Thursday, March 6, 2014

Tax Saving Options






Here are 5 tax-saving options:

1) Section 80C: This section of the Income Tax Act mentions various tax-saving schemes. However, it imposes a limit of Rs 1 lakh every financial year. Some of the schemes mentioned are -
a. Public Provident Fund (PPF) a low-risk, long-term savings instrument operated by the government of India;
b. Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF), a mandatory retirement planning fund where every employed individual has to save minimum 12% of his/her basic salary;
c. Equity-Linked Saving Scheme (ELSS), diversified equity mutual funds where  investors enjoy both tax rebates as well as an appreciation of capital;
d. Unit-linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs), an insurance-cum-investment product;
e. National Savings Certificate (NSC), a 5-year or 10-year savings bond offered by the Department of Post;
f.  Infrastructure bonds, long-term bonds issued by the RBI facilitating investment in infrastructure projects offering tax rebate upto Rs 20,000;
g. Long-term bank deposits with government-owned Scheduled banks upto Rs 1 lakh per year. However, interest accrued is not exempted from tax.

2) Section 80D: This section offers tax benefits on the premiums you pay for your medical insurance upto Rs 15,000. Any amount paid for medical treatment of certain diseases also can get you a tax rebate of upto Rs 40,000, or Rs 60,000 if you are a senior citizen.

3) Section 80E: Interest paid on education loans can be deducted from your tax liabilities as per Section 80E of the Income Tax Act. However, this is valid only for the first 8 years of the loan.

4) Section 24: You can deduct Rs 1.5 lakh for the interest amount on your loans for a self-occupied house. If the house is rented out, then the tax deduction will be equivalent to the actual interest being paid every year.

5) Section 80T: This section was introduced in the 2012-13 budget. According to this, total interest income from all savings accounts up to Rs 10,000 are eligible for tax deduction.



Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Top IT Hubs In The World 2013





#1 Silicon Valley


Country: The United States
Startup Output Index: 1
Funding Index: 1
Performance Index: 1
Overall rank: 1


It is the biggest technology hub in the world, housing almost all tech brands. Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook, Amazon, Yahoo, Intel, and many other big names from tech world.



#2 Tel Aviv


Country: Israel
Startup Output Index: 2
Funding Index: 1
Performance Index: 12
Overall rank: 2 Overall rank: 1


Israel’s Silicon Wadi beat out the places commonly thought of as startup hotbeds, such as Los Angeles New York and Seattle, according to researcher Startup Genome. The city is overflowing with software developers and venture capital. Larger companies, including Google, have set up offices there. Facebook is now there, too, after acquiring facial-recognition developer Face.com in June.


#3 Los Angeles


Country: The United States
Startup Output Index: 4
Funding Index: 6
Performance Index: 2
Overall rank: 3


Los Angeles has already produced dozens of great tech success stories, such as Cornerstone On Demand, eHarmony, Green Dot, HauteLook, Legal Zoom, MySpace, Overture, Riot Games, ShoeDazzle, United Online and many others.


Tech accelerators such as StartEngine are booming in Los Angeles, boosting prospects for tech start-ups locally and, program founders hope, transforming the region into a technology hub. MuckerLab, Amplify, Launchpad LA and K5 are just some of the local accelerators to emerge, reports Los Angeles Times.



#4 Seattle


Country: The United States
Startup Output Index: 19
Funding Index: 7
Performance Index: 6
Overall rank: 4


Seattle is also has the headquarters of more tech titans than most cities in U.S. Amazon.com, Expedia and Microsoft are few to name. 


Seattle also has attracted a growing stable of engineering centers from the California powerhouses like Facebook, Splunk, Hulu, Zynga, Jawbone, RichRelevance and others. Google — the first of these Silicon Valley titans to arrive — employs about 1,000 people in the Seattle area, split between offices in Kirkland and Fremont, reports GeekWire.



#5 New York City


Country: The United States
Startup Output Index: 3
Funding Index: 4
Performance Index: 8
Overall rank: 5


The city overtook Boston to become the country's second-largest tech center, after Silicon Valley, reported CNNMoney in December 2012.


A report by The Center for an Urban Future in May 2012, found that thousands of tech jobs have been added in New York City over the past few years when other industries have been hurting amid a struggling economy. Over the past five years, tech-related jobs in the Big Apple have increased by 28.7 percent from 41,100 to 52,900.


The news comes as more tech companies open offices in New York. Just last week, both eBay and Microsoft announced they will be expanding in New York City. eBay said the new location will house more than 200 people in the next few years.


Meanwhile, Facebook announced in December that it would open a New York engineering office and Google purchased a 2.9-million-square-foot building in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood in December 2010 for a reported $1.9 billion.




#6 Boston


Country: The United States
Startup Output Index: 10
Funding Index: 1
Performance Index: 7
Overall rank: 6


Due to the heavy concentration of top academic institutions and a robust VC and incubator community, Boston enjoys a rich technology community spanning across every imaginable industry. Yesware, Objective Logistics, Mendix, SessionM, Vivox, AppNeta and others are leading Boston as a technology hub.



#7 London


Country: The United Kingdom
Startup Output Index: 7
Funding Index: 5
Performance Index: 10
Overall rank: 7


Silicon Roundabout, as it’s known, is the epicenter of the British government’s effort to turn London into a global technology hub, reports Boston Globe.


The success of a few of those start-ups, businesses such as Last.fm, Moo.com, and Dopplr, is trailblazing London as technology hub.


About 30 companies from the United States have opened in Tech City in the last two years, consulate officials said, and many more Massachusetts companies have expressed strong interest.


Google, Amazon and Intel Facebook, Twitter, and other big companies have already have opened their offices here. Spotify, Skype and Wonga.com are doing great.



#8 Toronto


Country: Canada
Startup Output Index: 6
Funding Index: 9
Performance Index: 3
Overall rank: 8


MaRS Discovery District, in Toronto, has become center for technology and innovation. Housed in a massive historical building — a former hospital that was the site of the first administration of penicillin — MaRS opened the doors to its 700,000 square foot centre in 2005 to be a non-profit center for all things tech, science, and medicine.


The City of Toronto’s Economic Development and Culture department, 30 per cent of Canada’s ICT (Information, Communications and Technology) industry is based in Toronto, as per its 2011 report.



#9 Vancouver


Country: Canada
Startup Output Index: 13
Funding Index: 12
Performance Index: 9
Overall rank: 9


Vancouver-based HootSuite, which provides software for managing and analyzing a wide array of social media networks, with value of about $500 million is trailblazing Vancouver as tech hub just as RIM did to Southern Ontario.


Its CEO Ryan Holmes, has visions of the company helping foster a community of web entrepreneurs that could turn the city into a high-tech investment hub.


“From our own HootSuite, to companies like Mobify, Vision Critical, Indochino, and Plenty of Fish, Vancouver has what it takes to foster the growth that international tech companies require. Among other things, this excitement has increased the availability of investment opportunities for tech startups in the city.”Holmes told, reports Cantech letter.



#10 Chicago


Country: The United States
Startup Output Index: 8
Funding Index: 15
Performance Index: 5
Overall rank: 10


Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer offered encouragement to Chicago's emerging tech community Wednesday, saying the city has the beginnings of the necessary elements to develop as a digital hub.

The city has fine universities, good quality of life and a growing venture capital scene, but still lacks solid tech anchors, he said.

"Right now you have some that are sort of emerging, like Groupon, and Motorola is sort of in flux," he said.

Here’s the list of some of the tech companies: Groupon, Orbitz, Coupon Cabin, Careerbuilder and many others.

Also, here are some emerging startups: Sprout Social, FeeFighters, Watermelon Express, Appolicious Cappex and many others.





source : siliconindia
 
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