India will miss auspicious 25 p coin

For decades, it has been ural symbol of all things he cultural symbol of all things uspicious in India. It is the ource of numberless Indian okes and phrases, and children nce survived on it for pocket money.

When the 25 paise coin goes ut of circulation from July 1, a hole generation of Indians will ave to say goodbye to the iconc chavanni.

"When I was growing up in he late1960s, getting one chaanni a day would give us a feelng of empowerment," said riter and social activist Tushar Gandhi, who flooded Twitter with nostalgic memories of the 25 paise coin on Tuesday.

With the chavanni, says Gandhi, people could buy everything from a vada pav to snack of boiled peanuts, sugarcane and berries.

The `four annas' also made their way idiomatically into language. "To call someone an idiot, we would use the phrase chavanni kam or pavli kam, and `teri chavanni gir gayi' meant `you've lost your marbles'," said Gandhi.

For several communities, the chavanni also has auspicious significance. While making offerings to a deity or gifting money on weddings, Gujaratis and Maharashtrians always offer sava rupaya (Rs1.25), considered an auspicious amount because it is more than the round-figure `one'.

"Consequently, the Gujarati phrase savayu is used for anything that has the potential to grow," said Nalinee Madgavkar, 61, a singing teacher from Dadar.

"Now at the temple, we will have no choice but to offer amounts such as Rs11 or 21," said Shashikala Kamle, 50, a Worli resident.

Weather update is just a click away in Mumbai

If you are planning to go to Four Bungalows in Andheri (West) and want to know the weather update in that area, just log on to www.mumbaimonsoon.in.

The website, which was launched in 2009, was revamped by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation at a cost of Rs18 lakh to provide real-time weather updates.

Aiming to provide real-time data on the city's rainfall in different areas, the site makes use of the civic body's 35 automatic weather stations (AWS), out of which 28 supply real-time rainfall data about the city not just in the last 24 hours, but also tell you how much it rained in the last 15 minutes.

Joint municipal commissioner SS Shinde said, "This exercise aimes to inform the citizen in realtime, the rainfall situation in the city. Hence, in case he wants to plan a trip to some place in the city, he can always log on to the website and check the status."

In its revamped version, the site has a list of places where work on infrastructure projects is on, along with the exact nature of work. It has also listed the roads where traffic will be diverted from, as well as roads it will be diverted to.

Said Shinde, "We also plan to update the status of road, rail and air traffic in case of emergencies so that people can even plan their travel accordingly. We will start coordinating with BEST so that at least the status of the city's buses is known."

A civic official said that the site would be improved upon further.
"We are planning to expand it to socialnetworkstoo,sothatpeople know and can participate in relief operations during emergencies."

With RNOR status, foreign income is tax-free for two years

I am a US citizen and after having lived and worked in the US for over two decades, am considering moving back to India for good. In your earlier columns, I have come across the two-year tax holiday of the resident but not ordinarily resident (RNOR) status. How can I get that status and if I do get it, is only the interest on FCNR deposits tax free or also US income like social security pension and bank interest that I receive every month.

If you have been an NRI for nine out of the ten years prior to moving to India or if you have stayed in India for 729 days or less prior to the financial year in which you come to India, then you would be automatically eligible for the RNOR status. In other words, you do not have to do anything per se, to get this status; your eligibility for the same completely depends upon your satisfying either of the two aforementioned criteria. As you have observed correctly, if you are indeed eligible for the RNOR status, your foreign income including social security pension, bank interest etc remains taxfree for two years. In some cases, the RNOR status may even be available for three years; however, you have to run the numbers for your particular situation to arrive at the same. Though FCNR deposits have to be converted to resident deposits upon arriving in India (this has to be done regardless of whether you get RNOR status or not), interest from these deposits would continue to remain tax-free as long as you are an RNOR.

Pawning your gold is a safer bet than taking a personal loan

Loan against gold is getting a mass appeal these days. Both private and public sector lender are gearing up to offer gold loans. For the short-term period, gold loan seems to be a better option compared with a personal loan. Cash emergency Loan against gold usually scores over personal loans when the borrower requires cash urgently. Gold loan is the fastest loan issued to a person, as the money is given immediately, unlike personal loan where one has to undergo a long and tedious procedure. "Gold loans are feasible in emergency and for a short period because the cost of acquiring the loan is comparatively lower than personal loan. The eligibility criteria is almost negligible making the process easier," says Suresh Sadagopan, who runs ladder 7 financial advisory services. One can get a loan against gold from any non-banking financial institution within 5 minutes after providing identity proof and without any processing fee. Some banks charge a processing fee in the range of 1-2%. Sonalee Panda, head-marketing at ING Vysya Bank says, "On an average, personal loan is issued in 72 hours. If an applicant's documents are in place, at times it may just take 24 hours. We offer personal loans between 15% and 18.25%, depending on the applicant, whether he is salaried or unemployed." The credit scoring done by banks for personal loans is based on formal documentation. Repayment options In gold loans, borrowers have the partial repayment facility, which reduces the burden of single time repayment. The loan outstanding and interest rate also declines. In personal loan do not have a partial repayment option. "Average interest rate for loan against gold is around 22%, whereas for personal loan it is 15%. Hence, one should opt for gold loan only in case of urgent cash requirement," says an official of a bank. "One should be aware about the credibility of the company from which they take gold loan and should have fair knowledge about the EMI (equated monthly installments) of their loan so that it will help him plan his repayment accordingly," says Raunak Roongta, an independent financial planner from Mumbai. Flexibility in the amount One can borrow a higher amount against gold as a collateral security, which is not possible in personal loan. "Around 60% of the borrowers from the NBFCs have an annual income of less than `2 lakh. When a borrower wants loan of more than 90% of the value of his gold, he has to pay higher rate of interest," said I Unnikrishnan, managing director at Mannapuram Finance. Most of the giant players lend money only against household jewellery. Data shows that Indian household owns around 18,000 tonne of gold. Lenders are pretty confident about repayment of gold loan because they feel that the sentiments attached to the jewellery will encourage people to repay the loan. The marketing initiatives have also made these loans popular.

Why silver continues to look strong

After touching a price of $50 per ounce, silver prices have largely been confined in the range of $32-36 per ounce (1 troy ounce equals 31.1 grams). While it is difficult to predict which way silver prices are headed in the near term, in the medium to long term there are several fundamental reasons why the silver prices are likely to go up.
Silver has several industrial uses given that it is a very good conductor of electricity, a very good heat transfer agent and reflector of light, and at the same time a marvellous lubricant. But demand from several major industries that use silver has been on its way down over the last few years. As Jeff Clark writes in the recently released The Casey Research 2011 Silver Investing Guide, "Demand from a number of industries that use silver has been flat or falling. Household demand for silver such as cutlery, flatware, and candlesticks hasn't risen in ten years. Jewellery fabrication is up, but a blip. With the shift to digital photography and image storing, use in photographic film processing continues to fall."
But despite this, overall demand of silver is rising and is expected to continue to rise in the years to come. A recent study, titled The Future of Silver Demand carried out by GFMS Ltd for The Silver Institute, expects the industrial demand for silver to shoot up from 487.4 million ounces to 665.9 million ounces in 2015.
This demand for silver is expected to come from several new industrial uses of the white metal. In fact more new patents are filed on silver than any other metal. "Since 1999, consumption in electronics has increased 120%. Silver use in solar panels began in 2000, and usage is up 640% since. Silver was first used in biocides (antibacterial agents) in 2002 and, while a small percentage of total silver use, it has grown six-fold," writes Clark.
Let us try and understand each of these uses in some detail.
Electricity and electronics
Given that silver has the highest thermal as well as electrical conductivity of any metal, its usage in electrical as well as electronic applications forms a little under half of its industrial use. Over the last ten odd years a major use of silver in this segment has been in the manufacture of multi-layer ceramic capacitors, which are used in a wide range of consumer products, including cell phones. Given that global cell phone demand will continue to remain robust over the coming years, the demand for silver from this segment is likely to remain strong.
Over and above this, the number of electronic uses per automobile is on its way up, paving the way for greater demand for silver. As Stephen Leeb points out in a recent research paper Hi Ho Silver, "In addition, the robust growth in the automobile industry should also benefit demand for silver contacts. Not only is global auto production forecast to grow on average by nearly 6% between 2011-2015 but, (and arguably at least as important) is the rising number of electronic uses per automobile."
A silver contact is an electro-mechanical device for joining electrical circuits. The list of core uses for silver contacts has been growing from controlling windshield wipers and seat adjustments to managing navigation systems.
Solar power
"The rise in solar power is arguably the most significant development for silver demand in recent years," points out the GFMS report. Solar panels, which need to be installed to generate solar power, use silver because of its better thermal and electrical conductivity as well as reflective power.
"Over the last decade, this sector's offtake has climbed rapidly, soaring from less than 2 million ounces to an estimated 50 million ounces in 2010. This year the demand is expected to reach nearly 70 million ounces, an increase of 40% year on year," the report further points out. Also, solar power is likely to receive a fillip in the days to come as the world realises the dangers of nuclear power after the tsunami in Japan nearly brought the world on the brink of a nuclear disaster. The use of silver in solar power is not a new thing but "what is new, however, is strong political will, backed by financial incentives."
So analysts expect demand from this segment to keep growing. As Leeb writes, "Outside of Europe, which has accounted for around 70% of total..installations to-date, the project pipeline remains strong, with notable additions expected in China, India and the United States. Egypt, Morocco and Israel are also expected to increase installations rapidly, albeit on a smaller scale. These, along with a host of other countries, are expected to drive growth over the forecast window, with total silver demand exceeding 100 million ounces by 2015, roughly double the level achieved last year." To give the readers a sense of proportion the total silver mined in 2010 was around 700 million ounces.
Silver as a biocide: In fact, silver also has very good anti-bacterial qualities and it was first used as a biocide i.e. an antibacterial agent only in 2002. However, since then the use of silver in this segment has grown six fold.
Jeff Nielson, editor of www.bullionbullscanada.com writes, "Silver is unique in possessing chemical properties, which make it impossible for bacteria to reproduce… look at the use of silver in polyester sportswear… because of its anti-bacterial properties. However, in this case, the silver kills bacteria not to prevent disease, but to reduce odour. It is the bacteria which are contained in our perspiration which are responsible for odour. Kill the bacteria, and you greatly reduce odour." Estimates made by Nielson suggest this segment consumes over 38 million ounces per year.
Also as Clark points out "new uses for silver are being found almost every day, particularly in the biocide arena."
RFID tags
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags are another major area from which demand for silver could pick up in the days to come. As Leeb points out, "They make use of printed silver ink, made from silver nitrate. RFID tags can be used to track inventories and provide an alternative to bar codes, compared with which they can store considerably more data. In essence, their role is to transmit data stored on the tag (usually in a chip) to a reader, via an antenna. Silver can be used in the antenna and to form a bond between the chip and the tag itself." Currently, the global demand is expected to be around 1-2 million ounces per year, and is expected to double by 2015. Solid state lighting is another area where demand is expected to come in the days to come.
Supply lower than demand
The mine production of silver has gone up over the years as producers have mined more to cash in on the dramatic increase in the price of silver. Since 1999, the mine supply of silver has gone up by 33%. But the demand has gone up faster. In 2010, the mine supply of silver was around 700 million ounces whereas the total silver demand was around 850 million ounces. The deficit in supply is met through scrap silver. Scrap silver is silver that is reclaimed after it has already been used in a certain application.
But there is a problem with scrap. As Clark points out, "While scrap metal comprises about 20% of silver's total supply, many of these new applications are difficult to reclaim. Some applications contain such small amounts that they're uneconomic to recapture, such as many biocidal and nanotechnology applications. With others it'll be a long wait. Solar panels, for example, have a 20- to 30-year life. Still others are waiting on more effective recovery programs; more than half of all silver in cell phones, TVs, computers and other electronics, for instance, still ends up in landfills."
All these reasons still make silver a very interesting investment bet.

China issues eight BKS Iyengar stamps

The Chinese government released eight stamps featuring the Pune-based, internationally acclaimed yoga guru BKS Iyengar during the China-India yoga summit held in Guangzhou between June 17 and 19.
The stamps which were released by the Beijing branch of the China Post are special considering that there are no stamps featuring the yoga guru, a Padmashiri (1991) and Padmabhushan (2002) in his own country.
Speaking to DNA at the Ramamani Iyengar memorial yoga institute (Rimyi) in Pune on Wednesday, Iyengar said, "The only time the Indian government featured Iyengar yoga on a stamp, they chose to print the image of one of my English students instead."
According to Iyengar, the latest yoga summit was a brainchild of the governments of both countries.

The three-day summit which was held inside one of the gymnastics stadiums used for the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou saw the yoga guru teach yoga techniques to a total of 1,300 students, which comprised 950 Chinese and the rest, a mix of nationalities from across the world. The spirited, 92-year-old yoga guru displayed a child like enthusiasm when he recalled the three day event. He said, "Most of the students were below 30 years of age. This made me very happy as it proves that yoga is followed by the younger generation."
Rajvi Mehta, Mumbai-based senior Iyengar yoga teacher, who accompanied Iyengar on the tour, said, "It was an overwhelming experience. Guruji was simplicity personified. He pointed to the central line in a leaf and explained the principle of alignment lucidly. At the end of the three days, the Chinese students had tears in their eyes as they thanked Guruji for his lessons."

Delay in TYBCOM results puts students in fix

There are many like Sonam Dubey who are worried because their final year degree course results have not been declared yet. "It has been three months since the exam and the result are not out yet. I fear losing the admission to my post graduate course due to the delay," she says. Dubey wants to take pursue a Post Graduate Diploma at NIFT but the deadline for submission of applications ends in mid-July. Most of the degree examinations got over by April 20011 but, excluding T Y B. Sc., results of other courses are still pending. The problems of the students are compounded if the college they are applying to is outside the city or state. Dubey said, "We will be in no position to explain why we do not have our degree mark-sheet. We are done with our varsity education but the authorities need to understand that most of us want to pursue post graduate studies, where degree mark-sheet or certificates are the eligibility proof." Dubey is waiting for her TYBA results. Dilip Karande, Mumbai university senate member, said, "It has been more than 80 days since third year commerce examination ended. The last paper was held on April 9, 2011. The university is supposed to declare the results within 45 days of the last examination." Karande added, "The varsity introduced different new initiatives just to declare results faster. For example, barcoding of the answer sheets, decentralisation of the evaluation process etc. Yet the results have been delayed by a significant amount of time causing problems to students who want to pursue post graduate studies.." When contacted professor Vilas Shinde, controller of examination, Mumbai university to inquire about the delay, he said, "We are in the process of bringing out the result. However, the picture is not clear to give an exact date of the declaration of results. It is only after 10 days or so that we will get a concrete idea about when the results are due to come out."

Caste in our minds!

Maage ubha mangesh, pudhe ubha mangesh
(The Lord Mangesh precedes and follows me wherever I go)

This popular devotional semi-classical composition in Raga Yaman by Pt Hridaynath Mangeshkar from the critically acclaimed Marathi movie Mahananda is a personal favourite. The fact that it is sung by the ever versatile Asha Bhosale only adds to its magic.
Yet, on my visit to my alma mater, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, for a workshop that sought to assess the implementation of two extremely sensitive acts — the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 — concerning the prevention and redressal of atrocities against
marginalised castes, this was the song that kept playing in my head.
Let me explain. As a hostelite while pursuing my social work masters in the early '90s, I was standing in the dining hall queue for dinner when I heard this song being sung as unmusically as possible accompanied by raucous laughter. Wondering who was murdering such a beautiful composition with such sadistic glee, I turned around to find
out. This was being sung to tease two boys from the Maang community (one of whom is today an accomplished dholaki player) in the queue with a pun on the word Mangesh, I found out when I asked what was going on.
Strangely, this was being done by a neo-Buddhist classmate who, I'd have assumed, would have ideally empathised with a fellow Dalit. But that was not how this was playing out. The Maangs and Matangs are on the lower rung in the Dalit hierarchy and this was being crudely reinforced. What is worse, this was happening on the campus of what is considered the mother institute of social work. It was only when a community senior reprimanded my classmates did they zip it and apologise.
That, I'm afraid, is the problem. While we may put together world-class psycho-social engineering models to tackle casteism in society, what do we do with the disease lurking in our minds? At the workshop, for example, I was shocked to learn that from the time the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was created in 1989 some 22 years ago, there have been only 82 convictions!
Little wonder then that the state's top bureaucrat, Ratnakar Gaikwad, had some strong words for the assembly of senior IPS officers. Drawing on his experience as administrator in various capacities all over Maharashtra, he said he was not as worried about the low conviction rates in complaints filed under the law by victims but the process followed by the police in investigations after the atrocities are committed.
Former IPS officer Sudhakar Suradkar also pointed out how the first response at a police station is to beat up and chase away any Dalit who wants to complain about an atrocity. "Once his repeated efforts are frustrated, he is willing to give up or accept any watered down version of the complaint also," Suradkar told the gathering. "This is why we have the conviction rates that we have."
p_yogesh@dnaindia.net

Rising number of E coli cases give Mumbai city a scare

Rising number of E coli cases give Mumbai city a scare

What is ECOLI?
E coli is a common type of bacteria that can get into food, like beef and vegetables.
E. coli is short for the medical term Escherichia coli. E. coli normally lives inside
your intestines, where it helps your body break down and digest the food you eat.
Unfortunately, certain types (called strains) of E. coli can get from the intestines
into the blood. This is a rare illness, but it can cause a very serious infection.

SYMPTOMS
> The first sign is severe abdominal
cramps that start suddenly. After a
few hours, watery diarrhoea starts.
> The diarrhoea causes your body to
lose fluids and electrolytes
(dehydration). This makes you feel
sick and tired. The watery diarrhoea
lasts for about a day.
> Then the diarrhoea changes to bright
red bloody stools. The infection makes
sores in your intestines, so the stools
become bloody. Apart patient also have a
mild fever or no fever. Having nausea or
vomiting.
Testing for E coli bacteria in different wards
Ward Total Sample Unfit Ecoli
A(Colaba) 33 17 6
B (Bhendi Bazar) 34 3 0
C(Marine Line) 30 3 0
D (Grant road) 14 0 0
E (Byculla) 36 22 17
F/N (Matunga) 4 0 0
F/S (Parel) 19 1 0
G/N (Dadar) 4 0 3
G/S (NM Joshi) 38 8 0
H/E (Bandra-E) 33 11 2
H/W (Bandra-W) 4 1 0
K/E (Andheri-E) 21 0 0
K/W (Andheri-W) 26 5 2
L (Kurla) 35 16 14
M/E (Trombay) 18 3 0
M/W (Chembur) 21 1 0
N (Ghatkopar) 23 2 0
P/N(Malad) 17 0 0
S (Bhandup) 7 3 2
T (Mulund) 12 4 0
30%
20%
more cases of acute
gastroenteritis and
hepatitis E are
reported as compared
to last year
Of the city
water is not
fit for
drinking as
per BMC
reports
Andheri
Bandra
Kurla
Byculla
Churchgate
Nariman Point
Colaba
Mulund
There are several simple ways
to prevent being infected by E
coli
> Do not eat undercooked
ground beef. Cook it to at
least 1600 F or until all pink
is gone from the interior
and from any juices. Other
meats have not yet been
linked to E. coli outbreaks
> Drink only pasteurized milk
and milk products
> Wash hands with hot,
soapy water after using the
restroom and before
preparing food
> Wash hands, utensils and
surfaces with hot, soapy
water after contact with
raw meats and /or meat
juice
> Wash all
fruits before
eating. Lowacid,
unpasteurized fruit juice is
also considered a risk
> When eating out, return any
food to the kitchen which is
not thoroughly cooked

Consultant for Mumbai F-1 track to be finalised soon

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has shortlisted two consortiums that will make a detailed feasibility report to study the possibility of constructing a Formula One racing track in or around Mumbai. One of the shortlisted consortiums has constructed 10 tracks, including that of Silverstone in the United Kingdom. The MSRDC is yet to finalise the location, which could either be Malad, Panvel or some place in Thane. "There were three bidders for the project initially. However, one was disqualified and two have been shortlisted. Once selected, the consortium will work out several aspects of the construction of a Formula One track in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region," said MSRDC vice-chairman and managing director Bipin Shrimali. "A consortium led by Capita Symonds along with Populous is in the race to win the consultancy. The other agency is Louis Berger. The first consortium has the experience of creating as many as 10 tracks," said corporation chief engineer Subhash Nage. In order to develop the circuit, the MSRDC is looking for a huge plot of land measuring around 400 to 500 acres. Shrimali said that one of the locations is in Malad, while the rest are in Thane district and Panvel. The plot within Mumbai is with the revenue department, and the officials do not anticipate any problems in acquiring it. "The consultant or consortium would be picked by the end of July," said Shrimali. In January, the MSRDC had come out with its plans to create an F-1 track in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Apart from the racing track, there are also plans to construct a theme park, and the two would be eventually clubbed into a single project.