Rupee at lifetime low against the $

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The falling rupee has given FII inflows in India the shiver; however Indians abroad (NRIs) are making the most of it.
Rupee on Monday slipped to a lifetime low of 57.33 vs dollar. Dropping to a record low in early trade, this comes after disappointing data from India and other Asian giants like China and slightly better-than-expected US jobs data.

Speculations now rise for a possible intervention by RBI

Another young Indian making a mark in US

It comes as no surprise, yet another Indian-American student receiving praises for her work, this time around from none other than the US President Barack Obama himself.

Meghana Rao an Indian origin student from Portland, Oregon, exhibited her project based on ‘biochar’ (charcoal) to the US President at the fair in which around 30 student teams from across US participated.

American Natural History Museum Young Naturalist Award winner, Meghana, is a Jesuit High School student who-in addition to researching the ability of ‘biochar’ also directs a student-run non-profit organization, Portland Junior Scientists (PJS).

Her hard work helped her earn a 2013 Young Naturalist Award from the American Natural History Museum, and brought PJS a $5,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project and an $11,500 grant from the Case Foundation’s Finding Fearless program.

Another Indian, making her nation and fellow Indians proud.

Love for the yellow metal

Last year the Indian government increased the import duty on Gold to 6% from around 1% anticipating a correction on the price thereby curtailing the demand

However, the gold demand went up 41% to 262 tonnes during the October-December quarter as households flocked to buy their favourite precious metal, ignoring the spurt in prices.

The rise in demand poses a fresh policy challenge for the government, which is battling to control gold imports as part of its efforts to keep current account deficit under check.

So far those efforts seems to have failed as India emerged as the fastest growing market and retained its position as the largest market, according to data released by the World Gold Council.

Indians lead the race of tech entrepreneurship in US

More and more Indians entrepreneurs are the faces behind a growing number of US tech startups. A study by the US based Kauffman Foundation shows that 33.2% of the co-founders of engineering and technology firms founded by immigrants in the US since 2006 were Indians. The next came the Chinese, at 8.1%.

Another study done in 2007 for the period 1995 to 2005 had found that Indians accounted for 26% of the co-founders during that period. So there’s been a 7 % increase in the Indian contribution in the post-2005 period. In fact, the Indian immigrant contribution was the only one that increased; most other immigrant communities saw a decline in their contributions, leading to a general stagnation in immigrant entrepreneurship in the US.

An interesting fact is “The Bay Area which has only six million people resides half a million Indians. And among those Indians, 72% work in the tech sector. Of the total tech firms that get funded in the US, 50% are in Silicon Valley. Not surprising that Indians are becoming founders or co-founders.

Remit2India The Light of India Awards 2012 comes to your television

Remit2India the pioneer in online money transfer service to India has, over the past 11 years strived to offer its customer a simple, trusted and secure money transfer service.

Today we take pride of having over a million happy customers and strive in making our services better every day.

‘Remit2India The Light of India Awards’, our humble initiative introduced last year to thank the people that have helped shape the image of India around the world, witnessed another stupendous gathering this year. Arguably one of the largest gatherings of eminent Indians abroad under one roof.

Global Indians such as Arun Sarin (ex-CEO Vodafone), Lisa Ray (Model & Actress), Sabeer Bhatia (founder hotmail), Padma Lakshmi (Model, host & actress) and many more graced the occasion with their presence.

Catch them receiving the awards on SONY 18th August 2012 at 6:30 PM (local time) on your television sets.

Positive sign for times to come: Indians in Olympics

The Indian contingent is steadily making inroads at the ongoing London Olympics. The first medal came in the form of Gagan Narang winning the Olympic Bronze Medal in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle Event couple of days back.

While tennis and hockey have disappointed, hopes are alive with boxers, shooters and shuttlers (Both Sania Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap have advanced).

Back home a billion people wait to see their heroes perform well and win more medals. In the true spirit of the game it’s overwhelming to see the interest of people in India growing for sports beyond cricket, a positive sign for times to come.

Let’s hope India wins more medals and keeps its spirits high.

NRE deposits hit 10-year high in Jan on rising rates, weak Re

Further to the article posted on 11^th March on is the rupee undervalued? The NRE deposits have hit an all-time high.

At a time when the government is looking for ways to attract foreign fund inflow, the spike in non-resident (external) rupee (NRE) deposit rates has brought some relief with non-resident Indians (NRIs) routing their savings substantially into NRE accounts.

While NRI fund inflow into NRE deposits in the month of January hit a 10-year high of $1.56 billion (over Rs 7,800 crore), the total inflow for FY’12 till January stood at $5.09 billion (around Rs 25,000 crore).

With data for February and March still to come, this is the highest-ever inflow in the NRE account in a financial year after FY’03 — when the net inflow stood at $6.19 billion.

NRE accounts are where NRIs can park their overseas savings that are remitted toIndiaby converting into rupee.

The surge in inflow can be primarily attributed to the move taken by the Reserve Bank ofIndiain December 2011 to deregulate interest rates on NRE deposits, following which banks raised their offering on such deposits from around 3.8 per cent to up to 9.5 per cent. The depreciation of rupee during the recent times also played a crucial role.

The rupee was trading at over 50 against a dollar till January, pushing investors to route their investment into rupee accounts to take the advantage.

Economists feel that even though this money is debt creating there is nothing to worry about since the composition of money has changed post liberalisation and also this is a stable source of funds.

Remit2India’s MOR(Money on Referral) Hat-Trick Offer is back

And certainly with a bang…

Remit2India gives you MOR reasons to smile and earn with its referral program ‘Money On Referral’ (MOR). All one has to do is refer his/her NRI friends and he/she can earn Rs. 1,000/- per referral. Your friends also get Rs. 500 for using our service through your referral.

And the good part is one can refer as many NRI friends as possible. Which means more the friends one refers, more money he/she can earn.

So what are you waiting for. Start referring now and make an unlimited amount of money!

The customer also has the choice to redeem this as extra money sent as remittance or even as a Gift Voucher against a host of gifting items from a special catalog.

So, spread the smile with Remit2India’s unique referral program ‘MOR’.

Usage of Online Money Transfer for family maintenance

India has seen a huge leap in the form of displacement to other countries. This can be attributed to increased education, work opportunities and other factors for Indians. Though there is a clear displacement; there is a need for transfer of money, goods etc. to family, friends back to the country of origin. In the same process internet has played a huge role of simplification and making it hassle free.

Indian centric data on remittances sheds light on the importance of such services. According to the April 2010 study on remittances by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) 61% of remittances to India are used for family maintenance. The balance is used for investments in bank Fixed deposits, stocks and real estate, among others.

Family maintenance tops the list for usage of remittance. Hence it is important to understand that the medium to send money has to be instant, reliable and easy to use. Online banking is the quickest way to transfer money. The same service can be availed while on the move through different mobile devices. Mobile banking has been around for a while now and is gradually being accepted by a wide array of people.

Additional data from RBI shows the use of remittance in India. In contrast with the 61% use of remittances for family maintenance across the various states in India, the most commonly used food, health services and education, was lowest in Ahmedabad (35%) and highest in Ranchi (72%), Bengaluru (70%) and Bhubaneshwar (70%). Relatively higher proportions of remittances were banked in Delhi (31%), Ahmedabad (30%) and Kochi (25%). Higher proportions of remittances were invested in property and equities in Ahmedabad (12%), Mumbai (11%), Hyderabad (9%) and Bengaluru (8%).

The easy access to broadband has made online remittances easier. The online fund transfer and payment system empowers the customers to instantly send and receive money for family maintenance, payment of utility bills, sending gifts to loved ones and do much more with unmatched ease, speed, transparency and safety.

Money Transfer India: – A reason to invest in the Real Estate sector

Review the history of humankind and the most prominent thing to notice is the constant movements of people across natural as well as man-made boundaries.  The adventure of discovery, the search for a better life in the face of destitution and misery caused by natural and man-made calamities, and above all, an indomitable human spirit have pushed people around over the centuries. The progress of human civilization is inconceivable without these movements. However, people and companies bridge across these boundaries seamlessly to work, travel or do business. And this necessitates the need to transfer money across countries, buy or sell currencies, e-transfer and also invest in real estate sector. This is what online India money transfer companies have helped its customers do over the past so many years.

According to recent World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Fact book 2011 report, Indians living and working abroad transfer home a whopping $55 bn this year as compared to $49.6 bn last year. Indiaand Chinaaccount for almost a quarter of the worldwide remittance flows of $440bn in 2010. The sheer volume of remittances making their way across the globe and their already salient role in many developing economies hints at a vast and yet untapped potential. ‘Transfer money India’, seems to be the mantra for various Indians settled abroad.

Also enabling these flows is the widespread presence of institutions like banks and remittance providers that allow the money earned by Indians abroad to be converted to India money and sent to Indians in rural areas who may not even have a bank account.

However, it is important to consider certain areas that need attention to ensure that India money flows remain strong and that the Non-Resident Indian population gets the assurances it needs to keep sending money back home.

Besides sending money for parents and dependents, one of the biggest reasons NRIs seek to transfer money India is to build or keep a home. For emotional reasons, sentimental attachment and family ties, there will always be NRIs willing to invest in their home towns inIndia. Infact, several real estate projects acrossIndia have garnered approximately 10-20 percent participation from NRIs.

The return on investment provided by real estate inIndiahas been more attractive than that offered by other developed nations. Also, the simplified process of investments has reversed the equation and many NRIs have been consistently investing in Indian properties.

Adding to the above, many NRIs in the USand UKare not as confident as before of sanctity of their employment, while others are disturbed by negative economic patterns across developed countries. Therefore, they see greater potential to invest in properties in Indiaand hence the concept of ‘transfer money India’ is gaining prominence thereby overcoming the current economic setbacks. Appreciations anywhere upwards of 15 percent per annum and rental yields of 4-6 percent on property are another reason whyIndia has been a happy hunting ground for the NRI audiences to invest in real estate and allied sectors.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that many real estate companies inIndiaare making renewed efforts to attract NRIs to transfer money to be invested in this ever burgeoning property market.