Its seems that TATA’s like every thing related to NANO. Tata’s are now ofering flat for Rs 4 Lakhs less around areas in Mumbai.

Indian Reality markets have observed the rush in the NANO Homes. Check my earlier post.

Tata Housing, the real estate development arm of the Tatas, will build one-room-kitchen flats for just Rs 3.91 lakh in a township being developed at Boisar, 100 km from Mumbai.

The salt-to-software Tata conglomerate plans to develop the township within 24 months and allotment of flats would made through lottery, Brotin Banerjee, managing director, Tata Housing said. – Rediff

I hope this project comes true and no politician interferes in this move by TATA ! We certainly need homes in and around Mumbai. More that 70% population in Mumbai dont have their own flat.

All banks will have a good time when this project is out as they will come out with loan schemes s they did when TATA Nano came out !

PS – I would certainly Invest there.

So can we say that India is Developing ?

I just read in ET “State-owned banks on hiring spree, to hire 30,000 in FY’10 even as India Inc, facing the heat of the global financial meltdown, has put a virtual halt on recruitment.”

Why has this huge employment come in ?
Expansion/ Increment of branches is one of the reason. This expansion of branches is the reason to increase the lending activity.

What can we term by this expansion activity?
Increase in branches will indirectly increase the lending activity of the bank. But can also increase the inflow as more people would tend to invest.
Increase in lending activity means growth and diversification in other sectors/business.
Indirectly upliftment of Indian Economy.

If you book a Nano, and unfortunately not selected in the draw, do not despair as your booking amount will fetch you better returns than even a fixed deposit. With RBI’s recent reverse repo and repo rate cuts, banks have started slashing deposit rates, with fixed deposits now fetching lesser interest rates as against what Tatas will pay on your booking amount.

Booking for the Nano which opened on April 9, will close on April 25. Tata Motors will only be able to allot only one lakh cars in the first phase, within two months of closure of bookings. But for those who are not successful in getting the car in the first phase, have the option to retain their deposit on which Tata will pay an interest of 8.5% for people who have to wait between one to two years to get their Nano, and 8.75% for over two years.

As against this, a fixed deposit with a PSU like United Bank of India will fetch you an interest of 8% for 36 months. SBI at present offers 7.75% on deposits (below one crore) for a period of one to less than two years, while a deposit for two years to less than 1000 days, fetches interest of 8%.

“This is a great offer. Even if a customer is not successful in getting selected in the draw the first time, he can retain his booking amount over six to eight months on which Tata will pay more than what he would have earned if he had invested in a FD,” a bank official said. The booking amount is Rs 95,000 for the base variant , Rs 1.2 lakh for middle and Rs 1.4 lakh for the top-end airconditioned model.

So it would make sense to retain the deposit with the bank till the time the next allotment takes place, say banking experts, if you are serious about buying the car, while at the same time earning a higher return (8.5%) than a fixed deposit in a bank (7-8 % or even lower if revised downwards over the next few days).

The one-lakh car has met with an astounding response with most bookings coming for the top-end air-conditioned model, which carries a price tag of Rs 1.72 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The top variant in Mumbai is priced at Rs 1.85 lakh. Tata Motors has said that it would be able to produce only 50,000 units of Nano from its Pantnagar facility in Uttarakhand, until its dedicated plant at Sanand (Gujarat) starts production late this year. – ET

One of the only investment which gave positive return after Jan 2008 is Bank FD.
With an average interest rate of 9% pa FD’s act as a stable source of income.
Now its hight time to take a FD and lock it due to certain reasons -

• Banks are cutting key interest rates.
• Inflation is lowering.

What should you do?

Should you lock in? If you are getting a good rate and you have funds available with you for some time, go ahead. “You will not be able to get that rate for the next few quarters,” says Ashish Kapoor. For a retired person who wants regular income, it makes a lot of sense to put his money in an FD now.

“In many cases, individuals want to keep money available for a possible market upswing,” says Vishal Kapoor. Consider this factor before locking your funds in an FD.

Earlier, there were options like fixed maturity plans which aren’t so attractive now. via

A smart decision thus lies in locking your FD for good returns.

Will home loan interest rates come down?
To counter the worsening liquidity situation of banking institutions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the key rates including cash reserve ratio (CRR), reverse repo rate and repo rate over the last few months. New borrowers can get as low as an eight percent rate with certain conditions and clauses. However, many banks are yet to pass on the benefits of reduced rates to their existing borrowers.

Hence, there is every possibility that your lender is contemplating reduction of the rate. The RBI plans to counter the economic slowdown and slump in growth by bringing down its key rates and hence making borrowing cheaper. Lower or negative inflation rate will prompt the RBI to lower the rates further. But how much and when will existing borrowers benefit depends on the lenders.

Is floating rate better now?
With the possibility of rates going down, floating rates may appear the best choice. But ask a borrower who availed a loan at seven percent floating rate some five years ago. Over the years, he had not benefited from any fall but seen the rate soar to as high as 13 percent. ‘Pure fixed’ loans are expensive. Hybrid loans are the best option in uncertain times.

Factors to consider before taking a loan
Find out if the lender has always passed on the benefits of lower rates to his existing customers. Do not go by lowest rate alone. Understand all clauses. Borrow as little as possible. Enquire about penalties and charges.

How do you arrive at the tenure?
Only if the net disposable income of the borrower is low, should he go for a longer tenure loan instead of a shorter tenure. Shorter the loan tenure, the interest amount paid to lender will be lesser. Short tenure loan means you can be debt-free faster. via.

The following banks are rated according to the readers poll by Rediff

So you are at this fancy restaurant with your partner. The restaurant is expensive and the bill comes up to a hefty sum. Now, what would anyone normally do? Pay cash? Not likely. With the easy availability of credit today, you would end up using your credit card.

Credit card: What is it?

A credit card is part of a system of payments named after the small plastic card issued to users of the system. It is a card entitling its holder to buy goods and services based on the holders promise to pay for these goods and services. The issuer of the card grants a line of credit to the consumer (or the user) from which the user can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance to the user.

How does it work?

After you or the cashier swipes your credit card through a reader, the EDC software at the point-of-sale (POS) terminal of the establishment that you are using your credit card at dials a stored telephone number (using a modem) to call an acquirer. An acquirer is an organization that collects credit-authentication requests from merchants and provides the merchants with a payment guarantee. Put simply, the card is swiped at the establishment>the bank or financial institution is contacted>authenticity is established>payment is approved>receipt is received.

The Pros and Cons

Pros

Dos	Don’ts
Make wise decisions about purchasing items you need versus those you simply want. It is important to distinguish between the two.	Use your credit card to make everyday purchases like food, clothing, and petrol. Using your credit card as a substitute for cash will land you in unnecessary debt.
Pay on time, within the due date. Consecutive missed payments will make you defaulter and result in a poor credit score.	Get into the habit of making minimum-only payments. Making only the minimum payment each month increases the amount of time it will take to pay off your debt.
Stay within 30% of your credit limit.	Use your credit card to buy things you can’t afford.
Read your credit card statement carefully.	Withdraw cash from an ATM using your credit card. Not only will you be charged a withdrawal fee, but the interest will levied from the moment the cash is withdrawn.

Security Identity thefts and credit card fraud is something that can be a very bad experience. Protecting your credit card information is very critical. Here are some ways you can protect yourself from credit card fraud.