Inflation to moderate to 5%, says P Chidambaram

 
Finance Minister P Chidambaram has expressed hope that rate of price rise will ease to below 5 per cent following steps taken by the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

"Several steps, including increase in the policy rate, have been taken and we hope that the WPI-based inflation rate will moderate to a level below 5 per cent," he said at the second South Asian Diaspora Convention in Singapore.

The CPI inflation, measured by movement in the retail prices of food items, soared to a seven-month high of 10.09 per cent in October. The wholesale price-based inflation, too, shot up to 8-month high of 7 per cent in the same month.

The government has taken several measures, including supplying wheat in those location where prices have been high. So far it has offloaded 500,000 tonne wheat to contain prices.

Meanwhile, RBI has raised policy rate by 0.25 per cent in the its October monetary policy review to contain inflation.

Noting that retail inflation has been more intractable, Chidambaram said both the WPI and the CPI are being driven by food inflation.

"The weights of food items in the two indices are 24.3 per cent and 46.2 per cent, respectively. It may surprise you that there is reasonable stability in the prices of major commodities such as wheat and rice," he said, adding that sugar prices have actually fallen by about Rs 6 per kg.

However, the finance minister said, prices of fruit, vegetables, meat, milk and eggs are elevated and are driving the inflation rate.

Chidambaram had earlier said that "both RBI and the government are trying number of measures to cool inflation... We are looking at various suggestion that we have got. I am open to suggestion but I am afraid that there is no easy answers to cool retail inflation."

Ratan Tata felt confused and humiliated during early Harvard days

 
Ratan Tata has said he felt confused and humiliated during his first few weeks as a student at the elite Harvard University but those initial days turned out to be the "most important weeks" of his life.

Tata recalled his first weeks on the Harvard campus as he attended a dedication ceremony of Tata Hall at Harvard Business School (HBS) in Boston earlier this week.

Named in the honour of the iconic Indian industrialist , Tata Hall is a seven-story, glass-and-limestone 163,000 square foot building, which will include residential and learning space for the HBS's executive education programme.

Tata was joined by HBS's India-born dean Nitin Nohria and Harvard University President Drew Faust for the dedication ceremony during which he recounted that his first weeks on the Harvard campus were "confusing" and he felt "humiliated" by the impressive and overwhelming calibre of his fellow students, according to a report in the Harvard Gazette.

"It was the only time in my life where I sat and crossed out day by day how many days were left before I could return to the normal world," Tata said.

"But what it did do for me, as I soon found out, the confusion sort of disappeared, and you understood the magnitude of what you had learned in a manner that I believe is not possible to do in places other than at this business School," he said.

"As I look back, those 13 weeks were probably the most important 13 weeks of my life. They transformed me and my perspective," the former Chairman of Tata Sons said.

The business tycoon said, "Harvard Business School is the pre-eminent place to be exposed to the world's best thinking on management and leadership, and we are pleased that this gift will support the School's educational mission to mould the next generation of global business leaders".

Tata, a 1975 graduate of the advanced management programme at HBS and himself an architect, had presented the design firm behind Tata Hall with two design challenges of making the building warm and welcoming to visitors and as open and transparent as possible.

"Can the building touch the ground lightly?" architect William Rawn recalled of Tata's charge, to explain the walls of glass.

Tata Companies, the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, and the Tata Education and Development Trust, which are philanthropic arms of the Tata Group, had donated $50 million to the HBS in 2010.

The building has been funded through gifts from the trusts.

Construction of the building began in December, 2011, and it will have 179 bedrooms, two 99-seat classrooms, three gathering spaces and conference rooms for the more than 9,000 students who participate in the prestigious Business School's executive education programme each year.

Among the building's green features are a low-flow plumbing system and a solar array used to generate air conditioning power.

The hall is expected to receive the US Green Building Council's LEED Platinum certification, its highest rating.

Nohria called Tata Hall "a gift that will transform our campus for decades to come," one that represents "a significant moment in the evolution of our business School".

"Although our School has welcomed international students since its very first class in 1908, Tata Hall represents by far the most significant gift made by an international alum," he said.

"As such, it signifies our institution's status as a truly global institution. We look forward to welcoming remarkable leaders and contributing to their ability to make a profound difference in the world," Nohria said.

A report in the Harvard Crimson quoted Former Business School Dean Jay Light as saying that the "best thing about the building is the name".

Former president of the University Board of Overseers C Dixon Spangler said when he was student at Harvard 60 years ago, there were no women in his classroom and nor were there any Indians.

"Now the president of Harvard is a woman, and the dean of the business school was born in India. So Harvard too has changed and changed very much for the better," Spangler said.

BenQ launches two Eye Care monitors in India

 
Staring at a computer screen for a number of hours every day can lead to eye strain, headaches and temporary vision impairment. These are symptoms of what is called the computer vision syndrome (CVS).

According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health in the US, more than 90 per cent of those who spend three or more hours at a single stretch working on their computers are likely to get CVS.

BenQ on Thursday (December 12) launched the EW40 series monitors of Eye Care monitors. Eliminating flickering from the monitors, these screens have also included different modes which cut glare and significantly reduce blue LED light emissions.

There are different low blue light modes to reduce harmful blue light emission significantly and prevent macular degeneration, including be it in the multimedia mode, the web surfing mode, the office mode or the reading mode. Of these, the reading mode is designed to simulate the experience of reading paperbacks.

The monitors support MHL connections, which allow streaming of content from an MHL equipped Android smartphone. EW series monitors are available in 24" and 27" inch wide screen sizes and are priced at Rs 18,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively.

Do homework when buying tablet for kids

 
Tablet computers are expected to top many kids' holiday lists, but parents need to do their homework first.

Kids' tablets range from educational toys that perform more like hand-hand gaming devices to Android tablets good for whole family.

If you're shopping for someone else's child, keep in mind that some parents and experts oppose children using tablets entirely, and many believe that screen time should be limited.

TOY TABLETS
These products are made for young children and feature educational games and e-books. They're more toy than tablet.

They're encased in heavy-duty plastic, making them durable, but also heavy and clunky. Although some are Wi-Fi capable, they don't provide full access to the Internet.

Their screen quality and processing speeds lag those of traditional tablets. At times, my 4-year-old daughter opted to walk away rather than wait for an app to load.

- LeapFrog's LeapPad Ultra, $150, designed for kids ages 4 to 9:
I can set up profiles for different children. Many games adjust their level of difficulty based on the child's age. As a result, my 4-year-old daughter and my colleague's 9-year-old daughter can share the device.

But apps can be pricey - $5 to $25 each for downloads, or $18 to $25 for cartridge versions. Apps for both formats include interactive storybooks, e-books, music, videos and games.

Although most apps have some educational aspect, many include characters tied to popular TV and movie characters. Children can look at a variety of pre-screened content online, but can't search for specific topics, as they would for homework.

- Vtech's InnoTab 3S, $70, designed for kids ages 3 to 9:
At less than half the price of the LeapPad, the InnoTab may be more enticing for parents worried about spending so much for a tablet they can't use themselves.

The InnoTab has a much smaller screen, but weighs less and might be easier for little kids to handle.

Its apps are similar to those of the LeapPad, with all of the familiar cartoon characters. They're priced at $3 to $24, though about half of them cost $3.

Kids can view certain age-appropriate websites. Unlike the LeapPad, the InnoTab lets kids trade text messages with parents and other approved adults. For $15 a year, they can also exchange voice and photo messages.

-FAMILY ANDROIDS
These tablets attempt to combine the functionality of a traditional tablet with the ease and safety of a toy version. Once your child's time is up, you can use the tablet to watch a movie or check Facebook. And as your children grow, you can let them do more so the device won't gather dust.

Their processor speeds, cameras and displays are generally better than those of toy tablets, though most are nothing extraordinary compared with traditional tablets.

- Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 Kids, $230, designed for kids ages 3 and up:
The kids' version of the Galaxy Tab 3 has yellow trim and comes with either a blue hard plastic or an orange, rubbery protective case.

Adults with a passcode get a typical Android tablet with the usual apps.

A kid-friendly mode blocks most of that out. The home screen features bright colors and smiling animals. It's easy for kids to scroll through the offerings, which include a handful of free games, a Nook e-book reader, video and still cameras and a kids' app store. Kids can use apps their parents add, but are blocked out of Web browsers and social media.

My main complaint: You can't set up individual profiles for multiple kids.

- Kurio 7S, $150, designed for ages 3 and up:
The Kurio also has separate modes for kids and adults. It comes with e-books, popular games such as "Angry Birds Space" and educational apps designed to teach reading and math. Games featuring popular cartoon characters are there, too.

Additional apps start at $1. The Kurio store has only kids-friendly content, organized by age group. Kids can shop on their own if you put a few dollars in their virtual piggy banks.

The tablet's layout isn't great, however, and younger children may have trouble with the small icons.

You can create profiles for up to eight children. It has a Web browser that tries to filter out potentially unsafe content, including social media. This approach may inadvertently let in some questionable content, but it's also better at letting in more useful content than a pre-screening approach.

The tablet's good for parents who want to give their kids more freedom online.

- Vinci MV 7" Android 4.1 Tablet, $200, designed for kids 3 and up:
This tablet lacks the flash of the others. You don't get separate modes for kids and adults. You can't block out Web browsers or social media. It's something for parents and kids to use together, rather than something to hand a child and walk away.

What makes this for kids is Vinci's app library. The company sells a wide variety of educational software. Some apps are free, while others cost less than $10.

Although the apps might not be the flashiest, they're strictly educational. And it's the only one I tested capable of connecting to cellular networks - useful on long car trips. You'll need a data plan.

- Kindle Fire, starts at $139, with FreeTime geared to ages 3 to 8:
Although not specifically geared toward kids, the Kindle Fire still has a lot to offer.

Amazon.com Inc.'s FreeTime feature creates a separate mode for kids and limits them to just the content you want them to see. You also can set up multiple profiles, so each child can manage his or her own app library. The feature is free to use.

Starting at $3 a month, Kindle FreeTime Unlimited lets kids download as many age-appropriate e-books, games and apps as they want. Although content may lean heavily toward cartoon characters and sometimes lack educational value, the variety is sure to please many children.

Indian economic recovery on the ropes

 
It could be a big setback for policymakers in the country. The index of industrial production (IIP) contracted 1.8 per cent in October, dragged down by a sharp 3.5 per cent drop in mining and a 2 per cent fall in manufacturing. The electricity sector, however, saw a marginal 1.3 per cent increase over the same month last year. Industrial production grew by 8.4 per cent in October last year.

Consumer goods, a barometer of industrial growth , dropped 5.1 per cent while consumer durables too registered a significant fall of 12 per cent. Among other sectors that saw huge falls were office, accounting and computing machinery, which dropped 27.2 per cent, and furniture manufacturing, which slumped 28.9 per cent.

IIP data forecasts varied. Karvy Stock Broking, for instance, had expected a much sharper 3.7 per cent drop.

The IIP slide coincided with an 11.24 per cent rise in the consumer price index (CPI) in November, fuelled by a massive 14.72 per cent rise in food inflation and a 7 per cent increase in fuel and light. CPI stood at 10.17 per cent last month. Inflation was up throughout the country, except Lashwadeep.

The drop in IIP was unexpected at a time when the economy is showing signs of revival. Gross domestic product numbers released end-November indicated some recovery. In the second quarter of 2013/14, GDP surged 4.8 per cent, 40 basis points higher than the first quarter numbers of 4.4 per cent.

Shubhada Rao, Chief Economist at Yes Bank, says it is difficult for the central bank to ignore the inflation numbers. "We have built in a probability of a rate hike in December review," she says, adding that all eyes are now set on the WPI (wholesale price index) numbers set to be released next week.