Your saving account will now earn more

Withdrawing a big amount from the saving account even a few days before the month end, results in loss in interest the month. Now Greetings for saving account holders from RBI (Reserve Bank of India), who announced on this Friday that banks should start calculating interest on daily basis for saving accounts effective from 01st April'10.

The move will enable saving account holders in earning better interest rates since banks currently calculate interest on these accounts on the lowest available balance from 11th and the last date of a month.

Though, earlier banks had urged RBI to postpone the move. Indian Banks Association chairman MV Nair had said "We requested them to either reduce the savings rate or postpone the implementation. It will affect our margins and profit"

RBI said in a notification "We advise that payment of interest on savings accounts may be made by banks on a daily product basis with effect from April 1", which also asks banks to ensure a smooth transition and work out the modalities in this regard.

Now, one point need to be noted here that, currently interest rates on saving accounts are de-regulated, barring up to Rs 2 lakh. The RBI only administer interest rates on saving bank deposits up to Rs 2 lakh, and for the deposits above this amount, banks are free to give any interest rates.

Source
http://beta.profit.ndtv.com/news/show/now-savings-accounts-to-earn-interest-on-daily-basis-26569

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day started in the time of the Roman Empire. In ancient Rome, February 14th was a holiday to honor Juno. Juno was the Queen of the Roman Gods and Goddesses. The Romans also knew her as the Goddess of women and marriage. The following day, February 15th, began the Feast of Lupercalia.

The lives of young boys and girls were strictly separate. However, one of the customs of the young people was name drawing. On the eve of the festival of Lupercalia the names of Roman girls were written on slips of paper and placed into jars. Each young man would draw a girl's name from the jar and would then be partners for the duration of the festival with the girl whom he chose. Sometimes the pairing of the children lasted an entire year, and often, they would fall in love and would later marry.

Under the rule of Emperor Claudius II Rome was involved in many bloody and unpopular campaigns. Claudius the Cruel was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. He believed that the reason was that roman men did not want to leave their loves or families. As a result, Claudius canceled all marriages and engagements in Rome. The good Saint Valentine was a priest at Rome in the days of Claudius II. He and Saint Marius aided the Christian martyrs and secretly married couples, and for this kind deed Saint Valentine was apprehended and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. He suffered martyrdom on the 14th day of February, about the year 270. At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honor of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.

The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavored to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way.