RuPay out to make debit cards safer

PIN POWER India's answer to Visa, MasterCard set to fan out

The RuPay card launched by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Monday has the potential to make debit cards safer by incorporating the pin number with each transaction. At present, only the Maestro of MasterCard requires the user to furnish the pin number every time the card is used.
The RuPay, conceived as India's answer to the Visa and MasterCard, would make it impossible for anyone else to use the card.
“RuPay cards make the payment safer for the bank customers as it is a pin-based card,“ said AP Hota, managing director and chief executive officer, NPCI. “People who have the pin number will only be able to use the card,“ he added.
NPCI's RuPay will be accepted at all 91,000 ATMs and over 6 lakh Point of Sale (PoS) terminals in the country. According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data there are close to 27 crore debit cards in India. Public sector lenders Bank of India and Union Bank of India have already started issuing RuPay debit cards to customers and other banks are likely to do the same soon.
“We expect all major banks to be a part of RuPay network in six months' time,“ added Hota.
Low cost structure of RuPay is a major attraction for banks in India to join the network.
Foreign card players such Visa and Mastercard have comparatively high fee structure for banks. According to the sources, they charge around $30,000$50,000 as one-time fee and around $10,000-$30,000 quarterly fee from banks.
NPCI does not charge any one time joining fee from banks and other charges are around 40% less than Visa and Mastercard.
“Lower charges from NPCI are a major attraction for the banks to join RuPay network as banks will save significant amount of money,“ said senior banks official, Bank of India.

15 cars below Rs 5 lakh

15 cars below Rs 5 lakh

Maruti Alto
Displacement: 796cc
Starting Price: Rs 2.36 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 19.7 kmpl

Hyundai Eon
Displacement: 814cc
Starting Price: Rs 2.70 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 21.1 kmpl

Hyundai Santro Xing
Displacement: 1086cc
Starting Price: Rs 2.85 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 17.92 kmpl

Tata Indica eV2 Xeta
Displacement: 1193cc
Starting Price: Rs 3.12 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 16.84 kmpl

Maruti Estilo
Displacement: 998cc
Starting Price: Rs 3.32 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 19.00 kmpl

Maruti WagonR
Displacement: 998cc
Starting Price: Rs 3.42 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 18.90 kmpl

Chevrolet Beat
Displacement: 1199cc
Starting Price: Rs 3.66 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 18.61 kmpl

Ford Figo
Displacement: 1196cc
Starting Price: Rs 3.75 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 15.60 kmpl

Tata Vista
Displacement: 1172cc
Starting Price: Rs 3.94 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 16.70 kmpl

Honda Brio
Displacement: 1198cc
Starting Price: Rs 3.95 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 18.40 kmpl

Toyota Etios Liva
Displacement: 1197cc
Starting Price: Rs 4.02 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 18.30 kmpl

Nissan Micra
Displacement: 1198cc
Starting Price: Rs 4.06 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 18.06 kmpl

Maruti Swift
Displacement: 1197cc
Starting Price: Rs 4.37 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 18.60 kmpl

Hyundai i20
Displacement: 1197cc
Starting Price: Rs 4.59 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 18.50 kmpl

Chevrolet Spark
Displacement: 995cc
Starting Price: Rs 3.06 lakh (New Delhi ex-showroom price)
Fuel Consumption: 18.00 kmpl

ALL HAIL THE WALL Teammates pay glowing tributes to Rahul Dravid even as the man somehow manages to keep the tears away

As Rahul Dravid’s India colleagues spoke glowingly of what he meant to them, the man himself seemed unmoved. And then, finally, it was his turn to speak. He started with an honest confession that was quite un-like Dravid. “I’d made a pact with myself that I won’t cry in any of the functions on my retirement. It’s been tested to the limit today,” he said.

He admitted that his “farewell to cricket” had started to sink in gradually. It’s been three weeks since he called it quits. It’s given him the space to reflect why he fell in love with the sport. “I was like any other fan, obsessed…” he said at a felicitation function organised by the Indian cricket board in Mumbai.
What did playing for India mean to him? As a 16-year-old, he would stay glued to the radio, listening to the exploits of Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath. He wanted to be like them, Dravid reminisced.
Cricket, he said in gratitude, gave him the chance to travel and experience great venues that he had only heard of as a 16-year-old.
His career, he believes, is a culmination of the efforts of many people.
When it was time to thank them all, he didn’t start with his colleagues. First, he singled out groundsmen, scorers and umpires for particular mention — the “people who do selfless jobs”. For him, the ‘selfless’ tribe also includes cricketers who may not have had great careers but played with the intention of winning.
He had special words for his longtime India colleague, Anil Kumble. “I’ll miss your intensity and desire. What I will not miss, though, is your vegetarian meals without mushroom, onion and garlic,” said Dravid who had taken 55 catches off the leg-spinner’s bowling.
To Laxman he thanked, not just for Kolkata 2001, but all the moments at slip when the two discussed “why architects and contractors weren’t doing well”.
The best tribute probably came from MS Dhoni who lauded his skills with the gloves. “Even a regular ’keeper would have struggled to take the catches,” the Indian captain said, recalling his initial days in the national team.
Dhoni revealed he was so much in awe of Dravid that he would be reluctant to chat. “But I never called him Dravid bhai or sir, I would always call him Jam,” Dhoni confessed.
Dravid, Dhoni said, was quite unlike this-generation cricketer, willing to channel his aggression differently even when provoked.
His former captain Sourav Ganguly reminisced the first time he shared the dressing room with Dravid. He relived a tour of England during their U-15 days, under coach Kailash Gattani, when it was obvious enough that Dravid he was marked for great deeds.

New stuff on the shelves

New stuff on the shelves

Acai berry drinks arrive in India
Health-and-wellness major MonaVie has launched Essential and Pulse drinks in India. The key ingredient in these products is Acai berry, a very rare fruit that is found in the Brazilian rainforests. It is anti-ageing, strengthens the immune system, facilitates healthy weight loss.
Priced Rs.2,275.

Fossil’s skeleton watches
The latest Fossil collection is called Heritage. It combines mechanics, fashion and history, and comes suitably dressed with polished stainless steel bracelets and rich leather straps.
Priced Rs.5,995 onwards.

Tata to launch flavoured salt
Tata Chemicals will launch Flavoritz salt in four flavours (onion-garlic, lemon-mint, red chilli and black pepper). This will be in addition to iodised salt, crystalline salt, vacuum salt and pure salt. The company exports its products to the Middle East under the Topp Salt brand.

Shawls for summer!
Shingora, the shawls and scarves brand, has launched its summer collection. The range of colourful, light and trendy scarves and stoles are intended to be interesting fashion accessories. Priced between Rs.495 and Rs.995.

Food is fresh on less power
Samsung has launched frost-free range of refrigerators with digital inverter compressor (which monitors temperature levels, making adjustments to its motor speed, significantly reducing noise.) They keep food fresh longer while using less energy. Compressor warranty is for ten years. Volumes are in the 225-487 litre range. Priced Rs.24,300 onwards.