Vasai Virar Marathon - a tough one to conquer

Vasai Virar Marathon – a tough one to conquer

It was a late decision to run the Vasai Virar Marathon on October 14^th. There were a few other commitments coming my way and by the time those commitments were cleared and i was free to run the Vasai Virar marathon, i guess the entries were closed. But thanks to Anand and Bruno Goveas who is the main organiser of the race, i got a late entry.

There were no butterflies in the stomach at the prospect of running a 42 kms race because i was intending to take this as a practise long run for the marquee event in January i.e. the Mumbai Marathon.

So bibs received the previous day we went by Raj’s car to the Viva College in Virar which was the starting point for the race. Alongside me were legends of running like Bhasker Desai and Raj Vadgama and young upcoming marathon runner Sandesh Shukla. Sitaram Meena another young and refreshing marathon runner was in another car.

Mani had arranged with his friend for a room near the starting point which was a blessing in disguise for us because we could refresh ourselves before starting off for the race as well as relax afterwards. The starting point arena was agog with activity befitting a city marathon with pandals, police barricades, scores of volunteers, announcements galore.

The race was to be flagged off at 7.00 a.m. but almost got off three minutes before itself in the enthusiastic melee surrounding the event. Ultimately it got flagged off at the right time and off were at 7.00 a.m. along the roads of Virar.

The first five kms wound through a village and it was amazing to see the number of people out on the streets cheering and rooting for us with all their might. People of all walks of life and all ages and many school children were cheering, rooting, shouting, exhorting the runners amidst a cacophony of live music, drum beats, bugles et al. The adrenaline rush was tremendous and never before in all the races have i encountered such a cheering enthusiastic crowd. The non-stop cheering just lifted our tempo and myself along with Sandesh were going at a fine clip of 6 minutes per kilometre with nary a struggle or effort. There were plenty of water stations along the road and the two flyovers were encountered on the way up was dismissed with the contempt that regular hill runners give to such flyovers.

Sandesh had set a target of 2.15 for the first half but we were well within that time limit passing through 21 kms in 1.59.32 seconds, a personal best for me and a first time that i had run that distance in under 2 hours. So one achievement already under the belt.

From 22 kms onwards the pace started dropping for me but Sandesh was going strong so i advised him to carry on nevertheless. A combination of heat and traffic started affecting the runners later on exacerbated by lack of water and medical aid in the latter part of the race. There was only sporadic cheering from now on, but whatever cheering brigade was there they were very enthusiastic and rooting for even one runner. It was very enervating to the tired legs. The traffic started getting denser and the heat was affecting the runners more at this juncture. I had one gu-gel with me which i thought i will take only at 37 kms when i need it the most. There was one gentleman who was providing glucon-d powder and it was like a manna from heaven. I got one small packet of parle-g biscuits at around 24 kms which gave me tremendous strength to push through another 3 to 4 kms comfortably. I was looking for a banana vendor along the way but looks like Vasai Virar is not a banana country because i could not espie even one such vendor along the route. But the people on the street were very friendly and encouraging and clapping for the runners along the way.

At around 35 kms i got talking with a young guy all of 16 who had run the 7 kms race and had come 22^nd in the event. He was pretty enthusiastic about long distance running but i advised him not to overdo the stuff. The toughest part was between 23 to 30 kms but after crossing that milestone i was pretty damned sure that i am gonna finish and from the time on my watch, with a decent personal best. After 37 kms we again enter the village belt but this time the sun was beating down mercilessly though the traffic was negligible along this route. The only worry was water getting over but thankfully there  were many good Samaritans along the way providing water at exactly the right stage. Mulraj Gala came at around 38 kms and gave some cold water which was a great relief. Finally the end was in sight and ran down to the finish in a personal best time of 5.07.00 hours.

I would say it was a gruelling tough marathon due to a late start and not sufficient water on the return leg. More volunteers on the return leg and especially when the runners were finishing would have been great but i guess the organisers would improve upon it next year. Their heart was in the right place though and the sincerity was evident along the route. This is one marathon which i feel is going to grow by leaps and bounds in the future. .  .

So that concludes my racing calendar for the year having run 4 events only during the year, three of which were first timers.  

Ultra Marathon Man

Just finished reading "Ultra Marathon Man - Confessions of an All-Night Runner" by Dean Karnazes - an absorbing and overwhelming story of his early athletic prowess, loss of his sister to accident, his subsequent forays away from running for 15 years and rediscovery of running to running ultra marathons to running crazy distances and impossible feats like running the south pole marathon, running 199 miles non stop etc. His heroic attempt at running the Western States 100 miler and succeeding first time and the Badwater Marathon and failing first time have been very poignantly told. A very nice inspirational story with dollops of quotable quotes for keeping in one's mirror or desktop. The paperback edition has given details of his training plan, nutrition, strategy etc. at the end so that helps in people who are planning to run short distances like the marathon instead of crazy distances like ultra marathon and beyond. A must read for all running addicts. 

The Accidental Billionaires

Just finished reading the brilliant biography of the founding of Facebook "The Accidental Billionaires" by Ben Mezrich. The book cover says "Sex, money, betrayal and the founding of the Facebook". Sex and money are definitely not connected to the founding of the facebook though money is all pervasive connection because of the greed factor. Mark Zukerberg is portrayed as a near genius programmer but with little flair for business. Business ethics and gentlemen's agreement is the basis on which betrayal is suggested. But i guess any business has to be founded on the blood and guts of somebody and it is blood of one person and guts of another. I hope young entrepreneurs or wannabe entrepreneurs do not get ideas on how to found their business upon reading this book. But Indian readers might as well say in Gujarati - "aa ma soo che, aa tho bhadha normal che na bhai!!" Nice narrative style of Mezrich makes for compelling reading.

Non resident guarantee for non fund based facilities between two resident entities

Hitherto RBI had allowed a resident entity to make payment to a non resident entity who had given guarantee on a ECB loan on the invocation of the guaranty. Now it has extended this facility further by allowing the same even for non-fund based facilities between two resident entities in India (i.e. letter of credit/ guarantees/ letter of undertaking/ letter of comfort). The provisions of FEMA will become applicable only when the guaranty is invoked so when that happens the non resident guarantor will satisfy the guaranty to the resident lender in India and the principal debtor in India will then make the necessary arrangements to repatriate the funds to the non resident guarantor.

http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=7531&Mode=0

Hedging facilities for QFIs

Hedging facilities have been made available to Qualified Financial Institutions to hedge their currency risk on account of their permissible investments in India. QFIs have been allowed to invest in rupee denominated units of domestic mutual funds and listed equity shares and to purchase debt securities on repatriation basis. Contents of the RBI circular allowing this can be found at http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=7537&Mode=0

Service tax on remittances

Ministry of Finance, Central Board of Excise and Customs has clarified that no service tax is appliable on remittances from abroad in foreign currency. The "service" as defined in section 65B(44) of the Finance Act, 1994 excludes transaction in money. Since remittance amounts to transaction in money, the service tax becomes not applicable. Any fee or conversion charges levied by the foreign banks or by their Indian counterparts to the foreign banks are also out of the ambit of the service tax because the place of rendering the service is outside India and therefore the Place of Provision of Services Rules 2012 does not apply to that service. A welcome clarification from the CBEC, but I wonder why it is issued as a circular by the CBEC and not as a notification by the service tax department.

I would also wonder if the CBEC would clarify how "acting" becomes a service and actors have to pay service tax on their acting!! Bizarre!!

A copy of the CBEC circular can be found here

service tax on railways

Service tax on travel by Railways in first class or air-conditioned coaches as well as transport of goods by railways exempted upto 30th September 2012. So expect increase in train fares from 1st October 2012 for those travelling by first class or air-conditioned coaches, of which latter is usually the norm even for middle class passengers looking to travel in some comfort. Also with service tax on transport of goods kicking in from October 2012 do not expect inflation to abate. I think looking at the government inability to curb the monster called "inflation" of which the supply side constraints is baffling the government the most, it would have been wiser to leave transport of goods from the service tax ambit. But don't expect the revenue mandarins to think in the same way as the economists or the politicians who of course do not think at all of the common man!! The copy of the service tax circular can be found here

XBRL filing for FY 2011-12 ended

MCA has vide its circular dated 6th July 2012 clarified that

1) there is no change in the applicability criteria for XBRL filing for the financial year ended 2011-12 i.e. listed companies, companies with paid-up share capital above Rs.5 crores or turnover above Rs.100 crores;
2) The taxonomy for XBRL filing which will be based on revised Schedule VI is not ready, so
3) No additional fees will be levied for filings done upto 15th November 2012 or 30 days from the date of AGM whichever is later. Since the AGMs will necessarily have to be held on or before 30th September 2012 for companies having 31st March as the financial year, the exemption is available upto 15th November 2012;

Copy of the MCA circular can be found here

Timeline for physical transfer of shares reduced

SEBI has vide its circular dated 5th July 2012 reduced the timeline for transfer of shares in physical form from 30 days to 15 days not only in equity segment, but also in SME listing segment as also in debt securities segment. This has been done in consultation with the Registrars Association of India, so henceforth the RTAs have to comply with this provision. Also the half yearly certificate under clause 47-C of the listing agreement will have to refer to the new timeline for transfer of shares. A copy of the SEBI circular can be found below

CIRCULAR
CIR/MIRSD/8 /2012            July 05 , 2012
To
All Recognized Stock Exchanges
All SEBI registered Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents
Sir / Madam,
Sub:  Reduction of Time-line for Transfer of Equity Shares and Prescription of
Time-line for Transfer of Debt Securities.
1. The listing agreement for equity shares prescribed under the Securities Contracts
(Regulation) Act, 1956 inter alia specifies a period of one month for registering
transfer of shares from the date of lodgment.  
2. With a view to expedite the transfer process in the interest of  the investors, it has
been decided, in consultation with Registrars Association of India (RAIN), Stock
Exchanges and market participants to reduce the time-line for registering the
transfer of shares to 15 days. The same time-line shall also be applicable for
transfer of debt securities.
 
3. Accordingly, all the recognized stock exchanges are directed 
a. to amend Clauses 3 (c) and 12A(3) of the listing agreement for equity
shares,
b. to amend Clauses 3(c) and 14(b) of the SME Equity listing agreement,
c. to incorporate the time-line of 15 days for  transfer of debt securities
and the provision for compensation  of the opportunity losses caused
during the period of delay in transfer, in the listing agreement for debt
securities, on the lines of the existing provisions in the listing
agreement for equity shares and SEBI Circular No.
SMDRP/POLICY/CIR-46/2001 dated September 27, 2001,
d. to amend any other clauses as applicable in the above listing
agreements.
4. All SEBI registered Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents are
directed to adhere to the above time-lines for transfer of shares and debt
securities. 
5. In view of the above, the time-line for transfer of shares and / or provision for
compensation for delay thereof, as referred to in SEBI Circulars No. RTI Circular ¼ããÀ¦ããè¾ã     
Page 2 of 2
  
No.1(2000-2001) dated May 09, 2001, SMDRP/POLICY/CIR-46/2001 dated
September 27, 2001 and PMD/RRTI/NB/22463/2002 dated November 20, 2002
stand modified. 
6. This circular is issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India  Act, 1992, to protect the interests of
investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the
securities markets and shall come into force with effect from October 01, 2012.
7. This circular is available on SEBI website (www.sebi.gov.in) under the categories
“Legal Framework” and “Circulars”.
Yours faithfully,
K. SARAVANAN
Deputy General Manager
Tel. No: 022-26449220

FDI Policy

RBI has issued a circular dated 28th June 2012 wherein it has made some changes in the FDI policy in the form of bringing in uniformity in sector classification in the FDI. A Copy of the said circular can be found here
The Annex A and B of Schedule I is the most important document of the FDI Policy as it gives the sectoral classification. I would have thought the RBI should have been more specific while issuing circulars and given exact changes made in the FDI policy.

RBI goes digital

At last RBI is going digital - i mean they are now implementing an online tracking system for the applications submitted to them under various provisions of FEMA - this will bring in the much needed transparency as well reduce unnecessary visits to their office to seek status of the applications. Details of their online system can be found here

Details of unpaid/ unclaimed dividend

MCA has come out with a notification dated 10th May 2012 here that every company shall within a period of 90 days after holding the annual general meeting file on the mca portal an e-form 5INV which shall give details of all the unpaid/ unclaimed dividends until the completion of the relevant 7 year period. The details shall be names & last known addresses of the shareholders, nature of amount (i.e. dividend, debenture, fixed deposit, interest etc), amount of unclaimed dividend, due date of transfer to IEPF etc. A proviso has been added that information for the year ended 31st March 2011 to be filed by 31st July 2012. On the basis of this information at the mca portal, shareholders can find out how much, if any, of their dividends they have not claimed and thereafter make application to the companies to claim that amount. Obviously it would apply only upto 7 years from the date of transfer to unclaimed account, after which it needs to be transferred to the IEPF.

Filing of event based forms

MCA had issued a circular dated 1/6/2011 wherein companies who were in default of filing their annual filings such as balance-sheet, annual return were debarred from filing any event related filings such as appointment of director, registration/ satisfaction of charges etc. This was a kind of arm twisting done by the MCA in order to ensure compliance by the companies. It worked!! Now looking at some general difficulties faced by stakeholders who have lent monies to the companies MCA has relaxed its stringent provisions by allowing filing of modification of charges under SARFEASI Act and satisfaction of charges. So it seems that where SARFEASI Act is not involved i.e. in general cases of modification of charges, this relaxation does not apply. How the form delineates that the charge is under SARFEASI or not remains to be seen. I suspect they will bring about changes in the form itself to provide for that. Copy of MCA circular can be seen here

Unauthenticated market related news or rumours

SEBI has sought to regulate/ control/ plug, (call it whatever), unregulated market related news or rumours that wreaks havoc on the stock markets and distorts the price and that too emanating from the market intermediaries through their employees using social media like blogs, messengers, chats etc. The first of such circulars issued here on march 23, 2011 lamented on the general lack of supervision at broker houses and gave a general guidance on steps to be taken such as laying down internal code of conduct, blocking access to blogs, chats, forums etc., having a log book for restricted access to such sites in office network, and that any market related news, rumours in his personal mail should be forwarded only after it has been seen and approved by the company's Compliance Officer. If an employee fails to do so, he shall be held in violation of the relevant SEBI Acts, rules etc. and be liable for necesary actions etc.

Subsequently SEBI brought in an addendum on March 24, 2011 here that even the Compliance Officer would be held liable for breach of duty with respect to the employee taking approval from the Compliance Officer for forwarding market related news/ rumours in his personal mail/ blog etc. It is not clear on what grounds the Compliance Officer would be held liable - for not putting in place necessary systems for securing approvals for forwarding mails or for approving the forwarding of mails which has related in distortion in market prices.

Recently SEBI brought in a faqs on the same subject, here which gives more clarifications on steps to be taken by the intermediaries. For eg. it clarifies that opinions/ views expressed by intermediaries would not amount to unrelated market news provided there is a demonstrable and rational basis to the opinions. Employees to receive formal trainings, intermediaries should define the scope of permitted and prohibited conduct when using tools such as e-mails, blogs etc. and periodic monitoring to be carried out by the compliance officer. Employees are required to clearly and unequivocably state in their communication to clients where it is an unrelated market news or rumours that it is so.

SEBI has therefore laid down guidelines on the circulation of news/ rumours in the social media such as blogger, facebook, twitter etc. A few days ago, there was a news report here that a CFO has been fired after his tweets moved the company's stocks. Probably that will be next logical step in the SEBI regulation ladder i.e. ensuring that company insiders do not use social media tools such as facebook, twitter irresponsibly. Nowadays tweets spread like wildfire and therefore it will not be in the interest of a company insider to say that tweets have a restricted audience. Retweets/ share ensure that audience is in the thousands.

Bank Finance to NBFCs having exposure to gold

Bank Finance to NBFCs having predominant exposure to gold lending has been cut from 10% of the bank's capital funds to 7.5%. NBFCs who have more than 50% of their exposure in gold loans will now be able to avail bank finance only upto the above limits. However, where the NBFCs' additional exposure is to the infrastructure sector, then bank funds can go upto 12.5% of their capital funds. Banks are also mandated to have internal sub-limits for on-lending to NBFCs having predominant exposure to gold loans. A copy of the RBI circular to this effect can be found here

Fathers and Sons

This is a brilliant book dealing with the love of fathers towards their sons. Arcady and Bazarov return to Arcady's father's house in rural hinterland of mid-19th century. They are idealistic and have developed a nihilistic approach in life where Arcady is in awe of Bazarov. Arcady's father Nicholas and Paul are old timers who have modernised by freeing serfs and Nicholas loves his son but is upset when both Arcady and Bazarov decide to leave their home to go to a neighbour where they visit Anna Sergeyevna who is a widow where surprisingly Bazarov falls madly in love with Anna who is older to him and Arcady has a crush on Anna but slowly moves towards Katya, Anna's sister. Falling in love was like an anathema to Bazarov due to his nihilistic leanings, so both of them come back to Arcady's house. In between Bazarov visits his old parents Vassily Ivanich and Arina Vlassyevna his father and mother. His parents are old and they are deliriously excited to have Bazarov back and shower him with blessings and love which Bazarov likes in the beginning but starts detesting later on, again his nihilistic leanings throwing him against his own parents. The interplay between Bazarov and his parents and their emotions which Bazarov so cruelly crushes is where "Fathers and Sons" achieves greatness. Turgenev has written beautifully and movingly and it would be difficult not to get emotionally involved in this father-son interlude. Love of a father towards his offspring is greater than any idealism that this world produces in mid-19th century or even now in the early 21st century and this is what makes Turgenev's book timeless. "He has abandoned us, he has abandoned us" quivered Vassily Ivanich when Bazarov leaves his home  - this was an absolutely gut wrenching part of the book. After Anna rejects his love due to her strong independence, Bazarov returns to Arcady's house and falls in love again with Nicholas's young mistress whom he kisses which is seen by Paul who detests Bazarov for his arrogance and his anti-authority views. Bazarov is forced to leave Arcady's house due to a gun duel with Paul. What happens to Bazarov, Arcady and their old parents - this book is highly recommended - a Russian classic - my rating 5/5

Duration of advertisements in television channels

TRAI has issued the Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisement in Television Channels) Regulations 2012 wherein the duration of advertisement in television channels is sought to be curbed to only 12 minutes in a clock hour. Any shortfall in advertisement in any one hour cannot be allowed to be carried over to the next hour. Advertisement during live broadcast of any sporting action can be carried out only during the break during the sporting action. The minimum time gap between two advertisement breaks should not be less than 15 minutes and in case of movies it shall not be less than 30 minutes. Part screen and drop down advertisements are not permitted. It shall only be full screen advertisements. The audio level of the advertisements should not be more than of the regular programs.

This is a major move by the regulator to bring in quality standards in television channels. Many a time we have seen endless advertisements during a program and especially the regional channels have too many advertisements and in fact their program duration is less than the advertisement duration. So this is a welcome move.

We have also seen during the last world cup that advertisements were cropping even before the last ball of an over has been completed and most of the times the advertisements have been intrusive. So having advertisements only during the break in a sporting action is most welcome, though i have seen advertisements being carried out in Formula I grand prix coverage which normally runs into more than 1 hours' duration. Now with this directive such advertisements cannot be carried out.

The minimum break time between advertisements is most welcome in case of movies because watching a good movie gets spoiled in case there are too many advertisement breaks.

Scroll advertisements are mostly seen in the news channels when they have multiple scrolls across the tv screen and all the scrolls are moving fast so it becomes very difficult to read what is news and what is advertising and the actual screen space is totally eroded by the scroll advertisements.

The moot point which the channels have raised is whether TRAI has the mandate to regulate matters concerning broadcasting which according to them is best left to the Information & Broadcasting Ministry. But i think the TRAI does have the powers to regulate matters concerning broadcasting industry.

Another issue which they have raised is that of over regulation and revenue impact. According to the channels, such kind of regulations could spell the death knell of many channels because they are surviving only on advertising support which if restricted to 12 minutes per hour could get severely impacted. The channels say that competition is the best market force because if any channel carries too much advertisements then the viewers would naturally gravitate to other channels. This argument by the channels is very weak because if all the channels over advertise then the viewers naturally have no choice of channels.

Laying down minimum quality of service standard for the broadcasting industry is most welcome.

The salient features of the regulation can be found here

The text of the regulation can be accessed from the TRAI site viz. www.trai.gov.in

Cost Audit Report in XBRL mode

MCA has mandated vide its circular no. 8/2012 dated 10th May 2012 that all cost audit reports should henceforth filed in XBRL mode including any cost audit reports for the previous years which were not filed. They have therefore given time for the Cost Audit reports to be filed after 30th June 2012 by which time the taxonomy together with the Form I and form A in XBRL format would be ready for submission. a copy of the MCA circular can be found here

ECB Policy - Utilisation for Rupee Expenditure

RBI has outlined some procedural issues relating to uilisation of ECB proceeds for rupee expenditure. They have specified that the borrower is required to stipulate at the time of obtaining the Loan Registration Number itself the bifurcation of the ECB proceeds for foreign currency expenditure and rupee expenditure in form 83. The onus of  complying with this requirement of the RBI is cast on the borrower whereas the the responsibility of remitting the funds meant for rupee expenditure into India is that of the Authorised Bank. The copy of RBI circular can be found here

Bear Island

Just finished reading “Bear Island” by Alistair Maclean my favourite author.  Dr. Marlowe is a doctor on board a fishing trawler Morning Rose which is headed towards Bear Island in Barents Sea for some film shooting of which nobody knows what the script is about. Enroute, the film crew start getting murdered one after another in mysterious circumstances. The plot gets murkier when the crew lands on the inhospitable and alien Bear Island and the murders continue. Written in first person narrative, Maclean gradually lets the suspense out one after another taking the story to some connection in post war Europe. A gripping enthralling book, a typically pot boiler by Alistair Maclean. Rating 5/5 – Highly Recommended

Intra-Bank Deposit Accounts Portability

RBI has clarified (that is the right word, in this case) that in case of transfer of bank accounts from one branch of a bank to another branch of the same bank, there is no need to undergo full KYC at the new branch, because in view of the CORE banking successfully carried out by all the banks there is no need for fresh KYC and the new branch can access the KYC from the system. The account holder however will have to produce fresh address proof. This clarification was necessary because many banks notably ICICI was insisting on opening new accounts at the new branch in case of transfer of accounts intra banks which was obviously cumbersome for customers. To access copy of the RBI circular, please go here

Just a Matter of Time

“Just a matter of time” by james Hadley chase is a book i picked up from the flea stall near churchgate station for rupees 20/- and i am a big fan of james Hadley chase. It is a short book of 190 pages which typically is the average size of chase books. Chase does not disappoint again. He is unarguably the best story teller with fast paced stories which typically involves crime, intrigue, suspense, blackmail, sex and he typically writes about the under dregs of society. Mrs. Morely Johnson is an almost blind widower with loads of money, jewellery, paintings, investments and only one heir, a nephew who is a good for nothing fella, so she disowns him in the will, most of which goes to charity a few to the investment banker who takes care of her investments. Assorted characters descend on the plot in the form of driver, nurse one of whom is a master forger and the other a sex bomb. The plot moves inextricably fast from one scheme gone good to another gone awry into an interesting climax. I would rate it 5/5 and chase fans don’t need a second recommendation at all – if they are like me, they would devour all of james Hadley chase books, of whom i have read 15 books so far 

Mumtaz Qureshi conquers the distance - 100 kms

Mumtaz Qureshi and Apurba Dass two runners from Mumbai completed an arduous feat of running 100 kilometres across Mumbai and parts of Thane on Sunday, 8^th April 2012.

Starting off on Saturday at 11.00 p.m. from the Bisleri junction at Andheri east on the western express highway, the duo started with Kavin, Atul Tuli for company alongwith Mahesh Gune on the bicycle. Mayank and Aishorjyo were on a car which was carrying supplies like water, Gatorade, bananas, oranges, wafers, boiled eggs, chikkoos along with ice. They ran the whole night upto NCPA in South Mumbai where they were joined by Anand. There was a brief half at NCPA for recouping supplies of water, refreshments etc. and then they started running back along the same route back to Sidhivinayak Mandir. At the Mandir, Mumtaz got the divine presence of his coach Giles Drego who joined him at Prabhadevi along with Mehamood Anwar. From the Mandir, they took a right turn to go past Plaza cinema, Tilak Bridge and Dadar T.T.

At Dadar T.T. which they reached in the early morning on Sunday, they were joined by Mani Iyer, P.V. Subramanyam, Jitendra and Kartik Suresh and here the second car with Mohan Kumar gave company. The second car was also similarly stocked with supplies. By this time the team were running at least 90 minutes late as per the scheduled chart and route map which was carefully planned and made into a nice little booklet by Vikas.

Running down the Eastern Express highway now, they went past Sion and Chembur where they were joined at Chembur by Kshitij Sharma, Sunil Gwalani, Haridasan Nair and a couple of their friends. Giles Drego was running barefoot on that day and being his coach, was constantly encouraging him and guiding Mumtaz. Apurba of course was an old hand at running 100 kms and this was to be his 4^th 100 kms run.

I joined at Chedda Nagar, Chembur at around 6.30 a.m. when the weather was still okay and the sun was not out yet. By then the duo had already completed 50 kms and looking fresh as ever. Mani’s mother had got up at 3.00 a.m. on a Sunday morning to prepare a big tinful of delicious idlis with chutnies. This was savoured by the runners at this junction. There were also vadas, wafers, boiled eggs to carbo load for the runners.

Mani had arranged with few of his office friends to come at specified venues at specified timings with fresh supplies of lime juice, water, dates, Gatorade etc., and the first of his friends Pandarinath Savanur and Satyadev Singh came at Kanjur marg junction with fresh & cool lime juice.

The sun was out by then and early morning highway was replete with Sunday cyclists who were puzzled to see a bunch of runners determinedly running – one of them enquired what this was all about and when told that a 100 kms run was on, he said he would have joined the run for 20 kms but not for 100 kms. Mumtaz was looking good at this stage while Apurba was going strong with a good pace.

The lead vehicles were stopping at every 2 kms to give the runners refreshment which was required at this stage because of the heat and humidity. Mayank who was driving the car all night long expressed and got his wish fulfilled of cycling a while on Mahesh Gune’s cycle which refreshed him a lot from the all night stress. It was a good team work going all around.

When we entered Thane, Dinesh Langauni had come with a photographer from Thane Plus to click some pictures and he enquired whether we needed anything specific in terms of supplies and quickly went round and bought a block of ice. The pace had dropped by then because of longish stretches of road with very little tree cover or shade whatsoever along the highway.

When we entered the dreaded Ghodbunder road it was choc-a-bloc with traffic and the space for running was very less what with lots of construction activity going on in the beginning portion of the GB road. By then Varun Joshi had joined us on his bicycle after doing an arduous 60 kms the previous day at Kharghar. Swami joined somewhere along the GB road with Venkat Krishnan for company and he had fresh supplies in his car. So now we had three cars going along and Swami decided to keep the cars at 1 kms distance each because the conditions for running at GB were very tough to impossible. But impossible is not a word which runners understand so there they were running along at slowish pace but the breaks at each water station were getting shorter. There were again few gentle enquiries from people and stares from few others because it was past mid-day and people were probably wondering what we were upto.

Sridhar B came on GB road with lime juice water, dates and brought his mother along for blessings, which was very kind of him. GB road took its toll on the runners because coupled with the hot noonday sun, there was no tree cover anywhere along the road and the road was brutally climbing at few places and to top it all, macadam work was being carried out on one section of the road which was emitting hot fumes from the tar being burnt.

When the runners finally hit the Western Express highway there was relief all round but it was another 16 kms to go for the finish line. W.E. highway again teeming with traffic on a Sunday afternoon but the going was okay at this stage. There was a determination to complete the distance against all odds which prompted both Mumtaz & Apurba to keep going on their feet by taking short breaks.

Pramod Pai appeared somewhere along the Mira Road with fresh supplies of water and most importantly beer cans which was for savouring after the run. So now we had four cars along with the runners. Another of Mani’s friend Nitin More and his brother came at BNP gate with orange Gatorade. There was only 7 kms to go for the finish line and the urgency of the runners were apparent in the determined looks on their faces.

Finally at 4.30 p.m. Mumtaz Qureshi and Apurba Dass reached Aarey check naka at distance of 100 kms from the starting point at Andheri, a staggering 17 ½ hours on their feet. It was a feat of endurance of unparalleled proportions in the deadly heat of April in Mumbai. Both the guys had showed that they were made of steel and the grit, composure and determination showed by both the runners was worth emulating.

The support for this run was magnificient right from the planning stage to vehicles, supplies, co-runners, friends, well wishers etc. coming out to support them. It was a daring plan to run across Mumbai and parts of Thane, so the logistics were to be meticulous, which it was. Exemplary efforts by the entire team of support runners for this event.  

Rink football at Malad

ECB for Civil Aviation Sector

Considering the bad conditions in which the civil aviation sector is in India these days, RBI has thrown a lifeline to the sector by allowing them to avail ECBs for working capital purposes. Each airline company can avail USD 300 million each subject to a cap of USD 1 billion for the entire sector in itself. The ECB will be on approval basis. There are few other conditions as well, prominent among them is that repayment of ECB should be out of the foreign exchange earnings, and not from borrowing from the Indian market. A copy of the circular can be found here

ECB Liberalisations

RBI has vide two notifications both dated 20th april 2012 further liberalised the ECB regime.

In the first notification, which can be accessed here the infrastructure sector has been given the sops. Power sector is allowed to use 40% of the ECB loan availed for refinancing costly rupee loan, but this will be on approval basis and also subject to the condition that the balance 60% is to be used for capital expenditure.

In the second notification which can be accessed here a new ECB can be raised at a higher rate than the existing ECB and that second ECB can be used for refinancing/ rescheduling an existing ECB on approval basis. The all in cost ceilings should not be broached.

I wonder why should anybody borrow at a higher rate in order to reschedule a ECB taken at a lower rate, unless I am missing something. 

Government payments on e-payments mode

The Government of India, Ministry of Finance has issued a press release which stipulates that all government payments above Rs.25,000/- from the government to its vendors, suppliers, loanees, grantees etc. will be made by direct credit to the payee's bank account instead of by cash or cheque. All payments to government employees other than salaries above this limit will also be similarly made by direct credit. Even the government employees can opt to have their salaries credited by direct credit to their bank accounts. However, the limit of Rs.25,000/- fails logic - why not make the entire government payments spectrum on e-payment basis from Re.1 onwards.

Government press release

Consolidated FDI Policy

The Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP) under the Ministry of Commerce has published the latest edition of the Consolidated FDI Policy effective from April 10, 2012. The DIPP undertakes to issue revised Consolidated FDI Policy every six months in April and October every year. Now onwards they will issue it on a yearly basis i.e. the next consolidated FDI policy will be issued in March 2013.

Simultaneous to the consolidated FDI policy which makes for ponderous reading because it is more than 100 pages, the DIPP has also issued a press release detailing the changes that were carried out in the FDI policy from October 2011. Some of the changes in the policy is highlighted below:

i)                    In Commodity Exchanges, government approval is required only for the FDI component, not for the FII investment;

ii)                  In case of NBFC, FDI is allowed only on financial lease activity, not on operational leases;

iii)                In case of conversion to equity on the value of imported machinery etc. Second hand machinery, capital goods etc. Will not be allowed to be converted into equity, only first hand imported state of the art technology;

iv)                Investment by Foreign Venture Capital Investors and Qualified Financial Investors in permitted securities;

v)                  FDI in single brand retailing upto 100%,

Among others

The copy of the press release can be found here

A copy of the consolidated FDI circular can be found here

Category II Authorised Dealers

Category II Authorised Dealers have been given certain additional powers vide RBI circular dated 4th April 2012 on the subject. They have now been allowed to issue forex pre-paid cards to residents travelling out of India on personal/ business visits subject of course to adhering to KYC norms. However the settlement of forex pre-paid cards can be made only through category I Authorised Dealers.

Further they have also been allowed to open Nostro accounts subject to some conditions such as (1) only one nostro account per currency, (2) Balances in the nostro accounts to be used only for making remittances which are permissible and not for settlement of forex pre-paid cards, which can be done only through Category I Authorised Dealers, (3) No idle balance should remain in the account (4) Reporting requirements.

Category II authorised dealers are travel agents such as Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings and other finance companies which are not banks.

Copy of the RBI circular can be found  here

International Debit Cards

RBI has vide its circular no. 102 dated 2nd April 2012 relaxed conditions for redemption of international debit cards/ store value cards/ charge cards/ smart cards which is used by resident Indians while on a visit out of India. Hitherto there was a condition that the unutilised balance lying in the card would be redeemed only after 10 days of the last transaction. Now they can redeem the unutilised balance in the card immediately on arrival but the Authorised Persons shall retain some amount for (a) amounts that are authorised by the traveller but remaining unclaimed from the AP on the date of request for redemption, (b) a sum not exceeding $100 for any pipeline transactions, and (c) transaction fees/ service tax payable in India. A copy of the said circular can be accessed here

Echoes in the Darkness

Just finished reading a true crime story by Joseph Wambaugh - "Echoes in the Darkness". This book is regarding the murder mystery of Susan Reinert a divorced school teacher and her two children Karen and Micheal who were never found since that fateful day in June 1979. She was having a secret with another school teacher William Bradfield who was famous for his numerous flings with women. He was having another secret affair with another teacher Sue Myers and this after having two failed marriages in the past. Whilst he was juggling with the two teachers he started and successfully carried two more affairs both with students of the Upper Merion High School in Main Line, Philadelphia where they were all enrolled. One of the student was a minor when he started his affair, but all his women swore by his affections. The principal of the school was Jay Smith an ex-army officer and quite a character in himself with revelations of sexual escapades and fantasies, shoplifting and his own daughter Stephanie and son-in-law Eddie Hunsberger were never found – it was alleged that Smith had murdered his daughter and son-in-law but they just vanished from the face of earth and were never found to this day. The prosecution had to rely on circumstantial evidence in this case. Much of the book in the first half is devoted to the peccadilloes of William Bradfield and Jay Smith in conjuring up their images as crazy, demented individuals.

Promoters' exemption from holding their shares in demat form

SEBI has vide its circular dated March 30, 2012 exempted certain categories of cases from the mandatory requirement of 100% shareholding of promoters of companies in demat form. A list of four such categories is given in the circular appended below. The companies/ promoters have to approach the stock exchanges with proper documentary evidence as to matters falling within the said four categories.

http://www.sebi.gov.in/cms/sebi_data/attachdocs/1333096925164.pdf


CIRCULAR
SEBI/Cir/ISD/  1  /2012
March 30, 2012
To,
All the Recognized Stock Exchanges,
Dear Sir/Madam,
Sub: Exemptions from 100% promoter(s) holding in demat form
1. This is further to SEBI circulars SEBI/Cir/ISD/3/2011  dated June 17, 2011 and
SEBI/Cir/ISD/05/2011 dated September 30, 2011 regarding 100% promoter(s)
holding in demat form.
2. While reviewing compliance, it is noticed that promoters of a large number of
companies have complied with the requirements stated in the above mentioned
circulars. SEBI has also received representations from various companies
bringing out issues relating to dematerialization of holdings of promoters and
have accordingly sought exemption from compliance with the above mentioned
circulars.
3. In light of these representations and in consultation with Stock Exchanges, it has
been decided that following exemptions shall be taken into consideration while
arriving at compliance with 100% promoter(s) holding in demat form. Such
exemption shall be applicable in cases where :-
a. Promoter(s) have sold their shares in physical mode and such shares have
not been lodged for transfer with the company; or
b. Matters concerning part/entire shareholding of promoters/promoter group
are sub judice before any Court/Tribunal; or
c. Shares cannot be converted into demat form due to death of any
promoter(s); or
d. Shares allotted to promoter(s) that await final approval for listing from stock
exchange and such pendency is less than 30 days or shares that upon
receipt of final listing approval from stock exchange are pending conversion
to demat and such pendency is less than 15 days.

4. For availing such exemption under Para 3 (a) to (d) above, companies shall
approach Stock Exchange(s) along with necessary documentary evidence.
5. Provisions of SEBI circulars SEBI/Cir/ISD/3/2011 dated June 17, 2011,
SEBI/Cir/ISD/05/2011 dated September 30, 2011 and this circular shall come
into effect from April 30, 2012.
6. The Stock Exchanges are advised to:-
a) Put in place adequate systems and issue necessary guidelines to the market
for implementing the above decision; and
b) Make necessary amendments to the relevant bye-laws, rules and regulations
for implementation of the above decision; and
c) Bring the provisions of  this circular to the notice  of the market and also to
disseminate the same on its website; and
d) Communicate to SEBI the status of implementation of this circular through the
Monthly Report.
7. This circular is being issued under Section 11(1) read with Section 11(2)(a) of the
Securities and Exchange Board of India  Act, 1992 to protect the interests of
investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the
securities market as well as to regulate the business in stock exchanges.
8. This circular is available on SEBI website at www.sebi.gov.in
Yours faithfully,
Avarjeet Singh
Deputy General Manager
Integrated Surveillance Department
022-26449262
avarjeets@sebi.gov.in

ODI - liberalisation

RBI has vide its circular no. 101 dated 2nd April 2012 liberalised the Overseas direct investments regime by allowing an Indian party to open, hold, maintain and operate Foreign Currency Account in an overseas account in a foreign country without taking prior permission from RBI provided some conditions are fulfilled.

The conditions and the circular can be accessed here

Overseas Direct Investments – Liberalisation / Rationalisation

RBI/2011-12/481 A. P. (DIR Series) Circular No.101 April 02, 2012 To All Category-I Authorised Dealer Banks Madam / Sir, Overseas Direct Investments – Liberalisation / Rationalisation Attention of the Authorised Dealer (AD - Category I) banks are invited to the Notification No. FEMA 10/2000-RB dated May 3, 2000 [Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Currency Accounts by a person resident in India) Regulations, 2000] (the Notification), as amended from time to time. 2. As per the extant provisions of FEMA, an Indian party (as defined under Notification No. FEMA 120/RB-2004 dated July 07, 2004, as amended from time to time) is required to obtain prior permission of the Reserve Bank to open, hold and maintain Foreign Currency Account in a foreign country for the purpose of overseas direct investments in that country, in case the regulation of the host country requires that the investment in the country is to be made through a particular account to be opened with the commercial bank of the country. 3. To provide operational flexibility to the Indian party, it has been decided to liberalise the regulations pertaining to opening / holding / maintaining the Foreign Currency Account by Indian party outside India as under: An Indian party will now be allowed to open, hold and maintain Foreign Currency Account (FCA) abroad for the purpose of overseas direct investments subject to the following terms and conditions: The Indian party is eligible for overseas direct investments in terms of Regulation 6 (Regulation 7, if applicable) of Notification No. FEMA 120/RB-2004 dated July 7, 2004, as amended from time to time. The host country Regulations stipulate that the investments into the country is required to be routed through a designated account. FCA shall be opened, held and maintained as per the regulation of the host country. The remittances sent to the FCA by the Indian party should be utilized only for making overseas direct investment into the JV / WOS abroad. Any amount received in the account by way of dividend and / or other entitlements from the subsidiary shall be repatriated to India within 30 days from the date of credit. The Indian party should submit the details of debits and credits in the FCA on yearly basis to the designated AD bank with a certificate from the Statutory Auditors of the Indian party certifying that the FCA was maintained as per the host country laws and the extant FEMA regulations / provisions as applicable. The FCA so opened shall be closed immediately or within 30 days from the date of disinvestment from JV / WOS or cessation thereof. 4. Necessary amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Foreign Currency Accounts by a person resident in India) Regulations, 2000 are being issued separately. 5. AD - Category I banks may bring the contents of this circular to the notice of their constituents and customers concerned. 6. The directions contained in this circular have been issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999 (42 of 1999) and are without prejudice to permissions/approvals, if any, required under any other law. Yours faithfully, (Dr. Sujatha Elizabeth Prasad) Chief General Manager

Revision of interest rates for small savings schemes w.e.f. 1.04.2012

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=81733 Revision of Interest Rates for Small Savings Schemes with Effect from 1st April 2012

Based on the decisions taken by the Government on the recommendations of the Shyamala Gopinath Committee for Comprehensive Review of National Small Savings Fund (NSSF), the interest rates for small saving schemes are to be notified every financial year, before 1st April of that year.  Accordingly, the rate of interest on various small savings schemes for the financial year 2012-13 effective from 1.4.2012, on the basis of the interest compounding/payment built-in in the schemes, shall be as under: Scheme Rate of Interest w.e.f. 1.12.2011 Rate of Interest w.e.f. 1.4.2012 Savings Deposit 4.0 4.0 1 year Time Deposit 7.7 8.2 2 year Time Deposit 7.8 8.3 3 year Time Deposit 8.0 8.4 5 year Time Deposit 8.3 8.5 5 year Recurring Deposit 8.0 8.4 5 year SCSS 9.0 9.3 5 year MIS 8.2 8.5 5 year NSC 8.4 8.6 10 year NSC 8.7 8.9 PPF 8.6 8.8 Necessary notifications, including those requiring amendments to rules of small savings schemes will be notified separately. DSM/SS/Hb (Release ID :81733)