Can this record be beaten?

Mr Allen Swift     1908 - 2010

This man owned and drove the same car for 82 years.

Can you imagine even having the same car for 82 years?

Mr. Allen Swift (Springfield, MA) received this 1928 Rolls Royce Piccadilly - P1 Roadster from his father, brand new - as a graduation gift in 1928.

He drove it, up until his death at the age of 102.

He was the oldest, living owner of a car that was purchased new.

Just thought you'd like to see it.

It was donated to a Springfield museum after his death.

It has 1, 070, 000 miles on it, still runs like a Swiss watch, dead silent at any speed and is in perfect condition at 82 years of age. That's approximately 13,048 miles per year, 1,087 miles per month.

1,070, 000! That's miles not kilometers!

That's British engineering of a bygone era. I don't think they make them like this any more!

Tailpiece.

Got up at my usual time, the chores and was ready by a quarter past 9. Lekha, in the meanwhile, had gone across to the Mammiyur kshetram for the 'darshan' of the good Lord.

Did a long circuit to the Akshaya centre (the reply to the application that they'd sent on my behalf yesterday was still not in), then to the Municipality Office (Who directed me to Pookkode panchayat) where I met Manju, the Village officer who was helpful. The House Tax Exemption application needs to be submitted once in five years based on a government letter of 2023!

Lunch followed by siesta.

To The Quarterdeck to see the final act. 

Sovereign Gold Bond.

Salient features

1. The Bonds are Sovereign guaranteed by the GoI.

2. SGB provides 2.50% interest pa which physical gold investment does not provide.

3. The minimum investment is 1 gm and maximum up to 4 kg.

4. The Bonds are of 8 yrs option of early redemption (Offered by RBI) every 6 months starting from

    5 yrs 6 mths onwards.

5. Can be purchased through iMobile/Internet Banking either in Demat mode (soft copy of bonds will be 

    sent by RBI through email).

6. The bonds can be sold anytime on the stock exchanges and thus offers liquidity when funds are needed.

Why should someone buy SGB rather than physical gold?

1. SGB offers a superior alternative to holding gold in physical form.

2. The risk and cost of storage are eliminated.

3. Investors are assured of the market value of gold at the time of maturity and additional interest of 2.50%

    every year.

4. SGB is free from issues like making charges and purity in the case of gold jewellery form.

5. No GST on SGB.

Taxation on SGB

1. Interest is taxable as per tax slabs.

2. Capital Gain arising on redemption of SGB after 8 yrs to an individual is exempted (tax free).

3. Capital Gain tax is applicable if sold on the Stock Exchange before maturity. The indexation benefits 

    will be provided to long term capital gains arising to any person on transfer of bond.

My take

Some advertisement this!

Tailpiece.

Got up at my usual time, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10.

Did our packing and proceeded to the Akshaya Kendra near the private bus stand to do two things :-

   (a) Amend our Aadhaar cards and

   (b) To submit House Tax exemption application on line.

Couldn't do the latter as the system was slow all through.

Shifted to Gokulam Sabari around lunchtime.

Visited The Quarterdeck to assess the progress of work.

The anatomy of the Qatari ordeal.

Oct 2022         

Eight of our retired naval officers working for an Omani company are arrested by the Qatari government on charges of espionage.

26 Oct 2023

Qatar announces Death sentences for all eight of them.

20 Nov 2023

Suddenly Qatar Court accepts 'hiring of Appeal' filed by the GoI.

23 Nov 2023

Hearing takes place.

01 Dec 2023

PM Modi meets Qatar Emir in Dubai.

03 Dec 2023

Indian Ambassador Mr Vipul gets Consular Access to the eight officers in jail.

07 Dec 2023

The second hearing takes place.

28 Dec 2023

Court overturns the death sentence and commutes it to Life sentence.

11 Feb 2024

* All eight jailed navy veteran officers are asked to pack their bags and wait by the Qatar jail 

   authorities.

* Surprised veterans whisked away to Qatar's Doha airport quietly at midnight where a special

   Indian aircraft was waiting.

12 Feb 2024

All navy veterans arrive back in India at 2 AM in the morning.

My take

PM Modi's diplomacy wins a quiet victory!

Tailpiece.

Got up at a 10' to 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10.

Finished our packing and left for Hotel Guruvayur Darsanam. The plumber was dispatched for the purchase of renewable plumbing articles for the toilets. 

Lunch followed by siesta.

Back at The Quarterdeck, gave the curtains to Rejith for dry cleaning and wound up today's work..

 

Swipe, spend, regret!

Credit card debt doesn't just skew family budgets: it triggers a cascade of humiliation and anxiety, causing a massive household crisis. The frightening nature of plastic debt underlines the need for financial awareness and stringent regulatory frameworks.

* There's a lack of financial literacy in both rural and urban areas and there's also a gender divide.

   Subhasis Gangopadhyay, founding dean of Indian School of Public Policy.

* It was incredibly hard on my family; for all of us, it was a constant struggle to keep life on track

   amidst the stress and chaos.

   Kirankumar Shetty, businessman.

* Credit card defaults rose to Rs.4,072 crores at the end of Mar 2023, according to the RBI.

* Outstanding credit card debt reached Rs.2.10 lakh crores in Mar 2023, up from Rs.1.64 lakh crores

   in Mar 2022.

* Credit card defaults have risen by Rs.951 crores in FY 23 from Rs.3,122 crores in FY 22.

* A study by TruBoardPartners noted that the amount outstanding on credit cards nearly quadrupled 

  from FY21 to FY 23, while transaction value doubled.

Courtesy. Sunday Express Magazine

Tailpiece.

Got up at my usual time, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10.

The maid had come by on work.

Readied up for shifting to the hotel tomorrow, for this week.

 

Sharp rise in cybercrimes!

India has witnessed a substantial increase in cybercrimes - from 50,035 in 2020 to 65,893 in 2022 - according to the latest data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Telangana and Karnataka topped topped the list, recording 15,297 and 12,556 cases respectively in 2022.

Keeping in view the sharp increase in the number of such cases, the Union Home Ministry has constituted seven Joint Cyber Coordination Teams (JCCTs) for cybercrime hotspots such as Mewat, Jamtara, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Visakhapatnam and Guwahati.

In Telangana, the reported incidents of cybercrimes increased nearly three times from 5,024 in 2020 to 15,297 in 2022. In Karnataka, the cases rose from 10,741 to 12,556. The other two states that reported the highest numbers were Uttar Pradesh with 10,117 cases in 2022 (though it relatively fell from 11,097 cases in 2020) and Maharashtra which reported 8,249 cases in 2022 against 5,496 in 2020.

The JCCTs will be equipped with cutting-edge technology and the teams are under the 'Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) covering the whole country and onboarding law enforcement agencies of states and UTs to crack down on cybercrime hotspots with multijurisdictional issues.

A series of workshops were held in strategic locations in 2023. Each workshop served as a crucible, forging unity among diverse law enforcement agencies to tackle the ever-evolving landscape of cybercrime. The 'Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System under the I4C, had been launched for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop siphoning off funds by fraudsters.

A toll-free helpline number 1930 has been operationalised to get assistance in lodging online cyber complaints. About 3.2 lakh SIM cards and 49,000 IMEIs have been blocked.

Tailpiece.

Got up at a 10' to 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9.

The maid was at work. There were 10 workers trying to cover the externals and the two bedrooms on top.

Had called the Asian Paints reps for a meeting in the afternoon and cleared up our doubts and the way ahead. Lekha, also, did ask her queries! 

Israel - Gaza war (2).

* Israeli airstrikes kill 13 people in Rafah in the Gaza Strip, including two women and children.

* Israeli preparations on to expand offensive in Rafah.

* Prime Minister Netanyahu says offensive will continue till Israel achieves total victory over Hamas.

Truce Talks

* Netanyahu rejects Hamas demands on the end of war as delusional, says Israel would never agree to any deal that leaves Hamas in partial or full control of Gaza.

* US Secretary of State Antony Blinken claims agreement is still possible.

* Hamas delegation reaches Cairo for more talks.

Tailpiece.

Got up at a 10' to 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9.

The maid was at work.

The top two bedrooms were concentrated upon by the 6-member team.

The Israel - Gaza war (1).

Hamas proposes 3-phase truce-plan : 45 days for each phase

First phase.

All Israeli women hostages, males under 19 and the elderly and sick would be released in exchange for female and underage Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Israel would withdraw troops from populated areas.

Second phase.

Release of remaining male hostages; full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.

Third phase.

Bodies and remains of hostages to be exchanged; hopefully end of war pact as well.

* Hamas wants release of 1,500 prisoners from Israeli jails. Hamas would pick one third of them from a list of Palestinians serving life term.

* 132 hostages still in Hamas custody, about 30 already dead.

* War toll so far : 27,708  A Hamas estimate.

My take

This truce will never take off because Israel has vowed never to leave Gaza and Hamas, after having committed aggression, has the cheek to dictate terms with false statistics!

Tailpiece.

Got up at a 10' to 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9.

The maid had come by for work.

Today, there were six workers for external work and two for the internal work. The latter had finished work by teatime.