#Financier Subramaniam

[hrk4]

The year that was...

“Slippery slope. I carry a spare shirt, pretty soon I’m carrying spare pants. Then I’d need a suitcase. Next thing I know, I’ve got a house and a car and a savings plan and I’m filling out all kinds of forms.” —Jack Reacher (in Lee Child’s 2007 novel Bad Luck and Trouble)

For close to a year, I have been fortunate to be part of the Saturday morning conversazione that takes place in the office of Dr. S R Ramaswamy (SRR), who is more than a mentor to me. In one of the early meetings of 2023, SRR gave me his personal copies of two Jack Reacher novels (by James Dover Grant, who writes under the pseudonym Lee Child) and added with a smile, "I must warn you, these are addictive!"

A few days after that, I was going to be on a long train to Pune and had taken the novel with me. Even before we crossed the Karnataka border, I had finished reading the novel and cursed myself for not having brought the other one too (which was a result of my underestimation of my own reading speed). As soon as I came back to Bangalore, I raced through the other novel. When I returned the two novels to SRR, he gave me more. It had been years since I had read fiction and given that my day job involves reading, writing, design, and publication, I had forgotten the art of reading for pleasure. This gesture on SRR's part rekindled that spark. The flipside was that I started finding films and web series tiresome!

I mostly read Jack Reacher novels this year and what fascinated me the most (besides the intricate plots, value conflicts, and the edge-of-the-seat twists and turns) was the universal appeal of a character like Reacher who lives like a monk and fights like a tiger; even in the materialistic West the allure of a man who is detached and driven by a strong sense of dharma is irresistible. And that gives me hope.

#

Soon I will hit forty. Probably my best years are behind me but I like to believe that they are yet to come. To augment this belief, I lay out my plans for 2024 before getting into my recollections of 2023.

I have three short-term goals, which I wish to complete in the next six months: i. Organise my library ii. Simplify my wardrobe iii. Consolidate my finances and four lifestyle goals that I wish to continue through the year: 1. Exercise daily 2. Read more, and more varied books 3. Play the violin more 4. Avoid sugar and fried foods at all costs

Some of the books in the pipeline for this year are: A R Krishnasastri’s Kathāmṛta, a new edition of Bhāsa’s Svapna-vāsavadatta, D V Gundappa’s Jīvana-dharma-yoga translated by Raghavendra Hebbalalu and Sreelalitha Rupanagudi, Volumes VII and VIII of DVG’s Art Gallery of Memories, S R Ramaswamy’s Silhouettes of Excellence, Sripriya Srinivasan’s book on Pallava history for high school students, minor poems of Nīlakaṇṭha-dīkṣita, and Jayadeva’s Gīta-govindam, among others.

I'm also working on a few exciting projects with cousin Dr. Chandra Shekhar (a short stories anthology), my college classmate Sudarshan K A (on financial wisdom), and with my friends Ganesh Bhat Koppalatota and Neelakanth Kulkarni (curating the best of Kannada literature), and I hope that at least a few of these see completion by end of the year.

#

I was lucky to have a front row seat as the following books unfolded through the course of the year: Three volumes of DVG's Kannada writings in translation (Contemporaries of Vidyaranya, his writings on the two epics of India, and an anthology of his essays on poetics), Vols. V and VI of the Art Gallery of Memories by DVG, Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh's Kṣāttra: The Tradition of Valour in India, and Dr. L Subramaniam's Festival Beyond Borders, among others.

I was able to facilitate the publication of three books by family members: my mother's booklet of life-lessons titled Song of my Soul, my father's monograph on The Amazing Human Mind, and my great-uncle (Late) Sri S Rangarajan's mammoth 648-page memoirs titled It Happens as Ordained.

The highlight, however, was a little book that I co-wrote with Dr. Ganesh titled The Essential Sanatana Dharma.

In addition to working on a few books in 2023, I was also invited to give lectures on a variety of topics, some of which were at the insistence of Dr. Arathi V B who has often magnanimously offered me opportunities that are far beyond my ken. If my calculations are right, I must have given no less than eighteen lectures this year. Friends like Madhulika Srivatsa, Sagar Mehta, and Vani Anur invited me to their homes to give lectures to their family and friends, which were highly rewarding.

I had the singular fortune of addressing a large number of school children, teachers, young parents, devout Hindus, et al. on topics as varied as life skills to the essentials of Sanātana-dharma; from the importance of history and heritage to world musical genres (at an elders' enrichment centre); from Indian Knowledge Systems to the Art Gallery of Memories (series of lectures at the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs); and on the Artha-śāstra, Mahābhārata, Bhagavad-gītā, and Śrīkṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta.

#

For more than two decades I have been attending the Lakshminarayana Global Music Festival (LGMF) organised by my guru Dr. L Subramaniam (along with his wife, Smt. Kavita Krishnamurti, who is the director of the festival); for some years, I was also active in the organising committee of the festival. Each edition of the LGMF has been a historic event and 2023 was no different. The upcoming tour is no less exciting with a remarkable orchestra from Kazakhstan visiting India.

Some of the other memorable events that I attended in 2023 include the third edition of Madanotsava organised by my good friends Nirupama and Rajendra, the eightieth birthday celebrations of Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam organised by Drishti Arts Centre, the fifth World Coffee Conference (thanks to my friend Ananth Bhatt), and a lovely eighty-fifth birthday celebration of my great-uncle Sri R Vasudevan that included a superb concert by the musician-surgeon of our family, Dr. Mukund Jagannathan.

#

Despite some challenges, the home situation was stable. My mother and my grandmother moved to an apartment next to my place and my father and brother regularly visit. I became one of the Trustees of our family trust and that means greater opportunity to help the community. I have also been involved in some consolidation of my finances so that I won't have to worry about money after 2024. I echo the sentiments of Jack Reacher in Gone Tomorrow (2009) — “I'm a rich man. To have everything you need is the definition of affluence.”

#

There are times when our family and friends perform an unexpected act of kindness that leaves us fumbling for words. My grandmother's younger sister, Smt. Shanti Rangarajan, aged 89, made a trip all the way from Chennai to Bangalore (with her daughter Deepta) to spend time with my mother on her 66th birthday, given that she was just recovering from her surgery and was home-bound.

When I was in Mumbai earlier this year, I happened to ping my BMS College classmate Anshuman Borah, who emigrated to UK some years ago. He immediately wrote back saying that he was in Pune to sell his flat. I had been in Pune that very morning; distraught at having missed catching up with him, I called him up to berate him for not telling me earlier. He immediately said, "I'll come to Mumbai tomorrow. Just send me your location and I'll be there to pick you up." Sure enough, the next morning he took a taxi from Pune all the way to Mumbai just to meet me. We had a nice lunch and spent five or six hours before he took a taxi back to Pune. (And there were times in college when we have shared a jhal mudi costing Rs. 10 because we had run out of cash!)

Anu and Chandra (technically my mother's generation but more like friends/cousins to me) generously offered me a carte blanche to pursue whatever projects I wish to, without fretting about the monetary implications. Their gesture has inspired me to work even more towards a larger cause, especially in the fields of culture, literature, music, and education, which are of common interest to us.

Prof. L V Shanthakumari has been a mentor-guru-adopted grandmother to me and many other friends. Earlier this year, she was visiting her younger son Sri Niranjana who lives across the town from her, in faraway Marathahalli. Our ancestral house in Halasuru is almost the mid-point between her house and her son's house, so I requested LVS madam to consider visiting us for lunch. She graciously agreed and visited us with Niranjana, who incidentally lived in the same neighbourhood many years earlier! My family and I were thrilled to host LVS madam and we spent a lovely afternoon together.

My cousin Arun was slated to visit India in August along with my aunt and uncle. I was planning to borrow my father's car so that I could take Arun around. Right at that time, my good friend Chandrashekhar told me, "I just bought a new car and there's the old one languishing in my place. Just take it and use it for as long as you want." Thanks to Chandru, I was able to drive around Arun and later had reliable transportation for myself, especially during some of the busy months of the year. After relying on public transport for more than a year, this came as a real boon.

#

My good friend Arjun Bharadwaj always teases me of excessively indulging in what he playfully dubs "Eating-Outing-Meeting." While I am an introvert by temperament, I often step out for these E-O-Ms for a dose of enrichment. Outside of my books and my music, I find nothing more enjoyable than a meaningful conversation with friends and savants.

It has been my great fortune to have come in contact with so many greats of our time—and in some cases, even dine with them and travel with them.

One of our Saturday morning meet-ups took place on Church Street with SRR taking us (Vighneshwar Bhat, Sandeep Balakrishna, Arjun Bharadwaj, and me) to Select Book Shop, which was started by a friend of his. Later he took us out to lunch and simply refused to let any of us pay.

Ambi (my uncle, Dr. Koti Sreekrishna) visited India earlier this year and even stayed with me for a few days. I had a great time with him, discussing everything from the ridiculous to the sublime—often through the course of a meal in a nearby restaurant. I also had the chance to drag two of my friends (Arjun and GS) to meet Ambi and his elder brother Kanna (my uncle, Sri K Srinivas) at their ancestral house. The conversations, mostly revolving around the the great epics of India, were memorable (with some of it secretly captured on video and clandestinely posted on Facebook by Ambi).

My cousin Arun visited India in August and stayed with me. It had been years since we had met and there was so much to talk about. It was really inspiring to see his focus and his ability to grasp new ideas. I introduced him to a bunch of my friends and we all had a memorable time. Cousin Anita could not visit and was sorely missed, but she had just had a baby (my second nephew, Jayanth).

Arjun and I visited Mysore to meet Dr. S L Bhyrappa, who graciously invited us to lunch with him. Following that, we proceeded to Pandavapura to meet Mr. Anke Gowda, who has the largest personal collection of books that I have seen (over 1 million books). We were thrilled to visit his library as he enthusiastically showed us around. He has been collecting books for some seven decades with his meagre salary, driven by intense passion and devotion to literature.

Through the course of the year, in addition to the regular meet-ups with my friends, gurus, and family, I had the opportunity to meet a host of interesting people: Sri Prafulla Ketkar (Chief Editor, Organiser), Sri Shivaswami (Bhagavad-gītā scholar), Dr. Manohar Shinde (Founder, Dharma Civilization Foundation), Dr. Shekhar Borgaonkar (my father's college classmate and old friend), Dr. Kanniks Kannikeswaran (musician-composer-educator), and the dedicated people who run Rashtrotthana Vidya Kendra at Hagaribommanahalli, among others.

#

It is a co-incidence that the year began with a trip to Ellora and just as 2023 came to an end, during the course of our Madhya Pradesh road-trip, the first destination was Ellora. It was wonderful to visit that puṇya-kṣetra twice in a calendar year.

In addition to visiting Solapur, Sambhajinagar, Pune, Mumbai, Karwar, and Chennai, I went to Valparai (Tamil Nadu) for our annual boys' trip, with more friends joining the fray:

I spent the last days of the year on the road: traversing 3,800+ kilometres (Bangalore-Ellora-Maheshwar-Indore-Ujjain-Vidisha/Sanchi-Udayapur-Khajuraho-Bedaghat-Bangalore) in nine days with five of my friends and a shoe-string budget.

Among the many highlights of the trip was visiting Ahalyabai Holkar Smarak at Maheshwar.

To see her humble dwelling and to contrast that with her unparalleled achievements was an inspiration. These are the real heroes of our land and it is a sin to forget them.

#

Sri C R Sathya, the grandson of Prof. A R Krishnasastri and a remarkable space scientist (and writer) in his own right died earlier this year. He had been a great support during the time I co-translated The Essential Mahabharata. Not many people know that the gentleman on the right side of this iconic photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson is C R Sathya:

A few other greats who breathed their last in 2023 include Sri Siddeshwar Swamiji; the great gamaki Sri Chandrashekar Kedilaya; Wayne Shorter, the legendary jazz saxophonist; Sri B K S Varma, the painter par excellence; and iconic filmmaker Sri K Viswanath. I had the great fortune of meeting and interacting with both B K S Varma and K Viswanath some years ago.

#

The changes around us end up affecting us in some way, directly or indirectly, unless of course we are really cut off and have isolated ourselves from society. In this vein, it might be instructive to broadly look at some of the events from 2023.

India has marched forward under the visionary leadership of Sri Narendra Modi, who has never failed to impress with his tireless striving for a better future.

India is now the most populous country with a host of internal problems, largely fuelled by predatory ideologies, be it the clashes between the Kuki and the Meitei or the Nuh violence or even the denigration of Sanātana-dharma, which is the most inclusive religio-philosophical system in the world. Despite this and some of the self-inflicted wounds to the economy, the country witnessed the manner in which challenges were masterfully met, be it the organisation of the spectacular G20 or the rescue of 41 miners trapped in the Uttarakashi tunnel, be it seamlessly shifting to the new parliament building or sending Chandrayaan III to the moon.

After the demonic attack that took place on October 7th, 2023, the world is slowly realising the danger of the bloodthirsty death cult masquerading as a religion. More and more countries are rejecting the pseudo-liberal ideologies of the left and are instead moving far right, which is also dangerous in its own way. Coupled with this, we are unsure of the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the future of humans. And somewhere amidst all this chaos, unknown men are quietly doing their work. And that brings me a great deal of peace.

#

Thanks for reading this far, and with this I wish you and your family a wonderful new year! I hope it will be filled with joy, good health, prosperity, and moments to cherish. May your dreams come true!

— Appendix

I wish to share some of the fantastic accomplishments of a few people in my circle. It is, as always, an ad hoc list that I have prepared on the spur of the moment. I might have missed out some but those that I have listed are certainly notable:

Brahmin Genocide is an important topic researched by Sri Balaji Mahalingam (who writes under the pseudonym Asi) that brings to the fore an injustice that has pervaded our society in the last couple of centuries and must be immediately rectified if Hinduism is to survive. The first edition of the book was sold out in just a few months and he is now working on the second edition.

The seventh century CE Sanskrit play Bhagavad-ajjukam was documented by Nirupama and Rajendra with support from Sudha Murty, Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh, Praveen D Rao, Arjun Bharadwaj, et al.—see the Introduction and the complete play (with subtitles).

Bhāratīya Kṣāttra Paramparā (Hindi translation by Prof. Dharmaraj Singh Vaghela) Earlier this year, when the book Kṣāttra was released, I gave a copy of the book to my uncle Prof. Vaghela. The very next day, he called me and said that it is an important book which must reach the Hindi heartland and offered to translate it into Hindi. Dr. Ganesh immediately gave his consent. In a matter of months, he finished the translation, which is now appearing on www.prekshaa.in as a series and will soon be published in book form.

My good friend and former colleague Arjun Bharadwaj has come out with two remarkable books this year: the first, titled Nayana-Savana (co-written with Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh), which is a creative appreciation of some of the major productions of the legendary Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam and the second, titled Indian Perspective of Truth and Beauty in Homer’s Epics, which is worthy of a D.Litt. no less.

S R Ramaswamy's latest work titled Sāhitya Sānnihitya is an anthology of book reviews and writings on literature.

Saṃskṛti is a reprint of a charming little book on culture with essays by littérateurs including Devudu Narasimha Shastri, A N Murthy Rao, A N Krishna Rao, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, and C K Venkataramayya.

Prekshaa Pratishtana has brought out a lovely introductory video that summarises its vision and objectives. They continue to publish many books every year and maintain an ad-free online journal (www.prekshaa.in) with authentic content on Indian heritage for one and all.

My cousin Arun Prasad continues to do remarkable work with Ambuda, the online digital library for Sanskrit.

The best of Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh's writings in Kannada have been compiled in two volumes with the title Rāga-bhāratī.

Dr. G Sudesh Kumar, a close family friend, recently authored a coffee-table book titled History of Sri Parakala Mutt.

[kazifatagar]

New: Steven Sim Pledges to Fund Software Engineering Education for 21-Year-Old from Impoverished Family

Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim Chee Keong has pledged to cover the education expenses of 21-year-old Dharsini Subramaniam, whose dreams of studying software engineering at Universiti Teknikal Malaysia (UTeM) were hindered by financial struggles. Sim, touched by her situation, will pay for her registration fee, travel costs, and a laptop. Dharsini, the sole earner in her family, had initially…

[head-post]

Singapore minister accused of corruption

Singapore’s former transport minister Subramaniam Iswaran, known as S. Iswaran, has been charged with graft in one of the most high-profile cases involving a minister in the Asian financial hub, the anti-corruption agency reported on Thursday.

Iswaran faces a total of 27 charges, including corruption and obstruction of justice. In the resignation letter, he denied the allegations and claimed that he “will now focus on clearing my name.” If found guilty of corruption, he could face a fine of up to 100,000 Singapore dollars or a seven-year jail sentence.

The Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) stated that Iswaran, arrested in July last year, allegedly received kickbacks worth S$384,340.98 (US$286,181) from property company Ong Beng Seng to promote its business interests.

The expenses include tickets to football matches, musicals, flights on Ong’s private jet, and tickets to the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.

Read more HERE

[sgprc]

2023-05-24 SGPRC Board Meeting (Full Video)

We have been advised by the First Amendment Coalition (www.FirstAmendmentCoalition.org) that this video recording may be posted for public review in accordance with the Bagley-Keene Act.

During public comments, parent advocate Carl Argila asked Executive Director Jesse Weller and the board of directors to be honest in probate court reports when Argila presents his petition in June to end the regional center’s conservatorship over Cavan Argila, his hearing-impaired son.  Argila said Cavan thrived under family provided services until former SGPRC Executive Director Keith Penman terminated those services in 2015, and transferred Cavan’s care to a regional center vendor under which Cavan lost his job and became homeless despite $10,000 monthly payments to that vendor, twice the amount paid to Cavan’s family for home provided services. Penman placed Cavan under SGPRC’s official conservatorship in 2018.  “I’m requesting again that you end the conservatorship and that you not thwart the petition that will be heard on June 9, so that we can finally resolve this nightmare for our family.”  

The regional center maintains a surplus in operations and purchasing costs, according to the RC’s May financial report. Categories for purchase of service costs include out of home expenses, day programs, transportation, respite and other services.

The contracts discussed and approved consisted of housing or medical items. Board of Directors President Gisele Ragusa expressed intrigue and optimism over the discussion and approval of a contract with California Mentor, a family home agency providing specialized residential homes and other living services that has been working with the SGPRC since 1999.

The agency currently has 25 adult family homes in the SGPRC service area, serving 34 individuals.  This contract approval allows for individuals served to live with their children who are minors.

“This is indeed a unique opportunity for individuals served, particularly though that may not have family members,” Ragusa said. “I’ve been particularly intrigued by this service position.”

Home providers go through an intense training program in order to participate, said Tim Travis. Homes are reviewed, certain requirements for the home, ongoing training, background checks, even individuals who visit the homes on recurring bases are vetted.  

“The agency goes through a recruiting process,” Travis said. “They are at a lot of public and civic events looking for individuals who would like to receive the appropriate training to open their homes.”

An approval of two new contracts with the non-profit Brilliant Corners housing development organization allows for the purchase and renovation of two homes to be leased to service providers that are determined later. Currently, the housing development organization oversees 13 homes in the service area. Acquisition and renovation of the four-bedroom homes, one designated for four adults and one for four children with severe behavioral challenges, will occur this year. Funds for this contract come from the Department of Developmental Services’ community resource development plan.  

Travis highlighted recent news of LA County planning to move a more than typical number of individuals out of juvenile halls.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll have the resource ready in the next 90 days, but I wish we did,” Travis said.

A new contract with Columbus was approved. Columbus provides specialists in the area of nursing, equipment and technology assistance and speech and language pathology.

“We would love to have hired staff instead of contracted providers,” said Hortencia Taffoya, resource developer for the SGPRC. “We are working on plan to bring staff along. It is working.  Jesse Weller has created some part time positions. For some reason, people are more interested in part time positions.”

Board member Pretti Subramaniam reported during the Advisory Committee for Individuals Served and Their Families report that 115 individuals within the regional center are now enrolled in the self-determination program. Weller thanked SGPRC staff for working to drive enrollments.  

Vendor Advisory Committee Chairperson Susan Stroebel reported that 133,000 individuals statewide are expected to transition to adult services in the next four years, and expressed concerns of SGPRC’s preparedness.

“Just about every program is short staffed at this point,” Stroebel said. “The vendors have started to organize to make sure legislatures are aware of the issues, the barriers to hiring and retaining qualified staff. 35 vendors have agreed to participate.”

Ragusa pointed out the presence of many vendors in the meeting and thanked them for their work.

“We know it’s a very challenging time,” she said. “Anything we can do to support that legislative effort, we will.”

Weller asked attendees during the executive director’s summary to not panic at the news of projected budget cuts.

[alphst]

FedEx Corporation (FDX) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

$FDX Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript #earnings #markets #investing

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Q3 2023 earnings call dated Mar. 16, 2023 Corporate Participants: Mickey Foster — Vice President, Investor Relations Raj Subramaniam — President and Chief Executive Officer Brie Carere — Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer Mike Lenz — Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Analysts: Ken Hoexter — Bank of America — Analyst Chris…

[newnewz]

Biden appoints two Indian American corporate leaders to his Export Council

The president on Tuesday announced a list of members he intends to appoint to the council, according to a White House press release.

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint two Indian Americans to his powerful Export Council, the principal national advisory committee on international trade.

The president on Tuesday announced a list of members he intends to appoint to the council, according to a White House press release.

Punit Renjen, the former CEO of Deloitte Consulting and Rajesh Subramaniam, CEO and president-elect of FedEx, have their names on the list of members the president intends to appoint as members of the influential President's Export Council.

The council will be headed by Mark Edin, chairman of Kastle Systems.

More than two dozen leaders from the corporate sector, labour, real estate, national security and law, have been tapped into the President's Export Council.

Prominent among them are Karen S.Lynch, president and CEO of CVS Health; John Lawler, the chief financial officer of Ford; Gareth Joyce, CEO at Proterra; Brett Hart, president of United Airlines; Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O'Lakes; and Qualcomm CEO Cristiano R.Amon.

"The Council advises the President on government policies and programmes that affect US trade performance; promotes export expansion; and provides a forum for discussing and resolving trade-related problems among the business, industrial, agricultural, labour, and government sectors," the White House said.

On December 31 last, Renjen retired as Deloitte Global CEO after having served in the role since June 2015. He now serves as Deloitte Global CEO Emeritus.

Under his leadership, Deloitte launched WorldClass " a global effort to prepare 100 million underprivileged people for a world of opportunity" based on the belief that business thrives when society thrives, the White House said.

Recently, Deloitte made a commitment to be net zero by 2030 under its WorldClimate initiative and joined the First Movers Coalition.

Renjen is deeply committed to advancing diversity and inclusion at Deloitte through measurable actions toward gender balance.

Over his career, Renjen has been recognised by numerous organisations for his leadership, business acumen and commitment to societal impact.

In 2022, Renjen was recognised by the Economic Times as "Global Indian of the Year" and the Carnegie Corporation of America as one of 34 Great Immigrants. Great Americans.

In 2021, the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum recognised Renjen with its Global Achievement Award. In 2020, Renjen was awarded the Oregon History Makers Medal.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of FedEx Corporation, Raj Subramaniam is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx operating companies.

Subramaniam is chair of the five-person Executive Committee, which plans and executes the corporation's strategic business activities.

He is also chair of the FedEx Strategic Management Committee, a select group of the company's top leadership, which sets the strategic direction for the enterprise.

Before being named President and CEO-elect in March 2022, he was President and Chief Operating Officer of FedEx Corporation.

Previously, Subramaniam held various leadership roles in operations and marketing across the FedEx portfolio of operating companies.

Subramaniam serves on the board of directors of FedEx Corporation, the Procter & Gamble Company, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's China Center Advisory Board, FIRST, U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum, and the US-China Business Council, and a member of the US-India CEO Forum.

Subramaniam is also a proud 2023 recipient of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award, the highest civilian award presented by the President of India to the Indian diaspora in recognition of outstanding achievements in India and abroad, the White House said.

[cryptoonus]

India's Largest Retail Chain, Retailer Reliance, Will Accept CBDC In Its Stores

Reliance Retail, a prominent Indian retail chain, started accepting the digital rupee, national CBDC, at one of its store locations. The retail chain plans to extend this payment option to its operations. The fintech partner, Innoviti Technologies, disclosed the news in a press release. As per a report by Tech Crunch, Freshpik, a gourmet store chain, already supports Central Bank Digital Currency. The firm also wants to keep the digital rupee across other locations and speed up the country's adoption of digital currency. The objective of CBDC Adoption: Reliance Retail executive V Subramaniam claimed that by adopting the digital money created by the central bank, the company's objective of giving Indian customers "the power of choice" is achieved. According to the executive, the initiative enables the business to offer a different payment method in its locations. V. Subramaniam, Director, Reliance Retail Limited, stated: "This historic initiative of pioneering the digital currency acceptance at our stores is in line with the company's strategic vision of offering the power of choice to Indian consumers, Related Reading | The Chinese Central Bank’s CBDC Pilot Expands to 17 Provinces Reliance Retail worked with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and the fintech firm Innoviti Technologies to support the CBDC. Customers to use the digital rupee in the store will get a QR code to finish their transaction. Plans for the nation's CBDC were released in October by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in a 51-page note. According to RBI, the nation's central bank identified several elements, including the advantages and disadvantages that might reduce operational expenses associated with managing cash benefits to RBI. The central bank began testing its digital rupee for institutional and merchant use in November of the previous year. After a successful wholesale pilot, the central bank expanded the testing to include retail use. The testing started with four participating banks in four metropolitan cities beginning December 1, 2022. As part of the pilot program, the digital currency will be available in the same denominations as traditional currency. Financial intermediaries will distribute the digital currency, and participants can make transactions using a digital wallet provided by the participating banks. Read the full article

[thefinancemagazine]

Do not look at short term drop in AMCs too negatively: Sunil Subramaniam

Do not look at short term drop in AMCs too negatively: Sunil Subramaniam

“That’s right, this is not a financially high leverage business but it is an operationally high leverage business. The annuity has to be collected with penetration being so low. With the rural India and urban India expanding there are lot of investments that needs to be done and which the industry is doing so the fixed costs are going up,” says Sunil Subramaniam, MD & CEO, Sundaram Mutual…

[latest-news-updates]

Read All the news about Ritu Varma at HYD7AM

Rituvarma impressed the youth with her role in the hit film 'Pellichoopulu' starring Vijay Devarakonda. After that she acted in 'Kesava', 'Tuck Jagadish' and 'Varudu Kavalenu'. Recently, in Sharwanand's movie acted in the role of Vaishnavi in ​​the movie 'Oke Ek Keevan' and impressed the audience.

After completing B.Tech, she got a job in a multinational company and joined it. On the other hand, she started modeling. Tarun Bhaskar, who was introduced by a common friend, asked him to act as he was making a short film. Ritu acted in it for fun. The same.. a short film called 'Anukokunda'. The short film made in just 48 hours became a super hit on YouTube. That short film brought her film opportunities. Among them, she chose Jr. NTR  'Baadshah' was her first film.Even if it is a small role, it is like learning. After that she acted in the movies 'Prema Ishq Kadal', 'Naa Rakumarudu' and 'Evade Subramaniam'.

In 2015, Tarun Bhaskar got a chance to direct the movie 'Pellichoopulu'. He chose Ritu as the heroine. The movie released in 2016 became a trend setter. The girls saw themselves in Ritu's role in that movie. That was the turning point for Ritu's career.

She got good offers in Tamil as well as Telugu. Among them, 'Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithal' starring Dulquer Salmaan was not only a good hit but Ritu's performance was also appreciated. The movie was released in Telugu as 'Kanulu Kanulu Dochayante' and became a hit here.

Ritu is currently awaiting the release of the Tamil film 'Dhruva Nachatharam'.The movie starring Vikram was directed by Gautham Vasudeva Menon. In fact, the film started in 2017, but due to various other reasons including financial reasons, the production was delayed. Finally, the shooting is done and it is ready for release. Ritu hopes that the release of this film will help her career.

Get the latest news on your favorite stars by visiting HYD7AM.COM now. We've added an easy way to get the latest news updates on your favorite celebrities, gossip about your favorite stars, fashion news and everything entertainment related to Tollywood and Bollywood.

You can now easily find out all the latest updates on your favorite celebrities by visiting our website now at www.hyd7am.com

[assesthemind]

Top Current Affairs of 31 March 2022!

INITIATIVES

The Indian Air Force has unveiled a new initiative with the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. Under it, IAF’s convoys will be refuelled at fuel stations of the state-run energy major.

SPORTS

Canada has qualified for the Qatar 2022 football World Cup for the first time in 36 years, after thoroughly beating Jamaica 4-0 in Toronto.

APPOINTMENTS/ RESIGNATIONS

The world's largest express transportation company FedEx has announced that its new Chief Executive Officer will be Indian American Raj Subramaniam.

Dr Renu Singh has been appointed by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) as the next director of the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun.

Uday Kotak has announced to step down as the Chairman of the board of the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), after his term ends on April 2, 2022.

[frm-cfa]

Best resources for FRM

Fintelligents, is India’s premier coaching institute with a distinct focus on empowering students with financial education and building leaders for tomorrow. Established recently in 2017, Fintelligents is a one-stop training center for prestigious and internationally recognized financial certifications like CFA and FRM. Known for its innovative and practical training techniques Fintelligents aims to guide students by building on core fundamentals and delivering result oriented outcomes.

Best FRM Books

Fintelligents was founded in Mumbai by IIT and IIM Alumni Mr. Karthik Subramaniam, a visionary with a relentless zeal for financial education and panache for teaching. The main faculty has more than 5 years of teaching experience along with professional experience in core Risk functions from some of the world’s leading investment banks. Despite its brief history, Fintelligents already boasts of more than 300 alumni students and is highly sought after due to certified and qualified faculty who has hands-on industry experience and a long history of financial teaching.

In today’s highly competitive educational environment, Fintelligents catapults its students ahead of the learning curve using its flagship tools which make the subjects fun to learn and easy to understand.

Some major key points about Fintelligents:

FRM/CFA Certified Professional

Industry experts with corporate experience.

Practical learning with real-world examples

3000+ questions

Regular assessments and feedback sessions

Mock assessment of the final exam

The hard copy of Summarized, to the point, notes.

Placement and Consulting support

Key points about FRM Classes

100–120 Hours of Training with explanatory notes

FRM Coaching with Solution bank of 3000+ Questions

Summarized Revision Notes, Formula Sheet with Study planner guide

Android, IOS App and Website for smooth learning

Highly active Discussion Groups for doubt solving

[kalyan-gullapalli]

Post # 128

Bharat's Ratna...

If Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao were alive today, he would be 99 years old. On 28th June, 2021, he would have turned 100. So this year, the Telangana government is celebrating his birth centenary year. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao led the bandwagon of people demanding Bharat Ratna for PV (as he was fondly known), with BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy supporting this demand. Reports appear that Dr. Manmohan Singh wanted to give him a Bharat Ratna when he was Prime Minister.

Glowing tributes flew from all and sundry, even from Congress, whose party he belonged to, and who conveniently chose to ignore him since 1996, when he stepped down as PM.

No matter how significant PV Narasimha Rao's life was before 1996, it probably must have been hell since then, till 2004, when he died of a heart attack. First of all, he got no credit from his own Congress party for the path-breaking economic reforms he instituted and pulled the country out of the deep shit it had been pushed into by former governments and their policies. Dr. Manmohan Singh, instead, got all the credit.

Next, he was blamed for the party's 1996 electoral defeat, dumped and replaced by Sitaram Kesari. He was excluded from every Congress Working Committee meeting since.

To rub salt on wounds, he was charged with many corruption cases, some of them by his own party colleagues. He supposedly went through a very bad phase financially and had to sell his Banjara Hills house in Hyderabad to pay for his lawyers.

When he died, while undergoing treatment in AIIMS, his family requested that being a former PM, he should be cremated and his remains buried in Delhi. But Sonia Gandhi and her cronies didn't even allow his body to enter the AICC building in Delhi. That's when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy intervened, flew the body back to Hyderabad, and had it cremated with state honors.

But why was PV, a freedom fighter before Indian independence, a career Congress-man, an Indira Gandhi loyalist even in Emergency days, a State Chief Minister, a cabinet minister with Foreign and Home ministries and an ex-Prime Minister, treated with such disdain in his last few years? And now, why this drama about a Bharat Ratna? Therein lies a tale...

In 1991, PV Narasimha Rao had practically retired from politics. He had by then, seen it all, done it all. Renowned as a scholar - he was fluent in 17 languages - and known to be indecisive - a requisite for survival in the Indian National Congress in those Indira days - he was cooling his heels, when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, in the midst of electoral polling.

Congress emerged as the largest party in those elections, but didn't have majority. Sonia didn't want to enter politics just as yet. So PV was persuaded to head a minority government, simply because he was deemed harmless, and asked to lead a nation rocked by the worst economic crisis in its history - the country was bankrupt and had to pledge 68 tonnes of gold in return for aid from IMF, and was grappling with political uncertainty - this was the third government in as many years.

To put it mildly, to survive 5 years - 5 eventful years - and produce the results that he did, was nothing short of miraculous. If a Prime Minister's performance is to be measured by the difference he made to the country while in office, PV Narasimha Rao was probably the most significant Prime Minister India has ever had.

1. Economic reforms:

PV Narasimha Rao was the true father of Indian economic reforms. He brought in a technocrat - Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Finance Minister of India, and backed him 100% to implement necessary reforms. He himself headed the Commerce and Industries ministry to dismantle the socialist policies of the License Raj. His ability to steer unconventional, unpopular reforms through opposition, while heading a minotity government gave him the title Chanakya of Indian politics. Dr. Manmohan Singh says PV was "his friend, philosopher and guide".

2. Nuclear testing:

Today, the world credits Atal Bihari Vajpayee government for India's nuclear testing programme, which culminated in the Pokhran tests of 1998. However, the tests were actually planned in 1995, during PV's term in office. They were dropped under American pressure when the US intelligence got the whiff of it. In 1996, when PV stepped down and Vajpayee became PM, PV met Vajpayee and updated him on the progress of the nuclear programme. Vajpayee said later, "Rao told me that the bomb was ready. I only exploded it." APJ Abdul Kalam described PV Narasimha Rao as a "patriotic statesman who believed that the nation is bigger than the political system". 

3. Foreign policy:

He decided in 1992 to bring into the open India's relations with Israel, which had been kept covertly active for a few years during his tenure as a Foreign Minister, and permitted Israel to open an embassy in New Delhi. Today, Israel is one of India's best friends.

He ordered the intelligence community in 1992 to start a systematic drive to draw the international community's attention to Pakistan's sponsorship of terrorism in India and not to be discouraged by US efforts to undermine the exercise.

Rao launched the Look East foreign policy, which brought India closer to ASEAN. Subsequent governments have pursued this policy as well. Today, Narendra Modi is a strong advocate and practitioner of this policy.

He decided to maintain a distance from the Dalai Lama in order to placate Beijing, and made successful overtures to Tehran. These policies paid rich dividends for India in 1994, when Benazir Bhutto's efforts to have a resolution passed by the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on the human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir failed, with opposition by China and Iran.

4. Crisis management:

After the 1993 Bombay blasts, PV personally visited Bombay and after seeing evidence of Pakistani involvement in the blasts, invited the intelligence agencies of the US, UK and other West European countries to examine the facts for themselves.

It was during his term that terrorism in Punjab was finally defeated.

He also directed negotiations to secure the release of Doraiswamy, an Indian Oil executive, from Kashmiri terrorists who kidnapped him, and Liviu Radu, a Romanian diplomat posted in New Delhi in October 1991, who was kidnapped by Sikh terrorists.

He also brought the occupation of the Hazratbal holy shrine in Jammu and Kashmir by terrorists in October 1993 to an end without damage to the shrine.

In 1993, a strong earthquake in Latur, Maharashtra killed nearly 10,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands. PV Narasimha Rao was applauded for using modern technology and resources to organise major relief operations.

Okay. By now, I am convinced he has done enough to have become a high-performance Prime Minister, despite his inaction during the Babri Masjid demolition and the pan-India rioting that happened after that. But why the disdain, especially from within his own party?

Some commentators say that his shabby treatment largely owed to the fact that, in the dusk of his career, he refused to serve as a seat-warmer to the next generation of Gandhis. Once he became the PM, this previously indecisive, harmless, grand old man acted like the buck stopped with him. He stopped visiting Sonia Gandhi regularly, which she resented. In him, the Gandhi family detected a rival power centre that could diminish their centrality to the party and its fortunes.

Some others say that Sonia Gandhi was unhappy with the pace at which Rajiv Gandhi's assassination case was progressing. A few others say that Congress ‘punished’ Rao for his failure to safeguard the Babri Masjid and jeopardise the party’s long-nurtured Muslim vote bank.

Whatever be the real inside story, I feel compelled to reproduce the most glowing tribute to PV Narasimha Rao I read in the past few days.

“Rao is to India what founding fathers Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson are to the United States; Friedrich List to Germany; Hayato Ikeda to Japan; Lee Kuan Yew, Goh Keng Swee and Albert Winsemius to Singapore; and Deng Xiaoping to China.”

In my book, Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao is 100% a Bharat Ratna - a Jewel of India.

[tearsinthemist]

FedEx warns of global recession

17September2022

Transport company FedEx this week warned of an impending global recession, as predicted by the declining global demand for packages. The company's shares dropped 21 percent on Friday, notably after it estimated a $500 million revenue shortfall thanks to a slowing economy. "These numbers, they don't portend very well," FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam replied, when asked if the decline in company profits suggested a recession was imminent. To address its financial woes, the company is reducing flights, temporarily grounding aircraft, cutting staff hours, delaying certain hiring, and closing 90 FedEx Office locations in addition to five corporate offices. It will also cut $500 million from its capital expenditure budget for its fiscal year, which lasts through May 2023. [CNN]

[alphst]

FedEx Corporation (FDX) Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

$FDX Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript #earnings #markets #investing

FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) Q2 2023 earnings conference call Dec. 20, 2022 Corporate Participants: Mickey Foster — Vice President, Investor Relations Raj Subramaniam — President, Chief Executive Officer and Director Brie Carere — Executive Vice President, Chief Customer Officer Mike Lenz — Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Analysts: Tom Wadewitz — UBS — Analyst Helane…

[floraclinton1200]

An extended period of declining worldwide economic activity is referred to as a global recession. Since trade links and international financial institutions spread economic shocks and the effects of recession from one nation to another, a global recession involves more or less coordinated recessions across several national economies. FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam told CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Thursday that he believes a recession is impending for the global economy. The CEO’s pessimism came after FedEx missed estimates on revenue and earnings in its first quarter. The company also withdrew its full-year guidance. FedEx warns of a global recession, cutting sales forecast by half a billion dollars.

[avalonglobal]

A “Land Bridge” To Crimea Or A Food Corridor Out? - Avalon Global Research

The armed conflict between Ukraine and its larger neighbor Russia continues to rage on. Russia has caused severe damage to infrastructure across swathes of Ukraine as it seeks to build a land bridge through Donbas into Crimea–the enclave that it holds since 2014. The Ukrainians have tried their best to defend their country’s borders- but the cost has been massive.

The price for the failure of diplomacy is not only being paid by Ukraine (with civilian deaths and refugees seeking shelter across Europe and beyond) and Russia (with most businesses and the national economy hit by American and European sanctions). The wider world–Asia, Africa, and the Middle East–are all seeing the ripple effects of this war in Europe. Food price inflation is affecting us all.

Both Ukraine and Russia realize that access to the Black Sea ports is essential if food (particularly wheat, corn, and sunflower seed) exports are to continue. These ports have traditionally served grain importers in the Middle East and Africa. The war has disrupted land side operations (harvesting, rail movement etc.) in Ukraine and the stockpiles of wheat and corn at the Black Sea ports are now effectively in Russian control. There is a danger of ships laden with grain and oilseed hitting sea-mines which have been laid for warships of either navy.

Drought is affecting many countries in Africa and the sharp increase in food prices (see Table A) is only going to cause increased hunger and death. A humanitarian crisis will soon be upon us. A ‘food corridor’ to provide safe outlets for both Ukrainian and Russian grain exporters out of the Black Sea is the need of the hour. This needs to be negotiated urgently. The world’s grain traders, flour mills and food processors are looking forward to this. Maritime shipping needs a breather to be able to better supply the world’s food needs.

The need for the Food Corridor trumps the need for the Land Bridge.

Table A

May 2021May 2022

Food Price Index128.1157.4

Cereal price Index133.7173.4

Veg Oils Price Index174.9229.3

(Data Source: FAO)

Author –

Subramaniam Ramanathan, Executive Vice President, Avalon Global Research

As a seasoned business research and consulting professional, R.Subramaniam has worked for over 30 years in the space of global and Indian market research, management consulting, and business strategy across automotive, chemicals and petrochemicals, infrastructure, and financial services in multiple geographies. As the Executive Vice President at Avalon Global Research, he plays a leadership role in the business research team, responsible for developing high quality, bespoke research and trackers for corporates, management consultants, and the financial community in India and abroad.

Contact us at https://www.avalonglobalresearch.com/contact-us