Today's Hot Stories - March 13, 2014
10 Headlines for Today(1) Shiv Sena fires fresh salvo at BJP, asks it to follow 'alliance dharma'
(2) Modi finds unlikely fans in J&K’s PDP, separatists
(3) In second year, Pope faces expectations of change
(4) PepsiCo bats for IPL, Coke votes for polls
(5) Suzuki’s Gujarat plan splits Maruti board
(6) VW’s latest: Cars with no drivers
(7) Roger Federer eases into Indian Wells quarterfinals
(8) Saina Nehwal off to a fine start in Swiss Grand Prix
(9) Aussie pacer Mitchell Johnson doubtful for World T20
(10) 15 bird species in India critically endangered
5 Stories for Today
(1) Nagaland among six poll expenditure sensitive States: Election Commission
(2) Sri Lanka only fought LTTE not Tamils: Rajapaksa
(3) Private banks at risk of losing clients to PSUs
(4) Honda City pips Hyundai Verna to No. 1 position in mid-size sedan war
(5) Inflation and IIP numbers provide cheers: 8 points to ponder
(1) Nagaland among six poll expenditure sensitive States: Election Commission
Nagaland is among the six ‘Election Expenditure Sensitive’ States as per the data of the previous elections.
“Nagaland along with Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Arunachal Pradesh has been categorized as Election Expenditure-Sensitive State”, Deputy Election Commissioner Sudhir Tripathi told reporters in Kohima on Wednesday evening.
Considering the categorisation, the Commission will deploy Expenditure Monitoring Team from the day of filing of nominations till the polling is over, he said.
Flying squads, video surveillance team as well as parallel election expenditure accounts would be put in place throughout the State so that the elections are held without the use of money or muscle power, he said.
Expressing satisfaction over the preparedness of Nagaland for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, he said all political parties had requested Election Commission to ensure that the voters received their EPIC.
Nagaland is the last State to have started distribution of EPIC, but Nagaland and Assam will be the first States in the country to use plastic EPIC, he said.
Source: The Hindu
(2) Sri Lanka only fought LTTE not Tamils: Rajapaksa
President Mahinda Rajapaksa has debunked international criticism of undermining Sri Lanka's Tamil minority on the strength of the success in crushing the LTTE through military means.
"The war was not against the Tamils. We only fought a brutal terrorist outfit that was the LTTE ," the president told a political gathering in the southern district of Galle on Wednesday.
"If our war was against Tamils how could the Tamils live happily and peacefully among the Sinhalese in the south of the country," Rajapaksa quipped.
Responding to accusations that his government had promoted a culture of impunity for those who attack the island's religious minorities, more particularly Muslims, Rajapaksa said the religious harmony and reconciliation was visible throughout the country.
"I am aware that some non governmental organisations with foreign help are trying to show there is religious disharmony," Rajapaksa stressed.
The remark was a reference to his predecessor Chandrika Kumaratunga's meeting with his main rival, Ranil Wickremesinghe this week.
Kumaratunga heads an NGO which promotes religious harmony. All these are attempts to embarrass the government at a time the UN Human Rights Council meeting is happening, the president said.
Attacks against religious minorities is an issue of concern as the next UNHRC resolution on Sri Lanka is to be put to vote in two weeks time in Geneva.
The UNHRC is certain to adopt another adverse resolution later this month in Geneva censuring Sri Lanka on its lack of progress on human rights accountability and reconciliation with its Tamil minority after the civil war ended with the defeat of the LTTE.
India had backed the previous two resolutions. The US-moved resolution is expected to prompt an international investigation into alleged human rights abuses and crimes against humanity during the last phase of the military conflict which ended in 2009.
Source: The Economic Times
(3) Private banks at risk of losing clients to PSUs
Private sector banks are at a higher risk of losing customers to state-owned banks as compared to public sector banks due to non-satisfactory customer services, says a survey commissioned by IBM. According to officials from the tech giant, the highest level of dissatisfaction is at the call centre level where most banks have failed to develop an ability to provide services seamlessly across channels.
The study said that 30% of banking customers transact with more than one bank and 2.4% of bank customers are expected to switch loyalties within one year. Private sector banks fare slightly better in customer relationships due to a larger portfolio of account offerings and their ability to use their systems to cross-sell.
However, 41% of private bank (as primary account) customers transact with more than one bank as against 24% of those who have their primary account with a PSU Bank. Considering that a large chunk (86%) of private bank customers have a second account with a PSU bank, the risk of losing customers to PSU banks is high.
According to Venkatramani Subramanian, VP and head of banking, financial services and insurance segment at IBM India, the mass affluent are not addressed in a personalized manner. But customers even in this segment want the service they opt for to be available whenever they want it. He added that there was scope to simplify the interface for the customer for telephone banking. Also, banks could customize the online banking interface depending on the customer profile. Above all, there was a need to provide seamless service across channels, he said.
Personalizing services for various segments has become easier considering that customers are willing to share more information about themselves on a frequent basis and increase their transactions with the primary bank if they are offered services that suit their needs. "This requires banks to redesign their customer engagement model, invest in and leverage technology tools that collate and analyze data captured from various customer touchpoints, and offer a one-stop, 360-degree view of customer interactions with the bank, facilitating customers to make investment decisions," said Subramanian.
He adds that compared to the West where the best banks sell six to eight products to a single account holder, in India the average number of product is only 1.2. Although customers conduct 81% of their transactions with their primary bank, only 58% of their investments lie with them. This is a reflection of the bank's inability to cross-sell or deep-sell their products, Subramanian said.
Source: The Times of India
(4) Honda City pips Hyundai Verna to No. 1 position in mid-size sedan war
Japanese car maker Honda Car India’s mid-size sedan City has drawn first blood against arch rival and segment leader Hyundai Verna, outselling the latter in the first two months this year.
The Verna had overtaken City to become the largest selling mid-size sedan in India in 2011 exploiting Honda’s lack of diesel engine and retained the pole position till last year.
Verna’s sales during 2013 stood at 49,715 units, more than double the sales of City at 21,530 units and Volkswagen Vento at 22,290.
The launch of the fourth-generation City in January, has seen the car regain its hold in the segment. Its sales in the first two months at 14,397 units was more than double of Verna’s 7,145 units.
“City’s position in the segment in petrol was never disputed but we suffered because we did not have a diesel engine. We are happy to see the huge demand for the all new City where we have introduced a diesel engine as well,” said Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice-president, marketing and sales, Honda Cars India Ltd.
Hyundai is also revving up. Soon after the launch of the City, it added extra features in the Verna to maintain its relevance in the market.
“We have established our leadership position in the sedan space over the years and though a new entrant does excite the market, the Verna remains a very contemporary product,” said Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India Ltd.
Source: Hindustan Times
(5) Inflation and IIP numbers provide cheers: 8 points to ponder
The growth in IIP reflects a clear dichotomy between export-led growth and domestic slowdown.
IIP growth at 0.1% for Jan’14 was a pleasant surprise, even as CPI declined to 8.11% in Feb’14 largely in consonance with street expectations (SBI at 7.95%).
1. The growth in IIP reflects a clear dichotomy between export-led growth and domestic slowdown. For example, at 2 digit level, positive outlier sectors are textiles, apparels and chemicals and finished leather products, carry combined weightages of 19% in IIP index, appear to have benefited from rupee depreciation as these are export oriented.
2. On the downside, sectors like food product & beverages, communications and motor vehicles with a combined weightage at 12.3% are witnessing a significant slowdown.
3. Going by CSO projections, manufacturing sector needs to log in a growth rate at 1.1% in Feb-Mar’14, which looks difficult, given that export growth are now slowing down.
4. While CPI inflation at 8.1% was in line with market expectations, the point of worry is that given the news of unseasonal rains and crop damage, prospect of a not-so normal monsoon may limit the downward trajectory in food prices.
5. If we were to replicate core CPI numbers at 7.66% on the Feb’14 numbers (the lowest level historically) and the gap between core CPI and headline CPI, the headline CPI numbers should be close to 7.8%-7.9%.
6. This implies that a downward trend in CPI is capped at 7.8% going by current trends, and this will continue to be heartburn for RBI.
Source: The Indian Express
Disclaimer: All news stories and content sourced from freely available material on the internet. All sources are acknowledged.
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