AAP-Certified Professionals

Soon after stepping down as the board member of software behemoth Infosys on December 20, 2013, V. Balakrishnan surprised many with his announcement of joining Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Balakrishnan is of the opinion that AAP has revolutinised poiltics in this country and that he is fascinated with it. Kejriwal seems to be getting a lot of support from people across the country. Looks like being an AAP certified professional is the new age mantra of the emerging Indian executive.

Herd Metality

Indian politicians are today behaving much like investors. The ‘Herd Mentality’ is fast catching up with them too. Arvind Kejrival was ridiculed for the approach he sought to bring about systemic changes. But his Aam Aadmi Party, managed to get its share of attention within the large socio economic divide of India. The coming to power of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi has no doubt paved the way for a new school of thought as far as political ideologies are concerned. But what is more intriguing (and in fact more relevant to our subject) is the way political leaderships are trying to play catch with each other today. Power seems to be on every politicians mind quite literally.

Kejrival’s first move on assuming office as the Chief Minister of Delhi was to cut power tariffs there by as much as 50%. Challenged for its viability by many, the newly formed government has just shrugged off all criticism about the move and put into effect the tariff cut thereby taking their first step towards fulfillment of so called poll promises. Inspired by Kejrival, Sanjay Nirupam a congress MP from Mumbai has reportedly called for a tariff reduction in the city. He has gone on record threatening to agitate against the very government he is a part of, if the demand is not met. Forget about the political angle of this move for now, and, focus on what is more relevant to the markets.

To some this may seem like healthy competition but be cautioned, the economic impact of such impulsive decisions is farfetched.

Its Okay To Write On Notes 

The Reserve Bank of India has notified that banks would continue to honour all currency notes, scribbled or unscribbled. But all the same it has solicited co-operation from members of the public, institutions and others in keeping banknotes clean. After all, clean money is surely acceptable to all.

A sigh of relief: Government Slashes Minimum Export Price For Onions

They made the consumer cry and now it is the turn of the consumer to pay it back in the same manner. Onion farmers have reportedly been losing sleep over the glut of the product that has it the market. Lower prices have resulted in over supply and this has forced the government to reduce the MEP from USD 350 per tonne to USD 150 a tone so that exports can help them to some extent. It seems rather strange that the government has all the necessary tools to help but acts only when the situation turns rather grave.
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Something For The Connoisseur In The Consumer

A New Car Model...To all the people who are obsessed with cars here is some interesting news. Try your hand at the new 2014 City model launched by Honda. The latest model seems to be a lot more upmarket as compared to its previous models. Starting at a base price of Rs 7.42 lakh for the petrol version and Rs 8.62 lakh for the diesel version you have a choice of six colours - Golden Brown, Carnelian Red Pearl, Urban Titanium, Alabaster Silver, Crystal Black and Taffeta White. Take your pick after all it’s the engine that plays its role when it’s a Honda.

For The Techies

Electronics major Samsung has launched its ‘Stay New’ plan to help consumers upgrade to new smart phones with an afford- able 18-month EMI option. The customers will have the benefit of upgrading their smart phones at any given time in the future. The models covered under the Stay New programme are Galaxy Note 3, Galaxy Note 2, Samsung S4, Samsung S4 Mini, Samsung S3, Galaxy Tab 3 and Galaxy Tab 10.1. Customers can buy any of these smart phones through participating banks’ credit card and avail the Samsung’s 18-month EMI scheme.

The War Of Words Is Just Beginning

The whole nation has been talking about the silence of the Prime Minister over the past couple of years. So much so that it has actually been a hot topic of jokes, especially on social media. But when he spoke, he spoke like he meant business. In a recent press conference, Dr Manmohan Singh expressed his views that it will be disastrous for the country to have Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister and that he believes that the kind of strength associated with Modi is not good for the country. Lets wait for Mr Modi to retort.

Dr Rajan Will Breathe Easy

With the arrival of winter crops, vegetable prices have crashed significantly. They are down by as much as 50 per cent on a MoM basis. Higher vegetable prices have been one of the main reasons for higher food inflation. 

They had been instrumental in pushing up the WPI to a 14 month high of 7.52 per cent and retail inflation to a record high of 11.24 per cent in the month of November 2013. With prices cooling off considerably, inflation is all set to come down sizeably and this means Dr Rajan will be breathing easy on the monetary policy front at least for now. Will he cut rates? We don’t know yet.