Why we are obsessed with money

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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What a way to exist!

For most of us, practically the whole day all we are thinking is about money and more specifically how to have more money!

As if money was the only thing in life. Unfortunately for most of us, circumstances just do not permit any other thought!

We are running behind money most of the time which is almost akin to have become obsessed with money. Everything that we are doing in life is centred around money.

Unfortunately, this is because we need money for anything and everything that we do. There’s nothing wrong and what are you doing, however the problem is that over time, it becomes a compulsive habit to keep earning more.

That’s where the danger is. The problem is that there is a point where from we chase money as an addiction, we chase money because we like to do so. If we did not chase money we would not know what to chase now because we get out identity from money and the amount of money we have.

Another thing is that right from childhood we are always taught and our minds are conditioned that everything that we are doing is going to be for the sake of earning money.

There is no one who told you that money is just a means, and then there is something greater in life to achieve. Some examples are legacy; building something, charity; to giving something / helping someone, passion; pursuing something and living; simply to enjoy life and your money

We have got addicted to this and how!

There are three reasons for this:

First, we are what we do. It is the human behaviour. I know I should exercise and I don’t. I know I should eat healthy and I don’t. I know I should spend time with my kids and I don’t. I know that, yes, money isn’t going to make me happy and I still keep trying to make money.

We live by the laws of inertia, in a pattern which is hard to break. But we have to break it. For ourselves and for the sake of people and reasons for which we are chasing money.

Secondly, we need signals of progress. Money is a measure of how far you have progressed in life. The more the money you have the more you can make sure your progress. It’s simply the logic of evolution. People need validation of their success. Bigger house, bigger car, branded goods and list goes on.

Thirdly, it’s the easy way out. It’s only human to avoid difficult things. Important things are very difficult to measure.  Have I been a good father or husband? Have I groomed my child well?  Such things take years to measure and we still don’t have answers.

So, should we not be focused on creating money for ourselves?

I’m not saying that. Definitely create. Take care of yourself for sure!! Use it to the maximum to make yourself happy!!! You need a certain amount and beyond that is extra.

The definition of their certain amount is naturally different from one person to another. If that extra is going to happen easily, without stress and without your involvement, then its fine. Basically don’t kill yourself for that extra. Be Smart.

Kartik Jhaveri is an expert at planning money, life and aspirations. He is a certified financial planner, wealth manager and financial freedom coach.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

How the RBI actually helps you

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Most of us in Mumbai, see this huge structure called the Reserve Bank of India and wonder what it really does. It’s also a tourist attraction!! It has so many other offices and again one wonders why they need to have so many offices. I’m going to try and highlight a very interesting part of RBI’s work and how it helps us directly on a day-to-day basis.

The RBI does a review of the monetary policy of the country at frequent intervals during the year. So how does the monetary policy help us investors to take smart decisions?

Monetary policy is a tool by which the RBI decides to raise interest rates or reduce interest rates or keep them steady.

In our country, as we’re an oil importing nation, this decision is very closely linked to Oil. Oil to a large extent contributes to inflation. We all know what happens when inflation keeps rising. We in India unfortunately do not see too much of inflation falling and things becoming cheaper.

Oil is Not Well

So when oil prices rise i.e. we see a rise in crude oil prices almost instantly we can expect rising food prices. This is because there is going to be a rising cost pressure for manufacturing & services. This rise obviously gets passed onto the retail consumers.

When this happens RBI adopts a hawkish stance, tries to pull money out of the system by raising interest rates. Now when interest rates rise no one seems to be interested in borrowing. This immediately puts a brakes on money circulation.  Less money chasing goods decreases the demand for money. This way it controls inflation.

There is yet another tool that the RBI has and that is known as the CRR or the cash reserve ratio.  This ratio in simple words means the amount of cash that the bank must maintain with the RBI as the percentage of the total assets. So when this increases banks are forced to park more with the RBI and this is also a way to control inflation.

On the other hand when things look dull, when there is a recession of sorts, the RBI comes to the rescue and gets into action to kickstart growth in the country. It does this by lowering the interest rates. This we all will understand quite easily because we see a direct benefit of this happening. We see a fall of interest outgo in our EMI’s for the home loan that we are carrying. New loans become cheaper.

Individuals are motivated to go out and make purchases, whether it is for a washing machine or a piece of real estate. Businesses are motivated to go out and borrow to buy more machinery, to expand capacity, to hire more staff and manpower and basically do everything that will add to the growth of business.

Economic growth results as a result of all this. It is also during this time that stock market rises, we see a rally in stock prices and mutual fund NAV’s jumping higher and higher each day. There is prosperity all around.

Critical Role

As you can see that the central bank of the country has a very very important role to play.  If it makes a mistake, things can go really wrong.  Imagine like the USA or Japan if our interest rates were very low; everyone would run to borrow, they would borrow more than they require because it would be cheap and easy to borrow. And that is very individuals would run into what is known as the debt trap, because someday you’ll have to pay back.

Each day the central bank attempts to make sure that everything in our country remains stable and financially there’s nothing that goes wrong dramatically.

Kartik Jhaveri is an expert at planning money, life and aspirations. He is a Certified Financial Planner, Wealth Manager & Financial Freedom Coach.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The year of the bond, once again!

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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We are not talking of James Bond, we are talking of investment bonds.

We are in a situation where the fixed deposit rates are at a general low and there is a lot of discontent among depositors of fixed deposits.

Whenever we see a situation like this, one way or the other, the bond markets come to the rescue. It comes to the rescue of smart depositors, who are agile to move their money from fixed deposits to bond funds.

Let’s understand what is happening and why.

What Exactly is Happening in the Bond Markets?

It is likely that in this year, investors of bond funds will make handsome gains. Bond prices may rise and there may be capital gains. Investors of bond funds not only earn the rate of interest, but also earn capital gains. So that way, they make more than the return they would make on fixed deposits. The returns could be a high single digit or sometimes as high as double digits.

Over three years, this will become practically tax free or the tax would be a very small amount. So, basically, I am thinking that a rally will happen in the bond market. There are three main reasons for this — reduction in government borrowing (which is favourable), recovery of trading losses (which is favourable) and no change in monetary policy (which is neutral).

A word of caution, however, that such bond market investments are also subject to bond-market volatility and should be considered ideally with the help of a financial expert.

Before proceeding further, let us, therefore, quickly explain a bond, bond fund and bond market. We need to do this because few people understand the bond markets and even fewer invest in the bond markets.

Bond is nothing, but a commercial transaction where the borrower is issuing a bond to the lender and the lender will earn a certain rate of interest. When interest rates fall, everyone becomes interested in owning that bond.

As a result, the demand for the bond increases, the price of the bond increases and the bondholder makes capital gains.

A bond fund is a fund where ordinary investors pool in their money and a fund manager buys them a portfolio of bonds.

Moving onto the Reasons For a Rally in Bond Funds…

Now, the fundamental reason for a rally is reduction in interest rates as it stimulates economy and growth.

Firstly, the government is a massive borrower of funds. So a reduction in government borrowing reduces the demand for money in the economy. As a result, prices of bonds rise and this contributes to capital gains for bond holders.

Secondly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently announced that the commercial banks and RBI, which are the largest lenders to the government, will have another year to offset losses they have incurred on account of buying government bonds in the past. This action will lead to a rise in the price of bonds and this contributes to capital gains for bond holders.

Lastly, on one side due to the rise in oil prices, there is more inflation and thus more money is needed for circulation in the economy. On the other side, many government bonds are maturing, which will provide money supply. So, it is likely that we see a neutralising effect and thus RBI will take no action. This inaction here will support capital gains as explained above. Hence, this year might be a year of good gains for the bond investors.

Kartik Jhaveri is an expert at planning money, life and aspirations. He is a Certified Financial Planner, Wealth Manager & Financial Freedom Coach.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Five new financial goals for you this summer

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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I am going to try and explain to you why the summer holidays of April and May are great months to get a lot of things started, financially speaking.

This time period in a way resets the financial clock. You also have the option to hit the reset button on everything you have done so far; financially speaking of course and hope to do better things better than you did last year.

Let’s look at some of the new and unusual things to do in April.

• Make a learning budget

Learn something about money or anything you like. The best way to make money is to learn something about money. Just like if you wanted to learn cooking you will get into the cooking class. If you wanted to learn swimming you would enrol in the swimming class. If you find learning about money is too daunting task than learn something which is close at to your heart or related to your work. If you learn something new, there’s a possibility that you will use your new ideas to generate new income and in turn that will generate new wealth for you.  So make a budget, enrol somewhere and spend that budget. How about a % of your annual income? Spend it for sure!

• Plan a unique holiday 

When you’re by yourself and without your mobile phone you will have the opportunity to think! When you have time to think, suddenly good ideas will come to your mind.  You may think this is silly but you can be sure that you will be amazed if your drivers experiment just once. So it might be a good idea to go for a holiday just by yourself. If you find that too intimidating, join a group of strangers. You can combine that with the adventures experience if you like.  Be extra careful if you’re going with your special buddies. Do this only if they are going to be in a position to help you discuss your idea and make it bigger. They must play the role of complimenting your thoughts. So make a schedule to do this holiday and obviously make a budget to make it happen. Think & create new ways of making wealth.

• Make a prediction and make it happen

Be brave. Let’s aim to grow and multiply net worth by 50% by the time you come to the end of this financial year. This is not a joke and it is easier than you can imagine.  I’m speaking about NETWORTH and I’m not talking about return on investment. If your networth is Rs. 100 today, all I’m saying is that let’s aim to make this a 150 by the end of this year. This networth comprises of all your savings till date. This can be achieved by simply saving aggressively every month for the next twelve months. Just put this into a recurring deposit or liquid fund so you don’t spend it.  We just have to prove to ourselves that this is possible. Where and how we will invest this money will think about that later.

• Eliminate a negative belief 

I want to give you an exercise here. Write down all your negative beliefs you have about money and wealth. Most people are not able to achieve the desired level of wealth because they think about wealth negatively. So even if you are earning a good amount of income you will never see yourself becoming wealthy. Examples are money causes problems, money causes a fight, managing money is complicated etc. Then for each negative thought, you have written down the positives i.e. the opposite for a few months. Soon negatively biased feelings will evaporate.

• Make a new investment; something you have not done before

Again here you do not have to be a financial expert. The idea is to learn something new. There are hundreds of investment options. Our objective here is to learn something new. Talk to your advisor and seek his or her guidance. Just a word of caution here; don’t do anything which is speculative or is something that you just can’t understand. Do what do find easy you understand and do that then.

Kartik Jhaveri is an expert at planning money, life and aspirations. He is a Certified Financial Planner, Wealth Manager & Financial Freedom Coach.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Seeking financial freedom? The time is NOW!

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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John Lewis famously remarked, “If not now, then when? If not us, then who?” This is so appropriate in the current financial world that we live in.

That statement will leave to rest every other argument that is conservative and against the idea of wealth creation. We are often faced with the situation where there is no option but to create wealth. Read on to know why!

Interest rates are painfully low. For all those diehard fans of guaranteed investment returns, there’s hardly any place to go to. Thinking of fixed deposits? Feeling happy with 7%? And fully taxable? That period is over. Period.

That doctrine of investing into pure fixed deposits and similar instruments is unfortunately standing challenged. There is no option but to sprinkle it with a combination of a little something that will add to the returns earned from fixed income type of securities. In fact this category of investors are in a way, best placed in terms of the current tax laws.

They can earn about 9-10% with minimal or near zero tax over about five years and more. Starting to generate rate of return above the inflation level of 7% is starting to create wealth. So there it is; there is no option but to move in the direction of creating wealth.

For more evolved investors, who invest in equities and who and still sitting on the sidelines tend to run out of patience every now and then. They are sometimes waiting for the right time, sometimes waiting for correction, sometimes waiting for valuation and sometimes waiting for just nothing. Sometimes, just too busy to take action!

I totally understand not wanting to lose hard-earned money. But if the money does not move it will stagnate. That’s the problem with money.

Hit the Ground Running

Inaction and inactivity kills it. Makes it costly to hold. Makes us lose opportunities, sometimes small and sometimes significant. I know of many people including my dad, who just kept investing into equities and holding forever. No doubt they were hugely (big HUGELY) better off then the people in the same time zone. I think they could have done far better with some smart lessons on asset allocation. This is because if they compare the growth rate of their holding over a period of 20 or maybe 30 years the compounded rate of return earned is often not impressive.

It is just marginally better or a few percentage points above the fixed deposit rate. Hence the need for asset allocation, which simply put is not to have all eggs in one basket at any given point in time. These sections of investors anyways create wealth, and, asset allocation is the tool that ensures that the process of wealth creation continues uninterrupted. So again there it is; even for this section there is not option but to start enhancing their wealth creation activities, else returns will continue to remain forever mediocre.

Then there are skeptics and there is nothing much for skeptics of everything, except that they need a serious dose of financial education. Perhaps what if needed is a proof of concept and for that, which better country to live in other than India where financial transparency in investments is so high that I sometimes feel, it comes from another planet.

 Your Money Needs Action

Today, there is a whole lot of variety to choose from and we have never been more spoilt for choice. But the most important thing in all this is to understand that your money needs action. It needs activity and for that the time is now!

And furthermore, if you asked me this question 10 years ago; I would have said that, the Time is NOW. If you ask this question 10 years hence, I will still say the Time is NOW. Any time is the right time to start the process of creating wealth. All that is important is that you take your first step; then continue it all the way with zeal and determination… till you have the level of wealth that you desire. And if you accumulate more than you need, still do it and share it with the world.

If you want your financial freedom; then the Time is NOW!

Kartik Jhaveri is an expert at planning money, life and aspirations. He is a Certified Financial Planner, Wealth Manager and Financial Freedom Coach.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Young Turks: Here’s the success story of venture fund Aspada

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Venture fund Aspada was co-founded by Kartik Srivatsa and Thomas Hyland in 2012 and has made 17 investments so far across Fin-tech, agriculture, health and edu-tech startups.

Young Turks takes a look at their investment thesis, their differentiated VC model and meet three of their portfolio companies – Capital Float that underwrites unsecured loans to startups and SMEs; Dunzo, a hyper local concierge and delivery player that is also Google’s first direct startup investment in India; WayCool, a Chennai-based agriculture-tech startup.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Legal Digest | Why did Supreme Court quash the proceedings in Chhattisgarh liquor scam

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Case 1:  No predicate offence means no proceeds of crime 

On April 8, the Supreme Court quashed the proceedings under what has come to be known as the Chhattisgarh liquor scam in Yash Tuteja VS Union of India on the ground that the complaint by the Enforcement Directorate was in an income tax matter which did not figure under the schedule in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 

Exemplary predicate offences include narco-trafficking, tax evasion, murder, grievous bodily harm, corruption, fraud, smuggling, human trafficking, illegal wildlife trafficking, and forgery.  It seems the prosecution while inputing tax offences was not able to pin it down precisely on tax evasion. 

Anyway, the point is money laundering doesn’t happen in isolation but in relation to one of the predicate offences snowballing into money laundering.  Small wonder, the list of predicate offences is growing as proceeds of crime are sought to be laundered which is a grievous offence under the PMLA. Money laundering is done to vest the proceeds of crime with a vestige of legitimacy, contrived although.

Case 2: Legal heirs of a deceased partner not liable   

In a recent case — Annapurna B Uppin and others VS Malasiddappa & another — the Supreme Court disabused the notion that the legal heirs of a deceased partner are liable for the debts and dues of the firm. This is a significant judgement in as much as the unlimited liability of partners was hitherto meant to burden the legal heirs as well with such unlimited liability. 

Now it turns out that such unlimited liability exists only during the lifetime of a partner. Incidentally, the concept of LLP or limited liability partnership sprung up and caught the imagination of wannabe businessmen and professionals to have best of both the worlds — limited liability enjoyed by the shareholders of companies and flexibility in operations enjoyed by partners. The recent verdict has somewhat eased the burden on the legal heirs of partners and to that extent there may be revival of interest in partnership firms away from LLP. 

Case 4: Mere invoice and proof of payment not enough for granting input tax credit 

There have been regular reports of fake claims of input tax credit (ITC) under the GST. It is in this context that the Allahabad High Court’s recent verdict in a matter — Commissioner, Commercial Tax v. S/S Soma Enterprises Ltd — is significant.  The Court quoted the Supreme Court in M/s Ecom Gill Coffee Trading Private Limited in support of its finding that mere invoice and proof of payment by themselves are not enough for being eligible for ITC.

“The dealer claiming ITC has to prove beyond doubt the actual transaction which can be proved by furnishing the name and address of the selling dealer, details of the vehicle which has delivered the goods, payment of freight charges, acknowledgement of taking delivery of goods, tax invoices and payment particulars etc. “

These extra precautions are justified in the light of past experiences where ITC has been claimed by generating fake transactions not happening on the ground.  Given the large stakes involved, the authorities may be even justified in asking for store registers to satisfy themselves that the inputs indeed were used in the manufacture of the outputs.

—Compiled by S Murlidharan, a chartered accountant and a tax and legal expert. The views expressed in this column are personal.    

Read the previous Legal Digest columns here  

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

BJP spent more than ₹103 crore on Google Ads since May 2018, maximum expenditure on videos

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has crossed ₹100 crore in political advertisements on Google and its video platform YouTube. The party has spent more than ₹103 crore since May 2018, when Google started publishing the Google Ads Transparency report.

In terms of ad formats, 68.2% of BJP’s spend on Google ads published between May 31, 2018, and April 27, 2024, was on video followed by 31.8% on images.

Google’s definition of political ads includes ads placed by news organisations, government publicity departments, and even commercial ads featuring actor-politicians.

Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are the states that top the list in terms of ads expenditure on states for the BJP.

Congress takes the second spot with the party spending ₹49 crore in the period.

Tamil Nadu’s DMK is the third-biggest political advertiser on Google platforms with maximum ad spends of ₹25 crore since May 2018.

But if you look at the much shorter period, during the second phase of campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections, almost all political parties spent around ₹15 crore on promoting their manifesto, policies, and achievements on Google alone.

BJP’s Google Ads expenditure since 2018 is below

In terms of spends over time, there has been a very clear spike in ad spends on Google platforms in 2024 and compared to all the past years with maximum amount of spends dedicated to video at 80.6 percent

And in terms of states where the maximum ad spend were dedicated, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh topped the charts.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

TikTok, ByteDance US general counsel Erich Andersen to exit role

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Erich Andersen, the US-based general counsel for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd., is stepping down from that role, the social media app said.

Andersen, who was a key executive responsible for convincing the US government that the company was doing enough to stave off national security concerns about its connections to China, will leave the role in June. He’ll remain as “special counsel to the company,” according to a TikTok statement on Friday.

The move comes days after President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that threatens TikTok’s existence in the US, requiring ByteDance to either divest its stake in the app or see it banned. The companies are expected to wage a legal battle to try to overturn or delay enforcement of the legislation.

The company had been preparing to remove Andersen from his role as general counsel following the advancement in US Congress of the legislation to force a TikTok divestment or ban, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on April 20. In his new role, Andersen will focus on the effort to overturn the legislation in the US and “other pressing legal matters,” the company said.

“It was a difficult decision to step down after so many years in this role,” Andersen said in Friday’s statement. “I’m grateful to my talented global legal team, which has successfully faced every new challenge with incredible grit and maturity.”\

Andersen oversaw negotiations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which was reviewing national security concerns regarding TikTok, its parent company and the potential for influence from the Chinese government. Those efforts dragged on for years, and TikTok ultimately failed to demonstrate that the $2 billion-plus it is spending on a security plan to protect US users’ data was enough to reach a deal.

Meanwhile, lawmakers grew impatient and acted on their worries about the potential for China, via ByetDance, to get its hands on sensitive user data or influence Americans’ social media feeds. TikTok’s parent spent $2.7 million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year on the heels of a record $8.7 million in 2023. But ultimately, the historic divest-or-ban bill was signed into law.

In an internal memo to employees reviewed by Bloomberg, Andersen said he initiated conversations about transitioning out of his role. “It was entirely my decision to do so, and it was not an easy one,” Andersen wrote. “But as I started to reflect some months ago on the stresses of the last few years and the new generation of challenges that lie ahead, I decided that the time was right to pass the baton to a new leader.”

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Archery WC: India bag three gold medals to sweep compound team events

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Underlining their supremacy in non-Olympic compound archery, India grabbed a hat-trick of gold medals to make a clean sweep of team events at the ongoing World Cup Stage 1 in Shanghai here on Saturday.

India’s Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur dropped just four points to trounce Italy 236-225 in the women’s compound team event to open their account with a gold in the season-opening global showpiece.

The men’s team of Abhishek Verma, Priyansh and Prathamesh Fuge went one step better as they missed just two points en route to defeating Netherlands’ Mike Schloesser, Sil Pater and Stef Willems 238-231.

The mixed team completed the sweep when the second-seeded Jyothi and Abhishek warded off a late resurgence from their Estonian rivals — Lisell Jaatma and Robin Jaatma — to win 158-157 in a thrilling finish.

This was a double gold medal for the reigning Asian Games champion Jyothi who is also in the hunt for an individual gold and will play her semifinal later in the day.

Priyansh is also in the hunt for an individual medal in the compound segment.

Medal rounds in the recurve section will be on Sunday and India are eyeing two gold from the Olympic discipline.

The Indian men’s team will take on Olympic champions South Korea in the gold medal clash.

Deepika Kumari is in fray for an individual medal and will play her semifinal against South Korean rival in the women’s recurve section.

The women’s compound team, who qualified as top seed, dropped just four points from 24 arrows to down sixth seeded Italy in the first match of the day.

In the first three ends of six arrows each, Jyothi, Aditi and Parneet missed the perfect 10 only twice to take a handsome 178-171 lead over Marcella Tonioli, Irene Franchini and Elisa Roner.

In the fourth end, the Indians dropped two points but it did not matter much as they nailed the gold with an 11-point margin.

The men’s team, who qualified as the fourth seed, put up a near flawless show to defeat their Dutch opponents.

They began with a perfect round of 60 and dropped just two points in the next two ends, before sealing the win with another perfect 60 in the final set of six arrows.

In the compound mixed team event, Jyothi and Abhishek took a three-point lead, starting off with a perfect round of 40.

The three-point drop in the first end proved decisive for Estonian archers who went on to shoot three perfect rounds of 40 each but the Indians held their nerves to seal the issue.

Leading 119-117, the Indian duo needed a minimum score of 39 points out of a maximum 40 in the final end. They did just that to wrap up the country’s third gold.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Hamas studying latest Israeli ceasefire counterproposal: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Hamas said it’s looking over the latest counterproposal by Israel on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages, the Agence France-Presse reported.

The Israeli proposal is in response to the group’s position delivered to mediators on April 13, the report said, citing a statement by senior Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya. Hamas will submit a response to the proposal once it has finished studying it, he said.

Earlier this week, the US and 17 other nations pressed Hamas to release their citizens who are missing or held hostage in Gaza, in a bid to revive cease-fire talks that have stalled out in recent weeks and unlock more humanitarian aid. Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the US, the EU and others.

The US has been seeking a temporary cease-fire in Gaza that would see Hamas release female, wounded, elderly and sick hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and a surge of humanitarian aid into the war-torn territory.

Ongoing talks between Israel and Hamas have been mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar.

Al-Hayya told the Associated Press on Wednesday that Hamas would lay down its arms if a Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Mastek Q4 Earnings | Net profit increases 22%, EBITDA down nearly 6% from previous quarter

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Mastek, a digital engineering and cloud transformation company, on Friday, April 26 reported its earnings for March quarter.

It reported a 22% increase in its net profit to ₹92 crore from the previous quarter’s ₹75.3 crore.

However, the company’s revenue was down 0.5% at ₹780 crore from third quarter’s ₹784 crore.

Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) too witnessed a fall of 5.9% to ₹125.5 crore. In the previous quarter, the company had reported an EBITDA of ₹133.3 crore.

#4QWithCNBCTV18 | Mastek Q4

▶️Net profit up 22% at Rs 92 Cr vs Rs 75.3 Cr (QoQ)
▶️Revenue down 0.5% at Rs 780 Cr vs Rs 784 Cr (QoQ)
▶️EBITDA down 5.9% At Rs 125.5 Cr vs Rs 133.3 Cr (QoQ)
▶️Margin at 16% vs 17% (QoQ) pic.twitter.com/sbQWGkBXMb

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 27, 2024

Mastek’s margin too slid to 16% from 17% in the previous quarter.

Mastek shares ended 1.17% higher at ₹2,768 apiece in the previous trade session. The stock has gained 10% in the past month, 28.77% in the last six months and 62.04% in the past year.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Emergency slide falls off Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport. Delta said that after takeoff the pilots got an alert about the emergency slide on the plane’s right side and heard an unusual sound coming from that area of the Boeing 767 jet, which is listed as having been manufactured in 1990.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported a vibration. Pilots declared an emergency so the flight could be be routed quickly back to the airport, and the plane landed and taxied to a gate under its own power, according to the airline. There were 176 passengers, two pilots and five flight attendants on board the flight, which was scheduled to fly to Los Angeles. Delta said it put passengers on another plane to California.

Delta said the plane was removed from service for evaluation and it was cooperating with investigators and supporting efforts to find the slide. “As nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people, Delta flight crews enacted their extensive training and followed procedures to return to JFK,” the airline said in a statement.

Also Read: Boeing credit outlook gets gloomier as Fitch also turns negative

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

US chip bans not meant to hobble China’s growth, Antony Blinken says

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US export controls on sending advanced computing chips to China are not meant to hold back China’s economy or technological development, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during an interview with National Public Radio on Friday.

Since 2022, US officials have imposed sweeping controls on which computing chips can be exported to China, cutting off some sales from Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Intel, among others. Those controls followed earlier bans on shipping chips to Huawei Technologies.

But US officials have granted at least two US companies – Intel and Qualcomm – licenses to keep shipping chips to Huawei, which is using an Intel chip to power a new laptop model. Two Republican lawmakers earlier this week criticized the exemption for Intel, but in the interview with NPR, Blinken highlighted the device as a sign the US was not trying to hobble China.

“I saw that Huawei just put out a new laptop that it boasted was AI capable, that uses an Intel chip,” Blinken told NPR host Steve Inskeep while visiting Beijing. “I think it demonstrates that what we’re focused on is only the most sensitive technology that could pose a threat to our security. We’re not focused on cutting off trade, or for that matter containing or holding back China.”

Intel and Qualcomm’s licenses to sell to Huawei were granted during President Donald Trump’s administration and have remained in place under President Joe Biden. Those companies’ direct competitors, AMD and MediaTek, have not received similar exemptions, and neither the Trump nor Biden administrations have explained why.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Two CRPF personnel killed in militant attack in Manipur

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Two CRPF personnel were killed and two others injured as militants allegedly attacked a camp of security forces in Manipur’s Bishnupur district in the early hours of Saturday, police said. The militants attacked an India Reserve Battalion (IRBn) camp at Naranseina in the Moirang police station area, they said.

“The militants fired indiscriminately from hilltops, targetting the camp. It started around 12.30 am and continued till about 2.15 am. The militants also hurled bombs, one of which exploded in the outpost of CRPF’s 128 battalion,” a senior police officer said.

The deceased were identified as CRPF sub-inspector N Sarkar and head constable Arup Saini, he said.

The injured were inspector Jadav Das and constable Aftab Das, he said, adding that they received splinter wounds. The CRPF personnel were deployed to provide security to the IRBn camp.

A massive search was underway to find the perpetrators of the attack, police said.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow