K Sivan: A humble farmer's son's journey to ISRO top job

KANYAKUMARI/CHENNAI: A humble son of a farmer who studied in local government schools in Tamil medium at Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu is now all set to helm India's premier Space agency ISRO. 

K Sivan, now Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,who has been named the next Secretary of Space Department and Chairman of Space Commission and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), is a native of Tarakkanvilai in Kanyakumari district. 

"Sivan hails from a very ordinary family. His father was a farmer. He is the first graduate in the family", his uncle A Shunmugavel said. 

Recalling Sivan's student days, Shunmugavel told PTI that the rocket expert was "self-made, studious and hard working. He never went to any tuition or coaching classes." 

He studied in government schools in Tarakkanvilai his native village and at neighbouring Valangumaravilai in Tamil medium. Later, he graduated from ST Hindu College in Nagercoil, he said. 

"The entire village is happy. The school where he studied today held a function and distributed sweets." 

On his elevation, Sivan told PTI: "This is a rare opportunity. This is a post held by legendary people, I accept this with humility." 

Expressing happiness, he recalled the efforts of his seniors and work by junious in space initiatives (for organisational and nation's growth) and said the government also "believed in me." 

Asked if he expected the elevation, he said "I did not expect it," adding his "mind is full of PSLV (launch)." 

Sivan graduated from Madras Institute of Technology in aeronautical engineering in 1980 and completed Master of Engineering in Aerospace engineering from IISc, Bangalore in 1982. 

Subsequently, he completed his PhD in Aerospace engineering from IIT, Bombay in 2006. 

He joined ISRO in 1982 in Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) project and contributed immensely towards end to end mission planning, mission design, mission integration and analysis. He held various responsibilities during his stint in ISRO. 

Sivan, who will succeed incumbent A S Kiran Kumar for a three-year term, has numerous publications in various journals and is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering, Aeronautical Society of India and Systems Society of India. 

He has received various awards throughout his career, including Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) from Sathyabama University, Chennai in April 2014 and Shri Hari Om Ashram Prerit Dr Vikram Sarabhai Research award for 1999. 

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami and Leader of the Opposition M K Stalin, today greeted Sivan on his appointment as ISRO chief. 

"I congratulate you on your appointment as the Chairman of ISRO. It is a matter of pride for Tamil Nadu that a person from our state has attained such a high position through ability and dint of his hard work," Palaniswami said.In his congratulatory letter to Sivan, Palaniswami said his appointment "is a fitting recognition of your long and distinguished career in space research." 

"On behalf of the people and Government of Tamil Nadu, I congratulate you on your elevation and wish you all success in your new position," he added. 

Stalin, DMK Working President,also congratulated Sivan. 

"My hearty congratulations to Dr K Sivan on his appointment as Chairman of ISRO. I wish him extraordinary success in his efforts to take our nation's space establishment @isro to further heights," he said in a tweet. 

PMK founder S Ramadoss also greeted Sivan and wished him well in his endeavours. 

The Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet yesterday approved Sivan's appointment as Secretary, Department of Space and Chairman of Space Commission for a three year tenure. 

Sivan's appointment was cleared on Wednesday, two days ahead of the proposed historic launch of ISRO's 100th satellite along with 30 others in a single mission from Sriharikota. 

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What is the difference between Brent and crude oil?

Brent crude is a type or grade crude oil from the Brent oilfield region near the UK.

Not all crude oil is alike. It has properties of light to heavy which depends on it hydrocarbon chain mix and sweet to sour which depends on contaminants especially such as sulfur compounds which are undesirable. Light sweet crude is more desirable than heavy sour crude because of requirements it places on the refining operations. The desirable kind is easier to refine to desirable gasoline and low in sulfur so it commands a premium price.

So the Brent crude is a light, sweet crude well known for its properties. The other worldwide well-known type is West Texas Intermediate.(WTI)

These are known as benchmark crude oil - when a price is quoted for a barrel of oil it will refer to one of these. Then discounts or premiums can be placed on oil of other types depending upon its relative desirability. Its easy to benchmark a couple of predictable types rather than have a large price list for many grades of crude that needs to be updated as price/demand changes..

Source Quora Answered by Loring Chien :-Learned about the oil industry at age 10

Government mulls ordinance on triple talaq

By Pradeep Thakur Mohua Chatterjee

NEW DELHI: Having failed to muster enough support in the Rajya Sabha to pass legislation banning instant "talaq-e-biddat (triple talaq)", the government is likely to take the ordinance route to criminalise it. 

According to sources, the government is looking at all options, including bringing an ordinance and convening a joint session of Parliament during the budget session to get the legislation passed without having to go through the Rajya Sabha, where the bill faces formidable opposition hurdles. 

The bill to criminalise talaq-e-biddat was passed by the Lok Sabha in the winter session but is stuck in the Rajya Sabha with opposition parties as well as NDA ally TDP having reservations over criminal provisions in the draft law. 

A section of MPs in the upper House had demanded that the bill be referred to a parliamentary committee for review. The All India Muslim Personal Law Board and various women's groups too are ranged against the bill. The women's groups are particularly opposed to the criminal provisions in the bill. 

The bill proposes to make triple talaq a cognisable and non-bailable offence and provides for three-year imprisonment along with a fine. At least half a dozen BJP states have backed the bill. Tamil Nadu was the only non-BJP state to send its response to the Centre but it demanded that the criminal provisions in the bill be dropped. The legislation is applicable only to instant triple talaq and not on talaq. 

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Tip of the iceberg? PwC has a long history of controversies in India

Capital-market regulator Sebi's ban on Price Waterhouse from auditing listed companies in India for two years for its role in the Satyam Computer Services scam is not the only trouble for global auditing firm PwC that operates with a network of entities in India. PwC and its related entities in India have for long been in controversies. Below is a listing of major controversies the firm and its entities have landed in recent times: 

The Sarvesh Mathur case 

Sarvesh Mathur, who was CFO of PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Ltd (PwCPL) between 2008 and 2011, filed a defamation suit in July last year accusing his erstwhile employer of cooking books, evading tax, wilfully breaking several laws and then intimidating, cheating and tarnishing his name when he refused to help cover-up the white-collar crimes. He alleged in his complaint that the company falsified its accounts on several occasions, destroyed and lied to government officials. In one instance in 2010, the complaint says, a PwCPL senior official helped adjust Rs 5 crore "outside the system". A PwC spokesperson had denied the allegations, saying, "This is in a long series of defamatory attempts made against PwC by persons who seem to be acting in consort with each other with the sole purpose to harass and bring the name of PwC under disrepute." 

Justice Shah's letter 

In July last year, former chief justice of the Delhi High Court AP Shah wrote to the Prime Minister, questioning PwC's integrity and competence to render audit and advisory services to clients, including the government. He listed several instances of violations by auditor PwC and its partner firms. Justice Shah, writing on behalf of Citizens Whistle Blowers Forum said, "...violations by PwC member firms in India perhaps represent only the tip of ice-berg and if left un-addressed will pose serious threats to public interest and national security." PwC had said at that time that it had always complied and would continue to comply with applicable laws and regulations and any suggestion to the contrary was merely speculative. 

MP Kirit Somaiya's complaint 

In March last year, ruling BJP's Lok Sabha MP Kirit Somaiya posted on Twitter document according to which he demanded action against PwC network for its alleged role in various scams related to Global Trust Bank, Satyam and Vijay Mallya/Kingfisher airlines/UB group. He claimed that a Joint Parliamentary Committee had recommended strong action against PwC for its alleged role in the Global Trust Bank scam. 

Leaking of official documents

An official of PwC came under CBI scanner in connection with the alleged sale of confidential government documents on foreign investment policies to corporate groups by officials, PTI reported in March 2015. It cited CBI sources as saying that during the questioning of five arrested persons in the case, it had come to light that an official of PwC was allegedly procuring documents from the Department of Economic Affairs, under the Finance Ministry, through Khemchand Gandhi, Chartered Accountant,arrested by the agency. The confidential documents related to foreign direct investment policies being considered in the government. 

Prashant Bhushan's petition 

In a petition to the Supreme Court in 2013, Center for Public Interest, a non-profit organisation headed by activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan, sought a probe into allegations of irregularities and malpractices by PwC and its related companies. The NGO alleged that PwC and its related companies. The NGO alleged that PwC and its related firms had violated FDI norms. In 2016, the Supreme Court directed the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to submit a status report on the probe into allegations of FDI violations by PwC. 

The Nokia probe 

In 2013, PwC was questioned by tax authorities investigating possible tax evasion by Finnish phone-maker Nokia. An ET report had cited a source in the income tax department as saying, " "The evidence gathered so far clearly indicates that PwC has advised Nokia and they were aware of the tax evaded and accounting practices. PwC are the auditors for Nokia and they may face prosecution from Income-Tax department." The questioning of PwC began a few days after the tax officials raided Nokia India's factory near Chennai. 

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Himachal govt announces Rs 5 lakh cash award for ski champ

The government of Himachal Pradesh has given an award of Rs 5 lakh to Aanchal Thakur who won India's first ever medal at the Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup organised by the International Skiing Federation in Turkey's Erzurum. She won a Bronze medal at the event. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday heaped praise on the skier, who etched her name in history books by winning the first-ever medal for India in a skiing competition.

Taking to his official Twitter account, PM Modi wrote that the entire country is ecstatic by her "historic accomplishment".

"Well done @alleaanchal for winning an international medal in skiing! The entire nation is ecstatic on your historic accomplishment at  the FIS International Skiing Competition in Turkey. Wishing you the very best for your future endeavours," he tweeted

US travel advisory puts India at level 2

WASHINGTON: The US on Wednesday issued a new travel advisory for countries including India, which its officials said is "user friendly" as it is based on ready-to-understand level of advice ranging from one to four. 

India has been ranked Level 2 (exercise increased caution), while Pakistan has been placed in Level 3 (reconsider travel). Level 1 advises travellers to exercise normal precaution, while Level 4, which has countries like Afghanistan, recommends "Do Not Travel". 

Now every country has a travel advisory based on this system, which has replaced all the previous such advisories. 

"These improvements will provide US citizens with clear, timely, and reliable safety and security information worldwide," the State Department said. 

Placing India on Level 2, the State Department identified "crime and terrorism" for Americans to exercise increased caution. However, it asks Americans not to travel to Jammu and Kashmir, except for eastern Ladakh and Leh and not to venture within 10 miles of the India-Pak border. 

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CHIEF MINISTER OF UTTAR PRADESH-MAN ON MISSION TO CLEAN THE SYSTEM

Satyam Case: SEBI Bans Price Waterhouse Entities From Issuing Audit Certificates In India For 2 Years

New Delhi: Finding Price Waterhouse guilty in the multi-crore Satyam scam, SEBI on Wednesday barred its network entities from issuing audit certificates to any listed company in India for two years and ordered disgorgement of over Rs 13 crore wrongful gains from the audit major and its two erstwhile partners who worked on the IT major's accounts.

The market regulator's order comes nearly nine years after the scam at Satyam Computer Services came to light and after two failed attempts by auditor major Price Waterhouse to settle the case through consent mechanism.

This is also one of the most stringent orders passed by any regulator against a Big Four audit major.

In a 108-page order, SEBI has imposed a two-year ban on entities/ firms practicing as chartered accountants in India under the brand and banner of PW from directly or indirectly issuing any certificate of audit of listed companies, compliance of obligations of listed companies and intermediaries registered with the regulator. 

SEBI noted that the order would not impact audit assignments relating to the financial year 2017-18 undertaken by the firms forming part of the PW network. Besides, Price Waterhouse Bangalore and its two erstwhile partners - S Gopalakrishnan and Srinivas Talluri – have been directed to jointly and severally disgorge the wrongful gains of "Rs 13,09,01,664 with interest calculated at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from January 7, 2009 till the date of payment".

They have to pay the amount within 45 days. Further, Gopalakrishnan and Talluri have been restrained from directly or indirectly issuing any certificate of audit of listed companies, compliance of obligations of listed companies and intermediaries registered with Sebi for three years.

"The objective of insulating the securities market from such fraudulent accounting practices perpetrated by an international firm of repute will be ineffective if the directions do not bring within its sweep, the brand name PW. 

"The network structure of operations adopted by the international accounting firm should not be used as a shield to avoid legal implications arising out of the certifications issued under the brand name of the network," the order said. The regulator had found that certain directors and employees of Satyam Computer Services had connived and collaborated in the overstatement, fabrication, falsification and misrepresentation in the books of account and financial statements of the company.

India 2nd largest contributor to IBM’s over 9,000 patents in 2017 IBM’s India inventors contributed over 800 patents, making India the second highest contributor after the US region

New Delhi: Tech giant IBM on Tuesday said it received 9,043 patents in 2017, with India accounting for over 800 patents making the country the second highest contributor to the record tally.

IBM inventors received a record 9,043 patents in 2017, marking the company’s 25th consecutive year of US patent leadership and crossing the one lakh-patent milestone. These patents were granted to more than 8,500 IBM researchers, engineers, scientists and designers in the US and more than 40 other countries.

“IBM’s India inventors contributed over 800 patents to this record tally, making us the second highest contributor after the US region,” IBM vice president (research), India and Singapore, Sriram Raghavan told PTI. This is a testament to IBM India’s exploratory research capabilities and commitment to innovation in creating technologies that touches lives, he added.

IBM’s patents in 2017 included more than 1,900 cloud patents, 1,400 in artificial intelligence (AI) and over 1,200 in the area of cybersecurity. The US-based firm also received patents in the areas of blockchain and quantum computing. For the past 25 years, IBM’s patent leadership has changed the way the world works with advancements critical to the modern era of computing, IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer (CEO) Ginni Rometty said in a statement.

“Today, nearly half of our patents are pioneering advancements in AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, blockchain and quantum computing—and all are aimed at helping our clients create smarter businesses,” she added.

One of the patent is for a system that can help AI analyse and mirror a user’s speech patterns to improve communication between AI and humans. Another one, in the area of cybersecurity, turns the table on hackers by baiting them into email exchanges and websites that expend their resources and frustrate their attacks.

First Published: Tue, Jan 09 2018. 08 04 PM IST livemint

Mumbai home prices post first drop in decade amid crackdown by PM Modi The base price in Mumbai has declined 5%, which translates into an effective price benefit of as much as 12% for buyers once incentives such as a waiver on stamp duty are considered

Mumbai:India’s financial capital Mumbai witnessed a decline in residential property prices for the first time in a decade last year following a crackdown on undeclared cash, new consumer protections and the roll-out of a nationwide sales tax, according to Knight Frank.

“Unlike the conventional narrative, developers cut down prices to offload their unsold inventory,” Samantak Das, chief economist and national director at Knight Frank, wrote in the report published on Wednesday. The base price in Mumbai has declined 5%, which translates into an effective price benefit of as much as 12% for buyers once incentives such as a waiver on stamp duty are considered, he wrote.

The past year has been packed with uncertainty and volatility for the real-estate sector as reforms nudged developers toward being more transparent. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is spearheading a campaign to wipe out the shadow economy, boost tax compliance and widen the revenue base. The real estate sector has been among the hardest hit as a large part of transactions were done in cash, some of it generated via tax evasion.

“At the end of 2017, India’s residential sector appears to have shrunk to a fraction of its size in less than a decade," according to Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank.

The Indian property market will continue to face headwinds this year and no hardening of prices is expected, Das said at a press conference. The second half of 2018 can see the beginning of a recovery as disruptions from the goods and services tax settle, infrastructure building gains pace and economic activity improves, he added. Bloomberg

First Published: Wed, Jan 10 2018. 09 22 PM IST

Defaulters use minor kin to evade scrutiny and recovery by lenders

By DIVYA RAJAGOPAL

Some borrowers with no intention of paying back their loans are using their children to conceal their assets from banks during insolvency proceedings, forensic experts told ET. 

Forensic investigators said they have found several promoters who used borrowings from banks to invest in real estate, land and commercial establishments in the names of children. Since children and senior citizens are not required to file tax returns, tracing assets that belong to them is tougher. A public sector bank that hired a forensic agency to investigate an infrastructure company, which is not insolvent but has stressed loans of Rs 1,500 crore, found that the promoter moved real estate assets worth Rs 200 crore in his sons' names about a year ago. Within months, some of the assets were sold and the money was shipped overseas. 

In another case — where insolvency proceedings are ongoing — it was discovered that some assets kept as collateral with multiple banks were transferred by a promoter to a minor granddaughter. 

"Typically, the age of the kids is 13-14 years and minors become effective tools in hiding assets as there are no corporate linkages to them," said Tarun Bhatia, MD of Kroll, a corporate investigations and risk consulting firm. 

Bhatia said forensic firms start working backward when they set out to trace the assets of suspect promoters. Typically, they look at sources of funds, whether promoters have a habit of funds from one group in another and what kind of assets they like to accumulate. That's when they unearth details of assets in the name of minors. Some of them are second generation members of the promoter families who are already in the business, but there are also assets in the names of children who run different business, which becomes difficult to trace. Bhatia said their job is to help banks make the case that the assets were created in the name of minors through the bank's lending. "Once we establish that, many of the promoters start negotiating with banks to resolve the issue," Bhatia said. In some cases, the children of such promoters themselves become "whistle blowers" by exposing the assets. "Through their public profiles in social media, children give away details by sharing pictures of an exotic family resort... and that becomes our cue," one forensic expert told ET, asking not to be identified. 

"In many situations, asset-tracing has revealed that promoters had used proceeds of loans to buy real estate and land in the name of minors or others who do not have an obligation to report or file tax returns. Minors and senior citizens are not required to file tax returns and this could mean that tracing assets ostensibly in their names (benami ones) are tougher to find," said Vidya Rajarao, partner and forensics practice leader at Grant Thornton. 

Indian banks have stressed assets to the tune of ?12 lakh crore and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code seems to have come at the right time for them to get a chance at cleaning up their books. Some methods of asset shifting can come under the Benami Act and anti-money laundering provisions that banks can trigger, experts said. 

"The government's move to include Sections 447 & 448 of the Companies Act, 2013, as scheduled offences under PMLA, thereby giving the Enforcement Directorate the power to recover fraudulently generated money, would go a long way in curbing money laundering and other malpractices," said KV Karthik, partner, financial advisory services, Deloitte India. 

Still, sleuthing experts said that by the time banks trace the assets, the funds are usually already siphoned off and in some cases, used. Even after tracking the assets, it is found that they are ring-fenced. 

In the case of a real estate company, where forensic investigators were roped in, it was discovered that assets—mainly apartments in Mumbai, NCR and some plots near Haryana—were transferred in the name of a juvenile, but the banks acted late. "By then, we suspect the promoters got wind of that and a large chunk of these assets was sold," said a person close to an investigation. 

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 .. 

World Bank says India has huge potential, projects 7.3% growth in 2018

WASHINGTON: With an "ambitious government undertaking comprehensive reforms", India has "enormous growth potential" compared to other emerging economies, the World Bank said on Wednesday, as it projected country's growth rate to 7.3 per cent in 2018 and 7.5 for the next two years. 

India, despite initial setbacks from demonetization and Goods and Services Tax (GST), is estimated to have grown at 6.7 per cent+ in 2017, according to the 2018 Global Economics Prospect released by the World Bank here today. 

"In all likelihood India is going to register higher growth rate than other major emerging market economies in the next decade. So, I wouldn't focus on the short-term numbers. I would look at the big picture for India and big picture is telling us that it has enormous potential," Ayhan Kose, Director, Development Prospects Group, World Bank, told PTI in an interview. 

He said in comparison with China, which is slowing, the World Bank is expecting India to gradually accelerate. 

"The growth numbers of the past three years were very healthy," Kose, author of the report, said. 

In 2017, China grew at 6.8 per cent, 0.1 per cent more than that of India, while in 2018, its growth rate is projected at 6.4 per cent. And in the next two years, the country's growth rate will drop marginally to 6.3 and 6.2 per cent, respectively. 

To materialise its potential, India, Kose said, needs to take steps to boost investment prospects. 

There are measures under way to do in terms of non-performing loans and productivity, he said. 

"On the productivity side, India has enormous potential with respect to secondary education completion rate. All in all, improved labor market reforms, education and health reforms as well as relaxing investment bottleneck will help improve India's prospects," Kose said.  .. 

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51 stocks have fallen over 50% from their 52-week highs: Should you pick any? Remember the market adage 'don't catch a falling knife'. Or should you?

Ritesh Presswala@riteshpresswala

A rising tide lifts all boats, or most. With markets hovering at all-time highs, nearly all stocks in the market have appropriately risen.

While some investors and traders choose momentum  as a strategy, in which you chase high-performing stocks, others look at a contrarian approach.

So even as the general complaint in the market is there are not enough lucrative opportunities left anymore, interestingly, there are 51 stocks that are trading at, at least, a 50 percent discount from their 52-week high.

To filter out microcap stocks, we weeded out companies with market cap below Rs 100 crore.

Should you go out and buy these stocks then? Don't -- at least not only because of their fall. Remember the market adage 'don't catch a falling knife'.

But here's a further spin to our numbers.

To assess the fundamentals of the companies whose names turned up in the above list, we looked for those that had posted at least double-digit sales growth and return on equity for each of the last fiscals.

Only two stocks, Kushal and Pincon Spirit, passed our screen.

Price performance: While Kushal has given a sterling 1574 percent absolute return over the past three years, Pincon Spirit has netted a stable 80 percent.

Company’s growth: Both the companies have clocked consistent sales and profit growth of 40% over 3 years.

IF MR.MODI AND HIS MINISTERS WOULD HAVE READ THIS ARTICLE AND ACTED SERIOUSLY THEN SMALL LEVEL INDIAN FARMERS WOULD HAVE BECOME A HAPPIER LOT AND A MAJOR VOTE BANK.

Co-operative societies and rural India

India is mainly an agrarian society with more than half of its population still residing in the villages. Rural sector is the major contributor to the overall GDP of the nation and hence lack of development in villages means lack of development in India. Cooperative societies are playing significant role in this and share a major credit in the growth of rural sector which along with government and private sectors contribute to the overall economy of India. Cooperatives cover more than 97%of Indian villages, some run by its members and some by the government

Needs of rural people are served by different forms of private and government organizations including partnership firms, co-operatives, companies and charitable trust. Government each year spends lakhs to crores of rupees on rural development. But co-operatives working in rural areas are playing noteworthy role in this. Gujurat’s Dairy co-operative and Maharashtra’s sugar co-operative prove their contribution.

Cooperatives originated in the West during the middle of the last century and from there these came to India. Formally co-operatives were introduced to India in 1904 when the Indian Co-operative Societies Act was promulgated. Moreover rural indebtedness was the major force behind the initiation of chit funds and cooperatives in India. Initially these were just to provide credits to the farmers in the form of credit societies and gradually these start working in other fields such as banking, processing and marketing. The meager funds of farmers were pooled in to run cooperative and it was an attractive way to solve their financial problems. After independence role of cooperative societies grew to encompass socio-economic development and eradication of poverty in rural India. It became an integral part of five year plan. With this co-operative societies became a fundamental part of our economy.

Non-credit societies came in 1912. Importance of co-operative was also highlighted in the Royal Commission on Agriculture in 1928.  With the formation of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in 1935, developing more cooperative societies was given due importance.

Main aim of the cooperative was to get the poor and indebted farmers out of poverty and out from the clutches of money lenders. Within short span of time, role of cooperatives extended beyond agricultural credit. It started covering activities such as production, farming, marketing and processing. Cooperatives are now playing a very significant role in the socio-economic development of our country especially the rural India.

In 1951 there were 1,81,000 cooperatives of all kinds in India and this number increased to manifold within short span of time. During 2007-08 there were 1,50,000 primary credit cooperatives and some 2,60,000 non-credit primary societies of all types. In India there are four major types of cooperatives –

• The Primary agricultural credit or service societies
• Agricultural non-credit societies
• Agricultural co-operative marketing societies
• Co-operative farming societies

Though the expansion and reach of cooperatives is highly impressive but their way of working is not Except for few co-operative societies most of these lack motivation. These are merely run by the government without motivation and enthusiasm of their members. Some of these even lack in the required funds. Other factors that lead to the slow progress of these societies are – mismanagement, manipulation, restricted coverage, lack of awareness, and political interference. But this does not mean the downfall of the massive projects. Despite all this, cooperatives are really helping poor in becoming self-reliant. Scope of cooperative societies in rural India can improve further with women participation.

Cooperatives provide credit to the farmers, the most needed thing in the farming. Apart from this cooperatives help farmers by providing top quality fertilizers, seeds, insecticides, pesticides etc at reasonable price. Farmers also get marketing, warehousing facility and transportation support from the cooperatives. Service cooperative societies help the poor and marginal farmers with tractors, threshers etc on rent. Rural cooperative societies are now entering into real estate, power, insurance, healthcare and communication sector. If these keep on working with an objective of development then days are not far when quality of rural life would be far better than urban India.

by Ramandeep Kaur pUBLISHED IN MapsofIndia on jan 28 2014

IMPORTANT FOR LOSS MAKING INDIAN COMPANIES