Not long ago, in a small town, there lived three men who had no names. The first one was a dreamer. He followed his heart and chased his dreams. No matter how hard the struggle, he never gave up and always emerged stronger than before, and passed away in content that he had lived his dreams to the fullest. He was known for what he did and the people of the town were full of respect for him and engraved this on his gravestone: Somebody. The second one too had his own dreams, but he didn't muster the courage to follow his heart. Soon he gave up his dreams to live a compromised dream. He had his ups and downs but it only made him tired and weak as he could not be enthusiastic about a dream that had not been entirely his. There were so many people like him in that town, so the people of the town wrote this on his gravestone: Anybody. The third one had no dreams for he was not told that he could in fact dream. He had to borrow others' dreams and call it his. Eventually, he was crumpled in the twists and turns of these dreams he couldn't fully understand. He died too, along with the countless other dreams he had taken upon himself. People could not come to an agreement on his contribution and they simply scratched Nobody on his gravestone.I stumbled upon animation as a career option in the early 2000s. I decided to become an animator, not knowing anything about animation. It was exactly like what had happened to my parents and their parents when their marriages were arranged-a blind date in both cases, with pleasant surprises all along the way! Let me tell you the whole story.I went to a residential school where the system made all the choices. As cliché is it may sound all of us had unanimously aspired to become engineers, if not doctors. None of us ever wanted to become an evolutionary biologist or an adventurous underwater camera person. Most of my extra ordinary friends became ordinary engineers and camouflaged in the crowd-to be just another brick in the wall. There must have been a somebody among us, a potential genius; only if we were encouraged to find our own calling. I was terribly lost when I said no to engineering. It was more frightening to take that dream of being an engineer, a Nobody.A few years later I was accepted to the National Institute of Design, an education system that focuses on bringing out individual expression. Students were exposed to mandatory module called 'Science and Liberal Arts' along with a chosen trade (mine being Animation). Subjects discussed in that module struck a chord in me. I was glad for the first time of having shown a direction. I felt my life had much more to offer, without which even animation would have been just a mundane exercise. The choice of consciously selecting what to communicate became more important. This liberal system of education helped me understand that one can go beyond being a Anybody. In 2011 I came across the Young India Fellowship, a complete science and liberal-arts-based experience that encourages reading, writing and participating in debates with diverse set of people with fire in their bellies. It brought clarity in me by presenting conflicting ideas, encouraged independent thinking and enabled better self-evaluation. This bridged the gap created during my school education and plays a vital role in my career. The persuasive power of films can make dramatic changes in the way the world functions hence it shouts out the importance of a holistic and liberal education among filmmakers. It provided me the necessary conditions to intellectually and creatively stimulate to be a better filmmaker. Great knowledge can possibly create a successful corporate leader, but true geniuses are born out of liberated thinking fueled with creativity and imagination. There will always be room to be Anybody or Somebody or Nobody in any society. Moreover, it is a designation that others give one in the end. However, it surely reflects the choices we have made through till that end. I am glad about those tough days at high school, for they made me independent and I took my own decisions- which triggered a journey into animation at the first place. I was at NID in pursuit of a meaningful career, and grew to redefine myself, learning from peers and the past, and cultivating promises of the future. And from those days in YIF, I have come to be comfortable with the fact that sometimes things go wrong, no matter what I do. I just need the conviction to be somebody.
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The rupee rises to 60.54 vs previous close of 60.5650/5750.Asian currencies inch up as investors expect the ECB to expand liquidity.Index of the dollar vs six majors down 0.09 per cent.Nifty flat after the Supreme Court rules government coal allocations as illegal.Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will not hold a news conference on Tuesday as originally announced.(Reuters)
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The most ambitious effort to revive manufacturing was made in 2005, with passing of the Special Economic Zones Act (SEZs). The Scheme envisaged reviving our manufacturing output, attracting investments, creating jobs and providing a world-class infrastructure for businesses -- by adopting a 'Single Window Clearance' approach. However, abrupt policy flip-flops, lack of clear policy guidance and substantially vittled down tax benefits have killed its initial charm and attractiveness. As a result -- manufacturing sector remains the Achilles' heel of our economy. Customs duty on DTA salesTo encourage India to become a global manufacturing hub for various items, particularly automobiles, DTA sales are inevitable. However, high customs duty levied on such domestic sales is a big deterrent. This custom duty on DTA sales gets levied even on value added in India - labour, material, etc. and is at a rate higher than FTA rates on certain items. Customs duty should be levied on 'Duty Foregone Basis' on domestic sales from SEZ's and 'no customs duty' should be levied on valued added in India. Also the rate on such custom duty needs to be brought down to the level of lowest prevailing FTA rates.Other Issues: With a view to allow consolidation of various existing units under one roof for efficient growth, the SEZ policy permitted transfer of second hand capital goods from existing DTA unit to SEZs. However, the income tax department created a deterrent by withdrawing the exemption if the quantum exceeds 20% of the total value of plant & machinery. Hence consolidation and growth have suffered.The final nail in the coffin was the levy of MAT and DDT in the budget of 2011-12 which further undermined the Scheme and its very stability.The Way forward…There is a clear need for convergence of SEZs and the manufacturing policy and reinstatement of tax benefits. The future of SEZs will now be dependent on how the new Government rides this elephant. The views expressed in this article are personal.The author is M&A Tax Leader of PwC India
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The benchmark BSE Sensex retreated from record highs by falling 202 points to dip below the 26,000 mark in mid-session trade on Tuesday (8 July) after the rail budget failed to impress investors.Besides a weak Asian trend and lower opening in Europe further influenced the trading sentiment, brokers said.The BSE 30-share Sensex after hitting a new record high of 26,190.44 points in opening trade, retreated to 25,897.33, showing a fall of 202.75 points, or 0.77 per cent.Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 42.25 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 7,744.90 after hitting its life-time high of 7,808.85.Share prices of companies that cater to the railway sector came under pressure and tanked up to 12.15 per cent despite important announcements made by Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda in his maiden rail budget.Major losers were Texmaco Rail, Titagarh Wagons, Kalindee Rail Nirman, Kernex Micro, Commercial Eng., BEML, Stone India and Bartronics.The government proposed in the rail budget to attract investment from domestic and foreign players in infrastructure.Among BSE-30 shares, Sesa Sterlite fell 3.89 per cent, Tata Steel by 1.31 per cent, Hindalco by 0.95 per cent, Larsen and Toubro by 1.29 per cent, SBI 1.15 per cent and Reliance Industries 1.31 per cent, dragged down the Sensex.Globally Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.10 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei shed 0.14 per cent. European markets opened in negative territory.(PTI)
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N.R. Narayana Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, has floated an e-commerce joint venture with the world’s largest online retailer Amazon through his private investment firm Catamaran Ventures to help small and medium businesses join the online bandwagon. Murthy’s family office holds 51 per cent stake in the venture. Currently, the two partners are working on a back-end-operations structure for the venture as foreign direct investment in e-commerce is not allowed in India.Last-mile ConnectTaking a cue from Amazon chief Jeff Bezos — known to encourage customers to email him directly — Flipkart co-founder and chief executive Sachin Bansal has decided to reach out to customers by spending a day on the back of an eKart delivery boy’s bike, delivering orders at customers’ doorsteps. The drill of personally delivering orders was initiated two months ago by co-founder and chief operating officer Binny Bansal. In the coming months, over 85 senior executives will undertake this drill.Juncker Strikes GoldThe new president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, 59, is set to earn £1.8 million over the next five years. The former Luxembourg prime minister will earn £245,629.70 a year — almost double the package of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was also in contention for the EU post. The salary is topped up by a residential allowance of £184,222 over five years, plus an expenses deal of £1,136 a month. On leaving office, he will receive a £20,469 resettlement allowance, a transitional allowance of £98,252 for three years, plus a pension worth £52,500.A Free LunchRecycling magnate Chen Guangbiao hosted lunch at a fancy Central Park restaurant for 250 homeless New Yorkers. He regaled the guest by singing ‘We are the world’. His original plan was to invite 1,000 guests and give everyone $300 in cash. But security concerns forced Guangbiao to change his plans. He instead donated $90,000 to a charity. Earlier this year, the 46-year-old businessman wanted to buy The New York Times. Its chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said the newspaper was not for sale.The InheritanceThere are others ahead of him for the throne, but Prince Harry is in line for a huge award. He is scheduled to receive £10 million on his 30th birthday on 15 September as an inheritance from his late mother Diana. He, however, faces a £4 million deduction due to inheritance tax, which experts say he could limit to £3.6 million if he donates some of the cash to charities. His older brother William too paid 40 per cent tax when he received his inheritance. Diana’s estate was worth £13 million after tax at the time of her death in 1997.Ace U His Sleeve Former Indian tennis player Vijay Amritraj has lent his name to an Indian wine label. The Grover Vijay Amritraj Reserve Collection was launched in London at a Wimbledon-themed party. His collaboration with premium wine producer Grover Zampa Vineyards is aimed at the UK market. The collection of red and white wines is inspired by Amritraj’s legendary feats on the tennis court and priced at around £14.99.Fighting SpiritJamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has been diagnosed with throat cancer, but the ailment is at an early stage. In a memo to employees and shareholders of the largest US bank, the 58-year-old has said that the prognosis is excellent and that he will continue to be actively involved in the company during his treatment, which is expected to last eight weeks.The Chosen OneRobert McDonald, former chief of Procter & Gamble (P&G), has been appointed head of the Department of Veterans Affairs by US President Barack Obama. The 61-year-old replaced former secretary Eric Shinseki, who resigned in May amid revelations of systemic failures in caring for veterans and large-scale cover-ups of those failures. (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 28-07-2014)
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Government on Tuesday (8 July) proposed "highest ever" plan outlay of Rs 65,445 crore to the railways for the current fiscal, with a budgetary support of over Rs 30,000 crore.Presenting the Railway Budget for 2014-15, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda said the "highest ever plan outlay" would include market borrowing of Rs 11,790 crore and internal resources of Rs 15,350 crore.Another Rs 6,005 crore would be mopped up through public private partnerships (PPP) mode, while railways would create a safety fund of Rs 2,200 crore.As per Budget Estimates for 2014-15, total receipts are projected at Rs 1,64,374 crore, while total expenditure at Rs 1,49,176 crore.Operating ratio would be 92.5 per cent, which is an improvement of 1 per cent over the last fiscal.While passenger traffic grew by 2 per cent, passenger earnings stood at Rs 44,645 crore after revenue foregone of Rs 610 crore on account of rollback in monthly season ticket fares, Gowda said, adding freight earnings are estimated at 1,05,770 crore for this fiscal.The expenditure on pension is pegged at Rs 28,850 crore, while Rs 9,135 crore would be spent on dividend payment.On the challenges facing railways, Gowda said, "Surplus revenues are declining. There is hardly any adequate resources for development works."The surplus resources, which stood at Rs 11,754 crore in 2007-08, is estimated to be only Rs 602 crore in the current financial year, he added.He also said Rs 5 lakh crore was required to complete the ongoing projects alone as only 317 of the 674 projects sanctioned in last three decades could be completed.Completing the unfinished projects would require Rs 1,82,000 crore, he said.Observing that most of gross traffic receipts was spent on fuel, salary and pension, track and coach maintenance and on safety works, Gowda said that Rs 1,39,558 crore was the gross traffic receipts and total working expenses were at Rs 1,30,321 crore last year.(PTI)
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The Indian rupee fell marginally by five paise to 60.52 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday (25 August) at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to increased demand for the US currency from importers.Forex dealers said besides the dollar's gains against other currencies overseas, increased demand from importers for the American unit put pressure on the rupee but a higher opening in the domestic equity market, capped the losses.The rupee recovered 20 paise to close at over three-week high of 60.47 against the US dollar in the previous session on Friday following strong local equities and capital inflows.Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex jumped 130.96 points, or 0.49 per cent, to hit an all-time high of 26,540.51 in early trade on Monday.(PTI)
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In June, there was a 43 per cent deficit in rainfall across India. Only five of the 36 meteorological divisions had normal rain. The monsoon is likely to pick up in JulyClick here to view graphicCompiled by Anup Jayaram; Graphic by Prashant Chaudhary(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 28-07-2014)
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