Nippon Life To Buy 26% In Reliance Life

Reliance Capital Ltd. said Monday it has agreed to sell a 26% stake in its life insurance unit to Japan's Nippon Life Insurance Co. for 30.62 billion rupees ($680 million).

The news sent the shares of Reliance Capital sharply higher as analysts say a stake sale will give wholly owned unit Reliance Life Insurance Co. the funds it needs to spur growth in a capital-intensive business. In afternoon trade, Reliance Capital shares were up 7.1% at 548.5 rupees in a Mumbai market that was trading 1.2% higher.

The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, pegs the total valuation of Reliance Life at 115 billion rupees ($2.6 billion), Sam Ghosh, chief executive officer of Reliance Capital, told reporters.

"We will prepare the final application for approval [from the insurance regulator] today," Mr. Ghosh said.

India has 23 life insurance companies including state-run Life Insurance Corp., the largest in terms of number of policies sold. But most private insurers have been unable to turn profitable due to the high cost of acquiring new customers. The companies are also choked for funds as foreign investment into local insurers is capped at 26%.

India's parliament is yet to approve the government's proposal to raise the foreign investment limit to 49% because of stiff opposition from other political parties.

But Nippon Life hopes that entering emerging markets such as India would help boost profitability at a time when Japan's population is shrinking and its life insurance industry is seen as saturated.

Insurance companies face restrictions also on raising funds through initial public offerings. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India have been working on IPO guidelines for life insurers.

Reliance Life started operations in 2005 and has sold more than 7 million policies. It manages assets worth over 170 billion rupees ($3.7 billion) as of Dec. 31, 2010, according to a company statement.

Nippon Life is Japan's largest life insurer with revenue of $72 billion and a profit of $2.6 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010, it said.

Rival Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., which listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in April and is actively seeking out overseas acquisitions, in December agreed to buy Tower Australia Group Ltd. Dai-ichi is present in India through a joint venture, Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co., with state-run lenders Bank of India and Union Bank of India.

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Home And Auto Loans Are Set To Get Pricier

Floating rate home and auto loan borrowers may have to brace for higher interest rates on their loans , with many economists expecting a 0.25 per cent policy interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its midquarter credit policy review on Thursday. However, some of them hope that the apex bank may pause the rate hikes this time, citing uncertainties on the growth front.

"RBI is likely to hike both the policy rates (repo and reverse repo rates) by 0.25 per cent in the forthcoming review. Inflation still remains a problem with oil prices coming under upward pressure, despite some moderation in food prices," said D.K. Joshi, chief economist of rating agency Crisil.

"The government has to pass it on to the customers sooner or later," Joshi added. The Centre is already facing the prospect of rise in fiscal deficit in the coming fiscal. RBI had made it clear that it may not have to act if the global oil price rise is borne by the Centre. But if it is to be passed on to the customers, then it may have to hike rates to cap the inflationary expectations.

Spiralling credit growth is also adding to RBI's worries on the inflation front. It could push up demand and stoke further rise in prices. A rate hike would also address this concern as higher rates would distance a large number of prospective borrowers. Credit growth in the last 12 months has been above 24 per cent, against the projected 20 per cent growth for the fiscal.

If policy rates are hiked again, it will be the eighth time that the RBI would be doing so since March 2010 to tame inflation that has remained at elevated levels. It had raised the repo (rate at which RBI lends to banks) and the reverse repo (rate at which it accepts overnight deposits from banks) rate by 1.75 per cent and 2.25 per cent to 6.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent, respectively.

Food price inflation softened to a three-month low of 9.52 per cent in late February. The benchmark WPI inflation in January was at 8.23 per cent, well above the RBI's comfort zone of four to five per cent and its end-March 2011 target of seven per cent. WPI inflation for February is expected to moderate further.

However, Prof. N.R. Bhanumurthy of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), said, "It is a big dilemma on how to balance low inflation and high growth at this juncture. Corporate investments are not picking up, and that is also getting reflected in the IIP (index of industrial production) figures. As such, RBI might hold for this time and act in the quarterly review in May."

"Aggressive hike in rates are expected to stifle economic growth. So, movements of inflation would be watched carefully," Bhanumurthy added. IIP grew by only 3.7 per cent in January, compared to the same months in 2010. This is subdued, though higher than that in December. "The high base year effect has been a dampener on growth numbers this year and will continue to be so in February and March. Also, high interest rates have started impacting investment decisions," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist of CARE Ratings.

"We believe that the RBI should maintain a neutral stance on March 17 as inflation is coming down and industrial growth is being affected by high interest rates, though the RBI might increase interest rates by another 25 bps (or 0.25 per cent)," Sabanavis added.

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AGC Networks Introduces Contact Center Solutions in Compliance with Global Information Security Standard PCI-DSS

AGC Networks, India’s leading enterprise communication solution integrator has taken a significant step forward in its Contact Center solutions business by becoming a recipient of the worldwide information security standard certification-PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) for its IVR-Payment gateway integration. The certification comes at a time when online payment has led to a tremendous revolution in the Indian payment industry and security in online transactions is a key challenge for enterprises and communication solution providers

The PCI-DSS standard was created to help payment card industry organizations that process card payments prevent credit card fraud through increased controls around data and its exposure to compromise. The standard applies to all organizations that hold, process, or exchange cardholder information from any card branded with the logo of one of the card brand. All payments that occur on AGC Networks IVR system are now adjudged inherently resistant to various forms of cyber attacks.

According to Ritesh Jayswal, Vice President and Head (Solutions), AGC Networks, “We are extremely excited at being awarded the coveted PCI-DSS certification which will further propel our Contact Center Solutions business. Online payment offers certain advantages to customers, such as low cost, time saving and convenience of usage, as compared to traditional methods. Since the IVR – PG integration is now becoming one of the key revenue generation channels for business, it is very important for a company to have this application platform certified so that it offers cutting-edge processes, security and scalability. Through this solution, we aim to protect cardholder and sensitive authentication data for our customers.”

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a widely accepted set of policies and procedures intended to optimize the security of credit, debit and cash card transactions and protect cardholders against misuse of their personal information. For example, post certification the merchant cannot store sensitive authentication data even after authorization. Certification also ensures that the merchant uses strong cryptography and additional layers of security while processing card holder’s data among others.

Thinking about customers has been a core philosophy of AGC Networks. AGC Networks compliant solution ensures that one of the most important nodes (i.e. customer’s phone & IVR) in sensitive data transmission is PCI-DSS complaint. Keeping its focus on the BFSI segment active in the coming year, AGC Networks aims to provide the latest technology solutions to ease the pain points of its customers.

About AGC Networks

AGC Networks Ltd. is India’s leading enterprise communication solution integrator delivering customized business solutions that help organizations accelerate revenue growth, increase market penetration, optimize operating costs and improve employee productivity, by embedding communication in their business processes. With a vision of being a world class solution integrator of choice, AGC Networks Ltd. has always remained committed to providing clients with the best returns on their technology investments. It partners with global leaders like Avaya, NICE Systems, NEC, Polycom, Plantronics, Jabra, Extreme Networks, HP and Sony. For more information visit the AGC Networks Ltd. web site: http://www.agcnetworks.com/

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Japan Earthquake 2010 Video

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Over 1,000 Feared Dead In Japan Quake

Tokyo, March 12 (DPA) More than 1,000 people were feared dead after Japan's strongest earthquake on record triggered a destructive tsunami, the government said Saturday as it expressed concerns over possible radiation leaks from damaged nuclear reactors.

Japan was assessing the damage from Friday's 8.9-magnitude quake and devastating tsunami that rocked the northeastern part of the country, even as aftershocks continued to hit.


The death toll would probably be well over 1,000, said Yukio Edano, chief cabinet secretary.


Authorities had recovered 420 bodies, with about 1,000 still missing and many injured, Kyodo News agency reported.


The government feared more large-scale aftershocks could add to the destruction, as the Meteorological Agency issued further tsunami warnings for many coastal regions in the country.


The agency said there were more aftershocks than usual, including several over seven in magnitude.


The Nikkei business daily said some 210,000 people had been evacuated in northeastern Japan, while thousands were stranded in Miyagi, waiting for assistance, public broadcaster NHK said.


Rescuers have been searching for survivors amid collapsed buildings in many flooded cities.


Japan's Self Defence Force (SDF) troops and other rescue teams were being rushed to northeastern parts of the country, officials said.


International assistance was on its way, as the US dispatched more than 140 personnel Friday, and New Zealand said Saturday it would send a 48-member search-and-rescue team.


The Japanese government has mobilised 50,000 search and rescue workers, and sent 190 aircraft and 25 vessels to areas affected by the quake and tsunami.


The SDF has been working with the US military stationed in Japan to transport about 900 Japanese troops and some 250 vehicles by US ships, Japanese government officials said.


Thousands of houses were devastated, several bridges collapsed, bus and train services were shut down and many roads were closed. Mobile phone networks and landline phone services were affected by the quake.


Television footage showed flattened fishing villages and shattered cities with piles of rubble on the streets as the tsunami surged five kilometres inland in some areas, forcing many to spend the night on the roofs of their houses as temperature dropped to freezing point.


In the city of Rikuzen Takata, one of the worst-hit areas, of the 8,000 houses, some 5,000 were destroyed, news reports said.


The devastating scenes in northeastern Japan were 'similar to what I saw off Sumatra', Minoru Watanabe, a Tokyo-based town planning expert told a TBS television programme, referring to a powerful earthquake that hit Indonesia in December 2004.


Around 1,800 houses in Minami Soma, Fukushima Prefecture were destroyed, with relief efforts limited to helicopters, as further tsunamis were feared.


More evacuations were ordered early Saturday after the cooling system at a second nuclear power plant broke down in the wake of the massive earthquake.


Residents within three kilometres of the Fukushima Daini power plant, also known as Fukushima II, were ordered to leave their homes.


Earlier in the day, authorities extended evacuations to residents living within 10 kilometres of another nearby nuclear plant, Fukushima Daiichi, also known as Fukushima I, where the cooling system experienced troubles Friday.


Radiation measurements inside the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were 1,000 times higher than normal, the Kyodo news agency reported early Saturday, citing Japan's nuclear safety agency.


The government was holding an emergency meeting after the premier visited the area, but said no radiation leaks had been detected.

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Radhika Case: Main Suspect Held In Mumbai

The main suspect in the Radhika Tanwar murder, Vijay alias Ram Singh was arrested in Mumbai late on Friday night from Vikroli station. Police is now bringing him to Delhi on Saturday. Radhika, a Delhi University student, was shot dead on Tuesday in Dhaula Kuan. The 20-year-old student fell prey to the bullets of her alleged stalker Ram Singh alias Vijay on a foot-over-bridge outside Ramlal Anand College in south Delhi's Dhaula Kuan on Tuesday.

According to investigators, Vijay allegedly followed Radhika at least twice with an intention to kill her in the past one month, the last one being three days before her murder.

Vijay allegedly nurtured "deep grudge" against Radhika after he was beaten up for harassing her three-and-half-years ago and used to tell his friends that whenever he would get an opportunity, he would take revenge. He felt insulted and left Delhi's Naraina for Mumbai.

"We have learnt that a month ago, he had boarded a bus in which the victim was travelling. However, he could not execute his plans. Last Saturday, he followed her on the foot-over-bridge," HGS Dhaliwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), told reporters.

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India Gear Up For Tough South Africa Challenge

While cricket fans rejoice the arrival of the weekend and a prospect of a magnificent clash between India and South Africa at the on-going World Cup, it promises to be a gruelling day in office for the players. Stationed in Nagpur for the big Saturday game, South Africa present the biggest challenge to the Indians in the Group B league phase thus far.

What finally transpires at the VCA Stadium at Jamtha is anyone's guess; pre-game its evident the South Africans are a relaxed lot with a point to prove. The pressure of expectations is gnawing at the Indians for whom this contest is crucial to gain some psychological advantage.

It is essentially a battle between the India's batting prowess and the South Africans' bowling firepower. With the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan and MS Dhoni from India pitted against prolific talents like Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Hasim Amla and Dale Steyn - spectators are guaranteed a thrilling contest. Both teams come into the clash with reputations to defend, adding further weight to their high-profile arsenal.

Indian captain-cool MS Dhoni is currently under intense scrutiny for his constant support to under-forming leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. With sharp criticism on India's bowling doing the rounds, how he tweaks this department for the match will be the subject of many debates. The team's bowling strategy assumes special importance against a side like South Africa who has a tendency to disintegrate against slow bowlers.

Dhoni's usual preference is for two pacers and two spinners. However the pitch in Nagpur is different from the slow and low turf at the Kotla - here it's a flat pitch. Thus there's much speculation on what surprises Dhoni has up his sleeve. Fortunately Yuvraj Singh has made himself useful as the fifth bowler and an effective one too. That leaves Dhoni with the task of identifying two bowlers who will assist Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh in their work against the opponent's batting order and get the combination right before the knock-out stages begin.

Despite being undone rather easily in their last match against England, the South Africans are projecting an easy confidence in their gait. Their take is they're past the stage of faltering at crucial times, no matter what the circumstances. But, as cricketing history has shown, such feats are easier said than achieved. Their dismal performance in the previous game has put a question mark on their claim. With pride at stake, the South Africans have ample reason to want this victory desperately – even though they're not showing it.

There is one little worry for Smith. Leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who fractured his left thumb during the England match, is yet to recover well. The South African skipper said decision on Tahir will be taken on Saturday morning.

Who should India guard against

Hashim Amla

You don't score 8 100s and 12 50s in 45 ODIs if you don't have exceptional talent. If there's one South African batsman who enjoys Indian bowling, then it is Amla. He averages 61.83 in seven ODIs against India and he also has great memories of Nagpur, having scored a double century last year in a Test match. India must get him back in the pavilion as early as possible if they have to restrict SA.

Dale Steyn

The one man who has stood out in every South African success against India. His pace and movement can make life very uncomfortable for the Indians. He will also enjoy the true surface at Jamtha because bowlers who bend their backs get a lot of help there. He also has a good record against Virender Sehwag, who might be key to India's victory chances.

Key clashes

M Morkel vs V Sehwag

One has the bounce, the other has the strokes to deflate any bowling attack. Morkel will try and aim at Sehwag's ribcage and cramp the Indian dasher. Sehwag, on the other hand, will try and latch on to anything that's pitched outside the off-stump. It will be an arresting contest and the winner will decide which team wins.

L Tsotsobe vs S Tendulkar

The battle of the two Ts in the Test series in South Africa captured everyone's imagination. Time for the Master to show why he is called exactly that when he comes up against Tsotsobe. Left-armers have historically troubled the Indian legend. On a flat pitch it is unlikely that Sachin will allow him to settle.

J Botha vs Y Pathan

The off-spinner and the vice-captain might not have got to play had Imran Tahir been fit. But with Tahir's fitness worries, Botha becomes an automatic choice. Pathan really took to Botha in the ODI series. But here Botha may get more help with the doosra and if Pathan gives him the charge early, it may trouble him.

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A Credit Card That Talks To You

Imagine your credit card talking to you and displaying your balance, while doubling as a reward card. Well, your imagination will soon turn into a reality.

Dynamics Inc is developing such cards - due to be introduced in the US later this year - which will have wafer-thin microprocessors and would run on batteries that can last up to three years.

However, the credit cards will only display personal information after a security code is entered.

Citibank has released the new 2G card, which has a programmable magnetic strip and buttons on the front for users to choose to use it as a credit card or just to spend reward points, the ‘Daily Mail’ reported.

A trial is currently ongoing and, if successful, it could roll out across the country.

Even Mastercard has just released a card that has a small LCD screen which displays a one—time code which the customer can use to make an online purchase. It means even if someone’s credit card details are stolen, they will be useless to buy anything with without the one—off code.

Jeff Mullen, the CEO of Dynamics Inc which is working on several other high—tech cards, explained that the end of the magnetic strip has been mooted for years, but is still the dominant payment system in the world.

He said: “Magnetic stripe readers are being placed in more places than ever before —— like vending machines, movie theater kiosks and taxicabs.

“Even in Japan, where the infrastructure is in place and phones (which can make payments) have been distributed for seven years, the volume of phone payments is significantly less than one per cent share of transactions.

“European chip cards comprise only about 10 per cent of cards in world.”

Banks, phone providers, Google and Apple, are also working on mobile payment systems which rely on short—range wireless technology that allows electronic devices to transmit encrypted data.

“Although mobile payments is the future, you’re not going to move all that overnight to magical phones. So these are step innovations, rather than leap innovations.

“Some are very much needed, and some are probably not going to make it,” Todd Ablowitz, President of Double Diamond Group, a consulting firm on payments strategy technologies and products was quoted by the British newspaper as telling the ’creditcards.com’

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Mumbai, March 11, 2011, Court Grants Bail To Hasan Ali

In a huge embarrassment for the Enforcement Directorate, a local court on Friday rejected its plea seeking the remand of Hasan Ali Khan for his custodial interrogation in a money laundering case and granted bail to the controversial businessman.

“No material evidence has been presented by the ED that shows any scheduled offence has been committed by Khan,” Principal Sessions Court Judge M. L. Tahaliyani observed while rejecting the agency’s remand application.

The judge, however, set some conditions including barring the Pune-based stud farm owner from leaving Mumbai for five days and directed him to appear before the ED officials every day.

The ED said it will challenge the order and move a superior court.

Mr. Khan, alleged to have stashed over USD 8 billion in UBS bank in Switzerland and made other illegal transactions abroad, was arrested on Monday midnight under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and has been in ED custody since then.

Mr. Khan is facing charges of massive money laundering and tax evasion.

Soon after the court dismissed ED’s plea and ordered Mr. Khan to be released on bail, the investigative agency’s counsel Rajiv Awasthi said they would move a superior court against the order after going through the full text of the judgement.

“We have overwhelming evidence (to show Khan’s culpability in money laundering) but probably the court failed to appreciate those. We will appeal before a superior court,” Mr. Awasthi told reporters.

Asserting that ED’s investigation in the case was proceeding “effectively”, Mr. Awasthi said, “We have received some links....Hasan Ali’s remand was needed to bridge some gaps in the probe.”

The court had on Wednesday severely rebuked the Enforcement Directorate over its handling of the money laundering case, observing it had not been able to make out even a single case against the businessman to seek his custody and asked the agency to do its “homework”.

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Earthquake In Japan 11-Mar-2011

Another day, another earthquake. Except the Magnitude 8.9 tremor off the coast of Honshu, Japan, will be a standout event for 2011 - perhaps not in terms of the eventual death toll it brings, but certainly in scale.

There are usually only one or two quakes of this size every year. And even for a country such as Japan, which is very familiar with seismic hazards, this is extraordinary.

The history books show there have been seven quakes rated at 8.0 or greater since 1891 in Japan. And with big tremors come big aftershocks.

Following the initial 8.9 event at 1446 local time (0546 GMT), a sequence of major tremors was initiated - six of them within an hour-and-a-quarter that were all bigger than or all equal to last month's quake in Christchurch, New Zealand (6.3). The largest of the aftershocks was a 7.1.

Some of the early video footage to emerge from Japan was dramatic - city workers hanging on to their desks as everything rocked around them and buildings on fire being swept across farmland as tsunami waters washed inland.

The tectonics in this part of the world are, of course, well-understood. It is one of the most seismically active areas on Earth. The country accounts for about 20% of global quakes of Magnitude 6.0 or greater, and seismometers are recording some kind of event every five minutes, on average.

Japan lies on the infamous "Ring of Fire", the line of frequent quakes and volcanic eruptions that encircles virtually the entire Pacific Rim.

At this location, the dense rock making up the Pacific Ocean's floor is being pulled down underneath Japan as it moves westwards towards Eurasia. The epicentre was well out to sea - some 130km from the city of Sendai; but at a relatively shallow depth below the seabed - just 24km.

This clearly led to a fair degree of vertical upward movement in the bed as the resultant tsunami were soon hitting shorelines.

The US-run Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said amplitudes of up 7.3m were recorded on the coast of Japan. Even out in the deep ocean, the specialist tsunami warning buoys were recording wave amplitudes of a metre, which is considerable.

This means waves will reach out across the Pacific, towards the Philippines, Hawaii and perhaps even to be recorded on the North and South American landmass.

What is likely to interest seismologists will be the association with a number of very strong foreshocks in recent days.

These began on 9 March with a Magnitude 7.2 event just 40km from Friday's earthquake, and continued with a further three earthquakes greater than Magnitude 6 on the same day.

In terms of public awareness and reaction, these foreshocks could turn out to be quite important because they will have reminded people what they are supposed to do in a big quake to protect themselves.

Remember, the scale used to measure earthquakes is not a simple linear one.

Each step in magnitude equates to a 32 times jump in the release of energy. As a consequence, Friday's 8.9 event was some 250 times more energetic than anything seen on Wednesday this week; and about 1,400 times more energetic than the Great Hanshin, or Kobe, earthquake in 1995 (M 6.8).

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