Sixth Pay Commission: Too serious a business to be left to the car dealer

Sixth Pay Commission: Too serious a business to be left to the car dealer

When you buy a car, usually the car dealer offers first-year insurance free of cost. Instead of passively accepting this freebie, look closely at the policy to see if it offers you comprehensive and adequate cover

September and October have always been favourable months for car manufacturers as the festive season propels their sales higher. This year, besides festive fervour, the Sixth Pay Commission's payouts have filled car showrooms to the brim with prospective buyers. According to industry estimates and company figures, in September the top six manufacturers in India notched up a 2.4 per cent year-on-year rise in car sales.

If you are buying a car this season, pay heed to the insurance cover and make sure that it is comprehensive and adequate. Vehicle insurance protects you against several risks: theft, damage, death of driver or passenger, and damage caused by your car to some other vehicle, person or property. Although tailor-made covers have not debuted in the market yet, cut throat competition is working in the interest of consumers. With the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) freeing up prices in the general insurance space — motor, fire and engineering — in January this year, there is much scope for you to bargain and get the best possible rate.

Tumbling rates, soaring discounts
Motor insurance consists of two main parts: own damage and third-party liability. According to the law of the land, every vehicle owner must have at least third-party liability cover. The regulator has freed only the own damage insurance cover rates so far. Depending on the size and the make of the car, own damage rates have come down almost 20 to 40 per cent. Says Rahul Aggarwal, chief executive officer, Optima Brokers: "The premium for a comprehensive insurance cover has fallen between 25 and 40 per cent depending on the type of car. The fall has been more in case of premium cars that cost Rs 10 lakh and above. For smaller cars like the Santro and Maruti Alto, the drop has been nearly 20 per cent."

While the regulator freed up pricing in January, the premium rates fell steeply only during the last four months. Insurers initially started off by offering 10 per cent discount, then slowly graduated to 20 per cent, and now are giving discounts as high as 40 per cent.

Main components of the policy
A vehicle insurance cover has the following main components:

Own damage. This cover entitles you to claim compensation in the event of damage or theft of your vehicle. Various factors dictate the premium of a standard policy: type of vehicle, its engine capacity, its age, and the region in which it is registered. While these are the broad parameters, the exact premium for your car is calculated on the basis of its insured declared value (IDV). When buying a policy, never compromise on this value as this is the amount that the insurance company will pay you if your car gets completely damaged or stolen. Beware: a steep discount in premium might mean a lower IDV. While buying the policy always ask for the exact IDV to get an idea of the insurance amount you are likely to get in case of a casualty. The IDV of a vehicle declines with age (insurers generally give a depreciation schedule for up to five years).

Third party. According to the Insurance Act, it is compulsory to have third-party liability cover. In metropolitian cities it becomes imperative to have such a cover due to higher chances of accidents.
"Third party liability under the insurance law in India is unlimited," says M. Ramadoss, chairman and managing director, Oriental General Insurance. That means if you hit a person on the road, then the liability is unlimited. In case of property damage, the liability is limited to Rs 7.5 lakh.

Points to remember
Here are key aspects that you should keep in mind while buying vehicle insurance:
Premium. The insurance regulator has freed the pricing of products but not the wordings. Therefore, the whole industry is selling more or less the same product. Pricing is the only tool in their hands for driving sales. Use this to your advantage. "A customer must insist on getting quotes from different companies. Ask a friend who has the same car what premium he pays. By doing a bit of legwork and haggling, a customer can get discounts as high as 40-50 per cent," says Ramadoss.
You can bargain for a lower premium in case you have a no-claim (or fairly low claim record) history. “Longer the claim history, higher is the premium levied by companies,”says Eswaranatarajan N., head, motor insurance, ICICI Lombard General Insurance.

Moreover, keep in mind that you can transfer the vehicle insurance from your old vehicle to the new one. “The no-claim bonus goes with the driver and not with the vehicle. So when you sell a vehicle and buy a new one, the no-claim bonus from the earlier vehicle can be transferred to the new one,” he adds.

Co-payment clause. Watch out for the co-payment clause, also known as excess. While offering a lower premium, insurers pass on some of the risk to the customer using this clause. In case of a claim, the expense will then have to be borne by both the insurer and the insured. Hence, avoid the co-payment clause even if it means paying a higher premium.

Claims and customer service. These are the two most important criteria that should be kept in mind while buying or renewing a policy. Today one out of every three vehicles meets with an accident. Hence customer service plays an prominent role. According to Darvesh Panchal, practice leader, Prudent Brokers, "The ease of getting a claim settled without any hassles is a big factor in motor insurance. Always look for companies that offer cashless facility (i.e., they get the vehicle repaired at an empanelled garage). Also check out what other value-added services they provide."
A few dealers or brokers help their customers in getting the claim. "The most important thing to look for in the dealer or the intermediary is the services he offers. See how qualified and geared up the intermediary is to provide claim support and information," says Aggarwal.

In case of total loss or theft, it takes more than three months to settle the claim. In case of theft, the insured has to lodge a complaint in the local police station and wait till it issues a non-traceable report. The process takes about three months. And needless to add, it requires you to make several rounds of the court and the police station. It is only after this report is submitted that the insurance company starts its work of paying you the claim. Any help that you can get from the broker or dealer will come as welcome relief.

More regulatory changes needed
While the regulator has freed up pricing control, general insurance companies do not yet enjoy the freedom to alter the wordings of the policy. Says Eswaranatarajan N., “Today only the premiums have been de-tarriffed and not the products. What we sell in the market is basically one product with a common set of policy wordings. To open up the market and in the interest of the consumer, it is anticipated that the regulator will introduce flexibility in wordings and allow new products.”

N.K. Kedia, director (marketing), Iffco Tokio General Insurance too feels the same. “Freedom in wordings would allow us to come out with innovative products. The industry would then develop on the lines of matured markets. This move will be in the consumer's interest as it will allow introduction of new products, and lead to greater choice."

Ramadoss of Oriental Insurance is of the view that greater regulatory vigil is the need of the hour. “There should be strict vigilance against uninsured vehicles. The government should take action against them. Because so many vehicles remain uninsured, there is a lot of leakage of premium. After this is taken care of, premium rates will come down further,” he says.
Till these regulatory changes come about, make the best of the current regime and get yourself a comprehensive cover at the lowest possible cost.

Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/

Sixth Pay Commission: Sixth pay panel triggers hike for PSU employees

Sixth Pay Commission: Sixth pay panel triggers hike for PSU employees

20 Oct, 2008, 0123 hrs IST,Dheeraj Tiwari, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: The government has finally decided to revise the pay scales of employees working in 69 public sector undertakings (PSUs) on the lines of the Sixth Pay Commission offered to central government staff.

The benefit of pay revision will be allowed only to employees of those CPSUs that are not making losses and are in a position to absorb the additional expenditure from their own resources without any budgetary support.

The PSUs include Mahanagar Telecom Nigam (MTNL), Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC), NHPC and North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation (Neepco) among others. These PSUs follow the central dearness allowance pattern and are governed by a separate high power pay committee.

“The pay scales of the employees will be revised with effect from January 2006. It will be now up to the board of directors of the respective public sector company to consider the pay revision, keeping in mind the affordability and capacity of the CPSU. They’ll have to submit a proposal to their respective administrative ministry, which will approve the proposal with the concurrence of its financial advisor,” a department of public enterprise official said.

As per the recommendations, there will also be a revision in city compensatory allowance, house rent allowance and dearness allowance (DA).

Already in April this year, the government had increased the DA for PSUs by 6% with effect from January this year.

“This will make a stronger case for the early implementation of the second pay revision committee report for the companies following the industrial dearness allowance pattern. However, not all companies following the CDA pattern will be able to adopt the new pay revisions as some of them are sick or loss-making units,” the official said.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/

Bharti Airtel to launch internet TV

Bharti Airtel to launch internet TV

According to a top company official, Airtel plans to launch its commercial services in six cities soon.

Bharti Airtel is going great guns into the media business. After launching the DTH service, they have started a trial run of their proposed internet protocol television (IPTV) services in New Delhi and are now planning to launch its commercial services in six cities soon, according to their top official.

President of Telemedia Services of the company, Atul Bindal told reporters during the launch of Airtel's DTH service in Kolkata "We are currently covering 1,000 households in New Delhi on a pilot basis. Issues like infrastructure capabilities and different pricing models are being tried there."


Since it requires a very high bandwidth, Airtel would restrict IPTV to metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, as of now, where the broadband speeds of up to 8 Mbps are available.

When asked, Mr. Bindal declined to comment about the date of IPTV launch, but he said "We will soon be having services like IPTV, DTH, landline telephone and mobile telephony. Various combo packages are being worked out."

Airtel currently has 2.5 milion Telemedia customers for both landline and broadband, whom it plans to target with IPTV services. Mr. Bindal also added that the recent guidelines by the I&B ministry about downloading IPTV content has prompted Airtel to work aggressively on its IPTV launch.

Source: techtree.com

Sixth Pay Commission: Paramilitary forces unhappy with pay panel

Sixth Pay Commission: Paramilitary forces unhappy with pay panel

Sudhi Ranjan Sen
Saturday, October 18, 2008, (New Delhi)

For the UPA government, the Sixth Pay Commission has created more problems than it has solved. The paramilitary -- the third largest force in the world -- too is unhappy over the recommendations and feels cheated.

Mohinder Lal was a star of the Border Security Force. But despite his 35 years in the force and medals for shooting competitions, he couldn't go beyond Deputy Inspector General.

Most cadre officers of the paramilitary face hit a promotion and pay barrier unlike their counterparts in the military. And this is taking a toll on recruitments.

Individual officers have written to the Home Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi saying that pay panel recommendations are unacceptable.

A delegation has also met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukerjee who heads the committee reviewing the pay and perks of the armed forces.

The paramilitary are demanding more senior level post for cadre officers instead of IPS officers and parity with military specially in the cutting edge level of lieutenant Colonels.

Most of the BSF spends 90 per cent of their career guarding the borders or fighting insurgencies.

"People will join the paramilitary but good people will not come anymore," said Mohinder Lal, Deputy Inspector General, BSF.

Like the military, the points raised by paramilitary is valid and has serious implications. But what is surprising and baffling is the inability of bureaucracy to deal with them satisfactorily.


Source: http://www.ndtv.com/

Barack Obama - Barack Obama website - Official Barack Obama website - Barack Obama Biography

Barack Obama - Barack Obama website - Official Barack Obama website - Barack Obama Biography

www.barackobama.com : Official Barack Obama website

Barack Obama

aka Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.
(1961–)

Barack Obama is the junior U.S. Senator from Illinois and the 2008 Democratic presidential nominee.

During their third and final presidential debate, Obama and Republican presidential nominee John McCain clashed sharply over

tax policies and some of the heated rhetoric that had been tossed between their campaigns.

McCain accused Obama of waging "class warfare" with his tax plans and said his proposals would harm the economy."

"Why would you want to increase anybody's taxes right now?" McCain asked.

Obama countered that he would cut taxes for 95 percent of earners while raising it on the richest Americans, those making

more than $250,000 a year.

"When it comes to economic policies, essentially what you're proposing is four more years of the same thing, and it hasn't

worked," Obama responded.

The debate was held October 15, 2008, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, on Long Island, with CBS' Bob Schieffer

moderating.

Obama and McCain also held debates on September 26 in Oxford, Mississippi, and October 7 in Nashville, Tennessee. The vice

presidential nominees, Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden, met for their only debate on October 2 in St. Louis,

Missouri.

Voters cast their ballots on Election Day, which is November 4.

Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in

Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although

reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.

Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton’s army.

Dunham’s mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G. I. Bill, bought a house through

the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.

Meantime, Barack’s father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of

his birth, Obama’s parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father went to Harvard to pursue Ph. D.

studies and then returned to Kenya.

His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where

Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro–Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian

language.

Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live

with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).

He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three

black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an

African–American.

In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his

biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using

alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.

After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia

University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.

After working at Business International Corporation (a company that provided international business information to corporate

clients) and NYPIRG, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in

Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s South Side.

It was during this time that Obama, who said he "was not raised in a religious household," joined the Trinity United Church

of Christ. He also visited relatives in Kenya, which included an emotional visit to the graves of his father and paternal

grandfather.

Obama entered Harvard Law School in 1988. In February 1990, he was elected the first African–American editor of the Harvard

Law Review. Obama graduated magna cum laude in 1991.

After law school, Obama returned to Chicago to practice as a civil rights lawyer, joining the firm of Miner, Barnhill &

Galland. He also taught at the University of Chicago Law School. And he helped organize voter registration drives during Bill

Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.

Obama published an autobiography in 1995 Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. And he won a Grammy for the

audio version of the book.

Obama’s advocacy work led him to run for the Illinois State Senate as a Democrat. He was elected in 1996 from the south side

neighborhood of Hyde Park.

During these years, Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanded health care

services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the

working poor. And after a number of inmates on death row were found innocent, Obama worked with law enforcement officials to

require the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases.

In 2000, Obama made an unsuccessful Democratic primary run for the U. S. House of Representatives seat held by four-term

incumbent candidate Bobby Rush.

Following the 9/11 attacks, Obama was an early opponent of President George W. Bush’s push to war with Iraq. Obama was still

a state senator when he spoke against a resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq during a rally at Chicago’s

Federal Plaza in October 2002.

"I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars," he said. "What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard

Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other arm-chair, weekend warriors in this Administration to shove their own ideological agendas

down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne."

"He's a bad guy," Obama said, referring to Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. "The world, and the Iraqi people, would be better

off without him. But I also know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors,

that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with

the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of

history."

"I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U. S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost,

with undetermined consequences," Obama continued. "I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without

strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses

of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda."

The war with Iraq began in 2003 and Obama decided to run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Republican Peter

Fitzgerald. In the 2004 Democratic primary, he won 52 percent of the vote, defeating multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull

and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes.

That summer, he was invited to deliver the keynote speech in support of John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention

in Boston. Obama emphasized the importance of unity, and made veiled jabs at the Bush administration and the diversionary use

of wedge issues.

"We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red

states," he said. "We coach Little League in the blue states, and yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There

are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us

pledging allegiance to the Stars and Stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."

After the convention, Obama returned to his U.S. Senate bid in Illinois. His opponent in the general election was suppose to

be Republican primary winner Jack Ryan, a wealthy former investment banker. However, Ryan withdrew from the race in June

2004, following public disclosure of unsubstantiated sexual allegations by Ryan's ex wife, actress Jeri Ryan.

In August 2004, diplomat and former presidential candidate Alan Keyes, who was also an African American, accepted the

Republican nomination to replace Ryan. In three televised debates, Obama and Keyes expressed opposing views on stem cell

research, abortion, gun control, school vouchers and tax cuts.

In the November 2004 general election, Obama received 70% of the vote to Keyes's 27%, the largest electoral victory in

Illinois history. Obama became only the third African American elected to the U.S. Senate since Reconstruction.

Sworn into office January 4, 2005, Obama partnered with Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded

efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. Then with Republican Sen. Tom Corburn of

Oklahoma, he created a website that tracks all federal spending.

Obama was also the first to raise the threat of avian flu on the Senate floor, spoke out for victims of Hurricane Katrina,

pushed for alternative energy development and championed improved veterans´ benefits. He also worked with Democrat Russ

Feingold of Wisconsin to eliminate gifts of travel on corporate jets by lobbyists to members of Congress.

His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in October 2006.

In February 2007, Obama made headlines when he announced his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination. He

was locked in a tight battle with former first lady and current U.S. Senator from New York, Hillary Rodham Clinton until he

became the presumptive nominee on June 3, 2008.

Obama met his wife, Michelle, in 1988 when he was a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin. They were

married in October 1992 and live in Kenwood on Chicago's South Side with their daughters, Malia (born 1998) and Sasha (born 2001).

Source: http://www.biography.com/

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic

Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic is a 2005 comedy written by Sarah Silverman. It is notable for its edgy jokes and comedic

style. It was directed by Liam Lynch and distributed by Roadside Attractions.

The movie is a concert film consisting of 72 minutes of clips taken from Silverman's previous stand-up show of the same name,

interspersed with flashbacks and comedic sketches. Silverman addresses a number of issues, including religion, AIDS, The

Holocaust, race, sexism, political parties, the disabled, the homeless, and midgets. Silverman also performs several original

songs in the film.

The film was released November 11, 2005 in eight theatres. Receiving positive reviews, it made just under $125,000 opening

weekend. Its performance led to an expanded release in as many as 57 theatres, resulting in a box office take of more than

$1.2 million. The movie was released on DVD on June 6, 2006 in the United States and on June 13 in Canada. A soundtrack CD

was also released featuring most of the musical numbers, excerpts from Silverman's stand-up comedy, and several additional

non-movie songs.

Sarah Silverman

Directed by Liam Lynch
Written by Sarah Silverman
Starring Sarah Silverman
Laura Silverman
Brian Posehn

Music by Liam Lynch
Sarah Silverman
Distributed by Roadside Attractions
Release date(s) 2005
Running time 72 min.
Country USA
Language English


Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Silverman:_Jesus_Is_Magic

Sixth Pay Commission: Bonus hiked

Sixth Pay Commission: Bonus hiked

HERALD REPORTER

PANJIM, OCT 17

After the declaration of implementing the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, there is more good news awaiting Government

servants ahead of Diwali as the Centre has decided to hike the bonus by Rs 1,000.
According to information available, the Centre has increased the bonus from existing Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500.
Moreover, the increase will be effective from last year (2006-07) which means the employees would get Rs 1,000 in form of

arrears.

“We normally follow guidelines of the Centre on bonus and since it has been increased we were bound to do so”, sources told

Herald when asked whether Government would implement the same to its employees.
“We have issued circulars to all departments and employees will get the bonus ahead of Diwali”, sources claimed.
In addition to the Rs 300 crore expenditure after the Sixth Pay Commission implementation, the financial liability for the

increased bonus would be approximately Rs 6 crore.


Source: http://oheraldo.in/