PayPal Payments Up in India Again

After being suspended for a few weeks

After the suspension of payments to, from India via PayPal was announced a few weeks ago, a new blog
post on the official Paypal blog has some good news for millions of PayPal users across the country. PayPal India has announced the resumption of the payment services and has confirmed that the Reserve Bank of India has given a green signal to restart bank withdrawals for settlements for exports of goods and services. Not all is well though as personal payments are still “turned off”.

The revamped withdrawal system involves users to fill an “export code” to initiate a withdrawal. This is as per the directive of the RBI, which wants this implemented to see more control and watch over the nature of cross-border merchant transactions. This means that personal payments will remain banned till PayPal gets the approval to allow personal inward remittances to India. This is something PayPal does not have as of now. In short, personal payments will remain banned till PayPal gets these necessary approvals.

Personal payments stand banned for all Indian PayPal users (Business, Premier and Personal Account Holders). The option your overseas clients are now left with to pay you is to use the “Pay for Purchases” (Goods or  Services) tab, completing PayPal checkout at your website or by responding to PayPal “Request Money” instructions (invoices).

In any payment, when you instruct PayPal to withdraw your PayPal balance to your bank account in India, you will be required to provide a purpose code for the transaction. The purpose codes will help the RBI identify the kind of transaction you carry out. For more on the purpose codes, read this entry at the Paypal Blog.

If you happen to be a PayPal user, how has this affected you and what do you think about these new directives? Do let us know in the comments section below.

IBM Rearchitects x86 Server Memory

IBM (NYSE:IBM) is trying to make x86-based servers more scalable in virtualized environments by allowing memory to scale independently of the rest of the system.

IBM on Tuesday used the CeBIT trade show in Germany to unveil its new eX5 line of servers which allows memory to scale to up to four times that of existing servers, said Roland Hagan, vice president of System X servers for the vendor.

The new server line comes at a time when an increase in the proliferation of servers to meet new customer workloads, especially for virtualization, has become the major contributor to the increase in data center power consumption, Hagan said.

This is because virtualization requires increased memory as the number of virtual servers and appliances increases, requiring additional processors and servers in order to increase the amount of memory available, he said.

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya Music Review

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya

Expectations were sky-high, quite reflecting the title. The reason is simple- It’s double Oscar winner A R Rahman’s first Tamil album after bursting to fame in the international music stage thanks to the Oscars.

Also, filmmaker Goutham Vasudev Menon has joined hands for the fist time with Rahman, after presenting chartbusters by joining hands with Harris Jayaraj for more than a decade; Saying Rahman has fulfilled all expectations would be cliched. As the songs are not just stunning and scintillating, but are totally different from the usual stuff.

And he seems to have served a warning very much about the album at its launch itself. “It is an experimental attempt – Songs are not set in Charanam or Pallavi. They are quirky,” he said at the function.

Listen to it and one would endorse his views instantly. The songs in ‘VTV’ are unconventional but trendy and chic. The Mozart of Madras seems to have combined international music with Tamil film music to appeal to music-lovers.

With Thamarai’s lyrics lending a helping hand, the songs in the movie are sweet and superb. With two master craftsmen (Goutham Vasudev Menon and Rahman) coming together in the film, the album has managed to create right ripples.

A young brigade of singers, trendy music and catchy lyrics is all what the album has got.

1. Omana Pennae

Singer: Benny Dayal, Kalyani Menon

Amazing number for it creates a great feel among the listeners. The chorus rendering Omana Pennae is soothing. The song begins with a soft touch reminding one of Far East music, but settles down to a rhythm. Rahman’s mastery in harmony is evident. Wonder how lyricist Thamarai comes up with such poetic lyrics within a commercial format. The Malayalam lyrics have been penned by Kalyani Menon (Rajiv Menon’s mother). Benny Dayal is okay for the song.

2. Anbil Avan

Singer: Devan Ekambaram, Chinmayee

Rahman, a man of few words, is always vibrant and enthusiastic when it comes to his music. It is reflected in the song. It is a refreshing number with synthesised sounds that mesmerise. Thamarai’s lyrics are again to the point speaking of a couple falling for each other. Chinmayee’s chirpy’s voice coupled with the dynamic Devan Ekambaram is just apt.

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya Movie Review

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya Movie Review

• Cast:Silambarasan,Trisha
• Direction:Gowtham Menon
• Production:Escape Artists Motion Pictures & R.S Entertainment Pvt. Ltd
• Music:A R Rahman

‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’, (VTV) and you know what its like to cross the sky and get into another dimension called love. ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’ is a popular lyric from the ‘Vennilave Vennilave’ song from ‘Minsara Kanavu’ directed by Rajeev Menon and all of you know that. So director Goutham Vasudev Menon has rightly acknowledged Rajeev Menon in the first card of the Titles. How humble!

India look for a repeat

– Hockey world cup
-Hosts have a job at hand today vs Aussies

JAYDEEP BASU

Fresh from their mind-boggling victory over Pakistan, India have yet another big match to play in Pool B when they take on the mighty Australians in the hockey World Cup on Tuesday.

India coach Jose Brasa has been talking about this match from the day the draw for the World Cup was released.

“We are in a tough group and the Australians are the biggest hurdle,” he said. “If they continue to perform the way they did in the Champions Trophy in Melbourne, then very few would be able to stop them from winning the title,” he said.

The Australians are perennial favourites for the title and certainly the most compact team in the tournament.

Sunday’s unexpected defeat against England makes them even more dangerous as they can be expected to go flat out to grab full points against India and stay in contention for a last four berth.

As such, India can expect a bruising and somewhat physical encounter against a team whose line-up is the envy of all. With FIH Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer leading from the front and the likes of Eddie Ockenden and Des Abbot for support, the Aussies pack the kind of punch that can knock out any opponent.

“It’s going to be a difficult match,” admitted Brasa. “They lost to England, but then England are a vastly improved team, working very hard for the London Olympics in 2012.”

To make matters more difficult for India, Australia coach Ric Charlesworth could well be looking forward to the match in order to prove a point. Last year, after being appointed technical director of Indian hockey, the revered coach was forced to leave following a bitter tiff with the authorities. Charlesworth so far has not said anything publicly but he would certainly not be in a charitable mood for the clash.

The Indian camp, however, was hardly worried. “We have just won a big game that has really boosted our confidence,” said India captain Rajpal Singh.

Rajpal Singh ,Jamie Dwyer

“Our team, I am sure, will continue to perform smoothly in the rest of the matches. Australia, too, are vulnerable, England have shown it on the opening day. We are not going to yield even an inch without a fight.”

Having won 51 of their 72 World Cup outings, Australia boast of a win-loss ratio of 71 per cent — higher than any other team.

Not only that, the team were runners-up in the last two editions and given the statistics Brasa has advised his boys to not get carried away by the triumph against Pakistan.

As for Australia, Charlesworth himself has acknowledged that Tuesday’s tie is a must-win match for his team.

The last match time the two teams met was in the Champions Trophy, five years back in Chennai, when Australia won 4-1.

Australia have come here on the back of their Champions Trophy triumph at home last year and the team are being seen as one of the title contenders. The Aussies are ranked No.2 in the world.

History, too, favours Australia with the Indians having won just one of the six World Cup matches involving the two sides.

Now, pay your EB bills at post offices

Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) customers can pay bills through select post offices in Chennai. The scheme was launched by Gnanadesikan, secretary, Finance department, here on Monday.

For making things customerfriendly, Tamil Nadu Postal Circle has entered into an agreement with TNEB, Chennai.

This scheme will be available at Anna Road head post office and Annanagar PO. M S Ramanujan, Post Master General, Chennai city region, said, “ This is a milestone for us, we are starting with two POs first, soon we will extend to all 1400 computerised centres all over the state.” Customers can produce their EB card at the post office counter, pay the bill and get the receipt. The customers have to pay a service charge of Rs 5 to the postal

LG Introduces Watch Phone In India

Good news for fans of ultra gadgets.LG has come up with its latest watch phone, the LG GD910.The new LG model just looks like an ordinary watch but functions as your mobile when required.

LG Introduces Watch Phone In India

The GD910 was LG’s latest watch phone introduced in India. The sleek model is just 13.9mm in thickness and comes with 3G and Video Calling capabilities. The modish phone has its front fascia with a scratch-proof tempered glass. The Bluetooth headset is also one of the exclusive features of the new release.

This ultra gadget is available for Rs. 49,990.

BSNL rolls out India’s first urban mobile WiMAX service

BSNL today commercially launched the country’s first mobile broadband fourth generation Internet access network–Mobile WiMAX in Kerala.

Union minister of state for Agriculture and Consumer Affairs K V Thomas, launched the facility at a function here today.

BSNL is also the first operator in the country to launch the service, for which technology has been provided by AVIAT, formerly Harris Stratex.

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) technology, can provide a speed of up to 37 mbps. It is being deployed in Kerala with 900 BTS (Base Transmitting Stations) to cover the entire state, Principal General Manager, BSNL, Ernakulam, E M Abraham said.

In the first phase, 450 BTS would be set up to cover all major cities, district headquarters and important towns at a project cost of about Rs 100 crore.

In the second phase, another 450 BTS would be commissioned to cover the remaining towns.

The technology will provide access to broadband at a cost performance ratio that is far better than any other technology, he said.

It provides features like high speed broad band connectivity anywhere, anytime for devices like Desktop, Laptop on wireless.

It has two tariff plans – Home Plan with a fixed monthly charge of Rs 999 while the Business plan is Rs 1,999 for a band width 512 to 2 mbps.

PayPal to Resume India Bank Withdrawals on Wed.

PayPal plans to start resuming bank withdrawals in India on March 3, but personal payments into India remain suspended until further notice. Exporters will be able to continue using PayPal for goods and services.

Last month, PayPal halted personal payments in India amid questions from Indian regulators about whether personal payments constitute remittances–or money transfers that foreign workers make into their home countries–into India.

This suspension caught many by surprise and meant that some people with money in their PayPal accounts had no way of getting it out. PayPal had planned to start allowing withdrawals to Indian banks on February 14, but complications delayed that move.

“We anticipate that as of Wednesday, March 3rd, we will be able to resume the bank withdrawal service,” Farhad Irani, head of PayPal’s Asia Pacific business, wrote in a blog post. “As part of the changes, you will be required to fill out a new field entitled ‘Export Code’ when you request a withdrawal. This information is required under the current laws of India in order to identify the nature of cross-border merchant transactions.”

Irani posted a separate blog post with more detailed information about how to withdrawal bank funds.

Getting personal payments into India up and running is a bit more complicated.

“Moving forward, the [Reserve Bank of India] RBI has told us that PayPal needs specific approvals to allow personal inward remittances to India, which we currently do not have,” Irani wrote. “Until we get these approvals, personal payments into India will remain suspended.”

Exporters, however, can continue to do business, he said. “In fact, with the changes we are making to our system, PayPal is now set to be a more powerful engine for exporters in India,” Irani wrote. “With purpose codes for export transactions and FIRCs (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates), you should now be able to get the export-related benefits you seek.”