Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Steve Jobs and NeXT

Steve Jobs rare footage conducting a presentation on 1980 (Insanely Great)

Inflation Rate reached Lowest Level in over Two Years in India



Inflation rate based on the wholesale price index fell to 6.55% in January, 2012, the lowest level in over two years, strengthening the argument for monetary policy easing by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) amid a slowing economy. It was 7.47% in December, 2011, and 9.47% in January, 2011. At the present level, inflation has fallen to the 6-7% level faster than the government prediction of March. The moderation in January was led by a fall in food inflation with prices in the manufactured and primary food segment also falling due to a good harvest. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said inflation will be around 6% level by March 2012. Inflation in manufactured products, however, remained high. Inflation in this segment was at 6.49% last month compared to 5.32% in the year-ago period. Price pressure was higher in case of iron (18.5%), metals (12%), chemicals, edible oil and beverages and tobacco (9% each). Inflation in the fuel and power segment stood at 14.21% in January. Economists said inflation would have probably eased further had it not been for the falling rupee, making imports more expensive. Economists also warned of pressures ahead. They pointed out that the government had not passed on the higher oil and gas prices to end-consumers. These may be raised after the assembly polls. Similarly, if the next monsoon is disappointing, there may be fresh pressure on food inflation.

GSTN will be soon Implemented : Pranab Mukherjee



India will soon roll out an IT platform to integrate central and state indirect taxes regime, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said. “We are working with the state governments for an early implementation of goods and services tax. Towards this end, an IT network called GSTN is being created to ensure integration of the tax systems of the centre and the states,” Mukherjee said. States had given their in-principle nod to launch the IT framework in August and the finance ministry is expected to soon take the proposal to the cabinet for its nod. A common IT framework will allow traders all over the country to use their permanent account number, or PAN, as the tax identification number for payment of all direct and indirect taxes. The move will not only benefit taxpayers but also tax authorities to keep a tab on transactions more effectively by linking it with other tax payments. Mukherjee said GST will bring about a paradigm shift in the arena of indirect taxation in the country and will give a boost to the tax revenues of the centre and the states. IT infrastructure is crucial for the success of the proposed GST, which will replace a plethora of indirect taxes including excise duty, service tax, value-added tax. Speaking on tax collections, Mukherjee said the indirect tax collection target of Rs. 3.93 lakh crore will be met in the current fiscal despite moderation in economic growth. “I am confident that the department (Central Board of Excise and Customs) would not spare any effort in meeting the indirect tax collection target. In fact, already indications are there,” he said. Total collection of indirect taxes in the first 10 months of the current fiscal was Rs. 3.17 lakh crore.

Lingamaneni Group announced launch of New Airline Air Costa

The Vijayawada-based Lingamaneni group, which has interests in the realty and infrastructure business, announced the launch of a new airline, Air Costa. Lingamaneni Estates Private Ltd, popularly known as LEPL, said that it had secured the go-ahead from the Union civil aviation ministry to operate flights in the southern part of the country. Air Costa could be the first airliner in the country to operate on the regional routes, particularly in tier-II cities like Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati. The new airlines will be headquartered at Vijayawada with the corporate offices located in Hyderabad. According to company chief executive Captain N B Kakarala, the upcoming airline will begin with five flights initially. He said that the company had plans to link most tier-II cities in south India through their airline. The first aircraft will take off some time in May or June. He, however, did not reveal the volume of investment nor whether it was a joint venture.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Indian Retailers reported highest loss to theft in World

Indian retailers reported the highest loss of stocks to theft in the world for the fifth year in a row in 2011, with about half of the loss attributed to shoplifting by customers. India's shrink rate, or loss of stocks because of thefts by customer, employees and suppliers, as a percentage of sales was 2.38%, costing local retailers Rs. 3,470 Crore, according to the fifth annual edition of the Global Retail Theft Barometer, an annual survey conducted by the Centre for Retail Research in Nottingham, UK, and underwritten through an independent grant from Checkpoint Systems. 

The study was conducted across 43 countries between July 2010 and June 2011. In India, it covered 100 retailers, of which 60 were part of modern chains and 40 from the unorganized sector. 

The biggest contributor to losses was thefts by customers, accounting for 47.6% of the total, followed by pilfering by employees at 25.5%. The losses have, to be sure, declined 12.5% from a year earlier, according to the study. To reduce thefts, retailers in the nation are spending more money on security solutions. Companies have also minimized their losses by providing more training to employees and assigning responsibilities on team and store managers for losses.

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