Like the mighty dollar and the strong pound, the Indian rupee, too, will now have a symbol to flaunt its growing prowess in global economy.

The rupee, powered by an ever-growing Indian economy, will now sport a distinct identification symbol—an amalgamation of the Devanagri ‘Ra’ and the Roman ‘R’ without the stem. It was selected at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday.

“The symbol, designed by a postgraduate from the Indian Institute of Technology, D Udaya Kumar, was selected from among five short-listed symbols,” Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni told newspersons after the meeting. “It will give a distinctive character and identity to the currency and highlight the global face of the Indian economy,” she said.

Kumar’s entry was chosen from among over 3,000 designs competing for the currency symbol. A public competition was held last year for selecting the symbol. All the entries were evaluated by a three-member jury comprising experts from reputed art and design institutes. The jury selected five final entries and sent these to the government to take a decision.

While presenting the Budget for 2010-11, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said: “In the ensuing year, we intend to formalise a symbol for the Indian rupee, which reflects and captures the Indian ethos and culture.

“With this, the rupee will join the select club of currencies, such as the US dollar, British pound sterling, euro and Japanese yen that have a clear distinguishing identity.”
The distinct symbol would also help in distinguishing the Indian currency from rupee or rupiah of countries like Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. “The encoding of the symbol in the Indian Standards is estimated to take about six months while it might take 18 months to two years for the international community to incorporate the new symbol,” Soni said.

The symbol will feature on computer keyboards and software so that it can be printed and displayed in electronic and print media, she said. The Nasscom will approach software development companies for incorporating the rupee symbol in their operative software as a new programme or as an update.

For incorporating the symbol in the keyboards to be manufactured in India, the Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology  will ask its members to make necessary changes in the production processes once the symbol is notified as a keyboard standard by the Bureau of Indian Standards.

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America celebrates its Declaration of Independence from Britain on July 4th. These sentences from the document forged in Philadelphia in 1776 still rank among the most stirring words ever written in a political text:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Of course, the nation has often fallen far short of the social and political revolution announced by the founding fathers. It took a brutal civil war to end slavery and federal troops to topple Jim Crow. The battles between farmers and the moneyed interests, capital and labor, were long and often violent. Nevertheless, after 56 democratically held Presidential elections, it’s fair to say that America’s political revolution has been remarkably durable and successful.

Question is, is America losing its economic independence 234 years later? And if so, does declining economic independence threaten the nation’s hard-fought political gains? More…

It’s no secret that doctors, lawyers and senior executives at large corporations typically earn six figures or more. But where are the $100,000 jobs for the rest of us — the 140 million American workers who lack the inclination, the aptitude or the tolerance for student debt to go for the classic big-money careers?

It turns out that in the 2000s, there are quite a number of six-figure occupations. Here are just a few worth your consideration: More…

You might have blinked and missed it, but currently under construction in the Indian city of Mumbai is a new 320 metre tall residential tower with the Bondesque name, Palais Royale.

With an octagonal floorplate that dictates the overall appearance of the tower and follows through Vastu philosophy, the scheme has a white Corian clad frame with balconies and recessed floor to ceiling glazing behind it.

Designed by Talathy and Panthaki, the Corian cladding was specifically chosen because it resembles marble, but without the weight and needless to say, the cost.

Thanks to the girth on show, the development looks surprisingly short for a 320 metre tall tower, something that is further magnified by the fact that not every floor is marked. Rather it’s a case that the external frame shows off double height glazing as well as individual levels making it appear rather shorter from some angles than the 66 storeys it reaches.

Despite the copious amounts of glazing, due to the wind-flow in and around the building that gets particularly strong during the monsoon season, not all apartments will have windows that open meaning they will have a number of other facilities fitted to compensate include ionisers.

The building is already under construction and is being built by Shree Ram Urban Infrastructure Ltd who aim for a 2010 finished, something that is quite ambitious as its concrete frame has reached less than a third of its height.

Dubai International Financial Centre launches DIFC Lighthouse Tower

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) announced the launch of DIFC Lighthouse Tower, a landmark 400-metre luxury office tower that will be constructed in the heart of the DIFC District, adjacent to the famous ‘Gate’ building.

Environmentally sensitive design to set benchmark for energy conservation.  More…

Those with property investment interests in the UAE may welcome research from HSBC which shows that property prices are rising in the emirates.
The new Property Ladder study shows that there has been a marked growth in the UAE property sector, in part spurred by a relaxation of maximum loan-to-value (LTV) rates that have allowed more people to get on the housing ladder. More…

In its attempt to shed brands on its way to a smaller, more efficient company, General Motors Corp. announced it has sold its Hummer brand to a Chinese company. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company bought the Hummer brand, marking the company’s first foray into the automobile industry. The sale confirms Hummer won’t be launched in India.

The announcement came a day after GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in New York, adopting a strategy that gives the federal government 60% ownership. GM officials said they hope to emerge from bankruptcy leaner and more efficient within 60 to 90 days. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Company bought the Hummer brand, marking the company’s first foray into the automobile industry. Reports said the sale would save about 3,000 jobs in the U.S., at Hummer plants and dealerships.

Egypt is fast becoming the latest investment property hotspot for buyers who are looking for an exciting investment which gives impressive rental yields, high capital growth and low property prices.

Following recent reforms, purchasing Egyptian properties is now far more straightforward and transparent than it once was and the economy has performed strongly over the last few years.

Cultural reasons to consider Egypt include miles of sandy white beaches, reliable climate, excellent diving and water sports and a real sense of history.

Access to the country from Europe is also very easy and cheap, enticing millions of tourists each year and holiday home buyers and investors will love the low cost of living that Egypt still offers in comparison to other equivalent countries.

The US’s recent announcement of the lifting of restrictions on visits and transfers to Cuba is predicted to bring a huge boost to the island’s economy, tourism and by extension, property investment. After over five decades of being subjected to severe limitations from its giant neighbour, the recent changes mean Cuba is set to receive thousands more visitors a year. More…

If you like the high life, you may be interested to hear that construction has started on what will be China’s tallest building, Shanghai Tower and one of the ten tallest buildings in the world. More…

While just a couple of years ago the big news was an influx of tourists and businesses visiting India, market observers may have overlooked the fact that akin to the rising numbers of Chinese tourist travelling overseas, greater numbers of Indian travellers also heading abroad to holiday. Such is the size of India’s population that as tourists overseas they have the potential to positively impact the fortunes of a host of global tourist destinations.

The fairly sudden emergence of an Indian travel market has been prompted by a very buoyant economy which is now emerging as one of the economic powerhouses of the future and a property investment hotspot.  Western firms are literally fighting amongst themselves to gain direct exposure to the Indian economy and we have also seen a number of takeovers and joint venture agreements involving Indian and Western groups.  This increased activity in the economy has resulted in a substantially higher standard of living for many Indian (but not all) and given them more disposable income to use for alternative activities.

While there are a number of travel destinations around the world proving popular with Indian travellers, it is Singapore which has risen to the top of the list.  We then have the likes of Dubai, Australia and Malaysia further down the list in contention.  A direct result of this increased interest in travelling overseas will eventually translate to a percentage of Indians looking to invest in overseas property markets with countries such as Australia already gearing themselves up for an expected increase in interest.

Manchester United star and World football player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo has added another string to his bow – property investor……Ronaldo’s latest purchase is a £8 million luxury hotel on the Portuguese island of Porto Santo near his native Madeira. More…

With domestic sales suffering as the rupee loses value against the dollar, property developers in India are looking outside the country for an alternative market. They are hoping to tap into a growing niche within overseas property investment Non-Resident Indian investors.

NRI or Non-Resident Indian refers to a person of Indian origin either born outside India or living in another country, or an Indian citizen who has emigrated. NRIs are an obvious target for investment, as they may well wish to retain links with their homeland, or return there in the future as permanent residents. Many are taking advantage of current incentives by employers to return to India; Motorola is one such company offering a special programme. More…