WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg has taken exception to the editor used in Wix’s mobile app, alleging that the do-it-yourself web building service has copied his platform’s editor and failed to give proper attribution and adhere to the general public license (GPL) — basically, to open source the work.
“If I were being honest, I’d say that Wix copied WordPress without attribution, credit, or following the license. The custom icons, the class names, even the bugs. You can see the forked repositories on GitHub complete with original commits from Alex and Maxime, two developers on Automattic’s mobile team,” he wrote in a blog post. “Wix has always borrowed liberally from WordPress — including their company name, which used to be Express Ltd. — but this blatant rip-off and code theft is beyond anything I’ve seen before from a competitor.”
At the center of this controversy is the Wix app that was released earlier this month and allows Wix’s customers to manage their websites while on the go in real time. It comes with features such as the ability to have live chat, manage your e-commerce store, the blog on the go, manage hotel bookings, and receive updates on your business operations. The company is in a similar space as WordPress, enabling users to quickly get a website up and running while keeping the content fresh — all without needing to hire a developer.
The issues may not be apparent without digging deeper into the code, but Mullenweg is bothered by the overall transaction. He says it’s not that he minds anyone borrowing the work for themselves, but that it’s important to abide by both the letter and the spirit of the GPL — essentially to pay it forward. It’s through this principle that WordPress’ creator says the platform has been able to flourish. WordPress now powers 25 percent of the web, including VentureBeat, which it has for more than a decade.
Mullenweg puts it this way: “If you want to close the door on innovation, Wix, that’s your decision to make — just write your own code. If you’re going to join the open source community, play by the open source rules.”
He said that Wix can make things right by open sourcing its app under the GPL and have the source code on GitHub so everyone can take advantage of the contributions.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has unsealed an indictment charging 61 individuals and entities for their alleged involvement in an Indian call center scam that victimized tens of thousands of people in the United States, resulting in the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a DOJ press release.
The DOJ – the primary federal criminal investigation and enforcement agency – arrested 20 individuals in the United States and charged 32 individuals and five call centers in India for their alleged involvement in the scam. An additional U.S.-based defendant is currently in the custody of immigration authorities.
The DOJ indictment alleges the defendants were involved in a sophisticated scheme organized in India that included a network of call centers in Ahmedabad and charges them with conspiracy to commit identity theft, false personation of an officer of the United States, wire fraud, and money laundering.
Using information obtained from data brokers and other sources, the DOJ indictment claims the call center operators allegedly called potential victims while impersonating officials from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
According to the DOJ indictment, call center operators threatened potential victims with arrest, prison, fines, or deportation if they did not pay taxes or penalties to the government. If the victims agreed to pay, the call centers turned to a network of U.S.-based co-conspirators to liquidate and launder extorted funds.
The defendants allegedly used prepaid debit cards often registered using personal identifying information (PII) of thousands of identity theft victims and wire transfers directed by the criminal associates using fake names and fraudulent identifications to launder extorted funds, according to the DOJ indictment.
The co-conspirators allegedly used “hawala” – where money is transferred internationally outside of the formal banking system – to direct the extorted funds to accounts belonging to U.S. individuals. These individuals were expecting the hawala transfers but were not aware of the illicit nature of the funds.
The indictment also alleges that the defendants extorted $12,300 from an 85-year-old victim in San Diego, California, and $136,000 from another victim in Hayward, California, while fraudulently pretending to be IRS agents and demanding payment for fictitious tax violations.
“This is a transnational problem and demonstrates that modern criminals target Americans both from inside our borders and from abroad,” Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said about the India call center scam in the DOJ press release.
A special DOJ website has been established to provide information about the case to identified victims, potential victims, and the public. Anyone who may be a victim of fraud or identity theft related to this investigation or other scam phone calls may contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at this website.
The complete DOJ press release ‘Dozens of Individuals Indicted in Multimillion-Dollar Indian Call Center Scam Targeting U.S. Victims’ is available online www.justice.gov/opa/pr/dozens-individuals-indicted-multimillion-dollar-indian-call-center-scam-targeting-us-victims.
NOTE: An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
DOJ CASE SHOWS DANGERS OF OFFSHORING PII OUTSIDE OF U.S.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
New Delhi: The news of Sussanne Khan and Hrithik Roshan’s separation shocked the whole Bollywood industry, but now it seems the actor has buried his past and ready to move on.
Rumour mills are abuzz with the speculation that Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan has found love once again. Wondering, who’s the lucky girl?
Well, if reports are to be believed, the actor has found solace in Bollywood actress Neha Dhupia. Leading entertainment portal Zoom quoted a reliable source saying, “Hrithik Roshan and Neha Dhupia recently went to perform at a marriage out of Mumbai, and the two, after their performance, were spotted spending some quality time together.”
Neha Dhupia is currently hosting a show titled #NoFilterNeha, which has hit the fans. However, nothing has been confirmed as neither Neha nor Hrithik has commented on the issue yet.
Hrithik, who was the first to send the legal notice to Kangana, has demanded that she apologize publicly and clear the air about their alleged affair, which he firmly refutes.
Award-winning singer and music composer Papon, who became a member of Saavn’s Artist-in-Residence (AiR) program this month, said that Indian music has gone beyond classical and Bollywood. Talking about the constantly changing scenario in the world of music, the singer said: “Indian music is changing, and people have a new idea of India through the music that is coming out of the country. Globalization has made people more aware, more accepting of new trends. Indian music is no longer just classical or Bollywood.”
Talking about choosing Papon as the singer of this month Vice President of Entertainment and Original Content at Saavn, Gaurav Wadhwa said, “Papon is an icon in the Indian music scene. We trust that his unique ability to transcend traditional music genres will resonate with our fanbase and continue the AiR legacy.”
Supporting the Saavn initiative, Papon said, “The idea is to come together and work on interesting projects and make them possible. I fully support their idea of enabling artists to translate ideas into music and helping it reach an audience worldwide. This association has also come at an important time for me as I am ready to release some new music.”
Papon, who has sung some super hit Bollywood songs like Moh Moh Ke Dhage, Kyun, Jiyein Kyun, Bulleya, and his folk-fusion band The East India Company, believes it is equally challenging to be an established singer, whether in Bollywood or independent music.
“Both are challenging for different reasons. When you’re an Indie musician and wish to make your music, you put it out for people to discover. Bollywood doesn’t allow you that freedom. You have to work hard to get noticed and get work.”
Saavn already featured two very distinct singers on their Artist-in-Residence (AiR) program – EDM artist Nucleya and Raghu Dixit – earlier, and this is the third program they are hosting.
Experts advise you to start planning even before you decide to buy a home. The habit of saving smaller amounts will also help to meet your down payment. Here are five ways in which you may save money to pay the same.
Plan and budget
If you plan to buy a home in the next couple of years, it is important to start setting a budget from now. It is also important that you check your home loan eligibility to know the exact amount you will need as a down payment. It would help if you eliminated avoidable expenses to accumulate funds for a down payment.
2. Liquidate smaller savings
If you have saved in precious metals like gold or hold bonds, you may liquidate these. This money may be beneficial in meeting the down payment needed once your home loan is approved. However, you must retain some savings to meet any emergencies.
3. Ladder your savings
Investing your extra money in corporate deposits (CDs) is a good way to earn decent returns. These are relatively low-risk investments and are easily accessible. One way to maximize your returns is to spread your savings in different CDs with varying maturity dates. This is known as laddering and provides the flexibility that adjusts your savings based on the interest rates. It helps you invest when the returns are higher and ensures you do not have to invest longer periods in lower interest rates. These funds may be used to make the down payment towards your property before the lender disburses the home loan amount.
Ensuring you pay the entire credit card bill each month ensures you do not pay the huge finance costs. This will enable you to save more money, which may be saved over a longer duration to meet the down payment towards your home.
You may seek help from your relatives or friends or procure a soft loan from your employer to fund the down payment. Consider taking up another job to earn more income.
While arranging for the down payment is important, it is recommended you check the title of the property before making your decision. Ensuring there are no legal issues before your home loan application is important to avoid inconvenience and delays.
The world is a vast cauldron of violence, where insatiable lust for power, supremacy, and brutality exist. It is the world where trust and betrayal exist simultaneously, with power flowing from the barrel of a gun. It is the world where crude human nature exists in virgin form.
The extravagant fictionalization of an underworld, actors, and actions has been portrayed in mainstream Hindi cinema from time immemorial. Shakti Samanta’s China Town was an apt portrayal of the underworld in the 1950s. For the last four and a half decades (from the 1970s onwards), this hidden, invisible world of smuggling, dacoity, burglary, horror, bloodbath, and terror associated with it have been exposed to us in the form of entertainment utilizing Hindi films such as Deewar, Don, Amar Akbar, and Anthony, Don, Shakti, Hum, Vastaav, Satya, Gangster, Once Upon a time in Mumbai, Sarkar, Ek Villain, etc., etc.
The audience is thrilled to view such films in the cloister of theater halls. Noted journalist Hussain S. Zaidi has immortalized the underworld in Mumbai through his well-researched books such as Byculla to Bangkok, My name is Abu Salem, Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of Mumbai Mafia, Mafia Queens of Mumbai, Black Friday, Mumbai Avengers, Headley, and I.
In Bengal, too, the underworld, both colonial and post-colonial, have been researched. Suranjan Das and Jayanta Kumar Ray’s book The Goondas: Towards a Reconstruction of the Calcutta Underworld, Sumanta Banerjee’s book The Wicked City: Crime and Punishment in Colonial Bengal are seminal works on the underworld in Kolkata.
Basudeb Chatterjee’s work covering police in Bengal also has facts and information on the underworld. Debraj Bhattacharyya’s article Kolkata Underworld in the Early 20th Century, published in Economic and Political Weekly in 2004, is a well-researched article and worth reading. Kudos to Srijit Mukherji for endeavoring to unveil this ‘invisible’ world through his latest directorial venture Zulfiqar. The teaser released on social media mentions that in the land of bridges, Rabindranath Tagore, there is another land where illegal activities and parallel economy reign.
In the City of Joy, crime syndicate operates in full swing. The film has a port area comprising the majority Muslim population and a considerable section of the Hindu population. It has dominant Muslim gang members with a Hindu Villain and their turf war for supremacy. Along with land-grabbing, extortion, smuggling, drugs, prostitution, the director has included the jihadi-terrorist aspect. Such a context, especially when India and Pakistan are on the brink of an undeclared war, will escalate the TRP of the film, draw crowds, and make the film more palpable to the audience Jav Leech.
The film has a potpourri of emotions-love, hate, friendship, betrayal, death, revenge, lust for power and carnal instincts, supremacy, fights, actions, etc. However, the ‘real’ underworld is the world where quintessential traits such as specialization of skills, intelligence, information networks, human resource management, organizational ability are required to survive. But the film failed to hint at these aspects. The underworld subculture, including the code language used by gang members, has not found visibility or audibility in this film. It has failed to grasp and portray these inner, subtle nuances prevailing within that world of organized crime and among its main actors.
Though dockyards are an important area for such illegal activities, the historiography of the underworld in Kolkata includes places such as Cossipore, College Street, Taltala, Baranagar, Thakurpukur, Haridevpur, Rajarhat, etc. Though geographical ghettos exist, their associated inherent violence lies mostly in the human psyche. The crime syndicates are not geographically positioned but scattered throughout the length and breadth of the city. The areas indicated in the film mainly comprise Kidderpore, Metiabruz, Garden Reach, which are different from the glitz and glamor of mainstream Kolkata. But this area has its own local history apart from illegal activities. According to information available in Wikipedia, Kidderpore – ‘this’ part of Kolkata produced three jewel poets Rongolal Bandhopadhyay, Hemchandra Bandhopadhyay, Micheal Madhusudan Dutta too.
The general population will definitely admire the film with claps and whistles. It will make the film a commercial success. Yet, for people with an intellectual acumen or students of English literature, ‘Zulfiqar’ as an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra will be a bolt from the blue. In 1981, Shashi Kapoor had produced a film Kalyug. As the director of the film, Shyam Bengal had masterfully borrowed and captured incidents from the epic Mahabharata. He had delicately touched upon the nuances of human relationships, crafting really moving scenes. But such crafting of characters or scenes, which touches our hearts, is not found in Zulfiqar.
The posters of the film, especially Nusrat Jahan, wearing a blue sari with a rose in her hand, appear obnoxious. Even the poster Prosenjit as Zulfiqar (Julius Caesar) surrounded by gang members with guns failed to capture the curiosity, thrills, and horror of a film on the underworld. A larger-than-life image of Zulfiqar in the film does not get established. Prosenjit as Zulfiqar (Srijit’s take on Julius Caesar) is full of mannerisms.
His costumes especially using shoe-laces for kurta buttons and make-up in the form of jatra type beards, are a total misfit. The scene where he is gunned down by Basheer Khan (Brutus) and other syndicate members appears too simplistic. According to Syed Tanveer Nasreen, Professor in the Department of History, University of Burdwan, ‘the film points out how little two communities in Bengal know each other. People do not attend a janaza with their shoes on. Covering just the head is not enough.
Dev, the ‘Mahanayak’ of Bengal, as Markaz Khan, is a mute character. Years ago, in a Hindi film Khamoshi, Nana Patekar had enacted a deaf and dumb role. But Nana Patekar’s expressions and acting skills were impeccable even in that mute role. It goes without saying that Dev lacks Patekar’s acting skills. He appears very muscular, with monotonous facial expressions and eye movements. Parambrata Chatterjee as Tony Braganza has played his character, though we expect more from him as the audience. Kaushik Sen, a theater personality, a seasoned actor, modulating his voice, making it husky, simultaneously portraying the negative and positive shades in the form of Basheer Khan, is appreciable.
Srijit always gives Jisshu U Sengupta a complete makeover with a different role from the rest, and this film is no exception to the general trend. Sengupta as Kashinath Kundu, with a paunch and marks all over his face, enacts his wicked, wily, manipulative character with subtlety and intelligence.
One fails to understand why Ankush, as Akhtar (Octavius) from the next generation, who takes charge of carrying the family legacy of crime, adopts the stereotypical clothes, make-up of his previous generation. The director fails to portray him as a modern gangster. Hence the image and character building with time does not happen as the film comes to an end.
In a film such as Zulfiqar, where the heroes are the protagonist, heroines appear to serve as interludes and mannequins. Nusrat Jahan, who plays Rani Talapatra (Srijit’s take on Cleopatra), appears more a model than an actress. She is very stiff, unable to express the most complex emotions of suffering, helplessness, loneliness, longing through her silence and eyes.
Some of her scenes with both Zulfiqar and Markaz appear too theatrical. Shedding the sari and showing cleavages are not enough to portray molls. Emotions of suffering and sensuousness were required simultaneously, which she failed to enact. However, Paoli Dam, in special appearances, enacting the character Karishma Ahmed (Caesar’s wife), hallucinating deserves praise.
The script, as well as the story-telling, could have been better. The director shows bike racing, but such a scene could have been more realistic had the bikers jumped over burning tires (in reality, this is practiced at the dead of night in many places of Kolkata). Few of the fight scenes appeared too amateurish. It could have been well-directed. The audience in Bengal has viewed slums and dilapidated buildings.
Only the Swing Bridge, a crucial link between Garden Reach and the central and eastern part of Kolkata that opens at an angle of 60-70 degrees between midnight and dawn to allow ships to sail, perhaps has been shown for the first time in the history of Bengali films. Anupam Roy’s songs will be admired by the present generation of youngsters, though the background music is too cacophonic. The photography is above average.
There is no dearth of gangsters in Kolkata. Gopal Pathak, Hemen Mongol, China, Jishnu, Ghutghutey, Phata Kesto, Idris Ali, Sridhar, Swapan Saha, Gabbar…the names are endless. Each life is a tale of the emergence and decline of a gang lord and has the potential to be made into a feature film. The director could have fictionalized such characters. But the incident which received huge media coverage and is etched in the minds of people is the IPS officer Vinod Kumar Mehta and his guard Mokhtar Ali, getting butchered in the by lanes of the port area in 1984.
Srijit Mukherji or any new genre of directors trying to make films should consider the incident of 1984, a watershed incident in the history of the underworld in Kolkata. In the annals of Bengali film, Zulfiqar will be regarded as a mediocre film but marketed very well by the director and the production house. Srijit Mukherji, through his star cast storyline, once again proves that he remains a popular filmmaker, but not a serious one.
And Tollywood still lacks a realistic gangster film.
Several individuals avail of personal finance to meet emergency fund requirements. Such loans are available without any collateral, which makes these popular. Furthermore, the borrowed amount may be used for any legal purpose, thereby giving you flexibility.
It is most likely that you may avail of this loan to repay it before the end of the tenure. Compared to other loans like home or auto, the interest rates on personal finance are higher.
There are several benefits of prepaying part of the entire loan amount before its tenure. Generally, you may choose a longer tenure to reduce the equated monthly installment (EMI). However, the interest paid over a longer duration is higher, and, therefore, repaying earlier is beneficial.
Lower the EMI
If you have funds available, it is recommended you use them to repay the outstanding personal loan. This will enable you to lower the EMI and also ensure the amount is repaid in a shorter period of time. When you repay the loan faster, you can save a significant amount for a longer duration.
2. Pre-closure penalty
Financial institutions may levy a certain penalty if you repay the personal loan before the end of its duration. It is recommended you check the penalty and make an informed decision. In most instances, you will still be able to save money when you prepay, even after paying the pre-closure penalty. This is because the personal loan interest rates are higher than secured credit facilities, such as home or auto loans.
3. Improve credit score
Your credit score is directly related to the number of your outstanding debt liabilities. When you prepay the loan, it is immediately reflected in your credit score. Repaying the money before the end of the loan tenure positively affects your credit score. A higher score will ensure lenders perceive you as low-risk in the future when you apply for another loan.
You may either prepay the entire amount or some part of the outstanding principal. The following will help you understand the advantages of repaying either part or full loan amount before its tenure.
4. Full prepayment
When you prepay the entire loan amount before the end of the duration, you can save a significant amount towards the interest payout. Furthermore, the interest savings are higher when you prepay during the initial years of the loan duration. Most lenders have a minimum lock-in period during which you are not allowed to prepay the loan amount. You should invest in high-return instruments if you have extra money during the lock-in period. The accumulated amount may then be used to repay the loan amount after the lock-in period.
5.Partial prepayment
You may receive an annual bonus, or some of your other investments may mature during the loan duration. This amount may not be equal to the entire outstanding loan amount. However, it is beneficial to use the same to repay the loan. Partial prepayment reduces the outstanding principal, which decreases your EMI. Therefore, using the funds to repay the loan will help you save a huge amount in the long run.
The old saying “borrow less and repay early” is still applicable. Moreover, when you avail of a personal loan online, you can enjoy certain special offers. However, it is still debt, and repaying it at the earliest is advisable to ensure your outflows are the least.
New Delhi: Mumbai Film Festival, the seven-day star-studded extravaganza, wrapped up last week. Organized by the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI), the widely publicized festival saw about 175 films screened from 54 countries worldwide, besides sessions and appearances by popular faces from the Indian film industry. For the ailing Indian film festival market, MAMI truly upped the game, having a budget equivalent to that of “a small film.” The presenting sponsor for the event was the digital services company Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJio), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Star India was the associate sponsor, and many brands, including PVR Cinemas and JW Marriott, was supporting partners and collaborators.
“When we began, it actually took us 6-7 months to get (investor) partners on board,” said Smriti Kiran, creative director, MAMI. “We wanted people who believed in this because film festivals are a very tough space in terms of returns on investment. The reason we’d forever be grateful to Jio and Star is that we had knocked on every door, and they saw potential and merit in creating this legacy and cultural space, which a lot of other people didn’t. Whatever we built-in 2015 is going to show in 2017. In traditional terms of returns, these people have none for three years.”
Not everyone has been as lucky as the MAMI team. The only sponsor for the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) scheduled for 3-6 November 2016 is Large Short Films, a digital platform for short films by Royal Stag.
“We find that very difficult (getting sponsors),” said Ritu Sarin, festival director at DIFF, adding that the maximum support for them comes from grants and some from the state. “And I think that is because we are in a Himachal Pradesh town, and sponsors don’t find the value that they need to come to us. We always thought that once we pass the three-year mark—and this is our fifth year—we would have more sponsors coming on board, but we’ve not found any. We reached out to all kinds of brands, but they look at it in terms of their marketing budget in Himachal Pradesh which is very limited, but I think we can add a lot of value because we get people from all over the country. So yes, it’s a challenge.”
A few others have discovered other ways, though. The Jaipur International Film Festival scheduled for 7-11 January 2017 charges for delegate registration and film submissions and doesn’t focus on sponsorships. “We may charge anything between Rs.10,000-30,000 for a film screening depending on the theater rate. About Rs.500-1,000 per delegate makes for another Rs.4-5 lakh. Then some people book booths or pay for advertisements in catalogs—anything from Rs.50,000 to Rs.1 lakh. The government may sometimes give Rs.10-20 lakh,” said Hans Roj, head of marketing and corporate communication, invitation, and media at JIFF. “But there aren’t many private sponsors because there is no film industry culture (Jaipur). They may give a maximum of Rs.25,000-50,000.”
The challenges for film festivals in India are many. Firstly, most events, like those in Kerala, Goa, and Pune, are organized by the government and remain embroiled in administrative hassles. Secondly, it is difficult to monetize these festivals for the simple reason that, unlike many countries, laws in India require a ticketed film first to be censored, which dilutes the entire spirit of the kind of independent cinema that comes to these places.
“If we draw an overall conclusion on the film festival market in India, things are at a very nascent stage at both organizational and management levels,” Roj said. “We have so many different kinds of cinema, so many festivals, if the government controls things properly, there is much that can be done. Because of these hassles, it creates an impression globally that there was some random festival started in India that shut down. Another festival that crops up will have to deal with that negativity, and it’ll take much longer for people to start coming to it.”
None of these festivals are currently looking at recouping any of their investment. Not just because the gestation period on their recovery is long but because they’re inherently meant for community and cultural benefit and work as non-profits. “India doesn’t have a film festival identity. You’ve got Goa, Kerala, Kolkata, etc., but it’s not like any of these are the prime destinations for a festival person abroad. None of our festivals are on the world festival map because this is the go-to festival in India. So it’s a tremendous opportunity to create some identity globally,” Kiran said Media Focus.
“Film festivals ideally should not be money-making at all; they should be self-sustaining. So the point is if everybody begins to grow and make their pace robust, India will begin to have a cultural identity which is very important for it to have because it cannot just be known for Bollywood, food, and monuments.”
The used car market in India is bigger than the new car segment. The affordability of second-hand cars makes these a popular option. Furthermore, you may buy a used car to hone your skills if you have just started driving. There are a large number of options when you look for a second-hand car. Here are five things you should consider while buying a pre-owned vehicle.
Car quality
Although a used car may not be in good condition as a new vehicle, it must be in decent condition. You must check the car’s condition in person by taking it for a test drive and seek assistance from an experienced mechanic.
2. Insurance papers
The insurance papers will help you understand if the car has undergone any repairs or has been involved in an accident. It will also allow you to understand the no claim bonus (NCB) benefits, if available. When you look at the insurance papers, ensure the chassis and engine number match. Once you finalize the deal, it is important to transfer the insurance to your name. However, remember that you need to transfer the insurance before the registration certificate (RC) is transferred to your name.
3. Registration certificate
The RC is the document that proves the ownership of the car. When you buy a pre-owned car, you must change the RC to ensure the ownership is transferred in your favor. You will have to submit forms 29 and 30 to the road transport office (RTO) to change the RC.
The previous owner may have taken a loan on the car. This information is available from the insurance policy. If there is a loan, you need to procure the original invoice and a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the lender. This is important, especially if you are also planning to avail of a used car loan.
5. Other documents
An important but often overlooked factor is the service records. The service book will show if the services have been done on time. Additionally, you must check if the road taxes have been paid. The car must also have the pollution under control (PUC) certificate. All these are important when you buy a pre-owned car, especially through a second-hand car loan.
Financial institutions offer such loans both online and offline. The entire procedure is quick and hassle-free, and completed in a short period of time. The documents needed for the loan are minimal, thus ensuring you have no difficulty arranging for these. Contrary to popular belief, the used car loan interest ratesare affordable with a flexible repayment schedule, thereby ensuring you have no financial difficulty servicing the same.
These loans may be used to meet the working capital requirements or fund capital expenses. These are often known as business loans and are disbursed after lenders assess several factors. Businesses with an excellent track record, such as high and consistent profits and regular repayments to creditors, are usually eligible for higher loan amounts at lower interest rates.
Even if your business performance has been good in the past, sometimes, due to a miscalculation, declining sales, an untoward incident, or a natural calamity, you might face difficulties to repay the loan on time.
If you are late in repaying an installment, then it would only attract a few charges. This is also known as delinquency, as long as it was only occasional and the delay is very short. If the frequency increases and the delays get longer, your loan will be termed as default, which is bad for your business’s creditworthiness.
Implications of default
It depends on the lender as to how long they will wait before they classify your loan as a default. To recover their money, lenders may choose one or more of the following options.
Your lender may choose to send the details of your business loan to the collections agencies that specialize in recovering money from defaulters. This is not good for your credit history, and you must avoid the same.
The records for all credit facilities, including business loans in India, are maintained by Credit Information Bureau (India) Limited (CIBIL). Therefore, if you delay the repayment of a particular installment or are classified as a defaulter, it will be informed to the credit rating agency. As a result, your credit score is negatively impacted. A lower credit score may increase the interest rates on all future borrowings.
3. Seizure of collateral
If you have mortgaged any asset, such as equipment, the lender will liquidate or take possession of it to recover the money. The appointed collection agency that has taken over the loan from the lender may also seize your asset to recover the dues.
4. Lawsuit
In cases of unsecured loans wherein no collateral is pledged, a lawsuit is unavoidable.
To avoid all such problems, you could take the following tips.
5. Restructure the loan
You should always call the lender at the earliest and explain the situation to them. Once convinced, they could be willing to reduce payments or work out a better repayment schedule temporarily.
6. Refinance
Although not very economical, you could choose to get a bigger loan for a longer duration so that you can repay the current outstanding and reduce the installment. Debt consolidation has its pros and cons, and you must evaluate all these before choosing this option.
7. Reduce costs
You may want to grow your business quickly. However, this is not easy and, therefore, reducing the costs to meet your current cash flow needs is recommended.
A lender’s priority is to recover their money back. Financial institutions offer competitive business loan interest rates to help grow your business. However, if you cannot repay on time, lenders are willing to relook at the loan and structure it to help you out.
