Monday, February 3, 2014

ASBM Business Updates Vol. 3(5) 3 Feb 2014, Monday from Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar.

 ASBM Business Updates is a Weekly Selective Compilation of Business News from Various Sources. To find details follow the link.

ASIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
"Technology cannot solve water woes unless and until the involvement of community. The development in Odisha is only possible through community development and promotion of Odias," said Dr. Rajendra Singh, Jal Purush and Ramon Magsaysay Awardee here today. He was speaking at the one-day national workshop on 'Workshop on Science in public interest', organized by Asian School of Business Management (ASBM).
Expressing concern over scarcity and mismanagement of water, Waterman Dr. Rajendra Singh said, "The number of water-deprived states has been increasing day by day. Water scarcity cannot be addressed with the development of technology.  Community awareness and involvement in the process of water conservation can solve this issue." Opposing the concept of privatization of water he said, "Community plays pivotal role for the water management. Government is privatizing the water. This is a negative concept.  Technology is always fruitful when it meets the demands of common people. We should adopt indigenous knowledge systems for water conservation." He lauded the efforts ASBM towards the conservation of natural resources in Odisha.
Inaugurating the event, Mr. Surendra Kumar, IAS, Commissioner Cum Secretary, Department of Science and Technology said, "Water has become a scarce commodity compared to its availability post 90s'. Some of the greatest problems which country face is high dependency on technology. Technology changes with passage of time.  Massive community aware programme on conservation and preservation of water can minimize the water crisis."

BUSINESS
Italian luxury bespoke clothing company Kiton plans to open at least two exclusive stores in India to tap the country's booming market for super expensive menswear, a top executive said.
Kiton, which entered the Indian garment market last year through a master franchisee deal with Mumbai-based Regalia Luxury Clothing, is also considering incorporating a joint venture with a local partner. "We soon plan to open mono-brand stores in India as it is a great market to tap into," Antonio De Matteis, CEO at Kiton, told ET, adding that, for long, rich Indians have shopped for the brand outside the country.
Kiton makes made-to-measure suits, jackets and shirts for Indian consumers. The cost of customised Kiton suits ranges from about.`3 lakh to as much as .`25 lakh. Pratik Dalmia, founder of Regalia Luxury, said the brand will target 250 individuals to begin with. "These people are rich, looking for quality suits and already have exposure to the brand," Dalmia said. He said besides made-tomeasure, the company plans to launch retail stores.
"We are looking at a few spaces in Delhi and Mumbai to open at least two stores by the end of this year or 2015," Dalmia said. "Talks are also on to convert the partnership into a joint venture," he said. Global sales at Kiton rose 10% in 2013 over the previous year to 105 million (.`882 crore). The brand has 45 exclusive stores around the world. "Despite the recession, the brand's sales have grown drastically in the last 4-5 years," De Matteis said.

FINANCE
Getting an income tax Permanent Account Number (PAN) is going to get more cumbersome from next month with the government mandating the submission of more documents besides, insisting on producing documents in original for verification.
Starting February 3, anyone applying for allotment of PAN will now have to submit a proof of identity, in addition to the earlier requirements of documents, showing your address and date of birth. The requirement for an identity proof has been included as PAN is used for other crucial documents such as a passport. Documents like voter ID card, driving licence can be used as identity proof.
In a statement, the finance ministry asked applicants to submit self-attested copies of the documents at the facilitation centres and also bring along the original documents, just as you do for your passport, which will be returned immediately after verification. Tax consultants said that the new process will put pressure on applicants. "I-T (income tax) department is asking for self-attested documents as well as original documents (for verification only), to be 100% sure about their veracity. But, this will make it more difficult to obtain PAN, particularly for foreigners. People may not be comfortable sharing original documents with consultants. There are practical challenges, which may unfold in the coming days and we hope for some more clarity on the same," Amarpal Chadha, tax partner at consulting firm Ernst & Young, said.

INSURANCE
India's insurance regulator Thursday said a working group it set up would explore the possibility of introducing a stand-alone insurance marketing firm (IMF) and other related issues.
By an order Jan 20, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) formed an 11-member working group comprising of officials from life and non-life insurance companies to recommend to IRDA on the capital required for the IMF; geographical spread of operation; and distribution costs/remuneration/incentives to be paid to IMF, among other issues.
According to IRDA, the idea of IMF has its source in a committee set up by it in 2007 to look into the insurance distribution channels.
The committee chaired by Life Insurance Corporation of India's (LIC) former chairman N.M. Govardhan had submitted its report.
The IRDA held meetings with life and non-life insurers on the IMF Jan 16 and 17 and decided to set up the working group.
This is the second group/committee set up by IRDA relating to insurance intermediaries this month.
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Source of Information for this issue :  Google alert accessed on 27th  Jan 2014
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Compilation
Sabita Sahu
Junior Librarian
Concept, Layout and Editing
Syamaghana Mohanty
Chief Librarian
Information and Documentation Division, Chanakya Central Library
Asian School of Business Management
Shiksha Vihar Bhola,
Barang Khurda Road, Chandaka
Bhubaneswar-754012
www.asbm.ac.in
Tel:0674-2374832, 2374833
E-mail:library@asbm.ac.in, chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in
 


Sabita Sahu :Junior Librarian and Syamaghana Mohanty : Chief Librarian, Knowledge and Information Services Unit, Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar. chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in ; www.asbm.ac.in

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