Once PVNR (PV Narasimha Rao), L.K.Advani and Laloo Prasad Yadav were
travelling in an autorickshaw. They met with an accident and all three of
them died.
Yama Raja was waiting for this moment at the doorstep of death.
He asks PVNR and Advani to go to HEAVEN.
But, for Laloo, Yama had already decided that he should be sent to HELL.
Laloo is not at all happy with this decision.
He asks Yama as to why this discrimination is being made. All the three of
them had served the public. Similarly, all took bribes, all misused public
positions, etc.
Then why the differential treatment?
He felt that there should be a formal test or an objective evaluation before
a decision is made; and should not be just based on opinion or pre-conceived
notions.
Yama agrees to this and asks all the three of them to appear for an English
test.
PVNR is asked to spell ' INDIA ' and he does it correctly.
Advani is asked to spell ' ENGLAND ' and he too passes.
It is Laloo's turn and he is asked to spell ' CZECHOSLOVAKIA '.
Laloo protests that he doesn't know English.
He says this is not fair and that he was given a tough question and thus
forced to fail with false intent.
Yama then agrees to conduct a written test in Hindi (to give another chance
assuming that Laloo should at least feel that Hindi would provide an equal
platform for all three).
PVNR is asked to write 'KUTTA BOLA BHOW BHOW'. He writes it easily and
passes.
Advani is asked to write 'BILLY BOLI MYAUN MYAUN'. He too passes.
Laloo is asked to write 'BANDAR BOLA GURRRRRR.....'
Tough one. He fails again.
Laloo is extremely unhappy.
Having been a student of history (which the other two weren't),he now
requested for all the 3 to be subjected to a test in history
Yama says OK but this would be the last chance and that he would not take
any more tests.
PVNR is asked: 'When did India get Independence ?'. He replied '1947' and
passed.
Advani is asked 'How many people died during the independence struggle?'.
He gets nervous. Yama asked him to choose from 3 options: 100,000 or 200,000
or 300,000.
Advani catches it and says 200,000 and passes.
It's Laloo's turn now.
'
Yama asks him to give the Name and Address of each of the 200,000 who died
in the struggle.
Laloo accepts defeat and agrees to go to HELL.
Moral of the story: IF YOUR MANAGEMENT HAS DECIDED TO SCREW YOU, THERE IS NO ESCAPE........
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Joke of the day
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
15 Common Mistakes that Violate Google Adsense TOS
Google Adsense program is a popular web advertising program which
provides a good income source for many websites. There are well
defined terms of service to strictly adhere to when participating in
the program.
On my visit through sites and forums, I daily notice several instances
of misuse of Adsense ads. So here a few helpful Google Adsense tips,
probably many you already know, and few you might gain by knowing now.
These adsense faq are all picked from the Program Policies, Terms and
Conditions and FAQ itself and presented in a simplified manner.
1. Never click your own adsense ads or get them clicked for whatever
reason. You know this one very well. This is a surefire way to close
you Adsense account. Never tell your office associates or friends to
click on them. Keep a check if your family or children are busy
increasing your income by clicking your ads and indirectly trying to
stop your income. Dont even think of offering incentives for clicks,
using automated clicking tools, or other deceptive software. Adsense
is very smart to detect fraudulent clicks. Check the ads which appear
on your pages by the Google Preview tool if required.
2. Never change the Adsense code. There are enough means of adsense
optimization & customizations available to change the colour,
background or border to suit your needs. Do whatever you want to do
outside the code, never fiddle within the ad or the search code. They
know it when you do. The search code has more limitations to colour
and placement, but you should adhere to the rules. The code may stop
working and violates the TOS.
3. Do not place more than 3 ad units and 3 ad links or 2 adsense
search boxes on any web page. Anyway, ads will not appear in those
units even if you place more ad units. But this is the limit they set,
so it is better to stick to it.
4. Do not run competitive contextual text ad or search services on the
same site which offer Google Adsense competition in their field. Never
try to create link structures resembling the adsense ads. Never use
other competitive search tools on the same pages which have Adsense
powered Google search. They do allow affiliate or limited-text links.
Update: Google has allowed you to run contextual advertising like
Yahoo ads, Chitika etc provided the ads do not resemble Adsense ads.
5. Do not disclose confidential information about your account like
the CTR, CPM and income derived via individual ad units or any other
confidential information they may reveal to you. However, you may
reveal the total money you make as per recent updates to the TOS.
6. Label headings as "sponsored links" or "advertisements" only. Other
labels are not allowed. I have seen many sites label ads with other
titles. Dont make your site a target in a few seconds gaze.
7. Never launch a New Page for clicked ads by default. Adsense ads
should open on the same page. You may be using a base target tag to
open all links in a new window or frame by default. Correct it now as
they do not want new pages opening from clicked ads.
8. One Account suffices for Multiple websites. You do not need to
create 5 accounts for 5 different websites. One account will do. If
you live in the fear that if one account is closed down for violation
of TOS, believe me they will close all accounts when they find out.
You can keep track of clicks by using channels with real time
statistics. They will automatically detect the new site and display
relevant ads.
9. Place ads only on Content Pages. Advertisers pay only for content
based ads. Content drives relevant ads. Although you might manage some
clicks from error, login, registration, "thank you" or welcome pages,
parking pages or pop ups, it will get you out of the program.
10. Do not mask ad elements. Alteration of colours and border is a
facility to blend or contrast ads as per your site requirements. I
have seen many sites where the url part is of the same colour as the
background. While blending the ad with your site is a good idea,
hiding relevant components of the ads is not allowed. Also do not
block the visibility of ads by overlapping images, pop ups, tables
etc.
11. Do not send your ads by email. Html formatted emails look good and
allow placement of these javascript ads. But it is not allowed as per
TOS. You do not want impressions registering on their logs from any
email even once. They are watching!
12. Keep track of your content. So Adsense is not allowed on several
non content pages. But it is also not allowed on several content pages
too. Do not add it on web pages with MP3, Video, News Groups, and
Image Results. Also exclude any pornographic, hate-related, violent,
or illegal content.
13. Do not alter the results after ad clicks or searches - Ensure you
are not in any way altering the site which the user reaches to after
clicking the ads. Do not frame, minimize, remove, redirect or
otherwise inhibit the full and complete display of any Advertiser Page
or Search Results Page after the user clicks on any Ad or Search
results.
14. Avoid excessive advertising and keyword stuffing - Although the
definition of 'excessive' is a gray area and is subject to discretion,
yet Google adsense with correct placement, focused content and high
traffic will get you much more income than other programs, so
excessive advertising is not required. Keyword stuffing does target
better focused ads, but overdoing it is not required.
15. Ensure you Language is Supported - Adsense supports "Chinese
(simplified), Japanese, Danish, Korean, Dutch, Norwegian, English,
Polish, Finnish, Portuguese, French, Russian, German, Spanish,
Hungarian, Swedish, Italian and Turkish". In addition, AdSense for
search is available in Czech, Slovak, and Traditional Chinese. If your
web pages language is not supported, do not use the code on such
pages.
Update:
16. Maximum 2 referral button per product per page - With the launch
of the google adsense referral program, you are allowed to put only 2
referral buttons for adsense referral, adwords referral, Google pack
and Firefox with google toolbar referral.
17. Do not specify Google ads as your alternate ads. - Several
services like Chitika eminimalls allow you to place alternate urls,
when a targeted paying ad cannot be displayed. This involved creating
an simple html page and putting the ad to be displayed instead. Even
Adsense allows an alternate url feature instead of displaying public
service ads. But never use Adsense ads as alternate urls.
18. Do not confuse with adjacent images - It was a common policy to
increase CTR by placing same number of images as the number of text
ads, which falsely gave the impression that the text ads represented
an explanation to these images. Inserting a small space or a line
between the images and ads is not allowed. Make sure that the ads and
images are not arranged in a way that could easily mislead or confuse
your visitors. More.
Whenever in doubt, it is better to ask for adsense help from the
learned staff of Google Adsense. They are very helpful!
U Me Aur Hum movie review
U Me Aur Hum movie review
Aamir Khan has raised the bar with TAARE ZAMEEN PAR. Comparisons
between Aamir and Ajay Devgan, who makes his directorial debut with U
ME AUR HUM, would be erroneous, but you can't turn a blind eye to the
fact that the viewer would expect an encore with U ME AUR HUM. Will U
ME AUR HUM live up to the humungous hype and expectations? Does Devgan
have the trappings of a fine storyteller? Oh yes, he does!
Let's come to the point right away. Devgan needs to be lauded for
choosing a daringly different theme in his debut film and most
importantly, doing justice to it, handling it with extreme care. We
know him as a powerful actor, now there's yet another designation
added to his name -- avant-garde director.
Write your own movie review of U Me Aur Hum
Let's move on to the next query! Is the real-life couple -- Ajay and
Kajol -- as dynamic yet again? The answer is, they're electrifying.
Both pitch in bravura performances, reaffirming the fact that this
jodi is amongst the finest of this generation.
One of the prime reasons why U ME AUR HUM works, and works big time,
is because it's aimed at the heart. Anyone who's into relationships,
anyone who believes in love, anyone who thinks from the heart, anyone
who has watched his/her partner grapple a grave disease, will identify
with a film like U ME AUR HUM.
To cut a long story short, U ME AUR HUM marks the birth of a
powerhouse of talent. Watch U ME AUR HUM for various reasons, but most
importantly, watch it for a new director who respects your 2.30 hours
and the hard-earned bucks that you invest on watching his movie. It's
time to fall in love with love… again!
The first time Ajay [Ajay Devgan] saw Pia [Kajol], she served him
drinks. She affected him more than the alcohol, it was love at first
sight. The first time Pia saw Ajay, he had a drink too many. She
watched him make a fool of himself and was relieved when he passed
out.
Ajay is on a cruise with his friends -- Nikhil [Sumeet Raghavan] and
Reena [Divya Dutta], unhappily married, and Vicky [Karan Khanna] and
Natasha [Isha Sharwani], happily unmarried. Ajay is having a wonderful
time dealing with martial strife, lots of bad language and huge
hangovers, when he finds Pia and time stands still.
After a disastrous first meeting, Ajay tries everything to woo her. He
wants her, by hook, crook or even her little private notebook. She's
not an easy catch at all, but finally, by sheer perseverance, he
dances his way into her heart. Ajay and Pia develop a strong and
special bond.
Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom
when we love the ones we marry. And Ajay-Pia love each other dearly,
but no marriages can be complete without problems, and Ajay and Pia
have also have to face hurdles. Kajol is diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
How does the couple face the crisis?
The one thing you must carry when you set out to watch U ME AUR HUM is
a kerchief. For, this film makes you shed a tear at times, cry at
places and weep in at least two vital sequences. But it's not just
rona-dhona that you get to see in U ME AUR HUM.
The first hour, strictly average in terms of writing, has several
sunshine moments. It's breezy, funny, at times silly, but interesting.
What also catches your eye is the eye-filling cinematography [Aseem
Bajaj in top form, yet again] on the cruise. The songs, the glam look,
the subtle humor… you don't take to the film instantly, but you know
for a fact that a volcano is brewing.
And the volcano does erupt in the second hour! Ajay Devgan, the
director, shows his expertise in this hour as the story does an
about-turn, exposing the delicate, sensitive and fragile
relationships. Devgan reserves the best for the concluding reels and
you finally get the answers in the end.
U ME AUR HUM is more of a director's film, than anyone else's. A theme
like the one projected in this film could go dangerously haywire if
entrusted in inept hands, but Devgan seems to have done his homework
well. The only glitch is the length in its second hour. A shorter
narrative would've only helped!
Robin Bhatt, Sutanu Gupta and Akarsh Khurana's screenplay casts a
hypnotic spell in the second hour. Sure, the germ stems from THE
NOTEBOOK [2004; James Garner, Gena Rowlands, Rachel McAdams], but the
writers have altered the screenplay keeping Indian sensibilities in
mind. It works! Ashwani Dhir's dialogues touch the core of your heart.
Every spoken sentence has a meaning. Vishal Bhardwaj's music may not
be a chartbuster, but it alternates between soulful and melancholic
beautifully. Aseem Bajaj's cinematography is topnotch. Monty Sharma's
background score is effective.
Now to the performances! U ME AUR HUM is like a medal that glimmers on
Ajay Devgan's body of work. He's exceptional! Kajol, well, what can
you say of an actress who has proved herself time and again? That
she's undoubtedly the best has been proved yet again. Sumeet Raghavan
is first-rate. Divya Dutta gets into the groove in the subsequent
portions. Karan Khanna and Isha Sharwani are okay. Sachin Khedekar
does a fine job. Aditya Rajput and Hazel get minimal scope.
On the whole, U ME AUR HUM is a well-made, absorbing love story that's
high on the emotional quotient. And that holds tremendous appeal for
ladies/families mainly. At the box-office, it's the kind of film that
will gather more and more speed with each passing show. Its business
at multiplexes should be fantastic. Overseas too should be excellent.
Very strongly recommended!
KRAZY 4 REVIEW
KRAZY 4 REVIEW
It would be wrong to slot KRAZZY 4 as a comedy. Sure, KRAZZY 4 remains
faithful to the ongoing trend of providing laughs at the oddest of
things, but it's more of a masala fare that's reminiscent of the 1980s
cinema. Packaged in a modern avatar, of course.
A film like KRAZZY 4 is easy on your brains. It rests on a thin plot,
but the makers have tried to package the proceedings with entertaining
stuff from Scene A to Z. Sometimes it works, at times it doesn't. But
the pros outweigh the cons in this case. Also, let's get one thing
straight. This isn't path-breaking or ground-breaking cinema by any
chance. It's targeted at the aam junta, not connoisseurs of cinema.
Also, one of the trump cards… sorry, make it two, are the dance
numbers filmed on the two superstars -- SRK and Hrithik. Just these
two numbers are enough to satiate the hunger of an avid moviegoer.
Even the Rakhi Sawant track is an asset, since it's hugely popular
with the desi junta [like 'Main Aayee Hoon U.P.-Bihar Lootne' and
'Beedi'].
In a nutshell, KRAZZY 4 isn't the kind of cinema that would invite
debates or discussions. Its intention is to make people leave the
cineplex with a smile and it succeeds in its endeavour.
Arshad Warsi is Raja: Truly the angry young man! His blood boils, his
fists clench and he's ready to beat the daylights out of anyone who
upsets him in some way.
Irrfan Khan is Dr. Mukherjee: He has decided that he's the Captain of
the team! But so obsessed is he by the need to be in control of a
situation, he doesn't realise he's totally lost control of himself and
his mind.
Rajpal Yadav is Gangadhar: He's marching to a beat only he can hear;
he's fighting for a cause that's long over. But in his mind he's still
fighting for Swaraj.
Suresh Menon is Dabboo: He's everybody's pet and however far gone the
rest may be, when it comes to Dabboo, everybody's protective. Even if
he can hear and understand, Dabboo refuses to speak. And nobody knows
why!
Dr Sonali [Juhi Chawla] treats them all. She has faith that all it
needs is a little time and lots of patience to make them part of the
mad, mad, mad world out there…
Rakesh Roshan's story takes a leaf out of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S
NEST, while Ashwani Dhir's screenplay tries to pack everything that's
available on the shelf. The first hour is quite entertaining, with a
few sequences compelling you to flex your facial muscles.
But the problem lies in its second hour. More specifically, the
writing relies on the age-old stuff to reach the finale. Too many
cinematic liberties have been undertaken in this hour, just to reach
the culmination and it doesn't really work at times. Even the end
outside the hospital looks contrived.
Jaideep Sen shows a flair for comedy, but had the debutante director
opted for a slightly novel screenplay, it would've taken the film to
another level. A few comic scenes are well executed and in terms of
execution, Jaideep knows the grammar right.
Ashwani Dhir's screenplay may lack novelty, but the dialogues penned
by him are witty and enjoyable. Cinematography is nice. Rajesh
Roshan's music is up to the mark. The two tracks, filmed on the
superstars, are top notch and what enhances the effect are the
choreography and production design [of SRK track] and the visual
effects [in Hrithik track].
Arshad Warsi is the best of the lot. His character is bound to work
with the moviegoers. Irrfan's role doesn't offer him that much scope.
Yet, the actor enacts his part with precision. Rajpal Yadav is quite
funny at places. Suresh Menon is a surprise. He hardly utters one word
in the film, but he delivers with expressions.
Juhi Chawla doesn't get ample opportunity. Dia Mirza is efficient.
Zakir Hussain is okay. Rajat Kapoor is relegated to the backseat.
On the whole, KRAZZY 4 is slightly above the average mark, but the
brand [Rakesh Roshan] coupled with the presence of the two superstars
in its songs and of course, some great actors in comic roles should
ensure positive returns at the box-office.
CONTENT COURTESY : INDIAFM
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Friday, April 18, 2008
Indian Premier League Schedule
| Time | Match | Venue |
| Friday 18 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Bangalore |
| Saturday 19 April | ||
| 5:00 PM | Kings XI Punjab vs Chennai Super Kings | Mohali |
| 8:30 PM | Delhi Daredevils vs Rajasthan Royals | Delhi |
| Sunday 20 April | ||
| 4:00 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Deccan Chargers | Kolkata |
| 8:00 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Bangalore Royal Challengers | Mumbai |
| Monday 21 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Kings XI Punjab | Jaipur |
| Tuesday 22 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Deccan Chargers vs Delhi Daredevils | Hyderabad |
| Wednesday 23 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Mumbai Indians | Chennai |
| Thursday 24 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Deccan Chargers vs Rajasthan Royals | Hyderabad |
| Friday 25 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians | Mohali |
| Saturday 26 April | ||
| 4:00 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Chennai |
| 8:00 PM | Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Rajasthan Royals | Bangalore |
| Sunday 27 April | ||
| 4:00 PM | Kings XI Punjab vs Delhi Daredevils | Mohali |
| 8:00 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Deccan Chargers | Mumbai |
| Monday 28 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Chennai Super Kings | Bangalore |
| Tuesday 29 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians | Kolkata |
| Wednesday 30 April | ||
| 8:00 PM | Delhi Daredevils vs Bangalore Royal Challengers | Delhi |
| Thursday 1 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Jaipur |
| 8:00 PM | Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab | Hyderabad |
| Friday 2 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Daredevils | Chennai |
| Saturday 3 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Deccan Chargers | Bangalore |
| 8:00 PM | Kings XI Punjab vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Mohali |
| Sunday 4 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Delhi Daredevils | Mumbai |
| 8:00 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Chennai Super Kings | Jaipur |
| Monday 5 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Kings XI Punjab | Bangalore |
| Tuesday 6 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Deccan Chargers | Chennai |
| Wednesday 7 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Rajasthan Royals | Mumbai |
| Thursday 8 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Delhi Daredevils vs Chennai Super Kings | Delhi |
| 8:00 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Bangalore Royal Challengers | Kolkata |
| Friday 9 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Deccan Chargers | Jaipur |
| Saturday 10 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab | Chennai |
| Sunday 11 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Deccan Chargers vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Hyderabad |
| 8:00 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Delhi Daredevils | Jaipur |
| Monday 12 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Kings XI Punjab vs Bangalore Royal Challengers | Mohali |
| Tuesday 13 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Delhi Daredevils | Kolkata |
| Wednesday 14 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings | Mumbai |
| Thursday 15 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers | Delhi |
| Friday 16 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Mumbai |
| Saturday 17 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Bangalore Royal Challengers | Jaipur |
| 8:00 PM | Delhi Daredevils vs Kings XI Punjab | Delhi |
| Sunday 18 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Chennai Super Kings | Kolkata |
| 8:00 PM | Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians | Hyderabad |
| Monday 19 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Delhi Daredevils | Bangalore |
| Tuesday 20 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals | Kolkata |
| Wednesday 21 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab | Mumbai |
| 8:00 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Bangalore Royal Challengers | Chennai |
| Thursday 22 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders | Delhi |
| Friday 23 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers | Mohali |
| Saturday 24 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals | Chennai |
| 8:00 PM | Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians | Delhi |
| Sunday 25 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Deccan Chargers vs Bangalore Royal Challengers | Hyderabad |
| 8:00 PM | Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab | Kolkata |
| Monday 26 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians | Jaipur |
| Tuesday 27 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | Deccan Chargers vs Chennai Super Kings | Hyderabad |
| Wednesday 28 May | ||
| 4:00 PM | Bangalore Royal Challengers vs Mumbai Indians | Bangalore |
| 8:00 PM | Kings XI Punjab vs Rajasthan Royals | Mohali |
| Friday 30 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | 1st Semi-final | Mumbai |
| Saturday 31 May | ||
| 8:00 PM | 2nd Semi-final | Mumbai |
| Sunday 1 June | ||
| 8:00 PM | Final | Mumbai |
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
What is mobile marketing?
What is mobile marketing?
Whenever I meet someone new and I tell them what I do for a living,
they usually assume one or both of the following:
1. That mobile marketing is sending junk text messages to get
people to subscribe, unwittingly, to a mobile content subscription
service. Ergo, mobile marketing is bad.
2. Mobile marketing = marketing using SMS (text messaging)
Neither assumption is true so this is my lowdown on what mobile
marketing includes. This is a long post so bear with me.
Applications of mobile marketing
Of course text messaging is still an important element of mobile
marketing, but not the only one. The following is adapted from the
course module on mobile marketing I wrote this year for the IDM
(Institute of Direct Marketing).
1. Text and win. This is a very convenient way to manage a competition
or prize draw and popular with consumers. The recent on-pack promotion
by Walkers to win an i-pod offered a prize draw every five minutes and
claims to be the biggest ever text and win promotion to date.
2. Voting and participation TV. Text voting for reality TV programmes
such as Big Brother and The X Factor are incredibly popular and are an
additional revenue stream for the broadcaster and/or the production
company.
Text.it/Mobile Data Association published these figures to demonstrate
how big TV voting in the UK actually is.
* Big Brother 5 - 10m+
* I'm a Celeberity Get Me Out of Here - 10m+
* X-Factor - 5.4m
* Big Brother 3 - 5.3m
* Big Brother 4 - 3.1m
* Fame Academy 2 - 1.6m
* Eurosong 2002 - 700k
3. Quizzes. Quizzes are ever popular as a mechanic used by marketers
to engage their customers. And they can work very well on mobile
phones. This could be a simple text message based quiz or a fancier
java application (this is the technology behind mobile games) which
offers a deeper level of interactivity using graphics, sound and
animation, score keeping and the like. The typical way to start a quiz
is to text in a key word to a shortcode and a question is sent to you
by return.
It's fair to say I have a vested interest in this area as I'm working
on mobile product development for the World Quizzing Championships
2006. Any potential sponsors out there? Please get in touch ;-)
4. Mobile content/mobile media (pictures, ringtones, video). Thanks to
the unexpected popularity of ringtones the mobile content industry is
already huge and has rapidly increased over the last few years. We
know that young people spend 8 times as much on their mobile phones as
they do on music and 12% of their income on their mobile phones
(source Mobile Youth /w2forum)
The recent Mintel report on mobile content showed that the UK mobile
content market is worth $1bn. Ringtones are still top of the list at
33% (although I think the actual figure is probably much higher)
closely followed by games at 26%. And this is an industry that was
only born at the turn of the 21st Century.
Brands are now starting to capitale on the popularity of mobile
content r mobile media and are using it as part of their marketing
effort. A picture or ringtone can be a 2nd-or 3rd- tier prize in a
free prize draw or other competition which doesn't involve physically
sending out many prizes. We've used this approach at BeepMarketing in
the past for Foster's, Vivendi Universal and Digital Jesters. And I
expect to see more of this activity in the coming months and years now
that the phone technology is becoming more ubiquitous.
One of the key success factors for this industry is ease of payment.
Firstly this was done via IVR (Interactive Voice Response where you
dial a premium rate number and are billed per minute or as a one-off
fee) and then premium rate SMS was introduced. It made it so easy to
buy the content. No need for credit or debit card registration which
meant that kids could buy it without asking their Mums and Dads.
5. Mobile games. Mobile gaming is very popular and a growing industry
in its own right. We already have devices on the market such as the
Nokia N-Gage which, although it is a mobile phone, it was actually
designed with gaming in mind. And now we have the Sony PSP which isn't
a mobile phone but does have Wi-fi, therefore allowing full internet
access.
Coca Cola has signed a deal this year to create and produce Coca
Cola-branded games which customers will buy rather than download for
free. Licensing deals like this will become more commonplace over the
coming months and years too as brands try to get their heads round
where revenues may or may not be made on mobile.
6. Mobile Applications. It might be software to help you plan your
day, it might be an instant messenger service, it could be a system
for working out your daily horoscope. If you think of the PDA
(personal digital assistant) that's been around for some years now and
the range of software available for that, then you'll be getting
somewhere close to where we're going with this on mobile phones.
Of course, the development of this market depends on the types of
handsets out there that would need to have Symbian or Windows CE
operating system – sometimes these are called Smartphones. Usually
this is the higher end phones, but prices for technology soon drops
and just as the ipod is available to one and all, or so it seems, so
will 'Smartphones'.
7. CRM – customer relationship management (or should that be CMR –
customer managed relationship?). Let's not forget that the mobile
phone is a communications tool. And to that end is a 2-way device.
It's not just about pushing content or a message one-way, customers
can call or text you back. This means it's one of the channels to use
when building relationships with consumers. It's also a very neat way
of handling customer service issues like notifying someone to confirm
their groceries have been delivered, or that they're overdrawn at the
bank.
8. Interactive Voice Response (IVR). IVR is a much maligned
technology. It's an old technology, for sure as it's based on
landlines and is the engine behind those pesky 'press 1 for yes and 2
for no' systems. It's also used for paying for stuff – mobile content,
phone voting. But it also has potential for some great creativity.
Back in 2002, BeepMarketing worked on a campaign for the Butt Ugly
Martians. It was aimed at children (7 to 10 year old boys to be
precise) and was promoted in relevant comics and magazines. We had a
simple text game, but more interestingly, we ran an IVR game. You
dialled a standard rate number and instantly you're transported into
the world of the Butt Ugly Martians as you hear the music and
voice-over. You were then guided into a game of choice – press the
number that relates to your choice to get to the next level. We have 3
levels and if you got 1 of 3 winning combinations, we instantly sent
you a ringtone or logo. If you'd like to listen to this yourself,
please contact me for the telephone number.
And it's not just us who's used this technique.. McDonald's, Walker's
Crisps, Wella and more have incorporated IVR into their mobile
marketing efforts.
9. Multi-media messaging (MMS). This technique is increasing in
potential as it becomes more readily available on handsets. MMS can be
pushed to the phone at higher costs than simple text messages (several
times higher), or there is the cheaper option of 'virtual MMS' or WAP
push which can be just as effective and where you send a link to the
customer to download to view or save the message. Wap push is also the
technique used to deliver mobile content. True MMS is still limited by
cost and technical limitations of handsets.
10. Direct ad-response/Red Button Mobile. Red Button Mobile describes
direct response campaigns using the mobile phone as opposed to using
the red button on interactive television (or potentially outdoor or
print advertising unlike true Red button advertising). The mobile 'red
button' is based on a shortcode available, optionally coupled with
different keywords relevant keywords dependent on the reponse
mechanism. This allows interactivity with statci media as well such as
print and outdoor. Options include:
* Text to screen – With TV, comments texted in can be
automatically populated on-screen, as used by reality TV programmes
(text to screen).
* Text to email – where you text in your email address to a
shortcode and an automatic HTML email is generated and sent to the
respondent
* Text to post – this works in a similar way where you text your
address or postcode and street number
* Text to WAP – here the respondent is directed to an advertiser's
WAP site through a link where they can access content, or opt-in.
* Text to mobile content – Content such as a ringtone or a coupon
is received through texting a shortcode
As an example of the effectiveness of these campaigns, BeepMarketing
ran a direct response campaign for Axa PPP. This involved press
advertising in the Evening Standard (a London daily newspaper) for its
personal health insurance provider. Customers were asked to respond to
the advertisement either by freephone (0800 number) or a text message.
50% of all the replies came via text message, even though they could
have phoned for free and the texts would cost them 10p or so. All
texts were routed direct to a call centre to manage outbound calls.
11. Barcodes. Barcodes can be sent to a mobile phone and then redeemed
in store using the usual Epos systems. For example, Ann Summers used
this technique earlier in the year to drive traffic to their stores.
And many years before that, in my ZagMe days, we used a simple code in
a text message that acted in a similar way to a barcode – you could
track the codes but couldn't scan them in.
Technically, it is relatively straightforward (if anything *can* be
straightforward in mobile that is) to get a barcode to a mobile phone,
however, not all barcode readers will be able to read it due to the
different screen sizes and formats and intensity (or not) of the
screen's backlight.
A new take on barcodes is 'camera codes' whereby a consumer takes a
picture of the barcode from a TV screen, poster, newspaper, magazine
or website etc. This then initiates the response mechanism or can be
used for couponing. There are several companies working on this but it
still works best on Symbian or Smartphones.
12. Location-based services (LBS). This technique has prominently been
used by companies offering services to parents whose children's
whereabouts can be tracked via their phones. With KidsOK.net, parents
pay a fee to access the service. This allows them to 'ping' their
child's phone/s to find out where they are.
'Find me' services are available which are useful for evenings out and
there are mobile search companies coming up with ways of linking
location to search and maps.
Of course the ultimate for marketers would be something like ZagMe
where we sent text messages to shoppers at Lakeside and Bluewater
shopping malls, while they were out shopping, way back in 2000 and
2001. There's a piece on my website about what happened here but
suffice to say, we were ahead of our time and the technology is
currently prohibitively expensive. However, as prices come down and we
find other ways of doing this, this concept will return.
13. WAP portal or wap site (aka mobile internet). WAP sites are the
mobile versions of websites such as The BBC or Channel 4. Often after
television programmes you'll be asked to text in to access further
content from your mobile (red button mobile). The link then takes you
to the wap site where you can access videos, pictures, ringtones, and
information about the programme you've just watched. It's also an
opportunity to buy mobile content and to get customers to opt-in for
further information.
14. Java magazine or java portal. This is an application that you
download to your mobile phone and is like an electronic magazine. You
have the basic structure and with the first download, you get sent the
first range of content. Then when you want the latest news, you click
on update, and it updates all your pages over the air with new
content. The benefit of this is that the user experience is better
than WAP (although WAP is improving) and you can view content
underground – really important if you live in London! You don't have
to be 'online' to access your stuff.
15. Mobile search. All the main search providers have mobile (WAP)
specific versions of their search engines. These are now becoming more
sophisticated. Google Mobile Search (www.google.co.uk/mobile) offers
Local Search to find a local business and will then display a map
(Google Maps is integrated) or phone number with the option of
click-to-call on the appropriately-enabled handset. Google Local uses
listings from Yell combined with a bespoke database of wapsites (these
sites are checked that they are mobile phone compatible before
adding).
Overture is working on something similar.
There are limitations with this as usability is an issue. Do you
really want to be returned 500 wap sites when you have a tiny screen
and slow data speeds?
16. Mobile music. Beyond ringtones, we are seeing that many handsets
are now designed to play and store MP3 music files, potentially
rivaling the iPod. As access speeds increase with 3G, tracks could be
offered in promotions. Currently buying music from your mobile phone
is expensive and it's much cheaper to buy on itunes and then use
Bluetooth to send it to your phone.
17. Podcasting. Podcasting involves streamed delivery of a home-made
or professional audio programme, tune, speech or even video (these are
called vlogs – check out the vlogs on Perfect Path). They can be
accessed on any device with the appropriate MP3 capabilities and can
be managed using an RSS feed so that whenever you plug your player
into your pc (and over the air will come), your new podcasts are
automatically uploaded. If you'd like to hear a podcast that I did
earlier this year about mobile marketing then you'll find it here on
Perfect Path.
18. Blogging and RSS. Ok, you're reading a blog so I won't go into
this in detail. Suffice to say, reading blogs on the move is growing
with mobile RSS feeds. You'll find out much more about this mobile
blogging/RSS thing over at Mobhappy.
19 Moblogging. Moblogging, or blogging from your mobile phone is
popular and, although it can be text-based, makes best use of the
device when images or video-clips are submitted by MMS or WAP. We now
have citizen journalists who report breaking news before the main
networks as shown in the London bombings earlier this year when within
30 minutes, a video clip from the underground spread across the
internet like wildfire. This was all aided by sites like moblog (which
can handle video) and flickr (which can't).
Sony Ericsson has used the technique (with BeepMarketing's help) of
posting images to a blog to promote its K300i phone, by encouraging
users to upload their images to http://www.shameacademy.com/. And if
you join W2Forum, you'll find a big debate as to the good, the bad and
the ugly side of moblogging for marketing.
20. Bluetooth/infra-red. These techniques enable data to be sent from
one electronic device to another. And of course marketers have got on
the bandwagon. The Coldplay example is a case in point. I've talked
about it here before and although I love the concept, I just don't see
how they get round the Data Protection Act. It seems that finally the
Mobile Marketing Association finally agrees with me. Let me know what
you think.
Companies like Hypertag also use Bluetooth to allow customers to
receive information to their phones – pictures, coupons, music,
whatever. I saw this in action at the Electric Picnic this summer
where the Vodafone girls were wearing Hypertags and you had to make a
Bluetooth connection with them to see if you'd won a prize. The
benefit is that there's no cost to the consumer and it doesn't matter
if you don't have a mobile signal (like when you're in a field in the
middle of Ireland). However, it's clunky, the girl actually had to
take my phone off me to get it to connect, by which time, I was bored.
As a gimmick it worked, but until we have better Bluetooth systems, it
will be a while before this becomes mass market.
So that's my slightly long-winded top 20 applications for mobile
marketing. I'm sure there are more than that so if you think of some
that I've missed, then please do add your comments. And I'll do a
separate piece on moble media and its place in advertising another
time.
Via technokitten.blogspot.com
Friday, April 11, 2008
Mukesh and Anil Ambani Join Forces, Team up with Lakshmi Mittal to Purchase Europe
On the heels of Fortune Magazine rating 4 Indians among the 10
wealthiest people in the world, 3 of India's wealthiest men, Mukesh
Ambani, Anil Ambani, and Lakshmi Mittal announced a decision to
collaborate on their next big venture; Purchasing Europe.
The three tycoons have laid out a 7 step plan for the complete
Indianization of the continent, except England, which they feel is
likely to be completely Indianized by 2015 anyway without their plan.
Found on web
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Unlimited domain sub domain MySQL disk space bandwidth Linux Hosting
How to select a hosting company?
There are mutiple companies in the market and most of them are resellers. Resellers go for 2 GB space, 20 GB bandwidth, 2 domain, 30 sub domain like this. never go for them. By paying little extra you can go for
1. 1000 GB space
2. 5000 GB Badwidth
3. Unlimited Subdomain
4. 50 domain
5. 1 free domain
6. Unlimited MySQL database
6. Ad credit from Yahoo, Google, MSN etc
While looking for the features you shouldn't compromise with #1, #2, #3, #5 & #6
Many hosting provided limits total number of MySQL connection, No of subdomains et. Be aware of that. Even if you get unlimited space and bandwidth, you can't host multiple application if you don't have unlimited MySQl and subdomains.
Hope this will help in selecting proper hosting solution. Will write more in next post
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
SMS2INDIA MGINGER MGARLIC M-EARN - Get paid for reading SMS
I found this article on web. One person was trying to promote his network. Frankly speaking this is not the right way to earn from mobile because the calculation would be different. Yu can have 300 people in your network but 99% of them will not have single person in their network. That's the reason you can't earn through these program.
Marketer, you may think that by paying Rs. 2 you can send SMS to them. But do they read your SMS. Once they see SMS from XYZ then they will think that they are earning 20 paisa by receiving that. And just delete it.
You need to be little smart while opting for these service. Concept is new but still in the primary stage.
---------------------------------
All the below listed companies accept members only from INDIA. The companies are listed according to their importance.
JUST REGISTER YOUR MOBILE (S) WITH THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES FOR FREE AND START EARNING RIGHT NOW...!
1. SMS2INDIA
Earn money from SMS as well as e-mail, benefit from both in equal manner.
Earn equal amount at each network level, for both SMS and e-mail.
Earn from increasing your network. Up to 2 levels.
Check the advertisements at your own convenience. No more bombardment of advertisements.
Receive discounts/coupons/offers of your interest in your inbox.
Special privilege and advantages to registered users.
Receive advertisement of your preference & interest.
Have a larger network and earn more.
2. MGINGER
Earn money for reading sms on your mobile
Get SMS ads of only those products that you want to buy
Get ads at your convenience
Save money through discount coupons and offers
Earn much more money by inviting family and friends
Get 20 paisa for every ad you receive
Get 10 paisa for every ad your friends receive
Get 5 paisa for every ad your friend's friends receive
Accumulate Rs.300 & receive a cheque
Really it's a new concept to earn extra income through our cell phones without spending any thing.
These ads are only about your interests. Not only that, you get to decide when you want these ads.
3. YOUMINT
YouMint is a unique social utility that connects you with people around you. Only real people!
YouMint pays you to invite friends and to receive SMS promos! It might just pay your Mobile bill
4. MGARLIC
MGarlic pays you money to receive text SMS ads on your mobile.
They also pay you for each SMS that your friend or friend of your friend referred to MGarlic by you receive.
Member Benefits
Choose interests about which you want to receive SMS and get paid for it.
You decide maximum number of SMS you want to receive in a day.
Save Money by using discount coupons offered by Advertisers.
5. EARNBYADS
Earn 10 paise to 2 Rupees for receiving ads.
You can earn money/credits by giving referrals, considered only when the referrals register to the earnbyads.co.in.
Minimum payoutis Rs.500.
6. M-EARN
So far, you always paid for using mobile services. But this scheme has changed the flow. You will now earn money for reading SMS you receive.
You now have the freedom to choose; you can furnish your interests and receive offers and discount coupons from your favorite stores and brands.
Get sms ads at your convenience; You decide the number of ads you like to receive per day and also the specific time of the day for receiving them.
This is not just about ads or money but it is much more. Features like mind notes and coach me would change the way you have been using your mobile
This service is still in beta. But since this is going to be the next big boom, you can take the advantage of signing up right now and building up a network so that as soon as the service is rolled out of beta you start making the money.
7. ADMAD
You can earn from 5 referral levels
Get 20 paise for each SMS you recieve.
Get 15 paise for each SMS your friends receive.
Get 10 paise for each SMS their friends receive.
Get 5 paise for each SMS their friends receive.
Get 1 paisa for each SMS their friends receive.
8. GAVOOR (SITE PRESENTLY NOT WORKING)
Get 10p for every SMS you receive.
Get 10p on every SMS your friends receive!
Get 5p on every SMS their friends receive!
Get 3p on every SMS their friends receive!
You receive some advantage to buy products.
9. SMS2EARN (MIGHT BE A SCAM)
Free Signup! No Hidden Charges!!!
Earn 25p per sms on receiving it on your mobile
Earn 25p per referral to make them signup on our website using your url
Earn 20% commission on income of your friends whom you have referred
Get ads at your convenience. You decide number of ads you like to receive
Income without Investment! Access to Real Time Statistics
DATAWORKINDIA
This is a proved premium service offered for just Rs. 1500/-
Just Take this subscription program in which they offer TUTORIAL, to create computer literacy and Know How To Earn More on internet and many more.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
India’s first Virtual Mobile Credit Card
HDFC Bank and Reliance Communications have come together to introduce
the virtual mobile credit card facility for the first time in India.
Under this facility a Reliance mobile phone will also function as a
credit card and the mobile number will act as a credit card number.
The facility will also have a transaction passcode and in case of
mobile phone theft there will be no financial liability on the user.
The technology introduced a couple of years ago, in the global
markets, has done very well in countries like Philippines, Japan and
South Korea.
According to Mr. Mahesh Prasad, president of the applications,
solutions and content group at Reliance Communications, this facility
has the potential to become very popular with the customers. It is not
only a convenient payment option but also does away with the risks of
carrying credit cards and disclosing its details at the cash counter.
"Initially, the service would allow card holders to make payments to
merchant partners like Adlabs, Yatra and Billdesk, with the list to be
expanded to other partners following the roll out," Mr. Prasad said.
HDFC Bank's country head for IT, CN Ram said that this facility will
be an alternative payment option for their customers who don't like to
reveal their credit card details online.
He further added that they do not have any exclusive contract with
Reliance Communications and in future will be looking for tie ups with
more mobile companies for similar services.
via rupeetimes.com
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Friday, March 28, 2008
India Goa Real Estate Update March 2008
How about investing in Goa property?
There are lots of option. You can buy plot, flat, villa. If we buy a 2 BHK flat in panaji it will cost you 10 lacs. If you opt for a beach side flat then the SFT price increases to Rs2500/- to 3000/- per SFT because of tourist. Most of the appt, villas are given for rent when they are near to beaches. Not all the beaches are famous. We found Baga and calagute beaches are the most famouse among all other beaches.
Calangute comes under gram panchyat and the roads are very narrow. In the evening you can experience the traffic jam.
2 years back prices were less but it's totally different now. When you buy a appt / villa near beach there would be huge maintenance cost due to humid weather.
At this moment we are really confused whether we should invest in Goa or not?
One taxi driver was telling recently Govt has decided that people only from Goa can buy land in Goa. In that we can't buy land in Goa. The same is in Himachal Pradesh. This is really stupid. When we pay tax, some part of it goes to these state also. Then as an India we should be able to buy land in all the places in India.
What do you think? please share your though with us.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
FAQ's-House Property
1) What are the deductions available for the house property income?
There are only 2 deductions available on the income from house
property. The 1st is a flat deduction of 30% on the net annual value
of the house and the second is in respect of interest paid on the loan
taken for the house.
Besides this, in the case of let out house property, municipal taxes
paid can be deducted.
2) If a fresh loan has been taken for repayment of the original loan
taken for purchase, construction etc., would the interest payable in
respect of the second loan also be allowed as a deduction?
Yes. This has been clarified by the CBDT circular no. 28 dated 20-8-1969.
3) Is outstanding interest allowable as a deduction?
Yes, outstanding interest is allowable as a deduction.
4) What is the tax treatment for two self occupied properties of an assessee?
If the assessee owns more than one house meant for self occupation,
then the income from any one such property at the option of the
assessee shall be treated as self-occupied property and the other is
treated as "deemed let out property".
5) Can the option available to the assessee to treat one property as
self-occupied and the other as deemed let out, be changed every year?
Yes, the option can be changed every year in a manner most beneficial
to the assessee.
6) If in a house, one room / portion is let out and the rest is
self-occupied, how would you calculate income from house property?
In this case, the portion let out is treated separately as "let out
property" and the self occupied portion is treated as another property
and the income is computed respectively.
7) Where the assessee owns only one house, but is unable to occupy it
due to reason of taking up employment, business or profession, carried
at any other place, what will be the tax treatment of such property?
In this case the computation will be the same as that of a self –
occupied property.
8) What is the tax treatment in respect of unrealised rent recovered?
Unrealised rent recovered shall be treated as the income in the year
in which it is received and taxed under the head 'income from house
property'. No deduction is available on such income and it is taxable
even if the assessee is not the owner of the property at the time of
recovery of such amount.
9) In case two or more people jointly own a property and if their
shares are definite and ascertainable, then what is the taxability?
In such a case, the share of income of each co-owner is determined
separately and included in his individual assessment.
Capital Gains, Short / Long Term, Income from House, let out, self occupied property
House Property Income
Tax is on the annual value of the house property after allowing
certain deductions. House Property consists of any building, flat,
shop etc., and the land attached to the building.
Computation of income from Self Occupied property
Income is computed after giving certain deductions from the annual
value of the property.
* Computation of annual value of self occupied property
The annual value of Self occupied property is taken as NIL if
the property is fully utilized for own residential stay during the
year or if the property is not actually occupied as owner and is also
not let out. If a property is let out for only a part of the year,
proportionate annual value will be calculated.
* Entitled deductions for self occupied property
The only entitled deduction is interest, if any payable, on loan
taken for the purchase or construction of the house property. The
maximum deduction on this account is Rs.30,000/-; However, for
properties acquired or constructed between the 1st April 1999 and the
1st April 2003 out of borrowed funds, maximum limit is Rs. 1,50,000/-
Computation of income from let out property
Income is computed after giving certain deductions from the net annual
value of the let out property.
* Computation of net value of let out property
For let out properties the gross annual value will be the
greater of the following three amounts:
o Municipal value of the property
o Actual rent received during the year
o Fair rent i.e. rent of similar properties in the same or
similar locality.
Out of the gross annual value, municipal taxes actually paid
during the year has to be deducted to arrive at the net annual value.
* Entitled deductions for let out property
The deductions available for computing House Property Income are:
o 30% of the net annual value for repair and maintenance and
rent collection expenses for the property
o Interest on money borrowed to build, buy or repair the property
Ownership of property
Besides owning property in own name, a person is deemed as owner in
following three cases:
* As transferor of the property to spouse or minor child for
inadequate or no consideration
* As holder of an impartible estate or a property in part
performance of a contract under the Transfer of Property Act
* As share holder of a co-operative society or a company, which
entitles to hold any property
Capital Gains : If any Capital Asset is sold or transferred, the
profits arising out of such sale are taxable as capital gains in the
year in which the transfer takes place.
Definition of Capital Gains : Capital Asset means all moveable or
immovable property except trading goods, personal effects,
agricultural land other than within municipal areas or within 8
kilometers from it wherever notified and gold bonds. Jewelry and
ornament are not personal effects and their sale will attract capital
gains.
Distinction between short term and long-term asset
Capital Assets are of two types i.e., long term and short term.
Long-term capital assets are assets held for more than 36 months
before they are sold or transferred. In case of shares, debentures and
mutual fund units the period of holding required is only 12 months.
Different rates of tax apply for gains on transfer of the long term
and short-term capital assets. Gains on short-term capital asset are
taxed as regular income.
Computation of Capital Gains
Capital gains are to be computed by deducting the following three
amounts from the consideration money received on transfer of the
asset.
* The actual cost of the asset or its estimated market value as on
1.4.81, if acquired earlier
* The cost of improvement, if any, for the asset
* Expenses incurred on transfer of the asset; and
In case of a long-term capital asset, the costs are increased as per a
Cost inflation index for the year.
Exemptions from Capital Gains
In case of Individuals and HUF, long-term capital gains are exempt if
the sale proceeds are reinvested in certain assets.
Some examples:
* Profits on sale of residential house is reinvested in a new
residential house.
* Long term capital gains are invested in notified bonds
These exemptions are subject to certain conditions and the
reinvestment has to be made within the prescribed time.
Other Sources Income
Any income other than (a) salary, (b) house property income (c) Income
from business or profession, or (d) Capital Gains income, will be
taxed as Income from Other Sources. Examples are interest from
deposits, winnings from lotteries, races, income from the hiring out
of machinery, or machinery compositely with building, royalty,
copyright fees, family pension, dividends other than from domestic
companies and mutual funds etc.
more at mumbaipropertyexchange.com
FAQ Tax Matters / Income from House Property?
What do I state under the head- Income from salary?
Your office accounts department will in due course give you a document
called Form 16. It is basically a summary of your income from all
sources including salaries and the deductions that you are eligible
for. The gross amount of salary inclusive of taxable value of the
perks is to be taken directly from Form 16. Take care to attach form
no.16. Without it the return would be considered irregular.
Just remember to include the deductions allowed. There is the ad hoc
deduction allowed called Standard deduction. The Professional tax that
you pay is also deductible.
How do I deal with Income from House Property?
Now this gets slightly complicated. What you are doing with your
property will determine the tax treatment. If you are living in your
own home, the tax treatment will be different from when you are using
it for business or a profession.
The owner, or the deemed owner of a house property, inclusive of the
appurtenant land, is taxed on the �annual value� of the property under
the head �income from house property�. Where the house property is
used for carrying on any business or profession, the income is not
treated as income from the house property, but as business income.
The annual value of a self-occupied property is taken as �nil�. Where
there are more than one such self-occupied properties, only one
property, as per the choice of the assessee can be taken at nil value.
All others will be treated as let out.
Where the annual value is taken as nil, all the deductions allowed on
let-out property other than the interest on borrowed capital, are not
allowed.
Where there is more than one house or in the case of let-out property,
the �gross annual value� is the maximum of (i) municipal ratable value
(ii) actual rent if the property is let out and (iii) fair rent. The
�net annual value�(NAV) is arrived at by deducting municipal taxes
actually paid during the year.
From this NAV, the following deductions are permitted :
a) One-Fourth of NAV is deductible, for repairs and rent collection
charges irrespective of the actual expenses incurred.
b)Expenses on (i) Insurance premium (ii) ground rent (iii) annual
charge, not being a capital charge and not being a voluntarily created
one (iv) land revenue (v) irrecoverable rent and (vi) State tax.
c)In the case of a let out property, vacancy allowance is deductible
if it remains vacant during a part of the year. The amount deductible
is that part of the NAV (not annual rent) on a pro-rata basis. This
deduction is however not admissible if the property remains vacant
throughout the fiscal year. It has to be let out for some part of the
year, even for one day.
What about deductibility of interest on housing loans?
If the property has been acquired, constructed, repaired, renewed or
reconstructed with borrowed capital, the interest payable is
deductible. In the case of let out properties, the entire interest
payable can be set off. In the case of self-occupied property interest
is deductible up to Rs. 75,000 but only on capital borrowed after
1.4.99 and if the acquisition or construction of the property is
completed before 1.4.2001. This terminal date has been raised to
1.4.2003 and the amount of interest deductible to Rs. 1,00,000 by the
last Finance Act. The 2001-02 budget raises this deduction further to
Rs. 1,50,000.
Then again, this relief is allowed only when the income from house
property becomes chargeable to tax. In other words, the construction
should be complete, the flat should be ready for occupation and the
municipal annual value is known.
Take care to disclose the address of the property, its nature -
whether let out or self occupied, and the computation of net income by
way of a separate annexure.
I have a side business. How do I deal with this ?
This is fairly straight forward. Remember to attach annexures stating
the computation of income from the business or profession, the profit
and loss account, balance sheet with the relevant enclosures,
including auditor's certificate along with the return. Take care to
suitably modify and adjust any disallowable expenses, claims, brought
forward losses,depreciation etc., if any, to arrive at the accurate
taxable profit or deductible loss if any.
more at in.taxes.yahoo.com/
How home loans help you save taxes
The average age of person/s having own residential accommodation has
come down substantially from about 42 years in the financial year
2001-02 to 31 years in the financial year 2006-07, as per the National
Housing Bank estimates.
Do you know how has this become possible for a vast number of young
Indians to own their dream homes? This was made possible because of
lower interest rates and most importantly tax sops.
Why are tax sops so important?
Over the last few years, the major tax sop available to the employees
was in the form of a standard deduction, which is now withdrawn. There
are virtually no tax sops available to the employees, who are having
significant taxable income and tax liability.
The investment opportunities for the purpose of tax planning are also
limited with a cap up to Rs 1 lakh only. Hence, housing loans have
become an attractive proposition to save taxes, apart from other
equally important aspect like fulfilling the dream of owning a house.
What are the tax sops available through housing loans?
The first and the foremost tax sop is the interest amount that you pay
on housing loans. The interest on housing loans in the initial years
is the major component of the EMI you pay. The interest may exceed the
rental income from house property, resulting in loss from house
property.
In the case of self occupied residential houses, the entire interest
is the loss from such house property. This loss can be set off against
income from other heads such as salaries, business or profession.
The next important tax sop is the installment paid on housing loans.
The installments are allowed as a deduction from the gross total
income on par with other tax saving investments u/s 80C of the Income
Tax Act.
What kind of housing loans are eligible for tax sops?
Housing loan can be taken for the purpose of acquiring or constructing
a property. Housing loan taken for the purpose of repair, renewal or
reconstruction of the house property is also eligible for tax sops.
What kind of house properties is considered for deduction of interest?
All kinds of house properties are considered for allowing the
deduction of interest on loans. The gross annual value from house
property is considered for the purpose of allowing deduction of
interest on loans.
How is gross annual value from house property determined?
If the house property is let out, the fair rental value of such house
property is considered as gross annual value.
*
Tips for the first time home loan borrower?
If a person occupies a house property for her/his own residential
purposes, such residential property is considered as self occupied and
there is no income chargeable as 'income from house property'.
If a person occupies more than one house property for her/his own
residential purposes, only one house is considered as self occupied,
according to her/ his own choice. The other house/s are deemed to be
let out and the gross annual value is determined on the basis of the
municipal valuation for such house property.
If a person occupies a house property for self occupation for part of
the year and lets it out for another part of the year, she/he will not
be eligible for the benefit of self occupation and the gross annual
value will be determined as if the house property is let out.
If a person has a residential house, comprising two or more dwelling
units, out of which one is self occupied and the others are let out,
the gross annual value is determined on the basis of fair rental value
for the dwelling units, which are let out. The gross annual value will
be nil for the dwelling unit, which is self occupied.
Net annual value
Net annual value is derived after deducting municipal taxes actually
paid from the gross annual value of the house property, which is let
out. In the case of self occupied property, there will be no deduction
towards municipal taxes.
Interest on housing loan
Interest on housing loan is allowed as a deduction from the net annual
value of the house property. The following major points in connection
with the allowance of interest on housing loan need to be considered:
~ Interest is allowable up to a maximum of Rs 1,50,000, provided the
loan is taken on or after 1st April 1999 for the purpose of
construction or acquisition of house property.
*
The 'smartest' home loan EMI solution
~ Interest is allowable up to a maximum of Rs 30,000 only, if the loan
is taken before 1st April 1999 or if the loan is taken for the purpose
of reconstruction, repairs or renewals of a house property is taken
before or after the cut off date, ie, 1st April 1999.
~ Interest is allowed as an expenditure on accrual basis, ie, if such
interest becomes due but is not paid during the year.
~ Interest is allowed as expenditure even if the property is self
occupied and there is no gross annual value.
~ Interest is allowed as expenditure only if the house property is
acquired or constructed within 3 years from the end of the financial
year, in which the loan was taken.
~ The person extending the loan shall issue a certificate to the
borrower about interest payable during the financial year.
~ Interest payable during pre-construction period will be allowed in
five equal annual installments, commencing from the financial year, in
which the house is acquired or constructed.
~ Interest on unpaid interest is not allowed as a deduction.
~ Interest is allowed even if there is charge on the house property.
Standard deduction
In the case of properties which are let out, there will be a standard
deduction @ 30 per cent of net annual value, irrespective of any
expenditure incurred towards the house property. In the case of self
occupied property, there will be no standard deduction.
Loss from house property
There may be a loss from house property, after allowing the deductions
towards municipal taxes, standard deduction and interest on housing
loan.
*
Home loan terms you must KNOW
This loss from house property can be set off against income from other
heads of income, such as income from salaries, business or profession,
capital gains and other sources.
If the loss from house property cannot be fully set off against income
from other heads of income, it can be carried forward and set off
against income from house property in the subsequent years. This can
be carried forward up to a maximum of 8 assessment years.
Thus, if there is a loss of say, Rs 1 lakh from house property, after
setting off against income from other heads, during the financial year
2006-07, it can be set off against income from house property up to
the financial year 2014-15.
Installments paid on housing loans
Installments paid on housing loans are allowable as a deduction u/s
80C on par with other deductions allowed u/s 80C. Thus the maximum
limit of deduction u/s 80C along with other deductions u/s 80C, 80CCC
and 80CCD is Rs 1 lakh.
The installments may be towards the amount due under any self
financing or other scheme of any development authority, housing board.
The housing loan may be taken from the housing finance institutions,
banks or even the employer, where such employer is a public
company/public sector company/university/co-operative society.
The installments actually paid during the financial year only will be
allowed as deduction unlike the interest on housing loans, which is
allowed on due basis.
Some important hints for tax planning
~ The house property shall be registered in the name of the person,
who intends to claim deduction towards interest and installment.
~ In the case of working couples having substantial taxable incomes,
it may be worthwhile to register the housing property in the joint
names and take separate housing loans to claim deduction of interest
and installments.
~ If possible, the EMIs may be planned in such a way that the payments
towards principal part of the loan do not exceed the limits available
u/s 80C.
Read more at http://202.54.124.133/getahead/2007/sep/12tax.htm
Monday, March 10, 2008
Express Highway to Hyderabad Airport. THE BIG LIE EXPOSED
You have read in News Papers, the Govt and HUDA claiming that the
Express Highway will be completed before end 2008 so that traffic will
"flow" from Airport to Guchibowli! "Just a few months delay; that is
all!" Do not get taken for a ROYAL RIDE! Read through the Report and
be updated about the TRUTH ON THE GROUND.
Our team tried to carry out an "expedition" today (04.03.2008) from
Guchibowli to Shamshabad, along the route of the Express Highway which
according to the Govt. will be ready, in a few Months. In June 2007,
we had to call-off trip, after Himaayat Sagar, at the Large Hillock.
And we are sure our readers will not be surprised to know that after
almost a year, we had to cancel the expedition again! Its impossible
to cut through the place, even by walk.
The Express Highway is now an incredible mess. Excavation, blasting
and clearance of debris of mammoth scale is pending in large
stretches. Between Rajendra Nagar and Himayat Sagar, gigantic
structures have to be erected to carry the road from ground level up
to the Hills and through that.
Except a few gutters, all bridges/changeovers/ junctions etc are in
very basic state of work. Most have not even seen excavation, yet.
Load-bearing embankments have to be built all along. Several Kms will
be of at least 30 to 40 feet high! Such retaining structures itself,
will take years to build. And work can start only when excavation is
completed. Future looks depressing.
Mr. Piyush Kumar had blamed, in the media, AP Police Academy and
Muralee Mohan for delay. But if we take a look at the condition today,
work progress at APPA, Puppalaguda etc are far ahead, compared to
areas where land was always available. The inefficient director has
been throwing wool over people's eyes, for too long! Its nice to see
that he is relieved of work, on 28th February.
EXCLUSIVE VENTURES VERDICT:
The Expressway from Guchibowli to Airport with just 50% width of road,
will be available for traffic ONLY after 3 to 4 years. DO NOT EVEN
DREAM to travel till 2011!
The work progress is a telling example of a non performing Govt. This
project now has almost gone to dogs.
It will take a very efficient Government years, to put this project,
back on track.
Our Expectation:
* Ready for use by Commuters (with 50% road width) - 2011 or Later
(Let the Govt. prove otherwise!)
* Project Percentage Completion as of March 2008 - ONLY 20%
* To achieve partial completion by 2011, we need a doer! Someone
like Mr. E Sreedharan, the Man who built Delhi Metro and Konkan Rail.
Defenitely not Piyush Kumar!
WE HAVE NOTHING MORE TO ADD, EXCEPT COPY THE COMMENT MADE BY US IN
JUNE 20007 REPORT AND REITERATE THAT THE TARGET FOR COMPLETION, NOW
STANDS AT 2011!
QUOTE FROM JUNE 2007 REPORT
"We found that with just few months away to 2008 March, even
construction team can not travel from APPA to Shamshabad!!. (This is a
10KM stretch and the workers or engineers can not move from one end,
to the other. That summs up the situation!) Miles of hillocks are yet
to be cut and there is no ACCESS, at all! We were able to move from
Guchibowli upto APPA and then for another 2 Km, by bike, through the
mud tracks used by trucks. That is all. It gets stuck there with a
huge virgin hill, looking down and making a pass! We rock climbed and
reached the top. What we saw was heart breaking! Unending rough
terrain, yet to be touched."
"Road building can never be done overnight. It's a very lengthy
process. The road width has to be excavated deep and all soil removed.
It has to be replaced with red earth, layer by layer. Each layer has
to be rolled and cured. The surface preparation with broken granite
also happens layer by layer. There is no short cut at all. Let alone
flyovers, culverts, underpasses, even plain road will not be seen in
several stretches, by 2008 March."
*Read these at exclventures*
