Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance appoints Anuj Mathur as CEO

Mathur will take charge as the CEO on 1 July 2015, succeeding the current CEO, John Holden.

Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance Company Limited – a joint venture between two of India’s largest public sector banks, Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce, and HSBC Insurance (Asia Pacific) Holdings Limited announced the appointment of Anuj Mathur as the new Chief Executive Officer of the company. Mathur will take charge as the CEO on 1 July 2015, succeeding the current CEO, John Holden.
 
Under Holden's leadership the Company reported its maiden profit in less than five years of commencing operations and the Board thanked John for his contribution. The Company continues to pursue a pure bancassurance model and passing the benefits of its lean cost structure to the three banks' customers through highly competitive products backed up by strong customer service.
 
Anuj Mathur is a founding member of the company having joined in 2007 to lead Legal, Compliance & Risk, Corporate Governance, before taking over as the Chief Financial Officer in September 2009.  He has over 22 years of experience, out of which more than 14 years have been with the life insurance industry.  He is a fellow member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Institute of Company Secretaries of India, associate member of Institute of Cost Accountants of India and a Commerce graduate from Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi University.

Make in India! Hyundai to consider for third factory in India

The decision to built the new plant by either Hyundai Motor or its comrade Kia Motor Corp is yet to be decided. 

PM Narendra Modi's tour to China has emerged as a positive deal for Indian automobile sector. Hyundai Motor Group, the fifth largest automaker in the world, is considering to establish a third factory in India.

Hyundai's chairman, Chung Mong-koo after its meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, stated that a new factory in India was under examination. The decision to built the new plant by either Hyundai Motor or its comrade Kia Motor Corp is yet to be decided.

The auto group already has various car plant in progress in India. Hyundai which is only second to Maruti Suzuki in India has two factory set up in Chennai, with a collaborate annual capabilities of 680,000 vehicles.

States like Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan are already in an intense competition to grasp in the opportunity of Hyundai's expansion plan, which was delayed for sometime now.

The meeting between Hyundai's chairman Chung Mong-koo and PM Narendra Modi nearly continued for half an hour where Chung gave assurity to develop a new factory in India. 

Xpress Money launches Direct Account Credit services to India

The brand has introduced the ‘Direct Account Credit’ service, which allows customers to send money directly to any bank account in India, making money transfer even more convenient for both the sender and receiver. 

Xpress Money, one of the world’s most dependable money transfer brands, added a new mode of money transfer for its customers sending money to India. The brand has introduced the ‘Direct Account Credit’ service, which allows customers to send money directly to any bank account in India, making money transfer even more convenient for both the sender and receiver. Introduced from UK, Greece, Belgium, Ireland, Romania, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, France, Malta, Turkey, Germany, Netherlands, Gibraltar and Norway in the initial phase, the brand has plans to roll out this service in other markets that have a large Indian diaspora.
 
To avail of this service, a customer can walk into any Xpress Money location in the mentioned countries and ask for the money to be sent to their beneficiary’s account through the ‘Direct Account Credit’ service. Once the transaction has been processed, the amount will be credited to their beneficiary’s account within 24 to 48 hours. The remitter also will receive an SMS confirmation, as soon as the money is credited to the selected account, ensuring a hassle-free transaction. Beneficiaries can choose to withdraw the remitted money from close to 150,000 ATMs in India, or from their designated bank branches in the country.
 
Sudhesh Giriyan, COO, Xpress Money, says, “Indian migrants, the world over, regularly send money to their loved ones back home, making India the largest recipient of remittances in the world. India also has a robust and extensive banking network that facilitates the remittance receiving process. Thousands of Indian migrants living in these countries, remit money regularly; it is therefore imperative that we offer our customers different options to choose from, while remitting money to their loved ones, here in India. The Direct Account Credit service is not only convenient but also encourages saving, as beneficiaries here can withdraw only the required amount while the rest can be saved in the account. As a brand, we aim to provide hassle-free and efficient money transfer facilities to all our customers across the world.

Camson Bio Tech approaches HC to finalize demerger of Seed Business

The final approval from High Court will see the formal launch of a separate business entity.

Camson Bio Technologies Ltd. (CBTL) has filed the application for Scheme of Arrangement (Demerger) of seeds business to Camson Seeds Limited with the High Court of Karnataka.

 The company has already received the observation letterfrom SEBI and BSE in this regard. 

The final approval from High Court will see the formal launch of a separate business entity.

The promising agri biotech business has grown at a robust pace over the past few years and has now assumed sufficient size and scale. An improved focus will help it grow further and scale new boundaries. This will help to reach out to every farmer across the globe and share Camson’s message of Zero Residue Agriculture.

Also, fundamentally most dynamics like risk, capital requirements & return ratios of both businesses have begun to differ. This necessitated the need for the demerger

Volkswagen Passat is Europe’s "Car of the Year 2015"

One of the oldest and most well-known awards in Europe, "Car of the Year" has been honoring the best new releases in the car industry every year since 1964.

Europe's "Car of the Year 2015" is a Volkswagen: the new Passat wins the prestigious award, which is presented every year by the international "Car of the Year" jury. The winner was announced earlier this week at the Geneva International Motor Show.

One of the oldest and most well-known awards in Europe, "Car of the Year" has been honoring the best new releases in the car industry every year since 1964. The jury, consisting of 58 European motoring journalists from 22 countries, had nominated seven candidates ahead of the final. In the preceding months, these candidates had undergone detailed testing, comparisons and evaluations based on criteria such as economy, comfort, safety, driving characteristics, functionality, design and technical progress. In the 52nd edition of the traditional competition, the new Passat clearly triumphed over its six rivals in the final with a total score of 340 points.

"We are extremely proud of this accolade," said Prof. Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, at the prize-giving ceremony in Geneva. "In the new Passat we have again succeeded in developing a car that sets the standards for its class in terms of technology and quality. This honor is a tremendous confirmation for the work of our engineers, designers and the entire team. The new Passat shows that the Volkswagen brand has the right answers to the challenges of our time."

Heinz-Jakob Neusser, Member of the Board of Management Volkswagen Brand for the Development Division, received the award for the new Passat: "We are delighted by the honor of "Car of the Year 2015". This accolade has a very special significance for us because it is awarded by independent international trade journalists. In addition, the honor is known to have a high standing for our customers."

Michael Mayer, Director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Volkswagen Group Sales India Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are delighted to see that the Passat has been crowned Europe’s ‘Car of the Year 2015.’ In terms of safety, build quality, advanced technology and outstanding driving dynamics, the Passat is clearly a segment leader, and rightfully deserves to win this award.”

The new Passat, in all its versions, is one of the most successful mid-class cars in the world and with 1.1 million units (in 2014) one of the highest-volume series of the Volkswagen Group worldwide. Now in its eighth generation, the best-seller is regarded as one of the most innovative cars in its class. 

Make gratuity, leave encashment of deceased employee non-taxable: Assocham

Death of an employee creates a lot of financial hardship to the legal heirs and it will be difficult for the legal heirs to calculate and pay taxes on the termination benefits received, Assocham says

The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) has suggested the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to issue instructions that ‘leave encashment’, ‘gratuity’ or other termination benefits received by the legal heir of deceased employee will not be taxable.

In a note to the CBDT Chairman, the chamber has stated that death of an employee creates a lot of financial hardship to the legal heirs and it will be difficult for the legal heirs to calculate and pay taxes on the termination benefits received.

The chamber says there is a CBDT circular which states that a lump-sum payment made gratuitously or by way of compensation or otherwise to the widow or other legal heirs of an employee, who dies while still in active service, is not taxable as income under the Income-tax Act, 1961. Infact this circular will cover all other lump sum termination benefits being paid to the legal heir of a deceased employee, who dies while still in active service.

Though there is already a judgement which clearly established the law that gratuity received by the legal heir of a deceased employee is not taxable, even after taking into account the provisions of section 10(10) (iii) of the Act.

However, Section 56(1) and section 2(24) has been amended w.e.f AY 2005-06 to include gratuitous payments received by an Individual / HUF (any sum of money received not exceeding the prescribed amount without any consideration) with a view to widen the scope of Income. There is certain specific exclusion to such gratuitous receipts but such exclusions do not cover the leave encashment, gratuity or other termination benefits received by the legal heir of any deceased employee in connection with the services rendered by him.

Hence, due to the introduction of Section 56(1)(v)/(vi)/(vii) the leave encashment, gratuity and other termination benefits received by the legal heir is now getting taxable though there were CBDT circular issued [before the introduction of Section 56(1)(v)/(vi)/(vii) of the Act] which had exempted such payments. As the earlier CBDT circulars have not been withdrawn there is confusion as to whether these payments to legal heir are taxable income in their hands or not.