Investment Valuation in India

The last few days has seen some significant policy announcements by the government the absence of which, for long, was coined as the government’s policy paralysis. - Diesel prices have been increased by close to 12% - Allowed 51 per cent foreign investment in multi-brand retail (remember, this was allowed last year as well, but could not be implemented due to political opposition) - Allowed 49 per cent investment by foreign airlines in aviation - Raised the FDI cap in broadcasting from 49 per cent to 74 per cent - Capped subsidised LPG cylinders by a household to 6 cylinders in a year, more cylinders if required will have to be purchased at market rate that is approximately Rs 750. While most of the above are being seen as extremely positive moves in order to avoid a credit rating cut that’s being threatened by rating agencies, these cannot be termed as big-ticket reforms. A lot more needs to be done in order to bring the economy back on the growth track. Perhaps, it is th...

India has been able to withstand some of the biggest global financial meltdowns in recent times. This was attributed to a very strong regulatory environment (particular credits to the Reserve bank of India) and the Great Indian Consumption story.  These two factors have led to the world expecting a lot from us. The last couple of years have shown that we have under delivered, badly. The global investors are shying away from investing in India given the government indifference to the industry requirements.  Who's responsible for the mess around? The opposition succeeding in keeping the government's attention away from more core issues by highlighting one issue or the other (read 2G and then Coalgate). They worsened this themselves by trying to override the Supreme Court's judgment on Vodafone case. Unnecessary!  Consequently, the world has been able to blame the government for policy paralysis and lack of judiciary relevance. Only the government is responsible for...

Imagine a situation where you grow old and have managed to buy a house. However, you could not save enough for your retirement. You certainly need money to manage your day to day finances since you are retired and have no fixed source of income or your income is not enough to meet your finances. Reverse Mortgage is the answer for you. Reverse Mortgage is a type of mortgage available to senior citizens in which a home-owner can borrow money against the value of his/her home. No repayment of the mortgage (principal or interest) is required until the borrower dies or the home is sold. After accounting for the initial mortgage amount, the rate at which interest accrues, the length of the loan and rate of home price appreciation, the transaction is structured so that the loan amount will not exceed the value of the home over the life of the loan. [1] How does it work? Reverse Mortgage in India Realising the potential benefits of Reverse Mortgage, the Union Budget 2007-...

Notification No. 29/2012- Service Tax ( New Delhi, the 20 th June, 2012) Under notification No. 29/2012 - Service Tax, the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, hereby exempts the taxable service of renting of an immovable property, from so much of the service tax leviable thereon under section 66B of the said Finance Act, as is in excess of the service tax calculated on a value which is equivalent to the gross amount charged for renting of such immovable property less taxes on such property, namely property tax levied and collected by local bodies : Notes:  1) Any amount such as interest, penalty paid to the local authority by the service provider on account of delayed payment of property tax or any other reasons shall not be treated as property tax for the purposes of deduction from the gross amount charged. 2) Wherever the period for which property tax paid is different from the period fo...

Having an Online profile on a networking site is almost mandatory today for professionals looking for (changing) jobs. Almost every potential employer ensures to check your online presence before short-listing you for the job. What they’re looking for is your online professional presence. And in today’s world, you need to have one out there for them to find. For most professions, an online professional profile will only help you. And the best place to go to build one is LinkedIn. (While they would surely go through your Facebook pages as well, they may not conclude much from it given it’s more of a social networking site than professional networking). LinkedIn is the most common site that the employers would screen through as part of their evaluation of whether to hire you or not. Here are some important tips of what to take care of while designing and maintaining your online professional presence on Linked In. 1.        Complete your profile...

How many times have you seen that while you are presenting a topic, your audience doesn't seem to be interested in listening to you? Or when you are the audience, you just didn't feel like listening to this speaker?  Here are some tips (well, they are the obvious ones) that will help you keep the audience rooted and motivated to watch you when you stand to make a presentation. 1. Eye contact. Maintaining eye contact with the audience is very important. Look at your audience at all times when you speak. You’ll look more honest and will be liked. You want the audience to believe what you are saying. Can you ever believe someone speaking to you without looking at you in the eyes? 2. Have fun. Watching you should not be a punishment - neither for you nor for the audience. A presenter with a sense of humour, fun and energy tells audiences there’s something worth listening to. But don't over do. You're the presenter, not the clown! 3. Smile. " Smile, ...

DERIVATIVES Overview - Session 1 WHAT IS A DERIVATIVE?   A derivative is an instrument whose value is "derived" from the price of some underlying instrument, reference amount or index. It generally represents a contractual relationship between two parties. Cash flows are exchanged between parties based on price/index movements. The terms of the agreements may be customized or they may be standardized to facilitate exchange clearance. Customized agreements are usually referred to as Over The Counter Transactions. (OTC) Generally doesn’t require physical delivery of the reference asset. WHAT ARE DERIVATIVES USED FOR? Trading -  Speculation (e.g., bet on movements in an underlying security, index, interest rate, commodity, currency or other financial instruments).  -  Arbitrage (utilized by many fund managers to take advantage of expected market movements or arbitrage opportunities, hoping to decrease financing costs or increase yields on exis...