Padma asked, Hi Girdher,.I am 27 years, married, no kids. I had planned to invest 2000rs in SIP MFs from this year April. I have a holding of Rs.1 lakh from previous occasional one-time investments in ELSS. But after seeing the market going down steeply and my previous investments at loss, I have lost the hope on MFs and decided to drop the idea of putting some money into it. What is your take on my decision? Can I opt for some other saving avenues other than FDs & MFs for better returns?

Sushil Girdher answers, I have always advised that only such investors who are disciplined in terms of regular investing and have a long term investment horizon would benefit from the equity investments. As you have used the SIP route, at least your average cost might be lower and it is just a question of holding on to the investment for a longer time horizon. MFs may not be suitable if you require the funds in a short term time frame and you would be better off in terms of investing in safe debt instruments such as Time deposits with bank or post office. In case you want to invest a bulk amount in MF then you could use Systematic Transfer Plan (STP) route where your bulk amount is invested in debt funds and is systematically transferred to equity MF. This method essentially symbolises the SIP investment mode and again helps in reducing the overall risk of price fluctuations.

Many times we come across some blog, information or news about new IPO and urging people to go for it. A number of investors, especially, beginners do not know What is an IPO at all? what are the benefits or demerits of going for IPOs. What are the term used? They want to know about listing process, book building process etc. Here we tried to put all this information in questions and answers form. Hope it comes out to be useful for all.

An IPO is defined as an exercise when an unlisted company makes either a fresh issue of securities or an offer for sale of its existing securities or both for the first time to the public.

The exercise refers the issue of shares to the public by the promoters of the company. The shares are made available to the investors at the face value of the share or with a premium as per the perceived market value of the share by the promoters.

The IPO can be in the form of a fixed price portion or in the form of a book building portion. The IPO paves way for listing and trading of the issuer’s securities.

2 What are primary/secondary market transactions?

Primary market transaction is usually referred to the purchase of shares in an IPO. The purchases are made through applications for the shares on a prescribed form. Once the shares are allotted, the share transactions are carried out in secondary market or stock exchanges.

Secondary market transactions refer to those transactions under which an investor purchases shares from another investor at the prevailing market price or at whatever price the buyer and seller agrees upon.

The primary and secondary markets are governed by a regulatory authority Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

3 What are eligibility norms for making an IPO?

SEBI has laid down eligibility norms for entities planning to enter the primary market through public issues. An unlisted company needs to satisfy following criteria to be eligible for making a public issue:

• Net tangible assets of at least Rs 3 crore for three full years
• Distributable profits in at least three years
• Net worth of at least Rs 1 crore in three years
• If change in name, at least 50 per cent of revenue for preceding one year should be from the new activity
• The issue size should not exceed five times the pre-issue net worth

SEBI also provides alternate routes to the companies not satisfying any of the above parameters, for accessing the primary market.

The alternative conditions are as follows:

• Issue shall be made through book-building route, with at least 50 per cent to be mandatory allotted to the QIBs.
• The minimum post-issue face value capital shall be Rs 10 crore or there shall be a compulsory market-making for at least two years.

4 How can one apply for an IPO?

An investor needs to first obtain an IPO application form through a share broker, an investment consultant or from the collecting banks. The investors are required to fill up the form and remit the amount after calculating the number of shares applied for in the bank, which has been designated as a collecting centre for the particular IPO.

An investor holding a demat account can either apply for the shares directly through the account or can opt for physical delivery of share certificates. There are certain IPOs, which offer only demat form of shares, while others offer both the demat and regular shares. Application forms can be rejected due to incomplete details.

Every week SEBI issues press releases for information of the public, details of offer documents filed with SEBI and observations issued. The required details can be obtained from the ‘Primary Market’ section of the SEBI website. The draft offer document can also be purchased from the SEBI office. The draft offer document/letter of offer remains posted on SEBI website for a period of 21 days from the date of filing the same to SEBI and can also be downloaded from there.

Application forms can also be obtained from the lead manager and brokers to the issue. The application forms are also generally available at collecting bankers. Name and addresses of the lead manager are available in the prospectus/letter of offer.

5 What is book-building process?

SEBI guidelines defines book building as “a process undertaken by which a demand for the securities proposed to be issued by a body corporate is elicited and built up and the price for the securities is assessed on the basis of the bids obtained for the quantum of securities offered for subscription by the issuer”.

This process provides an opportunity to the market to discover price for the securities on offer. In common words, book building is a method for public offer of equity shares of a company. The process is named so because it refers to collection of bids from investors, which is based on a price range. The issue price is fixed after the closing date of the bid.

A company planning an IPO appoints a merchant bank as a book runner. Then the company issues a prospectus that does not mention the price, but provides other details related to the issue size, the company’s operating area and business, the promoters and future plans among other disclosures.
A particular time frame is also fixed as the bidding period. Then the book runner builds an order book that collates bids from various investors. Potential investors are allowed to revise their bids at any time during the bidding period.

At the end of bidding period the order book is closed and consequently the quantum of shares ordered and the respective prices offered are known. The calculation of final price is based on demand at various prices and also involves negotiations between those involved in the issue.

The book runner and the company finalise the pricing and allocation to each syndicate member.

6 What is the main difference between a book-building route and the normal public issue?

Unlike the book-building route, the price is known in advance to investors in case of offer of shares through normal public issue. On the other hand, the demand can be known everyday as the book is built in case of book building, which demand is not known until the close of the issue in case of the normal public issue.

7 What is the minimum number of days for which a bid should remain open in book building?

Book should remain open for a minimum of five days.

8 Can open outcry system be used for book building?

No. As per SEBI, only electronically linked transparent facility is allowed to be used in case of book building.

9 Is the issue price for placement portion and net offer to public the same?

Yes.

10 What is the floor price in case of book building?

Floor price is the minimum price at which bids can be made. The issuer company in consultation with the book-running lead manager fixes the floor price.

11 Can the individual investor use book building facility for making an application?

Yes.

 

13 What proof can a bidder request from a trading member for entering bids?

A bidder can request for a transaction registration slip as proof of his/her having entered the bid. Whenever a bid is entered by trading members into the system, a unique transaction registration slip is automatically generated. Transaction registration slip gives details regarding number of shares bid for, price, the client name among other details.

14 Is it possible to enter bids less than floor price?

No. The system automatically rejects the bids if price is less than floor price.

15 Are there any restrictions on pricing by companies?

The companies can freely price their equity shares. However they have to give justification of the price in the offer document.

16 Who are syndicate members?

Syndicate members are the intermediaries registered with the board and permitted to carry on activity as underwriters. The book-running lead managers to the issue appoint the syndicate members.

17 What is an order book?

It is an ‘electronic book’ that shows the demand for the shares of the company at various prices.

18 What is a red herring prospectus?

A red herring prospectus (RHP) is a preliminary registration statement that must be filed with the regulatory authority describing the IPO and the prospects of the issuing company. There is no price or issue size stated in the red herring, and it is sometimes updated several times before being called the final prospectus.

It is known as a red herring because it contains a passage in red that states the company is not attempting to sell their shares before the registration is approved by the regulatory authority.

19 What is the difference between an offer document, an RHP, a prospectus and an abridged prospectus? What is a “draft offer doc”?

“Offer document” means a prospectus in the case of a public issue or offer for sale which is filed with Registrar of Companies (RoC) and the stock exchanges. An offer document covers all the relevant information required to help an investor to make his/her investment decision.

“Draft offer document” refers to an offer document in a draft stage. The draft offer documents are filed with SEBI at least 21 days prior to the filing of the offer document with the registrar and the exchanges. SEBI may specify necessary changes in the draft offer document and the issuer or the lead merchant banker is required to implement changes in the draft offer document before filing the offer document. The draft offer document is available on the SEBI website for public comments for a period of 21 days from the filing of the draft offer document with SEBI.

A red herring prospectus does not have details of either price or the number of shares being offered or the amount of issue. However, this prospectus mentions the number of shares and the upper and lower price bands. An issuer can also state that the issue size and the number of shares would be determined later. In case of a book-built issues, RHP is a process of price discovery and the price cannot be determined until the bidding process is completed. Hence, such details are not shown in the RHP filed with the RoC. Only on completion of the bidding process, the details of the final price are included in the offer document.

The offer document filed thereafter with ROC is called a prospectus. “Abridged prospectus” refers to a prospectus that contains all the salient features of a prospectus. It accompanies the application form of public issues.
20 What does one mean by ‘lock-in’?

Lock-in refers to a freeze on the shares. SEBI guidelines have stipulated lock-in requirements on shares of promoters primarily to ensure that the promoters, who are controlling the company, shall continue to hold some minimum percentage in the company after the public issue.

21 Who is a promoter?

The promoter is defined as a person (or persons, as the case may be) who is in over-all control of the company, is instrumental in the formulation of a plan or programme pursuant to which the securities are offered to the public and who is named in the prospectus as promoter. A director/officer of the issuer company or person, if they are acting as such merely in their professional capacity are not be included in the definition of a promoter.

‘Promoter group’ includes the promoter, an immediate relative of the promoter (i.e. spouse of that person, or any parent, brother, sister or child of the person or of the spouse).

In case the promoter is a company, a subsidiary or holding company of that company; any company in which the promoter holds 10 per cent or more of the equity capital or which holds 10 per cent or more of the equity capital of the promoter; any company in which a group of individuals or companies or combinations thereof who holds 20 per cent or more of the equity capital in that company also holds 20 per cent or more of the equity capital of the issuer company.

22 What are the requirements regarding promoter’s contribution and lock-in?

In case of an IPO, the promoters have to necessarily offer at least 20 per cent of the post issue capital. In case of public issues by listed companies, the promoters shall participate either to the extent of 20 per cent of the proposed issue or ensure post-issue share holding to the extent of 20 per cent of the post-issue capital.

In case of any issue of capital to the public the minimum contribution of promoters shall be locked in for a period of three years, both for an IPO and public issue by listed companies. In case of an IPO, if the promoters’ contribution in the proposed issue exceeds the required minimum contribution, such excess contribution shall also be locked in for a period of one year. In addition, the entire pre-issue share capital, or paid up share capital prior to IPO, and shares issued on a firm allotment basis along with issue shall be locked-in for a period of one year from the date of allotment in public issue.

23 What is the basis of allotment?

In case of over-subscription in a fixed price issue, the allotment is done in marketable lots and on a proportionate basis. In case of a book building issue, allotment to Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) and Non-Institutional Buyers (NIBs) are done on a discretionary basis. Allotment to retail investors is done on a proportionate basis.

After the closure of the issue, the bids received are aggregated under different categories, such as firm allotment, Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs), Non-Institutional Buyers (NIBs) and Retail Individual Investors. The oversubscription ratios are calculated for each of the categories as against the shares reserved for each of the categories in the offer document. Within each of these categories, the bids are segregated into different segments based on the number of shares applied for.

The oversubscription ratio is then applied to the number of shares applied for and the number of shares to be allotted for applicants in each of the buckets is determined. Then, the number of successful allottees is determined. This process is followed in case of proportionate allotment. In case of allotment for QIBs, it is subject to the discretion of the post issue lead manager.

24 Can the public give their comments/complaints on the issuer company or others connected with the issue?

Yes, the objective of making offer document public is to invite public comments. The comments should be given within 21 days of the filing of the draft offer document with SEBI.

25 Within how many days should an investor receive the refund order/allotment advise?

The investor is entitled to receive a confirmatory allotment note (CAN) in case he has been allotted shares within 15 days from the date of closure of a book-built issue. The registrar has to ensure that the demat credit or refund as applicable is completed within 15 days of the closure of the book built issue.

The refund orders/allotment advice is to be despatched within two working days of finalising the basis of allotment. Companies are required to finalise the basis of allotment within 30 days from the closure of the issue in case of a fixed price issue and within 15 days from the closure of the issue in case of a book building issue or else they are liable to pay interest at the rate of 15 per cent per annum

26 In case of non-receipt of the refund order/share certificate/allotment advise, what is the course of action available to the investor?

The investor should complain in writing to the lead manger/registrar/SEBI’s Investor Grievance Cell.

27 Within how many days should the company get its securities listed after the issue?

The post-issue lead manager ensures that all steps for completion of the necessary formalities for listing and commencement of trading at all stock exchanges where the securities are to be listed are taken within 7 working days of finalisation of basis of allotment.

28 Is it mandatory to have a demat account for applying in public issue?

An investor has the option to apply for and receive the shares in physical form. However, it is advisable to get the allotment in demat form as the shares in IPO shall be compulsorily tradable in demat segment in stock exchanges. In case of an IPO of any security of issue size of Rs 10 crore or more, security shall be issued only in dematerialised form.

In book built issues, for QIBs and large investors (applying for more than 1,000 shares) allotment shall be only in demat form and hence they should have a demat account.

29 What are greenshoe option and safety net?

Greenshoe is an option that allows the underwriting syndicate of an IPO to sell additional shares to public if the demand is high.

The name comes from the fact that Green Shoe Company was the first to issue this type of option.

A safety net means investors who subscribe to the IPO of a company can sell those shares to the entity offering safety net at the IPO price. Safety net is actually a put option given to the investors, but not by the company issuing the shares. A put option gives the right but not the obligation to the investors to sell the stock to the entity offering the option at a particular price before a certain period.

Any safety net scheme or buy-back arrangements of the shares proposed in any public issue shall be finalised by the issuer company with the lead merchant banker in advance and should be disclosed in the prospectus.

30 What are fixed price offers?

An issuer company is allowed to freely price the issue. The basis of issue price is disclosed in the offer document where the issuer discloses in detail about the qualitative and quantitative factors justifying the issue price. The issuer company can mention a price band of 20 per cent (cap in the price band should not be more than 20 per cent of the floor price) in the draft offer documents filed with SEBI and actual price can be determined at a later date before filing of the final offer document with SEBI/RoCs.

31 What is a price band?

The RHP may contain either the floor price for the securities or a price band within which the investors can bid. The spread between the floor and the cap of the price band shall not be more than 20 per cent. The price band can be revised also and any such revision is required to be widely disseminated by informing the stock exchanges, by issuing press release and also indicating the change on the relevant website and the terminals of the syndicate members.

In case the price band is revised, the bidding period shall be extended for additional three days, subject to the total bidding period not exceeding thirteen days.

32 Who decides the price band?

The regulators do not play a role in setting the price for issues. The company decides the price or the price band in consultation with merchant bankers. The basis of issue price is disclosed in the offer document. The issuer is required to disclose in detail about the qualitative and quantitative factors justifying the issue price.

33 What is firm allotment?

A company making an issue to public is eligible to reserve some shares on ‘allotment on firm basis’ for certain categories. The shares to be allotted on ‘firm allotment category’ can be issued at a price different from the price at which the net offer to the public is made, provided that the price at which the security is being offered to the applicants in firm allotment category is higher than the price at which securities are offered to public.

34 What is reservation on competitive basis?

Reservation on competitive basis refers to allotment of shares made in proportion to the shares applied for by the concerned reserved categories. Reservation on competitive basis can be made in a public issue to the employees of the company, shareholders of the promoter companies in the case of a new company and shareholders of group companies in the case of an existing company, Indian mutual funds, foreign institutional investors (FIIs), Indian and multilateral development institutions and scheduled banks.

In a book built issue allocation to Retail Individual Investors (RIIs), Non Institutional Investors (NIIs) and Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) is in the ratio of 35: 15: 50 respectively.

35 Is there any preference while doing the allotment?

The allotment to the Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) is made on a discretionary basis. The discretion is left to the merchant bankers who first disclose the parameters of judgment in the Red Herring Prospectus. The merchant bankers are free to set their criteria and mention the same in the Red Herring Prospectus.

36 How is the Retail Investor defined as?

Retail individual investor refers to an investor who applies or bids for securities of or for a value of not more than Rs.1,00,000.

37 What is an e-IPO?

A company can also issue capital to public through the online system of the stock exchange. The appointment of various intermediaries by the issuer includes a prerequisite that such members/registrars have the required facilities to accommodate such an online issue process.

38 What is open book/closed book?

In book-built issues issuers and merchant bankers are required to ensure online display of the demand and bids during the bidding period. This is known as open book system of book building. Under closed book building, the book is not made public and the bidders will have to take a call on the price at which they intend to make a bid without having any information on the bids submitted by other bidders.

39 What is hard/soft underwriting?

Hard underwriting refers to an exercise when an underwriter agrees to buy his commitment at its earliest stage. The underwriter guarantees a fixed amount to the issuer from the issue. If the shares are not subscribed by investors, the issue is devolved on underwriters and they have to bring in the amount by subscribing to the shares.

Soft underwriting refers to a process when an underwriter agrees to buy the shares at later stages as soon as the pricing process is complete. Subsequently, he places those shares with institutional players. The soft underwriter also holds an option to invoke a force majeure (acts of God) clause in case there are certain factors beyond the control that can affect the underwriter’s ability to place the shares with the buyers.

40 What is a cut-off price?

In book-building issues, the issuer is required to indicate either the price band or a floor price in the Red Herring Prospectus. The actual issue price can be any price in the price band or any price above the floor price. This issue price is called “Cut off price”. This is decided by the issuer and lead managers after considering the book and investor demand for the stock.

41 What is differential pricing?

Pricing of an issue where one category is offered shares at a price different from the other category is called differential pricing. According to regulatory guidelines, differential pricing is allowed only if the securities to applicants in the firm allotment category are offered at a price higher than the price at which the net offer to the public is made.

42 Who is qualified institutional buyer (QIBs)?

QIBs are those institutional investors who are perceived to possess expertise and the financial strength to evaluate and invest in the capital markets. A QIB is defined as

• Public financial institution as defined in section 4A of The Companies Act, 1956;
• Scheduled commercial banks;
• Mutual funds;
• Foreign institutional investor registered with SEBI;
• Multilateral and bilateral development financial institutions;
• Venture capital funds registered with SEBI.
• Foreign venture capital investors registered with SEBI.
• State Industrial Development Corporations.
• Insurance companies registered with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA).
• Provident Funds with minimum corpus of Rs 25 crores
• Pension Funds with minimum corpus of Rs 25 crores

43 Why go public?

Usually it is not possible to buy shares in a private company. A potential investor can approach the owners, but they’re not obliged to sell any shares. However, public companies sell at least a portion of themselves to the public and they also trade on stock exchanges.

Public companies have thousands of shareholders and are subject to strict rules and regulations. They must have a board of director and they must report financial information every quarter. Public companies are regulated by governing bodies. The stock is traded in the open market and any investor, who has got money, can invest in them. The CEO and the owner can not prevent an investor from buying stock.

Going public provides an opportunity to raise cash for the companies, while opening many financial doors as well. Public companies can get better rates when they issue debts because of the increased scrutiny involved. A public company can always issue more stock, as long as there is market demand. Consequently, mergers and acquisitions become easier to execute as stock can be issued as part of the deal.

(Source:-Economic Times)

Amit asked, Dear Mr. Girdher, I want to know how one can save tax other than 80C, i hv read an article that by gifting to ur parents can save tax. As i am sending my parents approx. 5000 rupees per month in cash can i get the rebate on this? how? and if yes wether i hv to fill ITR for my parents and if cash can be considered as gift or should i send Cheque or DD? what is the limit of this gift?

Sushil Girdher answers, Gift made to relatives is not taxable in the hands of the receiver of the gift. But you would need to understand the essence of gift concept; a regular stream of payments would be difficult to prove that it carries the nature of gift. One time / periodic payments could definitely be considered for the purpose of gift. You would not get any deduction or rebate for such gift as it merely is application of income. You would need to file the returns of your parents only if they have any taxable income and as gift to your parent is not taxable there seems to be no need to file their returns.

Hi Buddies,

Some time back I informed you about VoipRaider (www.voipraider.com) which is charging about Rs. 1.5- Rs. 1.7 per minute for calls to India. Now I found even better service, InterVoip (www.intervoip.com) which is charging Rs. 1 per minute for calls to India Mobile. The charges (per minute) are approx. 1.5 Cents (Euro) or approx. 2.3 Cents (USD) or approx. 7.5 Sen (MYR) .This is even much cheaper than local calls in any of countries in America, Europe or Malaysia. Just visit the website www.intervoip.com for more information and subscribing to the service. Both of these services are provided by BetaMaxVoip (which provides few other good calling services like voip buster, voipcheap,voipstunt,voipdiscount ,lowratevoip etc.). We’ll keep you informed about other services which come from time to time, so keep visiting this blog and bookmark it, and/or subscribe RSS feeds.

 Enjoy Your Calls !!!

The following are some important items of income, which are fully exempt from income tax and which a resident individual Indian assessee can use with profit for the purpose of tax planning.

1. Agricultural income
Under the provisions of Section 10(1) of the Income Tax Act, agricultural income is fully exempt from income tax. However, for individuals or HUFs when agricultural income is in excess of Rs 5,000, it is aggregated with the total income for the purposes of computing tax on the total income in a manner which results into "no" tax on agricultural income but an increased income tax on the other income.

2. Receipts from Hindu Undivided Family (HUF)
Any sum received by an individual as a member of a Hindu Undivided Family, where the said sum has been paid out of the income of the family, or, in the case of an impartible estate, where such sum has been paid out of the income of the estate belonging to the family, is completely exempt from income tax in the hands of an individual member of the family under Section 10(2).

3. Share from a partnership firm
Under the provisions of Section 10(2A), in the case of a person being a partner of a firm which is separately assessed as such, his share in the total income of the firm is completely exempt from income tax since AY 1993-94. For this purpose, the share of a partner in the total income of a firm separately assessed as such would be an amount which bears to the total income of the firm the same share as the amount of the share in the profits of the firm in accordance with the partnership deed bears to such profits.

4. Allowance for foreign service
Any allowances or perquisites paid or allowed as such outside India by the Government to a citizen of India, rendering service outside India, are completely exempt from tax under Section 10(7). This provision can be taken advantage of by the citizens of India who are in government service so that they can accumulate tax-free perquisites and allowances received outside India.

5. Gratuities
Under the provisions of Section 10(10) of the IT Act, any death-cum-retirement gratuity of a government servant is completely exempt from income tax. However, in respect of private sector employees gratuity received on retirement or on becoming incapacitated or on termination or any gratuity received by his widow, children or dependants on his death is exempt subject to certain conditions.

6. Life insurance receipts
Under Section 10(10D), any sum received under a Life Insurance Policy (LIP), including the sum allocated by way of bonus on such policy, other than u/s 80DDA or under a Keyman Insurance Policy, or under an insurance policy issued on or after 1.4.2003 in respect of which the premium payable for any of the years during the term of the policy exceeds 20 per cent of the actual capital sum assured, is fully exempt from tax.
However, all moneys received on death of the insured are fully exempt from tax. Thus, generally moneys received from life insurance policies whether from the Life Insurance Corporation or any other private insurance company would be exempt from income tax.

7. Dividends on shares and units — Section 10(34) & (35)
With effect from the Assessment Year 2004-05, the dividend income and income of units of mutual funds received by the assessee completely exempt from income tax.

8. Long-term capital gains of transfer of securities — Section 10(38)
With effect from FY 2004-05, any income arising to a taxpayer on account of sale of long-term capital asset being securities is completely outside the purview of tax liability especially when the transaction has been subjected to Securities Transaction Tax (STT).
Thus, if the shares of any company listed in the stock exchange are sold after holding it for a minimum period of one year then there will be no liability to payment of capital gains. This provision would even apply for the old shares which are held by an assessee and are sold after the Finance (No.2) Act, 2004 came into force.

9. Scholarship and awards, etc
Any kind of scholarship granted to meet the cost of education is exempt from tax under Section 10(16). Similarly, certain awards and rewards, etc. are completely exempt from tax under Section 10(17A). Any daily allowance received by a Member of Parliament or by an MLA or any member of any Committee of Parliament or State legislature is also exempt from tax under Section 10(17).

10. Payment received from provident funds
Under the provisions of Sections 10(11), (12) and (13) any payment from a government or recognised provident fund (PF) or approved superannuation fund, or PPF is exempt from income taxPowered by Qumana

Hacking isn’t what it use to be in the days when networks were breached by young hackers sitting in their bedrooms late at night trying out their newly learned skill from a BBS board. Today’s hacking is carried out by preprogrammed viruses that, self propagate themselves around the world and trying every computer port and over-flow that will have them. Finding the right tools for you and your company can be an endless search on the Internet that can produce the results of software from no name companies with no proven record. Software sales people will boast that their software is the best on the market, but you can’t trust a sales person to tell you the truth. So you must either rely on your own product research or the names the software vendor gives you from satisfied companies. 

Listed below are some Anti-hacking software put together that I think can be relied on, for your home or office protection, and even a couple you can put on your mothers computer.

(Office) ISS 
Internet Security Systems (ISS) is an established world leader in Internet security, with products and services that protect against Internet threats. ISS’ Proventia™ unified protection products deliver simpler, smarter, more cost-effective Internet security, backed by the world’s largest security research and development team. ISS also offers Managed Services and Professional Services to assist organizations in identifying and addressing online risk.

(Home) The Shield Pro 2004™  
The Shield Pro provides essential protection from viruses, hackers, and privacy threats. Powerful yet easy to use, protect yourself, your family, and your PC online with The Shield Pro 2004™. The Shield Pro 2004™ gives you 1 year of protection and PC Security Shield gives you all the technical support you need to successfully protect yourself.

(Home) ZoneAlarm Pro
Zone Alarm Pro is an easy to use program that instantly provides world-class protection against Internet-borne threats including worms, Trojan horses, and spyware.

(Office) Riverhead Networks
Riverhead Networks delivers the industry’s most complete and powerful family of solutions for detecting and defeating today’s most complex and sophisticated DDoS attacks. Unlike other solutions, the Riverhead products not only detect the presence of a DDoS attack, but actually identify and block the malicious flows in real time — without affecting the flow of legitimate, mission-critical transactions. The result: your business keeps running, even while under withering attack, protecting your most valuable corporate assets.

(Home/Office)ippl
What is ippl?

 

(Home / Office) ScanLogd
scanlogd is a TCP port scan detection tool, originally designed to illustrate various attacks an IDS developer has to deal with.

(Office) SecurVantage Enterprise
SecurVantage Enterprise allows multiple monitoring points to be combined into a single, real-time monitoring and management console. This provides a common operational picture across multiple policy domains. With SecurVantage Enterprise, real-time conformance data is viewable through a web browser and can be presented in a variety of reports, ranging from general network health to host-level service behavior

(Office) NFR
With NFR Security’s intelligent intrusion management system, you’ll not only detect and deter network attacks, you also integrate with popular firewall providers to prevent future attacks. Here are twelve reasons a leading business journal refers to NFR as “the Holy Grail” of intrusion management.

(Home / Office) OpenWall Project
The OpenWall Project is loaded with hacker and anti-hacker programs that will help the network administrator/engineer with security related issues.

(Home / Office) Verified Security Software
Specializing in security and privacy solutions; ranging from PC monitoring, encryption, to hacker protection and secure data storage.

India’s position as the world’s largest talent supplier is under serious threat. According to leading manpower consulting firm Watson Wyatt, that slot may be taken over by China before long. In fact, China is projected to have twice as much skilled labour as India shortly - a fact that goes against the conventional wisdom that India’s abundance of skilled labour makes it ideal for outsourcing business processes.

The consulting firm gives three reasons for this: First, one of the main advantages India had vis-a-vis China is the much higher skill level among its women population. In fact, the percentage of skilled women living in urban areas at 14 per cent is close to that of skilled men at 16 per cent. The average annual growth rate in skilled women (7 per cent) is about 1.5 times higher than the growth rate in skilled men.

Yet, the irony is that Chinese women are much more likely to be in the workforce despite that country’s lower percentage of skilled women in the total population. This is because the workforce participation rate is twice as high for Chinese women as it is for Indian women.

Only 25 per cent of skilled Indian women participate in the labour market, exposing a major shortcoming of India’s talent pool. While Indian women represent 38 per cent of enrolment in higher education in 2004, the workforce participation rate for women remains very low, at about 18 per cent in urban areas.

The second reason is that China is pouring vast resources into education, and more Chinese young people are attending colleges and universities than ever before. Education is undergoing a massive transformation in that country where universities are building new facilities (30 new universities have come up in Nanjing alone in as many years). “Universities in China are coming up faster than hotels in Dubai,” Watson Wyatt says.

By 2010, 23 million students will be attending Chinese universities, one million of whom will be highly-skilled graduate students. That’s a remarkable progress from 6,00,000 such students in 1992 - a fact that prompted management guru Peter Drucker to remark that the greatest weakness of China is its incredibly small proportion of educated people. Not anymore.

By comparison, India’s education system is largely at a standstill, with the percentage of young university students hardly rising. India’s static enrolment, along with a similarly static investment of its gross domestic product into education, partially explains why China surpassed India’s 3.1 million annual college graduates three years ago.

Third, the most popular areas of study in Chinese universities also tend to be the most in demand, such as engineering, management and science. Most universities are also aggressively building global links through regular international conferences, foreign visiting professorships and collaborations on degree programmes.

Compare that with India. The quality of education in the country’s mushrooming private institutions continues to be a serious concern and the industry-academia linkages are growing only at a snail’s pace.

But all’s is not lost for India - yet. Watson Wyatt says there are essentially three areas where China has a lot of catching up to do with India.

For example, the immobility of labour in China. While there are no restrictions on mobility of talent in India, for some strange reasons, China still follows the “Hukou” system that discourages graduates and skilled or semi-skilled labour based in remote provinces from working in more developed areas. For example, a graduate from a second-tier city who wants to work in Shanghai will have to overcome considerable obstacles, including mobility restrictions. In general, employers are discouraged from hiring workers from other regions. As a consequence, many employers tend to hire mostly local graduates - a phenomenon that seriously compromises their search for the best talent.

The second area is the low proportion of Chinese students returning from study abroad. The study shows while the pace of Indian students returning home after higher studies abroad has been increasing due to better opportunities, it’s exactly the opposite in China. For example, in 2004, almost 24,750 students returned to China after graduating abroad, while around 1,14,700 left the country that same year.

And finally, poor English skills will continue to be one the biggest obstacles to China’s becoming the premier offshoring location for MNCs. If you take the mean scores of the Test of English as a Foreign Language, China’s results are lower than India’s in all subjects (although higher than worldwide averages), especially in listening comprehension.

These relatively low scores may be because Chinese students begin to study English later than students in India. Also, teachers and students focus more on exams than on assimilation of the language and far more attention is paid to reading and writing English than to speaking and listening.

(Source: Rediff.com/money)

 

Mutual funds can be broadly classified into two categories in terms of the fund management style i.e. actively managed funds and passively managed funds (popularly referred to as index funds).

Actively managed funds are the ones wherein the fund manager uses his skills and expertise to select invest-worthy stocks from across sectors and market segments. The sole intention of actively managed funds is to identify various investment opportunities in the market in order to clock superior returns, and in the process outperform the designated benchmark index.

On the contrary, passively managed funds/index funds are aligned to a particular benchmark index like the S&P CNX Nifty or the BSE Sensex. The endeavor of these funds is to mirror the performance of the designated benchmark index, by investing only in the stocks of the index with the corresponding allocation or weightage.

In the Indian context, index funds have never really caught the retail investor’s fancy. This is in complete contrast to developed economies like the United States for instance wherein index funds form “staple diet” for retail investors. And the reasons for the same aren’t very difficult to guess.

In the United States, stock markets are more efficient, so investment opportunities are at a premium and are relatively difficult to identify. Consequently, a number of actively managed funds fail to outperform the broader stock market. Also other factors like no loads and lower expenses further the cause of index funds.

Furthermore, investing in index funds is less cumbersome as compared to investing in actively managed funds. Broadly speaking, investors need to consider two important aspects i.e. the expense ratio and the tracking error (i.e. the difference between the returns clocked by the designated index and index fund).

Conversely, investing in actively managed funds demands a deeper review and understanding of the fund house’s investment philosophy; also the investor needs to decide on the kind of funds he wishes to invest in - a large cap/mid cap/small cap fund among others.

In the Indian context, the mutual fund industry is dominated by actively managed funds; index funds occupy a smaller share of the market. Well-managed actively managed funds have been successful in outperforming index funds by a huge margin.

This could be attributed to the fact that the Indian markets are still in an evolutionary phase and there exist a number of inefficiencies. These inefficiencies are in turn utilised by competent fund managers to outperform the index. This explains why many actively managed funds manage to outperform the index over the long-term (3-5 years).

We conducted a study wherein we compared category averages of index funds (passive funds) with those of diversified equity funds (active funds), over varied time frames.

 

The active-passive tradeoff

Categories	Average category returns
	1-Yr (%)	3-Yr (%)	5-Yr (%)
Index funds	40.75	32.91	32.38
Actively managed funds	29.05	38.37	41.05
S&P CNX Nifty	39.50	30.96	30.32
BSE Sensex	44.91	35.22	33.20

(Source: Credence Analytics. NAV data as on February 8, 2007. Growth over 1-Yr is compounded annualised)

The results are quite interesting. Over the 1-Yr time frame, index funds (40.75 per cent) aligned to the BSE Sensex have comfortably outscored diversified equity funds (29.05 per cent). However over longer time frames (3-Yr and 5-Yr), diversified equity funds have stolen the march over index funds powered by a strong showing. Over 3-Yr, diversified equity funds (38.37 per cent CAGR) have outperformed index funds (32.91 per cent CAGR). The degree of outperformance further widens over 5-Yr; diversified equity funds (41.05 per cent CAGR) fare better than index funds (32.38 per cent).

In a nutshell, in the Indian context, index funds have proven their mettle over shorter time frames. It’s the opposite over longer time frames (3-5 years), where actively managed funds rule the roost.

However the same should not be seen as a blanket recommendation for actively managed funds. Not all actively managed funds are invest-worthy and capable of generating superior returns vis-?-vis benchmark indices (passively managed funds).

There are many laggards in the category as well who have failed to match the benchmark indices (in this case BSE Sensex). To substantiate this, we have outlined some non-performing actively managed funds (from diversified equity funds category), based on their performance over 3-Yr and 5-Yr (as these are the ideal time frames for evaluating equity funds).

Laggards: 3-Yr CAGR Actively Managed Funds NAV (Rs) 3-Yr (%) LIC Equity Plan (G) 22.79 23.11 Birla Div. Yield (G) 43.81 26.17 UTI Mastershare (G) 36.23 28.76 UTI Growth & Value (G) 60.87 29.27 ING Vysya Equity (G) 31.61 29.52 BSE Sensex 35.22

Laggards: 5-Yr CAGR Actively Managed Funds NAV (Rs) 5-Yr (%) DBS Chola Opp. (G) 29.08 26.93 LIC Equity Plan (G) 22.79 29.90 UTI Mastershare (G) 36.23 30.14 ING Vysya Stocks (G) 28.91 30.65 Birla MNC (G) 128.26 34.71 BSE Sensex 33.20

(Source: Credence Analytics. NAV data as on February 8, 2007. CAGR - Compounded Annualised Growth Rate)

Hence, investors would do well to understand that, though the actively managed funds category has delivered impressive performances over the long-term, there are duds within the category whose performance is nothing to write home about.

This in turn, necessitates that investors add to their portfolios well-managed diversified equity funds with proven track records over longer time frames and market phases. Given the performance of diversified equity funds and how domestic markets are placed, risk-taking investors would do well to hold a larger portion of their portfolio in actively managed (diversified equity) funds. Index funds, on the other hand can occupy a smaller portion therein, but purely from a diversification perspective.

(Source: Rediff.com/Getahead)

Buddies, soon there will be a complete tutorial about Mutual Tunds. Dont miss that. Keep participating by posting comments and writing articles.

 

 

 

The next time you wear high heels to look taller, just give a second thought — the fancy footwear could cause permanent damage to you. 

According to the study, teetering around in several inches of heel not only hurts the feet, but causes accidents. In fact, prolonged use can injure the knees and back, and the risk is more in case of teenagers.

Researchers examined 1,000 women and found that one in ten women now wear high heels three days a week and over a third of women have fallen while wearing them, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported.

Currently, teenagers are 50 times more likely to have hip trouble than their mothers, while the number of girls suffering from back problems has also increased ten fold in the last generation, the study revealed.

Podiatrists have long criticised high heels, warning women that they cause permanent damage. Common complaints from women who regularly wear them include heel pain and calluses.

Such restrictive footwear can also cause bunions, ingrown toenails, nerve problems, stress fractures and ‘hammertoes’ — a permanent bend in the middle joint of a toe.

But the study concluded that flat pumps, popularised by model Kate Moss [Images] and singer Amy Winehouse, were equally problematic because they offer no support at all.

(Source: Rediff.com/getahead)

Men:

1. All men are extremely busy.

2. Although they are so busy, they still have time for women.

3. Although they have time for women, they don’t really care for them.

4. Although they don’t really care for them, they always have one around.

5. Although they always have one around them, they always try their luck with others.

6. Although they try their luck with others, they get really pissed off if the first woman leaves them.

7. Although the woman leaves them they still don’t learn from their mistakes and still try their luck with others.

Women

1. The most important thing for a woman is financial security.

2. Although this is so important, they still go out and buy expensive clothes and stuff.

3. Although they always buy expensive clothes, they say they never have something to wear.

4. Although they never have something to wear, they always dress beautifully.

5. Although they always dress beautifully, their clothes are always just ‘an old rag’.

6. Although their clothes are always ‘just an old rag’, they still expect you to compliment them.

7. Although they expect you to compliment them, when you do, they don’t believe you.

80 percent of these foods are not really ‘diet’ or low-fat, as they claim.

Most diet substitutes are more expensive than regular food items.

Real diet food does not taste as good as the original.

You cannot eat diet food in endless quantities and cease to worry about your calorie intake.

Most diet foods will have you feeling lighter — but only in your wallet!If you are a calorie-conscious person and plan to become or stay slim, you need not spend large sums of money on diet foods. You can eat healthy without overspending and here’s how:

The first thing you need to do is make a habit of reading the labels on every food product you buy. A dessert that is advertised as ‘completely sugar-free’ may be using artificial low-calorie sweeteners to replace the sugar content, but what about the fat? Ask yourself — is it really possible that a ‘fat-free sponge cake’ is completely devoid of fat? Usually such cakes don’t contain butter or margarine, but they more than make up for with six to eight egg yolks, which can shoot your cholesterol levels through the roof!

Sometimes one bad ingredient is replaced by an even unhealthier substitute — for instance, instead of normal cane sugar your product may be using liquid glucose, sucrose, fructose or any other form of sugar to appear sugar-free. This not only makes it more calorie-dense, but also more expensive.

So quit falling for the following gimmicks and get practical: 

Brown bread — Do you know that 90 percent of the time a label that reads ‘brown bread’ actually means that you are paying extra for coloured white bread?While normal sliced white bread costs between Rs 12 and Rs 15 per packet, brown bread can cost anywhere between Rs 25 and Rs 40. So read the label to see if the brown bread is actually whole-grain or made with at least 75 percent whole wheat flour and only then invest in it. Also, eating a slice or two of white bread in a day is not really such a big deal even if you are on a diet, provided you are eating sufficient whole grain foods throughout the rest of the day.

Diet colas — You might think you’re doing yourself a favour by sipping on a diet cola instead of a regular one whenever temptation takes over. While that is okay once in a while, drinking colas (diet or otherwise) regularly gets you addicted to them due to their caffeine content. They use artificial flavouring and their acid content is not good for your teeth and bones in the long run.Moreover, a can of a diet cola costs about Rs 25, while a natural and much healthier option like coconut water costs only Rs 15 and comes with a side-benefit — it’s great for your skin! You can also up your dose of Vitamin C and refresh yourself with a glass of freshly-squeezed lime juice for just Rs 5. So replace those colas in your refrigerator with natural drinks that are cheaper and healthier and don’t forget the cheapest and best drink of them all — water.

Light mayonnaise: A 200 ml bottle of ‘light mayonnaise’ costs about Rs 100. One tablespoon of light mayo contains 50 calories, as compared to the 90 calories in regular mayo. But while the calorie counts differ, do not forget that you are taking in those 50 additional calories from the fat content in the light mayo anyway.If you want to make a low-cal sandwich spread, tie up a large bowl of curds in a piece of cheese muslin cloth and leave it to hang overnight (or for two hours minimum) with a dish underneath. Once the whey has drained into the dish, add a little garlic, salt and pepper — it will make an excellent low-calorie sandwich spread. If you refrigerate it, you can use the spread for at least 2 days.The cost? Rs 5.

Gelato: One scoop of low-fat Italian gelato can cost approximately anywhere between Rs 45 to Rs 100. While it’s a tasty way to beat the heat once in a while, indulging in it all the time will cost you too much money and too many calories. I would like to reiterate once again that while these foods do contain less fat than the original product, they are definitely not fat-free!A better, cheaper option? The ice-candy sticks available locally, each of which contain only about 40 calories and cost Rs 5 to Rs 10 each.In conclusion, if something really is making a difference to your health, it’s okay to spend a little bit extra on it — tetrapack milk, for instance, is less adulterated and more hygienic than what you buy from the local milkman. But weigh your options carefully before spending your hard-earned money on foods that don’t make a dramatic difference to your calorie intake and still cost a lot more than regular products.

A Pure Herbal and natural food is the best for our body.

(Source: rediff.com/getahead )

 

 

 

 

We all have been going into surprises by everyday development of new computer/internet worms, virus,spyware etc. and equally amazed with development of products to counter them.More often than not, we find ourselves in a situation where we cant find out, which product we should go for.on this page you will find important tips, Comparative Reviews, Recommended Products and links to many more Security and Utility suite Vendors and Reviews.

Important Tips

• Just One, Not Two — Never use two firewall or two anti-virus products (or two suites that include them) at the same time. Completely uninstall one before installing another. Use the vendor’s uninstall utility or if not available, use the Windows XP add/remove software tool in the control panel.
• Patches & Updates — Most security software is only as effective as its most recent update because it is inherently reactive treating “known” threats. So when you install a security suite, go to the vendor’s web site and update the program immediately and then turn on the auto update feature (if it has one).
• Firewall Testing — After you install a firewall, be sure to check it with an online service like Security Space to make sure that it is configured correctly. Testing your firewall is the only sure way to tell that your computer is really being protected.
• Get Online Protection Too — Consider using an Internet service provider or email service that includes server side anti-virus and spam email filtering as a second layer of defense.
• Prices — See our custom Internet Security Suites Price List powered by Amazon.com

Choices (alpha order) — Vendor and review links follow.

• Top Security Suites — Norton (by Symantec), ZoneAlarm (by Checkpoint) & Kaspersky
• More Security Suites — Aluria, AVG, BidDefender, Blink, Bullguard, Computer Associates, F-Secure, Grisoft, eEye, Iolo, Laplink, McAfee, Microsoft, MicroWorld, Norman, Panda, Preventon, Steganos, Trend Micro, VCOM & Webroot
• Utility Suites — Iolo System Mechanic Pro, Symantec’s Norton Systemworks, VCOM SystemSuite & WinCleaner Complete PC Care

Comparative Reviews

• A Look At Live OneCare Versus ZoneAlarm, Samara Lynn, ChannelWeb, May 2, 2008
• Does Your Security Suite Also Protect Your Privacy? Erik Larkin, PC World, February 26, 2008
• Internet Security Software Reviews, Consumer Search, January 2008, summary of 24 reviews of 35 products — BitDefender, Norton & Panda
• Security Suites 2008, Neil Rubenking, PC Magazine, December 12, 2007: See comparison chart on first page — BitDefender, BullGuard, CA, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Norton (2), Outpost, Panda, Trend Micro, MS Live OneCare & ZoneAlarm.
• All-in-One Security Suites: Tried and Tested, Erik Larkin, PC World, November 29, 2007 — Norton, Kaspersky, McAfee, BitDefender, Trend Micro, CA, Avira & ZoneAlarm
• Review: Five Security Suites That You May Not Know About, Serdar Yegulalp, Information Week, November 7, 2007 — Dr. Web Antivirus, ESET Smart Security, MS Live OneCare, Trustport Workstation & ZoneAlarm Security Suite
• CyberCops: Six Security Software Suite Reviews, Barry Brenesal, Computer Shopper, November 2007 — CA Internet Security Suite Plus 2008, BitDefender Total Security 2008, Trend Micro Internet Security Pro, Norton Internet Security 2008, Steganos Privacy Suite 2008, McAfee Internet Security Suite 2008.

Top Security Suites

Norton Internet Security 2008 or Norton 360 from Symantec include personal firewall and protection from viruses, worms, spyware, intrusion, phishing and root kits. Also includes behavioral monitoring features. The free online add-on pack includes anti-spam, parental control, confidential information blocking, and ad blocking. “Norton 360″ adds automatic backup and restore with 2 GB of online storage, PC tune up and embedded support components.

• Norton Internet Security 2008
  • Best (and Worst) of 2007, Sascha Segan and Er