DK Kapila The Oracle

Remembering Shri Atma Ram and His Risk Management By Dinesh K Kapila Sitting around and reading up a bit, the mind wandered to Shri Atma Ram. Suddenly. It just went off on a tangent. Theoretically, when we debate Financial Inclusion we discuss financial literacy, savings, credit, awareness about terms and conditions, insurance, pensions and government schemes. Then of course is the ritual pontificating on Going Digital and availability of infrastructure, accessibility of payment channels, affordability, awareness and transforming consumer behaviour etc. As the nation develops, the mode and nature of financial literacy also changes. It can be region specific and could be profiled on the socio economic status too. The process is inherently dynamic and has to be targeted astutely. And in due course as we develop even more and incomes and financial literacy increase, financial literacy would hopefully include Mutual Funds, ULIPS, The National Pension Scheme etc. I would support these ...

Russia DK Kapila The trip to Moscow was a pleasant experience and a surprise. Unlike what the Western Media projects, it is a lovely huge nation with a comparatively small population. Moscow Airport was huge and the changeover to the domestic terminal for the flight to Saint Petersburg was an equally huge task ! Walking endlessly and all sorts of elevators and a train. And I had the most heavenly bakery products at the Airport with the famous Russian Cream as an essential ingredient. I am still missing it as I track every well known bakery at Chandigarh. One thing, Russian Pilots on Aeroflot are somewhat flashy, the aircraft tend to take sharp turns and dips while landing, it can be quite un-nerving ! But the food is good, the air hostesses, smart and elegant, though are in a better mood during the afternoon flight than the night flight, that I must say. Saint Petersburg is oh so lovely and so beautiful. It appeals to the heart and mind and captures one senses. A visitor must...

Entrepreneurship and The Indian Scenario Specially Agribusiness (Based on Notes for the Address at MMU, Sadopur Campus, Ambala District) - Some Inputs, Some thoughts (includes notes fifteen odd years old) By Dinesh K Kapila I have always advocated the concept of entrepreneurship. This is one economic activity which is open to entry, on merit, to a large extent. Concerns of access to finance are certainly there, as specially in rural areas, banks are the only source of finance. However of late, NBFCs and NBFC MFIs have made a presence. Plus the projects are mostly basic and do not attract glamour or attention. Yet they are the foundations of small rural areas and as they add up in mass and scale, they evolve as vital cogs of the economy. Facilitative Government Policies over the years have created a huge core of entrepreneurs across all communities and are leading to many young citizens exploring the option of entrepreneurship. I feel during my interactions a tremendous hunge...

Just sharing. Do people even know how loud they are on mobile phones in public places. There is this guy we sort of crossed paths with a few days back. This was in the park where we go for walks, mostly in the late evenings. He was really loud on the phone and I bet quite a few of us walkers who managed to hear or rather had to hear his conversation went away very amused. The gist is he was telling a friend in Punjabi that he would certainly attend a happening party but would be unable to contribute financially. He actually wanted to contribute financially as he used to earlier but now would contribute in the enjoyment part. He loudly stated he made the mistake of asking for a debit card in his wife’s name and handed it over to her. He planned to get rid of all the domestic chores (Syapa Ghar da) by giving it to her. He always had Rupees Four Lakh plus in his account. But when he checked his account after a couple of months of handing over the debit card to his wife, well the bala...

The Boy Alone. By Dinesh K Kapila This refuses to go away from my mind. I thought perhaps writing it down would help me move on. Its nearly a month since   we travelled on the Sapsan Train from Saint Petersburg to Moscow. The train (Sapsan – a Russian word - is a type of Falcon which flies the fastest) covers the distance of 700 kms in nearly four hours.    We, my wife and I, were ushered in most politely though I was surprised that the luggage of all passengers was passed through the baggage check machines twice. As we settled down, we got chatting and watching the passengers coming in. This particular compartment had seats both ways, starting from each end, at the centre there was a common table with four seats around it, two seats on each side facing each other across the table. We were seated just on the row behind, on the opposite side and could see the table clearly. A young boy walked in, cap pulled tightly over his head, looking for his seat. He realised ...

The Newlyweds Have settled down. DKK I was walking in the park. Very Late. Actually first I slept in the evening. Then after feeling fresh I thought I would exercise but gave up the idea. Then I thought why not go for a walk. Then revised it to a walk cum jog. Then thought some more and ultimately decided the normal long walk was in order. However precious time passed while deciding about the fitness Regime to adopt today. Now to the park. It is quite expansive and lit up at night. I was close to a sharp turn when I heard loud voices. The girl was laughing loudly though in a friendly manner about her husband panting in just one round. As I came closer I realised she was wearing the Chura -the set of bangles traditionally worn by a bride on her wedding day and for a period thereafter, specially in Punjabi weddings. And yeah, I googled the description ! Then she turned serious and simply said in Punjabi, “who eats parathas at night, from today it is dry Chapattis for you and don’t you ...

The Slowdown and GST - One Micro Version Dinesh Kumar Kapila This is rather interesting. I have just been asking around and mostly the small timers, not the small shop keepers but the guys who would have a turnover in the crores range but below Rs 10 crore maximum. Just to know what they say, this is not a study. I just picked up what many such businessmen say, over a period of time. As one worthy explained, with a lot of tired looks (must be his daily talk show with friends) Earlier if you paid tax upfront for say a truck load of cargo, the tax paid upfront would be normally around 4 %. Now the tax as regards GST, if taken as an average of 12 %, means that much more cash is paid upfront while the stock, say a truck load, would be sold over the next three months to four months. The natural course to adopt for many traders / stockists was to scale down orders and in any case minimise over stocking. The trucker, used to loading up a truck for one customer, now finds himself havin...