The Economic Times, India's largest and most popular business news paper, ET Now – the newly launched business news TV channel and economictimes.com have joined hands with the leading social networking site, Facebook, to let users share their thoughts with the FM regarding the Union Budget for the financial year 2010-11. The new initiative, “ET-Facebook: Talk to FM”, will give users a unique opportunity to post their views/suggestions on the Budget by logging on to www.economictimes.com. ET will then present the same to the FM and take the voice of the nation to the FM.
Facebook ties up with ET to offer live budget feeds
ET launches online stock market game
OUR USP: ET Portfolio Wizard – The wizard of Money Management
Economictimes.com, the online edition of world’s 2nd largest financial Daily, now brings to you the Wizard of Money Management. Here comes ET Portfolio Wizard– the real-life wizard that would transform the way online investment tracking works – and that too with a single sleight-of-hand.
It’s automatic and so easy to use that even tax/investment consultant swears by it. No more tedious filling-out of numerous online forms in sequence – you’d only need to copy-paste your data just once and for all to activate, manage, update and continue with your account. Here’s the lowdown:
Try our new Portfolio’s Upload Wizard feature, which handles bulk transactions in a couple of clicks. Or perhaps ET Portfolio’s special IPO section that tracks down even your ESOPs. Also try our upcoming IPOs that might attract you, or the Alerts & Watchlists section which offers a bouquet of brand new features. But more on that later.
Don’t believe how easy it is? 50,000 tax payers bet on our Tax Wizard last year for calculating and filing their returns without the help of a Tax professional – its sheer wizardry!
And all of this comes with 128-bit encryption security arrangement of course, so that you’re sure that your data is completely safe.
Upload Wizard
The ET Portfolio’s unique Upload Wizard makes transaction entering simple. The Wizard has been pre-configured to import data directly from over XX brokers (LIST – ICICI Direct, Sharekhan, Reliance Money, Religare, Motilal Oswal, IDBI, Man Financial, etc) More will be added as we move along. There are other options as well. Like uploading bulk transaction history into an Excel file. Upload Wizard will automatically read your data, validate it and upload the same into your portfolio. Get a hold on your investments, the easy way.
Tracking More Asset Classes
ET Portfolio not only tracks Stocks, MFs, Deposits and Real Estate, but is the only service that even keeps track of your ESOPs (Employee Stock Option Scheme). A special IPO section also keeps a watch on upcoming IPOs and also tracks investments from the time you file the IPO application.
Security
The only integrated portfolio tool that keeps your data secure using 128-bit encryption, the kind if security used by Banks and brokers for their online ebusinesses. The security of your financial data is very important to us.
Integrated Tax Tool
The only portfolio tool to provide an integrated tax calculation and filing engine. Last summer, 50,000 tax payers used our tool. See what they had to say about us before you try it. Now with the integrated Portfolio and Tax engine, your short-term/long-term taxes and the dividend, interest components will be automatically exported to your tax returns.
Family View
Now maintain the portfolio of the whole family at one place. Get an integrated view or individual view of each portfolio. What’s more, family members can get independent access to monitor their individual portfolios.
Alerts and Watchlists
Alerts for updates on transactions or important triggers. You can even set up multiple watchlists to keep track of stocks and MFs you are interested in.
Wealth Manager and Tax Consultant View
Select parts of the ET Portfolio and Tax Wizard can be enabled for your Wealth Manager or Financial Advisor/Tax Consultant to access, thus creating a seamless single source of information for all your financial advisory requirements.
ET Portfolio Wizard has lot more to offer, such as, double entry book-keeping, auto update of SIPs/SWPs; Alerts and automatic adjustments of dividends, bonus, stock splits, interests, redemption etc. Come take a look, you will be the richer for it.
The Zero Fuss Wizard
Three days left, and you haven’t filed your returns. Try the ET tax wizard, it’s so easy to use and it just takes 5 minutes to fill the form. Don’t believe us; listen to some of the testimonials that grateful netizens from all over the country have been inundating us with.
Omar Sharif, Domain Consultant with Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. in Mumbai, wrote to us that the interface “very user friendly…indeed it made my life simpler”.
Geetanjali P., an Analyst with a major computer manufacturing MNC in Bangalore says it “greatly simplified the tax filing process for professionals like me”.
Nipun K, a fellow Analyst in an MNC IT firm in the Graden City the Tax Wizard was “a great and easy-to-use tool by Economic Times”.
But for the final word we’ll go to 79-year-old Sunder Thadani in Mumbai. He’s been trying his hand at e-filling for the past three years, but found it “very difficult to use”. This is when he came to www.tax.economictimes.com and discovered the ET Tax Wizard. In his own words, “I was surprised to find compiling the returns on the screen so simple, and quick. I completed my returns within 15 minutes…it was so efficient and fast that even an old man like me could complete the returns.” Mr Thadani went on to add he “was saved so much tension and time which is wasted in filing the returns”.
But its not just a Tax Return tool, ET Tax Wizard is a pert of the ET Portfolio Wizard, the wealth management software that allows investors and savers to keep a track of their investements like shares, mutual funds, fixed deposits, NSC (National Savings Certificates) KVP (Kisan Vikas Patra), PPF (Public Provident Fund), RBI and Corporate Bonds and many more financial instruments. If a user maintains his investment portfolio on the ET Portfolio Wizard, then the calculation of capital gains on shares and mutual funds is automatically taken care-off.
So like Mr Thadani and thousands of others, why not give the ET Tax Wizard a try? We guarantee that this year there’ll be little worry and zero fuss, at least on the tax front. Even if you have filed your returns logon to ET portfolio wizard and create start tracking your investments there, so that next year your return filing is further simplified.
ET Now and Times Now to present live Budget09 on Times Audience Network
Times Audience Network, the online video arm of the Times Group, will be simulcasting the live budget feed for ET Now and Times Now on July 6.
It will be a never-done-before event in the Indian electronic medium’s history with TAN coming together with Microsoft, Facebook, Akamai and the television properties of the Times Group. Users will get live coverage of both ET Now and Times Now as well as on-demand videos, live news feeds, special updates and will also be able to interact with Facebook friends–all from a single show window. And with Facebook Connect and Live Stream Box, they will be able to take part in real-time conversations with their favourite TV anchors. The event will be hosted at
http://budgetlive.economictimes.com “We’re pleased to collaborate with the Times Group on their coverage of the national budget,” said Meenal Balar, International Marketing Manager at Facebook. “As discussions in New Delhi get under way, we hope Indians will share their comments and opinions with their friends on Facebook.”
Sanjay Sinha, Director – Enterprise Evangelism, Microsoft India says, “Users will experience unique features such as on-demand videos, picture-in-picture feature to watch highlights while watching the live stream, powered by Silverlight.”
The event will be powered by Akamai, the global leader in live and on-demand streaming delivery. Sanjay Singh, MD, Akamai India, says they can “guarantee that viewers will get a flawless, high quality, live streaming experience.”
Sunil Rajshekhar, TIMES INTERNET LIMITED, President and COO, says, with the Live Budget show, we’ll be bringing together the strengths of industry leaders in the content and technology space.The event is a continuation of our leadership and innovation in the online video space. It also marks the entry of ETNow onto TAN and will help expand our efforts in proliferating rich media consumption.”
Small soldiers reign supreme at the 2009 ET-ZigWheels Awards!
India’s indigenous people’s car, the Tata Nano, is the 2009 Economic Times ZigWheels Car of the Year. Facing competition from other spanking new and larger cars (including the Mahindra Xylo, the Fiat Grande Punto, the Toyota Fortuner and the Mercedes-Benz E-class to name but a handful), the Tata Nano came out on tops not only for its revolutionary rethinking of design, but more so for its relevance to an India waking up to the romance of the automobile, and the space that the car has managed to create for itself not just in its country of origin but also internationally.
The recently launched Bajaj Pulsar 135LS has been adjudged the 2009 ET-ZigWheels Bike of the Year. In a lukewarm year for new motorcycle launches, the Pulsar scored massively thanks to its marriage of practicality, ease of use and the new sport-light class it attempts to establish by offering all the fun that motorcycles stand for.
The judging took place at the ZigWheels editorial headquarters in Pune after two days of rigorous testing involving the all-new cars and bikes launched between December 15, 2008 and December 15, 2009. A total of 37 cars and 12 bikes were driven, ridden and evaluated by the jury, headed by ZigWheels Editor-in-chief Adil Jal Darukhanawala.
The judging took place in two rounds, the first of which had vehicles from their respective categories go up against one another. This was to ensure that vehicles from the now widely available strata ranging from ultra-low cost cars to the ultra-luxurious ones did not face off at the first instant, but instead battled on the common grounds of their own category. Cars and bikes in each category were looked at for their overall design and packaging, their advances in creature comforts and occupant well-being and safety, the mechanicals and associated performance, the dynamic ability of the vehicle. The price point of the vehicle and its relevance to that particular category were also looked with a keen eye. The first round threw up some interesting in-class results, and the category awards were decided not only on the basis of the how well the cars and bikes delivered vis-à-vis the expectations from that particular category, but also the impact they promised to have on their peers and the market in general.
In the second round, respective winners from their categories were thrown into the ring to decide the single outstanding car and bike of 2009. Members of the jury were asked to distribute the 25 points allotted to them between the eight cars and five motorcycles that had topped their classes. The wide disparity between the category winners made this quite a task for the jury, but the final verdict was decided based on not just the quality and relevance of the machines, but more importantly by considering how much further that particular car or bike will take the cause of the Indian automotive industry and the consumer base it caters to.
“The smallest car took the biggest award on the Indian automotive scene thanks to a great idea which was uniquely attempted and well executed,” said Adil Jal Darukhanawala, Editor-in-chief of ET-ZigWheels. “From being resilient enough not to respond to wayward criticism during the concept stage and right through to its production unveiling, the boffins and the management at Tata Motors have quite clearly exhibited pioneering skills which surely make the Tata Nano the right car for the masses in the 21st century. Simple yet effective, the Nano represents the more from less mantra is the way forward for a people’s car in the 21st century.”
Delivering his rationale behind the Bajaj Pulsar 135LS taking top honours in the two-wheeler category, Darukhanawala said: “This bike represents yet another step up to improving the present breed of Indian motorcycles. A small displacement stylish commuter with performance akin to bikes of a class higher is an irresistible cocktail concocted by an all Indian team. We are all sure that the ideas factory which the Pulsar range has rolled out will be the spearhead for Indian motorcycling to come in the next decade.”
What was a very important aspect which played out in a most telling manner was also the fact that this year Indian designed and built vehicles from Indian OEMs took the overall honours. The Nano and the Pulsar 135LS were joined by the Mahindra Xylo which took the MPV of the Year Award and this augurs well as our OEMs get up to speed with trying to offer as many cost effective, robust and reliable automobiles built to the unique needs of our consumers.
The ET-ZigWheels Car Maker of the Year Award 2009 went to Tata Motors which displayed uncanny resilience, steely nerves and unimpeachable dedication to not just getting the Tata Nano project shifted and underway at a makeshift facility but the firm also kept plugging away with a host of initiatives. These resulted not just in the Indigo Manza, the new Xenon lifestyle pick-up and the Sumo Grande Mk II but also the Tata World Truck and of course Jaguar Land-Rover. Other car makers may have had larger sales and production volumes, even more profits but in a turbulent year faced by Indian industry, Tata Motors displayed a rare silent approach which saw their efforts speak the loudest.
Hero Honda was adjudged the ET-ZigWheels Bike Maker of the Year 2009 even though it had just one new launch to its name in the year under review. For a company setting the pace in absolute numbers produced and sold, it could be very easy to take the eye off the big ball but Hero Honda remained on song to delivering manna for the masses at the base of the pyramid.
ZigWheels also made use of the wide variety of media under the Times Group to ensure that opinions regarding the awards came from and reached the largest possible audience base. The ZigWheels.com Viewers Choice opinion poll garnered massive response, and the reader-surfers adjudged the Tata Nano as their favourite car. The Viewers Choice Bike of the Year award went to the handsome Royal Enfield Bullet Classic.
CAR CATEGORY SEGMENT WINNERS
Entry level Mini-Car of the Year
Tata Nano – WINNER
Premium Hatchback of the Year
Fiat Grande Punto (Petrol & Diesel) WINNER
Honda Jazz 1.2
Hyundai i20 (1.2 & 1.4 petrol and 1.4 diesel)
Suzuki Ritz (petrol and diesel)
Entry level Sedan of the Year
Tata Indigo Manza WINNER
Fiat Linea
Mid-size sedan of the year
Chevrolet Cruze WINNER
Executive Sedan of the Year
Skoda Superb (petrol and diesel) WINNER
Luxury Prestige Sedan of the Year
Mercedes-Benz E-class WINNER
MPV of the Year
Mahindra Xylo WINNER
SUV of the Year
Toyota Fortuner WINNER
Tata Xenon
Premier Rio
CBU Import of the Year
Audi Q5
Audi R8
BMW 6-series
BMW X6
BMW Z4 WINNER
Jaguar XF & XF-R
Jaguar XK and XK-R
Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV
Land Rover Discovery
Land Rover Freelander 2
Range Rover Sport
Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG
Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG
Porsche Panamera
Rolls-Royce Ghost
Toyota Land Cruiser V8
BIKE CATEGORY SEGMENT WINNERS
Scooter of the Year
Honda Activa 110 WINNER
Mahindra Duro
100cc Bike of the Year
Bajaj Discover 100 DTS-Si WINNER
150cc Bike of the Year
Bajaj XCD135 DTS-Si
Bajaj Pulsar 135 DTSi WINNER
TVS Flame SR125
250cc Bike of the Year
Bajaj Kawasaki Ninja 250 WINNER
Hero Honda Karizma ZMR
Bike of the Year above 251cc
Royal Enfield Bullet 500 Classic WINNER
CBU Superbike of the Year
Honda CB1000R Hornet
Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade
Yamaha VMAX WINNER
Special Awards in the CAR segment
Design of the Year – TATA NANO
Best Fun-to-Drive Car of the Year – SKODA SUPERB
Most Value-for-Money Car of the Year – TATA NANO
Automotive Idea of the Year – CARNATION AUTO
Special Awards in the BIKE segment
Technology of the Year –BAJAJ PULSAR 135LS 4-VALVE CYLINDER HEAD
Most Value-for-Money Bike of the Year – BAJAJ DISCOVER 100 DTS-Si
