Friday, June 28, 2013

U’KHAND BEGINS TO PICK UP PIECES While state waits for aid, 500 relief trucks await nod

Dehradun: At least 500 trucks carrying ration and food-related material meant for distribution among survivors in catastrophe-hit Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi and Pithoragarh districts are lying parked for the last four days in Rishikesh, Dehradun, Haridwar and Haldwani. The trouble is the administration is not clearing their onward journey for want of clearances. 
    Of these, 96 ration-loaded trucks were sent by senior Congress leaders on behalf of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi. These have been lying on both sides of the 230km Haridwar-Gangotri bypass obstructing traffic – all because the administration's failure to ensure its distribution among survivors far-fl ung places. 
    A Congress leader in Dehradun said these ration trucks were stuck because the administration refused to accept the supplies for want of storage space. "Unless the administration allows these trucks to move the perishables would rot," said an offi cial. 
    Dehradun additional district magistrate Harak Singh Rawat said as the government does not have any place to store the heavy quantity of 
ration, the question of issuing permits to the truck owners to proceed further does not arise. 
    Members of different social and political organisations have accused Congress leaders of unnecessarily wasting food supplies like grains, biscuits, drinking water, and oil for the sake of scoring brownie points from fl oods victims. 
    Singh said Congress workers are not at all inclined to trek for miles to distribute food items to victims. State Congress chief Yashpal Arya said the government will issue 
permit to stranded truck owners to proceed further soon so as to distribute ration and food material among victims in affected areas. 
    However, Garhwal commissioner Suvardhan said as the government already has more than enough stock of ration for distribution among those in need, the stranded trucks will have to wait for a two more days. "We will definite issue permits to their owners to move further so that material is distributed among people who are genuinely affected," said Suvardhan. 

150 docs rushed to U'khand amid diarrhoea outbreak 

Dehradun: With the threat of diseases looming over the floodaffected areas in Uttarakhand, the Centre has sent 150 doctors to the state. A large number of cases of water-borne diseases, such as diarrhoea, are being reported from districts like Guptkashi, Gauchar and Uttarkashi among others. Efforts are on to provide medical aid to those affected. The Union health ministry has also sent a team of epidemiologists, health experts and some high-ranking officials, including the director general of health services, to monitor the situation. "I have held a meeting with the state authorities. Right now, there is no threat of epidemic but we cannot rule out any such eventuality. Preventive measures like making drinking water available in affected villages are being taken," said Jagdish Prasad, DGHS. He said that around 150 doctors from across the country have been sent to the state to tackle any possible crisis. At least 128 cases of high fever and gastro-intestinal infections were reported in Ramnagar — a tiny village near Guptkashi — recently. Some ITBP jawans have also reported sick. TNN



Thursday, June 27, 2013

helping the help



    My domestic help has been with me for many 
    years and I got her PF, medical insurance and paid for the education of her daughter. Today, her daughter has completed her graduation from Wilson College and got a job with an ad film company. I believe people like us are blessed to have been born into families where — with no effort of ours — we've got a roof over our head, three meals on the table and an education. When I started working, I realised that I should share what I was lucky to have 
ALYQUE PADAMSEE 
THEATRE PERSONALITY



    It is an ingenious idea, simple 
    but effective in so many ways. It's not so much charity as it is about making a tangible difference to the lives of those less fortunate. I also truly believe in the power of education, be it a formal degree or training in life skills. I ensure that my staff's children are provided with an education that can help them realize their full potential 
PRIYANKA CHOPRA 
ACTRESS



    Compassion is at the 
    heart of all our endeavours to improve the world. That is what makes us better people. Someone once said that no act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted. Changing the world is easier than you think 
IMRAN KHAN 
ACTOR



    India's biggest and brightest 
    asset is its youth. They are the makers of today and tomorrow. They can start by reaching out to people working for them, help them get an education which will go on to improve literacy levels and, in turn, address many social ills. Small initiatives can yield big results 
GAGAN NARANG 
SHOOTER

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

RBI can’t stop feeble crossing 60

Mumbai: The rupee entered uncharted territory on Wednesday, slipping below the psychological resistance level of 60 as the Reserve Bank of India gave up defending the local currency at the 59.98 level —a position it had been holding for several days through intermittent dollar sales. The rupee which tracked global cues weakened as the dollar gained against most emerging market currencies. 

    The local currency, which opened to highly volatile trade after closing at 59.68 on Tuesday, saw the exchange rate slip beyond 60 in afternoon trade only to settle at the day's low of 60.73. The sharp fall of the rupee led to a corresponding fall in bond prices as well as a 77-point fall in the sensex. Similarly, prices of gold hit a one-month low in the bullion market following a global crash in the precious metal while silver hit a twoand-a-half-year low. 
    Besides making all imports expensive, a weak rupee will severely hurt those planning to travel or study abroad. However, some bankers say that the inflationary impact of a weak rupee would be softened by a crash in international commodity prices including oil and gold. But this has almost eliminated hopes of a rate cut by the RBI in its monetary policy review next month. 

Gold, silver prices fall on global cue 
Gold prices slumped to a one-month low, to Rs 26,145 per 10g on Wednesday, on the back of a steep fall in global prices while silver dropped to a three-year-low, at $18.63 an ounce. The slide set in on reports that the US was withdrawing its stimulus programme.P 20 'Problems global, solutions local' 
    Foreign exchange dealers said Wednesday's fall of the rupee was triggered by month-end demand for dollars. Once the rupee crossed the 60-level it triggered stop-loss positions among buyers who rushed in to cut losses, thereby pushing the rupee down even further. Whether the rupee continues to slip or rallies on Monday would depend on how the dollar moves against the euro late on Wednesday. 
    The crash in the rupee has exposed the central bank's weakness in defending the rupee through dollar sales. Dealers said that the market took the opportunity to test the level to which RBI would go by bidding aggressively for dollars. Late evening, RBI sought to hit back on speculative buying by asking banks to verify that foreign institutional investors are buying dollars in the forward markets only to cover their underlying positions in equity markets and not for speculative purposes. 
    If the rupee steadies at levels above 60 against the dollar, as some traders are forecasting, there will be immense pressure on the economy as import bills soar. Companies will face problems as their foreign debt burden would have risen 10% in less than a month. Importers who cannot pass on their increase in costs will come under strain. But bankers are hopeful that this is an aberration and the local currency would return to sub-60 levels in the medium term. "The rupee has depreciated beyond what the REER (real effective exchange rate) would suggest. There should be a correction above 60 is not fundamentally where it should be" said Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO, Axis Bank. The REER is a rate that is derived by comparing India's currency relative to a basket of other major currencies after making adjustments for inflation. 
    Bankers say that although the problems are global the solutions are local. The only way to strengthen the currency, they say, is to speed clearance of stuck projects which can restore confidence in equity markets and restore capital flows from foreign institutional investors.


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Rupee follows global slide, hits all-time low against $ FIIs Dumping Indian Bonds Triggers Fall

Mumbai: The rupee weakened 90 paise against the dollar to close at a record low of 58.77 on Tuesday, moving in tandem with a slide in the value of most emerging market currencies, with the domestic currency and the Russian rouble leading the fall.
    The sharp fall in the value of the rupee will spur inflation and force the government to hike fuel prices. It also increases prices of local gold vis-à-vis international prices which will make the yell
ow metal appear like a sound investment despite efforts by the government to dissuade gold purchases. Besides making all imports expensive the weak rupee will make overseas travel and education more expensive.
    The present fall has been triggered by a massive selloff by foreign institutional
investors in Indian bonds. In 18 sessions FIIs have sold bonds worth $4.7 billion.
    Though all emerging market currencies have weakened against the dollar, India will suffer the most because it has the largest current account deficit of $80bn after the US.
Around $15bn inflow could be affected
    With QE (quantitative easing, through which the US government pumped in huge money into the financial system at low rates) being terminated earlier or on schedule, the implication will definitely mean fewer FII funds coming in, though there would still be positive flows. Around $15 billion could be affected—only affirmative policies within the economy can retain such flows, or else the balance of payments will be under pressure as this cushion will be less supportive," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Care.
    Dealers said that there was a demand for dollars from public sector banks which appeared to be on behalf of defence purchases or oil refiners.
    "The depreciation of emerging market currencies
is a global phenomenon. South Korea has also depreciated against the dollar and so have the Brazilian real and South African rand," said Ashish Vaidya, head of fixed income, currencies and commodities trading at UBS India. He added that RBI intervention has been mild because it sees this as a part of a global phenomenon. "The central bank is following a strategy of containing volatility and going with the trend," he added.
    Although there is no word from the Federal Reserve on withdrawal of stimulus, global funds appear to be bracing themselves to a possible early withdrawal of quantitative easing ahead of schedule. The three phases of quantitative easing (or QE1 to QE3) refer to the unconventional monetary measures adopted by the US Federal to inundate money markets with dollars by purchase of debt of up to $85bn every month. Signs of a recovery in US have raised expectations that the Fed would bring an early end to this practice.
    In the currency futures market, near-month dollar/ rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange, MCXSX and the United Stock Exchange all closed around 58.88.



Sunday, June 16, 2013

IMD warns of extreme rain, BMC urges people not to leave home

Mumbaikars, especially in the island city, woke up to very heavy rainfall on Sunday. From 8:30am to 11:30am, Colaba recorded 122mm and Santa Cruz 35mm, causing floods in several areas. Though it continued to rain thereafter, the intensity became a lot less, with Colaba recording 147.2mm from morning till evening. Santa Cruz recorded 115.4mm in the same period.
    Rainfall intensity is likely to be more on Monday. The weather bureau has warned of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, accompanied by strong winds gusting up to 50kmph in the city and the suburbs. As per the bureau's glossary, 64.5-124mm rainfall is 'heavy', 124.5-244.5mm 'very heavy', and above 244.5mm 'extremely heavy'. Also, high tides up to 3.68 metres are to occur at 6.12pm. If high-intensity rainfall continues in the evening, people may get into trouble finding transport for heading home from work.
    Taking note of the forecast, the BMC has issued a warning: "We appeal to citizens to leave home only after consulting various media on the amount of rainfall and waterlogging in their areas. Citizens should not leave home unless necessary." It has also cautioned people against venturing into sea.
    Monday's rainfall was caused by two weather systems: an active offshore trough running from the Gujarat to the Kerala coast and an upper air cyclonic circulation over Gujarat. "Together, these systems are causing rainfall over the Konkan and Goa region, including Mumbai," said V K Rajeev, director of weather forecast, IMD, Mumbai.
    Moreover, very strong south-westerly winds are blowing along the west coast. For Mumbai, this means heavy rainfall with strong gusts of wind.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Mumbai gets freeway today, not without bumps No CCTV Cams Present On Signal-Free, 17-km Route

 Fourteen kilometres of the long-awaited Eastern Freeway will be opened to traffic by 9 am on Friday, making a signal-free drive possible between Chembur and South Mumbai. But there are riders: for a 17-km long bridge (3km to be opened in December), there is going to be little supervision by the traffic police, and the freeway's feeder and arrival routes, including roads leading to the main entrance and exit points,haveobstacleslike encroachments and parking of heavy vehicles. 

    The number of towing vans and traffic cops to be present on the freeway will not be sufficient for such a long route, said a traffic expert. "Hence, there should be a good CCTV camera system, including a control room from where the police willbe ableto monitor the entire length of the freeway and ensure that traffic violators are booked, and, more importantly, ensure quick action in case there are accidents," the expert said. 
    The main challenge will be maintaining the flowof traffic ateither end of the freeway, said an expertworking closely with the government. "Between the freeway's Orange Gate ramp and CST, there are encroachments along P D'Mello Road and also parking of heavy vehicles. I think the solution lies in giving proper space to private truckers and motorists coming to ports and godowns. Their present parking site on P D'Mello Road has to go if smooth traffic flows has to be maintained from the freeway for South Mumbai." 
    Things are not smooth at the other end of the freeway—Shivaji Chowk near R K Studios in Chembur—either. "Here, four roads culminate, bringing a high volume of traffic. Hence, signalling time will go up for traffic coming from the freeway," said Vidur Shah, a resident of Chembur. "This will be a dampener for those hoping for a fast commute towards Navi Mumbai from the freeway." 
    Transport expert Ashok Datar said all entry and exit ramps along the freeway should be made ready at the earliest to achieve the intended benefits of a costly infra project. "Maximum accessibility to the freeway will multiply its success." 

Orange Gate landing and 
take-off on P D'Mello Road | 
Hutment and godown 
encroachments, parking of heavy vehicles between Orange Gate ramp and CST. Certain stretches are uneven and thus prone to waterlogging 
Novelty factor | Since the EFW is 14-km long, motorists 
will take time to get used to its exit and entry ramps. Ramps in spots like BPT Road toll post and Bhakti Park in Wadala are yet to be built. A 700-metre road between BPT Road and Wadala-Chembur Road, which will provide continuous connectivity along the EFW, is yet to be completed 
Points at Shivaji Chowk near R K Studios in Chembur | Four major roads culminate here. Thus Navi Mumbai-bound traffic at the EFW 
exit at Shivaji Square will have a long wait for the green signal. Parking of heavy vehicles on the Mankhurd-Vashi Road can further reduce traffic flow 
TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS 
The police fear that some motorists may not be able to resist the temptation to speed up on a flyover as long as the freeway, thus leading to accidents 
BENEFITS Friday onwards | Traffic to Navi Mumbai, Goa, Pune, Chembur, Kurla, Panvel, Deonar and Mankhurd 
December onwards | Traffic to Thane, Airoli, Mulund and Ghatkopar after a 3-km section of the EFW is opened 
General | The EFW's Ghatkopar end is 
near the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road and the upcoming Santa Cruz Chembur Link Road 
TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS 
    
Entry to the EFW barred for two- and 
three-wheelers, animal carts, bicycles and 
tricycles, and pedestrians 
Entry barred for heavy vehicles like trailers and transport vehicles except BEST and state buses. Entry barred for luxury private buses 
Like on JJ flyover, the traffic police are to monitor vehicular speed 

PROJECT PARTICULARS MMRDA engineers involved | Chief engineer: Sharad Sabnis; superintending engineers: D P Deshmukh, V N Ghanekar; executive engineers: J R Dhane, M V Jaitpal, D S Bhaik; deputy engineers: A B Dhabe, G D Rathod, S Vijay Kumar; assistant engineers: J B Patil, V S Kambale, P S Pawar, B V Biradar Consultants | Consulting Engineering Services, 
STUP Consultants 
Contractors | Simplex Infrastructure, Madhucon Projects, J Kumar 

Times View: Let EFW be used without delay 
    
Two days of monsoon have been able to expose the state of preparedness of Mumbai's infrastructure agencies. And it would be unfair to target the BMC; other agencies, too, have not covered themselves with glory. But what we find really galling is the continued wait for a worthy (from Delhi?) to inaugurate the Eastern Freeway even though the roads below are creaking under the combined weight of traffic and water logging. Seeing an empty— and completed—EFW while negotiating traffic and accumulated water on the old roads is a cruel joke. 

This Times View appeared on June 11, following which the government opened the Eastern Freeway to traffic






Wednesday, June 12, 2013

How to become a crorepati with a normal income

Becoming a crorepati with a normal income is possible, but it depends on three things:

  1. The amount invested every month/year
  2. Rate of returns
  3. Time period the amount stays invested
A disciplined approach towards saving and sensible investing choices will take you to your first crore as long as you allow compounding to do its magic. If you were to save and invest Rs.50,000 per year (which is slightly more than Rs. 4,000 per month) you could become a crorepati in 25 years.

1. Amount invested every month/year
It's intuitive that the more you are able to save and invest today, the larger your reward will be down the road. However, this table shows that even the smallest addition to your savings each year can make a big difference in reaching your targeted amount.

Amount invested per year (Rs.)
(assumed rate of returns at 12%)
Total investment
(Rs.)
Value after 25 years
(Rs.)
10,0003,00,00029,41,000
11,000 3,30,0032,35,000
15,0004,50,00044,12,000
25,0007,50,00073,53,000
50,00015,00,0001,47,00,000
100,00030,00,0002,94,00,000

2. Rate of return
The rate of return (the amount you earn on your savings) has a huge impact on the amount of money you'll end up with. Different investment vehicles have different expected returns. For example, Indian stocks have historically returned more than 15 per cent per year. Cash, in contrast, has a current return of 8-9 per cent per year. Your goal is to find a rate of return that offers the highest potential for growth, but at the lowest possible potential for risk of loss. Over time, we have found that the most prudent solution is a diversified combination of investment assets (stocks, bonds, cash, real estate, and alternative investments).

Assuming that you could invest Rs. 100 at 11 per cent per year, you would have Rs. 1,359 at the end of 25 years. However, if you were able to invest Rs. 100 at 15 per cent per year, you would have Rs. 3,292 after 25 years.

Year5% (in Rs.)11% (in Rs.) 15% (in Rs.)
0100100100
5128169 201
10163284405
15208478814
202658061,637
253391,359 3,292
304322,2896,621
355523,85713,318
407046,50026,786
45 899 10,95353,877
50114718,4561,08,366

3. Time period the amount stays invested
To illustrate the power of compounding over time, please refer to the tables below. In the first example, Rs. 2,000 was saved and invested each year from age 19 to 26 (for a total of eight contributions). In the second example, Rs. 2,000 was saved and invested each year from age 27 to 65 (for a total of 39 contributions). At age 65, the first example ended up with Rs.1,019,161 (vs. Rs. 805,185 in the second example), even though the total amount contributed over the eight-year period was only Rs.16,000. The reason? The first example had eight more critical years to invest at the same rate of return at the beginning of the investment period. That's the power of compounding!

 Example 1Example 2
AgeAnnual investment
(in Rs.)
Year-end value
(in Rs.)
Annual investment
(in Rs.)
Year-end value
(in Rs.)
192,0002,20000
20 2,0004,62000
212,0007,28200
222,00010,21000
232,000 13,43100
242,00016,97400
252,00020,87200
262,00025,159 00
27027,6752,0002,200
28030,4422,0004,620
29033,4872,000 7,282
30036,8352,00010,210
35059,3242,00029,875
40095,5412,000 61,545
450153,8702,000112,550
500247,8092,000194,694
550399,1002,000 326,988
600642,7542,000540,049
6501,035,1612,000883,185
Minus amount invested  16,000 78,000
Total 1,019,161 805,185
How much the amount has increased by  64 times 10 ti

Monday, June 10, 2013

3 banks fined 10.5cr for KYC rule breach


Mumbai: The RBI has imposed penalties on Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank of Rs 5 crore, Rs 4.5 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively for violating anti-money laundering norms, including the know your customer (KYC) rules regarding risk categorization and periodic review of risk profiling of account holders. Other violations include flouting KYC norms for walk-in customers, sale of third party products and not reporting cash transactions and even PAN details.

The rupee recorded one of its sharpest intraday falls to close at an all-time low of 58.14 against the dollar on Monday

Mumbai: , 107 paise lower than its previous close of 57.07 on Friday. The sharp fall has raised the spectre of high inflation and further slowdown in investments by businesses as all imports get costlier and businessmen face huge uncertainty. 
    Besides bringing about a general increase in prices, a weak rupee also directly hurts those who are planning to travel or study abroad. The fall in the rupee will make it dif
ficult for the RBI to bring down inflation and stimulate growth as the depreciation increases fuel price. It also makes it difficult for RBI to cut interest rates as this would make it cheaper for traders to speculate on the dollar firming up further. 
BAD NEWS FOR... 

• Foreign travel, education, imports and foreign debt service for cos 

• Cars and home appliances with imported components 
GOOD NEWS FOR... 

• Remittances back home 

• Exporters 
Gradual slide in Re to boost exports, say bankers 
Mumbai: Monday's fall in the rupee was prompted by strong gains in the dollar in the international market, coupled with uncertainty in equity markets and a sell-off of bonds by foreign investors. 
    The previous low seen by the domestic currency was on June 22, 2012 when it touched 57.16 against the dollar. Since then the rupee recovered to touch a high of 51.88 in October before weakening again. The rupee has depreciated over 7% against the dollar during the current fiscal making it the worst performing currency in Asia. 
    According to Madan Sabnavis, chief economist with rating agency Care, the fundamental driving the rupee movement is ultimately the change in the country's foreign exchange reserves as decline in reserves would result in depreciation. Foreign currency assets, after increasing in the months of March and April, have declined to $258.50 billion in May. 
    Bankers say that while a gradually weakening rupee would have a self correcting effect by addressing the factors that led to the fall, the volatility could badly hurt the rupee. "A gradual depreciation would reduce import demand and promote exports. It would also make Indian assets attractive for foreign investors. But wild swings in the rupee hurt everybody. Exporters too will lose because of mark to market losses on their hedging positions on the rupee" said a trader with a multinational bank. 
    "The dollar has been strengthening against currencies of a number of emerging market economies. This is mainly owing to the expectation of the Federal Reserve discontinuing the quantitative easing programme sooner, resulting in fewer funds flowing down to the emerging markets. Also, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England maintained key interest rates at the same level. This would also provide for strengthening of the dollar," said Sabnavis.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

India takes centre stage in impact investing

TRENDINC


Attracts Big-Ticket Projects As HNIs, Cos Seek Both Financial, Social Bottom Lines



Mumbai:With growing social capitalism, impact investing is picking up pace in India. Omidyar Network, a philanthropic investment firm co-founded by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, is looking to invest $200 million in for-profit and non-profit organizations across India in three-five years. On the other hand, Gray Ghost Ventures, a large impact investor globally, plans to invest $60 million in the country over the next five years. 
    The Rockefeller Foundation recently provided a $480,000 grant to Dasra as part of its commitment to develop the Indian impact investing industry and unlock more impact capital originating from within the country. Besides, it has given a grant of $200,000 to Villgro Innovations Foundation towards the costs of its social entrepreneur and enterprise development programme, which trains early-stage social entrepreneurs to refine their business model and scale their social impact to create positive benefits for poor or vulnerable people in India. 
    For Acumen, India is its largest portfolio where it has invested $31 million out of cumulative global investments of $84 million, across sectors like health, energy, agriculture, water and education. Acumen is also actively exploring the affordable housing sector. While Acumen does not have an India-specific goal, its aim for its cumulative global investments is to reach $150 million by 2015. 
    Under impact investing, money is used to deliver social benefits alongside financial returns. A key factor why India is an attractive market for impact investors is the accessibility to consumers at the bottom of the pyramid (BoP), which has triggered the need for socially impactful market-driven solutions to development issues. 
    At the same time, the number of high net worth individuals (HNIs) in India has increased, and they seek to invest their wealth with both a financial and social bottom line. With over a dozen domes
tic and international funds operating in this space, the segment has grown steadily over the past few years. 
    "India is the epicentre of impact investing. In a way, the future of the impact investing industry globally is going to be established here," said Jayant Sinha, partner & managing director, Omidyar Network India Advisors. 
    Omidyar Network has a sector-based approach to impact investing and is focused on supporting organizations that are scalable, sustainable and have the potential to create large-scale opportunities. 

    "The potential is that the word 'impact' goes away, that the practice of serving 800 million low-income people with quality products and services in a timely and affordable way becomes standard procedure for Indian business," Bob Pattillo, founder, Gray Ghost Ventures, told TOIin a recent interview. The firm has already invested around $60 million in India in areas like education, creating jobs, women empowerment and sparking innovation that serves low-income communities. 
    "Between affordable education and mobile services, we'll invest another $60 million over five years. India is the place to be, and we've got some of the best partners in the country. Half of the new money will be in debt as our enterprises mature, at the same time our commitment to grow our equity investment is high as well," said Pattillo, whose school ratings 
venture, Gray Matters, helped 630 schools across the country improve quality over the last 26 months. 
    According to research by the Rockefeller Foundation, impact investing generated around $100 million (roughly Rs 530 crore) of capital in India in 2012 and is said to be growing at 30% per annum. The potential for impact investing in India can be gauged from the fact that Dasra, a strategic philanthropy foundation, has received a large number of strong proposals that address many areas of impact investing, such as unlocking capital, creating common platforms for investors and social enterprises, creating industry bodies, supporting and replicating incubators, according to Natasha Oza, director, talent management, Dasra. 
    Despite the recent surge in the number of social enterprises, the section of BoP being served by these enterprises is still very small. This in itself suggests the need for a massive scale-up of existing enterprises as well as more innovations being brought to the low-income consumer. "Neither of these will be possible without the right type of capital supporting the growth, and hence the potential is significant. As impact investing is becoming an established asset class, there is more focus on returns and commercial opportunities. But in order for the sector to grow and have sustainable social impact, we need a full spectrum of capital from grants to returns-based capital," said Sachindra Rudra, India director, Acumen. 

LOOKING FOR SOCIAL CAPITALISM 

Impact investing is aimed at financial returns that come along with social benefits 
Accessibility to bottom of pyramid customers encourages impact investors to seek market-driven solutions to 
development issues 
    The segment has grown steadily with over a dozen domestic and international funds operating in the space 
    Impact investing generated $100m in India last year and is growing at 30% annually, says a study



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