Top News

John Isner back in top 10 after beating Ernests Gulbis

Isner, the top-ranked American, needed two twi-breaks to beat the big-hitting Latvian to reach the semi-finals here for the second time in three years where he will meet world no. 2 Novak Djokovic. Isner had beaten the Serb here two years ago on the way to the finals - his only appearance in a Masters Series final in his career.

Isner defeated Gulbis 7-6(4), 7-6(3), coming from 4-5 down in the second when Gulbis was serving for the second set.

Sri Lanka puts its No.1 T20I ranking on the line

Sri Lanka will start the ICC World Twenty20 Bangladesh, which runs from 16 March to 6 April, as the number-one ranked side 
 
Sri Lanka, runner-up in 2009 and 2012, is atop the table with 129 ratings points, leading number-two ranked and 2007 champion India by six ratings points. In fact, eight ratings points separate the top three sides with 2009 winner Pakistan in third position with 121 ratings points.
 
Sri Lanka launches its campaign on 22 March against South Africa in the Super 10 stage of the tournament at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chittagong.
 
Meanwhile, defending champion West Indies will start off in sixth place with 110 ratings points. West Indies slipped to sixth despite winning the three-match series against England 2-1, while 2010 champion England will enter in eighth position.
 
West Indies will launch its title defence against India on 23 March at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur.
 
On the table, which is updated until the 14 March T20I between South Africa and Australia, South Africa is fourth, Australia is in fifth position.

Steve Grand makes Top 10 list of most-funded Kickstarter projects

He was able to reach his $81,000 goal in just 17 hours after his Kickstarter campaign launched on February 26. Within a 24 hour period, the project was shared 9,000 times on Facebook, where more than 1,600 consumers stepped up to help him fund his dream. As of March 15, his campaign has raised $216,621, with 14 days to go.

Top 10 Midsize SUVs for 2014

SUVs quickly took over for station wagons, and now crossover utility vehicles seem to drawing from SUVs, but there is still robust demand for larger, practical vehicles that can seat numerous people and their stuff. Arguably, there has actually never been a better time to be looking in the SUV market — they’re getting better fuel economy than ever before, while offering stronger performances in just about every aspect

10. Ford Flex

9. Kia Sorento

8. Hyundai Santa Fe

7. Dodge Durango

6. Ford Explorer

5. Chevrolet Traverse

4. Honda Pilot

3. Jeep Grand Cherokee

2. Nissan Pathfinder

1. Toyota Highlander

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zacks Ranked 1st Government Bond Mutual Funds

Mutual funds investing in debt securities are among the most secure investment options which provide regular income while protecting capital invested. Funds which are part of this category bring a great deal of stability to portfolio which a large proportion of equity, while providing dividends more frequently than individual bonds. U.S government bonds funds usually invest in Treasury bills, notes and securities issued by government agencies. They are considered to be the safest in the bond fund category and are ideal options for the risk-averse investor.

Below we will share with you 5 top rated government bond mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) as we expect these mutual funds to outperform their peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all government bond funds

Sentinel Total Return Bond A (SATRX) seeks high return from a combination of capital growth and current income. The fund invests predominantly in different kind of fixed-income securities regardless of its duration. Half of its assets may be invested in junk bonds. The government bond mutual fund returned 4.52% over the last one year period.

The fund has an expense ratio of 0.89% as compared to category average of 0.88%.

Lord Abbett Floating Rate A (LFRAX) invests a majority of its assets in senior loans which carry an adjustable or floating rate. A maximum of 20% of its assets are invested in unsecured senior loans. At least 20% is also invested in different types of debt and short term securities. Derivatives attract investment of not more than 10% of its total assets. The government bond mutual fund returned 4.59% over the last one year period. As of December 2013, this fund held 430 issues with 1.49% of its assets invested in Neiman Marcus Group Inc.

Waddell & Reed Government Securities A (UNGVX) seeks current income with capital preservation by investing in various domestic government securities. The fund also invests in mortgaged-backed securities of US government agencies and has no restriction while investing on the various maturities of debt securities. The government bond mutual fund returned -2.79% over the last one year period. Mark J. Otterstrom is the fund manager and has managed this fund since 2008.

Prudential Absolute Return Bond A (PADAX) seeks long-term returns. The fund invests heavily in debt or instruments that give exposure to bonds. A maximum of half of its assets may be utilized to purchase junk bonds. The government bond mutual fund returned 1.24% over the last one year period. The fund has an expense ratio of 1.14% as compared to category average of 1.32%.

Franklin Real Return A (FRRAX) invests in purchasing investment grade debt instruments. A maximum of 20% of its assets may be invested in junk bonds. Additionally, a minimum of 25% is also invested in foreign securities which may be denominated in domestic and foreign currencies. The government bond mutual fund returned 0.07% over the last one year period.

As of December 2013, the fund held 185 issues with 12.43% of its assets invested in US Treasury Note 1.875%.

10 Best Private colleges in India

10 – Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai :

NMIMS or Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, is a management institute in Mumbai. It was established in 1981. It has already been awarded Five STar Rating and Grade A institute by UGC and NAAC. In 2003 UGC granted NMIMS as deemed University. This institute have tie ups with foreign university like Harvard which exchange their course material with NMIMS. Notable alumni of this institute are Kavita Hurry (MD & CEO, ING Vysaya Mutual Funds), Kaku Nakhate (Chief, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, India) and Rakesh Khanna (President, Syntel Inc.)


9 – Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DA-IICT) , Gandhinagar

Named after one one of the most successful businessmen in India Dhirubhai Ambani. DAIICT is a technical institute located in Gandhinagar Gujarat. This is the first institute in India who offers an Undergraduate and Post Graduate degree in the fiel of Information and Communication technology. Institute is famous for its modern IT infrastructure and highly qualified faculty members.

8 – Loyola College, Chennai
A prestigious Commerce, arts and social science college Loyola college is ranked among best institutes in India. For Commerce colleges in India it is a;ways ranked among best 5 institutes in India. Situated in Chennai Loyola has been always given good reviews by educationist in India and has been granted 1 Crore Rs by UGC for continual development. Its annual inter college carnival named Down Sterling is one of the best college fest in India.

Its alumni include a former Indian President  Ramaswamy Venkatraman, politicians, diplomats and civil servants, entertainers like Mahesh Babu and Vikram, eminent Sportsmen like Vishwanathan Anand and Vijay Amritraj, Olympic Medalists, writers and journalists.

7 – Pearl Academy of Fashion :
Pearl Academy is one of the most respected fashion and design institute in India and world.It was established in 1993 and have best faculty of Fashion and design from India and International institutes. Learning from here give you vast knowledge of Fashion and desgin as you get to know many thing about International Fashion and design. Many Internationally recognized faculty visits for lecture
Pearl Academy has been consistently ranked among the top 5 fashion and design institutes displacing a few NIFT’s along the way.


6 – St. John’s Medical College :

St. John's Medical College is One of the most prestigious medical college in India. it was established in 1963 in bangalore Karnataka. It is part of the St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences run by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. What is interesting about this college is that it only take admission of 60 students for MBBS course based on entrance exam and apart from that it has 30 seats for Post graduate course.

5 – Management Development Institute, Gurgaon :

MDI is ranked among top 10 Business schools in India by almost every magazine and lists. It was established in 1973 in Gurgaon and since than produced many great business leaders of the country who are working worldwide. It has world class infrastructure which include Air Conditioned Class romms, A big library. Computer center with latest technology.
MDI has a in-house mutual fund named Unnati which is run by student of MDI, this is first of its type.
Notable Alumni of college are Vikas Bajaj (Joint MD, Bajaj Motors), Rahul Choudhary (vice-president, Axis Bank), Rohit Mittal (Financial Analyst, The World Bank), Yatin Pahwa (Head of strategy, Nokia) , Saurabh Ray (Head – Online Sales and Operations, Google) and Vivek Raina (Director – Asia Pacific, Oracle)

4 – Kasturba Medical College, Manipal

Manipal is ranked among best universities in Asia and Kasturba Medical College Manipal is one of its finest college and ranked among best Medical Colleges in India. It is first private sector medical college in India which was established in 1953 by Dr. T.M.A. Pai. Students from 44 countries have been graduated from this institute. Its MBBS program is recognized worldwide including General medical Council.
The college is also located at a convenient distance away from the beaches of the Arabian Sea where the students often head out on a holiday.

3 – International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad :

Established in 1998 IIIT Hyderabad is now one of the best Engineering Colleges in India for Graduation and Post Graduation. College provides research labs even for Under graduate students which in itself is commendable. In addition to B.Tech and M.Tech degrees IIIT also offers inter-disciplinary courses such as computational Linguistics and Natural Sciences along with Computer Science.Every year the institute holds its annual cultural and technical festival Felicity, in February.
IIIT Hyderabad has always been ranked among ten best Technical institute in India.

2 – Indian School of Business, Hyderabad:

Though ISB started its PG program in 2001 but today it is ranked among best business schools in India and worldwide. ISB has academic association with Kellogg School of Management, Wharton School and The London School of Business. To get admission in this institute you need to have at least 2 years of work experience. The 1 year Post graduate Program although not approved by AICTE  was ranked 34 in the world by the 2013 Financial Times Global MBA Ranking and was among the two Indian Institutions in the top hundred.


1 – Birla Institute of Technology and Science BITS, Pilani

BITS Pilani is a prominent leader in Technology institute in India and ranked among top 5 Engineering colleges in India. It was established in 1964. GD Birla backed this institute and helped it to become a national level institution and produce highly skilled engineers for next generation. He went on to MIT and asked them to create a blue print for this institute. BITS Pilani also hosts the second biggest cultural fest of INDIA, Oasis which is organized in October and draws more than 1500 external participants from all over the country.
Some Alumni  of BITS Pilani are Sanjay Mehrotra(President & Cofounder of SanDisk), Prithviraj Chavan (Chief Minister of Maharashtra), Manu Sawhney (CEO of ESPN Star Sports and Director of Manchester United F.C.), Sabeer Bhatia (Founder of Hotmail), Phanindra Sama (Co-Founder of Redbus.in), Mani Shankar ( Renowned Film Director) and Deendayal Upadhyaya ( Founder of BJP).

Top 10 provinces with highest GDP quality in 2013

10 Best Private colleges in India

10 – Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai :

NMIMS or Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, is a management institute in Mumbai. It was established in 1981. It has already been awarded Five STar Rating and Grade A institute by UGC and NAAC. In 2003 UGC granted NMIMS as deemed University. This institute have tie ups with foreign university like Harvard which exchange their course material with NMIMS. Notable alumni of this institute are Kavita Hurry (MD & CEO, ING Vysaya Mutual Funds), Kaku Nakhate (Chief, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, India) and Rakesh Khanna (President, Syntel Inc.)


9 – Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DA-IICT) , Gandhinagar

Named after one one of the most successful businessmen in India Dhirubhai Ambani. DAIICT is a technical institute located in Gandhinagar Gujarat. This is the first institute in India who offers an Undergraduate and Post Graduate degree in the fiel of Information and Communication technology. Institute is famous for its modern IT infrastructure and highly qualified faculty members.

8 – Loyola College, Chennai
A prestigious Commerce, arts and social science college Loyola college is ranked among best institutes in India. For Commerce colleges in India it is a;ways ranked among best 5 institutes in India. Situated in Chennai Loyola has been always given good reviews by educationist in India and has been granted 1 Crore Rs by UGC for continual development. Its annual inter college carnival named Down Sterling is one of the best college fest in India.

Its alumni include a former Indian President  Ramaswamy Venkatraman, politicians, diplomats and civil servants, entertainers like Mahesh Babu and Vikram, eminent Sportsmen like Vishwanathan Anand and Vijay Amritraj, Olympic Medalists, writers and journalists.

7 – Pearl Academy of Fashion :
Pearl Academy is one of the most respected fashion and design institute in India and world.It was established in 1993 and have best faculty of Fashion and design from India and International institutes. Learning from here give you vast knowledge of Fashion and desgin as you get to know many thing about International Fashion and design. Many Internationally recognized faculty visits for lecture
Pearl Academy has been consistently ranked among the top 5 fashion and design institutes displacing a few NIFT’s along the way.


6 – St. John’s Medical College :

St. John's Medical College is One of the most prestigious medical college in India. it was established in 1963 in bangalore Karnataka. It is part of the St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences run by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India. What is interesting about this college is that it only take admission of 60 students for MBBS course based on entrance exam and apart from that it has 30 seats for Post graduate course.

5 – Management Development Institute, Gurgaon :

MDI is ranked among top 10 Business schools in India by almost every magazine and lists. It was established in 1973 in Gurgaon and since than produced many great business leaders of the country who are working worldwide. It has world class infrastructure which include Air Conditioned Class romms, A big library. Computer center with latest technology.
MDI has a in-house mutual fund named Unnati which is run by student of MDI, this is first of its type.
Notable Alumni of college are Vikas Bajaj (Joint MD, Bajaj Motors), Rahul Choudhary (vice-president, Axis Bank), Rohit Mittal (Financial Analyst, The World Bank), Yatin Pahwa (Head of strategy, Nokia) , Saurabh Ray (Head – Online Sales and Operations, Google) and Vivek Raina (Director – Asia Pacific, Oracle)

4 – Kasturba Medical College, Manipal

Manipal is ranked among best universities in Asia and Kasturba Medical College Manipal is one of its finest college and ranked among best Medical Colleges in India. It is first private sector medical college in India which was established in 1953 by Dr. T.M.A. Pai. Students from 44 countries have been graduated from this institute. Its MBBS program is recognized worldwide including General medical Council.
The college is also located at a convenient distance away from the beaches of the Arabian Sea where the students often head out on a holiday.

3 – International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad :

Established in 1998 IIIT Hyderabad is now one of the best Engineering Colleges in India for Graduation and Post Graduation. College provides research labs even for Under graduate students which in itself is commendable. In addition to B.Tech and M.Tech degrees IIIT also offers inter-disciplinary courses such as computational Linguistics and Natural Sciences along with Computer Science.Every year the institute holds its annual cultural and technical festival Felicity, in February.
IIIT Hyderabad has always been ranked among ten best Technical institute in India.

2 – Indian School of Business, Hyderabad:

Though ISB started its PG program in 2001 but today it is ranked among best business schools in India and worldwide. ISB has academic association with Kellogg School of Management, Wharton School and The London School of Business. To get admission in this institute you need to have at least 2 years of work experience. The 1 year Post graduate Program although not approved by AICTE  was ranked 34 in the world by the 2013 Financial Times Global MBA Ranking and was among the two Indian Institutions in the top hundred.


1 – Birla Institute of Technology and Science BITS, Pilani

BITS Pilani is a prominent leader in Technology institute in India and ranked among top 5 Engineering colleges in India. It was established in 1964. GD Birla backed this institute and helped it to become a national level institution and produce highly skilled engineers for next generation. He went on to MIT and asked them to create a blue print for this institute. BITS Pilani also hosts the second biggest cultural fest of INDIA, Oasis which is organized in October and draws more than 1500 external participants from all over the country.
Some Alumni  of BITS Pilani are Sanjay Mehrotra(President & Cofounder of SanDisk), Prithviraj Chavan (Chief Minister of Maharashtra), Manu Sawhney (CEO of ESPN Star Sports and Director of Manchester United F.C.), Sabeer Bhatia (Founder of Hotmail), Phanindra Sama (Co-Founder of Redbus.in), Mani Shankar ( Renowned Film Director) and Deendayal Upadhyaya ( Founder of BJP).

Kohli, Raina, amongst top 10 in ICC rankings

Indian batsmen dominate the ICC T20 rankings with Virat Kohli being the highest-placed in fourth position in the latest chart issued here today. Virat is followed by Suresh Raina (5th) and Yuvraj Singh (6th) in the batsmen's list.

But, no Indian bowler is in the list of top 20 performers.Sri Lanka, runner-up in 2009 and 2012, is atop the table with 129 ratings points, leading number 2 ranked and 2007 champion India by six ratings points. In fact, 8 ratings points separate the top three sides with 2009 winner's Pakistan in third position with 121 ratings pt.

 Sri Lanka launches their campaign on Mar 22 against South Africa in the Super 10 stage of the tournament while India take on arch-rivals Pakistan on March 21.

Defending champion West Indies will start off in sixth place with 110 ratings pt. They will launch the title defence against India on Mar 23.

The tournament also offers an excellent opportunity to Ass. teams to move up the ladder.

The competition carries a total prize money of USD three million, with the winning side taking home USD 1.1 million and the runner-up collecting USD 550,000.

Australia batsman Aaron Finch has moved up two places to claim the number-one position for T20I batsmen released after his side won the second T20Is of the three-match series to go 2-0 up against South Africa.

Finch, who entered the series in third position with 772 ratings points, has gained 25 ratings points after scoring 44 runs in the two matches of the series to go top of the batting table for the first time in his career.

Top Leaders of India

Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Bal Gangadhar Tilak was a social reformer and freedom fighter. He was one of the prime architects of modern India and strongest advocates of Swaraj (Self Rule). He was universally recognized as the "Father of Indian Movement".

Bhagat Singh
Bhagat Singh was among the prominent revolutionaries who shaped the base of a grand national movement. Following his execution, on March 23, 1931, the supporters and followers of Bhagat Singh regarded him as a "Shaheed", "martyr".

Chandrasekhar Azad
A contemporary of Bhagat Singh, Chandrasekhar Azad was a born firebrand revolutionary. He engaged in a heroic battle against the British. His role was crucial in inspiring the others of his generation to participate in the national movement for freedom.

Gopal Krishna Gokhale
Gopal Krishna Gokhale was one of the pioneers of the Indian Independence Movement. Gokhale was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He was one of the most learned men in the country, a leader of social and political reformists and one of the earliest and founding leaders of the Indian Independence Movement.

Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi was, undoubtedly, one of the greatest political leaders of India. She was the first and only woman to be elected as the Prime Minister. She is also regarded as the most controversial political leader of the country for her unprecedented decision of imposing "a state of emergency".

Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of independent India. He was a member the Congress Party that led the freedom movement against British Empire. Nehru was one of the architects who had the opportunity to steer the newly freed-nation. He was also the chief framer of domestic and international policies between 1947 and 1964.

Lala Lajpat Rai
Lala Lajpat Rai immensely contributed in attaining independence the nation. He helped in establishing few schools in the country. He also initiated the foundation of Punjab National Bank. In 1897, he founded the Hindu Orphan Relief Movement to keep the Christian missions from securing custody of these children.

Lal Bahadur Shastri
He devoted his life for the pride and honor of the country. Shastri was regarded as man of principles. Lal Bahadur Shastri offered his resignation as Union Railway Minister; hours after he was made aware of a train accident that killed around 150 people.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was a renowned journalist of his time. Disturbed by his provocative articles, the British Government decided to deport him off Calcutta. Despite of his house-arrest and imprisonment, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad continued to write against the anti-people policies of the British Government.

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose
Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose was a freedom fighter of India. He was the founder of the Indian National Army. During pre-independence period Netaji had visited London to discuss the future of India, with the members of the Labor party.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Rajendra Prasad was a great leader of the Indian Nationalist Movement and also one of the architects of the Indian Constitution. He was elected as the first President of Republic of India. Rajendra Prasad was a crucial leader of the Indian Independence Movement, who left his lucrative profession to participate in the nationalist movement of India.

Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi was one of the popular Prime Ministers of India. The developmental projects launched by him include the national education policy and expansion of telecom sector. Besides his achievement and subsequent popularity, Rajiv Gandhi also emerged as one of India's controversial Prime Ministers.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Vallabhbhai Patel was one of the great social leaders of India. He played a crucial role during the freedom struggle of India and was instrumental in the integration of over 500 princely states into the Indian Union. Despite the choice of the people, on the request of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel stepped down from the candidacy of Congress president.

Sarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu was truly one of the gems of the 20th century India. She was known by the sobriquet "The Nightingale of India". Her contribution was not confined to the fields of politics only but she was also a renowned poet. The play "Maher Muneer", written by Naidu at an early age, fetched a scholarship to study abroad.