Thursday, September 17, 2009
Pune: Eight-time World billiards champion Geet Sethi heads a seven-member contingent which will leave on Thursday for the World Professional Billiards championship that gets under way at the Northern Snooker Centre, Leeds, England, from September 2.
The other Indians taking part include Pankaj Advani, former Asian champion Devendra Joshi, Dhruv Sitwala, B. Bhaskar and Sourav Kothari.
"The Bangalore camp has been the best way to prepare for a tournament," Sethi said while talking to TOl. "I'm feeling good and it was good to end the camp ona winning note." TNN
Maria aims to be no. 1 again But Russian Star Downplays Chances At The US Open
0 comments Posted by Tip at 9:36 AMOakland (California): Maria Sharapova has downplayed her chances of winning a second US Open crown this year after returning from shoulder surgery but believes sh.e can go on to regain the world number one spot.
"With every tournament I feel physically I'm getting better and getting a good sense of the court but it's still a work in progress," the three-times Grand Slam winner said ahead of the fmal major of the season which begins on
Monday. "I'd like to forget I was gone for a long time but you have to put things in perspective."
The 22-year-old Russian, who
only returned to singles action in May after a nine-month layoff, said while she would certainly give the US Open her best shot and
was "absolutely" sure of climbing back to the tennis summit.
"I'm a competitor and have played many tournaments and won quite a few," said Sharapova, who first claimed the world number one spot in 2005. "You want to be the winner and if someone tells you otherwise they wouldn't be telling the truth."
While the Russianhas not won any titles since her comeback, she has beaten world number seven Vera Zvonareva, eighth-ranked Victoria Azarenka and number 13 Nadia Petrova and seems to beimproving every week.
The Russian reached the LA Championships semis and on Sunday lost the Toronto Cup fmal to compatriot and world number four Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-3. "I think it was a really great week for me," Sharapova said. REUTERS
Silverstone: Brimming with confidence after his top 10 finish in Valencia, Force India driver Adrian Sutil expects the new updates to bridge the gap that separates his team from its maiden Formula One points in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
After the upgrades debuted in the European Grand Prix, both the V JM02 cars fmished inside top 12 and Sutilrevealed it has indeed made a difference.
"It was a very simple track, it just goes straight on, so you don't need a lot of downforce. But I think we gained about half a second, and it should be even more
in Spa," Sutilsaid.
Describing Spa as one of his favourite tracks, the German said Force India might break its point duck there. "Spa I think is our circuit," he said. "We were quite good there last year, and
this year must be much, much better. I'll be happy with a dry weekend. The circuit is amazing in the dry, and our car is now good. I want to see how our update works there," Sutil said.
Looking back, Sutil drew lot of confidence from his show in Valencia and said it was great to run wheel-to-wheel with some of the top teams. "I think it was a strong race, and I'm really happy with it. I have done a few other races which were similar and maybe even had a better position. But here almost nobody retired. And it was a dry race, and normally we're strong in the wet races," he explained. PTI
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The GBPJPY is trading at an important long term resistance level around 159.45, in the short term charts it is trading in a tight range in between 159.79 and 158.23, so it first need to clear either support or resistance to start looking for trading opportunities, please take a look at the next chart:
If the market breaks the 159.79 short term resistance line, I will be looking for long opportunities. All take profit orders will be placed around 161.70
If the market breaks the 158.23 short term support level, I will be looking for short trading opportunities. All take profit orders will be placed around 157.00
If the market keeps trading in the short term range I will do nothing.
Good luck
If the market breaks the 159.79 short term resistance line, I will be looking for long opportunities. All take profit orders will be placed around 161.70
If the market breaks the 158.23 short term support level, I will be looking for short trading opportunities. All take profit orders will be placed around 157.00
If the market keeps trading in the short term range I will do nothing.
Good luck
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The main enticements of currency dealing to private investors and attractions for short-term Forex trading are:
· 24-hour trading, 5 days a week with non-stop access to global Forex dealers.
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Discipline. Successful traders always go by a strategy and don’t let their emotions get the better of them. They never ‘trade on the fly’.The ability to accept risk as part of the game. Despite what you may hear from shrewd sales pages, Forex trading is never without risk. Risk is the other side of the coin. There is big profits to be made but you have to be willing to accept the risk of losing.
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The ability to accept being wrong. No one is perfect. You are going to make plenty of mistakes along the way. Don’[t be stubborn and stay in trades gone bad to save yourself from admitting you were wrong.
Patience. Smart traders stay with their system and wait patiently for the right spot to present itself. You don’t need to have positions open all the time. Don’t trade just to trade.
Know when to get out. There is more to trading than knowing when to get in, you need to know when to get out as well. Too many traders got greedy and stayed in a trade for too long, only to see their profits wiped out. Get out when your system tells you too. Don’t go chasing pips.
Know your financial limitations. Don’t over-leverage yourself and don’t trade with money you need to pay your bills or risk ending on the street. Only trade with money you can afford to lose even if this means starting out with only a few hundred dollars. There are many forex brokers where you can get started with that.
Discipline. Successful traders always go by a strategy and don’t let their emotions get the better of them. They never ‘trade on the fly’.The ability to accept risk as part of the game. Despite what you may hear from shrewd sales pages, Forex trading is never without risk. Risk is the other side of the coin. There is big profits to be made but you have to be willing to accept the risk of losing.
Willingness to accept failure and learn from it. Even the best traders in the game lose trades. Its the natural order of things. But the difference between a successful trader and a losing trader is the ability to learn from failed trades and not dwell on the negative.
Confidence. Successful traders always keep confidence in their ability and knowledge. They don’t second guess themselves after making a trade.
The ability to accept being wrong. No one is perfect. You are going to make plenty of mistakes along the way. Don’[t be stubborn and stay in trades gone bad to save yourself from admitting you were wrong.
Patience. Smart traders stay with their system and wait patiently for the right spot to present itself. You don’t need to have positions open all the time. Don’t trade just to trade.
Know when to get out. There is more to trading than knowing when to get in, you need to know when to get out as well. Too many traders got greedy and stayed in a trade for too long, only to see their profits wiped out. Get out when your system tells you too. Don’t go chasing pips.
Know your financial limitations. Don’t over-leverage yourself and don’t trade with money you need to pay your bills or risk ending on the street. Only trade with money you can afford to lose even if this means starting out with only a few hundred dollars. There are many forex brokers where you can get started with that.
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Turkey has been an important regional gold market for many years; during the 1990s domestic jewellery fabrication averaged 125 tonnes (4.02 million oz). In addition, Turkey has been a key source of bullion for several neighbours countries. Turkish bullion imports, which normally exceed 100 tonnes (3.2 million oz) on an annual basis, came to 107 tonnes in 1999 but then rose significantly in 2000 to 205 tonnes (6.6 million oz). However, the following year bullion imports fell sharply. According to GFMS, this was partly due to the sharp devaluation of the Turkish currency and the associated economic and banking crises which affected the country. On a separate note, Turkey's position in the international market was enhanced by the full liberalisation of the local gold market in 1998 and the opening of the Istanbul Gold Exchange on 26 July 1995.
Japan has evolved as a major market for gold for fabrication and investment since trading was liberalised in 1974. But the gold business in Japan has much earlier origins. Gold mines in Japan in the 17th century exported through the Dutch East India Company to East Asian countries. Tokuriki Honten, still an important refiner and fabricator, traces its history back to 1727. Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo, the leading precious metal refiner and trader, was established in 1885.
Actual mine production is limited. The only significant mine is Sumitomo Metal Mining's Hishikari on Kyushu island, opened in 1985, with output between seven and eight tonnes (0.25-0.26 million oz) annually. The Japanese market is supplied, therefore, both by imports of bullion and by-product gold from imported concentrates.
Total gold demand in Japan ranges between 200 and 275 tonnes (6.4 – 8.8 million oz), embracing jewellery fabrication, electronic and industrial uses, dental applications and physical bar investment . Japan is the world's foremost user in electronics, using over 100 tonnes (3.21 million oz) in 2000 according to GFMS (although this fell sharply, to around 70 tonnes or 2.25 million oz, in 2001 on the back of the slowdown in global demand). Japan's use of dental gold in 2001 was around 21 tonnes (675,000 oz) according to GFMS. Physical bar hoarding is also much higher than in other industrial countries, and is an anonymous way of holding wealth outside of the banking sector. GFMS estimate that it averaged just under 60 tonnes (1.9 million oz) over the past decade and exceeding 100 tonnes (13.2 million oz) in 1999. The first few months of 2002 saw a surge in Japanese hoarding demand due to fears about the health of the banking system.
It is also the custom in Japan for companies to give gifts of 24 carat ornaments such as teapots, saki cups, vases and chopsticks. The gold tea ceremony room at the Moa Art Museum in Shizuoka Province used 50 kilos (1,607 oz) for teapots and cups, plus gold leaf for its walls.
Actual mine production is limited. The only significant mine is Sumitomo Metal Mining's Hishikari on Kyushu island, opened in 1985, with output between seven and eight tonnes (0.25-0.26 million oz) annually. The Japanese market is supplied, therefore, both by imports of bullion and by-product gold from imported concentrates.
Total gold demand in Japan ranges between 200 and 275 tonnes (6.4 – 8.8 million oz), embracing jewellery fabrication, electronic and industrial uses, dental applications and physical bar investment . Japan is the world's foremost user in electronics, using over 100 tonnes (3.21 million oz) in 2000 according to GFMS (although this fell sharply, to around 70 tonnes or 2.25 million oz, in 2001 on the back of the slowdown in global demand). Japan's use of dental gold in 2001 was around 21 tonnes (675,000 oz) according to GFMS. Physical bar hoarding is also much higher than in other industrial countries, and is an anonymous way of holding wealth outside of the banking sector. GFMS estimate that it averaged just under 60 tonnes (1.9 million oz) over the past decade and exceeding 100 tonnes (13.2 million oz) in 1999. The first few months of 2002 saw a surge in Japanese hoarding demand due to fears about the health of the banking system.
It is also the custom in Japan for companies to give gifts of 24 carat ornaments such as teapots, saki cups, vases and chopsticks. The gold tea ceremony room at the Moa Art Museum in Shizuoka Province used 50 kilos (1,607 oz) for teapots and cups, plus gold leaf for its walls.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
2004 to promote the use of strategic litigation for achieving women's reproductive rights worldwide. In 2006, it organised the first ever training on reproductive rights
1- for lawyers in India in collaboration with the Human 1- Rights Law Network (HRLN). It was at this meeting that tl the potential for developing constitutional litigation to
address maternal mortality through the use of intern'le tional norms and comparative law was discussed for the h first time. It also inspired the just-published report, d 'Maternal Mortality in India: Using International and ", Constitutional Law to Promote Accountability and .g Change'.
I· The report, which assesses the situation in India and
recommends strategies and laws that can be used to tackle the problem, was shared at the recent meeting, where II it was released. "It (the report) is a tool to establish a
hen doctors at the local pri-
mary health centre in
Banda. Uttar Pradesh. were
unable to stop her bleeding. Phuli. 28, was moved to the Banda
district hospital and then to the hospital in Kanpur. But here she was denied life-saving care and gave birth outside the hospital gates. While the baby died within an hour. Phuli died later that night.
Did Phuli need to die? Could she have been saved if she had not been the wife of a daily wage labourer belonging to a marginalised community? Would she have survived if she knew that the symptoms of blood loss were not normal or that sp'e was seriously sick? Why is it that over 75.000 women continue to die from pregnancy-related causes in India each year? Can the health system be made legally accountable? These were some of the concerns raised at a recent meeting in New Delhi to discuss Maternal Health, Human Rights and Law. as a part of the nationwide ICPD + 15 (International Conference o,n
Population and Development) Gains and Gaps review process.
"In India, there is one maternal, death every five minutes, These are preventable deaths. There is no justification for maternal mortality. India has more than 300 maternal deaths for every 100.000 live births. In Sri Lanka, the corresponding figure is 56. in China it is 45. in Namibia. 210 and in Egypt. 130. The biggest cause is discrimination and the lack of equality that prevents women from accessing information and services. However, women should not remain objects of interventions but also be empowered." contends Anand Gover. UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Health.
Litigation can become a tool to empower women by making maternal health a right says Jasodhara Dasgupta (in the pic above). member of the steering group for ICPD+ 15 review. "Equity has to become a marker for measuring ·maternal mortality. Less than 50 per cent of women give birth with the assistance of a skilled attendant and only 40 per cent of deliveries occur in an institutional setting. Even access to maternal health varies by state. So while in West Bengal over 90 per cent receive antenatal care. only 34 per cent receive it in ~ihar." she informs.
But maternal health is not only about numbers. It is about a woman's dignity and her right to health - two reasons why accountability is needed. Maternal mortality is symptomatic of a deeply ingrained gender inequality. feels Melissa Upreti (In the pic to the right). senior legal advisor of the Centre for Reproductive Rights, an international NGO. "India has -taken many. steps to reduce maternal mortality including the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). but it lacks effective monitoring and enforcement. This has undermined the country's efforts. Human rights law and the Constitution provide a strong basis for lawyers to demand change and hold the government accountable for maternal deaths." she says.
CRR (Center for Reproductive Rights), which uses the law to underline reproductive freedom as a fundamental right to all governments, launched a global initiative in
mary health centre in
Banda. Uttar Pradesh. were
unable to stop her bleeding. Phuli. 28, was moved to the Banda
district hospital and then to the hospital in Kanpur. But here she was denied life-saving care and gave birth outside the hospital gates. While the baby died within an hour. Phuli died later that night.
Did Phuli need to die? Could she have been saved if she had not been the wife of a daily wage labourer belonging to a marginalised community? Would she have survived if she knew that the symptoms of blood loss were not normal or that sp'e was seriously sick? Why is it that over 75.000 women continue to die from pregnancy-related causes in India each year? Can the health system be made legally accountable? These were some of the concerns raised at a recent meeting in New Delhi to discuss Maternal Health, Human Rights and Law. as a part of the nationwide ICPD + 15 (International Conference o,n
Population and Development) Gains and Gaps review process.
"In India, there is one maternal, death every five minutes, These are preventable deaths. There is no justification for maternal mortality. India has more than 300 maternal deaths for every 100.000 live births. In Sri Lanka, the corresponding figure is 56. in China it is 45. in Namibia. 210 and in Egypt. 130. The biggest cause is discrimination and the lack of equality that prevents women from accessing information and services. However, women should not remain objects of interventions but also be empowered." contends Anand Gover. UN Special Rapporteur on Right to Health.
Litigation can become a tool to empower women by making maternal health a right says Jasodhara Dasgupta (in the pic above). member of the steering group for ICPD+ 15 review. "Equity has to become a marker for measuring ·maternal mortality. Less than 50 per cent of women give birth with the assistance of a skilled attendant and only 40 per cent of deliveries occur in an institutional setting. Even access to maternal health varies by state. So while in West Bengal over 90 per cent receive antenatal care. only 34 per cent receive it in ~ihar." she informs.
But maternal health is not only about numbers. It is about a woman's dignity and her right to health - two reasons why accountability is needed. Maternal mortality is symptomatic of a deeply ingrained gender inequality. feels Melissa Upreti (In the pic to the right). senior legal advisor of the Centre for Reproductive Rights, an international NGO. "India has -taken many. steps to reduce maternal mortality including the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). but it lacks effective monitoring and enforcement. This has undermined the country's efforts. Human rights law and the Constitution provide a strong basis for lawyers to demand change and hold the government accountable for maternal deaths." she says.
CRR (Center for Reproductive Rights), which uses the law to underline reproductive freedom as a fundamental right to all governments, launched a global initiative in
Saturday, September 5, 2009
~e General Post Office at Shillong has disbursed the first 1 :icro-credit loan, sanctioned by ABARD to self help groups (SHGs). The first cheque of Rs 25,000
was disbursed to a domestic workers group,
an SHG from Madanriting in the city by ~
chief post master general and Kachari and
ABARD general manager Arvind Menon.
Post master general, E Circle, Shillong, M Lawphniaw, and members of the group
were present at the function organized at GPO.
So far, 40 SHGs have already registered with the post office in Shillong to avail of micro-loans, but the domestic workers group was the only qualified group selected for the purpose. This project was first implemented in 2006 as a pilot project in a number of post offices in two districts of Tamil Nadu.
The loans are provided by NABARD and the post offices disburse them to SHGs. The interest rate is 9
n a historic step to uplift the rural population of Meghalaya, a program, Scheme of Fund Regeneration
of Traditional 1 ndustries (SFURTJ), involving cottage industries making use of the abundantly available cane and bamboo was launched at Mookyndeng village in ]aintia Hills district of the state. Describing the initiative as a historic event, chief minister DD Lapang said the cooperative movement is very popular in the villages of the state and the people are aware of the benefits of working in cooperation. He added that women's groups will be participating in SFRUTI and these groups will be consistent in their approach and not disappear in a short time. He reminded the people about Mahatma Gandhi, who revolutionized the economic development strategy in the rural areas.
Lapang felt that in many villages of the state there are numerous skillful and talented artisans, whose talents could be tapped and who can be encouraged to form cooperative societies for which the state government could provide financial assistance. If the products are of good quality, it will have a good market value, and perhaps, even the government could purchase the relevant products for use in government offices, he added. The cooperative societies in the state should
be strengthened, he said and assured that the state government will prOVide all possible assistance to encourage the people in this direction for economic development of the state as a whole.
The scheme is being sponsored by the union government through the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises and implemented by the Women's Group of Mookyndeng and the Handicraft Multipurpose Cooperative Society, Mookyndeng. It aims at self-employment opportunities for the women helping them learn in handicraft skills.
SFUTRI was originally launched by the Indian government in 2005 with the objective of strengthening traditional industries and build innovative and traditional skills. It is also provides innovative and modern tools to the local artisans to improve and boost production and uplift the economy and generate good income through their cane and bamboo products. Mookyndeng is known for its skillful artisans, who make cane and bamboo products and has a good record of haVing effective and innovative cooperative societies. It is the first Village to be identified for the implementation of SFURTI, in Meghalaya.
ACB case against former Mizoram health minister in insurance scam
0 comments Posted by Tip at 6:57 AMe Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has filed criminal 1 ~ases against former Mizoram health minister R Tlanghmingthanga and others, who were allegedly involved in the Rs 10 crore Mizoram healthcare scheme fund scam. The ACB's action followed an FIR lodged by a corruption watchdog People's Right to Information and Development Implementing Society of Mizoram (PRISM). Earlier this year, it was revealed that as much as Rs 10 crore, allocated for the Mizoram Health Care Scheme, had been invested in Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company
in the names of 17 individuals, 11 of whom were daughters and sons and in-laws of Tlanghmingthanga. The remaining six people were government officials and their wives, including former secretary to chief minister Zoramthanga and health commissioner ].c. Ramthanga and Mizoram Health
Care Society chief executive officer Sangzuala Pachuau.
In response to queries that why the name of former chief minister and MSHCS chairman Zoramthanga failed to figure, PRISM has urged the ACB to have a second look into its FIR. Hinting that Zoramthanga's name was included in the FIR, PRISM president Vanlalruata said the ACB is expected to file a case against those who were involved in the case.
According to an ACB source, there were a few names mentioned in the FIR, but it was found that they investments were not made in their names. According to the charges, Tlanghmingthanga had strongly recommended that the money be invested in the Bajaj Allianz against earlier proposal of the officials. This was given a go-ahead by the then chief minister Zoramthanga before the state assembly elections in December 2008. Incidentally, the Aizawl division of the Bajaj Allianz is co-
in the names of 17 individuals, 11 of whom were daughters and sons and in-laws of Tlanghmingthanga. The remaining six people were government officials and their wives, including former secretary to chief minister Zoramthanga and health commissioner ].c. Ramthanga and Mizoram Health
Care Society chief executive officer Sangzuala Pachuau.
In response to queries that why the name of former chief minister and MSHCS chairman Zoramthanga failed to figure, PRISM has urged the ACB to have a second look into its FIR. Hinting that Zoramthanga's name was included in the FIR, PRISM president Vanlalruata said the ACB is expected to file a case against those who were involved in the case.
According to an ACB source, there were a few names mentioned in the FIR, but it was found that they investments were not made in their names. According to the charges, Tlanghmingthanga had strongly recommended that the money be invested in the Bajaj Allianz against earlier proposal of the officials. This was given a go-ahead by the then chief minister Zoramthanga before the state assembly elections in December 2008. Incidentally, the Aizawl division of the Bajaj Allianz is co-
Financial institutions in the country, including the State Bank of India, have promised a big-bang financial inclusion drive this year to cover the rural sectors. After inaugurating IS-l branches and 2, IS 1 ATMs simultaneously from ]angipur, from where finance minister Pranab Mukherjee is elected to the Lok Sabha, recently, SBI chairman 01' Bhatt revealed a major plan to roll out banking services in 50,000 unbanked Villages by March 2010. Most of these new branches will be opened in rural and semi-urban areas, he said adding the bank has now 11,853 branches and 13,983 ATMs.
The bank has charted a major expansion plan in Northeast
India, where banking penetration has been far from adequate. The bank plans to add another 536 ATMs in the region. Currently, it has a network of 464 ATMs. Local SBI officials said the bank is targeting to have a network of 1,000 ATMs by March 2010.
The bank's initiative assumes significance as the banking sector as a whole is chasing a stiff target of covering nearly 1.07 lakh un-banked Villages in West Bengal having population of over 2,000 by 2011. Bhatt said thal the bank covered 53,000 un-banked villages in 2008-09. Earlier, the bank had opened 101 branches simultaneously in July 2008.
The Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow self-help groups (SHGs) and primary agriculture credit societies (PACS) to have business correspondents to ensure a greater banking penetration in the country's interior rural belt. SBI too has decided to engage banking correspondents and business facilitators extensively to achieve its target.
The bank has charted a major expansion plan in Northeast
India, where banking penetration has been far from adequate. The bank plans to add another 536 ATMs in the region. Currently, it has a network of 464 ATMs. Local SBI officials said the bank is targeting to have a network of 1,000 ATMs by March 2010.
The bank's initiative assumes significance as the banking sector as a whole is chasing a stiff target of covering nearly 1.07 lakh un-banked Villages in West Bengal having population of over 2,000 by 2011. Bhatt said thal the bank covered 53,000 un-banked villages in 2008-09. Earlier, the bank had opened 101 branches simultaneously in July 2008.
The Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow self-help groups (SHGs) and primary agriculture credit societies (PACS) to have business correspondents to ensure a greater banking penetration in the country's interior rural belt. SBI too has decided to engage banking correspondents and business facilitators extensively to achieve its target.
AGS Infotech has launched 'Beeline', a digital queue management terminal that handles lengthy queues and reduces unpredictable waiting time for people. In its most basic form, it issues a queue ticket to a customer and later calls the ticket when the service is available. The system solves problems faced by ustomer service centric companies and institutions of queues, which in turn leads to poor customer service and lower customer satisfaction. The system helps increase the number of customers that use the organization's ~ervices while simultaneously help selling ofthe organisation's products during the customer's waiting time. Beeline also facilitates equitable distribution of work among employees and enhances their productiVity. In a traditional banking environment, a customer spends a considerable time in a branch to conduct banking activities. Customers can simply approach the queue management terminal, read a range of transaction, push the touch-sensitive screen at the required service and receive a ticket with his / her queue number and the counter. While awaiting his number the customer can freely walk in a lobby, read advertising brochures or just take a seat. Beeline can manage single as well as multiple window queues with single or multiple services. It enables confident treatment of administration, which is essential in a customer centric environment.
In order to ensure that the increased government market borrowing program does not crowd out credit flow to the private sector, the projection of money supply (M3) growth for 2009-10 has been raised to 18% from 17%. Consistent with this, aggregate deposits and adjusted non-food credit of commercial banks are projected to grow by 19% and 20% respectively
On current assessment, the growth projection for GDP for 2009-10 is placed at 6% with an upward bias. The overall macroeconomic scenario continues to be uncertain, although it is expected that the fiscal and monetary stimulus measures will supplement domestic demand in 2009-10. On balance, an uptrend in the growth momentum is unlikely before the middle of 2009-10.
As liquidity remains ample, the competitive pressure on banks to reduce lending rates has increased. Consequently, the transmission of policy rate changes to bank lending rates has improved. As the short-term deposits contracted earlier at high rates mature and get repriced, it opens up room for banks to further reduce their lending rates.
FollOWing the crisis, the government deviated from the road map for fiscal consolidation. The deficit indicators deteriorated sharply in 2008-09 and are projected to be even higher in 200910. These are budgeted to increase further by nearly 34% in 2009-10.
Management of the large market borrOWing program in a nondisruptive manner requires active liquidity management and, accordingly, the RBI indicated its intention to purchase government securities under open market operations (OMO) for an indicative amount of Rs 80,000 cr during the first half of 2009-10. During the first half of 2009-10, net market borroWing of the central government through dated securities will be Rs 265,911 cr, of which nearly 63()11 (Rs 167,911 cr) has been completed by July 27, 2009 and an additional amount of Rs 28,000 cr has been raised through desequestering desequestering MSS balances. During the first half of 2009-10, proposed OMO purchases and MSS unWinding will add primary liquidity of Rs 150,000 cr, which by way'of monetary impact is eqUivalent to reduction of CRR by over 3.5% points.
FollOWing the crisis, the government deviated from the road map for fiscal consolidation. The deficit indicators deteriorated sharply in 2008-09 and are projected to be even higher in 200910. These are budgeted to increase further by nearly 34% in 2009-10.
Management of the large market borrOWing program in a nondisruptive manner requires active liquidity management and, accordingly, the RBI indicated its intention to purchase government securities under open market operations (OMO) for an indicative amount of Rs 80,000 cr during the first half of 2009-10. During the first half of 2009-10, net market borroWing of the central government through dated securities will be Rs 265,911 cr, of which nearly 63()11 (Rs 167,911 cr) has been completed by July 27, 2009 and an additional amount of Rs 28,000 cr has been raised through desequestering desequestering MSS balances. During the first half of 2009-10, proposed OMO purchases and MSS unWinding will add primary liquidity of Rs 150,000 cr, which by way'of monetary impact is eqUivalent to reduction of CRR by over 3.5% points.
On the basis of the overall assessment, the stance of monetary policy for the remaining period of 2009-10 will be to manage liquidity actively so that the credit demand of the government is met while ensuring the flow of credit to the private sector at viable rates and to maintain a monetary and interest rate regime consistent with price stability and financial stability supportive of returning the economy to the high growth path.
Broad money growth (y-o-y) remained high at 20% (up to July 3,2009), driven by robust growth in deposits (21%) on the components side and significant increase in banking system's credit to the government (48%) on the sources side. Market absorption of the government borrOWing program was facilitated by dampened demand for credit from the private sector in the face of a high deposit growth.
Broad money growth (y-o-y) remained high at 20% (up to July 3,2009), driven by robust growth in deposits (21%) on the components side and significant increase in banking system's credit to the government (48%) on the sources side. Market absorption of the government borrOWing program was facilitated by dampened demand for credit from the private sector in the face of a high deposit growth.
economy and expect credit demand to pick up in the second half of the year. In this context, Subbarao emphasized the need to increase the flow of cred
0 comments Posted by Tip at 6:32 AMeconomy and expect credit demand to pick up in the second half of the year. In this context, Subbarao emphasized the need to increase the flow of credit, particularly to agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises. The banks were concerned that their liability structure is getting shorter with the reduction in the term structure of deposits, while the asset structure is getting elongated on account of the increasing share of long-term loans, particularly infrastructure. Several banks also indicated that the share of CAS A deposits has been declining, which would put pressure on their net interest margins (NIM). As regards credit quality, banks were of the view that NPAs are expected to increase, particularly, in the unsecured segments, although they will remain manageable. "Going forward, public sector banks emphasized the need for raising capital as risk-weighted assets expand in their asset portfolio," said Subbarao after a meeting he had with the chiefs of major banks recently.
There are now progressive signs of recovery in India. On the other hand, there are some negative signs: delayed and deficient monsoon, food price inflation, rebound in global commodity prices, continuing weak external demand and high fiscal deficit.
There are now progressive signs of recovery in India. On the other hand, there are some negative signs: delayed and deficient monsoon, food price inflation, rebound in global commodity prices, continuing weak external demand and high fiscal deficit.
Is the state government policy conducive for the growth of the sugar industry?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 6:31 AMYes. The state government is solidly behind the state sugar industry. Whenever there is need, the helping hand is always available.
What is your estimate as to the total amount of loans taken by sugar cooperatives I sugar mills in the state from any PSU banks or cooperative banks in 2008-09?
During a typical crushing season, the total loan taken by the cooperative sugar mills in the state of Maharashtra is around Rs 10,000 - 12,000 cr.
What is the medium term outlook of the sugar industry?
Medium term is quite bullish because the fundamentals of 'less availability and more demand' seems to be continuing for some more time.
What is your estimate as to the total amount of loans taken by sugar cooperatives I sugar mills in the state from any PSU banks or cooperative banks in 2008-09?
During a typical crushing season, the total loan taken by the cooperative sugar mills in the state of Maharashtra is around Rs 10,000 - 12,000 cr.
What is the medium term outlook of the sugar industry?
Medium term is quite bullish because the fundamentals of 'less availability and more demand' seems to be continuing for some more time.
What effect do you apprehend on the sugarcane crops, its prices and ultimately the sugar production due to the delay in monsoon this year?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 6:30 AMThe monsoon delay has definitely posed a few questions.
However, our estimates for Maharashtra of 5 - 5.3 million tons for 2009-10 remains unchanged.
However, our estimates for Maharashtra of 5 - 5.3 million tons for 2009-10 remains unchanged.
Mehul: What are the problems and difficulties faced by sugar industry, particularly in Maharashtra?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 6:27 AMPrakash: 92(Yc, of the sugar industry in Maharashtra belongs to the category of cooperatives, and the cooperative sector due to its peculiar nature, is always saddled with financial problems. To start with, they require pre-seasonal loan, which is a clean cash credit for
meeting the expenses to prepare for the season. Here the financial institutes insist on government guarantee which invariably gets delayed. As a result, the pre seasonal loan, when not made available in time, delays the maintenance and other works, thereby resulting in delayed commencement of crushing season. Secondly, the financing bank releases advance against pledge of stocks for which the benchmark price is Rs 1,750 per quintal of which 85(K, is released upfront on pledge of stock. Thus, a mere amount of Rs 1487.50 per quintal is made available when the sugar bag is fetching Rs 2,250. This tantamount to almost Rs 762.50 not coming to the mill's hand, but getting adjusted against the bank loan recoveries. I do not see any major hurdles in starting the crushing season of Maharashtra around mid October 2009.
meeting the expenses to prepare for the season. Here the financial institutes insist on government guarantee which invariably gets delayed. As a result, the pre seasonal loan, when not made available in time, delays the maintenance and other works, thereby resulting in delayed commencement of crushing season. Secondly, the financing bank releases advance against pledge of stocks for which the benchmark price is Rs 1,750 per quintal of which 85(K, is released upfront on pledge of stock. Thus, a mere amount of Rs 1487.50 per quintal is made available when the sugar bag is fetching Rs 2,250. This tantamount to almost Rs 762.50 not coming to the mill's hand, but getting adjusted against the bank loan recoveries. I do not see any major hurdles in starting the crushing season of Maharashtra around mid October 2009.
In 1945, the late Vithalrao Vikhe Patil pioneered the successful cooperative sugar factory in the country at Pravaranagar in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. Prakash Naiknavare, managing director, Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation, speaks to Mehul Dani on issues of sugar industry in the state. A report:
Up to ]945, there were about 145 joint stock sugar factories in the country inclusive of some 12 factories in Maharashtra. In 1945, the late Vithalrao Vikhe Patil pioneered the successful cooperative sugar factory in the country at Pravaranagar in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, which was commissioned in 1951. Maharashtra has a very favorable agro-climatic conditions for cane cultivation. The Central Sugarcane Research Station was established in the state at Padegaon, Pune in 1930. The sugarcane growers in the state were really encouraged by the announcement in 1954 by the then Bombay state government of the 12 places in the state where sugar factories could be established, with an offer of government share capital contribution of Rs 10 lacs each. A meeting of the promoters held in the office of the Bombay State Co-operative Bank formed a central committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Dhananjayrao Gadgil for guiding the societies about the important issues like share capital, sugarcane area, irrigation, site selection, land, transport facilities, etc. The state government also appointed a cabinet sub-committee for cooperative sugar factories.
With the increase in number of cooperative sugar factories, the need of apex institutions to guide and advise the societies was felt. Hence on 11 February 1956, Bombay State Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Sangh was registered when 14 factories (inclusive of a Khedut Factory from Surat district) were affiliated. The Sangh originally had its office at Pune, which was subsequently transferred to Mumbai in 1963 in Fort area, which again in 1986, was transferred to Sakhar Bhavan, Nariman Point. At present Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd has 174 cooperative sugar factories as its members and is the biggest state federation of its kind in the country. The federation makes efforts for fair returns to cane growers.
Up to ]945, there were about 145 joint stock sugar factories in the country inclusive of some 12 factories in Maharashtra. In 1945, the late Vithalrao Vikhe Patil pioneered the successful cooperative sugar factory in the country at Pravaranagar in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, which was commissioned in 1951. Maharashtra has a very favorable agro-climatic conditions for cane cultivation. The Central Sugarcane Research Station was established in the state at Padegaon, Pune in 1930. The sugarcane growers in the state were really encouraged by the announcement in 1954 by the then Bombay state government of the 12 places in the state where sugar factories could be established, with an offer of government share capital contribution of Rs 10 lacs each. A meeting of the promoters held in the office of the Bombay State Co-operative Bank formed a central committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Dhananjayrao Gadgil for guiding the societies about the important issues like share capital, sugarcane area, irrigation, site selection, land, transport facilities, etc. The state government also appointed a cabinet sub-committee for cooperative sugar factories.
With the increase in number of cooperative sugar factories, the need of apex institutions to guide and advise the societies was felt. Hence on 11 February 1956, Bombay State Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Sangh was registered when 14 factories (inclusive of a Khedut Factory from Surat district) were affiliated. The Sangh originally had its office at Pune, which was subsequently transferred to Mumbai in 1963 in Fort area, which again in 1986, was transferred to Sakhar Bhavan, Nariman Point. At present Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd has 174 cooperative sugar factories as its members and is the biggest state federation of its kind in the country. The federation makes efforts for fair returns to cane growers.
To a question as to assessment of how much capital is required by the banks, he said: "We have an assessment of the capital required. We are not in a position to share that figure right now." According to RBI's revised estimate, deposit growth for commercial banks would be 19% for the current financial year. It is an upward revision from 18% set in April 2009 as part of a plan to maintain ample liquidity in the system. The money supply growth is also revised to 18%, up from 17°/<) projected in the annual policy statement issued in April this year.
It was important that the increased government borrowings did not crowd out credit flow to the private sector. The y-o-y growth in deposits till July 3 2009, was 21.9%. The outstanding deposit of banks stood at Rs 40,28,707 cr, according to RBI data. On deposit growth across bank groups, the pace of deposit growth for public sector banks has accelerated, while that for private and foreign banks has slowed down. For 12 months ended July 3, 2009, deposits with public sector banks increased 26.4%, up from 23.1 % witnessed in the preceding 12 months.
Private sector banks witnessed a slowdown in the deposit growth. The y-o-y growth in deposits nosedived to 6.7% as on July 3, 2009, from 17.4% year ago. As far as foreign banks are concerned, moderation in deposit growth was 16.4% as on July 3, 2009, from 20.9% a year ago. This was due to lower deposit base of these banks. Bankers felt that the status quo on policy rates would anchor interest rate expectations that could spur investment demand. They indicated that they are seeing signs of revival in the domestic
It was important that the increased government borrowings did not crowd out credit flow to the private sector. The y-o-y growth in deposits till July 3 2009, was 21.9%. The outstanding deposit of banks stood at Rs 40,28,707 cr, according to RBI data. On deposit growth across bank groups, the pace of deposit growth for public sector banks has accelerated, while that for private and foreign banks has slowed down. For 12 months ended July 3, 2009, deposits with public sector banks increased 26.4%, up from 23.1 % witnessed in the preceding 12 months.
Private sector banks witnessed a slowdown in the deposit growth. The y-o-y growth in deposits nosedived to 6.7% as on July 3, 2009, from 17.4% year ago. As far as foreign banks are concerned, moderation in deposit growth was 16.4% as on July 3, 2009, from 20.9% a year ago. This was due to lower deposit base of these banks. Bankers felt that the status quo on policy rates would anchor interest rate expectations that could spur investment demand. They indicated that they are seeing signs of revival in the domestic
numbers show that capital goods and consumer nondurables have still not picked up. We will also have to make sure that the credit flow is well-regulated and prudent. We cannot allow credit policy to deteriorate in order to increase flow of credit. There is no proposal to direct credit to infrastructure beyond what's already there. There have been requests to raise the single borrower limit for banks lending to corporates. But we have decided not to increase the limit. We can't ensure directed flow of credit to particular sectors, except in crisis situations. We want long-term credit flows to improve."
On the issue of measures to direct credit to the core sector and whether RBI making concessional long-term loans available to capital goods sector, he said: "We will do whatever is within the ambit of the monetary policy to ensure that there is adequate credit. The RBI's objective is to ensure credit flow to all productive sectors of the economy. The latest industrial index of production
Reserve Bank of India Governor Dr D. Subbarao released the document 'Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments: First Quarter Review 2009·10' recently. Mehul Dani reports on his speech and the subsequent interactive session. Excerpts:
RBI Governor D Subbaro has said that there is a scope for banks to lower lending rates further. "Banks say that the demand for credit is picking up on the back of investment in projects. The bankers informed me that the demand for credit in certain segments like home and retail is picking up, which was a welcome sign. There is a scope for reducing lending rates within the policy rate adjustments already done by RBI. Interest rates for short-term credit should be about 9.5% but these are about 1O.5'YtJ. So, there is scope. As deposits contracted at higher rates mature and get re-priced, the cost of money to banks will come down and they can look to reduce lending rates," Subbarao said after presenting the first quarter review of the monetary policy on 28 July 2009.
The RBI prodded banks to lower lending rates, saying the full pass-through of the monetary policy rate changes had not taken place. Besides, it said banks could pass on the benefits of the lower cost of funds due to the reduction in deposit rates initiated over the past several months.
On being asked about the steep yield curve that may result in a liquidity trap, Subbarao said: "We do have tried to influence the yield curve. After a review, we changed the maturity profile of the government borrowing in order to manage the yields towards small loans and others."
To a question as to whether the worst is over, he said: "I wish I could definitively say that. Our financial sector only had hiccups and didn't have deep structural problems. But the challenge going forward is to increase flow of credit. We talked to bankers and they said the demand for credit had come down. We talk to the corporate sector and they say the supply has dried up, so there is a mismatch there."
The RBI prodded banks to lower lending rates, saying the full pass-through of the monetary policy rate changes had not taken place. Besides, it said banks could pass on the benefits of the lower cost of funds due to the reduction in deposit rates initiated over the past several months.
On being asked about the steep yield curve that may result in a liquidity trap, Subbarao said: "We do have tried to influence the yield curve. After a review, we changed the maturity profile of the government borrowing in order to manage the yields towards small loans and others."
To a question as to whether the worst is over, he said: "I wish I could definitively say that. Our financial sector only had hiccups and didn't have deep structural problems. But the challenge going forward is to increase flow of credit. We talked to bankers and they said the demand for credit had come down. We talk to the corporate sector and they say the supply has dried up, so there is a mismatch there."
National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSF), under the guidance of its current MD, Vinay Kumar, promotes and develops cooperatives of sugarcane growers and proVides support, services and guidance to its affiliated cooperative sugar factories and state and zonal level Federations of cooperative sugar factories for their efficient and sustained working.
A.K. Jain, financial adviser, NFCSF, said: "At present there are 249 cooperative sugar factories in operation, and most of the factories and state federations are members. Among our members, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have the most number of cooperatives. The role of the NFCSF is to protect their interest. We arc also providing consultancy services to the member sugar factories. In case, the cooperative sugar factories are desirous of obtaining loan from the NCDC, we help them by the liasoning with them."
"The financial wing of NFCSF has been helping new cooperative sugar factories and expansion projects in obtaining term loans from central financial institutions, preparing of feasibility and project reports, cash flow, etc. The financial wing also prepares memoranda for submission to Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) and Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices (BICP) for fixation of minimum sugarcane price and levy sugar price, so that the interest of the sugarcane farmers arc taken care of. This is very exhaustive work, done after collection and compilation of data from factories. The wing also looks into the credit, excise and taxation problems of the member factories to ensure smooth functioning of the factories."
The volume of work handled by the technical cell of NFCSF can be gauged by the fact that since its establishment in 1977, as many as 160 new cooperative sugar factories have been set up and 70 cooperative sugar factories have availed of its services for expansion purpose. Besides NFCSF has also undertaken rehabilitation packages for 24 sick cooperative sugar mills of the country. In addition to above, 13 numbers DPR for optimization / rehabilitation-cum-modernisation and balancing of the sugar factories, 4 Detailed Project Reprt for new sugar factories, 3 DPR for cogeneration and 3 DPR for ethanol projects have been prepared. In case of working sugar factories, the cell has prepared projects for modernisation/expansion schemes, improvement
A.K. Jain, financial adviser, NFCSF, said: "At present there are 249 cooperative sugar factories in operation, and most of the factories and state federations are members. Among our members, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have the most number of cooperatives. The role of the NFCSF is to protect their interest. We arc also providing consultancy services to the member sugar factories. In case, the cooperative sugar factories are desirous of obtaining loan from the NCDC, we help them by the liasoning with them."
"The financial wing of NFCSF has been helping new cooperative sugar factories and expansion projects in obtaining term loans from central financial institutions, preparing of feasibility and project reports, cash flow, etc. The financial wing also prepares memoranda for submission to Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices (CACP) and Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices (BICP) for fixation of minimum sugarcane price and levy sugar price, so that the interest of the sugarcane farmers arc taken care of. This is very exhaustive work, done after collection and compilation of data from factories. The wing also looks into the credit, excise and taxation problems of the member factories to ensure smooth functioning of the factories."
The volume of work handled by the technical cell of NFCSF can be gauged by the fact that since its establishment in 1977, as many as 160 new cooperative sugar factories have been set up and 70 cooperative sugar factories have availed of its services for expansion purpose. Besides NFCSF has also undertaken rehabilitation packages for 24 sick cooperative sugar mills of the country. In addition to above, 13 numbers DPR for optimization / rehabilitation-cum-modernisation and balancing of the sugar factories, 4 Detailed Project Reprt for new sugar factories, 3 DPR for cogeneration and 3 DPR for ethanol projects have been prepared. In case of working sugar factories, the cell has prepared projects for modernisation/expansion schemes, improvement
National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) has been promoting establishment and development of sugar factories in the cooperative sector so as to help them in achieving the primary objective of ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for sugarcane by proViding the investment loan assistance to the state governments to supplement their resources for equity participation in new cooperative sugar mills. [t also provides term loan assistance to the existing cooperative sugar mills for modernization and expansion, including setting up of effluent treatment plants for pollution control and term loan assistance for establishment of sugar byproduct units.
K.P. Vaish, chief director, Sugar,
NCDC, said that during 2008-09, CDC provided financial assistance to 23 sugar cooperatives to the tune of Rs 419 cr. Uttar Pradesh got Rs 206 cr, followed by Maharashtra with Rs 150 cr, Gujarat Rs 49 cr, Tamil adu Rs 9 cr and Andhra Pradesh Rs 5.66 cr. In Maharashtra 16 sugar cooperative factories received the assistance, while in Gujarat 3, Andhra Pradesh 2 and Tamil Nadu as well as UP each with I cooperative got the assistance. The composite amount proVided by NCDC to sugar cooperatives in last 3 years stood at Rs 1,526 cr.
Vaish added that during 2008-09, the Sugar Development Fund (SDF) has sanctioned Rs 51 cr and released Rs 45 cr as assistance for the modernization-cum-expansion projects implemented with NCDC's help. During the year 2005-06, the corporation has sanctioned and released assistance of Rs 903 cr and Rs 800 cr respectively, for the development of cooperative sugar industry. Cumulatively, it has prOVided assistance of Rs 2,767 cr up to 31 March 2006. During 2005-06, SDF had sanctioned and released assistance of Rs 12.76 cr and Rs 11.01 cr, respectively, for the modernization cum expansion projects. SDF has up to 31 March 2006, proVided assistance of Rs 349.2 cr through NCDC. Vaish further said that the total amount of the term loan assistance for modernization-cum-expansion of cooperative sugar mills in 2008 09 isRs 33.98 cr. Also, NCDC proVided Rs 38.59 cr by way of the term loan assistance for establishment of sugar bye-product units in 2008-09. Activity-wise sanction and release for sugar sector for 2008-09 was Rs 10.46 cr and Rs 4.59 cr respectively. In order to improve the overall performance of the existing cooperative sugar factories, NCDC has been providing assistance for implementing modernization-cum-expansion of sugar factories up to a capacity of 10,000 TCD. The debt-equity ratio is normally 1: 1.
K.P. Vaish, chief director, Sugar,
NCDC, said that during 2008-09, CDC provided financial assistance to 23 sugar cooperatives to the tune of Rs 419 cr. Uttar Pradesh got Rs 206 cr, followed by Maharashtra with Rs 150 cr, Gujarat Rs 49 cr, Tamil adu Rs 9 cr and Andhra Pradesh Rs 5.66 cr. In Maharashtra 16 sugar cooperative factories received the assistance, while in Gujarat 3, Andhra Pradesh 2 and Tamil Nadu as well as UP each with I cooperative got the assistance. The composite amount proVided by NCDC to sugar cooperatives in last 3 years stood at Rs 1,526 cr.
Vaish added that during 2008-09, the Sugar Development Fund (SDF) has sanctioned Rs 51 cr and released Rs 45 cr as assistance for the modernization-cum-expansion projects implemented with NCDC's help. During the year 2005-06, the corporation has sanctioned and released assistance of Rs 903 cr and Rs 800 cr respectively, for the development of cooperative sugar industry. Cumulatively, it has prOVided assistance of Rs 2,767 cr up to 31 March 2006. During 2005-06, SDF had sanctioned and released assistance of Rs 12.76 cr and Rs 11.01 cr, respectively, for the modernization cum expansion projects. SDF has up to 31 March 2006, proVided assistance of Rs 349.2 cr through NCDC. Vaish further said that the total amount of the term loan assistance for modernization-cum-expansion of cooperative sugar mills in 2008 09 isRs 33.98 cr. Also, NCDC proVided Rs 38.59 cr by way of the term loan assistance for establishment of sugar bye-product units in 2008-09. Activity-wise sanction and release for sugar sector for 2008-09 was Rs 10.46 cr and Rs 4.59 cr respectively. In order to improve the overall performance of the existing cooperative sugar factories, NCDC has been providing assistance for implementing modernization-cum-expansion of sugar factories up to a capacity of 10,000 TCD. The debt-equity ratio is normally 1: 1.
The central government recently agreed to raise the price mills must pay to farmers for sugarcane to Rs 107.76 per 100 kg in the new season from October 2009. This increase in the minimum support price mills will have to pay for sugarcane is from Rs 81.18 per 100 kg in 2008-09. As far as the progress in kharif sowing is concerned, the cropped areas in the country for sugarcane as on 3 July 2009 are 42.50 lakh hectare, which was ~3.79 lakh hectare as on 31]uly 2008.
Pune based Vanarai Trust, an NGO involved in rural development, under the presidentship of Mohan Dharia, has developed a web based software to help farmers to take investment decisions on farming operations on their land. The software has been developed by the Software Institute for Rural Development (SIRD), Pune and has been jointly funded by NABARD under its Rural Innovation Fund and by the Department of Science & Technology, government of India. The software covers 65 farm and allied activities which are relevant to the agro climatic conditions prevailing in Maharashtra. The software provides all necessary information related to the selected farm / allied activities like the quantity and source of inputs like seeds, the farm practices to be followed (spacing of plants, soil nutrient requirements, irrigation requirements, fertilizer/ preventive pesticides applications needed, etc), expected yield under the farm conditions, the prevailing market prices for the produce and the overall profitability of taking up the activity at the farm level.
NCDEX Spot Exchange Limited (NSI'OT) launched a compulsory delivery contract in sugar on its electronic platform on January 21, 2009. All trades on this platform are guaranteed by the exchange for delivery and payments. NSPOT has created a real time, online, transparent and vibrant spot platform for trading in sugar in India. The contract allows participants from all over the country to trade in Kolhapur Sugar, thereby enabling sugar producers in Kolhapur discover the best price for their sugar traded on NSPOT. With this launch, NSPOT initiated the process of modernization of spot markets on a nationwide basis. Warehouses ensure that the commodity is as per quality prescribed in the contract specifications. The buyer deposits prescribed margin for the relevant type of contract with NSPOT through a member of NSrOT before putting their bid quotes. The online buy ami sell orders would be matched on a real time basis through a process of price and time priority. All trades outstanding at the end of the day would result into delivery obligations on settlement day.
A day after FMC barred new contracts in sugar till December and suspended the initiation of fresh position in running contracts, the front month contract on NCDEX hit an intra-day low of Rs 2,215, before closing at Rs 2,266 a quintal, down Rs--l-1 over the previous close. The decision hit investors, hedgers and speculators who were long on the commodity.
A day after FMC barred new contracts in sugar till December and suspended the initiation of fresh position in running contracts, the front month contract on NCDEX hit an intra-day low of Rs 2,215, before closing at Rs 2,266 a quintal, down Rs--l-1 over the previous close. The decision hit investors, hedgers and speculators who were long on the commodity.
Bombay Sugar Merchant's Association (BSMA) President Ashok Jain welcomed the government's decision to ban futures tra(~;ng in sugar. The industry was demanding the ban for the last six months as sugar prices spurted follOWing heavy speculative activity in the market. The asssociation had earliC'r sent letters to the prime minister, agriculture minister and FMC pleading with them about the irregular and improper manner in which the Monthly Sugar Release Mechanism was being implemented resulting in to avoidable volatility in wholesale markets.
Sanjeev Babar, I)(;M, Maharashtra State Cooperative Bank (~fS( ) said that Rs 3,723.72 cr was the total amount of outstanding of loans at the end of March 2009 from 102 sugar factories in the state. The total amount of outstanding of loans at the end of March 2008 from 102 sugar factories in the stale was Rs 3,853 cr. Assistance for working capital was given to 5--1- factories in 2008-09 and to 64 factories in 200708. !vIse Bank prOVides direct finance to cooperative processing units like sugar factories. The bank also takes care of the loan documentation including obtaining of third party guarantees and creation of charge on the immovable assets as per the terms of sanction.
The bank embarked on an extensive credit rating program based on financial parameters of the borrower and its technical and managerial competitiveness. Based on the various parameters, out of the 16 good borrowing units that were selected in 200809, there were six prominent sugar mills viz, Vishwasrao Naik SSK Lld (Sangli), Shri Shahu Chatrapati SSK (Kolhapur), Samarth SSK Ualna), Shri Sant Tukaram SSK (rune), Bhima Takli Sikander SSK (Solapur) and Shri Vighnaher SSK (Pune). These units were felicitated by awarding certificates on the occasion of 97th AGM of the bank.
Babar further said that up to 30 June 09, region wise outstanding of loans for specific purpose in respect of 91 sugar factories is as follows: Aurangabad region Rs 481.14 cr, Kolhapur Rs 56:~.9--1- cr, Nagpur Rs 1,12.05 cr, Nanded Rs 5,47.77 cr, Nashik Rs H 1.1 I cr and rune Rs 787 cr.
The bank embarked on an extensive credit rating program based on financial parameters of the borrower and its technical and managerial competitiveness. Based on the various parameters, out of the 16 good borrowing units that were selected in 200809, there were six prominent sugar mills viz, Vishwasrao Naik SSK Lld (Sangli), Shri Shahu Chatrapati SSK (Kolhapur), Samarth SSK Ualna), Shri Sant Tukaram SSK (rune), Bhima Takli Sikander SSK (Solapur) and Shri Vighnaher SSK (Pune). These units were felicitated by awarding certificates on the occasion of 97th AGM of the bank.
Babar further said that up to 30 June 09, region wise outstanding of loans for specific purpose in respect of 91 sugar factories is as follows: Aurangabad region Rs 481.14 cr, Kolhapur Rs 56:~.9--1- cr, Nagpur Rs 1,12.05 cr, Nanded Rs 5,47.77 cr, Nashik Rs H 1.1 I cr and rune Rs 787 cr.
The scheme for providing term Idan assistance to existing cooperative sugar mills for modernization/expansion and also setting up of by-product units are dovetailed with the soft loan assistance from the SDF towards meeting the shortfall in promoters' contribution. SDF assistance would be routed through NCDC even if the term loan is provided by other financial institution or bank. CDC is recognized as one of the financial institution for prOViding assistance under a scheme implemented by the Sugar lechnology Mission (STM) and also by the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources (MNES) for routing its grant towards interest on term loans given for cogeneration projects under National Program on bagasse based co-generation. NCDC also provides term loan assistance for undertaking expansion of capacity beyond 10,000 TCD. The debt-equity ratio is normally up to 65:35. fhe equity part of 35'Y" of the project is to be met by the mill society by way of additional share capital from members or out of its surplus funds. CDC's assistance is proVided through the state government as well as directly to the mill societies subject to fulfillment of eligibility criteria for direct funding.
Manoi: What are the constraints? Is it human or technology or infrastructure
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:54 AMChaphekar: Some part from the technology and some human side. We outsourced our call centre. The constraints are getting the concerned fellow to use the technology. So whatever schemes or charges we want to talk about, they wont understand the intricacies about our product.
Girish: I have had a look into some of the call centres. There are people who have done wonderful work for the foreign banks. I know of some Indian operators who do undertake loans of up to $5million for the bank. They also send out fa.xes to the bank and no questions are asked. That is their efficiency. We are a lot more concerned about secrecy sometimes where it should not be. So it's a mindset change that comes in. Moving customers away from the branch always backfires. Today in the West, they have reaJised that you cannot call a customer, cannot email him as it will be treated as spam, the printer brochures are junked, and hence you cannot communicate. Therefore bankers have to use delivery channels effectively and also make sure that customers come back to the bank. I would be happy if I saw the younger generation come back to the branch instead of only talking through delivery channels.
Nandan: the PSU banks are also faced with this problem.
The average age of the customer is going down. We at our bank call them GenNext branches. All said and done we want them back at the branches. Human touch is important.
Singh: I was reading a survey that said that there should be at least 7 physical meetings in a year between customer and banker besides internet and phone. Girish: For me KYC is not legal. It is knowing the customer Nandan: On KYC, the former director IIM (Ahmedabad) delivered a speech and defined KYC as kick your customer.
Narang: When I was going through age pyramid of the country, what I realised was that the age group of 20-34 are the people who actually go banking. And an equal number 024 will remain constant for the next 20-30 years. The former are tech-savvy and like to use multiple delivery channels. But you have to supplement services in a branch with alternate channels. Today I cannot think of banking with a bank without ATM. ATM is an onsite service. Offsite services or remote services are also important. If at 11 pm, I need to renew my insurance I need phone banking. All these channels need to supplement each other instead of competing with each other. If you talking of services other than cash withdrawals and other services they can be done from remote locations from channels like net banking. Net banking is a powerful channel. But only 6-7% of the population use it. This is where some leading banks have exploited this well. One of the banks has around 4000 agents running their contact centre. There is a team that looks after each aspect such as HNI customers, library assets, etc. The yield from average customer is far less than that of an HNI customer.
KK Sharma: What should be the engagement factors for PSU banks for getting HNls? Effectively ensuring that customers wont try to visit (I am taking about HNI customers) and if they do visit they are looking for exponential kind of banking. This is the same reason why we visit a mall today. If that experience banking is missing then that HNI customer will be disappointed. Once in a while he would like to visit and see. He would expect a special treatment.
Girish: A marketing guru was telling me that if you want to target the HNI customer, get their spouses involved.
Avinash: As for HNI customer, it is a question of segmentation. Every bank has its own set of I-1Nls. Its only a question of segmenting the data. The HNI needs to be positively discriminated.
Kakade: as long as provide what the customer wants at his price and at the speed at which he wants, if we deliver all this, any organisation can achieve success. If you know your products well, your customers and people well, then everything revolves around these. You need to perceive their needs and device a strategy so that immense growth potential is relized. You need a proactive effort.
Girish: I have had a look into some of the call centres. There are people who have done wonderful work for the foreign banks. I know of some Indian operators who do undertake loans of up to $5million for the bank. They also send out fa.xes to the bank and no questions are asked. That is their efficiency. We are a lot more concerned about secrecy sometimes where it should not be. So it's a mindset change that comes in. Moving customers away from the branch always backfires. Today in the West, they have reaJised that you cannot call a customer, cannot email him as it will be treated as spam, the printer brochures are junked, and hence you cannot communicate. Therefore bankers have to use delivery channels effectively and also make sure that customers come back to the bank. I would be happy if I saw the younger generation come back to the branch instead of only talking through delivery channels.
Nandan: the PSU banks are also faced with this problem.
The average age of the customer is going down. We at our bank call them GenNext branches. All said and done we want them back at the branches. Human touch is important.
Singh: I was reading a survey that said that there should be at least 7 physical meetings in a year between customer and banker besides internet and phone. Girish: For me KYC is not legal. It is knowing the customer Nandan: On KYC, the former director IIM (Ahmedabad) delivered a speech and defined KYC as kick your customer.
Narang: When I was going through age pyramid of the country, what I realised was that the age group of 20-34 are the people who actually go banking. And an equal number 024 will remain constant for the next 20-30 years. The former are tech-savvy and like to use multiple delivery channels. But you have to supplement services in a branch with alternate channels. Today I cannot think of banking with a bank without ATM. ATM is an onsite service. Offsite services or remote services are also important. If at 11 pm, I need to renew my insurance I need phone banking. All these channels need to supplement each other instead of competing with each other. If you talking of services other than cash withdrawals and other services they can be done from remote locations from channels like net banking. Net banking is a powerful channel. But only 6-7% of the population use it. This is where some leading banks have exploited this well. One of the banks has around 4000 agents running their contact centre. There is a team that looks after each aspect such as HNI customers, library assets, etc. The yield from average customer is far less than that of an HNI customer.
KK Sharma: What should be the engagement factors for PSU banks for getting HNls? Effectively ensuring that customers wont try to visit (I am taking about HNI customers) and if they do visit they are looking for exponential kind of banking. This is the same reason why we visit a mall today. If that experience banking is missing then that HNI customer will be disappointed. Once in a while he would like to visit and see. He would expect a special treatment.
Girish: A marketing guru was telling me that if you want to target the HNI customer, get their spouses involved.
Avinash: As for HNI customer, it is a question of segmentation. Every bank has its own set of I-1Nls. Its only a question of segmenting the data. The HNI needs to be positively discriminated.
Kakade: as long as provide what the customer wants at his price and at the speed at which he wants, if we deliver all this, any organisation can achieve success. If you know your products well, your customers and people well, then everything revolves around these. You need to perceive their needs and device a strategy so that immense growth potential is relized. You need a proactive effort.
Avinash: The problems can be two pronged. It can be a structured or unstructured problem. Structured problem is the balance in my account. It is also the amount I am utilizing. As far as these problems are concerned, a call centre is a perfect example of customer satisfaction and loyalty. For unstructured problems, a human touch is very important and a service agent who knows the bank is needed. Most of us will agree that call centres are outsourced for cost effectiveness and flexibility and that it needs huge infrastructure. There is also the manpower cost.
Nandan: If you are looking for a SO-seater call centre then there are whole lot of things involved. There are shifts, payments, costs, salaries, etc, involved.
Avinash: There are different patterns of calls at night and morning ones.
Nandan: We have looked at both the options. There are twothree models of call centres. One can be fully owned by the bank. Second is space can be ours and infrastructure outsourced and the agents are outsourced. The first question we asked to those who came was whether their agents were trained. They said no. But after all this they can be limited to take simple and basic calls. Inbound call centre are basically for cross-selling, product knowledge, intricacies about the system also have to be told.
Avinash: A call centre is basically an unorganized place.
The attrition rate is high. A employee picks up the work and then quits and joins somewhere else. There is lot of lead generation.
Nandan: If you are looking for a SO-seater call centre then there are whole lot of things involved. There are shifts, payments, costs, salaries, etc, involved.
Avinash: There are different patterns of calls at night and morning ones.
Nandan: We have looked at both the options. There are twothree models of call centres. One can be fully owned by the bank. Second is space can be ours and infrastructure outsourced and the agents are outsourced. The first question we asked to those who came was whether their agents were trained. They said no. But after all this they can be limited to take simple and basic calls. Inbound call centre are basically for cross-selling, product knowledge, intricacies about the system also have to be told.
Avinash: A call centre is basically an unorganized place.
The attrition rate is high. A employee picks up the work and then quits and joins somewhere else. There is lot of lead generation.
Nandan: Each bank is looking at having a call centre. If you have an outsourced call centre, then how much data access can you give them? I have studied this in detail because I am also in charge of the alternate service in my bank. Call centres set up by various banks were doing only outbound calls. 1 have yet to see one handling inbound calls. But, phone banking will playa major role in the future.
Manoj: Do you use telecalling mostly for recovery or even for cross-selling?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:50 AMNandan: It is for all. Normally 60 calls per day is the yardstick.
We will be very happy to implement some better technology that Sarang was talking about. If calls can go to 80 from 60, we will be happy to implement, but everything comes at a price.
Sarang: There has to be an RoI for the investment.
KK Sharma: Change is always there. Two areas they need to work on, is data mining and CRM. But it is not happening and lots needs to be done. This could be one area, if developed, then we could make the customers stick to the bank.
Avinash: Outbound telecalling is regulated by TRAI. RBI regulates only the recovery calls. For these people you need to have a CRM. For that you need data collation. After data collation, you need to slice the data. Till you know what segment is using, it is useless. Along with the KYC, if banks find out about disposable income, family size, life pattern, etc, then these things will be handy in building up a database. Right now if you are generating KYC from routine banking, then you need the mobile numbers of customers.
Nandan: You have raised the phenomenal growth of cell phones to factor in authentications. If a mobile number is not present in your records, then two-factor authentication cannot happen. We are facing the brunt of cyber crimes. To bring in security, you need to bring in two-factor authentications. Without this, you are exposed to lot of risk. Two factor can come through the cell phone.
We will be very happy to implement some better technology that Sarang was talking about. If calls can go to 80 from 60, we will be happy to implement, but everything comes at a price.
Sarang: There has to be an RoI for the investment.
KK Sharma: Change is always there. Two areas they need to work on, is data mining and CRM. But it is not happening and lots needs to be done. This could be one area, if developed, then we could make the customers stick to the bank.
Avinash: Outbound telecalling is regulated by TRAI. RBI regulates only the recovery calls. For these people you need to have a CRM. For that you need data collation. After data collation, you need to slice the data. Till you know what segment is using, it is useless. Along with the KYC, if banks find out about disposable income, family size, life pattern, etc, then these things will be handy in building up a database. Right now if you are generating KYC from routine banking, then you need the mobile numbers of customers.
Nandan: You have raised the phenomenal growth of cell phones to factor in authentications. If a mobile number is not present in your records, then two-factor authentication cannot happen. We are facing the brunt of cyber crimes. To bring in security, you need to bring in two-factor authentications. Without this, you are exposed to lot of risk. Two factor can come through the cell phone.
Manoj: So Nandan, you said you had this choice of disbanding telecallers but you continued. So what changed that they could be effective?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:48 AMNandan: We didn't want to withdraw them in totality. We reduced the number. Telecalling cannot be the only remedy for
recovery. It is a supplement. We have all types of customers. A gentle reminder and they come and pay. Some customers don't pay after repeated reminders. One yardstick cannot measure all. You will be surprised that our delinquency ratio is very Jow.
Girish: We have all been talking about the customer. I am wondering whether this same thing can work for the bank's employees? Can they call up, integ
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:44 AMNandan: In our bank we have a model, RLF (retail loan factory). In that we have telecallers. Their job is to solicit business. Technology provides you with so many tools to make use of. We had two options for the telecallers, especially after the DNC restrictions came in. One was to withdraw the telecallers and transfer them to a branch or whoever might need them. Through technology, my callers have access to all accounts. They then call up customers to remind them about certain things.
Sarang: In such cases, people tend to give direct line to the tclecaller and the latter pick up the number and dial. If you look at the dialing pattern, then there is some right time to call the customer. There are various softwares that help in dialing but also hand over the phone after connecting. So if a telecaller calls up 60-65 customers per day, with this application they can call about 90 customers. There are intelligent things built in this application. If you have called the customer 4 times and 3 times during working hours he was not available, then next time you call him only after working hours.
Karthikeyan: We are in a situation that we have entered today. Unless we are able to personally go and knock at his door and remind him that there is an outstanding due, and as far as PSU banks are concerned I don't think the method of telecalling is going to work in India. If you call him more than 3 to 4 times, I am sure he will complain about harassment. Let us be aware of what we are talking about when we say phone banking.
Sarang: In such cases, people tend to give direct line to the tclecaller and the latter pick up the number and dial. If you look at the dialing pattern, then there is some right time to call the customer. There are various softwares that help in dialing but also hand over the phone after connecting. So if a telecaller calls up 60-65 customers per day, with this application they can call about 90 customers. There are intelligent things built in this application. If you have called the customer 4 times and 3 times during working hours he was not available, then next time you call him only after working hours.
Karthikeyan: We are in a situation that we have entered today. Unless we are able to personally go and knock at his door and remind him that there is an outstanding due, and as far as PSU banks are concerned I don't think the method of telecalling is going to work in India. If you call him more than 3 to 4 times, I am sure he will complain about harassment. Let us be aware of what we are talking about when we say phone banking.
Sridhar: There was a time when customer relationship was done only through branch banking. With technology growth and a newer form of lifestyle, it became difficult to come to the branch. That's why phone banking is a great help. The advancements in mobile technology are also helping and people are conditioned to using the phone for their transactions. That is why the banks have been able to do at least 15% of their business over the phone.
Manoj: Lets talk about key customers, what channels or products you want to focus on and grow?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:42 AMDeepak: I say that in future there will be just one handheld device that will do everything for you. All you transactions will be taken care of. In future we will have young tech savvy customers. They would not like to visit your branches and face you. Even for opening of an account, give them the device and it would do everything for them. They can do everything via electronic media. ATM will only be for cash, and even that be rarely used when your handheld can do everything for you.
Manoj: My concern is that there is demand for so many products, but the ATM fulfils only one. This should become a constraint if you are trying to evo
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:41 AMVikram Kakde: There are lots of banking channels available now. The question is the future of phone banking and whether PSU banks should seize this opportunity. We should first find out whether phone banking is cost effective. But there are some who still prefer to walk in and seek an entry into the pass book. This mindset needs to change.
andan: The psyche of the customer also has to be kept in mind.
When we talk about financial inclusion, let us keep the low fees in mind. There are instances where banks are charging customers for services. The segment of a pensioner, which is sizeable for any PSU bank, has an entirely different psyche. Now the demand is for
andan: The psyche of the customer also has to be kept in mind.
When we talk about financial inclusion, let us keep the low fees in mind. There are instances where banks are charging customers for services. The segment of a pensioner, which is sizeable for any PSU bank, has an entirely different psyche. Now the demand is for
Manoj: In the last few years, ATMs have been the cornerstone of retail banking strategy for the public sector banks. That is one of the reasons why th
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:39 AMKK Sharma: Usage comes in due course. People need time to adopt technology. People were earlier hesitant about using ATMs. Now they are used all the time. The convenience of 24x7 was good. ATMs have been able to create huge capacity. Phones and cell phones are slowly getting used to the banking system. Mobile penetration has grown vastly. This is how technology adoption grows by leaps. We need to prOVide impetus, make things easier and the volumes will come.
Manoj: So it could have been at a faster pace. Was it because of conservatism or infrastructure bottleneck?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:37 AMAtul: Earlier the national banks were lending only to the corporate and large companies. The eye opener for us was when the private and foreign banks focused on them. Then the banks went into cross-selling, targeting their own customers, etc. There was a time when we after haVing lent a corporate Rs 50 crore, he would go to another bank for a Rs 20 lakh car loan.
Nandan: Post liberalization, the purchasing power of the middle class was always there, but the spending pattern was different. People were not keen on spending as much as they are tOday. Those banks that started the retail race had probably forgotten about the quality. Public sector did not compromise on a lot of things. If you grow at 25<)1), that's a decent growth. In future, growth may go up to 30%. High growth could also mean that banks might compromise on quality. But there is a realization that bottom lines do matter. I think growth should come with caution.
Karthikeyan: For SBl, retail banking also included personal banking and small business and agriculture. It is only in the last five years that retail banking margins are found to be much higher. Private banks were focusing on the core customers of the PSU banks. So PSU banks had no option but to step into retail banking, because their share of customers was being targeted by the new wave of banks.
Girish: There is never appropriate growth. More growth seems to be better. But from a risk perspective, when something is doing too well, you have to really focus on it or else you will sell out everything and what happened in the world was exactly that. Certain things went on a very high growth target and what goes up must come down. But what we need as bankers is to moderate the growth with caution. Quality is what we need to look for. Chopra: Yes, retail banking was a byproduct of the economic liberalization. But to me technological innovation has contributed to the retail growth. It is this that has led to the potential for the retail banking KK Sharma: Retail banking is not just about projects and advances only. We always regarded a consumer as either a depositor or a borrower. But we forgot that he requires life insurance, a demat account, credit card, etc. This is where growth will come from. So you will see multiple revenue streams coming from the same customer which was not happening earlier. Life insurance has not yet been exploited. Franking of documents is another area not tapped by banks.
Sarang: Technology plays an important part in retail banking.
I will touch upon two things - potential of retail banking and ability to tap this potential. In terms of potential, I was reading a survey and it said that 35% of Indian citizens today come under the banking services network which actually means there is a huge untapped potential. Now let's look at our ability to tap this potential. Today's technology had taken a huge leap from the one in the 90s. In early 90s, telecom infrastructure was not available beyond 83 locations. Today it is available in 2000 cities and 1000s of villages across the country. The data network reqUired to connect an ATM or a branch to a CBS is available easily. Second, we used the bank branch as a front-end to service the customers. But the ATM revolution and other technologies have helped us to approach the customer after banking hours. With so many facilities, banking has become a 24x7 service.
Avinash: If you stress on one retail product, the other products come as by-products. For eg, with car loan, insurance will come as a by-product. With online trading, the demat account comes as a by-product.
Nandan: Post liberalization, the purchasing power of the middle class was always there, but the spending pattern was different. People were not keen on spending as much as they are tOday. Those banks that started the retail race had probably forgotten about the quality. Public sector did not compromise on a lot of things. If you grow at 25<)1), that's a decent growth. In future, growth may go up to 30%. High growth could also mean that banks might compromise on quality. But there is a realization that bottom lines do matter. I think growth should come with caution.
Karthikeyan: For SBl, retail banking also included personal banking and small business and agriculture. It is only in the last five years that retail banking margins are found to be much higher. Private banks were focusing on the core customers of the PSU banks. So PSU banks had no option but to step into retail banking, because their share of customers was being targeted by the new wave of banks.
Girish: There is never appropriate growth. More growth seems to be better. But from a risk perspective, when something is doing too well, you have to really focus on it or else you will sell out everything and what happened in the world was exactly that. Certain things went on a very high growth target and what goes up must come down. But what we need as bankers is to moderate the growth with caution. Quality is what we need to look for. Chopra: Yes, retail banking was a byproduct of the economic liberalization. But to me technological innovation has contributed to the retail growth. It is this that has led to the potential for the retail banking KK Sharma: Retail banking is not just about projects and advances only. We always regarded a consumer as either a depositor or a borrower. But we forgot that he requires life insurance, a demat account, credit card, etc. This is where growth will come from. So you will see multiple revenue streams coming from the same customer which was not happening earlier. Life insurance has not yet been exploited. Franking of documents is another area not tapped by banks.
Sarang: Technology plays an important part in retail banking.
I will touch upon two things - potential of retail banking and ability to tap this potential. In terms of potential, I was reading a survey and it said that 35% of Indian citizens today come under the banking services network which actually means there is a huge untapped potential. Now let's look at our ability to tap this potential. Today's technology had taken a huge leap from the one in the 90s. In early 90s, telecom infrastructure was not available beyond 83 locations. Today it is available in 2000 cities and 1000s of villages across the country. The data network reqUired to connect an ATM or a branch to a CBS is available easily. Second, we used the bank branch as a front-end to service the customers. But the ATM revolution and other technologies have helped us to approach the customer after banking hours. With so many facilities, banking has become a 24x7 service.
Avinash: If you stress on one retail product, the other products come as by-products. For eg, with car loan, insurance will come as a by-product. With online trading, the demat account comes as a by-product.
Banking Frontiers organized a roundtable at Hotel Grand Hyatt in Mumbai on 9 July 2009 on the topic 'Customer Engagement Strategies for Retail Banking', with Avaya Global Connect as the Knowledge Partner. Edited excerpts from the deliberations at the roundtable:
Manoj: India's middle class is huge. Obviously it presents a great opportunity for the financial sector. Has the retail industry has its heydays in the last 8-10 years? How was it? How do you see it going ahead?
Marathe: As far as PSUs are concerned, we have been into retail as far back as I can remember. But this branding around retail started with the new generation banks around the mid 90's, who came out with an idea of capturing the retail business in the urban metro areas and more so on the assets side. India was a capital starved country and finance was low and there was a rationing of credit. But when reforms came in, there was some relaxation in capital availability and consumer loans became the fashion. So banks started capturing customer where loans are given for consumption purposes and not just production products are concerned, our speed was slow. We have been overtaken by private sector banks because of technology and other issues.
KK Sharma: Largely it is reach and depth of coverage. So far, what has been achieved is largely restrained to metro and urban centres. In the semi-urban centres and rural areas, lot of work remains to be done. If we look at NREGS, the funds will directly reach the poorer sections of society, and the scope for banks will soon be tremendous. Banks should gear up for this challenge, and maximize opportunity. It is good for banks to be at the lower tier of the pyramid to reach out to everyone.
Atul: The middle class will continue to grow. I think this class of Indians and Chinese will lead the world out of recession. Retail has been a late opportunity, because once the capital started floWing into the country and the middle class started
Manoj: Cash forecasting, planning, liquidity management - what would you see as a scope for improving corporate banking on these parameters?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:30 AMRajesh Lahori: Cash management has always been about liquidity, and liquidity had a credit link, because of the inefficiencies in the system. Technically it's largely a treasury function - its nothing but cash forecasting, planning and liqUidity with overall improvement in local settlement systems. One model for efficient management of liquidity is to concentrate on large towns and large settlement areas where automation has caught on. The other model is large retailers and distributors, who are working on hybrid models which are more zonal and business linked and are a mix of offline and online. Corporates are actually now focusing on building models creating ways and means where partners, technology players or banks are able to aggregate that and give them something on a common platform rather than talking to multiple entities.
R Mani: Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised when a small PSU was talking about online connectivity. Unlike some of the other large corporates, they are ready to operate on a real time basis, they are even ready to make some changes in their own systems, even those PSUsin tier 2 and tier 3 towns.
Vipul: Credit forecast is generally for corporates where the amount is too high. If you look at the telecom business, where there is a huge customer base and individual payments are very small, there to go for credit forecasting is really a big task.
R Mani: Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised when a small PSU was talking about online connectivity. Unlike some of the other large corporates, they are ready to operate on a real time basis, they are even ready to make some changes in their own systems, even those PSUsin tier 2 and tier 3 towns.
Vipul: Credit forecast is generally for corporates where the amount is too high. If you look at the telecom business, where there is a huge customer base and individual payments are very small, there to go for credit forecasting is really a big task.
Manoj: What are the risk factors or business constraints factors pertaining to online connectivity
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:29 AMagarajan: With the introduction of RTGS, NEFT and ECS, 90% of corporate customers want everything online. But problems arise when somebody wants, say 10,000 payments to be pushed at the last moment. When this used to happen a couple of year ago, we had to go back to the customer and say that this needs to be done on a piece meal basis only. Also, if it is online, the customer expects more and more MIS from us. Corporates want everything electronically, but still the maturity level is not there because their internal process and our internal process do not mix together.
R Mani: What happened in one case was that the business group came to us and said they want online connectivity. But when we met their IT team, they come out with a different version saying they didn't want real online connectivity. What they were talking about was a facility by which there will be a download from their ERP, and manually put into transaction in the bank's system - why, because their internal information security team did not allow online connectivity in a seamless manner. So there is a difference in perception between the business teams and the IT teams.
Harshan: At the gate, we are supposed to provide filtrations in respect of AML. Vispi: We don't actually get access to the server, they create a path and give us a folder, the file comes from there and we pick it up. We too do not want to give them access to our servers. On the business angle, today there are mandates from different divisions within the corporate to connect with banks. Moving from one division to another also requires customization.
R Mani: What happened in one case was that the business group came to us and said they want online connectivity. But when we met their IT team, they come out with a different version saying they didn't want real online connectivity. What they were talking about was a facility by which there will be a download from their ERP, and manually put into transaction in the bank's system - why, because their internal information security team did not allow online connectivity in a seamless manner. So there is a difference in perception between the business teams and the IT teams.
Harshan: At the gate, we are supposed to provide filtrations in respect of AML. Vispi: We don't actually get access to the server, they create a path and give us a folder, the file comes from there and we pick it up. We too do not want to give them access to our servers. On the business angle, today there are mandates from different divisions within the corporate to connect with banks. Moving from one division to another also requires customization.
Manoj: What is SAP's view on SLA for financial supply chain and what role does technology play?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:28 AMRajamani: Corporates looks at cash management as outsourcing some of their activities, be it funds, collection, payments to a bank, and even today if you see, cash management services are being set up. You will find SLA getting established, between the service provider and the service taker. Today you find the nerve system of financial management of a corporate is definitely being connected to a bank and where working capital is managed / funded by a bank. So the expectation really comes as to what is reflected as an SLA.
Ravi Shankar: The first step actually is to understand the business. If you go and tell the customer I can really do cash management for you, he would say you do not understand my business. If I say I would like to do collection for the agri sector, the government will ask what you understand of the business - do you know where the smallest value comes from, where the value goes to, etc. So, today most bankers here would see the client groups they are addressing and build people skills and industry skills around them and then they work with technology partners to build solutions specific to them and SLA comes after that. Within India itself there are so many defined trade routes which have changed now because companies are moving in a different chain, finding cheaper sources or alternate sources. So all of this is becoming more specialized and every bank today is not saying I am offering everything to everybody.
Pathak: I would like to add that this SLA is still at the stage of evolution. There are no standards and terms and conditions which can be uniformly applied to all corporates - it basically has to be decided on a case to case basis.
Vijay Kumar: The corporates not only have to face competition in India but also internationally. So, now the corporates also want to focus on their core business, so they look forward to the banks to find solution for their payments and collection mechanisms. For that purpose I think channel financing is the best option the banks can provide to the corporates.
Ravi Shankar: The first step actually is to understand the business. If you go and tell the customer I can really do cash management for you, he would say you do not understand my business. If I say I would like to do collection for the agri sector, the government will ask what you understand of the business - do you know where the smallest value comes from, where the value goes to, etc. So, today most bankers here would see the client groups they are addressing and build people skills and industry skills around them and then they work with technology partners to build solutions specific to them and SLA comes after that. Within India itself there are so many defined trade routes which have changed now because companies are moving in a different chain, finding cheaper sources or alternate sources. So all of this is becoming more specialized and every bank today is not saying I am offering everything to everybody.
Pathak: I would like to add that this SLA is still at the stage of evolution. There are no standards and terms and conditions which can be uniformly applied to all corporates - it basically has to be decided on a case to case basis.
Vijay Kumar: The corporates not only have to face competition in India but also internationally. So, now the corporates also want to focus on their core business, so they look forward to the banks to find solution for their payments and collection mechanisms. For that purpose I think channel financing is the best option the banks can provide to the corporates.
Manoj: What is SAP's view on SLA for financial supply chain and what role does technology play?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:27 AMRajamani: Corporates looks at cash management as outsourcing some of their activities, be it funds, collection, payments to a bank, and even today if you see, cash management services are being set up. You will find SLA getting established, between the service provider and the service taker. Today you find the nerve system of financial management of a corporate is definitely being connected to a bank and where working capital is managed / funded by a bank. So the expectation really comes as to what is reflected as an SLA.
in addition to the website. They are interested in a particular product, then that information is given by us.
Lavale: For investments, we have opened many representative offices in the Gulf countries and other countries also. We are deputing their representatives and giving 24x7 services with respect to opening accounts, funds transfers, remittances, etc. Their account will be opened in India, whatever is the nearest branch of the residence of that NRI here. We have also started advisory services in collaboration with some FIs. So we train our people because customers tend to believe their bankers more rather than other private Fls. Based on their current annual income, the amount they need to invest at the end of the year, counting their expenses we advice them. People have started believing in public sector banks. Customers now prefer safe investments instead of looking for higher rate of interest.
Asha: In my own bank, we have a forex division that brings out a newsletter where there is a country outlook, monetary outlook and forecast for various currencies and currency rate movements and changes in FDI norms. Everything that is required for an NRI to make a decision. Apart from that we have an NRI cell that sends out a banking update, an email newsletter, where we do not address these purely monetary things. We tell them about things like reduction of stamp duty which happened yesterday from 7.YJ.6 to 6.5%. That catches their fancy. Then what is the real estate market looking like in the future? What is the investment that is recommended in the current scenario? These are the sort of questions that NRls usually ask us. The newsletter is immensely popular among them.
PK Nair: The point here is that in your bank the NRI division is a cell. Suppose the NRI wants to buy a mutual fund, then since your bank is divided into sections, you have to move that information to someone else and then that person will start the interaction. This can be distracting.
Hegde: In Indian Bank we have introduced wealth management on a pilot basis. So we have tied up with some leading financial companies. Hopefully, we expect to introduce it in other parts of the country also depending on the success rate.
Rajesh: In Axis Bank we have this service. We have a relationship manager who will be a single point for any service. The RM will hold only 4-5 customers.
Taneja: Wealth management is something that lends itself nicely to a relationship concept. There is one individual at your branch who manages your entire relationship. An ING wealth manager is responsible for the casa accounts, investments, insurance, etc. Typically there are about 200 customers mapped to a relationship manager. We found that technology has a huge role to play in this. What we did was implement an online wealth management system (WMS) integrated with the banking portal. For some banks wealth management is about managing the entire wealth through the lifecycle of that individual. This involves education, retirement, inheritance planning, tax implications, if you have a large family distributing your wealth in a particular manner - all advice comes from the bank.
Srinivas: In our bank, in addition to wealth management, we also offer finance health checkups. We already have a collaboration with some players in insurance. For example, we have tied up with LIC, New India Assurance and mutual funds. The representative of all these companies, including our bank, has been brought under a single umbrella and customers can contact them.
PK Nair: Take the simple case of a mutual fund. The registrar actually sends the statement. That's a different entity altogether. He will have the actual record of your transaction. About 20 statements will come to me and I have to keep a track of it. Here technology can help you talk to your partners.
Taneja: Actually, that is what we have done. A wealth client at ING receives only an annual statement because that's mandatory from the registrar of the AMCA taking mutual funds as an example. Otherwise he receives a quarterly statement from ING explaining the portfolio. Because sometimes entry or exit loads are changing, etc. He gets these updates online as well as through the statement. Here technology has to talk to them. It's the system that has talk to them so that the customer's life is convenient.
Kannan: We checked out some solutions on the wealth management system also. It came to light that it is not the question of only technology availability. What is needed is skillsets and knowledge of the people in the organization about portfolios, equities, etc. What is most needed is the maturity of the bank to offer these kind of wealth management services. If you are not careful, then wealth management could become wealth mis-management.
Asha: In wealth management, we tend to focus on urban elite. But if you have seen the pattern of wealth distribution, it is slowly moving to tier 2 cities. Even consumer goods are doing better business in tier 2 cities. So there's a semi-urban / rural customer who is having wealth to be managed where we need to play.
Manoj: What about Axis and ING?
Rajesh: We have started in tier 2, but it is mapped to the urban centres.
Taneja: I would agree with that. I think most banks in India, even those doing well, is a metro or urban centric model right now. The individual in the semi-urban or rural area who has wealth to be managed has different views, has different needs and different expectations. They have different timelines. They may not need the returns in two years.
Manoj: Any other suggestions on using the Web or using any technology?
Asha: I think more than the banks using the web, customers have begun using it. Many of the students who approach us for a loan say that their seniors put it on Facebook, or blog and got to know about the brand.
Lavale: For investments, we have opened many representative offices in the Gulf countries and other countries also. We are deputing their representatives and giving 24x7 services with respect to opening accounts, funds transfers, remittances, etc. Their account will be opened in India, whatever is the nearest branch of the residence of that NRI here. We have also started advisory services in collaboration with some FIs. So we train our people because customers tend to believe their bankers more rather than other private Fls. Based on their current annual income, the amount they need to invest at the end of the year, counting their expenses we advice them. People have started believing in public sector banks. Customers now prefer safe investments instead of looking for higher rate of interest.
Asha: In my own bank, we have a forex division that brings out a newsletter where there is a country outlook, monetary outlook and forecast for various currencies and currency rate movements and changes in FDI norms. Everything that is required for an NRI to make a decision. Apart from that we have an NRI cell that sends out a banking update, an email newsletter, where we do not address these purely monetary things. We tell them about things like reduction of stamp duty which happened yesterday from 7.YJ.6 to 6.5%. That catches their fancy. Then what is the real estate market looking like in the future? What is the investment that is recommended in the current scenario? These are the sort of questions that NRls usually ask us. The newsletter is immensely popular among them.
PK Nair: The point here is that in your bank the NRI division is a cell. Suppose the NRI wants to buy a mutual fund, then since your bank is divided into sections, you have to move that information to someone else and then that person will start the interaction. This can be distracting.
Hegde: In Indian Bank we have introduced wealth management on a pilot basis. So we have tied up with some leading financial companies. Hopefully, we expect to introduce it in other parts of the country also depending on the success rate.
Rajesh: In Axis Bank we have this service. We have a relationship manager who will be a single point for any service. The RM will hold only 4-5 customers.
Taneja: Wealth management is something that lends itself nicely to a relationship concept. There is one individual at your branch who manages your entire relationship. An ING wealth manager is responsible for the casa accounts, investments, insurance, etc. Typically there are about 200 customers mapped to a relationship manager. We found that technology has a huge role to play in this. What we did was implement an online wealth management system (WMS) integrated with the banking portal. For some banks wealth management is about managing the entire wealth through the lifecycle of that individual. This involves education, retirement, inheritance planning, tax implications, if you have a large family distributing your wealth in a particular manner - all advice comes from the bank.
Srinivas: In our bank, in addition to wealth management, we also offer finance health checkups. We already have a collaboration with some players in insurance. For example, we have tied up with LIC, New India Assurance and mutual funds. The representative of all these companies, including our bank, has been brought under a single umbrella and customers can contact them.
PK Nair: Take the simple case of a mutual fund. The registrar actually sends the statement. That's a different entity altogether. He will have the actual record of your transaction. About 20 statements will come to me and I have to keep a track of it. Here technology can help you talk to your partners.
Taneja: Actually, that is what we have done. A wealth client at ING receives only an annual statement because that's mandatory from the registrar of the AMCA taking mutual funds as an example. Otherwise he receives a quarterly statement from ING explaining the portfolio. Because sometimes entry or exit loads are changing, etc. He gets these updates online as well as through the statement. Here technology has to talk to them. It's the system that has talk to them so that the customer's life is convenient.
Kannan: We checked out some solutions on the wealth management system also. It came to light that it is not the question of only technology availability. What is needed is skillsets and knowledge of the people in the organization about portfolios, equities, etc. What is most needed is the maturity of the bank to offer these kind of wealth management services. If you are not careful, then wealth management could become wealth mis-management.
Asha: In wealth management, we tend to focus on urban elite. But if you have seen the pattern of wealth distribution, it is slowly moving to tier 2 cities. Even consumer goods are doing better business in tier 2 cities. So there's a semi-urban / rural customer who is having wealth to be managed where we need to play.
Manoj: What about Axis and ING?
Rajesh: We have started in tier 2, but it is mapped to the urban centres.
Taneja: I would agree with that. I think most banks in India, even those doing well, is a metro or urban centric model right now. The individual in the semi-urban or rural area who has wealth to be managed has different views, has different needs and different expectations. They have different timelines. They may not need the returns in two years.
Manoj: Any other suggestions on using the Web or using any technology?
Asha: I think more than the banks using the web, customers have begun using it. Many of the students who approach us for a loan say that their seniors put it on Facebook, or blog and got to know about the brand.
Banking Frontiers organized a roundtable at the Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai on 11 June 2009 on the topic 'Corporate Banking Transformation', with SAP as the Knowledge Partner. Excerpts from the deliberations at the roundtable:
Manoj: We have terms like nano seconds nowadays and that is part of business language and not just technology language. Given the economic scenario in the competition, corporates wants things faster and faster. So, how are bankers accelerating corporate banking services?
Vipul Acharya: Today MNC banks give a lot of technological advantage to the corporates, and hence most of the corporate big houses are with MNC banks. But now Indian banks are also competing with them· in terms of service and pricing. People banking is slowly shifting to electronic medium. India is evolVing and I think we will not have clearing system any more and everything will be done through electronic banking only. In 3 to 4 years, all the banks will have ERr integration. So once a company goes for ERr integration with one bank, it is very difficult to move that customer from one bank to another bank.
Vispi: The move is in the right direction. In the days to come, we see payments to be the driver as far as cash management or transaction banking business is concerned. In two years time, all-India clearing will get centralized or it will get divided into four zones only. With just cheque truncation and speed clearing taking shape, we see collection as a dying product two years down the line. It's all going to end up with payments and the banks who get integrated with corporate ERr are going to create a stickiness because this is one business which is highly sticky - no customer wants to move out for a small advantage unless you are able to offer something that is mind-boggling and going to make his life very different from what it is today. The other thing that we see emerging these days among large corporates is the shared service centre concept, where the corporates are trying to centralize the receivables, payments and collections - all this at the group level.
Rajamani: You will see that most of the organizations inIndia are ITenablingthemselves through ERr deployment. What they are looking forward is how much they can connect themselves with the external world, particularly with financial institutions. Right now banks are their daily life and they cannot survive without the banking industry, so they see lot of value in decreasing the cycle ti me of various transactions. With RTGS and NEFT in place, they see lot of value in automation of transactions and that really brings the question of how do we establish the last mile connectivity between the corporate and
Manoj: We have terms like nano seconds nowadays and that is part of business language and not just technology language. Given the economic scenario in the competition, corporates wants things faster and faster. So, how are bankers accelerating corporate banking services?
Vipul Acharya: Today MNC banks give a lot of technological advantage to the corporates, and hence most of the corporate big houses are with MNC banks. But now Indian banks are also competing with them· in terms of service and pricing. People banking is slowly shifting to electronic medium. India is evolVing and I think we will not have clearing system any more and everything will be done through electronic banking only. In 3 to 4 years, all the banks will have ERr integration. So once a company goes for ERr integration with one bank, it is very difficult to move that customer from one bank to another bank.
Vispi: The move is in the right direction. In the days to come, we see payments to be the driver as far as cash management or transaction banking business is concerned. In two years time, all-India clearing will get centralized or it will get divided into four zones only. With just cheque truncation and speed clearing taking shape, we see collection as a dying product two years down the line. It's all going to end up with payments and the banks who get integrated with corporate ERr are going to create a stickiness because this is one business which is highly sticky - no customer wants to move out for a small advantage unless you are able to offer something that is mind-boggling and going to make his life very different from what it is today. The other thing that we see emerging these days among large corporates is the shared service centre concept, where the corporates are trying to centralize the receivables, payments and collections - all this at the group level.
Rajamani: You will see that most of the organizations inIndia are ITenablingthemselves through ERr deployment. What they are looking forward is how much they can connect themselves with the external world, particularly with financial institutions. Right now banks are their daily life and they cannot survive without the banking industry, so they see lot of value in decreasing the cycle ti me of various transactions. With RTGS and NEFT in place, they see lot of value in automation of transactions and that really brings the question of how do we establish the last mile connectivity between the corporate and
Can you explain the strategy of business growth and expansion plans of your bank? What are the targets for 2009-1 O?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:18 AMNotwithstanding the global economic slowdown, SBB) has maintained a healthy growth in business and profitability in 2008-09 with net profit growth of 28.1%. For the year 200910, the bank is targeting a business growth of Rs 18,600 crore, as against the growth of Rs 9,885 crore in 2008-09. For the purpose, special emphasis is being laid on the retail segment, particularly agriculture, housing, education and SMEs. Branch expansion shaH also be pursued Vigorously keeping in view the potential at select centers.
How does your bank compete with other banks, especiallv cooperative banks, in the statl?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:17 AMAU branches are on core banking solution and the bank has satellite connectivity even in the remotest corner of the state. Today SBB) offers multiple products and delivery channels which include internet banking at all branches, online funds transfer, B2B payments, utility and other biH payments, online tax payments, railway freight payments, etc. The bank has about 500 ATMs which are connected to State Bank group ATM network. Overall, SBB) is far ahead in terms of network, business size and technology particularly compared to cooperative banks in the state.
SBB) is amongst the first few public sector banks in the country with all branches on core banking. One of the major projects at hand is to optimize the usage of technology to offer value added services to customers. Amongst the major objective is to migrate more and more customers towards alternate delivery channels particularly internet banking and ATMs. The bank is also implementing BPR exercise whereby most of the bank office functions are being centralized so that branches can focus more on improving customer service, sales and marketing. We are endeavoring to boost non-interest income by cross selling life and non-life insurance, mutual funds and credit cards, besides expanding the coverage of online share trading facility launched during 2008-09.
Is the NRls' contribution in your bank increasing'? \\ hat is the percentage of the NRls' clientele?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:16 AMThe bank has a customer base of nearly 70,000 NRls. The deposits from NRls have increased from Rs 637 crore in March 2005 to Rs 813 crore in March 2009.
What are the major changes observed in the pattern of savings, fixed deposits, loan taking, etc, over a period of time?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:14 AMThe interest rates have generally gone up in the financial system (barring the last six months when policy rates have been cut aggressively to combat the economic slowdown). As a result, there has been an increasing preference of our customers towards the term deposits which provides better return to depositors. Between March 2005 and March 2009, the share of term deposits in total deposits of the bank has gone up from 56.9% to 62.2%. The share of savings and current deposits has correspondingly gone down, although in quantitative terms, even CASA deposits have grown by over 80% between March 2005 and March 2009. Likewise in case of advances, over the last few years there has been substantial upscaling of advances in commercial and institutional (C&I) segment particularly by financing of infrastructure sector projects. Accordingly, the proportionate share of C&I segment in total advances has gone up from 36.1% in March 2005 to about 50.4% in March 2009. The share of personal segment and small scale industries has correspondingly gone down, although in quantitative terms advances to these segments too have gone up significantly over the last few years.
Mehul: What is the percentage of the people of Rajsthan in the total customer hase of your bank?
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:07 AMthese, 698 branches are in Rajasthan which is the largest network among all banks operating in the state. Of these, 524 branches are located in rural and semi-urban areas, which play an important role in rural development and poverty alleviation in the state. Even in terms of number of customers, about 93% of them emanate from Rajasthan. The percentage of SBB) customers (both deposits and advances) is about 9.8% of total population and about 19% of the adult population of the state, which is the highest amongst all banks in Rajasthan. Over the last few years, the bank has made significant progress towards financial inclusion and providing services to hitherto un-banked population of the state.
State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) has a strong network of 698 branches in Rajasthan
0 comments Posted by Tip at 5:05 AMState Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ) has a strong network of 698 branches in Rajasthan. the largest network among all banks operating in the state. SBBJ alone has a customer base of nearly 70.000 NRls. Arun Shandilya. managing director, SBBJ. speaks to Mehul Dani on a wide range of issues:
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Bnking Frontiers organized a roundtable at Hotel Le Meridien in Bangalore on 22 May 2009 on the topic 'Collaborative Customer Engagement' with IBM as
0 comments Posted by Tip at 10:14 AMManoj: A customer could check out his bank's website and see if they have a tie up with the car vendor and could possible register for a test drive there. This could be the beginning of a collaboration for the bank and the car vendor. What would be your take on providing such a one stop solution?
Asha: While we yet have to look into the possibility of offering a test drive, but it is possible. People can register through the website or the call centre. The requests are routed through the retail asset hub of Bangalore city. Since we have a tie up with the dealers, I can forward your mail to him and he will then attend to the needful. The customer also has a choice of filling in his location details, so that the nearest dealer can approach the prospective customer. Since there are different dealers for different brands, so depending upon the customers requirements, we will put him in touch with the concerned dealer. In all this, it is important that the customer is serious. Venkatramaiah: In the car segment, even dealers are approaching the branches with leads. There are cases where at the branch level they have brought the cars and we have given the sanction letters. After the casual inquiry at the call centre, by the time it translates into business, the entire process could take about 2-3 months, Even if about 10% of the leads translate into business, it is a good track.
PK Nair: Most often when a customer calls for a test drive, the bank or the agency is focussed on providing that service that the customer has called for. Using that interaction, how many times does the bank try to understand the customer's detailed profile? What we see is a point-in-time interaction, but we fail to capture information that can help the customer become our life-long customer. Some new generation banks treat the internet as an SBU. Actually, what customers are doing is visiting various sites and checking up reviews written by customers.
Rajesh: I have seen one branch where they displayed a notice board, exclusively for customers. The board allows customers to
Asha: While we yet have to look into the possibility of offering a test drive, but it is possible. People can register through the website or the call centre. The requests are routed through the retail asset hub of Bangalore city. Since we have a tie up with the dealers, I can forward your mail to him and he will then attend to the needful. The customer also has a choice of filling in his location details, so that the nearest dealer can approach the prospective customer. Since there are different dealers for different brands, so depending upon the customers requirements, we will put him in touch with the concerned dealer. In all this, it is important that the customer is serious. Venkatramaiah: In the car segment, even dealers are approaching the branches with leads. There are cases where at the branch level they have brought the cars and we have given the sanction letters. After the casual inquiry at the call centre, by the time it translates into business, the entire process could take about 2-3 months, Even if about 10% of the leads translate into business, it is a good track.
PK Nair: Most often when a customer calls for a test drive, the bank or the agency is focussed on providing that service that the customer has called for. Using that interaction, how many times does the bank try to understand the customer's detailed profile? What we see is a point-in-time interaction, but we fail to capture information that can help the customer become our life-long customer. Some new generation banks treat the internet as an SBU. Actually, what customers are doing is visiting various sites and checking up reviews written by customers.
Rajesh: I have seen one branch where they displayed a notice board, exclusively for customers. The board allows customers to
561 Funds Management has deployed a new IVR solution based on Nuance Recognizer to deliver speech-based selfservice interactions for its customers. The IVR will enable its customers to use their voice, instead of traditional touchtone environment, for interactions with the IVR for selfservice. The IVR speech recognition solution will use Nuance Recognizer to provide information to customers on latest Net Asset Values of MF schemes, and at a later date, more features will be added. The next generation IVR will be able to prOVide all the services that are currently being done by agents manually. The customers need not have to wait for the agents to be available and the process is now automated.
BoB has recently launched a 3 year long Total Integrated Rural Development Project called 'Project Dungarpur' with a total financial outlay of Rs 54 crores to be expended over 3 years. The project incorporates a wide range of activities ranging from financial inclusion, integrated rural development through agriculture, allied activities and promoting rural/cottage industries in the district. It aims at developing human resources through training to unskilled/semi-skilled personals.
Apart from this, the bank also thrives for its social responsibility and is running 7 R-SETls functioning as 'Baroda Swarojgar Vikas Sansthan' at jaipur, Ajmer, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Karauli and Churu. Out of these, the R-SETI at Ajmer is exclusively imparting training to women entrepreneurs and has residential facilities with lodging and boarding arrangement at the institution itself. The bank has planned to establish 6 more R-SETls during current financial year in the districts of Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Bundi, jhunjhunu, Bhilwara and Pratapgarh. Help desks for MSME entrepreneurs are set up and functioning at all the four regional offices.
Apart from this, the bank also thrives for its social responsibility and is running 7 R-SETls functioning as 'Baroda Swarojgar Vikas Sansthan' at jaipur, Ajmer, Banswara, Chittorgarh, Dungarpur, Karauli and Churu. Out of these, the R-SETI at Ajmer is exclusively imparting training to women entrepreneurs and has residential facilities with lodging and boarding arrangement at the institution itself. The bank has planned to establish 6 more R-SETls during current financial year in the districts of Tonk, Sawai Madhopur, Bundi, jhunjhunu, Bhilwara and Pratapgarh. Help desks for MSME entrepreneurs are set up and functioning at all the four regional offices.
Garg says: "BoB is entrusted with lead bank responsibility in 12 out of 33 districts of the state by the RBI. Besides, the bank is also assigned the responsibility of SLBC convenor. Recently the 101st SLBC meeting has been convened by the bank on 29th June 2009 to review the performance of the banking sector in Rajasthan under Annual Credit Plan and progress under various government sponsored schemes like SGSY, SjSRY and PMEGP. Based upon the Potential Linked Credit Plans as prepared by ABARD and District Credit Plans approved in the District Level Consultative Committees, annual credit plan for 2009-10 for aggregate amount of Rs 23,982 cr has been approved by the SLBC."
Bank of Baroda has a significant presence in Rajasthan, faciltiating better banking for the people of the state. Mehul Dani provides an overview of th
0 comments Posted by Tip at 9:17 AMBank of Baroda has enjoyed a premier position in the state of Rajasthan and has a major role to play in its development. Bank of Baroda has presence in all 33 districts of the state through a vast network of 348 branches.
B.B. Garg, zonal manager, Bank of Baroda, Rajasthan, says: "BoB started its operations in the state in August 1958. Since then, it has been expanding through out the state by setting up its branches in urban, semi urban and rural area. Administrative control of the branches is ensured through 4 regional offices located atjaipur (105 branches), Ajmer (85 branches), jodhpur(62 branches) and Udaipur (96 branches). Out of 348 branches, 80% branches are located in rural and semi urban areas catering to the credit needs of farmers, artisans, small borrowers and MSEs. The bank has 71 metro/urban branches located in major cities contributing to development of industries particularly under MSME sector. The bank has 12 forex branches which cater to the need of exporters and importers. The bank has 2 Retail Loan Factories - at jaipur and jodhpur. There are 3 SME Loan Factories - at jaipur, jodhpur and Bhilwara.
Housing Development and
Finance Corporation (HDFC), the prime lender in the country to home seekers, has a loan automation system in place and all the lending activities of the company
are carried out through this system. "Our loan automation system is
an end-to-end solution, starting
with lead management to lead maturation, underwriting, disbursement, loan servicing
and closure of the loan. It covers
the entire loan life cycle - an
average loan life of 10 years to
a maximum of 30 years," says R. Arivazhagan, senior general manager, Information Technology, at HDFC.
"It is a fully integrated system, and what is significant is that it is
a home grown system and not a package we bought from vendors. We began work on it in 1990s as we found the need to automate loan processing in order to keep pace with the other automation processes that were happening
in the organization. We consciously opted out of going
for a package as such packages
would require extensive customization in order to meet
local requirements - basically legal.
We worked on a next generation system and it evolved over a period of time as we went on adding modules and functionalities as we grew. For example, in older days, there used to
be just one type of loans, that is, fixed rate loan. ow we have several, like variable rates, flexible rates, monthly rests, quarterly rests, etc. Similarly, earlier, there was no provision
for generating credit reports to credit information agencies. These agencies have started functioning we need to offer reports
As banks become more tech savvy, they are increasingly looking at loan automation technology. To find out the benefits and the challenges, executive e
0 comments Posted by Tip at 9:09 AMand lending institutions need to be competitive in today's lending environment in order to be in business.
While they may endeavor to stay ahead with niche products, sustained marketing, effective customer care and efficient collection system, they can no longer depend on manual processes in their lending business. Geographical reach and brand loyalty can to some extent help them, but these are no longer the determining factors. It calls for efficiency in taking decisions, in servicing, in monitoring and in collecting.
Borrowers have the ability to borrow from their choicest sources and whenever they want. The institutions are realizing that the customers demand convenience apart from acceptable levels of interest. If a manager is not capable of processing a loan application within the least possible time, the customer has the choice to look toward others who can very well do so.
So, Indian banks and financial institutions are today following the footsteps of their global counterparts in automating their lending processes often using fully integrated solutions that cover the entire Joan life cycle - from loan origination through loan application process, risk assessment, decision-making, monitoring and management control of approved loans. And what's more, there are packages available in the markets which are customizable, scalable and implementable with the least interference to the existing automated environment.
Predominantly, these packages have: (i) risk management tools that help underwriters to automatically evaluate loan packages and give alerts on doubtful applications and evaluate the applicants in terms of liqUidity, collateral and credit history; (ii) document scanning facility that enables digital storage and transmission of documents and that ensures integrity of the document throughout the loan life cycle; (iii) communication facility for managers processing the loan applications by exchange of notes through the system and even through dedicated email systems; (iv) workflow automation which facilitates flow of loan applications through various stages seamlessly and within timeframes; (v) monitoring system that takes care of repayment schedules and managing PAs; and (vi) EMI reminders and default notices that are generated to customers from the system without the managers haVing to
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