Sunday, August 23, 2015

Netflix' stock is getting ripped apart and has vaporized roughly $8 billion in 2 days

Netflix' stock is getting ripped apart and has vaporized roughly $8 billion in 2 days


Netflix has lost around $8 billion in value in the last two days, as shares crashed for the second time on Friday - down 7.6% in addition to the 7.8% it fell during trading yesterday. The entire stock market has had an ugly two days, with tech and media stocks being hit particularly hard. But Netflix has been getting hammered more thoroughly than most.
On Thursday, media stocks began to fall as Disney and Time Warner were downgraded by analysts from Sanford C. Bernstein, who changed their rating from "outperform" to "market perform." This is the second time recently a faltering at Disney has turned media stocks downward. Earlier this month, trouble at ESPN set off a nosedive for major media stocks.
But at the time Netflix had not fallen with its competitors. Now it seems to be leading them in the stock plunge.
Some previously thought Netflix's stock would not be moved by the woes of cable television, since it contributed to those woes by encouraging cord cutting. But now Netflix is crashing even harder than many traditional media companies.
Disney ended the day down 1% in addition to the 6% it fell yesterday, while Time Warner added 1.6% to its previous 5% loss.

Money Lessons I Should Have Known When I Was 22

I started working when I was 22. Today I oversee product development at Scripbox and have the opportunity to see on a daily basis, how mutual funds are helping people build wealth.
As I turn 30, I realize I could have done so much more with my money if only I knew the things I know today. Here are the top four things I wish I knew back in my early twenties.
#1. I wish I knew the importance of savings – no matter how small they were
It seemed like a boring word back then; savings. Today I know different. Every time I spend 1000 rupees on a restaurant meal, I lost out on a chance to make it Rs 3700 over 10 years (assuming 14% annual returns that equity funds can offer).
Imagine if I had started investing Rs.1000 per month for 8 years in Equity funds, I would have had a corpus of  Rs 1.8 lakh today which would still be growing every year and would be TAX-FREE.
#2. I wish I knew how to save taxes the right way
I realized too late that my “Tax Saving” investment in an insurance policy wasn’t yielding any benefit. I actually didn’t even need to start putting money into anything that “saves tax” till I was 25 because my rent receipts would get me the tax break I needed.
Now I’m stuck with this insurance policy for another 12 years till it matures and I will continue to pay Rs. 60,000 per annum for it. I wish someone had told me about ELSS.
#3. I wish I had invested time in learning about finance including investing in Equity
Having turned 30, I now realize that saving money and making it grow is a lot about knowledge and turning to the right people for advice. I’ve been investing regularly in equity for the last 2 years and I realize that there isn’t a better way to grow your savings in a way that doesn’t burden you.
I can put a small amount away into equity funds every month and as the investment completes a year, the investment grows whilst becoming tax free.
#4. You don’t have to listen to everyone
I wish I realized that the traditional investment instruments advised by most of my elders were more about saving money and less about growing it. Insurance policies or Fixed Deposits may help you save money but rarely give you the inflation beating returns that equities do.
If you are looking to fund that big Europe holiday when you are 35, equities will beat the traditional money instruments hands down.

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Inflation: A positive surprise for the market

Inflation: A positive surprise for the market

Last week the headline CPI inflation for July-15 came in sharply lower at 3.78% over the previous year as compared to 5.4% in June-15. The July CPI data was significantly lower than consensus expectations of 4.4% and the decline was not entirely due to base effect. The positive surprise came in predominantly from lower food inflation. Food inflation came in at 2.2% in July-15 as against 5.5% in June-15. Core CPI inflation - excluding food and fuel- also moderated to 4% in July-15 from 4.6% in June-15.

Thus the deceleration in CPI was broad based across categories. More importantly, the momentum of core inflation slowed down in July to 0.2% month-on-month (M-o-M) (seasonally adjusted) increase from 0.5% m-o-m rise seen over the last few months.

In the recent past we have been highlighting (as detailed in table below) that inflation in India is likely to moderate as all the structural drivers such as low MSP hikes and low rural wage growth, relatively stable exchange rate, crude oil and commodity price fall, have turned favourable. The latest CPI data reinforces our view that inflation trajectory going forward will be lower and undershoot RBI’s target for Jan-Mar16. This may provide room to RBI for another rate cut in the next credit policy review due on 29th September 15.
 

Conclusion

In our opinion all the key determinants of interest rates in India viz inflation and inflation drivers, fiscal deficit, CAD, economic activity point towards lower rates. In light of the positive surprise on CPI data and the higher possibility of an expected rate cut by RBI

Source : HDMC MF

Thursday, August 20, 2015

5 Ways to Increase Your Annual Income


Invest in Enriching Your Life and Increasing Your Income
Invest in Enriching Your Life and Increasing Your Income
Increasing your annual income has many benefits- mainly, ability to afford a quality lifestyle for you and your family, and also the ability to manage unexpected money requirements.
Here are five practical ways to increase your annual income.
#1: Invest in Yourself – Add Value to Your Self Worth
Investing in yourself will give you disproportionately high return on investment- both for the amount of money invested and the time you spent.
DIY Tips to Invest in Yourself
  • Leverage the power of learning. Add a new skill, learn a new language, or try something that’s been on your bucket list.
  • Set aside time on a daily or weekly basis to read informative blogs, articles or books.
  • Attend a workshop, webinar or training to stay updated on the latest trends.
  • Explore your creative side to exercise untapped areas of your mind. This will open up different doors of perception- personally and professionally.
Invest time in taking a sabbatical – Retrospect, introspect and regain your focus
How Does This Increase My Annual Income?
Better skills, greater knowledge and wider perception, all lead to a higher level of opportunities.
#2: Invest Smart – Monetarily not Momentarily
Talking about increasing income is incomplete without considering the actual monetary aspect of investing smart.
DIY Tips to Increase Your Future Annual Income
How Does This Increase My Annual Income?
Increase your profits by investing wisely. Instill a long term perspective to evade myopic results from a short-sighted plan.
#3: Invest in a Long Term Career Path – Map Your Progression Professionally
Mapping your professional interests can help you strategically build your career path.
DIY Tips to Chart Your Career Path
  • Do a SWOT analysis on your professional traits. Determine your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. In this way you can identify the best opportunities that can help you progress with purpose.
  • Inculcate a long term vision. Do not let short term challenges come in the way of building your potential in the future.
How Does This Increase My Annual Income?
Being at the right place, at the right time with the right capabilities, tactically improves your career prospects.
#4: Invest in Rewarding Risks – Zone Out of Your Comfort Zone
Taking risks can snap you out of your comfort zone.
DIY Tips to Zone Out of Your Comfort Zone
  • Take a chance to challenge yourself. Push your limits beyond the monotony of mediocre tasks. It is a bitter truth that machines will replace you eventually.
  • Focus on work that allows you to build your capabilities, even if it means making a drastic change.
How Does This Increase My Annual Income?
Stepping out of your bubble automatically unlocks new possibilities
#5:  Invest in Health – Focus on Your Physical, Mental and Social Well Being
The real wealth is in the health and well being of your body, mind and social interaction. While the increase in disposable income may translate to a higher standard of living, it could also lead to increasing health issues.
DIY Tips to Enrich Your Wealth in Health
  • Physical Health
    • Exercise. If not for the physical benefits, it also helps in reducing your healthcare bills.
    • Eat healthy. A home cooked meal is not only healthier but also lighter on the pocket.
  • Mental Health – Many occupational lifestyle diseases are creeping into urban population. Maintain a good work-life balance to avoid mental problems such as depression, hypertension and neurological issues.
  • Social Well Being – Whether you admit it or not, who you interact with socially and your lifestyle have a big impact on your personality. The social environment you choose to be influenced by will affect the way you think and the decisions you make. Choose wisely.
How Does This Increase My Annual Income?
You become the environment you live in. Make it clean, green and lean on the body, mind and wallet.

Multiple Bank Accounts: Do they make sense?


Multiple-Bank-Accounts
You’ve been working for a few years now. You have a few jobs behind you. Along with your previous jobs, you have left behind a trail of salary accounts.
On an average you might have anywhere between 2 to 5 bank accounts by now; some of them inoperative. Considering you haven’t touched some of these accounts for years now, what should you do with them?
Let’s first look at possible negative consequences of having multiple bank accounts.
#1. Possible Penalties for not maintaining minimum balance
Once your salary account stops getting salary credits, within three months it reverts to being a standard savings account. This means that it’s no longer a zero balance account.
If you have less than the stipulated minimum balance in such accounts, you are attracting definite penalties. Over a period of time, these penalties can mount up unless you close the account.
Action point: Close inoperative accounts if you can’t maintain the minimum balance for each of them. Mounting penalties might hurt your credit score.
#2. You might be losing out on interest income
Most of you don’t really have a choice when it comes to which banks to choose when opening a salary account. You probably don’t even consider how much interest the bank is paying you.
Once your salary account reverts to a standard savings account on account of no salary credits, you will usually get 4% interest at most. Assuming you have maintained the minimum balance and do not attract penalties, this is probably the worst way to keep your money.
For example; you have 4 old accounts with a minimum balance requirement of Rs. 10,000 each. Each account earns 4% per annum. You will get roughly Rs. 400 per account each year if you don’t add any money to it. That is Rs. 1600 total interest earned across 4 savings accounts.
Now close all the 4 old accounts and put the money in a debt mutual fund earning on an average 8-9%. While the returns vary, on a long term basis you are looking at 8% of Rs. 40,000 or at least Rs. 3200 per year interest earned.  You get the point, don’t you?
Action Point: Don’t let your money sit idle. Close accounts you don’t need and put the money to better use. Invest in equity or debt mutual funds to begin with.
#3. Security Concerns
Having multiple accounts, especially net banking enabled accounts, means remembering passwords for them all. Inoperative accounts are also more vulnerable to possible fraud or breaching attempts. Account statements can sometimes contain sensitive data and thus leave you vulnerable when you least expect it.
Action Point: Disable net-banking for dormant accounts if you don’t intend to close them. Monitor all your accounts regularly for any unusual activity.
When does having multiple accounts make sense?
#1: To organize your money
You can use one account as a main operating account. Every time you shift a job, apply for a loan, or get a new account, you could set an automatic transfer to this account. Your payments, EMIs, and investments could also be linked to this main account.
You can open or maintain an existing account as a savings account where you transfer your savings and from there on to better investments according to your investment plan.
This is your layover account. Money beyond the minimum balance should not stay here for more than a month.
#2: If you have a business or are a freelancer
Sometimes it makes sense to have multiple accounts if you have a business. Businesses have separate requirements for payments and expenses. If you are a freelancer servicing multiple clients, you might want a separate account or accounts where your clients can credit your fees.
What’s a good number of accounts to have?
While there is no golden rule, 2 accounts (1 primary and 1 layover/temporary) should suffice for most of your needs.
Some basic rules:
  • Close unused accounts as soon as possible
  • If you have to maintain multiple accounts, make sure you maintain the minimum balance in each of those accounts
  • Make sure you know which accounts your regular deductions such as EMIs are linked with
  • With the advent of government schemes like DBTL, remember to have a key account that is linked to your Aadhaar number as well as any gas agency accounts

Sunday, August 16, 2015

India @ 69 - A visual chronology of post-Independence India

1947 - Tryst with destiny
APAP
Eleven days before August 15, 1947, Viceroy Lord Louis Mountbatten (center), Jawaharlal Nehru (extreme left) and Mohammad Ali Jinnah (right) prepare for the transfer of power from the British Crown. A notional picture of a divided nation comprising India and Pakistan, as distinct from the agglomeration of princely states and provinces administered by the Raj, came into being during these deliberations. Nehru represented the Indian National Congress while Jinnah stood for the Muslim League, which demanded a separate sovereign state for Muslims. Although the British were in favor of a united Indian subcontinent and the 1946 Cabinet Mission attempted to reach a compromise between the Congress and the Muslim League, neither Nehru nor Jinnah agreed to its proposal for a decentralized state with power vested in local governments. August 14, 1947, the dominion of Pakistan (which then included East Pakistan) declared independence from the British Crown. At midnight the following day, India followed suit with Nehru famously heralding our tryst with destiny.

1947 - Train to Pakistan
APAP
As British India was cloven in two, the birth pangs of nationhood were followed by separation anxiety. The first train to Pakistan, which ran from Delhi to Lahore, was flagged off in August 1947 in a climate of warmth and bonhomie. However, as massive population exchanges took place between the two young nations, tensions ran high and fanned communal passions aflame. As people were plucked out of their homes and forced to cart their families and belongings to the strange new land across the newly drawn border, they came under attack from brigands and hired thugs. Both fledgling governments were ill equipped to deal with such massive migrations, displacement and violence driven by communal sentiments. About 10 million people are believed to have been displaced, and over a million are estimated to have died during the Partition. Sixty-four years later, the scars of Partition live on in public memory, even though the descendants of those affected by it have few physical memories of the event.

1948-49 – A prodigal son’s patricide
APAP








Nathuram Vinayak Godse (extreme left) and Narayan Apte (center), members of the extremist outfit Hindu Mahasabha, blamed Mahatma Gandhi for conceding Pakistan to the Muslims. Godse and Apte had been part of previous unsuccessful attempts to assassinate Gandhi. On January 29, 1948, the two men reached Delhi Railway Station and checked into the retiring room. Financed by their organization, they had purchased a Beretta .38 semi-automatic pistol. The next morning Godse approached Gandhi as he was heading to a prayer meeting and bowed before him. At point blank range, the assassin fired three shots and the Mahatma collapsed to the ground. Gandhi, breathing his last, is believed to have uttered the words, “Hai Ram”. Announcing Bapu’s death to the nation, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru said, “The light has gone out of our lives, and there is darkness everywhere.” Godse and Apte were executed in November 1949.

1950 – Glory to the republic
AFPAFP
On January 26, 1950, the 34th and last Governor-General of India Chakravarti Rajagopalachari read out a proclamation announcing the birth of the Republic of India. The Constitution of India came into effect, declaring India as a sovereign, democratic and secular state. Until this day, India was a dominion under the British Commonwealth acknowledging George VI as King and Emperor. Dr Rajendra Prasad (in picture, right) took oath as the President of the new republic. Interestingly, despite the newly proclaimed status India did not renounce allegiance to the British Commonwealth. As the Manchester Guardian observed on January 26, 1950, India regarded the Commonwealth as a “political machinery used to promote peace and economic advancement.”

1950 – The first missionary of charity
APAP
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, an Albanian nun, came to Darjeeling, India in 1929 with the Sisters of Loreto. She learned Bengali and took the name Teresa upon being initiated into the order. While the nuns at the Loreto Convent were engaged in teaching, Teresa was moved by the poverty she witnessed around her. Traveling by train to Kolkata (then Calcutta), she experienced the epiphany that was to become her life’s mission – to devote her life to the service of the poorest of the poor. On October 7, 1950, Teresa established her own congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, in Kolkata after receiving permission from the Vatican to do so. Its purpose was to care for “the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." She abandoned her nun’s habit and adopted a white sari with a blue border, which continues to be worn by members of her order. Started with 13 members, the Missionaries of Charity have more than 4,000 nuns today running hospices and orphanages around the world.

1952 – Democracy’s first dance
AFPAFP
Jawaharlal Nehru, who had led the interim government since 1947, was elected in the country’s first parliamentary election in 1952. The Congress Party emerged victorious in the elections, the first test of fledgling democracy. On May 13, Nehru formed the first democratically elected Government of India and assumed office as Prime Minister. Later that year the Prime Minister, seen here on his 65th birthday two years later, unveiled India’s first Five Year Plan.

1954 – The China syndrome
AFPAFP
Before India became independent of British rule, it had little political contact with its northerly neighbor. China had also recently undergone a political upheaval. The incumbent Kuomintang nationalist party had been defeated in a civil war by the People’s Liberation Army, which established the People’s Republic of China. Nehru’s foreign policy began with his government’s recognition of the new republic. In April 1954 Nehru traveled to Peking (as Beijing was then known) where he met Chinese leaders Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong (in pic). April 29 became a red-letter day in the history of Sino-Indian ties for the declaration of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, known as Panchsheel (inspired in part from the Pancasila – the five principles for the foundation of Indonesia as laid out by the nation’s first president Sukarno), which comprised respect for each other's territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful co-existence. The refrain “Hindi Chini bhai bhai” was common during the 1950s as the two countries ignored the odd border skirmish to maintain peaceful relations. Within a few years, India and China fell out over China’s occupation of Tibet.

1955 – Devdas, the original bizarre love triangle
..
Bimal Roy’s Devdas was not the first cinematic adaptation of Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel (it was preceded by five versions in various Indian languages) but the 1955 film was path-breaking in its mass appeal. Starring Dilip Kumar as the tragic male protagonist, Suchitra Sen as Parvati (the estranged childhood sweetheart) and Vyjayanthimala as the courtesan Chandramukhi, the bizarre love triangle left an entire nation bewitched. Though the film has been remade amid great hype, no one could surpass Dilip Kumar’s iconic portrayal of the doomed lover, which has since been much emulated, imitated and parodied. Even the bitterest critics agree that Roy’s cinematic technique was leagues ahead of his time. Elsewhere in the Hindi film industry, Raj Kapoor and Nargis stole hearts in Shree 420, and the song “Mera joota hai Japani” symbolized a bold new patriotism.

1956 - Ambedkar embraces Buddhism, spearheads Dalit Buddhist movement
APAP
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born into an impoverished family of the Mahar caste and spent his life battling the stigma of untouchability and caste-based discrimination in Indian society. In an era when education was the province of privileged upper castes, he obtained multiple doctorates in law, economics and political science from institutions such as Columbia University and the London School of Economics. As Law Minister in the first Union Cabinet and chairman of the committee appointed to draft the Constitution of India, Ambedkar envisioned a law that provided constitutional guarantees for a wide range of civil liberties including freedom of religion, abolition of untouchability and equal rights for women. The Constituent Assembly adopted it in 1949. However, Ambedkar’s proposal for a Hindu Code guaranteeing equal right to inheritance and property was opposed by a section of Parliament. Disappointed, he resigned. After unsuccessful attempts to contest the Lok Sabha elections as an independent, he turned his focus on Buddhism. Discovering through anthropological research that his Mahar ancestors were in fact Buddhists who were made untouchables by dominant Brahmins, he converted to Buddhism in 1956. He also proceeded to proselytize the faith among 5 lakh supporters. Despite failing health he completed the manuscript of his book, The Buddha and His Dhamma, and died just days later on December 6, 1956. Ambedkar’s philosophy had a profound influence on Indian society and initiated a journey towards equality that continues to date.

1957 – Mother India soothes India’s Kashmir woes
..
It was a year of great changes. Even as Kerala ushered into power the first democratically elected Communist government the Kashmir problem rose to a boil with both Pakistan and a section of Kashmiris pressing for a plebiscite to determine the future of the state. However, it was cinema that truly fanned India’s patriotic sentiments. Mother India, a story of grinding poverty directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Sunil Dutt and Nargis, became a national sensation. Nargis played Radha, a poor village woman who rises against odds and sacrifices her own corrupt son in the film’s melodramatic climax. Nargis represented the turbulence of India in the wake of independence. The film’s title was taken from a controversial book by American writer Katherine Mayo that made a disparaging attack on Indian society. Khan, drawing upon Pearl S Buck’s books The Mother and The Good Earth, said that his film’s title was a challenge to Mayo’s “scurrilous work”, declaring the empowerment of Indian women and their triumph over sexual subjugation. Mother India was India’s first official submission to the American Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category and finished among the top five nominees in 1958.

1958 - AFSPA empowers India to kill its children
AFPAFP
Approved by Parliament on September 11, 1958, the controversial Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act granted sweeping powers to armed forces in what it defined as “disturbed areas”. Under its provisions, armed forces can search, arrest and shoot to kill on suspicion to preserve public order. The AFSPA was first enforced in Assam and Manipur in 1972 and amended to apply to Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. Historical compulsion for introducing the Act came amid political challenges in integrating the northeast states into the Indian Union after Independence. Since 1990, the Act has also been applied in Jammu and Kashmir where it has been opposed vociferously. India has been under heavy international pressure to repeal the AFSPA, which the watchdog Human Rights Watch condemned as a "tool of state abuse, oppression and discrimination". Opposition to the AFSPA gained momentum when several women activists protesting against the custodial death of Thangjam Manorama Devi stripped before the Manipur headquarters of the Assam Rifles on July 15, 2004. Four years before that Irom Sharmila, the 39-year-old “Iron Lady of Manipur”, began her indefinite fast, accepting neither food nor water. Jailed for attempting to take her own life, Sharmila has been kept alive with tube-fed and intravenous nutrition. Her decade-long fast has made her the icon of the agitation against the AFSPA.

1959 - Tibetans find a home in India
AFPAFP
Since 1951, the Communist Party of China had declared its hold over Tibet but granted the area relative autonomy under the provisions of the Seventeen Point Agreement. A protest in certain parts of Tibet against the redistribution of land according to socialist norms sparked off fighting that turned into an armed rebellion. The Chinese occupants stepped up the subjugation of the Tibetan people with brutal measures that included killings, rape of women and coercing monks and nuns to have sex in violation of vows of celibacy. An armed rebellion intensified in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, but the Chinese suppressed it. During the uprising the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso escaped to India along with a number of refugees. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru met the Dalai Lama in Mussoorie in 1959 and assured him of protection for his people, offering them land in India to set up settlements in Dharamshala, Bylakuppe and Darjeeling among other places. The Tibetan spiritual leader would go on to establish the Tibetan Government in Exile at Dharamshala. The influx of refugees into India continued for decades thereafter.

1960 – Hamara Bajaj
AFPAFP
In 1960, Bajaj Auto, established in 1945, went public. Just the previous year the company established by visionary industrialist Jamnalal Bajaj had been granted a license to manufacture two- and three-wheelers. While the company initially imported the Vespa 150 under license from Piaggio of Italy, it began production of the Chetak scooter in 1972. Modeled after the Italian Vespa Sprint, the Bajaj Chetak – named for the famous horse of the historical Rajput hero Maharana Pratap – became a household symbol across India. In 1985, a long-running commercial on Doordarshan with the jingle “Hamara Bajaj” cemented its reputation as the people’s scooter. Several scooter models have been rolled out down the ages, but the Chetak became ingrained in culture. In 2009 the company, now among the Forbes 2000, stopped production of the Chetak.

1961 – India marches into Goa

The longest reigning colonial power, the Portuguese had held Goa for 451 years until India wrested it back on December 19, 1961. Starting in 1950, the Government of India had attempted to make diplomatic dialogue with the Portuguese government in Goa, which asserted that the territory was not a colony but an integral part of Portugal. Calls for freedom had begun as early as 1928 when the French-educated Goan nationalist Tristao de Braganza Cunha organized the first independence movement to liberate the colony. Cunha, who was instrumental in coordinating the many disparate freedom movements within Goa, was made a state prisoner and confined first at Fort Aguada, Goa and then at the Peniche prison in Portugal. Cunha died in 1958, by which time the movement to free Goa had built up momentum. In addition to the nonviolent methods adopted by Cunha and his Gandhian supporter Ram Manohar Lohia, groups like the Azad Gomantak Dal and United Front of Goans, supported by the Indian government, used force to attempt to unseat the Portuguese government. After a series of incidents, Indian forces stormed Goa by land, air and sea and liberated the coastal enclave after a 48-hour operation. The Goa episode was hotly debated across the world when a United Nations Security Council draft resolution spearheaded by the United States calling for a ceasefire in Goa was vetoed by the Soviet Union, India’s Cold War ally. India’s ties with Portugal were suspended until they were restored in 1974 after the authoritarian ruler António de Oliveira Salazar’s regime was overthrown in 1968.

1962 – Friends, brothers and enemies

After the 1959 Tibetan Uprising and India’s decision to grant refuge to Tibetans fleeing the Chinese occupation of their homeland, India’s relations with China were simmering. They finally came to a boil over disputes concerning two border areas – Aksai Chin on the border of Kashmir and Xinjiang, and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India, a consequence of the Chinese refusal to accept the McMahon Line that was drawn in 1914 as the historical border between China and British India. Skirmishes and hostilities escalated as the Chinese built up troops and reinforcements in two places along the disputed border. The Chinese aggression was timed to coincide with the Cuban Missile Crisis in which the United States and the Soviet Union were involved, as this meant both powers would not involve themselves with the happenings in southern Asia. Nehru’s Forward Policy and assertion of the McMahon Line as the boundary was criticized and he lost standing for failing to foresee China’s motives. Defense Minister V K Krishna Menon resigned accepting responsibility for India’s lack of military preparedness. The war called for a review of India’s foreign policy – from ‘brotherly’ ties with China, Nehru began to look west.

1963 – Nagaland joins the Indian family

Nagaland, at the northeastern tip of India, was inducted into India as its 16th state on December 1, 1963. The region was a designated home for 15 officially recognized Naga tribes, many of whom also live in Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. Naga tribes had little contact with the outside world until Christian missionaries arrived in the 1870s and over 95 per cent of Naga people have embraced the faith. The British, who annexed Assam following the Treaty of Yandabo after the First Anglo-Burmese War, attempted to reach out to the tribes but conflicts often took place. Even as India announced independence from the British Crown in 1947, the Nagas pressed for a sovereign nation of their own. Talks with the Government of India, which began in June that year with recognition of the Nagas’ right to “self-determination”, continued until 1952 when a rebellion by the Naga National Council, which pressed for secession from India, was crushed by Indian armed forces. In 1962, India assembled the controversial Naga People’s Convention and following an agreement granted statehood to Nagaland in 1963. The move was seen by the rebels as a great betrayal of Naga interests. Since then, Nagaland has had a troubled relationship with the Government of India, although talks have been held periodically after the National Socialist Council of Nagaland was founded by Thuingaleng Muivah, Isaac Swu and S Khaplang in 1970. In the picture above, Naga tribesmen are shown performing the traditional dance on the occasion of the Hornbill festival.

1964 – The passing of Nehru

India’s first prime minister was a troubled man after India’s defeat in the 1962 war with China. Facing criticism internally and losing Congress political strongholds in Kerala in the 1962 election, he took ill and spent his time recuperating in Kashmir. On returning to Delhi he suffered a stroke and later a heart attack. He died on May 27. Despite criticism of some of his policies, Nehru was an acknowledged statesman and visionary who led a young nation out of post-Independence darkness. Interim Prime Minister Gulzarilal Nanda, who had been sworn in, would soon be replaced by his close political confidant Lal Bahadur Shastri.

1965 – War in the subcontinent 


Indians (in picture) celebrate with a seized Pakistani Army tank. India’s military losses in the war with China emboldened Pakistan to attack and lay claim to Kashmir, which it had lost during the Partition of India. After clashes between troops in the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, the hostilities intensified in August. Though both sides suffered heavy casualties in land and air battles that extended along Pakistan’s border with Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, India was perceived as the victor for decisively thwarting the Pakistani attack. A United Nations-mediated ceasefire was enforced and remained in effect till the next war in 1971. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was hailed as a national hero for the victory, which soothed the memory of the defeat to China.

1966 – The cartoonist who drew ire

On June 19, 1966 Balasaheb Keshav Thackeray, who had started his career as a cartoonist with the Free Press Journal in Mumbai, founded the Shiv Sena. Six years before, Thackeray had started Marmik, a cartoon weekly in which he criticized Gujarati and South Indian laborers in Mumbai whom he accused of usurping jobs that Maharashtrians deserved. His organization was launched to campaign for job security for Maharashtrians. In years to come the Shiv Sena’s ideology and methods would invite strident criticism but it would emerge as a decidedly powerful political entity both in state politics and at the centre, where it would ally with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
1966 – Women on top

India in 1966 saw her share of ups and downs. Even as India and Pakistan negotiated for peace at Tashkent, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri died thereafter in mysterious circumstances. An Air India flight crashed into Mont Blanc killing 117 people including Homi J Bhabha, chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission. But it was woman power that really swung it for the nation that year. Months after Indira Gandhi was sworn in as India’s first woman Prime Minister, a young medical student floored a Miss World jury with her beauty and wit. For one year Reita Faria wore her crown and then threw it all away to concentrate on completing her medical degree.
1968 – A boy band in India
Though it was much later that an Indian rock band would sing of John, Paul, George and the other guy crossing the universe, the Beatles made a beeline for India in 1968 at the height of their fame. Accompanied by an entourage that included actress and model Mia Farrow, an acolyte of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Fab Four arrived at the Maharishi’s ashram near Rishikesh for what was to be a ten-day course in Transcendental Meditation. Their stay was cut short by the death of manager Brian Epstein. The Beatles went back with mixed feelings – while John Lennon’s initial fascination with the Maharishi turned into disenchantment (he later referred to the Maharishi as a “lecherous womanizer”), George Harrison and his wife were taken in, while McCartney recounted many years later upon the Maharishi’s death that he was a great soul. All said, it was a fertile period in the band’s career as many future hits were penned here, including Ringo Starr’s first composition “Don’t Pass Me By.” Portraits of the Beatles’ stay in India, taken by Paul Saltzman, were released in 2000.
1969 - A train to the capital

In a tumultuous year for Indian politics – the Indian National Congress split into two factions – all eyes were on New Delhi. No surprise then that the Indian Railways introduced a special train connecting the capital with other Indian cities. The first Rajdhani Express left Delhi for Howrah, traversing 1,445 km in under 17 hours. The fully air-conditioned railway coaches are the gold class of Indian Railways and are accorded royal treatment. Today, 21 pairs of Rajdhani trains connect Delhi with state capitals.


1970 – “They say Indira Hatao, I say Garibi Hatao”

Indira Gandhi, fast losing her popularity, ushered in a new era in Indian politics with her epic line, “They say Indira hatao, I say Garibi hatao” in a desperate bid to gain the loyalty of the masses for the elections that she subsequently won in 1971. The slogan, which means “Abolish Poverty”, was later adopted by Rajiv Gandhi. Though the campaign was by no means successful, (only a shocking  4% of the total allocated funds for the campaign actually went into anti-poverty programs), it helped her secure the elections the coming year.

1971 – Bollywood smokes a chillum

Dev Anand, by no means second to showman Raj Kapoor in choosing controversial themes for his films, touched upon the sensitive topic of drugs in a movie that perfectly married the two themes of childhood isolation and the hippie movement. The film became a starring vehicle for the lead heroine, Zeenat Aman (Zeenie baby, as she was called), and was a huge musical and commercial hit.
In keeping with the sub-theme of western influence on India, the soundtrack featured both Hindi and English songs, the robust-voiced Usha Uthup holding up strongly in the English numbers against Asha Bhonsle’s honeyed vocals in the Hindi ones. The mood of the film had strong Warholesque undertones and while sending out an anti-drug message, also celebrated the liberation of the Indian woman from her ghar ki rani stereotype.

1972 – Putting the cat back in the bag

Project Tiger, launched in 1973-74, was India’s first successful conservation venture, aiming at the preservation and protection of the tiger, the national animal, in its natural reserves. There were 40 such reserves in 2008, but the total tiger population had dipped to an alarming 1411, which made the government sit up, take notice and give the movement its second wind three years ago, pledging over US $150 million dollars to the campaign. The 2011 tiger census puts the total figure at 1716, showing a healthy growth of about 20% over the last three years, though poaching of tigers for their skin still continues to pose a problem.

1973 – A landmark year for teenybopper romances

RK Films’ Bobby, the launch pad for star son Rishi Kapoor and rumoured star daughter Dimple Kapadia, featuring a pleasantly plump Dimple complete with love handle and cankles, and tinsel town’s original chocolate lover boy Rishi, was a runaway hit at the box office, riding high on whispers of an off-screen romance between the leads. The movie redefined the love story at the box office and became the inspiration for the onslaught of teenage-romance-set-against-a-backdrop-of-class-divide films. As with all blockbusters, the movie’s soundtrack was a huge hit and enjoys pride of place in the golden era of Bollywood music.

1974 – A pox on India’s health

Six years before smallpox was successfully eradicated from the world, India fell prey to the disease, losing over 15,000 lives in just five months mostly in West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa. Thousands who survived were either disfigured or blinded. It was one of the worst outbreaks of smallpox in the disease’s history. Ironically, the epidemic occurred in the midst of WHO’s smallpox eradication program.

1975 – The year when controversy ruled

Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, then President of India, declared a state of internal emergency upon the advice of then PM Indira Gandhi, thereby granting her full power to rule by decree. It was arguably the most controversial period in independent India’s history. No stranger to controversy herself, Indira Gandhi is said to have brought democracy “to a grinding halt”, in her own words. The almost two-year-long emergency ended in early 1977, with the Janata Party beating Indira’s Congress by a small majority in the general elections, bringing back ‘democracy’ from a bleak period of ‘dictatorship’.

1976 – Pocketful of good intentions

This is one year that India is unlikely to forget. The legal ages of marriage for men and women were declared (21 and 18, respectively) and thousands of married men and women were called to volunteer for vasectomies and tubal ligations to control the burgeoning population. Many were promised plots of land in the NCR region of Delhi if they willingly underwent vasectomies, earning the area the rather unfortunate name of Nasbandi (vasectomy) Colony. Sanjay Gandhi, son of then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, shouldered the majority of the blame for what is seen as a failed program. Inverted red triangles or not, our nation today is home to 17% of the world’s population, 1.21 billion at last count – and still counting… 

1977 – At the lotus feet of the Lord

1977 saw the passing of Acharya Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (or the Hare Krishna Movement), who was largely responsible for spreading the message of Vaishnavism in the Western world.  A hugely celebrated spiritual icon, Srila Prabhupada’s final resting place is in Vrindavan, a town that relies largely on the ISKCON movement for its tourist trade. A statue that bears a striking resemblance to the spiritual leader is also found in the temple in Vrindavan. ISKCON, though initially a recipient of rich praise, now sees itself mired in controversy.

1978 – Fertility’s triumph and shame

India’s first test tube baby, Durga (Kanupriya Agarwal) was born after India’s first successful in vitro fertilization, credited to the late physician Subhash Mukhopadhyay. The doctor unfortunately received only posthumous credit, as during his time, he had to battle ostracization and bureaucracy, with the government refusing him the right to attend international conferences. He ultimately committed suicide and became the inspiration for the Tapan Sinha movie, Ek Doctor Ki Maut.

1979 – Nobility wins a Nobel

Sister of Mercy Mother Teresa’s undying kindness and compassion for the downtrodden, the displaced and the diseased was awarded the richly deserved Nobel Peace Prize. Albanian by birth (her native town Skopje is now the capital of Macedonia), she adopted Indian citizenship. Moved by the poverty she witnessed in the wake of the Bengal Famine of 1943 and the communal violence in the aftermath of Partition, she left the Sisters of Loreto to establish her own order, the Missionaries of Charity. In 1952 she established the Kalighat Home for the Dying in Kolkata (then Calcutta), a charitable hospice where the poor could die “a beautiful death”. Before she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, she had already been recognized with the Balzan Prize (1978) and the Albert Schweitzer International Prize (1975).

Modi's top 10 Independence-Day announcements

Here are some of the announcements made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday during his Independence Day address:
  • 18,500 villages which still remain without power to be provided electricity in the next 1,000 days.
  • Government to club 44 labour laws into four codes to simplify them for the people.
  • Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana launched with an outlay of Rs. 50,000 crore.
  • Ministry of Agriculture would be renamed as the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.
  • A "Start-Up India" initiative to encourage entrepreneurship among the youth.
  •  One-Rank, One-Pension accepted "in-principle". Modalities being worked out with stakeholders.
  •  Boost to financial inclusion with 17 crore bank accounts opened through the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
  • Scheme for direct transfer of LPG subsidy has resulted in savings of Rs. 15,000 crore.
  • Corruption cases probed by CBI have gone up from 800 before NDA government assumed office to 1800 now.
  •  Each of 1.25 lakh bank branches should encourage at least one Dalit or adivasi entrepreneur and at least one woman entrepreneur.

The surprising truth behind Fixed Deposit Returns


FD-return-rates
The answer is B or 7.4%. Surprised?
What you probably didn’t consider was the tax charged on the interest you earn which is calculated based on your prevailing tax slab. So if you fall in the 20% tax slab (which you will normally, if you make Rs. 9 lakh/year), your interest earned will be taxed at the same rate.
What this means is that while normally you would have expected to earn roughly Rs. 18,616.6 as interest, you actually earn Rs. 14,893.3.
chart
While FDs might be considered safe, the returns they provide are not tax efficient. Considering inflation is currently hovering around 8-9%, you actually lost money in real terms.