Rich Indian parents buying property in London with eye on kid’s schools

Indians have emerged as the fourth-largest group of overseas buyers of property in London

 

Rich Indian parents keen to educate their children at leading British schools have helped drive up overseas demand for homes in London, a high-end estate agent has found in its latest property analysis report.

Indians have emerged as the fourth-largest group of overseas buyers of property in London, after China, Russia and the US, which has led to 2 billion pounds of investment over the past year, Knight Frank notes in its ‘Wealth Report’ released this week.

 

“Education is an important demand source among Indians in the central London million-pound-plus market,” said Liam Bailey, Knight Frank’s head of research.

 

“The attraction for wealthy parents is to find good private schools in the UK, particularly London, which then provides a boarding option for parents who can visit over the holidays. Also, it is longer term investment, as a base for the student who may go on to university in the UK and explore future job prospects in the country,” he explained.

 

The ‘Wealth Report’ also finds that the number of Indian “demi-billionaires”, or those with a net worth of USD 500 million, is set to rise from 200 in 2017 to 340 in 2022, with demand for property in London expected to remain robust within this segment.

 

According to Bailey, the trend among buyers from India contrasts with that from Southeast Asian countries as Indians are open to both newer as well as more traditional developments to invest in.

 

While buyers from Singapore and Hong Kong tend to focus only on new-build properties, Indians are willing to invest in both new-build and more established homes in prime London areas of Mayfair and Chelsea.

 

“Among the younger Indian demographic, we are also seeing a trend of investing in the City (financial hub), east of London. The Indian demand is fairly broad,” Bailey said.

 

Overall, Knight Frank’s analysis found that the uncertainty engendered by the Brexit process of Britain’s impending exit from the European Union (EU) next year does not appear to be having any significant “dampening effect” on the attraction of London’s most expensive properties for local or global buyers. (more)

MHRD announces entrance dates; JEE Mains to be held twice in 2019

All the exams will be computer-based except for NEET, which will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode

The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) on Tuesday announced the schedule for various entrance examinations till May 2019 to be conducted by the newly-established National Testing Agency (NTA).

It announced the schedule for UGC-NET, JEE Main I & II, CMAT & GPAT, and NEET-UG.

All these exams will be computer-based except for NEET, which will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode as before. This mode of writing exam was kept unchanged at the request of the Health Ministry.

“The change in the NEET exam pattern (as against the statement made on July 7, 2018) — which will now be a single exam in pen-and-paper mode and in the same number of languages as has been conducted last year — is on the request of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which wanted the same pattern as last year’s to be maintained,” the HRD Ministry said in its statement.

While declaring the establishment of NTA, the Ministry had in July said that all these exams will be conducted online.

As per the schedule announced on Tuesday, the UGC-NET will be conducted on several days during December 9-23, 2018; JEE-Main I on days between January 6 and 20, 2019, while JEE-Main II will be held between April 6 and 20, 2019.

The CPAT-GMAT entrance, earlier conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education, will be conducted by the NTA now on January 28 and NEET-Undergraduate on May 5 next year.

The Ministry said that through NTA it has also established 2,697 Test Practice Centres (TPCs) in schools and engineering colleges for candidates to practice and familiarise themselves with the pattern of the exams.

These centres will be available to the candidates on Sundays and Saturdays starting from September 1 and will be free of charge.

“The TPCs will have a downloaded Computer Based Test (CBT) which will be similar to the actual test to be conducted on the exam day. (more)

Microsoft builds digital solution for CBSE to prevent question paper leaks

At present, the solution is having its pilot run, but it has passed the first test with flying colours

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which came under heavy criticism this year following the leak of class 10 mathematics paper and class 12 economics paper, has forged a partnership with tech giant Microsoft to prevent such leaks in the future.

The paper leaks triggered nation-wide outrage among students and parents. This set the CBSE, which has 20,299 schools in the country, in action, paving the way for the partnership with Microsoft which developed an encrypted security solution for digital question papers for the board within a period of three months.

“We have developed for CBSE an innovative solution which makes question papers leak-proof until 30 minutes prior to the start of the examinations,” Anil Bhansali, Managing Director, Microsoft India (R&D) and Corporate Vice President, Cloud and Enterprise, told IANS in a telephonic interaction.

“But if the question papers get leaked after they are allowed to download (just half an hour before the start of the exam) due to some bad actors, the system allows easy traceability as question paper for each centre are watermarked,” Bhansali said.

At present, the solution is having its pilot run, but it has passed the first test with flying colours, Microsoft claimed.

As part of their collaboration, CBSE and Microsoft successfully executed in July the first ever pilot of the digital question paper generation and delivery process at 487 centres for compartment examinations for class 10.

How does the system work?

The system allows the Controller of examination to track the entire process using a software solution built on Windows 10 and Office 365.

The overall process is encrypted and a two-factor authentication process is embedded. So examiners will have to identify themselves before they can download the examination papers. They are allowed to download the papers (after authetification) only 30 minutes prior to start of the exams. (more)

Planning to buy Samsung Note 9? Here’s what it will cost in India

The Note 9 smartphone would be available in India in three colours Midnight Black, Ocean Blue and Metallic Copper

 

Electronics major Samsung has said it will start shipping its premium flagship ‘ Samsung Note 9 ‘ in the Indian market, priced Rs 67,900 onwards.

The device, which was unveiled on Thursday at the Barclays Centre in New York, is available for pre-booking in India with availability expected to begin later this month.

“Galaxy Note 9 will be available in 128GB and 512GB variants and will be priced at Rs 67,900 and Rs 84,900, respectively,” Samsung said in a statement. It, however, did not disclose the date of availability.

The Note 9 smartphone would be available in India in three colours Midnight Black, Ocean Blue and Metallic Copper, it added.

The Note 9 will be available in select markets from August 24, 2018, it had announced on Thursday.

In a separate statement, telecom operator Bharti Airtel said the Note 9 (128 GB) will be available through its online store.

“Customers can pre-order the smartphone on the Airtel Online Store starting August 11, 2018 and Airtel will begin the delivery of the device starting August 22, 2018,” it added.

The Note 9 will compete head-on with Apple’s iPhones as well as OnePlus’ smartphone among other smartphones in the premium smartphone category in the Indian market.

ALSO READ: Better than iPhone? Samsung Galaxy Note 9 creates flutters in Apple camp

The premium smartphone segment in India is niche but mirrors global trends in terms of growth. While the category accounts for less than 10 per cent of the Indian market in terms of shipment, the value contribution is higher. Estimate suggest that quarterly smartphone shipments in the category range between 1-1.5 million units.

Earlier this year, Samsung had unveiled the latest edition of its other flagship Galaxy S9, priced at Rs 57,900 onwards.

According to market watchers, Samsung is betting heavily on the success of its flagship devices in India, which is among the largest smartphone markets.

Globally, the premium smartphone market accounts for almost one-fifth of the total market. According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung’s Note series contributes to roughly one-tenth of the global premium smartphone market.

It features 6.4-inch display, 12MP dual rear and 8MP front camera and 4,000 mAh battery. It will have two variants — 6GB RAM/128GB internal memory (expandable up to 512GB) and 8GB RAM/512GB internal memory (expandable up to 512GB).

Samsung has incorporated bluetooth capability in its signature S Pen stylus, which can be used to control music playback and camera shutter. Besides, the company has also added artificial intelligence (AI) features to enhance camera capabilities.

Reliance Jio GigaFiber with GigaTV may cost Rs 500 a month; launch in Nov

Pre-registrations for the Reliance Jio GigaFiber service would begin from August 15 on Jio.com and My Jio app. However, the service is not expected to launch before the last quarter of this month

Reliance Jio, the telecommunication service provider promoted by Mukesh Ambani, is gearing up to foray into the home broadband segment with the launch of Jio GigaFiber fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) internet service, which was announced at Reliance Industries’ 41st Annual General Meeting. The pre-registrations for the service would begin from August 15 on Jio 4G LTE Network and My Jio app. However, the service is not expected to launch before the last quarter of this month.

At the RIL AGM, Ambani had announced that the Reliance Jio GigaFiber had already been under testing in several cities and it would launch simultaneously in around 1,100 cities for homes, small and medium businesses and big corporate houses. He had also announced that the pre-registration for Jio GigaFiber home broadband would open from August 15, and a location that receives most users’ interest would be among the first locations to get the service.

With the Reliance Jio GigaFiber service, the company is promising internet speed of up to 1Gbps. However, the company did not share some information like the preliminary connection cost, security deposit and details of monthly plans. But a recent news report in the Economic Times hints that the company would focus on volumes to drive demand. Therefore, it would offer broadband services bundled with DTH services at about Rs 500 a month, or effectively half the price of what other cable operators charge for similar services.

ALSO READ: Reliance Jio Phone 2, Jio GigaFiber pre-bookings start on Aug 15: Know more

As for add-on features of the Jio GigaFiber, unlike most other broadband services, this would not be limited only to internet connection. The FTTH internet service would act as an underlying technology that would allow the company to foray into home automation, home surveillance, landline and cable television services. However, in the beginning, the broadband connection would have only internet services and Jio GigaTV service, which was also announced during the RIL AGM 2018.

The GigaTV set-top-box would offer internet-based digital content services, along with access to Jio’s app suite. Interestingly, the set-top-box would also support a video calling feature, allowing users to make video calls from their televisions. It is to be seen how the feature would work as the televisions currently do not support camera, in-build or external. The GigaTV remote would be voice-enabled, which would make it work with voice commands – something similar to how Amazon’s Fire Stick remote works.

Changes in date of birth more than once may require visit to UIDAI office Edit

These changes have been incorporated in the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, and have come into effect from July 31

Changes in date of birth of an Aadhaar holder “more than once” may entail a visit to the regional office of the Unique Identification Authority of India, according to a recent official notification.

“…Provided that the date of birth of resident can be updated only once. In case, the date of birth is to be updated more than once, it can only be done through an exception handling process which may require the resident to visit the Regional Office (RO) of the UIDAI,” the Aadhaar-issuing body said in the notification.

These changes have been incorporated in the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, and have come into effect from July 31.

According to sources, thus far changes to the date of birth could be made through a visit to the enrolment centres and updates could be made more than once through the same mode.

Now, after making changes once, any subsequent updation will require a visit to UIDAI’s Regional Office (RO).

The UIDAI will also start a new service from April next to help Aadhaar holders who do not have valid proof of residence of current location to update their address easily by using a letter containing a secret PIN, according to the authority.

The new service is proposed to start from April 1, according to the same notification by UIDAI.

“Residents, who are not having acceptable proof of Address may submit their request for address verification through Aadhaar letter having secret PIN. Once the letter is received by the resident, he/she can use the secret PIN to update his/her address in Aadhaar on the SSUP (Aadhaar Self Service Update Portal) online portal,” the UIDAI notification said.

Article Source : BS

Fake news crackdown: Modi govt wants WhatsApp, Facebook to be responsible

The government is more concerned with Telegram, fast becoming the preferred medium for many people

 

The government has said it expects popular social media applications such as WhatsApp and Facebook, which have large user bases in the country, to be responsible.

In a bid to check the spread of fake news through social media and messaging platforms — leading to mob lynching in some cases — the government is exploring the possibility of blocking WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram. The government is also trying to curb child abuse and pornography spread through these platforms.

 

The government has already issued notices on WhatsApp to keep a check on content. But, it is more concerned with Telegram, fast becoming the preferred medium for many people.

 

Sources said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had expressed concerns about Telegram to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Based on the letter from MeitY, DoT had asked the telecom and internet service providers to provide inputs about blocking mobile apps.

 

ALSO READ: Social media with large user base should behave responsibly: IT Secretary

 

Asked about the blocking of mobile apps, Information Technology (IT) Secretary Ajay P Sawhney said, “We are always in touch, and anytime we have a concern we flag it. We expect all platforms to behave in a responsible manner, especially those with a large user base.” He, however, said whenever the need arises, the government acts according to the IT Act in order to remove contentious content.

 

Sources told Business Standard it was very difficult for the government to ensure content had been blocked or taken down. In case of Telegram, which does not have a huge user base in India yet, the government wants to strengthen its enforcement mechanism.

 

Telegram claims its cloud chat data is stored in multiple data centres around the globe that are controlled by different legal entities spread across different jurisdictions. The relevant decryption keys are split into parts and are never kept in the same place as the data they protect. As a result, several court orders from different jurisdictions are required to force them to give up any data.

 

“Thanks to this structure, we can ensure no single government or block of like-minded countries can intrude on people’s privacy and freedom of expression,” Telegram explained on its website. Read more

Nooyi – the Indian executive who broke glass ceiling in corporate America

Nooyi is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and Yale University

Chennai-born Indra Nooyi not only broke the glass ceiling in corporate America when she was named CEO of global beverage giant PepsiCo in 2006 but, through her journey, inspired millions of young Indians who dreamed of and aspired to emulate the success the India-born woman achieved in America.

PepsiCo on Monday announced that Nooyi will step down on October 3 after 24 years with the company, the last 12 as CEO. PepsiCo’s Board of Directors unanimously elected Ramon Laguarta, 54, to succeed 62-year-old Nooyi.

Nooyi, one of the most powerful and influential business leaders in the world, was regularly featured on the power lists compiled by Forbes and Fortune magazines. She was also among the few female executives to lead global corporate giants.

Apart from being a prominent face of women leadership across the world, she was also the epitome of success for the millions of young Indians who aspired to be like her as they watched her journey through the ranks of PepsiCo and eventually leading the global conglomerate. She was among the first of a handful of India-born executives to helm global corporates.

She was appointed as CEO in 2006, becoming PepsiCo’s fifth chief executive in its 41-year history, and the first woman. MasterCard’s President Ajay Banga, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were all named to the top jobs in their companies in the years that followed.

Nooyi was also very vocal about the challenges women faced in trying to find a balance in managing their home and work. She had famously said at an Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado in 2014 that women “cannot have it all.”

ALSO READ: PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi to step down as CEO, Ramon Laguarta to take over

She had told the Aspen audience that she has died “with guilt” several times in her life as she tried to bring up her two daughters with her husband. She recounted that she felt guilty for not being able to attend several activities at her daughters’ school as she could not take time off from work.

Nooyi said she was disappointed at her mother’s reaction to her “great news.” She said her mother told her “let the news wait. Can you go out and get some milk.”

She recalled her mother telling her, “let me explain something to you. You might be president of PepsiCo. You might be on the board of directors. But when you enter this house, you’re the wife, you’re the daughter, you’re the daughter-in-law, you’re the mother. You’re all of that. Nobody else can take that place. So leave that damned crown in the garage. And don’t bring it into the house. You know I’ve never seen that crown.”

A staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton for president, Nooyi had also expressed her disappointment when Clinton lost the presidential elections in 2016. She had said Clinton’s loss left her daughters and PepsiCo’s employees devastated and there were serious concerns among the company’s workers, especially the non-white employees, about their safety in an America with Donald Trump as its president. (Read more)

Jio Fibre to Home offering unlimited broadband net with 100Mbps speed

The Mukesh Ambani-owned telecom operator is currently running trials at select locations and is expected to launch the services by the end of this year

In a speech made at Reliance Industries’ annual general meeting last year, Chairman Mukesh Ambani had indicated that the group’s telecom venture, Reliance Jio Infocomm, was on track to offer Jio Fibre to Home services and it would be the company’s next big monetisation opportunity. Now, according to a news report in Livemint, the telecom operator is expected to launch the wired fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband services by the end of this year.

Earlier last year, Reliance Jio had started testing the wired broadband services in select cities. In beta trials, the company has been offering unlimited internet data at 100Mbps speed at a security deposit of Rs 4,500. The company has also been providing a special router, which connects multiple devices, with a multi-service operator (MSO) licence in place to offer TV services.

According to an earlier report in Business Standard, Jio has been planning to leverage technology to resolve some of the problems of FTTH. For instance, it’s likely to use power-line communicators — a small plug-and-play device that extends the strong WiFi signal to rooms far away from the router. While FTTH can get problematic in large homes and offices, and Jio has been working on a strategy to use the existing electric wiring to transmit data and TV signals across the house.

Though nothing has been officially confirmed, the wired broadband services from Jio are expected to launch with a preview offer – similar to how the company launched its Jio services — with free access to JioFiber services for 90 days. Under the complimentary offer, the JioFibre broadband services might offer a broadband speed of up to 100 Mbps, besides free access to Jio premium applications and television services.

Reliance Jio’s competitor Bharti Airtel recently announced a new 300 Mbps FTTH broadband plan at a monthly rental of Rs 2,199. The new plan comes with up to 1200 GB of data, along with free unlimited local and STD calls. The new plan comes bundled with a free subscription to Airtel’s OTT apps — Wynk Music and Airtel TV.

As a promotional offer, Airtel is also offering a one-year free subscription to Amazon Prime Videos and 1,000 GB of additional data per month valid until October 2018. The broadband plan comes with a data rollover facility, which allows users to carry forward unused data to the next billing cycle.

ALSO READ: Airtel to bring 300Mbps FTTH broadband plan with 1200 GB data: Details here

This is why I decided to buy 3-Year two-wheeler insurance policy this year!

Freedom from hassle of renewing your policy every year is another big positive that make people opt for long term two-wheeler insurance cover

Like thousands of other young professionals buying a two-wheeler of my choice was pretty high on my things-to-do list once I landed myself a job with a good package. Not surprisingly then mere days after my first salary I was at the local dealership of my choice with a big grin on my face.

Owning a vehicle is many a things; it’s not only buying convenience for oneself but also making a statement that you are moving up in your life. Buying a vehicle especially two-wheeler is also an economical, sensible and a decision which provides not only comfort but a freedom of sought. As I had nurtured the wish of owing a two wheeler of my choice since long, quite a bit of research had gone in to zeroing in on the ideal one.

Make, models, power, mileage, EMIs and much more, I probably knew all of this info like the back of my hand. Even during the test ride all I was thinking about was what I’m going to do after owning my dream bike. Nevertheless soon, I was the proud owner of my first two wheeler bought from my own hard earned money. The feeling of something so early in my life was majestic.

Benefits of a Two-wheeler Insurance

All excited I couldn’t wait to finish the paperwork and take my newest love for a spin. Although I knew a bit about the paperwork involved, the registration and the insurance, I learned few new things then. For a two wheeler owner be it a motorcycle or a scooter owner having a third party two wheeler insurance policy is mandatory by law under the Motor Insurance Act.

It also makes perfect sense to have a comprehensive insurance plan that will provide protection against damage, theft and even natural disasters such as floods, earthquake and much more to the vehicle. The said policy also covers liabilities for injury, death or damage to any third party involved in any accident involving the two-wheeler. A two-wheeler insurance policy can not only provide protection against economic losses but also provides peace of mind to the owner of the vehicle. So, after scouting the usual, premium charges, coverage, exclusion and claim procedure I opted for the best insurance policy which has a validity of one year.

Long Term Insurance Cover for Two Wheelers

The year went by in a breeze and without any incident that would require me to claim my insurance. Soon, came the time for renewal of my insurance policy. The first thing which struck me was the substantial hike in the premium which I will be paying when compared to the premium I paid a year ago. This time as I had much time on my hand I started researching a bit more about various policies and offerings by various insurance companies.

I also came to know about the fact that I could have opted for a three year plan instead of a one year plan back then and this would have locked the third party premium charges for three year thus saving me money along with many other benefits as well. Every penny saved is a penny earned, so the thoughts of what all I could have done with the saved amount if I have opted for a 3 year insurance cover started to cross my mind. But unfortunately I knew that the water has flowed under the bridge and all I could do was to be resolute to be more careful in the future.

Article Source : BS