Category: Business

NEW DELHI: State-run BSNL will be the first to cut tariffs to better Reliance Jio ‘s offer, a top official said on Wednesday, setting the stage for a price war in the country’s crowded mobile telecom market.The public sector player is planning to follow Jio in offering free voice calling on its network, and at plans that will be cheaper than the new entrant’s. And unlike Jio’s offer that is available for only 4G subscribers, the BSNL plan will be open to 2G and 3G users, which constitute the majority of mobile customers.”We are closely observing the market as well as Jio’s performance. We will also come up with lifetime free-voice plans from the new year as part of fresh offerings,” BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Shrivastava told TOI . “We plan to be even lower than the Jio plan, and this could be by Rs 2-4.”

BSNL, that has a strong market penetration and significant share in many key markets such as Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Odisha, Punjab and UP , will announce the zero-voice-tariff plans from January and these would be lower than the Rs 149 entry price of Jio. The loss-making PSU is, however, absent in key markets such as Mumbai and Delhi (serviced by MTNL).Shrivastava said that the plan will be offered to BSNL’s mobile customers who also have a broadband connection at home. “The idea is to use the home broadband to route outgoing mobile calls through the landline network. We estimate that a large amount of time is spent at home, and so here we can ride on our wire-line operations,” he said.

However, the free-voice facility will also be available when a subscriber would use it outside the residence.BSNL’s offer may put further pressure on operators such as Airtel , Vodafone and Idea to slash tariffs, said experts. Prashant Singhal, partner at Ernst & Young, said the BSNL offer will impact other telecom companies. “Others will also have to follow suit. But this can be a risk for BSNL and its ARPU can be hit.”

Arrivals dip, tourism infra takes big hit

While tourist arrivals to Kashmir have witnessed sharp decline in the wake of ongoing crisis, development projects in the hospitality sector have taken a big hit with serious implications for the state economy.
According to an official handout, several film crews who had planned their shooting in Kashmir during summers had to change their itineraries in view of the prevailing situation in the Valley.

As per the data provided by the Tourism Department while around 3 lakh tourists had visited Kashmir between July 2015 and September 2015, there was quite little tourist footfall in the Valley for the corresponding period of the current year.
“The tourism destinations and hotels both in private and government sector have been worst affected and most of the hotels are left with zero occupancy.
“During the period between 1st and 12th August a total of 10,059 tourists visited Kashmir valley against 89,243 tourists during same period last year,” it said.

Managing Director, Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC), Dr Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary said that most of the corporation’s properties in Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Yousmarg and other destinations “have 2-4 per cent occupancy which ought to have been 90-100 per cent around this time of the year.”
Similarly, accommodations of Tourism Department and Tourism Development Authorities have also witnessed a shortfall of 90-95% compared to last year.
Not only the tourist arrivals, most of the major infrastructure projects which were to be taken up in Kashmir under Prime Minister’s Development Plan (PMDP) have also come to a halt.
According to the statement, Rs 400 crore were available with the tourism department under PMDP for infrastructure development at new and existing destinations. “Under this programme, the department had formulated projects for infrastructure development at Daksum, Doodhpathri, Kokernag, Verinag, Pahalgam and Salamabad (Uri). All these projects are now in limbo because of the prevailing situation.”
According to preliminary estimates the tourism sector alone has suffered a loss of around Rs 3000 crore due to the unrest and the people associated with tourism trade apprehend that the prevailing situation could adversely affect the tourist arrivals during the next year as well with disastrous implications for the local economy.

Samsung may not have announced any plans for its next Galaxy S flagship smartphone (reportedly codenamed ‘Project Zero’) likely to debut next year; however, reports related to the company’s plans have started to emerge.

Sammobile claims that it “can confirm” that the next Galaxy flagship will be called Galaxy S6. The publication has also learned that Samsung, similar on the lines ofSamsung Galaxy Note 4 and limited edition Galaxy Note Edge, will launch the Galaxy S6 Edge alongside the Galaxy S6.

(Also see: Samsung Mobile Chief J.K. Shin Keeps Job in Reshuffle)

It however goes on to claim that “the name could change in the coming months,” but that it was not very probable.

As of now, details related to the Galaxy S6 Edge are limited; though Sammobile speculates that it will sport one-sided curved screen, reminiscent of the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge.

Notably, the current report somewhat contradicts an earlier report that suggested the Galaxy S6 might feature ‘dual-edged’ display that will be curved on both (right and left) sides. We have already heard that the Samsung Galaxy S5 successor is codenamed Project Zero and is reportedly being built from scratch.

(Also see: Samsung Galaxy S5 Unit Sales 40 Percent Lower Than Targeted: Report)

“Preliminary specifications” off the Galaxy S6 are tipped to include a QHD (1440×2560 pixels) resolution panel (size unspecified); a Sony IMX240 camera sensor, the same used in Galaxy Note 4; a 16-megapixel or 20-megapixel rear camera; a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and inbuilt storage variants of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB.

Further, the Galaxy S6 is said to be powered by 64-bit octa-core Exynos 7420 processor (four Cortex-A53 and four Cortex-A57 cores), while another variant featuring a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor is expected.

We remind readers however, that nothing is official yet, and that all such leaks must be taken with a pinch of salt.

A  robust customer identity verification mechanism will help to track down a fraudster quickly.

SAJJAD BAZAZ

Even as technology has tremendously eased our navigation and conducting of transactions in the financial world, it has simultaneously brought financial crimes at our doorsteps. Customers of banks and financial institutions have become prone to technology-driven subver- sive activities of cyber criminals like blocking fraud, money laundering, identity theft etc.

This state of af- fairs reminds me of eloquent words ofone of the greatest novelists we have ever known, Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” At present, it is the best of times in the sense that the internet has zeroed distances and made it possible for all to more easily con- nect with other people from around the globe, to access information from sources previously out of reach and to obtain services that in the past were limited to brick and mortar. Hitherto, it is also the worst of times as cyber criminals are on prowl taking great advantage of electronic connectivity to perpetrate internet- based frauds and to more easily gather the information needed to carry out traditional crimes. All of which is driving up crime rates, in particular financial crimes. Hardly a day goes by without news of a data breach, wire fraud or the latest Ponzi scheme.

There are many channels through which a financial fraud may get triggered. However, studies have pointed out the increasing chances of fraud happening at the opening of a new account. There are study reports which have attributed a significant portion of the rise in identity theft fraud to “new accounts” fraud which showed longer periods of  misuse and detection and therefore more financial losses associated with it than any other type of fraud. So under the circumstances it’s the identity theft which lays the founda- tion of financial fraud of any magnitude. What is this identity theft and how does it happen? Identity theft is a clandestine activity by someone in which a fraudster acquires key information such as name, date of birth, social security number, mother’s maiden name, etc., of another per- son’s identity with the intent to commit fraud. The stealing of this kind of information can help a criminal impersonate another individual.

Once this information is obtained, it becomes easy for a criminal to make best use of technology to commit different kinds of frauds, including accessing bank accounts, obtaining loans, making purchases, etc. Identity theft can happen to any- one, rich and poor and regardless of whether or not he uses the Internet. At the moment identity theft is epi- demic in nature and is known as the fastest growing crime facing people. However, there are certain basic things which only you can take care to avoid being victimised. Now pass- words and personal identification numbers are keys of your accounts and financial transactions. In fact, these numbers have become your identity. Whosoever punches these numbers will get through a transac- tion. So safety of these numbers lies in your hands because you only know them. To avoid misuse of these numbers by any other person, make it a habit to change all passwords regularly.

You can have strong passwords of your ac- counts by using a mix of numbers and characters.  Primarily memorize your passwords. If at all you require re- cording them, then write them down only in a secured manner. Identity thefts mainly occur when unknown individuals or groups seek your personal information through email. Be wary of such emails. Be assured, your bank will never ask for your passwords or any other personal detail via email or telephone. So, never share your details to a person posing as a bank official on phone or through any other medium of communication. No bank asks for such information from their customers. While being online through inter- net or phone, sometimes your personal information is sought to com- plete the transaction. Never provide it unless you initiated contact or know with whom you are in touch. Be bold to ask how your personal information will be used and protected and whether the information you’re asked to provide is voluntary or mandatory to complete the transaction.

Monitor your bank and card statements every month. In case you suspect identity theft, immediately con- tact your bank and explore the option of reporting the incident to the police. Meanwhile, basic role of banks and financial institutions in curbing frauds through their system cannot be overlooked. They have to scan en- try of customers at the front door, that is, at the time of opening an account. In this context, let me again quote ex- pressive words of Charles Dickens: “It was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness.”

The wise in this case are the banks that develop and implement a robust, risk-based customer identity verifica tion mechanism and review it regularly. The foolish are those who ignore the benefits of such wisdom by either relying on ad hoc measures to keep the ever adapting cyber criminals at bay or ignoring the problem altogether. The foolish simply risks injury to customer loyalty as well as reputation of the institution. There is no denying the fact that the criminals use multiple access points for committing a fraud, but a strong customer identification process at the front door of financial world will significantly check financial frauds. Precisely, a proper customer identity verification mechanism at a bank will not only help to check identity thefts but will also prove beneficial to track down a fraudster quickly as and when he triggers a fraud.

(The views are of the author & not the institution he works for. Feed- back at [email protected])

Srinagar: Ashiq Banday, Chief Operating Officer of Banday Group of Companies, the makers of Rehmat Spices, has been conferred the Business Wizard of North India 2014 award by the India Today group for having carved a niche for his company in food industry.
He received the award few days back from Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal at a felicitation ceremony held at Chandigarh. Top business houses and entrepreneurs of India were presented the awards for their achievement and to salute their invaluable contribution in transforming the economy of the region and putting north India on the global map, a company official said.
Banday Impex Pvt Ltd is one of Kashmir’s own leading manufacturers and exporters of food items, spices and saffron.
“We awarded 26 leading industrialists of north India for doing outstanding work in their field of business and the aim of India Today is to recognize their feat and encourage them. Banday has done really well in his field and was awarded in recognition of his achievements,” said Rajesh Malik, a senior India Today official.
In his message Ashiq said he felt humbled by the award and credited his young workforce for the achievement. He said his company is manufacturing more than 100 different food products that have been received very well in India and outside.
“The idea of setting up a food processing unit was to give the best quality and hygienic products to the people of Kashmir. Our products have been internationally certified by ISO 22000 GMP, Halal, HACCP, AGMARK and other quality standards”, he said, adding, “We also aim to provide decent employment to the youth of Kashmir for which we are recruiting more than 200 young graduates within next two months”.
He informed that the company has started operations outside India as well. “I want to send my people (youth) outside so that they can get good exposure of work culture apart from lucrative financial support”, he said.
About his future plans, Banday says he is currently focusing on the ways to help poor and needy in the society. “Over last several years I have come to the realization that many people in our society are in dire need of support for varied reasons. I aim to contribute to the society’s cause in whatever way possible. We will shortly launch a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative for helping the needy as also the social sector like education and healthcare”, he added.
He urged fellow Kashmiris to support local business which ‘will in turn benefit to our own society’.

All you Apple lovers must read out the coming information as many rumors are coming for Apple iwatch. Apple is working on its final launching plans to release its new product Apple iWatch in the span of the coming months.

The iWatch will be available to its users with two variants 1.7 inches and 1.3 inch screen . The smart watch will be available for both the genders ie. for Men and Women .The iWatch having smaller screen size  will be available for women with vibrant colors and combinations. The wearable Apple iWatch will  be launched  with a  OLED display . The OLED display, which will have 320 x 320 pixels resolution will provide a great vision to its users . It is heard from source that  iWatch will have a  flexible display to compete with its other big brand smart watches like Motorola, Samsung, LG etc. Samsung the brand in technology is also working on flexible display smart watch and it will also launch in the couple of months. The Apple iWatch likely to be released at the end of September or in the beginning of the October 2014. In spite of the Apple, In the technology market Samsung Galaxy Gear, Motorola Moto 360, SonySmart Watches will also be seen till the end of this year. Apple Inc. Hired a Nike Key Designer to include a sporty look at its iWatch . The images for Apple iWatch looks a bit very interesting at the moment on the web portal. As per the images Apple iWatch seems so elegant and sporty whether it goes on men or if we talk about women.So Apple iWatch will be so impressive and smart in looks. Users have to wait a bit for the Apple iWatch to be launched in the Indian Markets. Price and other specification are not yet properly disclosed.

‘Outlet sells insect infested sweets in designer boxes’

Srinagar: The authority has caught Nathu Sweets red handed selling expired and utterly unhygienic sweets.
The people who have been relishing the Nathu brand sweets are shocked after authority found it selling expired and unhygienic edibles on Tuesday
Nathu Sweets has a chain of outlets in India that sells sweets across the country having atleast one or two franchises in almost each State.
The higher officials of Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) today raided one of the franchises of Nathu Sweets here in Dalgate at Boulevard along with Municipal Magistrate Judge Khursheed-ul-Islaam following the complaints made by locals.
The authority discovered that sweets were being prepared in filthy, unhygienic conditions in gross violation of rules. The insects and pests harmful for human consumption were found in bulk quantity there.
“We received a lot of complaints against Nathu Sweets and after inspecting the storage of the shop, we found that there were lot of insects in the flour that was being used to prepare the sweets which are later packed in the designer boxes to make them appealing,” SMC Health Officer Dr Rubeena Shaheen told Rising Kashmir.
She added that the area where the eatables were being prepared was full of insects, with many of the insects sitting on material to be used in sweets.
The hygiene was not maintained and the kitchen was the filthiest place where eatables were prepared, she said.
“Also, the personal hygiene of workers was questionable and there was no provision to cover the material which was stored in dirty containers, flour was stored in open containers and drums which is a serious health hazard,”   Rubeena Shaheen added.
The department also raided various food establishments across the city but the Nathu Sweet among them was found violating Food Safety Act.
Moreover, rusted containers were also seized in Raj Bagh area from various food establishments and were also challaned on the spot.
According to officials, a piece of delicious sweet or a lavish dish one might consume after paying a good sum, can in fact, turn out to be a grave health hazard if there is  unrestrained adulteration, and poor hygienic conditions of the kitchens.
The locals are of opinion that the danger to the health of people due to the consumption of adulterated and poor quality sweets, confectionary and other food items, has reached to alarming proportions.
“It has become tough to decide whether to go for buying the bakery items, sweets and other edibles or not. One can really fall for decorative packaging of items but who knows what actually we are buying,” one of locals of Dalgate Mudasir Lone said.
If doctors in various hospitals here are to be believed, due to long gap between the preparation of sweets and their consumption, coupled with poor quality of inputs and unhygienic conditions prevailing in most of the stores and kitchens of bakery cum sweet shops, the consumption of such food items can lead to serious gastric disorders and, at times, even cancer of the intestines.
A majority of the people from different walks of life whom Rising Kashmir spoke to on this subject were of the opinion that the so-called procedure of sample taking from sweet shops and other eating joints was a mere eye wash.
“Why do the officials only target small venders while the big sharks continue to thrive, challenging and arresting one or two shop owners will not help, the SMC should wake up and do something concrete. All the diseases prevailing in Kashmir are due to adulterated food sold in the market,” another local from city’s downtown area Basharat Ali said.
Pertinent to mention here that last year, the authority claimed to have saved people from food adulteration and had also vowed  to make new rules to clamp down on the mafia manufacturing bakery products and sweets in unhygienic conditions, but very little has so far been done to implement the new rules.
Khursheed-ul-Islaam said, “The owners have been prosecuted. The violators will be given punishment. The punishment will be of two types, either we will arrest them or the owners will be challaned.”
“Today, we seized all the expired and unhygienic products that the Nathu Sweet was using,” he added.

Of saving habits in kids

Guide your children to reap the benefits of financial world

independently for their bright and prosperous future.

SAJJAD ‑ BAZAZ

Most of us are well aware of the importance of financial planning to realise our goals for prosperity.

However, most of the time we forget to pass on some les- sons of financial planning to our children to help them to create a saving and spending plan towards their sound financial future. In today’s time, when we incur lot of expenditure on our child’s education, it’s at the same time inevitable for us as parents to ignore money manage- ment lessons to our kids. What I mean to say is that we need to give the power to our children to decide how much to save and how much to spend. Of course, this basic financial em- powerment in making adult deci- sions would be exercised under your umbrella. Let me make a bit of more clarification here that giving power of financial planning to kids is to incul- cate good saving habit among them. So the mantra is to teach the kids to save and then spend out of this savings Where from a child would get mon- ey to save? Of course, money doesn’t grow on trees. Besides, a child is not an earning hand.

So, the main funding source for the kids to save is their parents. It’s basically the pocket money, a sort of daily allowance, which parents give to their children. And it is here the parents can get started and as a first step have their child dedicate a por- tion of the pocket money to saving and a portion to spending. As far as spending part is concerned, we as parents should least interfere in how our kids spend money. How- ever, the interference should be to the extent of pointing out to the kid that money once spent won’t come back to his or her kitty.

The most important part of money management skills is inculcating sav- ing habit among the kids. And it’s not an easy task to motivate children to cut down a portion of pocket money – exclusively given to them for spending – and save. Explaining the importance of saving with a motivational force is a challenge and don’t be surprised when your child asks you why he should save money. It is not a one day’s job to con- vince your child to cut down spending out of your daily allowance. Discuss with your child the importance of sav- ing for the future and spending it to achieve goals for living a prosperous life.

As a parent you should remember that nurturing habitual saving in your child is more important than his or her monetary progress. Now, most important question what method should be adopted to help your children to save? After the child is con- vinced to bifurcate his or her pocket money or daily allowance, the saving portion has to be parked somewhere?  The saved money should not only be in safe hands, but it should over a period of time also multiply. In our childhood, our parents would gift us money box or coin box to lure us towards saving. We have these money boxes even today. Our children too make use of these boxes to save, but for fun. They don’t seem attracted to this concept of saving money. We have to make use of modern ways of luring our children to save and at the same time expose them to the excitement of earning on their savings. So, the best mode to attract your kids towards sav- ing concept is to guide them to have a savings bank account.

The amazing part of savings bank account is that an account holder automatically gets eli- gible to get an ATM/ debit card. Your kid having an ATM card in his pocket will feel financial empowerment. J&K Bank has recently introduced “Student Savings Bank Account”. Even you can open an account for a KG stu- dent under the scheme with initial deposit of Rs.50. There is no need to maintain minimum balance, which means that the account can run even with zero balance. Debit Card/ATM Card (For Students above the age of 10 years are eligible to get a debit/ATM card free. Cheque book of 20 leaves for one year shall be issued to students above age of 18 years free of cost. Even e-banking and SMS alert facil- ity can be availed by the students once they open a savings bank account.

The bank shall not be charging for these services. So, you should visit your bank along with your children to open a savings bankaccount for him. A visit to a bank branch will infuse a dose of confi- dence, excitement and magical em- powerment in the children. Explain that a bank is a place you put your money until you need it. Let the bank official on the desk explain about the account and its benefits. Your child’s involvement in the account opening process will definitely be a source of excitement for your child. In succinct, guide your children to reap the ben- efits of financial world independently for their bright and prosperous future.

‘Tourism deptt patronizing unqualified operators to conduct the sport’

Srinagar: Tourism Department has again come in for severe criticism from the stakeholders for allegedly patronizing some “favorite’’ operators to conduct this sport at Pahalgam.

According to stakeholders the department is allegedly allowing rafting at Pahalgam by unqualified operators who unlike the agencies conducting the exercise at Yaner, are not even being charged any fee by the department.
According to stakeholders due to the bad policies of the department, “this favourte adventure sport has been reduced into a liability for the real stakeholders.”
“This sport needs a lot of professionalism and expertise on the part of those who conduct it. This is not something which anybody without having any experience can be allowed to conduct,” the stakeholders said.
“In May a tourist died and another was injured as people who had no experience in rafting business were allowed to conduct it at Pahalgam,’’ they said.  
They said the stakeholders who have invested lot of money into this trade were being allowed to conduct the sport at Yaner. “But ever since the rafting has been allowed at Pahalgam by a selected group of operators who enjoy political patronage, the operators at Yaner have been rendered jobless.”
The rafting at Pahalgam is hitting the business at Yaner in Islamabad (Anantnag), they said.  
“Even as the government is making tall claims about bringing about professionalism in adventure tourism, it is allowing inexperienced agencies to conduct the rafting in Kashmir,” an official in the Tourism Department said.
At Yaner, some 8 kilometers from Pahalgam, the official said, the government was charging Rs 6 lakh as annual fee from the private agencies for conducting rafting. “Despite that the rafting had earlier been stopped at Pahalgam, but again the same authorities are allowing it at Pahalgam that too without charging the fee,” he said.  
Sources said that besides Yaner, the rafting has only been permitted at Sonmarg in Kashmir. “There is no justification in allowing the rafting at Pahalgam,” they said. 
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Pahalgam Development Authority, said: “I have no idea where rafting is taking place in Pahalgam. The matter is being looked into by higher officials.”
Director Tourism, Talat Pervaiz, however said that the government has announced “many measures to promote the rafting here.” 
He said the government has identified many places in Kashmir where the rafting can be allowed and promoted.