.

A day before, tearing into Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'real' motives behind demonetisation, Rahul Gandhi branded the move as a tool to waive off loans worth crores taken by some 50 rich families, instead of an initiative against black money as the Prime Minister has projected.

"He claimed that black money is in Swiss bank accounts, and that he would bring the money back from Swiss banks. The Swiss government has given him the names of Swiss account holders. I want to ask Prime Minister Modi, why have you not revealed those names in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha? Why have you kept those thieves away from us?" Gandhi said while addressing a rally in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur.(Read More)

UP Assembly polls 2017: Akhilesh to address rallies in Sambhal, Amroha

Elections 2017 - Kick starting the campaigning for the second phase of Uttar Pradesh elections, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav will on Sunday address two election rallies in Sambhal and Amroha.

With the second phase of the state elections just three days away, political parties are busy campaigning to gain majority.

Akhilesh and Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday jointly launched the Samajwadi Party (SP)-Congress alliance's Common Minimum Programme.


During the launch, Akhilesh attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that their alliance has shaken the latter's confidence.

Akhilesh further slammed the prime minister saying that he only knows to do 'Mann Ki Baat' but not 'Kaam ki baat'.
"Several times people say 'Mann ki baat' but not 'Kaam ki baat'," said Akhilesh.

The second phase of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections will be held on February 15.

The first phase of the elections, which was held on Saturday, saw a voter turnout of 63 per cent.(Read More)

UP polls 2017: Maya's fortunes hinge on winning reserved seats from SP, BJP

UP elections 2017 - In many ways, Uttar Pradesh  2017 is not just a survival game for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) but also a matter of pride for party matriarch Mayawati. An indicator of whether Mayawati will become the next chief minister (CM) of UP depends on whether she can win in most of the 55 new reserved constituencies created after the delimitation exercise in the state in 2008. Before delimitation in 2008, UP had 89 reserved constituencies. Now there are 85. Furthermore, in the 30 constituencies that continued to be reserved post 2008, Mayawati would have to make big strides to reclaim the ground she ceded to the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

That may be hard, but not impossible. The BSP has not been able to recover from the effects of the 2008 delimitation exercise that not just reduced the number of reserved constituencies by four, but also made the new ones less concentrated with Dalits who form the party’s core voter base.

In 2012 assembly elections, in the 55 new reserved constituencies, the BSP managed to win just 11. Mayawati’s biggest challenge will be to uproot the SP from these new reserved constituencies. To do so, she may have to win most of 30 seats which the SP won in 2012 in the newly-created reserved assembly constituencies. What makes her job harder is that before she could make a mark on these newly-reserved constituencies, the BJP had already made rapid inroads into them.(Read More)